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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 1985)
When They Say Rate the Records, They’re Not Talk ing American Bandstand Can you imagine having re cords rated like movies? The idea would lie laughable if a lot of influential people weren't intent on making it happen In June, 45 record labels received a letter from the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) asking that lyric sheets be included on all new relexses sent to radio stations Over 800 TV and radio stations received a similar NAB letter requesting they censor sexually suggestive lyrics Another organization, the Parents Musical Resource Center (PMRC), is currently lobbying Congress to force a ratings system simitar to the one used by the movie industry. Among the members of the PMRC are Susan Baker, wife of Treasury Secretary James Baker, and Tipper Gore, wife of Tennessee Senator Albert Gore. For years, politically and religious ly conservative have tried to cen sor music for being sexually explicit or satanic, but other than banning a Kiss concert here or there, they haven't had much clout. With politi cal heavyweights involved in the new censorship movement, the tide appears to be turning. MCA Records recently {Hilled a single called “Let’s Talk" (“Let’s Talk About Sex'’) by One Way off the air More substantial was the an nouncement by the Recording In dustry Association of America that 19 major record labels had agreed to put a disclaimer on the jackets of all re cords deemed “offensive." The censorship movement may also be gaining because it has al lies in the recording industry itself. Smokey Robinson, for one, declared “Something has to be done about sexually explicit lyrics." Dave Marsh said in Kock & Holt Confidential, "The PMRC, the PTA and television evangelists are the de scendants of the forces that tried to ’protect’ us from Elvis, Little Richard, the Beatles and the Stones." In late September, the PMRC, Frank Zappa, Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider and R1AA President Stanley Gortikov testified against ratings be fore a Congressional committee. The ratings battle is heating up. I Tim Turner says she it negotiating with sev* era! producer* tor» “mow of my Ha.” Turner «il not ad in the movie but win choose the •emu to portray her and retam creative con trol. The movie wVt presumably be baaed on l1 Tam.” laslla Track Quick Takes... Rod Stewart will finally launch his long talked about acting career wiih a starring role in a British strap opera. Stewart would not disclose many details, but by the way he describes it, the show is from the same laboratory that pro duced Dallas!Dynasty-. "There’ll Ire plenty of cutting throats, lies and de ceit and passionate romance" .,. Two songs on ex-Go Go Jane Weid tin's solo album were written by her high school sweetheart-—Kevin Hunter of Wire Train . . . Jimmy Cliff says that Keith Richards and Ron Wood of the Stones are talking about doing a record project that would also feature Policeman Stewart Copeland on drums ... Boy George reportedly will be organizing a chari ty concert over the Christmas season to help fight AIDS in the U K. He has already contributed some >20,000 to a British AIDS charity Mandy Meir, formerly of Krokus, has re placed Steve Howe in Asia's line up. Howe is said to be working with ear MUSICAL NOTES BY GREG PTACEK ly Genesis member sieve I lacked in a new group called GTR Master re mixer Jellybean Benitez lias pm duced a demo tape featuring Mark >n na. and Ashford and Simpson writing tunes for a proposed contemporary musical based on the novel "Oliver Twist " Record Watch Coming Soon To a Record Store Near You Barbra Streisand (a duet project with Run D.M.C., "Babs Raps"—just kidding!) Flock of Seagulls, Krokus, Red Hot Chili Nrppers, Dance Society, Steel Pulse, I.inda Ronstadt (first country album in years), The F.agles (yes, dummy, they have broken up; this is an anthology), Metalloid. The Dip lets (they are wliat their name im plies), Lindsay Buckingham (will we ever see another Fleetwood Mac LP?), Dokken, Peter Gabriel, Rie Ocasek, Steve Winwood, Quincy Jones, James Ingram, The Ramones (compilation), Phil Alvin (of the Blasters), Harold Faltmeyer, Van Ha ien, INXS, John Parr, Genesis (if they stick together, that is), The I'ixx, Guiffria, Oingo Boingo, Joan Jett, Boston (but, then again they’ve been saying this for 10 years), The Damned, Tom Waites, Thomas Dolby, Steve Miller, Julian Lennon, Twisted Sister, Sister Sledge, Gra ham Nash and Bad Company (Since recording artists are crea lures not known for meeting sched ules, consider this list advisory.) Rock Scritti Politti Green (list Green the leader of Scrim IGlitti, is known for his musing* on pop music and Western Civilization and Is widely quoted in the British press. In addition, Green and his band Scritti IGliui (Italian for "political writing") produce some of the most original music on the market today About the photo of a piece of wrapped meat on the back of Scrttti's latest album, "Cupid A I’syche," he says: "Artist Marcel Duchamp was asked to do a W>gue cover in the 1920's. He did a piece of meat, wrapped in cloth with paper stars, a portrait of George Washington. “They said, 'This doesn't look like George Washington', but it did! It looked a lot like George Wishing ton. They decided not to use it, but I thought it was a very beautiful thing “See. a lot of people think that Scrttti's music is very sweet, vapor ous. I think there's an element of that, but at the center there’s some thing more substantial, like meat at the center And the butterfly repre sents the sweetness. Of course, it hits a pin in its head, which means it s dead. Symbolic. Yeah.” Martha Davit, the sultry singer/songwriter of The Motels (currency on tour), at 34 hat two teenaged daughtan. No doubt, managing a earaar and a family was hying at times, but she wouldn't have had it any othar way. “When I got married at 15,1 became an Air Force wife, went to Florida, and lived in a little shacfc in a RMe white ghetto at the end of a runway. No phone, no radio, no television. A* I had to do was hold my baby. “When l decided to do music, one girl was old enough to watch the other. I would take them to rehearsal, bring along a WO* bkK*-s~t-w?ine TV, and they'd curl up in front of tt. They were never without mo tor a very long HRw • • • oto mey iw Wwf* »•
