You want to buy an album with explicit lyrics but aren't 18?
Well no I'm really over forty, and very fabulous by the way;) Although I would like to avoid buying something that I would prefer not to hear.
Easy...take the sticker off and put it on the nearest NSync album. As long as the album isn't obviously inappropriate the cashier won't take a second look when ringing it up.
Actually I don't care for NSync. They didn't sing that Butterfinger McFlurry song did they?
Of course this requires the sticker be outside the plastic wrap. Parental advisories aren't always done in such an easily avoidable manner..
Be creative. If the Advisory sticker is under the plastic wrap, stick the pricetag overtop of the advisory.
Hooray for the ability to come up with new, unique, and effective solutions! I hope you don't mind if I pull your leg a bit here with some facts about the Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics label.
Generally speaking, the Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics is usually placed, not on the cellophane wrapper, but on the bottom left corner of the album cover itself. Who decides? The decision where to place the label is made on a case-by-case basis depending to a large degree on the particular design and color of the artwork on the album cover.
Did you know that each record company along with the artist(s) decides if and where to place the stickers and they do it voluntarily? The industry as a whole and its individual companies take this program very seriously.
I haven't found anywhere yet that had the computer-lookup identify age-limited music, but then again I've been 18 for almost a year. And few cashiers care enough to ID in the first place..
The Label is really meant to be a "heads up" for parents and at this time there is no imposed age limit. It's also for consumers, like you, who would like to make an informed decision, as well as, wholesalers and retailers. Some stores won't market these products.
Strangely, the Parental Advisory sticker is not legally binding at all. It was invented by Tipper Gore in some sort of attempt to stop parents letting their kids listen to rap music. It completely backfired, since the Parental Advisory sticker is now an advert for how cool an album is, and is frequently used as a marketing tool. It even looks pretty cool, and fits well on any album cover since it's black and white.
I have heard that on good authority, from a higher source that the Second Coming will not be brought to you by the Moral Majority.
You guys are such good sports! !
The labeled products account for a small percentage of what's in stock. About 500 recordings in the typical retail store carry the Label. Out of a total inventory of 110,000 products, that's less that half of one percent.
The thing is, there's no law about who can buy albums with Parental Advisory stickers on them, which rendered them totally useless in the first place. Sure, shops can refuse to sell anything to any customer, but few actually do. Most clerks won't even look at what it is you're buying, unless it's a video or dvd, in which case they have to check for the certificate if there is one. Sure, there are some clerks who enforce their moral code, and some outlets, which have a policy of not selling these records to children, and that's their right, but it has nothing to do with the law. In fact, it's rare for that to happen because there's always someone who will supply kids with the record, or someone who will buy it for them, so it's not good for business.
Well it does have something to do with the law and the First Amendment, one of the greatest freedoms in the US today. Freedom of choice is important too, the right to be able to choose what to read, watch, listen to and purchase.
Wal-Mart and Blockbuster Video do make sure that there are specified "changes to some artists' work before they will be stocked in the retail locations. Both Nirvana and Beck had to change CD jacket designs before Wal-Mart would stock them. Blockbuster refuses to stock or rent movies with an NC-17 rating, in some cases they preview films and recommend cuts. The underlying threat is that unless the cuts are made, Blockbuster won't carry the film."
Recently, the mainstream press have been crying out about how easy it is for kids to get hold of explicit music, even though they've been around for years. This is no doubt due to nu-metal and Eminem becoming so popular. Consumer programs like Watchdog were shocked to learn that a 12-year-old girl could easily buy albums by Eminem and Limp Bizkit (I was shocked too, but for different reasons...) that had Parental Advisory stickers on them. Ironically, this is something that most people who listen to rock or rap music have known since they were 12.
Actually this can be a Good Thing depending on your point of view. As a parent of two very creative and busy boys with terrific imaginations there is more than enough to discuss when it comes to making informed and uninformed decisions.
Did you know that a four-year-old's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant?
I didn't either.
I do know I can trust my sons enough to let them buy what they would like to with their allowance. I also know, as their parent, if I take them to these places of business like Blockbuster and Wal-Mart they won't end up in the same dilemma as the twelve year old girl cited above.
Where to shop is my job as a parent, what to buy is their job as a child. It's not really age, but the individual maturity of each child that determines when and where I decide to take them shopping.
I look at it more as "practice" for the real world, because at some point they are going have to make these decisions on their own. I want them to decide on what they like or dislike, not because of peer pressure or some preconceived ideas of a political organization. If they want to say no to something I want them to have their own ideas, the ability, and the words to make those choices with. On occasion the boys have purchased media that they disliked for a great variety of personal reasons and had to go through the aggravation of returning a product.
Corporate businesses do understand this about parents, are aware that we are raising the next generation of consumers and are free to market accordingly.
Watchdog asked if something might be done to stop children buying these records. There was talk of applying an age limit to records with Parental Advisory stickers, but the age limit was not specified and to be honest, the politician in question was probably just trying to shut them up until they found something else to start a moral crusade about. Besides, even if an age limit were applied, it wouldn't do much good, since the real punchline of the parental advisory sticker is that it's voluntary. In fact some albums that contain the most outrageous lyrics ever don't have one. If an age limit were applied, record companies would merely stop putting the stickers on, and probably find some other means of showing how much this album will annoy your parents. And no, nobody's going to censor records like they do films, because that would take up far too much time.
I hope not! I don't want some Big Brother making my decisions for me as a parent. Twenty years of parenting and there is nothing better than a teachable moment.
Oh yea! Number One Son and Mom driving down the Boulevard in his new wheels, top down music playing on the stereo, it's a warm summer's day as we zip through a Zen moment in the Twilight Zone.
Imagine if you will..... the wind in our hair as Blink's Family Reunion blasts its way through the boom box.
Mom looks over the top of her sunglasses and winks with her very best Bette Davis Eyes:
Are you interested in going to the family reunion this year dear?
Number One Son twitches a bit; shudders, sweat forms; an arm shoots across the car wildly and changes the music:
I'm going to just pretend I didn't think that Mom.
I don't think I'm his type anyway and when he's a parent I hope he'll remember that a good sense of humor will get him through most problems in life.
Sources:
Explicit Lyrics, Parental Advisory:
www.hippopress.com/beat13/beat13_020101.html
Parental Media Guide - Home Page:
www.parentalguide.org/