Episode 3: Were the "Filthy 15" Really So Filthy?
PLAY LIST
Darling Nikki by Prince (1984)
Valley Girl by Frank Zappa (1982)
We’re Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister (1984)
Rocky Mountain High by John Denver (1972)
Dress You Up by Madonna (1984)
In My House by the Mary Jane Girls (1984)
High and Dry (Saturday Night) by Def Leppard (1981)
SHOW NOTES
In 1985, Dee Snider, Frank Zappa, and John Denver testified before a Senate committee to address the accusation that some music lyrics were so potentially harmful to children that a warning label was needed on CDs and cassette tapes. Fifteen specific songs, called "The Filthy 15," were specifically targeted. This episode of FTR80 examines if these songs were really so "filthy" and why, nearly 30 years after rock and roll took hold of teenage hearts, the government was getting involved in what some called outright censorship of music.
SOURCES
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Davis, John T. “New Music Seminar Panel is Told Song-Lyric Flap is a Smokescreen.” The Miami News. October 5, 1985.
Denver, John. 2022. “1985- John Denver - Congressional PMRC Hearing Full Testimony.” YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH0hYabzudk.
Eidenmuller, Michael E. 2023. “Frank Zappa - Senate Statement on Rock Lyrics and Record Labeling.” American Rhetoric. https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/frankzapparockmusiclyrics.htm.
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Grow, Kory. 2015. “PMRC's 'Filthy 15': Where Are They Now?” Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/pmrcs-filthy-15-where-are-they-now-60601/judas-priest-eat-me-alive-180934/.
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Hunt, Dennis. 1985. “Mary Jane Girls: James' Other Half.” Los Angeles Times, June 18, 1985.
Jasper, Tony. 1981. “So Listen Out for the New Look Def.” Manchester Evening News (Manchester), July 17, 1981.
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The Rocket. 1981. December 1, 1981.
Shelton, Geoff. 2019. “Tipper Gore: Drumming for a Better World.” Tom Tom Magazine. https://tomtommag.com/2019/02/former-second-lady-tipper-gore-banging-the-drum-for-a-better-world/.
Snider, Dee. 2012. “Dee Snider's PMRC Senate Hearing Speech (Full).” YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0Vyr1TylTE.
Snider, Dee. 2015. “1985 PMRC/Senate Hearings: Then and Now.” HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/1985-pmrc-senate-hearings-then-and-now_b_8136698?1442323560=.