The Scoop: Profanities, loud music don’t mix
If you like your music and like it loud, you might also find your wallet a little lighter. And by lighter I mean with less money in it.
That’s because the city of McMinnville is determined to turn down the volume when it comes to loud music. This especially pertains to car stereos.
In this case, the bottom line is the city is going to enforce its noise ordinance. Folks who want everyone on the strip to hear their favorite song are now likely to be fined $103 if a police officer is within earshot.
Naturally, this move has generated a touch of controversy and that’s to be expected. Any time you place additional restrictions on what people can do, there is going to be anger, resentment and plots of revenge.
OK, so maybe not plots of revenge but you’ve got some folks who are upset at having to turn down their stereo. You’ve got others who are upset at shelling out $103.
I, however, am not one of the upset people because I have come to grips with the fact I’m no longer a kid. My high school days, and even my college years, are over a decade in the past. Nowadays I go to bed earlier, generally engage in far less mischief, and play my stereo at a much lower volume.
This is a stark contrast to what I call the good, ole days when I used to have three popular pastimes: 1) riding around with the radio blaring; 2) riding around with the radio blaring and the windows rolled down; 3) riding around with the radio blaring and the windows rolled down while wearing sunglasses and no shirt.
I don’t do any of that stuff anymore, but there are still people who do. They pay hundreds – sometimes thousands – of dollars to have high-end stereos installed in their vehicles. With that type of investment, they want to get some use out of it and I don’t blame them.
But I think the driving force behind the sudden enforcement of the noise ordinance is not the volume of the music, but the type of music. Songs are now filled with foul language and graphic descriptions of sex. Today’s musicians have been known to glorify gang violence and drive-by shootings.
While 30-somethings like me might be willing to tolerate a little loud music while driving down the strip, we could certainly do without the profanities – and that’s where the problem begins. I can stand loud guitars and reminisce about the days I used to blare my stereo. But I don’t want to hear vulgarities thrown in my face to the beat of rap music. I certainly don’t want to hear those vulgarities on volume 10.
The fact our music industry has sunk to such depths is unfortunate. It by far overshadows the tiny problem we have with loud car stereos here in town. The overwhelming issue is cleaning up music without trampling our basic free speech rights.
My view is our rights, as Americans, to say what we believe should never be sacrificed. It’s almost unbelievable to think back to the days of British rulers like King Henry VIII who executed people who dared disagree with anything he said.
While I will always believe every person has the right to say whatever he or she wants – about any topic – that free expression can take place without obscenity after obscenity. That’s especially true if you’re going to record thousands of copies of your message and then sell it for $15 a CD.
Since McMinnville officials are powerless to clean up the profanities in today’s music, they have decided to take action against something they can control. That means people can still listen to their nasty music, so long and they keep it low.
McMinnville police officers are singing the right tune when it comes to this noise ordinance. As much as I hate to support a law which snatches away personal freedoms, it’s the correct action to take. It’s not appropriate for a person to blare their car stereo if the song lyrics are greatly offensive to the person three cars down.
(James Clark is editor of the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or at [email protected].)