The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, September 05, 1985, Page Page 12, Image 12
Pago 12 Daily Nebraskan Thursday, September 5, 1985 R win a Corruption is on the airwaves and in record stores. Today's youth are being inundated with smut and unwhole some thoughts by sinful rock-n-roll sleazebags who they idolize and im mortalize. Those aren't my feelings at all, but many right-wing crusaders have felt that way about rock and pop music for years. rp.Qnnn.Qp to IawH lvHrs i rrational Scott Harrah Now right-wingers are trying to put a stop to the sinful sound of today's music with warning labels on albums that contain sexually explicit andor drug related lyrics. According to Rolling Stone maga zine, a group of Washington, house wives known as the Parents Music Resource Center, has persuaded the. U.S. Senate Commerce Committee to tentatively schedule hearings on the subject for Sept. 19. The PMRC wants the music industry to institute standardized ratings, sim ilar to film ratings, for records, tapes and music videos. Songs with sexually explicit or profane lyrics would receive an X; those that advocate the use of drugs or alcohol would receive a DA; those that glorify violence, a V, and those that are occult-oriented would get an 0. The group also wants printed lyric sheets to be available so parents can look at them before a child can pur chase a record. Some of the objectionable songs on, QHSMligSd AT 935 "0" mt Kearny mi 6s3 CosiKfy Rite Fres upjids-to Rentes td m hnth' rcusic bj the Stfaet Potato the mornoM mmms ow the PMRC's list include Sheena East on's "Sugar Walls;" Prince's "Darling Nikki;" Madonna's "Dress You Up;" Mary Jane Girls' "My House" and Cyndi Lauper's "She Bop." The above are merely the purported sexually explicit songs. Other sinful sounds include Def Leppard's "High and Dry" and Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" both lambasted for being related to the glorification of drugs and violence. I wonder what this suburban fascist group called the PMRC expects to accomplish with album warnings. Kids don't have to turn to Madonna to learn about sex their friends do the job for them. What kind of world does the PMRC think their kids live in? Sex is available to teens in the nearest backseat. Drugs abound at parties and violence occurs if someone doesn't approve of their trendy clothes. That's why I consider the PMRC's issue a paltry plot. It's an irrational suggestion that will produce no results. Admonishing kids about the 'naughty aspects of music will only make them crave it more. Taking the "big bad beat' away from our children's virgin ears seems ludi crous since they can always turn on the radio. And the "Washington Wives," as they are known in radio broadcasting circles, can't regulate what stations play as long as their programming meets FCC standards. Songs are legal as long as they don't use blatant pro fanity or "four-letter" words, the Rolling Stone article said. The "Washington Wives" ought to look at a more disturbing thing hap pening to kid3 today. Their upbringings. It's become the trend in these yup pie years of Reagan to encourage kids to conform to the mainstream. Parents today are raising their kids to become WASP, upper middle-class Republican bigots. The notion of thwarting musicians creative license and warping our youth s minds with white bread WASP morals seems a lot more disturbing than Prince singing about his libido. It's no wonder kids turn to the "occult" as a way to rebel against their parents. The "occult" warning is another PMRC travesty. Isn't this the United States, a country where we laud our right to religious freedom? Some "occult" religions like witch craft are legitimate I know someone who believes in it, practices it and belongs to a witchcraft school. Isn't trying to censor information about occult-type religions unconstitutional? If the right-wing Rate-a-Record cru saders get their way, kids in a few years might be saying something like this on their 21st birthdays: "Now I'm old enough to think for myself, use the bathroom alone, drink, drive, smoke and . . .listen to Madonna!" Cards & Letters Petra's 'silver-platter' philosophy harmful, as crowd reaction typifies Petra, if you didn't already know, is just about the most popular Christian rock group there is. Their style is loud and sometimes heavy, but their mes sage is supposed to be about Christ. I attended one of their concerts recently and was encouraged by the show of enthusiasm from the music lovers that were there, but, at the same time, I found certain aspects of the perfor mance very disconcerting. For starters, their message seemed to be one of total passivity. 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FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE, SO SIGN UP NOW!!!!!!! no hope, and compared him to a stretcher on which sin-laden Chris tians are carried to heaven. Sit back, they said and let Christ carry you to your eternal reward. I cannot help but wonder if this type of attitude is help ing to breed a whole new generation of apathetic, spoon-fed Christians who believe that because they are hopeless sinners, everything has to be given to them. Being a Christian takes a lot of hard and sometimes painful work; Petra ignored that. I find this "silver-platter" philosophy to be nothing more than an extension of the totally self-gratifying "me" generation and a most effective way of commiting theological suicide. . Furthermore, the crowds themselves typified this attitude. I was seated right next to the stage so all I had to do was raise my head and I could see just about everybody in the whole audito rium. Those next to the stage had little regard for their neighbors as they pushed and shoved to get closer. And when a singer passed by, hands shot up in gleeful expectation, perhaps even prayer, that the singer would touch them. Still others who were farther back in the crowd closed their eyes, tilted their heads back, raised their hands high, and swayed, slowly, silently to the music. A shiver went up my spine when I remembered that I had seen the same position used by members of the Hare Krishna cult during a prayer ceremony. I realize, of course, that these actions are historically reserved for screaming youths at concerts who are swept up in the emotion and power of the moment, but I do not feel that these types of displays are appropriate for a Christian concert. Would Christ do it if He were in my shoes? Moreover, it is abominable when the group capitalizes on the suspended rationality of its listeners by having an alter call at the conclusion of the show. This, the decision to commit oneself to Christ is without doubt the single most important decision anyone can make. To make this choice simply because the music was good, or some friends are going to do it, or, even worse, to be in the spotlight for a moment is the same as ridiculing its importance. No other decision should take more thought, more consideration than this. It should be a rational act done only with the intent to follow through. Finally, I left the concert wondering where all the money was going. I know that my ticket is comparable to a gen eral admission ticket to Foreigner, and that Foreigner makes no pretense at helping their fellow man. Foreigner is out for profit and so, I must conclude, is Petra. After it was all over, I began to wonder if Christ himself would have gone to such a concert and was cha grinned to find that He probably wouldn't even have been let in the door He wouldn't have had the money. Van W. Kloempken senior political sciencepre-law