impact of music essays

impact of music essays Fifteen people died on April 20th 1999. Two misunderstood teens went to school and killed 12 people and then themselves(Manson). On October 6th, 1998 a man was beaten, robbed and left tied to a fence. He died 6 days later(Boston). Both of these cases are a focus for something that no one would ever think could cause such harm. Music. Both of these have a focus of music and the negative impact that it has on the youth. Music is a way to express your self, an outlet for emotions and personal issues. It is also a place to force ideas and opinions on a mass of thousands. People can relate to it on many different levels. But who should be responsible for the actions it provokes? Should the artist or the parents? What can we as average citizens do? Some say that music should be rated and in some cases banned. One such person would be Tipper Gore. Back in 1985 she was listening to her daughters Prince album Purple Rain. The album contained a song Darling Nikki about a woman who was masturbating with a magazine. The song continued with a sexual tone. She felt this was not proper for her, or any other child to listen to. She and other concerned parents founded the PMRC Parent Music Resource Center. They wanted a standard rating system for all albums to alert parents of the content. Such ratings as V for violence and X for sex related (Holland). Many musicians fought against the PMRC. Artists like Dee Snider (of Twisted Sister) and John Denver fought for the case of artists free speech. The result was not a standard set of ratings but one black and white sticker with the words, Parental Advisory Explicit Content. This was to be on all albums containing content not suitable for minors. The record companies would decide which albu m was to be stickered. Fifteen years later we are still arguing over free speech and what should be available to children and teens. The youth of Am...