Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
What do Frank Zappa, Dee Snider, and John Denver have in common? A fierce love of the First Amendment.
In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Blake and Scott unpack the strange, star-studded circus that was the 1985 PMRC Senate hearings, where musicians faced off against Tipper Gore and her crusade for warning labels on music.
Digging into the bizarre unity of avant-garde snark, glam metal fury, and folk-pop sincerity, the guys discuss how this unlikely free-speech dream team of artists spoke truth to power in front of a room full of very serious senators.
Who gets to decide what’s “appropriate,” and what happens when government, art, and fear collide?
Featuring testimony that still echoes today in an algorithm-governed media landscape, it’s part courtroom drama, part culture war, and part rock ‘n’ roll roast
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL: youtube.com/stringjoy?sub_confirmation=1
SIGN UP FOR OUR EMAIL LIST: manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=UemY8r&g=VmVi9a
WHAT'S OUR DEAL?
Stringjoy is a boutique guitar string manufacturer located in Music City—Nashville, TN. Through innovative designs, first-rate materials, and labor-intensive winding techniques, we make it our mission to craft the finest strings in the world, bar none.
FIND US AT...
Our Homebase: stringjoy.com
Instagram: instagram.com/stringjoy
TikTok: tiktok.com/@stringjoy
Facebook: facebook.com/stringjoy
Twitter: twitter.com/stringjoystaff
This YouTube video and all associated audio-visual content are provided under license from Tone Mob LLC. Any reproduction, redistribution, public performance, or other use beyond personal viewing is prohibited without the express written permission of Tone Mob LLC.
What do Frank Zappa, Dee Snider, and John Denver have in common? A fierce love of the First Amendment.
In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Blake and Scott unpack the strange, star-studded circus that was the 1985 PMRC Senate hearings, where musicians faced off against Tipper Gore and her crusade for warning labels on music.
Digging into the bizarre unity of avant-garde snark, glam metal fury, and folk-pop sincerity, the guys discuss how this unlikely free-speech dream team of artists spoke truth to power in front of a room full of very serious senators.
Who gets to decide what’s “appropriate,” and what happens when government, art, and fear collide?
Featuring testimony that still echoes today in an algorithm-governed media landscape, it’s part courtroom drama, part culture war, and part rock ‘n’ roll roast
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL: youtube.com/stringjoy?sub_confirmation=1
SIGN UP FOR OUR EMAIL LIST: manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=UemY8r&g=VmVi9a
WHAT'S OUR DEAL?
Stringjoy is a boutique guitar string manufacturer located in Music City—Nashville, TN. Through innovative designs, first-rate materials, and labor-intensive winding techniques, we make it our mission to craft the finest strings in the world, bar none.
FIND US AT...
Our Homebase: stringjoy.com
Instagram: instagram.com/stringjoy
TikTok: tiktok.com/@stringjoy
Facebook: facebook.com/stringjoy
Twitter: twitter.com/stringjoystaff
This YouTube video and all associated audio-visual content are provided under license from Tone Mob LLC. Any reproduction, redistribution, public performance, or other use beyond personal viewing is prohibited without the express written permission of Tone Mob LLC.
