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The Parental Advisory sticker is found on many records.

Parental Advisory is a message affixed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to audio and video recordings in the United States containing offensive language and/or content. Albums began to be labeled for "explicit lyrics" in 1985, after pressure from the Parents Music Resource Center. In 1990, the PMRC worked with the RIAA to standardize the label, creating the now-familiar black and white design. To some, it has become known as the "Tipper sticker" because of Tipper Gore's visible role in the PMRC. Look up Pa in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Pa, PA or pa may stand for: pa, a word for dad or father (pa or paw) pa, Chinese political title meaning hegemon Pa, Maori word meaning a fortified village or redoubt, described at length in Maori Wars Per annum, p. ... George Denis Patrick Carlin[15] (born May 12, 1937) is a Grammy-winning American stand-up comedian, actor, and author. ... Image File history File links Parental_Advisory_label. ... Image File history File links Parental_Advisory_label. ... RIAA redirects here. ... This article is about the year. ... Tipper Gore, founder of the Parents Music Resource Center The Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) was an American committee formed in 1985 by four women: Tipper Gore, wife of Senator and later Vice President Al Gore; Susan Baker, wife of Treasury Secretary James Baker; Pam Howar, wife of Washington realtor... This article is about the year. ... Mary Elizabeth Aitcheson Gore (born August 19, 1948), known as Tipper Gore, is the wife of former Vice President Al Gore and was the Second Lady of the United States from 1993 until 2001. ...

Some politicians have tried to criminalize the sale of explicit records to minors, and others have gone so far as to try to ban such records. Certain retailers refuse to sell albums containing the label, and many others limit the sale of such albums to adults only, although, most stores have settled on an age limit of 17 in order to buy an album containing the label. While the label is mostly prevalent on rock, heavy metal, dance pop, alternative rock, punk and, especially, hip-hop/rap albums, it can appear on any genre of CD which the RIAA believes warrants the need for one.

Controversies

Although many retailers use the sticker as a criterion for censorship, whether or not to use the sticker is determined by the record company that publishes the album.^[1] Many albums with a few instances of strong profanity, instances of violence, and/or sexual situations in lyrics have a "parental advisory" sticker, (Examples include Janet Jackson's All for You and Damita Jo, Nirvana's Incesticide and In Utero, Otep's the Ascension, Gorillaz' self-titled album, Godsmack's Awake, Liz Phair's self-titled album, Simple Plan's self-titled album, Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds, and Garbage's Absolute Garbage, among others.), although albums with multiple uses of explicit language may not. It is not a rating; there are no true standards for a parental advisory label. It is totally up to the record company whether an album needs one or not. Just because an album has a parental advisory label, doesn't mean that it is any more explicit than an album that does not have that label. For instance, the punk rock group NOFX has largely avoided the Parental Advisory sticker (though their albums contain many profanities) because they are published on the independent label, Fat Wreck Chords. Another example is the death metal band Morbid Angel's 1993 album Covenant. While the band was signed on with the major record label Giant Records pressings of Covenant had the parental advisory sticker in the corner. However, when Giant Records went bankrupt and Morbid Angel returned to their old independent label Earache Records future pressings of the album no longer contained the sticker. Other independent artists avoid the label such as Modest Mouse (though on iTunes some of their albums have Parental Advisory) as well as Negativland, and their album Escape from Noise was released on SST Records and Seeland Records, both of them independent labels; also Jumpsteady, another independent label artist, uses many profanities but their CD's are also PA-free. But some major label artists' CDs evade Parental Advisory, such as albums from Atreyu, Deftones, Green Day, Incubus, Warren Zevon and Senses Fail, Maroon 5's Songs About Jane and It Won't Be Soon Before Long, Mýa's Moodring, Pussycat Dolls' PCD, Tori Amos' Boys for Pele, Jodeci's Diary of a Mad Band, Arctic Monkeys' Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not and Favourite Worst Nightmare, Breaking Benjamin's Saturate (which included sexual references and over a dozen "fuck"'s) Theory of a Deadman's latest release which has many profanities including some sexual references and some movie soundtracks such as Godzilla: The Album. This article is about the singer. ... Alternate cover Limited edition cover All for You is the eighth studio album released by American R&B/pop singer Janet Jackson on April 24, 2001 on Virgin Records. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the American grunge band. ... Incesticide is a compilation album by the American grunge band Nirvana. ... For the term used in biology, see in utero In Utero is the final complete studio album from the band Nirvana. ... OTEP is an American Gothic Nu metal band formed in 2000 in Los Angeles, California. ... For other uses, see Ascension (disambiguation). ... For the Gorillazs self-titled debut album, see Gorillaz (album). ... Gorillaz is the eponymous debut album by Gorillaz, released in March 2001. ... For the Alice in Chains song, see God Smack (song). ... Awake is Godsmacks second album. ... Liz Phair (born Elizabeth Clark Phair on April 17, 1967 in New Haven, Connecticut) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. ... Liz Phair is the fourth album by American singer-songwriter Liz Phair, released June 24, 2003. ... This article is about the Canadian pop punk band. ... Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981[1]), sometimes known as JT, is an American pop and R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actor. ... FutureSex/LoveSounds is the second solo studio album by American pop-R&B singer Justin Timberlake, released on September 12, 2006 through record labels Jive and Zomba. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Alternate cover Limited edition album cover Absolute Garbage is the title for the greatest hits album from Garbage. ... Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... NOFX is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California (now based in San Francisco), in 1983. ... Fat Wreck Chords is a San Francisco, California based independent record label, focused on punk rock, which was started by Fat Mike (lead singer and bassist of the punk rock band NOFX) and his wife Erin, in 1990. ... This article is about the musical genre. ... Morbid Angel is a Florida-based death metal band assembled in 1983. ... A covenant, in its most general sense, is a solemn promise to do or not do something specified. ... Giant Records was launched as a joint-venture with Warner Bros. ... Earache Records is a heavy metal-orientated record label based in Nottingham, UK and New York, USA. It helped to pioneer extreme music by releasing many of the earliest grindcore and death metal records, in the period 1988-1992. ... Modest Mouse is an North-American indie rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington by singer/lyricist/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, bassist Eric Judy, and guitarist Dann Gallucci. ... For the album, see Negativland (album). ... Escape From Noise (1987) marked Negativlands first break on a name-brand independent record label, SST Records. ... SST Records is a Lawndale, California based independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by Black Flag founder/guitarist Greg Ginn. ... Seeland Records is an independent record label created by Negativland in the 1980s to release their own recordings. ... Jumpsteady (born Robert Bruce) is a Psychopathic Records artist and older brother of Joseph Bruce, Violent J of the Insane Clown Posse. ... Atreyu is a band from Orange County, California. ... Deftones is a rock band from Sacramento, California formed in 1988, consisting of Chino Moreno (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Stephen Carpenter (lead guitar), Chi Cheng (bass guitar) Frank Delgado (keyboards and turntables) and Abe Cunningham (drums and percussion). ... This article is about the band Green Day. ... Incubus can refer to: Incubus (demon), a demon said to rape women while they slept Incubus (band), an American alternative rock band. ... Warren William Zevon (January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was a Grammy Award-winning American rock singer-songwriter and musician. ... Senses Fail is a Ridgewood, New Jersey based band that draws heavily from the punk, emo,[1] screamo,[2] and hardcore genres. ... Maroon 5 is a soul-influenced American band originating from Los Angeles, California. ... Songs About Jane is the debut album by Los Angeles rock/pop band Maroon 5. ... Singles from It Wont Be Soon Before Long Released: March 27, 2007 Released: August 7, 2007 Released: November 19, 2007 Released: May 13, 2008 It Wont Be Soon Before Long is Maroon 5s second studio album, released on May 22, 2007. ... Mýa Marie Harrison (born October 10, 1979), professionally known as Mýa or Mýa Harrison, is an African-American R&B and singer-songwriter , record producer , dancer , actress, model, and philanthropist who rose to fame during the late 1990s. ... Moodring is the third album by American R&B and pop singer Mýa, released in the United States on July 22, 2003 (see 2003 in music) via Interscope Records. ... The Pussycat Dolls are an American hip hop, pop and R&B quintet, and dance and burlesque ensemble founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995. ... Alternate cover Tour edition cover Singles from PCD Released: June 2005 Released: September 2005 Released: January 2006 Released: May 2006 Released: September 2006 Released: November 2006 PCD is the debut album by American girl group the Pussycat Dolls, released by A&M Records on September 13, 2005 in the United... Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos on August 22, 1963) is an American pianist and singer-songwriter. ... Boys For Pele, the Grammy-nominated third album by singer and songwriter Tori Amos, is perhaps her least well-known and yet best-selling album to date. ... Jodeci is an American musical group, whose repertoire included R&B, soul music, and new jack swing. ... Diary of A Mad Band was the rather successful follow-up to Jodecis debut album, Forever My Lady. ... Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band from High Green, a suburb of Sheffield. ... Whatever People Say I Am, Thats What Im Not is the debut album by Sheffield band Arctic Monkeys, released on 23 January 2006. ... Favourite Worst Nightmare is the second studio album by Sheffield indie rock band Arctic Monkeys that was first released in Japan on 18 April 2007 before being released around the world. ... Breaking Benjamin is an alternative metal band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. ... Saturate is the first album by Breaking Benjamin. ... Godzilla is a 1998 American science fiction film directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo, Hank Azaria, Michael Lerner and Kevin Dunn. ...

Some albums may receive Parental Advisory labels even though these albums contain no profane, sexual, or violent lyrics at all. Examples include Danzig's self-titled album, Gorillaz' G-Sides, Sum 41's Does This Look Infected? (which only has mild and infrequent profanity), Madonna's Confessions on a Dance Floor, Savatage's Fight for the Rock, Story of the Year's Page Avenue, Slayer's Seasons in the Abyss, Mastodon's "Blood Mountain" and From First to Last's self titled. Danzig is an American heavy metal band that fuses dark lyrics and imagery with blues-rock influences. ... Danzig is the 1988 debut album of the eponymous band led by Glenn Danzig, formerly the songwriter and vocalist of The Misfits and Samhain. ... Alternate cover Cover with Noodle holding Bonsey G-Sides is a B-sides collection by Gorillaz, featuring the additional tracks from their first three singles and the Tomorrow Comes Today EP. Originally released only in Japan in late 2001, an official worldwide release came early the following year. ... Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. ... Does This Look Infected? is an album by Sum 41. ... This article is about the American entertainer. ... Alternate cover Special Edition cover Singles from Confessions on a Dance Floor Released: 17 October 2005 Released: 20 February 2006 Released: 6 June 2006 Released: 31 October 2006 Confessions on a Dance Floor is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on 15 November 2005 by Warner... Savatage is a progressive heavy metal band founded by the brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1979. ... Fight for the Rock is the fourth album by Savatage. ... Story of the Year (also known as Story or SOTY) is a post-hardcore band based in America. ... Page Avenue is the first album by Story of the Year. ... For other uses, see Slayer (disambiguation). ... Seasons in the Abyss is the fifth studio album by thrash metal band Slayer. ... For the prehistoric animal, see Mastadon. ... Blood Mountain is the third full length studio album by metal band Mastodon. ... From First to Last (sometimes shortened to FFTL) is an American post-hardcore band. ...

Albums released on Sony BMG's record labels (Arista Records, Columbia Records, Jive Records, J Records, among others) that contain the PA sticker provide additional explanations of why the disc warrants the sticker. On System of a Down's Hypnotize, for instance, under the label it reads "STRONG LANGUAGE, SEXUAL + VIOLENT CONTENT". Radiohead's Hail to the Thief has a warning of the strong offensive language on inside the CD booklet, next to the listed lyrics. Bertelsmann is a transnational media corporation founded in 1835, based in G tersloh, Germany. ... Arista redirects here. ... Columbia Records is the oldest brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888, and was the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. ... Jive Records is an American record label, owned by Sony BMG, and operates as a quarter of the Zomba Label Group. ... J Records is an American record label, owned and operated by Sony BMG, and is distributed through the RCA Records Group. ... System of a Down (commonly referred to as System or abbreviated as SOAD) are an American heavy metal band, formed in 1995 in Glendale, California. ... Singles from Hypnotize Released: October/November, 2005 Released: 2006 Released: 2006 Hypnotize is the fifth album by System of a Down and the second half of the Mezmerize/Hypnotize double album before their hiatus. ... Radiohead are an English alternative rock band from Oxfordshire. ... Hail to the Thief (subtitled The Gloaming) is the sixth studio album by English rock band Radiohead, released on 9 June 2003 in the United Kingdom and June 10, 2003 in the United States. ...

Many albums with the label have clean versions available, especially on online music stores such as iTunes or Napster. However, some of the "clean" stickers may be given to albums with no profanity, such as the case with Blur's self-titled album, which was given a clean sticker because it had three tracks within "Essex Dogs": "Dancehall", the former song, and "Intermission". Relient K had a similar case on iTunes, where they released a "clean" version of "Must Have Done Something Right", even though the band is known for not using any profanities. In 2007, rock group Garbage's "best of" collection was released worldwide through Warner Music Group, with all editions carrying a parental advisory label. A "clean" version of the album was, however, released through iTunes, yet the single instance of profanity found throughout the album (on the track "Why Do You Love Me") remained uncensored. This article is about the iTunes application. ... For Napster, LLC (formerly Roxio), and the paid Napster music service, see Napster (pay service). ... Blur were an English rock band that formed in Colchester in 1989. ... Blur is the fifth album by Blur, first release in 1997. ... This article is about the Christian rock band. ... Must Have Done Something Right is the lead single off Relient Ks newest album, Five Score and Seven Years Ago. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Why Do You Love Me was the first single from Bleed Like Me, the fourth album by Garbage, released worldwide in April 2005. ...

A few albums have a note saying that the lyrics are of an adult nature, but without the sticker: Back to Bedlam by James Blunt,Pinkerton by Weezer, Jimmy Buffett's Live in Hawaii, Barely Legal by The Hives, Guns N' Roses's "The Spaghetti Incident?", Savatage's Gutter Ballet, Overseer's Wreckage, Motion City Soundtrack's Even If It Kills Me, Bruce Springsteen's Devils & Dust. However, Back To Bedlam and Even If It Kills Me only contain one or two uses of explicit language (fuck). The album "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" by Red Hot Chili Peppers sometimes carries a sticker claiming the record "contains language that some people may find offensive". Back to Bedlam is the debut album from British singer-songwriter James Blunt, released by Custard Records in 2004. ... For the American Civil War general, see James G. Blunt. ... <a href=http://photobucket. ... For the albums, see Weezer (1994 album) and Weezer (2001 album). ... Jimmy Buffett tours Pearl Harbor with United States Navy Admiral Jonathan Greenert, June 12, 2003 James William Jimmy Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is a singer, songwriter, author, businessman, and recently a film producer best known for his island escapism lifestyle and music including hits such as Margaritaville (No. ... Jimmy Buffett sound board live albums are a series of live albums by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett recorded directly from the sound board without further editing thus resembling bootleg recordings. ... Barely Legal is the debut album by Swedish band The Hives, released in 1998. ... This article is about the Swedish band. ... Guns N Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. ... The Spaghetti Incident? is the fifth album by hard rock band Guns N Roses, recorded by the early 90s line up, consisting cover versions, mainly of punk and glam songs of the late 70s and early 80s, with the exception of the albums first track, a cover of The... Savatage is a progressive heavy metal band founded by the brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1979. ... Gutter Ballet is the second album produced by the progressive metal band Savatage under the direction of producer Paul ONeill, and the bands sixth album overall. ... This article is about the English DJ. For a definition of the word overseer, see the Wiktionary entry overseer. ... Wreckage is the debut album from British DJ/producer Overseer. ... Motion City Soundtrack is an American pop punk band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. ... Even If It Kills Me is the upcoming album by the pop-punk band Motion City Soundtrack. ... Springsteen redirects here. ... Devils & Dust is the thirteenth studio album by Bruce Springsteen, and his third folk album (after Nebraska and The Ghost of Tom Joad, respectively). ... Singles from Blood Sugar Sex Magik Released: 1991 Released: 1991 Released: 1992 Released: 1992 Released: 1993 Blood Sugar Sex Magik is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on September 24, 1991. ... The Red Hot Chili Peppers are a Grammy-award winning American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1983. ...

There have been some cases of unusual use of the label. After Frank Zappa campaigned against music censorship in 1985, the sticker was attached to his next album, Jazz from Hell, because of the title of one track, "G-Spot Tornado", although the album is entirely instrumental and contains no lyrics that could be "explicit lyrics". The designation of instrumentals as taboo, however, is nothing new; in the 1960s, the "Rumble" instrumental by Link Wray was banned from some radio stations because it could supposedly incite "juvenile violence." Frank Vincent Zappa[1] (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, musician, and film director. ... Jazz from Hell is an instrumental album from Frank Zappa. ... ... An instrumental is, in contrast to a song, a musical composition or recording without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments. ... Link Wray and His Ray Mens The Swan Singles Collection 1963-1967 Fred Lincoln Link Wray Jr (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American rock and roll guitar player most noted for pioneering a new sound for electric guitars in his hit 1958 instrumental Rumble, by Link...

There has been the observation that the stickers appear to have had the reverse effect to what was intended - the sticker can make an album more desirable, and the sticker has been called the musical equivalent of an "alcohol content" label. The RIAA, however, officially states that "it’s not a PAL Notice that kids look for, it’s the music. Independent research shows kids put limited weight on lyrics in deciding which music they like, caring more about rhythm and melody. The PAL Notice alone isn’t enough incentive."^[1] The term forbidden fruit is a metaphor that describes any object of desire whose appeal is a direct result of the knowledge that cannot or should not be obtained or something that someone may want but cannot have. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The RIAA Logo. ...

The label is also seen in the United Kingdom, Portugal, Greece, Finland, the Netherlands, Brazil, Denmark, South Africa, Japan , Australia, New Zealand, and Canada on albums of American origin. An album with the label is automatically banned in some conservative countries. At Wal-Mart stores, only a "clean" version of an album is allowed, and if no "clean" version of the album is available, the album will not be available. However, Wal-Mart's policy on carrying "explicit" versions of music albums in their stores seems to vary by country, as albums with the parental advisory label are found in Canadian Wal-Mart stores, for example. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ...

See also

• Parental guidance
• Radio edit

Parental guidance is an established rating system for movies, computer games and music recordings. ... A radio edit is a remix of a musical performance to make it more suitable for broadcast to the general public via radio. ...

Footnotes

TODA