Music Censorship
The tall, lanky fifteen-year-old ambled slowly up to the counter and tossed his music selection toward the clerk. The salesman began to ring the sale up in his routine manner, but just then something caught his eye. It was a small black sticker on the corner of the CD. This sticker plainly read "explicit lyrics." As the teenager fumbled through his pockets searching for a method of payment, the clerk gave him a questioning glance. "Could I see some identification please?" The clerk's voice cut through the silence like a knife through butter. Immediately the boy's face went from something of a blank stare to a frown. "I'm sorry this particular CD is not available to minors," the clerk apologetically stated. "Yeah
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By removing the libretto of La Traviata Verde's opera has lost at least some of its impact or meaning. Though we can not be sure what this particular libretto's content was, we can be sure that we have missed out on some of Giuseppe Verde's work of art.
The issue of censorship has been with us for centuries. Due to the argumentative nature of the human race, this issue will in all probability remain with us for centuries to come. Radio broadcasters in the Nineteen Fifties regularly altered and removed certain lyrics that were determined too offensive for listeners. " The Billie Holiday song 'Love for Sale' was banned outright by the ABC radio network in 1956 because of its prostitution theme" (Volz 2). In other cases lyrics were changed in order to allow these hit songs some guaranteed air time. "ABC changed a line in the Cole Porter tune 'I get a kick out of you' from ' I get a kick from cocaine' to ' I get perfume from Spain'"(2). Sure, these lines may well rhyme, but they totally lack the artist's intended meaning. Cole Porter was deprived of a main point he was trying to get across. Once again the unjust act of censorship has robbed the meaning of a song from millions.
In 1966 an Irish group named "Them" wrote, and sung, the top selling European song "Gloria." One line in this song, "she comes in my room" was marked offensive by WLS, a radio station in Chicago. This song was so
The controversy was that many people felt as if the lyrics of the revised song were very ignorant and fell
I can 't seem. To find myself again. My walls are closing in.” (Linkin Park, “Crawling”). These lyrics just show to prove how much emotion was displayed into the song itself. With that said, censorship sabotages an artist’s intent to express themselves. Not only does it limit one’s ability to put forth one’s feelings into his or her songs, but it also affects the artist’s creativity.
Through new technology including the ability to record music, the emergence of Tin Pan Alley, and the immigration boom, America soon developed a new sinful musical culture. 19th Century American Pop music, although tame in today’s standards, was considered to be morally corrupting and created a new naughtier America. In the transition from classical romantic ballads to the syncopated, “blackness” was pop like Ragtime music took quite a large evolution. From the dance halls for the working class, cabaret for the middle class, and high class refined dancing, the explosion of Ragtime music effected all types of Americans. Due to the immigration boom and the introduction of mobility and leisure time, class lines began to blur, causing the middle and working class to bump elbows more often than ever before. Often times, such incidences would occur in entertainment venues like Coney Island or even run of the mill vaudeville shows. Modern music was can be identified by its’ lascivious subject matter, which reflected the evolving ideals of Americans. One song that illustrated this is “I Love My Wife; But Oh, You Kid!”, which spoke of a man’s desire to cheat on his wife, highlighting the new sexually aware younger population. Although it’s tone and composition were similar to earlier, classic, love songs the subject matter and morals
The song “I Get a Kick out of you” was originally composed by ‘’Cole Albert porter’’, who unlike other Broadway composers, wrote the lyrics as well as the music for his songs. Through this particular song of his, he was trying to express the singer’s love and his relative disinterest in perfume, champagne, cocaine, and planes. It was published in November 1934 and introduced in ‘Anything Goes’ by Ethel Merman. This song has since then, been covered on numerous occasions by popular singers such as Frank Sinatra, each with their own unique interpretation and style of the song. In this paper, I will be comparing the version of “I Get a Kick Out of You” Performed by Ethel Merman with the cover version of Ella Fitzgerald (on Ella Fitzgerald Sings
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
Censorship in music has been a major problem plaguing America since the early nineteen forties. It came to a head during the nineteen sixties with the Vietnam War and the hippie movement. During the nineteen seventies and eighties heavy metal and hard rock were getting the brunt of the censorship heat. Now in the nineteen nineties the major focus of censorship is rap; primarily gangster rap. Some of the main factors of music in general that cause legal ramifications are sexual content, suggestive violence and obscene language. Censorship is an attack against our first amendment right guaranteeing the freedom of speech. However if a song or album is deemed obscene the first amendment does not protect this.
MP3 is an audio format that allows users to compress and send music files easily over the Internet. The major problem with this music sharing is that most of the files are pirated, which has caused a stir in the music industry. Music companies and music artists have been complaining about how their music is being stolen and therefore lowering their album sales. The major blame has been put on Napster and other file sharing software available on the Internet.
Summer hit “Blurred Lines” is one of the radio’s most played songs currently. The song is placed at number one on America’s top 40 charts for the week of September 14th. While it is popular, the lyrics paint a story of someone who wants the singer, but is a good girl. The message of the song is blurring lines of morality. Not only is the song soliciting sexual themes, but it goes as far as using derogatory names towards the said good girl. Also, the song has strong themes of guilting someone into sex, claiming that not many can refuse T.I.’s pimping. The song
Volcano: A hill or mountain formed around and above a vent by accumulations of erupted materials, such as ash, pumice, cinders or lava-flow. The term refers both to the vent itself and to the often cone-shaped accumulation above it. (Scarth, 1994.) This definition can do Mt. Vesuvius no justice. Instead, I would describe it as one of the most hellish and population decimating volcanoes. Vesuvius lives…or lived! In its prime, Vesuvius covered and demolished two of Italy’s biggest cultural and artistic cities of its time. In this paper, I will be discussing volcanoes in general. In addition, Mt. Vesuvius, in particular, will be thoroughly looked at, as well as its 79 AD eruption.
One sunny morning i can small the corn from my garden and it then it small garden i can not wait and till i get to touch it and to i get to touch it with my friend Alexandria gentry and she cant wait to get a taste to touch she cut wait to have a taste to and she is that we will be watt for a wile but i don't care because i will be good.the next day we came out i can't smell the sweet corn is more then we went over there it was dead and some pulled out we was mad and upset the same time but are next door neighbor and is said that we sund give some water to are corn. I woke up and I saw Alexandria was up there then i heard her say to me how was the sweet corn. she said that it was good
Since the being of time people have been making and listening to music. Music has been considered the best way to express ourselves. The Bible even talks about how music was used to praise God. Music has been used for all type of things ranging from to getting a girl to notice guy, trying to get over a broken heart, or maybe losing a love one. Now society says that music has become too violent and sexually oriented. Many people have different point of view on this topic some people feel that there should be some type of censorship, while other feel censorship is against the first amendment, and others feel that parents should be responsible for what their children listen to. The question that comes to mind is should
Many people believe that music should be filtered because it provokes violence or sex within society. There may be some truth in this but for the most part it is merely myth. People who have any common sense or are not legally insane can understand fact from fiction and what not to imitate. Anyone who listens to Eminem and decides to go and kill their wife should have been locked up long before the actual crime. When people do things that resemble what an artist says in a song, it is usually by pure coincidence and all are negative incidents. Frank Zappa was quoted to have said “I wrote a song about dental floss but did anyone’s teeth get cleaner?”(Jackson 1).
The creator of this fantastic novel is not other than Sir William Gerald Golding, or better known as William Golding. Golding was born in September 19, 1911 in Newquay, Cornwall, England, UK. However, he passed away in June 19, 1993 in Perranarworthal, Cornwall, England, at the age of 81. Golding’s career was based as being a school teacher, a novelist, playwright, and a poet. He is better known by his novel called Lord of the Flies. In addition, he was knighted by Elizabeth II back in 1988 and he won two honorable awards, the Noble Prize in Literature in 1983, and the Booker Prize in 1980.
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,
“Censorship, like charity should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there,” is a quote by Clare Boothe Luce (Fitzhenry, 84). Some parents are against the censorship of music. They believe that they should raise their kids, not some politicians who believe one nasty word will change a whole child’s future.