Essay on America Needs Music Censorship

However, other Americas feel that there should be no such thing as censorship on music, but it is completely up to the parents to decide what their children should listen to. In an article written by Olivia Clarke, she interviews parents to see what they have to say about the music their children listen too. Lory Reinisch listens to the music her children listen to and then tells them what songs they can listen to on the CD. (3) Artists that produce hardcore music is only for entertainment. In the same article Dr. Dre stated, “I let my kids listen. Matter of fact, I have a 14-year-old daughter that critiques my music

     Racism, hate, sex, drugs, and profanity are among many things people encounter in everyday life whether they want to or not. The one thing that people do have control over is what kind of music they listen to and to take that right away from anyone would be more offensive than having the president of the United States of America get oral sex in the oval office, one of the most honored places in the country. People get more worked up over the things in life that mean nothing, than worrying about crucial issues. Our society can tolerate watching parents smack their children in *Wal-Mart more than they can stand to hear a curse word, or a sexual comment in a song. Music is an

The First Amendment to the Bill of Rights exists because the Founders of our country understood the importance of free expression. The First Amendment states "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press . . ." (Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution 17). One of the ways the American people use this freedom of speech and expression is through the creation of the art form known as music. Music's verbal expression bonds our society through our emotions and experiences. This fundamental right of freedom of expression is being threatened by public and governmental groups who believe they have authority to monitor and decide what others should experience. The censorship of music

Yet with all the wonderful things that music can do for human beings, could it possibly be responsible for them committing suicide, or murder? In this paper I am going to explore the chaos that occurred in the 80’s and 90’s when heavy metal music faced accusations that the music and lyrical content was driving adolescent and young adults to commit suicide and murder. I will argue that it is not the music or the lyrics that result in such violent behaviors; rather, individuals with underlying psychological issues such as depression, or anger disorders tend to be more attracted to heavy metal music.

Music is the science or art of ordering tones or sounds in succession, in combination, and in temporal relationships to produce a composition having unity.Music provides a powerful form of expression that at its most basic level helps to entertain while containing the power to cause revolutions. It is a way for people to express themselves through beats, lyrics, pitches and ranges. Imagine owning a music store, and a new album about police brutality is brought to your store for you to sell. An undercover cop came in and bought the album, and told you that if you didn’t take the albums off the shelves you would be arrested and your store would be shut down. There are debates today on whether the government should censor the music that we listen to.Some believe it has a negative effect on the listeners and cause them to become the lyrics. Since music is a form of expression, censoring the music would be a violation of our rights.

Music is important to everybody, we all have that one song that makes us happy or sad just from listening to one line in the song, but what if the song made you violent. Lyrics in music could be the reason for violent tendencies in people’s behavior. There have been studies shown that lyrics in some music promote violence and crimes started because of musical influence. Through all genres of music, if closely inspected, the lyrics show a hint of violence.

As US citizens, we should be appalled that such practices are allowed. Not only are we deprived of rights, but we are subjected to the control of others. If I choose to go home and turn on my TV to see a half-clad woman and hear frequent vulgarities, then by all means, I, as a citizen of this free country, should be allowed to do so. Who is to determine what is “degenerate” or “depraved”? What should qualify a person to become a censor?

Marilyn Manson, The Beatles, NWA, Garth Brooks, and the king, Elvis, What do all these people have in common? Well, yes, they are all musical groups, but there is something more. Marilyn Manson is a heavy metal group who worships Satan, the Beatles were one of the greatest Rock N’ Roll bands of all time, and NWA was a hard-core rap group from the 80’s. Garth Brooks is a country singer and greatest selling performer of all time, and well, Elvis is the king of Rock N’ Roll. So what do they all have in common? All of these artists have or had songs with indecent or obscene lyrics.

The corruptness of music today seems to be linked to the crude language and aggression found particularly in hip-hop and rap music. Some rap artists use vulgar language in their lyrics that are easily adoptable by teens (Holden). Not only have certain lyrics influenced the way teens speak but also their actions. An article on Headliners.org stated that “lyrics in the music are too violent and are to blame for many problems.” The problems range anywhere from suicide and aggression towards women to underage drinking and drug use. Lyrics are not only to blame, but also what people see in artists’ music videos can affect what they do (Doaks). The urge to emulate these rap musicians has escalated quickly causing a spike in rebellious tendencies among teens.

This labeling of albums is not the first attempt and success at censoring music. For 50 years radio stations have been censoring songs deemed inappropriate. In 1940 NBC banned 147 songs. The Supreme Court upheld the FCC's authority to regulate music in 1978 (Winfield pg. 14). The rock and roll community could only expect some sort of limited censorship. Initially the ban was only in effect from 6 am until midnight but in 1988 president Reagan made the ban all day. The FCC in an attempt to let radio stations know what types of songs were unacceptable sent a list of 22

“It’s not the labels kids look for, it’s the music. Independent research shows kids put limited weight on lyrics in deciding which music they like, caring more about rhythm and melody. The warning label alone isn’t enough incentive.” (http://www.riaa.org/Parents-Advisory-4.cfm).

Music is one of the most popular ways of expression and has been for generations. It makes us want to dance, inspires, soothes, relaxes, and sometimes tells us a story. Music is something the whole world shares and has brought together different kinds of people. However, there has been a question on whether some music has affected society negatively and crossed the line with some of its lyrics, content, and the persona of the artists. Certain music has been boycotted and even banned in the U.S. Pro-censorship supporters say that music is something that can deeply affect our society especially children who should not have to be subjected to things like violence, sex, drugs, or hate. However, being that music is a form of expression,

“Heavy metal music has been a source of criticism ever since its’ birth in the late nineteen eighties” (Coss). Many people criticize this type of music because there is anger shown in the lyrics. Although the lyrics can be controversial at times, there is no evidence saying that heavy metal music causes violence. “Its’ controversial lyrics and harsh sounds have made it the target of much blame for psychological and behavioral problems in teenagers” (Coss). Parents of teenagers now and in past decades have worried about their kids listening to this kind of music. Most parents do not want their kids to listen to this kind of music; they are afraid that the music will lead to devastating effects in society. Another reason why parents do not like heavy metal music is that the music is extremely loud and ear shattering. Most people over

Most popular music today is driven by violence and sex. These musicians put out albums that glorify violence and promote causal sex. When the albums are being produced, the artist does not think of how it will affect the perspective merchant. When

Affordable and reliable home recording equipment has led to a revolution in the way that some albums are recorded these days. It is no longer necessary for many artists to hire an expensive 48-track studio when they can inexpensively duplicate many of the same production values by using software programs like Pro Tools (Llommen, 2010). 30 years ago the thought of an artist recording an album with there own financial backing was unheard of. With advancement in technology over time the impossible has suddenly become possible. Having a traditional record deal was a necessity in being able to record and release your music this meaning artists were locked down to labels for years leaving very little control to the artist, however times have