Despite its benefits, music has been blamed for isolated incidents and widespread rebellion. Social "activists" such as Tipper Gore and groups such as the Parents Music Resource Center have only served to censor music they found "unsuitable" – especially to children. Musicians have been blamed for acts committed by individuals on several occasions.
Elvis Presley is one of the earliest performers blamed for the corruption of youth. Elvis’ hip shaking was censored on national television, but made teenage girls swoon. His gyrating caught the attention of a judge in Florida who threatened to arrest him if he danced at a show. Frank Sinatra claimed his music would encourage "negative and destructive reactions" in youth. Elvis was considered the "personification of evil" and would influence teens to disobey their parents. Elvis was a sex symbol whom people believed would inevitably lead girls astray into forbidden, carnal pleasures.
The 1999 Columbine shootings caused shockwaves and outrage, with people questioning why two teenage boys would go on a killing spree. Part of the blame was placed on shock rocker Marilyn Manson. His lyrics have been accused of being anti-Christian, the music of the devil and extremely violent. When Manson was scheduled to play at Ozzfest in Denver, there were protests decrying the singer. Former Republican Colorado Rep. Don Lee claimed Manson’s nihilistic lyrics feed teen alienation. Despite the satanic image surrounding Manson, in an interview with Michael Moore he said he would have listened to the killers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, something "no one else did."
Judas Priest, a ’70s heavy metal band, was blamed for two suicide attempts and was involved in a civil lawsuit. Allegedly there were subliminal messages that encouraged suicide ("do it") in their song "Better by You, Better Than Me." Junk science was used against Judas Priest to justify the suit. Plaintiff "expert" Howard Shevrin claimed subliminal messages were powerful because the person hearing them will attach the meaning to something they thought instead of an outside stimulus. The suit was later dismissed.
Controversy is not just limited to rock. Ice-T’s "Cop Killa" received negative attention for its supposed message of people going out and killing police officers. Dennis Martin, the former president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, blamed "Cop Killa" for inciting racial tensions and shootings. He called the song an "affront to the officers who have been killed in the line of duty." The actual lyrics of the song express an extreme distaste for police brutality.
Music represents a frontier for free speech blended with art. Because of this absolute freedom it is a scapegoat for social problems that existed long before a certain song was written. Much of the music blamed has a political or social message, and the content is taken in a different context than for what it was originally intended. This is a part of a larger problem of a lack of personal responsibility in a world where we would rather blame others for issues when the problem is looking at us in the mirror.
Corgey, a political science junior, can be reached via [email protected]
