You must be joking. Most of my favourite songs ever were written by people who were pissed off about something.

Yeah, but it shouldn't be about graphic violence. Protest songs are great! But the tradition of rock has always been to spread peace,love, and brotherhood.

My ass. The tradition of all forms of music is to write something that appeals to you, something you relate to, something on your mind, something of interest, or just whatever the Hell you feel like writing. Rock is no exception. There are angry rock songs and hippie rock songs but they're both still rock. If a rocker wants to write music about graphic violence, or even advocating rape than that is fine, and probably a good thing too. They have every right in the world to speak their mind openly and freely through music.

It shouldn't be the responsibility of the artist to not offend a bunch of morally staunch squares. It should be the square's responsibility to not listen to what he doesn't like.

just gonna toss in a few cents here...

1 - the PMRC is what gave us the really awesome 'parental advisory stickers' on just about every good cd available to me as a teenager. if i was torn between picking up two discs back when i was 16 you can be certain the one with the sticker usually won. it was the easiest way to determine whether or not i was getting whiny pussy rock or EFFING ROCK!!! in the pre-internet days. i can't believe they didn't anticipate that their 'warning' label would become a huge selling point to kids... seriously, when is the last time anyone here met a 16 year old who wanted to be just like their stodgy middle aged aunt?

2 - frank zappa said it best in an interview on either larry king or crossfire back in the day. he discusses the PMRC hearings and pretty much slays all their points. the VAST majority of written music is about love but that doesn't stop violence from happening.

3 - the idea that rock music has always been about the BS hippie(hypocrite) ideal of peace love and brotherhood is laughably absurd.

Until some stores stopped carrying CDs with those stickers, of course.

Why shouldn't it be?

Graphic violence is a fact of life. Most good music expresses the social climate of it's time.

I don't know where you live but in most places you can't buy a parental advisory album unless you're 17.

I can buy a parental advisory album... I'm 16 *shrugs*

Frank Zappa basically owned everyone in that Crossfire interview.

Yeah. I watched a lot of interviews with Zappa from that perioid. Wish he was still around.

Heres that crossfire episode.

YouTube - Frank Zappa on Crossfire

That John Lofton tool got owned.