September 19, 1985, is a date that holds a place in metalheads’ hearts: the day that music went to war with Washington. That date is recounted in the second episode of Paramount+’s docuseries, I WANNA ROCK: THE 80’S METAL DREAM. In HollywoodLife’s EXCLUSIVE sneak peek at episode 2, Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider remembers the day he testified before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee over implementing a rating system over music lyrics. “Conservatives decided to rate rock records,” Dee says in the clip. “This was a crack in the First Amendment.”
“The call came in to testify before the Senate hearing,” says Dee. “I thought I was being asked to carry the flag into battle. ‘Dee, we want you to lead the armies – the Rock & Roll Armies – into battle.’ Hell f—cking yeah!” From there, I WANNA ROCK shows the classic footage of Dee walking into Congress in a denim vest, a studded leather belt, blue jeans, and pure confidence. “They really thought they were going to make a fool out of me,” says Dee. “You really should have vetted me a lot better.”
This moment was one of 80’s metal’s highest or lowest points, depending on who you ask. I WANNA ROCK, the three-part docuseries on Paramount+, details how heavy metal took hold of America in that decade and how it faced many challenges throughout the 80s: drug use, sexism, Congressional hearings, and changing musical tastes. While the first episode detailed the rise, the third will channel the fall, with grunge and alternative slowly taking over the spotlight once held by spandex and giant hair.
I WANNA ROCK premiered exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. and Canada on July 18. It’ll hit the streaming service in the U.K. and Australia on July 19, with further international markets to follow later this Summer.
As for what Dee spoke about in Episode 02, the 1985 hearing was in response to the Parents Music Resource Center, a group founded by four women with political connections: Tipper Gore, wife of Senator/Vice President Al Gore; Susan Baker, wife of Treasury Secretary James Baker; Pam Howar, wife of Washington realtor Raymond Howar; and Sally Nevius, wife of ex-Washington City Council Chairman John Nevius. The PMRC is known for publishing the “Filthy Fifteen,” a list of songs with lyrical content that they found objectional. The list included:
- Prince, “Darling Nikki”
- Sheena Easton, “Sugar Walls”
- Judas Priest, “East Me Alive”
- Vanity, “Strap On ‘Robbie Baby'”
- Motley Crue, “Bastard”
- AC/DC, “Let Me Put My Love Into You:
- Twisted Sister, “We’re Not Gonna Take It”
- Madonna, “Dress You Up”
- W.A.S.P., “Animal (F—K Like A Beast)”
- Def Leppard, “High ‘N’ Dry (Saturday Night)”
- Mercyful Fate, “Into The Coven”
- Black Sabbath, “Trashed”
- Mary Jane Girls, “In My House”
- Venom, “Possessed”
- Cyndi Lauper, “She Bop”
The PMRC wanted similar ratings for records as there were for movies – e.g. O for occult themes, S for sex, D for drugs, V for violence. With nine songs making up the “Filthy Fifteen,” Dee spoke out against the possibility of a government body determining what was suitable for public consumption. Two other musicians – Frank Zappa and John Denver – joined Dee in opposing governmental regulation.
“The beauty of literature, poetry, and music is that they leave room for the audience to put its own imagination, experiences, and dreams into the words. The examples I cited earlier showed clear evidence of Twisted Sister’s music being completely misinterpreted and unfairly judged by supposedly well-informed adults,” Dee said in his testimony. “We cannot allow this to continue. There is no authority who has the right or the necessary insight to make these judgments, not myself, not the Federal Government, not some recording industry committee, not the PTA, not the RIAA, and certainly not the PMRC.”
Before the hearing ended in November, the RIAA agreed to implement the now infamous “Parental Advisory” stickers on records.
Snider has never shied from expressing himself. In 2023, he inadvertently found himself in the center of a political controversy after weighing in on a post by KISS member Paul Stanley about trans kids. Paul, 71, said that “because a little boy likes to play dress up in his sister’s clothes or a girl in her brother’s,” it shouldn’t mean that parents should “lead them steps further down a path that’s far from the innocence of what they are doing.” Dee shared the statement, adding, “There was a time where I ‘felt pretty’ too. Glad my parents didn’t jump to any rash conclusions!”
There was an immediate backlash, with many taking Paul’s comments as anti-trans/transphobic and Dee’s words as condoning those sentiments. “I saw what Paul said, and I essentially agreed about him saying kids aren’t ready to make those decisions,” Dee told Fortune about the comments.
Dee was supposed to appear as the Grand Marshal for San Francisco’s Pride Parade, but Dee told Fortune that the decision for him not to attend was mutual. “‘I think I should not attend. Look, we disagree on this subject, I’m in support of you guys, I don’t want to cause you problems, let me bow out before you even announce it.'”
“You can’t afford to be alienating supporters, people who stand with you, sing with you, march with you, just because they don’t agree with every single thing you say,” he told Fortune. “I am a supporter of the trans community and the gay community. I dressed in drag and stood tall, and inspired millions of young men and women to be themselves.”
Paul later issued a statement about how “while my thoughts were clear, my words certainly were not” and that he supports “those struggling with their sexuality identity while enduring constant hostility and those whose path leads them to reassignment surgery. It’s hard to fathom the kind of conviction that one must feel to take those steps. “Dee would also write on Twitter that he was “open to educating myself so I can be a better ally” following this incident.