[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 6] [Senate] [Pages 7623-7626] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]MUSIC IN OUR CULTURE Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I have some comments I will make today following what has happened in Colorado, the Columbine tragedy that occurred this last week which has caused all of us really to reflect on the causes and the cures. As we mourn the loss of so many precious young lives, we really have to ask ourselves, how did we get to this place? Why do so many young people with so much going for them in their lives have such despair and so much hate? Obviously, there are no easy answers and certainly no silver bullets. There are many factors which led those two young men to don trench coats and kill, just as there were many factors that resulted in the shootings in Jonesboro, Paducah, Pearl, and Springfield, communities the names of which have become all too familiar to us via school tragedies where a child has killed other children. But there are enough common factors that I believe we can start to pull together some ideas as to what is causing this and some solutions. One of the most obvious conclusions is this: The immersion of troubled kids in a violence-glorifying culture is a recipe for disaster. Monday, I addressed this body on the need for a commission on cultural renewal. Today, I would like to address the importance of one of the most important elements that makes up our culture, and that is our music. In many ways the music industry is more influential than anything that happens here in Washington. Most people spend far more time listening to music than watching C-SPAN or reading the newspaper. They are more likely to recognize musicians than Senators--I guess maybe unless the Senators sing. And they spend more time thinking about music than about government. All of those can seem to be some fairly trite statements, but when you look at what we are putting out in the music and then ask that question, it takes on a different color. Of course, no one spends more time listening to music than the young people. In fact, one recent study conducted by the Carnegie Foundation concluded that the average teenager listens to music around 4 hours a day--about 4 hours a day. In contrast, they spend less than an hour a day on homework or reading, less than 20 minutes a day talking with mom, and less than 5 minutes a day talking with dad. If this study is true, there are thousands, perhaps even tens or hundreds of thousands, of teens who spend more time listening to the music of such artists as Marilyn Manson or Master P than mom or dad. In fact, Marilyn Manson himself said this: Music is such a powerful medium now. The kids don't even know who the President is, but they know what's on TV. I think if anyone like Hitler or Mussolini were alive now, they'd have to be rock stars. Over the past few years, I have grown increasingly concerned with the popularity of some lyrics, lyrics which glorify violence and devalue life. Some recent best selling albums have included graphic descriptions of murder, torture, and rape. Women are objectified, often in the most degrading ways. Songs such as Prodigy's ``Smack My B. . . Up'' or ``Don't Trust a B. . .'' by [[Page 7624]] the group Mo' Thugs actively encourage animosity or even violence towards women. A few years ago, the alternative group ``Nine Inch Nails'' enjoyed critical and commercial success with their song ``Big Man With a Gun,'' which described forcing a woman into oral sex and shooting her in the head at point-blank range. I brought along a few examples of the kind of music I am talking about. Each of the Marilyn Manson songs shown here are from his 1996 album ``Anti-Christ Superstar,'' an album which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard charts. These are some of the song lyrics that you can look at. I want to point it out because it is about the culture of violence and the culture of death, and they may be unpleasant words for us to look at, but when these debut at No. 3 on the Billboard charts, when that song wraps itself around one's inside, when it wraps around a person's soul, it has an impact just as significant as when we might listen to John Philip Sousa's music and it makes us feel patriotic and uplifted or a love song makes us loving. Violent, hateful, misogynistic music encourages that in us as will violence come from hate music. Look at this: Marilyn Manson, ``Irresponsible Hate Anthem'' (Anti-Christ Superstar) on Nothing/Interscope Records I'm so all-American, I'd sell you suicide I am totalitarian, I've got abortions in my eyes I hate the hater, I'd rape the raper I am the animal who will not be himself F*** it Hey victim, should I black your eyes again? Hey victim, you were the one who put the stick in my hand I am the ism, my hate's a prism Let's just kill everyone and let your god sort them out F*** it Everybody's someone else's n**ger/I know you are so am I I wasn't born with enough middle fingers/I don't need to choose a side. ____ DMX, ``Get At Me Dog'' (It's Dark and Hell is Hot) on Def Jam Records/ Polygram Well in the back with ya fag*** a** face down Lucky that you breathin but you dead from the waist down The f*** is on your mind? Talking that s**t you be talkin And I bet you wish you never got hit cause you be walkin But s***t happens and f*** it, you gon' did ya dirt Because we wondering how the f*** you hid your skirt Right under their eye, master surprise to the guys And one of their mans was b**ch in disguise F*** home we capture with more hits and slaughter more kids. . . You know for real the n**ga came f**in sucked my d**k And it's gonna take all these n**gaz in the rap game To barely move me, cause when I blow s**t up I have n**gaz falling like white b**ches in a scary movie Ah, you know I don't know how to act Get too close to n**gaz, it's like: ``Protected by viper, stand back'' What's this, I thought n**gaz you was killas demented F*** y'all n**gaz callin' me coward finish him and send it. ____ Master P, ``Come and Get Some'' (Ghetto D) on No Limit/Priority Records I got friends running out the f***in' crack house I'm not P but I dumpin n**gas like Stackhouse They call me C-murder, I'm a member of the TRU clique You run up the wrong boy, you might get your wig split I'm known in the ghetto for slangin' narcotics Them feds be watchin but dem `hoes can't stop me s**t My game so tight ain't got no time fo slip-ups I come up short I'ma bust yo' f***in' lip up Cuz money and murder is the code that I live by Come to ya set and do a muthaf***in' walk-by Deep in the game, preparing for the worse (What about dem po po's) I wanna put them in a hearse They took me to jail wit 2 keys in the back trunk Fresh out of the county still smellin like about a buck If you want something, come and get somethin . . . ____ Dove Shack, ``Slap a `Ho'' (The Dove Shack) on Polygram Hello all you pimps and playas that got hoes out there that get outta line. You know the ones that's talking heads, but not giving head. They wanna be spoon-fed. You know the ones I'm talking about with no money, wanna be calling you honey? . . . Hey, if your gal is giving you problems (and I know she is) what I want you to do is . . . Run out and get the amazing Slap-a-Hoe device. This stupendous device will put any hard-headed, loud-mouth talking in public b**ch in check in less than 20 minutes. . . . Post up against that b**ch's tilt for a little bit, smack her around with the Slap-a-Hoe and I guarantee in less than 20 minutes that b**ch will be back in line . . . Hey, how do you keep hoes in check? Well god * * * *, I had more problems than O.J. But now, I reach back with 9.6 velocity and slap the snot out of the b**ch . . . I used to have all the problems in the world with dem hoes. Spending my last penny and not gettin' no p***y. But now, thanks to that amazing device, I invoke that touch and get twice as much . . . Brought to you by the makers of Slam-a-Ho and Drag-a-Ho. ____ Fiend, ``On a Mission'' (There's One in Every Family) on No Limit/ Piority Records N**ga you really f***ed up. We on a muthaf***in' mission . . . Retaliation is a must Dumpin rounds on my muthaf**in adversaries. N**ga, n**ga ridin dirty for revenge With my friends, I'm on a caper Ready to kill `em, if I see `em F*** alarm, hold my paper I'm a rider, so I leave `em where I left `em When I creep, n**gas sleep And they ain't restin til they deep up in concrete. . . . Loco this is the deal, let's put the gun To the small of his neck, we got caught up and blast Until there's nothing left . . . Pulled the trigga on my n**ga As the forty caliber shell, blew up in the neck Twice in the head, he was dead `fore his body hit the ground. Pull up next to the bodies, I was runnin' My dog's head was blew off . . . Hit the driver's side window, as they crash into a pole With a few left in the clip Some for the driver, the passenger, and the rest of the trigger men. If these were some off-beat records that were out in a few isolated places, you would probably say, well, you know, that is the price you pay for freedom, for a free culture. But these are not. These are top- of-the-chart hits that are out there playing endlessly in too many cases and even being marketed to a very troubled youth's mind. Are we really surprised, then, when some things happen that are pretty strange? That there seems to be so much violence and so much hatred out in this culture? Are we really that surprised? Should we be really that surprised? I hope people are listening and I hope they are looking. These are not obscure songs. They are immensely popular, and hugely profitable. They are backed by some of the largest, most prestigious corporations in our country and the world--Time-Warner, Seagrams/ Universal, Sony, Polygram, Viacom, BMG, and Thorne-EMI. I ask if any of the executives of these companies would allow their children to listen to this music? Would they? I hope not. Yet they are selling it and making millions. Many of my colleagues may not be familiar with these lyrics. Until the past couple of years, I wasn't, either. But most kids are very familiar with them. They make up a vital part of the cultural ocean in which they swim. The messages of these songs are heard over and over, until they are, at the least, familiar, and at worst, internalized. A little over a year ago, I chaired a hearing on the impact of violent music on young people. During this hearing, we heard a variety of witnesses testify on the effects of music lyrics that glorified violence, sexual torture, and suicide. We heard from the nation's experts on the subject. Their conclusion was unanimous: music helps shape our attitudes. This is important. Studies indicate that the average teenager listens to [[Page 7625]] music around four hours a day. It simply stands to reason that what we hear, and see, and experience cannot help but affect our attitudes and assumptions, and thus, our decisions and behavior. If it didn't, commercials wouldn't exist, and anyone who spent a dollar on advertising would be a fool. But advertising is a multi-billion dollar business. Why? Because it works. It creates an appetite for things we don't need, it affects the way we think, the things we want, and the things we buy. What we see and what we hear changes how we act. Thousands of years ago, the philosopher Plato noted ``Musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul, on which they mightily fasten.'' Can anybody listening to this today not readily pull up a song in their mind and listen to it right now? Because it wraps around their inner being. Unfortunately, perhaps the last sector of society to acknowledge the importance and effects of music is the music industry. In this hearing, I asked Hilary Rosen, the president of the Recording Industry Association of America, the trade organization of the music industry, the following questions. I asked, ``Who purchases Marilyn Manson albums? Do you know anything about the demographics of those who purchase these albums?'' She answered ``No.'' I asked, ``Have you looked at the demographic profile of those who purchase shock rock or gangsta rap records? She answered ``No.'' Later in her testimony, she asserted that ``the purchasers of this [Marilyn Manson's ``Anti-Christ Superstar'' album] album in retail stores are over the age of 17.'' I thought--I would be happy to be wrong about this, but somehow, I doubt that the majority of Marilyn Manson fans are out of their teens. The appeal of this music appears to be the greatest to teenagers--the very group of people who are supposed to be protected from it. But they're not. Let me be clear: I am opposed to censorship of music. I believe the first amendment ensures the widest possible latitude in allowing various forms of speech--including offensive, obnoxious speech. But the fact that lyrics which celebrate should be allowed does not mean that they should be given respectability. There are some forms of speech which should be thoroughly criticized and roundly stigmatized, even though they are allowed. Freedom of expression is not immunity from criticism. What we honor says as much about our national character as what we allow. There is an old saying ``Tell me what you love, and I'll tell you what you are.'' A love of violence, murder, mayhem, destruction, debasement and pain, as reflected in the popularity of gory movies, violent music, a burgeoning porn industry, grotesque video games, and sleazy television is a cause for national concern. What we honor and esteem as a people both reflects and affects our culture. We grow to resemble what we honor, and we become less like what we disparage. Glorifying violence in music is dangerous--Because a society that glorifies violence will grow more violent. When we refuse to criticize the gangsta rap songs that debase women, we send the message that treating women like chattel is not something to be upset about. Record companies that promote violent music implicitly push the idea that more people should listen to, purchase, and enjoy the sounds of slaughter. When MTV named Marilyn Manson the ``Best New Artist of the Year'' last year, they help him up as an example to be aspired to. Promoting violence as entertainment corrodes our nation from within. This is not a new idea. Virtually all of the Founding Fathers believed--even assumed--that nations rise and fall based on what they honor and what they discourage. Samuel Adams stated ``A general dissolution of principles and manner will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of a common enemy.'' Next week, we will have a hearing to explore whether violence is actually marketed to children. We have invited the presidents and CEOs of the big entertainment conglomerates--Time-Warner, Viacom, BMG Sony, Sega, Nintendo, Hasbro. We hope they will come and help us begin a fruitful discussion on what can be done to protect our children from entertainment which glorifies and glamorizes violence. Mr. President, I have gone on for some time, but I think this is critically important, particularly in light of what we experienced this past week that has shocked us as a nation and really caused us to ask why and what do we do to change. I think it perhaps was best summarized in a speech given by the Most Rev. Charles Chaput who is the Archbishop of Denver. Mr. President, he said this: As time passes, we need to make sense of the Columbine killings. The media are already filled with ``sound bites'' of shock and disbelief; psychologists, sociologists, grief counselors and law enforcement officers--all with their theories and plans. God bless them for it. We certainly need help. Violence is now pervasive in American society--in our homes, our schools, on our streets, in our cars as we drive home from work, in the news media, in the rhythms and lyrics of our music, in our novels, films and video games. It is so prevalent that we have become largely unconscious of it. But, as we discover in places like the hallways of Columbine High, it is bitterly, urgently real. The causes of this violence are many and complicated: racism, fears, selfishness. But in another, deeper sense, the cause is very simple: We're losing God, and in losing Him, we're losing ourselves. The complete contempt for human life shown by the young killers at Columbine is not an accident, or an anomaly, or a freak flaw in our social fabric. It's what we create when we live a contradiction . . . we can't market avarice and greed . . . and then hope that somehow our children will help build a culture of life. He concludes by saying--and the title of his speech is, ``Ending the violence begins with our own conversion'': In this Easter season and throughout the coming months, I ask you to join me in praying in a special way for the families who have been affected by the Columbine tragedy. But I also ask you to pray that each of us--including myself-- will experience a deep conversion of heart toward love and non-violence in all of our relationships with others. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the speech of the Most Rev. Charles Chaput be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: [From the Denver Catholic Register, Apr. 21, 1999] Ending the Violence Begins With Our Own Conversion (By Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.) He descended into hell. Over a lifetime of faith, each of us, as believers, recites those words from the Creed thousands of times. We may not understand them, but they're familiar. They're routine. And then something happens to show us what they really mean. Watching a disaster unfold for your community in the glare of the international mass media is terrible and unreal at the same time. Terrible in its bloody cost; unreal in its brutal disconnection from daily life. The impact of what happened this past week in Littleton, however, didn't fully strike home in my heart until the morning after the murders, when I visited a large prayer gathering of students from Columbine High School, and spent time with the families of two of the students who died. They taught me something. The students who gathered to pray and comfort each other showed me again the importance of sharing not just our sorrow, but our hope. God created us to witness His love to each other, and we draw our life from the friendship, the mercy and the kindness we offer to others in pain. The young Columbine students I listened to, spoke individually--one by one--of the need to be strong, to keep alive hope in the future, and to turn away from violence. Despite all their confusion and all their hurt, they would not despair. I think I understand why. We're creatures of life. This is the way God made us: to assert life in the face of death. Even more moving was my time with the families of two students who had been murdered. In the midst of their great suffering--a loss I can't imagine--the parents radiated a dignity which I will always remember, and a confidence that God would somehow care for them and the children they had lost, no matter how fierce their pain. This is where words break down. This is where you see, up close, that faith-- real, living faith--is rooted finally not in how smart, or affluent, or successful, or sensitive persons are, but in how well they love. Scripture says that ``love is [[Page 7626]] as strong as death.'' I know it is stronger. I saw it. As time passes, we need to make sense of the Columbine killings. The media are already filled with ``sound bites'' of shock and disbelief; psychologists, sociologists, grief counselors and law enforcement officers--all with their theories and plans. God bless them for it. We certainly need help. Violence is now pervasive in American society--in our homes, our schools, on our streets, in our cars as we drive home from work, in the news media, in the rhythms and lyrics of our music, in our novels, films and video games. It is so prevalent that we have become largely unconscious of it. But, as we discover in places like the hallways of Columbine High, it is bitterly, urgently real. The causes of this violence are many and complicated: racism, fear, selfishness. But in another, deeper sense, the cause is very simple: We're losing God, and in losing Him, we're losing ourselves. The complete contempt for human life shown by the young killers at Columbine is not an accident, or an anomaly, or a freak flaw in our social fabric. It's what we create when we live a contradiction. We can't systematically kill the unborn, the infirm and the condemned prisoners among us; we can't glorify brutality in our entertainment; we can't market avarice and greed . . . and then hope that somehow our children will help build a culture of life. We need to change. But societies only change when families change, and families only change when individuals change. Without a conversion to humility, non-violence and selflessness in our own hearts, all our talk about ``ending the violence'' may end as pious generalities. It is not enough to speak about reforming our society and community. We need to reform ourselves. Two questions linger in the aftermath of the Littleton tragedy. How could a good God allow such savagery? And why did this happen to us? In regard to the first: God gave us the gift of freedom, and if we are free, we are free to do terrible, as well as marvelous things . . . And we must also live with the results of others' freedom. But God does not abandon us in our freedom, or in our suffering. This is the meaning of the cross, the meaning of Jesus' life and death, the meaning of He descended into hell. God spared His only Son no suffering and no sorrow--so that He would know and understand and share everything about the human heart. This is how fiercely He loves us. In regard to the second: Why not us? Why should evil be at home in faraway places like Kosovo and Sudan and not find its way to Colorado? The human heart is the same everywhere--and so is the One for whom we yearn. He descended into hell. The Son of God descended into hell . . . and so have we all, over the past few days. But that isn't the end of the story. On the third day, He rose again from the dead. Jesus Christ is Lord, ``the resurrection and the life,'' and we--His brothers and sisters--are children of life. When we claim that inheritance, seed it in our hearts, and conform our lives to it, then and only then will the violence in our culture begin to be healed. In this Easter season and throughout the coming months, I ask you to join me in praying in a special way for the families who have been affected by the Columbine tragedy. But I also ask you to pray that each of us--including myself-- will experience a deep conversion of heart toward love and non-violence in all our relationships with others. Mr. BROWNBACK. It is time we address this. It is time we address it strongly. It is time we address it clearly and ask two questions: How did we get here, and how do we get out? This is not the culture we were raised in and this is not the culture we want our kids to be in, as one of our colleagues, Senator Lieberman, put it. I hope we can start the change and renew our culture and start to do that by renewing ourselves. Mr. President, I yield the floor. Mr. BAUCUS addressed the Chair. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The distinguished Senator from Montana is recognized. ____________________