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Senator GORE. There is just a reference to someone whose hands
are tied down and whose legs are strapped down, and he is going
under the blade to be cut.
Mr. SNIDER. Yes, there is.
Senator GORE. So it is not really a wild leap of the imagination
to jump to the conclusion that the song is about something other
than surgery or hospitals, neither of which are mentioned in the
song?
Mr. SNIDER. No, it is not a wild jump. And I think what I said at
one part was that songs allow a person to put their own imagination,
experiences, and dreams into the lyrics. People can interpret
it in many ways.
Ms. Gore was looking for sado-masochism and bondage and she
found it. Someone looking for surgical references would have found
that as well.
Senator GORE. Why do you think there is so much sado-masochism
and bondage in some of these new songs?
Mr. SNIDER. I cannot speak for the other artists. I am really only
here to defend myself, and hopefully by speaking for myself as one
person, songwriter in a band that I feel has been unjustly dumped
on, that will just warn us of the dangers of what we are trying to
do here. I really cannot speak for the other bands.
Senator GORE. Now, you made reference to a comment about
T-shirts. I would simply note for the record that the word "T-shirts"
was in plural, and one of them referred to Twisted Sister and the
other referred to a woman in handcuffs. And it was not intended,
as I understand it, to say that you appear with a woman in handcuffs.
There are a lot of different T-shirts and advertisements around
today. I have noticed from some of the fan magazines particularly
featuring heavy metal music that little sado-masochistic outfits are
advertised, with the fingerless gloves and spikes and studs on
them, and that these little S&M outfits are marketed to teens and
preteens. Is that correct?
Mr. SNIDER. Well, they are marketed. Who buys them I am not
sure.
I would just like to say, in reference to the comment about
T-shirts, I have with me a taped cassette of the
Senator GORE. No, I am reading from your transcript of it in
your statement.
Mr. SNIDER. I will have to check the transcript, but when it was
said there was no question she was referring to a Twisted Sister
T-shirt. There was no question if I played the tape for anybody.
Senator GORE. Well, in your own transcript it is in plural,
"T-shirts," and two examples are cited. But I do not want to belabor
that point.
Now, you said that you can look at the titles of albums and look
at the covers and tell what kind of material is inside. Does the title
"Purple Rain" give you an indication that the material is about
masturbation?
Mr. SNIDER. You mean the album title "Purple Rain"? No, it
does not. I did not say in all cases. I believe I covered that there
are occasional albums that are a bit misleading. I said I do not
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