Shock is the Reason

Last Caress

I've got something to say

I killed your baby today

and it doesn't matter much to me

as long as it's dead

Charming.  Probably not for the kiddies and their mp3 players.  Here is a lyric that can terrorize, sicken and appall the most sturdy of listeners.  What is it that moves people to write and perform depraved material such as this?  Moreover, what drives scores of listeners to procure and listen to music with such a gruesome message?  You guessed it, I love this song.  I was introduced to this tune by the heavy metal outfit Metallica on their Garage Days Re-Revisited record.  The song was a cover and originally written and performed by the Misfits, a B-movie horror punk band who's claim to fame in the fashion world was the devil lock.  Upon discovering the original purveyors of this tribute to death, I was immediately in the the local record shop gobbling up the Misfits catalog. The "why" is another matter entirely.  I never really thought about it.

I've got something to say

I raped your mother today

and it doesn't matter much to me

as long as she's spread

 

First and foremost, it's a catchy tune.  The driving beat, streaming harmonies and the hooking guitar riff make for a head nodding classic.  More to the point, the subject matter is hideously attractive to me.  I relish in subjecting friends and strangers alike to music that is revolting.  I find it humorous that words, lyrics, or ideas in a song can affect the lighthearted.  After all, a song is merely the handiwork of a creative mind.  It's pure fantasy.  In this particular case - a horror movie for the ears.    Beyond lyrics, there are the on-stage antics.  Ozzy biting the heads off of bats.  Hole singer Courtney Love launching a used tampon into a crowd of frenetic fans.  Or GG Allin, infamous for performing nude and defecating on stage.  The point is, these people are carefully crafted caricatures in the public eye.  Behind closed doors, these people eat their Wheaties, go to the dentist and put on deodorant just like you and me.  We could argue the latter, but you get the gist. 

Sweet lovely death
I am waiting for your breath
Come sweet death, one last caress

I'm also a passionate believer in freedom of speech especially where art and music are concerned.  I followed with much disdain the crusade spearheaded by Tipper Gore to save the youth of America from her perception of offensive lyrics.  Her first bulls-eye was on Prince of all people.  She caught her 11 year old daughter listening to his hit, Darling Nikki, and was outraged.  The Misfits make that song sound like Disney radio.  I believe the Misfits created their song, not because they had something momentous to say, but because they could.  They didn't create the song to convert youth to satanism or bring down the foundations of religion.  This is the band's lawful and 1st amendment protected artistic expression.  If Mrs. Gore finds the lyrics offensive she shouldn't listen.  She, as a parent, should have a tighter leash on what her daughter listens to.  And she shouldn't presume that her idea of what is or what isn't offensive is universal.  Mrs. Gore nominating herself as a moral missionary saving one listener at a time is what I find offensive.