NEWTON-LS LAW: FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION OFTEN LEADS TO CRUDE CONSEQUENCES

"Freedom of speech ... what a concept!"

What a concept, indeed. It has served Americans well for centuries, safeguarding the nation from tyranny and expanding our culture. It has fostered the civil rights movement, groundbreaking literature and all modes of unbridled expression.

On the coattails of this freedom have been pornographers, flag burners and obscenity-screaming rappers, all of whom practice their select crafts with a working know~ledge of the Bill of Rights.

In some ways, the only thing less comfortable than oppression is freedom. With liberty comes a responsibility suggested by society; however, laws can't mandate responsibility without diminishing the freedom.

And picking and choosing the artistically acceptable is forbidden, much to the chagrin of Jesse Helms. So the same freedoms that protect the sensitive and honest writings of Robert Penn Warren also shelter the crude and mean spirit of Andrew Dice Clay.

Thus, people inclined to defend freedom of speech get sour stomachs when bands like 2 Live Crew go on trial for obscenity on an album. The disposition of many liberty-loving souls is to let this band, or any band, have its profane say on matters and let the marketplace decide on its worth.

It doesn't matter that the album, "Nasty As They Wanna Be," is a repulsive piece of trash.

Freedom of speech. What a concept, indeed.

The quoted observation about free speech being a concept of note came from a band called Warrant, to be performing in our city on June 21. It turned up in the lyric notes of the band's latest album, called "Cherry Pie."

I should comment a bit on "Cherry Pie," which is a bit confusing in concept; the title song has only scant mention of baking. Here's the only reference I could find in the lyrics:

She wanted me to feed her

So I mixed up the batter

And she licked the beater.

So much for the dessert tray.

The references aren't nearly as veiled in the disc's last song, called "Ode to Tipper Gore." You might remember that she is the wife of Sen. Albert Gore of Tennessee and a driving force in the effort to put parental warning labels on albums with explicit lyrics. One such label appears on "Cherry Pie."

This "Ode" was recorded in part at various Warrant concerts across the United States. It is short but manages to make clear its point. While the ode mentions various anatomical parts and excretive acts, it seems particularly enamored with a slang expression for an act of intimacy. Exploiting the word's versatility, the word is used as a verb, adjective and exclamation.

Though it was hard to keep up with, the word by my count is used 28 times in 50 seconds.

Tipper Gore must have been ~flattered.

Jani Lane, who lists himself on "Cherry Pie" not as the lead singer but the "oral exciter," had some rather profound thoughts on the "Ode."

In a band biography, he said, "I thought it was time somebody made a stand and said, `Listen, if I, as an artist, feel that to get my point across, I have to use the word ----, then I'm gonna use the word ----.'"

Well said, oral exciter. And outside the Show Me Center they will post a sign saying, "Quiet, please, artist at work."

The thing is, the guy is right. Freedom of expression should be taken seriously, regardless of the sometimes raunchy consequences. In an honest piece of writing, Norman Mailer should not be limited to certain words.

However, the difference between Norman Mailer and Jani Lane is Norman Mailer doesn't have to tell people he's using certain words for the sake of art.

Freedom of speech ... what a ~concept.