Crossfire Interview & Censorship

Upon watching this interview today, a number of things popped into my head that I wish to discuss...

Before elaborating, I want to make it clear that I am mostly on Zappa's side concerning censorship regulations in music.  I'm also aware that he is in a very hot seat with two aggressive (well, mainly John Lofton) interrogators and he did a great job of staying true to be his point.

That being said, I feel a bit perturbed by his responses. 

First, I think that the continual emphasis that Zappa puts on how the board is merely censoring words is a bit of a cop-out.  Obviously, the censoring of the so-called 7 naughty words can indeed be over-conservative and useless but I think that Tom Braden and Bob Novak make a valid point that it is not the mere use of these swear words.  Although they bring up issues with current musicians having songs about incest and whatnot, Zappa continues to say that they are just words.  Freedom of speech or not, I believe that there should be some sort of control over what is being mass produced to a large body of individuals.

I personally have no problem with Zappa's own use of crudeness primarily because it is more often then not done in a satirical or humorous fashion.  Other artists depict absolutely horrific events and whatnot in a more serious manner.  I can think of dozens of rap songs that include lyrics that depict horrendous violence, promote misogyny and homophobia and even glorify rape.  I believe that it is not only acceptable but even necessary to include some sort of warning label on music albums with this sort of content.  Young people, who generally are very influenced by the media, aren't always able to decipher satire from lyrics or let alone know what to think about serious accounts of problematic lyrics.

While I do agree that the censoring board almost always goes overboard in determining what is explicit and what isn't, and promotes the idea that this is a "national issue", I still think there is certainly some validity in what they're saying and that warning labels on music can be, at times, necessary.

Sorry, Frank.