DISC DRIVEL

NZ Truth, Issue 1145, 10 November 1927, Page 6

DISC DRIVEL

Vulgar Records Need

Censor's Ban

If a book, a poster or a film containing an objectionable element is brought into this .country, it has rightly to ran the gauntlet of legislative censorship, NATURALLY,' it deserves an early death if there are definite features prejudicial to public morals or wellbeing and the censor is the only man who knows all about it: But there is food for grave thought m the fact that the greatest instrument for influencing the .public taste, namely, the gramophone, is beyond the pale of strict regulation. A tremendous quantity of so-called "music" has been dumped into fhia country lately, and is being put out to the public through a multitude of retail vendors doing business m the ordinary way. A -number of these records sail perilously close to the border line and if there is no legislation at present to do away with what is a menace to impressionable young humanity, then the present Government could well give, consideration to the matter. It cannot he argued that "To the pure — all things are pure," or even "Honi soit gui mal y pense" m the case of these obviously moral undermining, nasal twanged, cheap forms of recorded vulgarity. There, is a line of demarcation between suggestion and blunt statement and it is m the latter case that a great number of these gramophone records come. The main points can be said to be (!) Certain objectionable records are coming into this country (2) The}) are definitely beyond the range of decency and definitely prejudicial and dangerous to the public (3) Some control must be exercised. A number of records could at once be mentioned as coming within the scope of this criticism. . This class of record has nothing to recommend ' it— not even the saving grace of musical interpretation or moderately decent English. The principle is that unwholesome junk is being unloaded m this country and should at once be stopped.. There are risque gramophone records iust as there are risque stories and risque films, but these are always subject to the watchfulness of a careful legislature. Some records lately "put over" may have the saving grace of rhythm, although the words are at once suggestive. It is on this line.. of goods that the vendor is inclined to say "To the pure all things are pure" and he gets away with it. It is, of course, only fair to reflect that people make their own choice when they go to buy gramophone music just as they make their own selections from the library, the difference being that "banned" books are kept out of circulation. There are no banned records, or if there are, there is no check on them. There is an element m the great human machine that needs must be protected from itself and none is more susceptible or impressionable to the risque-sordid-objectionable record as the adolescent. Could not the offloial film censor be given wider powers and perhaps a larger personnel to watch th.c typ» of record coming into New Ze&lanAt