“It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them.” (Mark Twain)

Shame on Master P and David Banner, whose sub-par representation of hip-hop at the congressional hearing has forced me to unearth this classic Frank Zappa testimony. While most of us were still in underoos, Zappa was invited to testify before Congress over the PMRC’s decision to adopt a rating system/warning sticker for music recordings. Unlike Banner and P, Zappa didn’t bite his tongue. Not only did he stick it to the Senate committee, which included would-be Vice-President Al Gore, he also laid his mack game down on a female senator.

Boys and Girls, I give you The Frank Zappa Files.

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

“The PMRC proposal is an ill-conceived piece of nonsense which fails to deliver any real benefits to children, infringes the civil liberties of people who are not children, and promises to keep the courts busy for years dealing with the interpretational and enforcemental problems inherent in the proposal’s design. It is my understanding that, in law, First Amendment issues are decided with a preference for the least restrictive alternative. In this context, the PMRC’s demands are the equivalent of treating dandruff by decapitation.” (Frank Zappa)

Bonus: Frank Zappa on CNN’s “Crossfire” in 1986

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