He still isn’t taking it.
It’s been 35 years since the release of Twisted Sister’s iconic rebel anthem, ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’. Now, decades since the band’s initial popularity and after countless shows, tours and band reunions, legendary frontman Dee Snider still remains true to his word – or lyrics.
The dude’s a metal icon: the hair, the costume, the makeup, the attitude – he epitomised what a glam-metal band’s frontman should be. What’s more, Snider has remained a politically and socially conscious member of the music community; his social awareness sets him apart from other artists of his era and has earned him great respect and relevance well beyond his glam-metal days.
Back in the ‘80s, metal was all the hype. But, some saw the music as dangerous, vulgar and disturbing; references to sex, drugs, or violent themes were becoming increasingly concerning to parents (who were mostly white, middle-class and had too much time). They felt something needed to be done to challenge the supposedly satanic and thematically intolerable messages of metal and rock’n’roll. And so was born the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). The PMRC was formed by four women known as the ‘Washington Wives’, named as such because of their marriage to powerful men in Washington DC. Most notable was Tipper Gore, wife of US senator and later vice president Al Gore.
The organisation was formed with the intention of increasing parental control over the music that children were able to access. Representatives of the centre were absolutely convinced that some music, particularly rock and metal, was sending pervasive messages to children which glorified themes such as suicide, sadomasochism, drugs and sex. Consequently, they worked to introduce several measures to inhibit kids from buying music which featured explicit content. This included trying to push television broadcasters to not play explicit music videos and for stores to keep albums with explicit covers under the counters.
The PMRC also created a list of the worst tracks, named the ‘filthy fifteen’, which included songs by artists including Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Prince, Madonna and, of course, Twisted Sister’s song ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’. But, before the centre could introduce any measures, they allowed a senate hearing to take place. Three musicians were up against the PMRC: John Denver, Frank Zappa and Dee Snider. Snider took the opportunity to defend musicians in the most metal way possible: with a brilliantly articulate, reasoned and impassioned ten-minute-long testimony.
His speech is one of the most entertaining rebuttals to ever exist. Snider’s huge hair is as sizeable as his confidence, and the defense of his music is incredibly satisfying to watch. He defends his music and lyrical content by stating “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” and there was “clear evidence of Twisted Sister’s music being completely misinterpreted and unfairly judged by supposedly well-informed adults”.
Another important element within Snider’s testimony was his assertion of the band’s efforts to avoid sexism in their music wherever possible. After Tipper Gore accused Twisted Sister of displaying derogatory images of women on their merchandise, Snider declared in his testimony that his band “have always taken great pains to steer clear of sexism in [their] merchandise, records, stage shows and personal lives. Furthermore, [Twisted Sister] have always promoted the belief that rock’n’roll should not be sexist but should cater to males and females equally”.
Despite the sincerity and ferocity of Snider’s defense, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) implemented what we know today as the generic ‘Parental Advisory’ sticker. However, many noted that the sticker only increased record sales for artists, as listeners would be more enticed to buy music marked with the label. In his track ‘Freedom of Speech’, Ice-T said the PMRC’s decision to mark records with the sticker was counterintuitive, claiming, “The sticker on the record is what makes ’em sell gold.”
Over the years, multitudes of musicians have criticised the PMRC’s suppressive measures on the music industry; artists such as Sonic Youth, Dead Kennedys, The Ramones, Eminem, Megadeth and Metallica have all criticised the association. Most notably was Rage Against the Machine’s 1993 protest performance at Lollapalooza, where the band used their entire 14-minute set to protest the censorship imposed by the PMRC. All four members stood on stage naked, with duct-tape covering their mouths and PMRC written across their chests.
Balls on parade! The story behind @RATM‘s naked Lollapalooza protest: https://t.co/R2iPKck8Id pic.twitter.com/NnrC0MAVua
— Louder (@LouderPosts) August 2, 2016
The glory days of Twisted Sister ended in the mid-1980s, but Snider continued to keep himself occupied within the arts, trying his hand at film writing, acting and hosting the heavy metal radio show The House of Hair. But his most well-known work remains that of Twisted Sister and his song ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’. Since its release, many have used the track to represent their own fights against authority, which has been sometimes problematic for Snider. When the song was used by American politician Paul Ryan for an anti-abortion campaign in 2009, Snider was rightly appalled and demanded the song not be affiliated with causes that promoted an anti-abortion sentiment. Snider also initially agreed to allow Trump to use his song throughout his campaign, but quickly withdrew permission when he learnt of the conservative policies Trump was pushing. On the other hand, when ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ was used last year by striking Oklahoma teachers, Snider himself voiced his complete support for the teachers and even dedicated his Rocktopia performance of the song to the strikers.
In early 2019, Snider was put into the Australian spotlight after conservative politician Clive Palmer illegally used a version of ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ in his campaign ad for the United Australia Party. Snider asserted that Palmer had infringed copyright laws and demanded he withdraw the videos from circulation. Snider was especially disgruntled at the fact that Palmer was misrepresenting the meaning of his song. In an interview with The Today Show, Snider said “it makes me look bad. He does not represent what I represent: I stand by freedom of choice for everybody”.
The response from Palmer was one of complete defensiveness; he argued that he’d done nothing wrong and even called on the Australian government to revoke Snider’s visa so that he’d have to cancel his upcoming tour of Australia. Palmer also challenged Snider to a sing-off as a means of settling the conflict, an offer that he (thankfully) did not take up.
Snider took to Twitter multiple times to call out Palmer’s corruption, labelling him as an “entitled prat” and a “low life, piece of Kangaroo dung, criminal without an ounce of dignity”. Speaking to the Courier Sun, Snider also proposed that he and Palmer settle the dispute with a one-on-one fight. “Let’s get rid of the lawyers and duke it out,” Snider said. “Just don’t let him sit on me! I’m fit as fuck, I’ll kick his ass, but he’s got one move, which is the ass plant. He could crush me and there’d be nothing I could do”.
Thank you to all of my friends and fans in Australia for your support in my fight against @CliveFPalmer! In my opinion he is nothing but a low life, piece of kangaroo dung, criminal without an ounce of dignity! Clive: Pick any arena son and I will bury you!
— Dee Snider (@deesnider) January 30, 2019
Dee Snider is a true rock’n’roll hero whose legacy is one of integrity, empowerment and rebellion. He prides himself on being a nonconformist, and notes that his purpose is one of amplification: of standing up, fighting back, holding up the middle finger and saying ‘fuck you’.
