Roland Seim, Josef Spiegel (Editors)
"Nur für Erwachsene" ("For Adults Only" - "X Rated") -
Censorship in Rock and Pop Music
Pop and provocation go together like Rock & Roll, even though today's
mainstream chart songs rarely display the original potential of irritation
from way back when.
That this hasn't always been like this the exhibition and the catalogue
book give a proof of. In using record and CD-covers from the last fifty
years they present what became an issue of public debate and censorship
in a juxtaposition of original vs. censored version. In addition numerous
music videos and vintage tracks complete the show.
Elvis, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones,- you name it: from
it's origin Rock'n Roll was considered The Stairway to Hell, and censorship
was understood as a means to prevent sin, corruption and The Decline of
the Occident.
Organized by topics like PC, Sex, and Violence Book, and exhibition show
if and how this succeeded. Covering Rock, Beat, Punk, Death Metal all
the way to today's Hip Hop Scene the examples given examine the changes
in mentalities, values, and limits through the first 50 years of Rock
and Pop history.
The four-colour illustrated catalogue contains introductory essays, and
a little dictionary on censorship in music.
Exhibtion and catalogue were put together by Dr. Roland Seim, Dr. Josef
Spiegel, and Heinz Kock in collaboration with students of the Musicological
Institute at Hamburg University who contributed several articles.
The project is being supported by the state's cultural administration,
by the Schöppingen Artists Village Foundation, the Rock&Pop Museum
Gronau, and Münster's bookstore "Medium Buchmarkt".
You can get the exhibition any time under reasonable financial conditions,
it was a great sucess in Germany, who might be interested should contact
Telos Verlag.
Roland Seim, Josef Spiegel (Hrsg.) "Nur
für Erwachsene" - Rock- und Popmusik: zensiert, diskutiert,
unterschlagen; Münster 2004, 246 p., paperback., four-colour cover,
and appr. 250 full-colour illustrations, size 24x19 cm, weight 660 g,
ISBN 3-933060-16-8 (ISBN-13: 978-3-933060-16-7), O-price: EUR 24.80, price
reduction after 15.4.2007
More informations about the editor
Further informations in English
on other books of Roland Seim
An english book review (at freemuse.org)
Back to the German website of this book
This title will be presented
at the
Taipei
International Book Exhibition 2006
For more (German) online-reviews
please visit our Links
Click here to find recent cases in Germany
And here some examples of music censorship in the USA (Peter Blecha)
