Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In 1985, a group of concerned DC Parents wanted to try and censor music they viewed as too harmful to children. The fight went all the way to Congress.
➤ Support this channel with my Patreon!: patreon.com/emperortigerstar
Music used:
"Vibing Over Venus" and "Rock Harder" by Kevin MacLeod
Sources:
- Chastagner, Claude. “The Parents’ Music Resource Center: From Information to Censorship.” Popular Music 18, no. 2 (1999): 179–92. jstor.org/stable/853600.
- Cutietta, Robert. “Rock Music Gets a Label.” Music Educators Journal 72, no. 8 (1986): 36–38. doi.org/10.2307/3396657.
- Deflem, Mathieu. 2020. “Popular Culture and Social Control: The Moral Panic on Music Labeling.” American Journal of Criminal Justice 45(1):2-24.
- FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 U.S. 726 (1978) supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/438/726
- Harrington, Richard. “Discord on Record Warning.” The Washington Post, August 28, 1995. washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/08/29/discord-on-record-warning/103c9178-7991-46ac-9cf7-4886ba656280/.
- Molotsky, Irvin. “Hearing On Rock Lyrics.” The New York Times, September 20, 1985, sec. C. timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1985/09/20/issue.html
- congress.gov/bill/99th-congress/house-bill/2911 (For the Blank Tape Tax bill proposed in 1985)
Full PMRC Hearings: youtube.com/watch?v=Cr3lvb6hNjs
Nightline (ABC) September 13, 1985: youtube.com/watch?v=Llg0IYBHhAU
In 1985, a group of concerned DC Parents wanted to try and censor music they viewed as too harmful to children. The fight went all the way to Congress.
➤ Support this channel with my Patreon!: patreon.com/emperortigerstar
Music used:
"Vibing Over Venus" and "Rock Harder" by Kevin MacLeod
Sources:
- Chastagner, Claude. “The Parents’ Music Resource Center: From Information to Censorship.” Popular Music 18, no. 2 (1999): 179–92. jstor.org/stable/853600.
- Cutietta, Robert. “Rock Music Gets a Label.” Music Educators Journal 72, no. 8 (1986): 36–38. doi.org/10.2307/3396657.
- Deflem, Mathieu. 2020. “Popular Culture and Social Control: The Moral Panic on Music Labeling.” American Journal of Criminal Justice 45(1):2-24.
- FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 U.S. 726 (1978) supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/438/726
- Harrington, Richard. “Discord on Record Warning.” The Washington Post, August 28, 1995. washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/08/29/discord-on-record-warning/103c9178-7991-46ac-9cf7-4886ba656280/.
- Molotsky, Irvin. “Hearing On Rock Lyrics.” The New York Times, September 20, 1985, sec. C. timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1985/09/20/issue.html
- congress.gov/bill/99th-congress/house-bill/2911 (For the Blank Tape Tax bill proposed in 1985)
Full PMRC Hearings: youtube.com/watch?v=Cr3lvb6hNjs
Nightline (ABC) September 13, 1985: youtube.com/watch?v=Llg0IYBHhAU
