Thursday, August 30, 2012

On the Cover of a Magazine - 1985



vt1_(69).jpg
In 1985, the song, "Dress You Up" was the subject of much media attention, when it was included on the Parents Music Resource Center's (PMRC) "Filthy Fifteen" list, for the perceived sexual content of its lyrics. The Center's founder Tipper Gore had heard her daughter listening to the song, and considered the line "Gonna dress you up in my love" as exemplifying 'vulgar music'. The PMRC called upon the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to give parents a consumer-friendly means of identifying rock records unsuitable for minors – a rating system based on lyrical content. "Dress You Up" received a rating of 'S', for "sex and obscenity", from the RIAA. 

Gore commented on the song: "Popular culture is morally bankrupt, flagrantly licentious and utterly materialistic—and Madonna is the worst of all." According to Bruce David Forbes and H. Mahan in their book Religion and Popular Culture in America, Madonna's fans took the attitude "Can't you cultural conservatives see what she is trying to do—to annoy people like you! If you don't like it, don't listen to it. Stop trying to police my morality!" 

The campaign was ultimately successful and led to the creation of the Parental Advisory sticker.

3 comments:

  1. I love it how they had her on the cover, because she was never rock. They just added her to the cover to sell magazines.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's 'rock' in the large sense of the word!

      Delete
  2. I added some more info based on the article. Check it out!

    ReplyDelete