Ode to Tipper Gore

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Forty years ago today the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) was formed. Their stated goal was to increase parental control over what ‘messages’ were contained in the albums and cassettes (I am an old) that children had access to. Songs that they felt had violent, sexual or drug related themes were eventually targeted to be labeled with the Parental Advisory Sticker that is still in use in America today.

The PMRC released a list of their “Filthy Fifteen” songs that they found to be the most objectionable songs. Of the list, I have three personal favorites that speak to how silly this entire exercise was from the beginning.

We’re Not Gonna Take It – Twisted Sister (Violence)
Single Artwork for Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It."
This selection deserves an award for how succinctly it proved the message that the song was trying to portray. Anyone who actually listened to the lyrics, (which you’d like to imagine would have been a minimum requirement for trying to get a song banned) would have been able to discern that it’s a fairly straightforward anthem standing about up to an authority that doesn’t deserve the power they have.

If I were the cynical type, I might suggest that was exactly why the PMRC wanted it banned.

When lead singer Dee Snider testified in court against the PMRC, he pointed out what should have been obvious, “There is absolutely no violence of any type either sung about or implied anywhere in the song.”

She Bop – Cyndi Lauper (Sexual content)
Single Artwork for Cyndi Lauper's She Bop
I figured out later in life what this song was about. I was a kid when this song first got radio play and it was, for lack of a less obvious term, a bop.And, sure, if you know what she’s singing about, then these lyrics probably make perfect sense to you.

Hey, I’ve been thinking of a new sensation
I’m picking up the good vibrations
Oop, she bop, she bop

But that also speaks to how brilliant these nonsensical-sounding lyrics are. Under-10 year old me had no idea what was being referenced here. Which is exactly how it should have been. And that’s ignoring what someone does in private being their own business anyhow.

“Do you want kindergarteners learning about…”
No. And that’s probably why my parents never told me what this song was about and that’s why I would never explain what this song is about in that level of detail to someone else’s kindergartener.

It’s called self-authentication. If you’re mature enough to get the reference, then you are mature enough to get the reference. And if you aren’t, well it’s got a nice beat and you can dance to it.

Dress You Up – Madonna (Sexual content?!?)
Album art to Madonna's "Like a Virgin" album.

Okay, I cheated here. This isn’t the artwork for the single itself, but instead it’s the cover of the full studio album it came from, “Like a Virgin.”

THE PMRC ATTEMPTED TO BAN A SONG FROM THE “LIKE A VIRGIN” ALBUM FOR HAVING EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT AND DIDN’T EVEN PICK THE SONG “LIKE A VIRGIN.”

It was right there. You, presumably, had the album on your phonograph. You were sooooooo close to possibly making a valid argument that MAYBE a song shouldn’t get regular radio rotation. Then you got hung up on these lyrics instead:

You’ve got style, that’s what all the girls say
Satin sheets and luxuries so fine
All your suits are custom made in London
But I’ve got something that you’ll really like

Why, I’ve got the vapors. Where is my paper fan and clutching pearls?

Somehow, these arguments were more convincing than Dee Snider was in front of the US Senate. I just wanted to post this picture.

Rocker Dee Snider testifying to the United States Senate who apparently had nothing better to do that day

And thus. the Recording Industry Association of America was convinced to put warning labels on recordings that contained “explicit content.”

Hilariously, the first album to get the advisory sticker was rap group 2 Live Crew’s July 1990 “Banned in the U.S.A.” My personal favorite early ‘victim’ of the Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics sticker was George Carlin’s comedy album from November of the same year, “Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics.”

Album art for "Banned in teh U.S.A." showing the Parental Advisory sticker Album cover for "Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics" where the bottom half of the album cover IS the Parental Advisory image

You can see that the threat of censorship was being taken exactly as seriously as it deserved.

In the liner notes, Carlin was his typical forthright self:

This recording contains no backmasking or subliminal suggestions.
All messages from the Devil are recorded clearly and audibly in straightforward Standard American English.

Like many people who grew up during the early stages of the Parental Advisory stickers, I have to admit, these stickers had a huge impact on what albums I shouldn’t be buying with my allowance.

The ones that weren’t good enough to get the sticker, of course.

Music is art. Music has always been art. The best music is something that makes you feel. Maybe it’s attached to a memory. Maybe it makes you think of things you haven’t thought of before. Maybe it exposes you to a viewpoint you haven’t had an opportunity to consider before.

The Parental Advisory stickers, whether that was what the PMRC wanted or not, was a giant black and white advertisement, drawing eyes to the product. As a youngling at the time, our thought process was “They don’t want us to hear it. Let’s find out why.”

Carlin’s “Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics” was the first ever album (Fine, cassette. I’m an old.) that I ever bought for myself, with my money, on my own. I can still remember feeling nervous trying to buy it from the record store and wondering if I was going to get in trouble. Was the clerk going to call the cops? Worse… my parents?

The person behind the counter did not care in the least. Looking back, of course she didn’t. She just wanted her shift to be done. But to me, it felt like I was doing something forbidden. But forbidden in a good way. Like Homer, finishing the donut that gave his soul to the Devil Flanders.

Homer finishing the last bite of a donut. Caption: Mmmmm Forbidden Doughnut.

And who was I rebelling against anyway? My parents? I’d already heard most of the words Carlin used. (Said a lot of them too. Not around my parents, sure. I still can’t use those words around my parents too often. But that’s really a ‘me’ problem.)

It wasn’t until the ride back to my friend’s house, that I heard something on the tape that kinda made sense to me. Something Carlin said spoke to teenage me. Something that I still sincerely believe to this day:

There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of those words in and of themselves.
They’re only words! It’s the context that counts. It’s the user.
It’s the intention behind the words that makes them good or bad.
The words are completely neutral. The words are innocent.

There are things that my parents didn’t want me listening to as a kid. Toys that they didn’t want me using. Shows they wouldn’t let me watch. Which is how it should be. They were my parents, that’s what they signed up for.

It wasn’t the government’s job to tell me what is and isn’t appropriate for me to see or hear. And, don’t get me wrong, I’m perfectly okay with being told what POTENTIALLY objectionable things might be on movies, TV shows, social media platforms, the radio or anywhere else. Maybe I’m looking for a 90 minute movie that’s jam-packed with violence.

(Side note; out of all of the PMRC’s “Filthy Fifteen,” only “We’re Not Gonna Take It” was singled out for it’s violent nature alone. It’s always been odd to me that we focus way more on sex and language than violence.)

But the decision on what does and doesn’t belong in the public sphere shouldn’t be made by four Washington Wives, nor any amount of Washington anybody. This isn’t something that should be handed down from anyone in Boston either. The only people I want making these decisions for my children are my wife and me, in consultation with my children.

Anyhow, this long, rambling post has really been about books the whole time.

Who Are You Up There For?

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A screenshot of the April 17, 2025 Emergency School Committee meeting

Last night there was an emergency session of the Fall River School Committee to have an executive discussion about the recent cyber attack that hit the district.

I find it troubling that some current members of the Fall River School Committee couldn’t even agree to go into the executive session to discuss the situation without trying to turn the meeting into a witch hunt against the mayor or to use the forum as an opportunity to air their grievances against one another.

Nothing about the arguments the committee members were raising, nor their attempt to censure Mayor Paul Coogan for talking to the media, had anything to do with anything that would help the staff, students or families of Fall River.

The constant sniping, bickering and, frankly, ganging up on one another shown by a small handful of the Committee serves zero purpose towards the greater good. The Fall River Schools.

(As an aside, I suspect that many of the same Committee members who had problems with the Mayor talking to the press in generalities about the attack would have instead taken issue if the Mayor had not said anything publicly at all, and would have levied charges of him ‘hiding from the problem.’)

Yes, the fact that our schools got hacked is horrible, and, like a lot of parents, I do
want answers. Answers on what happened, and answers on what information was captured. I am a Security Analyst in my day job, and have a somewhat personal interest especially in also learning what precautions were missed that allowed the attack to happen and, most importantly, what steps have been or are going to be taken to help prevent similar attacks in the future.

(As a second aside, I can also say that having your network hit by cybercriminals is no longer a question of “If” it will happen, but “When” and “What can we do to minimize the damage?” It is way too early, at least in what is publicly known, to be pointing fingers and blame.)

But I also know that these answers are not necessarily known at this time, and even the answers that are known cannot be made publicly available while a criminal investigation is still ongoing.

And I’m not sure which would be worse; That the School Committee doesn’t also know this, or that they do indeed know this and still chose to strut around asking questions on camera that they knew could not be answered, at least not in an open public session.

Which is exactly why I am running for School Committee in 2025. We need a Committee comprised of people who are not up on the stage primarily to promote personal agendas and drive personal vendettas.

The people of Fall River deserve a committed group of Committeepersons whose only goal is to work together to make the Fall River School District become the best it can possibly be. For the students, for the teachers and for the entire city of Fall River.

I want to help make this happen. Not only for my children, but for the entire city. We can make this happen. We’ll Try Together, and We’ll Succeed Together.

Here We Go

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Just in case the change of pictures on the blog wasn’t clue enough, I want to say that I have submitted paperwork to run for School Committee in the 2025 Fall River election.

When my family and I moved to Fall River three summers ago, I was nervous about what I had read about the school district. But I can happily say that the vast majority of my family’s experiences, first at Silvia Elementary School and now at Morton Middle School have been wonderful for the growth of both of my daughters.

Not everything has been perfect. Before Christmas, Twin A came home from school sad that her favorite teacher was leaving to take an “opportunity in a different state.” I asked her if she knew where the teacher was leaving for. Unfortunately for the students, the other state happened to be the same state that is also one town south and west of us.

I’ve talked with a few teachers already and heard enough comments from teachers at School Committee meetings to have a pretty good understanding that the teachers and other professionals in our district do not feel that they are being treated with the respect that they deserve.

There was an agreement with the teachers fairly recently on a new contract but, as of today, I am not aware that the administrative professionals and school support staff have been granted a new contract that meets any of their demands.

If I am lucky enough to be granted a position on the School Committee, I promise to do everything in my power to make sure that all of the school employees are given every available resource to help them do the best possible job for all of our students. I know that’s what they want as well, otherwise they would have never entered this profession.

The teachers and all of the staff in the district want what’s best for the kids. We parents want what’s best for our kids as well. The School Committee needs to remember that they too are responsible for doing what’s best for the kids. Not every choice will be easy. But We’ll Try Together and We’ll Succeed Together.

I look forward to meeting with as many of you as possible during the coming months.

Should I?

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“Fish have got to swim. Birds have got to fly…”

Randy looking pensively. Behind him, an elephant statue. Behind the elephant statue, trees beginning to bloom. At least one of the trees is a cherry blossom.

One of the problems with being me, aside from all of the obvious ones, is that whenever I decide to do something important on the First day of April, nobody thinks that I’m serious. Worth it. 

Today is March 31st, which means that tomorrow is the start of the second quarter of the year.

Anyhow, Vaguepress is in full effect, which is fine, because nobody is reading this yet.

I’ll probably try a new restaurant for lunch tomorrow while I’m at Fall River City Hall.

Also, Jess took an awesome picture of me pondering at this elephant.

UPDATE: It turns out that nothing important is happening tomorrow. The actual thing doesn’t start until 8:00am on Monday, April 7th.

Play On!

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“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words.” – Victor Hugo, author

The combined Fall River Middle Schools Band performs at the 2025 All City Band Concert. Twin B is in there somewhere.

Music has always been a pretty important driver in my life. I met my best friend (Non-Spousal Division) in sixth grade band class. I also met my first wife in band in college. Hey, not every drive can be a good drive.

Most of my favorite teachers have been band directors. Our high school marching band won the Michigan state championship back in… You know what, I don’t want to say when. The year started with a 19; Damn, I’m old. Anyhow, it was during the late 1900s that decided that I wanted to be a high school band director someday.

Through actions that seemed legitimate at the time, I didn’t actually go to college for music like I wanted to. This was one of the main factors that led me to not going to college very much at all.

Even though I entered the real-world workforce at 19, mostly in an I.T. setting, I still spent nearly every summer and fall working with my high school’s competitive marching band in just about any and every capacity I could. Helping design the show themes, helping choose the music, the visual concepts we would try to express, hell I even co-wrote a song from scratch. And that was all before teaching the students ever took place. Weekly rehearsals over the summer, a week-long band camp at the end of August. Early morning and late-night rehearsals to perfect the show. This was one of my happiest places.

In the early 2000s, During one of Michigan’s once-a-decade rebooting of the automotive economy, I found myself out of work. I had one more shot to try and do what I knew that I always wanted to do, so I went back to school for what I wanted to do the previous century. Through actions that seemed legitimate at the time, I still didn’t graduate with an Education degree. So, right back to IT for me. Then, shortly after that, completely out of Michigan.

Almost 15 years later, I can say that I’m barely sad at all that I didn’t get through the Ed program. Hooked up to a lie detector, I would say that it’s less than 1% of a regret. I’m in a pretty solid place, as far as my personal and professional life goes right now.

But that didn’t seem to dampen any of the joy I got to feel last night as Twin B got to perform with other students in the Fall River Schools’ All City Band.

This concert featured the fifth-grade band students from all of the elementary schools in the district, then all of the middle-schoolers, then the high school band. The finale was a song played by all of the students together. This concert does an amazing job of showing the progression that these kids are all capable of making if they stay in the program and put forth the effort.

I pretended to reluctantly volunteer to assist with feeding the musicians in the hour between the end of their final rehearsal and the beginning of the concert. Deep down inside, but mostly on the surface, I was champing at the bit to help out. And, not to brag or anything, but that was probably one of the top one-thousand smoothest instances of feeding about 150 kids a slice of pizza and a chocolate cookie that anybody has ever seen.

It was really cool for me to get to see, firsthand, that parental volunteers willing to help out the entire Performing Arts Department seems to be a universal phenomenon. Even better was getting to see, based on half an hour in a high school cafeteria, that band kids being goofy-assed band kids is also a constant.

Twin B had, by all accounts, a successful concert and even allowed Twin A to get some staged photos of her playing the bells afterwards. I know that she currently plans to say in band for at least the next two years but is a little less sure after that. I’m not going to force her to stick with it through high school. I want to, but I won’t. Probably.

B.M.C. Durfee High School in Fall River has a competitive marching band program. In fact, they had an undefeated competitive 2024 season, including the U.S. Bands National championship in their Group. When it was mentioned during the concert that students entering at least the seventh grade could try out for the marching band, my eyes lit up and I literally got goosebumps.

I am going to at least attempt to push Twin B to try out for the Marching Band this summer, but with the approval and, frankly the insistence of my best friend (Spousal Division) there’s a good chance that I’m going to see what kind of volunteer help the marching band needs this upcoming fall, whether she is involved yet or not. I wonder if a “No electronics during Marching Season if you aren’t in band” would be a reasonable parenting policy. Sports parents have nothing on me in this regard.

Thanks to all of the teachers who had a part in putting on the concert last night. I hope you know that your hard work is understood and appreciated.