Does Music Cause Immorality In Teens?

In more conservative times in America there were numerous songs about killing police officers. None of which were considered immoral, but when a rap is titled “Cop Killer” it is considered highly immoral and dangerous for kids to hear. Even though it’s about police brutality (Hamm 42). If it was never a problem before why make it one now? Due to the fact of “Musically Induced Crime” and censorship, parents need to make their own decisions about the music their children listen to and not let the PMRC make the decisions for them.

Musically induce crime is a made up motive that the PMRC use to have reason for crimes. Crimes that otherwise wouldn’t have a motive. For instance in 1996 three fans of the heavy metal band Slayer, murdered a girl from their school. One of the murderers, Joseph Fiorella states, “The fact is Slayer’s music didn’t have anything to do with the murder. The police went into my house and saw Slayer posters and records and they made up the motive that this was a devil thing. They don’t have a motive so they make one up,” (Weiner). Jacob Delashmutt says, “The music had zero influence on me going out and killing some one. There was nothing ritualistic or satanic about it. Those allegations were put together by lawyers to make money,” (Weiner). So if lawyers didn’t want to lose credibility for not being able to find a motive, they made one up. Fiorella also stated “ Its all bulls--. We weren’t into devil worship. We never had no satanic bible. The idea of stabbing her didn’t come from the music. There was no ritual sacrifice, no alter, no candles, and no chanting. We never listened to the lyrics before and decide to go do something because of them,” (Weiner). So you may be asking your self “If the violent music didn’t cause the murder what did?” Well, it was drugs. Joseph Fiorella and Jacob Delashmutt both acknowledge that drugs played a major role in their decision to kill Elyse Pahler. Both deny the heavy metal tie in (Weiner). Well isn’t that a shock! Music didn’t cause the death drugs did, but that wouldn’t have made a good story for the jury. When questioned about the murders and how he felt about them Tim Araya, bassist and vocalist for Slayer he told press, “What they are doing is denying the notion of individual responsibility for conduct. We totally understand the tragedy of the situation and sympathize, but we don’t understand why or how we can be held responsible for someone else’s actions, especially ones we never would have intended,” (Weiner). So, both the artist and the criminals both deny the tie in, yet the parents of Elyse still push for the censorship of music. As Fiorella and Delashmutt both stated, it was all made up! “Musically Induced Crime” is just a made up load of junk that the PMRC uses to give crimes that lack motives, a motive.

In a world where music and other forms of media are used to convey how the world is doing and what is happening, is it smart to censor all the bad stuff? Even though it’s really happening? The act of censorship is against the First Amendment. What threatens the First Amendment more than any isolated instance of censorship is the unifying factor of all censorship companies is the presumption that “bad speech” causes “bad behavior” and that the government officials have the right to distinguish between good and bad speech (Taylor 36). An interesting fact about the main censoring company, The PMRC, they have only ever censored rap and rock albums, never country, opera, and comedy. All of which at one time or another have had a controversial song (American). The number one cited book for inspiration for crime is…The Holy Bible (American). And yet this book has yet to be censored.

What’s Up With That??? The individuals that are for censorship are trying to impose their morals and standards upon the rest of the population, which as said before would imperil the First Amendment (American). Another problem with censorship is keeping artists from expressing them selves and making a living like a productive citizen. The PMRC tries to label songs with lyrics relating to sexuality, violence, drugs, alcohol, suicide, or the occult. Therefore restricting sales for record companies and artists alike (American). Which prevents them from making a living and supporting themselves. With albums labeled as “unfit” many major chain stores refuse to sell them, making it hard for fans to buy the albums (American). I don’t know about you but I hate when I try to find a CD and its not sold because it is unfit. John Logan once said, “Labeling doesn’t help parents or children. All it means is someone thinks the lyrics aren’t for children. It’s up to the parents!” (American). So if censorship threatens the First Amendment and you can’t buy your favorite bands new CD because it is labeled “unfit” for someone else’s children, is it really worth it?

Because of the PMRC, “Musically Induced Crime”, and censorship something must be done. An unknown author, once said the main thing that needs to be done about “Musically Induced Crime”, “I still believe that individuals, not the music bear responsibility for violence,” (Free 80). There is another man who agrees with this his name is John Logan, and he said, “ Musicians should not be held responsible for the action of an unstable person,” (American). With that said I ask one thing. Please all of you unstable people don’t listen to music and the go commit crimes. I ask this of you because you’re causing a lot of problems for innocent people. Even though there has never been a link made between anti-social behavior and exposure to any form of artistic expression, (American) please stay away from music. To get rid of the PMRC here is what needs to be done. Parents need to listen to the music their children listen to and they need to stop letting the PMRC make decisions for them. What are the advantages to this plan you may ask? Well the main thing is it keeps the parents informed about what’s going on in the world that their children are growing up in, and the parents may even like the music, which can help bring families together.

So now you are aware of the fact “Musically Induced Crime” is a made up term that the PMRC and lawyers use to censor and give crimes motives, and that censorship is threatening to your own freedom of speech I hope you fell the same way I do. The only way to fight the beast of censorship is to accept responsibility for you actions! Parent need to listen to the music their kids listen to and stop letting the PMRC make decisions for them.

Comments

[Fritz621]

alrighty guys i know this sucks so feel free to give any advice so i can change stuff before i turn it into my teacher thanx!

[smartguytaytay]

Alright, it looks pretty good info wise and citation wise, but i would make it a little more formal (get rid of extra !'s, punctuation etc) cause it seems like it adds emphasis but it's really just a distraction, then spell out PMRC the first time, cause i still don't know what it stands for, then from "with that said. . . to . . . stay away from music." i would just get rid of cause it doesn't fit

[Fritz621]

smartguytaytay wrote:

Alright, it looks pretty good info wise and citation wise, but i would make it a little more formal (get rid of extra !'s, punctuation etc) cause it seems like it adds emphasis but it's really just a distraction, then spell out PMRC the first time, cause i still don't know what it stands for, then from "with that said. . . to . . . stay away from music." i would just get rid of cause it doesn't fit

thanx i know it didnt fit well but i needed more shit to take up space

[BenRaah]

Tim Araya, bassist and vocalist for Slayer he told press...

That made me cringe...

[Fritz621]

oh damn!!! i really wish that Word had a grammar check!!! lol

[BenRaah]

Haha, i'm not really sure a grammar check would know that the Slayer frontman is called Tom, not Tim...

[Fritz621]

OH BTW THIS IS MY ROUGH DRAFT!!

[BenRaah]

lol

[clasp]

you have some fragments. consider a sentence like "Even though it’s about police brutality (Hamm 42)."
But a good read too.

[Fritz621]

haahahahahahahah yeah i didnt notice that one lol and the he told press part is horrible

[doaksnyder]

I would start off by quoting one of the old time songs that you refer to at the very beginning. Get the song and artist, and then quote the cop killing lyrics. That will lend a lot more credence to your argument.

Also, what the hell is PMRC?

Another thing you could do is to introduce a counterpoint and then rip it to shreds. Maybe talk about Manson's love of "Helter Skelter" and then turn the argument against them.

[Fritz621]

OK PMRC PARENTS MUSIC RESOURCE CENTER..... the little explicit lyrics label..... BAM handy work of the PMRC.... anyone who has heard about Dee Snyder? (if thats how you spell it) the court hearings he went to to argue with them thats the PMRC

[Fritz621]

I would start off by quoting one of the old time songs that you refer to at the very beginning. Get the song and artist, ..... I shot the sherrifffff lol bob marley

[seek_&_destroy]

doaksnyder wrote:
Also, what the hell is PMRC?

might i recommend the song "Hook in Mouth" by Megadeth?:P

on topic, i HATE it when the media uses music as scapegoats.. it's Columbine and Virginia Tech all over.. Marilyn Manson(whose music, for the record, i don't particularly like) has it right - the real question is why didn't anybody talk to these kids.. i mean they obviously have problems, and ppl should open their eyes and ask them about it.

[doaksnyder]

I shot the sherrifffff lol bob marley

Good...that's the one I was thinking of too. I couldn't think of any others. Go ahead and state that in your first paragraph as an instance. It makes your point stronger.

Also, put in what PMRC stands for.

[Fritz621]

yes i completly agree with the thing about Marilyn Manson... I Hate his music and him *he creeps me out* but as much as i despise him i understand that his music did nothing to cause Columbine. And just like the guys in my paper said... the music had no influence it was drugs. prolly some lack of drugs *prescription* as well but yeah ill look at the megadeth song and c if i can use it... Thanx

[whippingpost]

Is the assignment to present your viewpoint, or just to write an informative essay. If it's supposed to be an informative essay, then you are a little one-sided. You should offer supporting arguments for both sides (that includes those for censorship). Present both sides equally and let the reader decide where they stand. If it's a viewpoint, then you've got that down.

Proofread it several times for spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Then have someone else proofread it.

[Fritz621]

the point is a Persuasive Essay... yeah our teach is proof reading these for us but she hasnt returned them yet.. so i figured i post it up here to see what i need to do... thanx for reading and commenting

[Vrstone87]

Guys, Dee Snyder of Twisted Sister was put on the spot for this years ago, and the verdict came out as music is open for interpretation just as is poetry and art. If they want to be so pessimistic on the effects of musical lyrics, why are they not also calling out on painters for haunting images such as Van Gogh's "Starry Night" as well?

[no.mop]

why does it say (Weiner) a lot?

[Fritz621]

lol No.mop it says (Weiner) cause its my citation for the Author of the article i got that quote from lol

[musiclover_92]

very interesting article

[gnomieowns]

yeah, i'd give it an A after the grammatical and other aforementioned corrections

[Fritz621]

Thanks!

[m4l666]

You make a v. good point, it's not music's fault!

[mrbiscuits315]

I would add a paragrapgh about the birth of the PMRC and really rape the hell out of it.

[aliAn-zap]

haha..how about some serial killer music like cannibal corpse

[Tatersalad1080]

this is way too informal
you make good points but your spelling/grammar is a lttle off as well.
see if you can get it checked by an english teacher and ask him/her for advice as you need to rearrange this piece so it more formal

Checked.

[Bodom69]

Hello!? am i the only one who noticed thats its TOM araya not Tim. fix that and your straight. **** the industry son.

[Fritz621]

na your not the only one... i seen it after i submitted it..... my final draft of this just got rejected and idk why its better than this one

[jesusofthearbys]

You have grammatical problems. The sentence beginning with "even though" in the first paragraph is a sentence fragment, and in the last paragraph you say "you" when you mean to say "your." There might be others, I was just glancing.
Try not to begin in the first paragraph with quotation. This paragraph should be a thesis, and preferably not include a quotation, but rather your own idea.
I also agree that this is way too informal.
I'm not trying to give you shit; I'm just telling you my advice, because I'm a sophomore also.

[Fritz621]

I POSTED MY FINAL IN MY BLOGS SO GO THERE TO READ! ITS BEEND DENIED BY UG 3 TIMES...LOL

[ReiDSaN]

I don't mind that this was posted but is it really what UG is for?

[whatamidoinhere]

I thought the title said 'Does Music Cause Immortality In Teens?'

That woulda been wayyyy more interesting

[blackcatz]

whatamidoinhere wrote:

I thought the title said 'Does Music Cause Immortality In Teens?'

That woulda been wayyyy more interesting

Haha I thought so too.

As for the essay, I loved the issue it raises. It's about time people stop blaming Marilyn Manson for everything that's wrong with the world.

By the way, if I were you I'd consider revising the conclusion. Try to make it have such an impact that people who have read it won't forget it.

[Fritz621]

Final draft is posted in my blogs so check it

[Ramco]

Sounds like someone's parents threw out his CDs and posters.

[Fritz621]

lol na my rents wouldnt do that, as i said i had to write a paper for english class and this was one of the topics my teacher gave us so i chose this one

[guilty]

First of all, why parents decide what music we should listen to? Our parents raise us but they don't control us completely, we all have to find our selves. What if we like those songs? they don't tell us what to listen,..

[registered_user]

i thought it said immortality at first

[weorge]

ok , firstly if this is an essay, you have to give other peoples opinion, their reasons, and then tear them down in the conclusion. secondly the cesorers anr e very naive to think that kids don't listen to music that swears, (by the way swearing is considered innapropiat becuase it is blasphemy, there for restricting peoples right to not be christian)the only things that should be sensored are torture, abuse, terrorist encouqraging. the parents should decide if ther kids can listen to sex songs, as long as there realistic, 11 year olds no about it.

[weorge]

but anyone who blames music, or films or games for crime is patronising and stupid , and very easily impressionable.

[Sharp531]

whatamidoinhere wrote:

I thought the title said 'Does Music Cause Immortality In Teens?'

That woulda been wayyyy more interesting

I thought it said that too.
I need to pay more attention haha

[GNRrocka]

Sharp531 wrote:

whatamidoinhere wrote:

I thought the title said 'Does Music Cause Immortality In Teens?'

That woulda been wayyyy more interesting

I thought it said that too.
I need to pay more attention haha

dude me to I was like hmm.. this could be interesting

[swaggerman]

Sharp531 wrote:

whatamidoinhere wrote:

I thought the title said 'Does Music Cause Immortality In Teens?'

That woulda been wayyyy more interesting


I thought it said that too.
I need to pay more attention haha

ditto

Sharp531 wrote:

whatamidoinhere wrote:

I thought the title said 'Does Music Cause Immortality In Teens?'

That woulda been wayyyy more interesting


I thought it said that too.
I need to pay more attention haha

ditto

[swaggerman]

looks good, i'd give it an A

[swaggerman]

crap! sorry about the double post above, im kinda new at this

[shredder51]

It's totally up to parents to decide what music their kids can listen to. Because of the PMRC, I can't buy half of the music I listen to. Thankfully my dad likes most of the music that I listen to, so he ends up buying most of it. Screw the Gore family! (not literally)

[nodice182]

how old are you?

some of the expression is pretty awkward/incorrect

eg "more than any isolated instance of censorship is the unifying factor of all censorship companies is the

it's also a bit too coloquial sometimes

eg " What’s Up With That??? "

you make a few good points but some of your arguments arent very convincing/pointless, like saying the bible should be banned because it is allegedly an inspiration for crime.

unless you do actually believe that the bible should be banned (in which case you believe in the censorship of texts, which goes against the rest of your argument), don't argue for it.

also that part where you talk about opera music not being censored. i can't recall an opera that's ever suggested the shooting of police officers. to compare opera to rap and then say it's unfair that one is heavily censored and one is not is to ignore what makes rap controversial in the first place. don't make that argument.

don't refer to yourself or your personal feelings, as in "I don't know about you", etc. Simply make your case using the evidence you have.

you use the word 'unfit' way too much in that one paragraph.

also, your headline is misleading.

"never been a link made between anti-social behavior and exposure to any form of artistic expression."

yes there has. music can inspire people to commit henious acts- ie, helter skelter. but that isn't to say it MADE them do it. the people were clearly unhinged to begin with. the evil doesn't come from the music, it comes from the people who are listening to it.

13 years old= A+
15 years old= B
16 years old= C
17 years old= D

[deargod12]

nodice182 wrote:

how old are you?

some of the expression is pretty awkward/incorrect

eg "more than any isolated instance of censorship is the unifying factor of all censorship companies is the

it's also a bit too coloquial sometimes

eg " What’s Up With That??? "

you make a few good points but some of your arguments arent very convincing/pointless, like saying the bible should be banned because it is allegedly an inspiration for crime.

unless you do actually believe that the bible should be banned (in which case you believe in the censorship of texts, which goes against the rest of your argument), don't argue for it.

also that part where you talk about opera music not being censored. i can't recall an opera that's ever suggested the shooting of police officers. to compare opera to rap and then say it's unfair that one is heavily censored and one is not is to ignore what makes rap controversial in the first place. don't make that argument.

don't refer to yourself or your personal feelings, as in "I don't know about you", etc. Simply make your case using the evidence you have.

you use the word 'unfit' way too much in that one paragraph.

also, your headline is misleading.

"never been a link made between anti-social behavior and exposure to any form of artistic expression."

yes there has. music can inspire people to commit henious acts- ie, helter skelter. but that isn't to say it MADE them do it. the people were clearly unhinged to begin with. the evil doesn't come from the music, it comes from the people who are listening to it.

13 years old= A+
15 years old= B
16 years old= C
17 years old= D

i'm 13 and, not to bash on this author, but i can write a better rough draft than that. this would be like an F for me.

[deargod12]

added to that, to compensate for reducing the author, i know plenty of people older than me that would have trouble writing something like this. the article was good, but definitely needs grammar improvements and so on, and you probably shouldn't mention the Bible because then you would be going on another subject altogether. with improvements, though, you might get and A or a B

[Fritz621]

Yeah after i rewrote it i got a B+ on it but i typed this at 3am the night before it was due so thats what the grammar **** ups come from

[Found By Fate]

Eh, decent.... I really enjoy the topic, but then again it could be written better (no offense haha). At least it's your rough draft lol it's not bad tho

[Ditto100]

FIRST of ALL . ALL MUSIC HAS AN INFLUENCE ! NOW whether that inflence is good or bad , depends on the person who takes it into their personality . ADD Drugs and or Alcohol and you have the posibilty of ANY Possiable outcome , and influenced based ACTIONS . YOU Listen to lyrics calling for murder and or suicide continuesly with drugs and or alcohol induced thinking , one who is weak minded can easily be swayed to that agenda , and then come to themselves and say , I dont know why we did it . And one can say cause of music , and another say the drugs and or alcohol caused it . I will say IT was BOTH . EVERYTHING especially Music has one of the greatest influences in everyone , including young and old . IT can go from hearing tear in my beer , to tears in ones eyes, to kill them all , to anger and emotions that wont be denied . And do you honestly believe a guy who murdered and was strung out on drugs , really knows Why , as well ? I could sell you a bridge if you do !! I dont agree with censorship as a whole , BUT however i do agree with censoring age appropriate material to those of age who's mind is able to comprehend the life that they have to live .And i can tell you Numbers doesnt make the age . Anyway good writing , however Facts should be stated Facts , allegations , should be left allegations, and the TRUTH should never be left out of anything . Unless you label it fiction to start with .
MUSIC has one of the greatest Influences on most ALL young minded people , no matter the number or year they were born .

[bigshoes=]

when writing essays, never use rhetoric, especially when u write "whats up with that????" you shouldnt ask the audience you should just tell them

[Megadeth2011]

Why not just use Megadeth's Hook In Mouth lyrics? Dave pwnd ur ass on this topic.

[slayer1516]

You had some godd points, but this article lacks structure, formaility and an introduction. You just jump into the middle of the subject, and you use lots of informal slang. C+

[hortonishockey1]

nice a+

[whiplash13]

shredder51 wrote:

It's totally up to parents to decide what music their kids can listen to. Because of the PMRC, I can't buy half of the music I listen to. Thankfully my dad likes most of the music that I listen to, so he ends up buying most of it. Screw the Gore family! (not literally)

Why would your dad have to buy it? Do you live near one of those extremely anal stores that refuses to sell albums with stickers to kids?

I don't think you could have picked a better topic to write about. Without going into a rant, people, especially parents, use music and other media as a scapegoat for bad things happening because they can't face reality and realize that whether they want to accept it or not, there are/were other problems involved, maybe even problems that could have been prevented.

Ditto100, of course someone that abuses drugs or alcohol could be at a higher risk of doing something crazy like you said, but that would be the drugs making them more likely to do something, NOT the music. For example, take the kids that killed themselves because Judas Priest "told them to". They both came from abusive families and were drug abusers themselves. The kids' parents sued the band, blaming them for their sons' deaths, when in reality, if they weren't such shitty parents, their kids would still be alive. If they didn't abuse their kids, chances are the kids wouldn't have gotten into drugs because they would have had a positive influence from their parents.

To the OP, if this is supposed to be a non-biased paper, calling something a "made-up load of junk" probably isn't the best way to go (even though it's true ). Now, if you can use evidence and prove it's a load of junk without showing an obvious bias, then that should be a guaranteed A (unless your teacher really hates you). You might reference the Judas Priest case I talked about, a classic case where it was proved that the music had nothing whatsoever to do with what happened. Either way, good luck.

[Myshadow46_2]

Looking at the date this was posted: it is probably too late to advise that the PRMC never censored any music. They got the Parental Guidance sticker introduced and had a hand in some album artwork being altered or sold over the counter. This, of course, helped most of those artists increase sales. No artists taken to court by the PRMC have ever been charged because of the first amendmant. Again, the cases helped the artists. The only negative effect on a band, that I can recall, is that The Dead Kennedys broke up after a long court battle (which they won) because of the financial commitments associated with the trial.

[dial-a-death]

some points to add-

Rob Halford/ Judas Priest--"subliminal messages" telling people to commit suicide- cleared

Nirvana- 2 men raped a girl while singing Polly (can't remember the outcome)

Ozzy Ousbourne- Someone comitted suicide after listening to "Suicide Solutions"- cleared because lyrics were against killing yourself slowly with drugs/booze/cigarettes

[kattaway96]

Good Points, but really the PMRC and those pesky parental warnings help musicians make a living, because a lot of parents don't even pay attention to them, and they make kids want to buy the album to piss of their parents. Also, the warning labe is sometimes a little sticker on the plastic that the cd is wrapped in, and can easily be peeled off. And BTW its Tom Araya.

[thatwhiteguy69]

ok as much as i deny the title of thie article, if you apply a sociological outlook on it, it seems plausable.

i mean: the media is one of the strongest influences on the youth of todays world aside from their peers.

The media that curculates and is accepted by a group can affect their judgement and therefore their actions if they have not had other ideologies instilled from other sources(this notion excludes the case of people with certain mental diseases such as psychosis or ahsburgers(not how it is spelled, but it is a rare form of autism that affects the subjects quick response judgements of what is wrong and right).

And when the persons direct social influences(similiarly aged family, friends, and other social networks) also accept the ideology, it will further affect how seriously the person takes the lyrics in.

lets take a look at some newer metal that has curculated, two lyrical examples that show how ingrained ideas of how they should act would correlate or deny what lyrics are saying.

the names of songs and bands will be excluded becuase i dont remember their names, but i assure you they are from actual songs:

"kiss the curb, while i stomp your head"
now to most this may seem like atrocious violence, alot of todays youth is in fact faced with this type of thing due to power strugles between conflicting groups of peers. I.E. gang violence. most fans of metal might not consider themselves in gangs, alot of the younger population that are faced with this type of violence find that the only way of preventing it happening to them, is to show that they will do worse damage. "survival of the fittest" to state how a Darwinist might look at it.

with that said:
"chainsaw to the pus$y, You'll bleed inside"
this too would be considered by most to be another act of atrocious violence. but the difference is the frequency of the two examples occuring. while one might be faced with gang violence on a daily basis, they(hopefully) dont witness this type of horrid mutilation. The regularity of the first example leads to it occuring out of self preservation in a sense, simply becuase it is a reality in daily life for some, while the second is something that wouldnt normally occur, with the exeption to the afore mentioned mentally ill.

to wrap this up i would like to say i still think that the title is bull, unless your a psychopath with a chainsaw at your disposal, and if thats the case, you probably shouldnt be listening to something that might give you any bad ideas, because as i said, your a bloody loon.