| As a parent you may be
concerned about what your child is listening to and what influence it may have
on them. The Parental Advisory system is a voluntary code devised by the record
industry to warn of sexually explicit or violent language, so that parents can make
their own decisions.
The British Parental Advisory labels date from
1995 following the lead taken by America a decade earlier, in response to a campaign
by parents, the religious lobby and politicians. They were originally called 'Tipper
stickers' after one prominent campaigner, Tipper Gore, wife of former presidential
candidate, Al Gore.
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| The British industry group, the
B.P.I. stresses that Parental Advisory labels should: "Give the appropriate
warning without acting as a magnet to young people." However there is a concern
that they may prove a come-on, rather than a deterrent. " My thirteen year-old
son has a collection of CDs by American rappers I've never heard of," says
parent Gary McEwen, " many with Parental Advisory stickers. He wants to know
why he shouldn't be allowed to have them, when I still have my Sex Pistols records?"
A new CD from Eminem or Marilyn Manson can expect to be stickered,
but outrage over the extremes of popular music is nothing new. In 1956 Florida
officials warned a young Elvis Presley he would be arrested on obscenity charges
if he moved at all during his stage act; and when he appeared on the Ed Sullivan
TV show, he was shown from the waist up only.
Rock and roll continues to court controversy. The Rolling Stones,
Ozzy Osbourne, Ice T, Prince, Judas Priest, George Michael and the 2 Live Crew,
are a few of the performers who have fallen foul of public notions of taste and
decency, and sometimes the law. In this country records have been banned by BBC
and other radio stations. Today the practice tends to be 'bleep' rather than ban.
Sexually explicit lyrics and suggestive movements are not the
only causes for concern. Pop music has been variously blamed for corrupting innocent
youth by encouraging illegal drug-taking, crime, violence, satanic rites, homophobia,
murder and suicide. While politicians, psychologists, and pundits are divided
over the effects of exposure to popular music, the controversy continues.
The dilemma is a common one. One of the signs that your child
has entered early adolescence can be an obsession with sounds that you may have
difficulty recognising as music, and lyrics you may not find easy listening. But
there again, that may be the point. Remember that all music can be challenging,
not just popular styles. In the 19th Century opera fans formed factions, known
as 'claques' who sometimes came to blows. Today the music of Boulez, Birtwhistle
and Philip Glass has been known to cause controversy too.
Rapper Eminem attacks the Parental Advisory code on his album
The Eminem Show on the track My Dad's Gone Crazy, but also pays
an ironic acknowledgement to the dilemma, with a reference to his daughter, toddler
Hailie: "I don't blame you, I wouldn't let Hailie listen to me neither".
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