Jonathan Davis, Others, Chime In On Indecency
May 27, 2004
FMQB

While the radio indecency battle rages, pitting the FCC against broadcast companies and air personalities, the very real possibility exists that artists themselves may be subject to fines and stricter censorship. FMQB explored this issue in a recent article, (Indecency: Artists Speak Out, 5/21), and spoke to artists such as A Perfect Circle and Tool's Maynard James Keenan and Our Lady Peace frontman Raine Maida.

KoRn

Recently, KoRn frontman Jonathan Davis chimed in with his opinions on the indecency crackdown, sharing that he thinks it's "an attempt by the FCC, run by Republicans, to use a hot issue to create the impression that they are doing their jobs while they continue to consolidate, which is their main concern."

On Howard Stern and the moral minority leading the charge with complaints to the FCC, Davis comments, "It's easy to manipulate the system. That's what happened when those Free Republic freaks started calling radio stations to boycott the Dixie Chicks. What the public doesn't know is that this was not popular opinion but a organized group of people and the radio owners didn't bother to really check it out and the TV media picked up on this 'so called boycott' like it was a real story, so Country radio stations just stopped playing the Chicks. I am sure Howard is being targeted by these same organizations but Howard also has a huge fan base and a radio show that reaches millions of people so he has a good way to fight back everyday. If it ever gets into the courts as a first amendment issue Howard would win, but what he seems to be saying is that the FCC has the power to threaten renewal of licenses should they try to pursue this in the courts."

He continues, "I am a fan of and would support his right to free speech to the bitter end no matter how filthy the FCC may think his show is. Viacom however, is a company who has benefited from controlling ownership regulations in a big way. The real question is whether Viacom will stand behind Stern even if these issues mean they have to lose dough."

On the "liberal" media, Davis points out that "the media plays both ends and they are not liberal. The news organizations of these media conglomerates have a conservative agenda and ignore what should be important issues that may make this current administration look like shit. In the end, it gets big media what it wants, and that's the approval from our government to get bigger."

Elsewhere, Finger Eleven frontman Scott Anderson told us that radio interviews have become much more mundane. "They're pre-recorded now, where otherwise we used to go live. Everybody's running for cover. They're truly scared." A Perfect Circle's Maynard James Keenan sees the crackdown as a smokescreen distracting people from much larger issues such the environment, the war machine, etc. "It's just kind of silly," he says.

Our Lady Peace singer Raine Maida's take on the situation is pretty simple: "I'm all about common sense. Bono said "fuck' at the Golden Globes in 2003, and no one really said anything over a year ago. Now people are making an issue out of it. But it's Bono. He's a well-respected guy with lots of integrity, and for him to say something like that is not a big deal. But you can't parallel that with someone like Bubba The Love Sponge, who I think is a bigot and is devoid of any common sense."

Maida continues, "We were interviewed by him and he was disgusting and offensive. A couple of years later when we went back to Tampa, he castrated a pig live on the air. With someone like that, if he loses his job or the FCC cracks down on him, I don't have any sympathy. I'll support it. That's a guy that pushes the limits of common sense. We wouldn't go back on his show, and we lost radio station [airplay] because of it, but so be it."

"I'm not a big FCC supporter," he clarifies, "I'm all about freedom of speech, but that guy pushed it too far. Someone like Howard Stern though, can walk that line really well. Most of time it's more entertaining and it's not as offensive as some others are. It's not a black and white issue. When things get abused to the point when it's ignorant and arrogant, some fines may be understandable."

Of the Stern saga, Keenan admits that he hasn't paid too much attention to how Stern has reacted because of his preoccupation with the release of his band's DVD and TV's refusal to air any of it in this post-Super Bowl era. Keenan assumes that Stern is doing "whatever he can just to stay on the air" and calls his whole FCC debacle "depressing and silly."

The effect Stern may have on the upcoming presidential election, and the need for young people to register to vote to enact change is not lost on someone like Keenan, who regularly urges fans to vote when he's onstage. "They don't have to vote if they don't want to, but they have to understand the repercussions of their apathy. If you don't use your voice and speak up and educate yourself about whom is running for office and just be involved in that process, you've basically signed off on it and you've given away your power. I want my children and our fans and all of our peers to have a voice. If you don't agree with us, that's fine. There are many people across the world that I don't agree with, but as long as I'm not killing anybody, it's just difference of opinions. As long as no one's dying over my statements, I should be able to state them… supposedly."

Which brings us to another point: why is sexual indecency on the front burner, while violence takes a back seat? "It's really arrogant for the FCC to crackdown on this stuff now, when statistics show that by the time a child is eleven years old, through video games, television and movies, they've seen over 20,000 people killed," says Maida. "Really - talking about anal sex or having 20,000 deaths filter through your subconscious as an impressionable child - what's worse? When is the government actually going to spend money and actually get serious about stuff like that? If you're going to fine Bono for saying 'fuck' on the Golden Globes, and disregard that kind of statistic, then we're in a way bigger mess than we thought we were."

"It's kind of like all other corporations in America," Maida explains. "It's run by a few people, and they're trying to decide where this country ends up on a moral and social level. Subjectivity ceases to exist. I just worry that if they get that kind of power that all of a sudden more subversive and intelligent talk shows may get pulled, or things like Bowling For Columbine won't reach theaters or be on TV."

Playing it safe and eliminating diversity and subjectivity on the airwaves may bring about a cultural change that some feel the conservative right didn't bank on: rebellion. It's happened before. As Simple Plan's Chuck Comeau points out, "When there's a lot of censorship, you'll find that art gets even better and more daring."