In 1990, that black and white parental advisory warning label (that we are all now so familiar with) began to appear on music albums. Albums with this label are considered to contain excessive amounts of explicit content, usually in the form of offensive language or descriptions of sex and/or violence. The logo may appear on the album of any genre of music, though it is most commonly displayed on rap/hip-hop or rock albums. Some retailers, like Wal-Mart, will not carry any album with this label, while other stores prohibit the sales of these albums to any one under the age of seventeen. However, there fails to be a clear-cut set of rules that defines what does and what does not qualify art as explicit material. Looking back, some of the greatest musical albums of all time have contained “explicit” material. Does their language detract from their innovation? Should they be less accessible to the public because of their choice of diction? I believe that the parental advisory has outlived itself and should be removed from all future albums.
Music is perhaps one of the most universal forms of expression. Music speaks from and to the soul. It defies language and geographical barriers unlike most other forms of art. You don’t even need to speak the language to understand the music. Just because I don’t speak Korean, it doesn’t make the music any less enjoyable for me to listen to it. And most Saudi Arabians don’t understand what the heck Bon Jovi is talking about in his Livin’ on a Prayer; this doesn’t stop them from coming out in the tens of thousands to attend his concerts there. Diction is only a piece of the music. To judge a song solely based on its lyrics strips away the very soul of the material. Bob Dylan, one of the greatest and most influential musicians of all time, wrote songs that, at times, seem a bit nonsensical and incomprehensible, and yet they changed the world. Art is meant to evoke – it is meant to make people think. Just because someone is under the age of 17, it does not mean she is incapable of understanding art.
Welcome to the Jungle, a Guns ‘n’ Roses song, was on one of the first rock albums to receive a parental advisory. That song speaks greatly to the anger and turmoil many teenagers feel. Suddenly they are being pushed into this strange and adult world where life is, quite simply, a jungle. The song is in fact based on the band’s experiences when coming to L.A. at a young age. Life is not filtered. If art is a commentary or a representation of life, how can it be true to form if it is censored? You don’t have the luxury of a warning in the real world. But more than anything I’ve already mentioned, if there are expletives in the song, if it is of a very violent or sexual nature, it has every right to be. The artist is the one who gets to make that call, not the patron. You always have the choice not to buy something. If Eminem is further able to express his point, his feelings, his art through a vehicle of a predominately violent expression, then there is no reason in the world he shouldn’t do so. Where is the faith in the artist? If there is explicit content you have to assume it’s there for a reason and, whether or not you agree personally, that reason is good enough for the artist.
By removing the parental advisory warnings, music will become less restricted, and it will have the ability to reach more people. Music can change a person’s life, but who has the right to decide what music touches you? Yes there would certainly be an outcry by some parents, but it is up to them to set the rules for their own household. They certainly do not have the right to impose their beliefs on my ability to listen to Prince or Busta Rhymes or Linkin’ Park. It is the responsibility of the parents to regulate their own kids; this is not the music industry’s obligation. Art is an expression of the artist. Michelangelo felt that his purpose was better served by sculpting the David as a nude. Should we cover it up because some parent is offended at the idea of nudity? Should we warn them that their children will tainted by the exposure to a statue of a naked man? Most individuals would never dream of doing such a thing. Yet, for some reason, these same individuals would ban their children from listening to Justin Timberlake’s Future Sex/Love Sounds or Metallica’s St. Anger. Art is at the discretion of the artist and it is the sole responsibility of the patron to use his or her own judgment to support or not support that work.