RockStar Crazy: Dee Snider

“We’re not gonna take it anymore.” These words are from a Twisted Sister song from the ‘80s hair band days, and it was one of the album tracks back then (yes, that is what we called them back in the day). In 1984, the big hit for that band was called, “Stay Hungry.” And the name itself gives you the idea of where we might be going today.

I was a kid fresh out of high school when that song became popular; it was one of the biggest hits of the band. They had two great hits from that album that helped the band stand out in the world of hair bands and in Rock ‘n’ Roll history.

“We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock” were two of those hits that gave a young rocker like me the first images that helped me learn to love rock music. A part of me learned to accept the idea of standing out from the crowd way back then.

But today I want to bring out another thing that Dee Snider actually did that changed the face of music. He went before the U.S. Senate hearings that were being held about putting parental warnings on music that had explicit language or offensive things in it.

When I was a young parent, I worked to keep clean music in front of my daughter. As I grew older I was able to see the full picture of what really happened. Dee went before those Senate hearings because he was against the warnings. In the ‘70s, we heard how Rock music had Satanic messages in it. Then came the ‘80s where we heard, “These people are corrupting our world.” And the list of objections to rock could go on and on. Believe it or not, in the early 1800s, the waltz was considered so scandalous that it could only be played once at a party. Music from every era has its objectors.

One of the reasons I chose to build Rocker Life Coach was that I was able to see lessons in life behind all of the so-called scandals and the name throwing. I was able to see the good others were not able to see. And I have since found others using the very same concept of RockStars and finding motivation from music.

Once the laws changed, some current music was labeled with the Explicit Lyrics label, but from that point on it was a label put on many CDs that had already been released. Some would say Dee Snider and his crazy idea of showing up before a Senate hearing had failed.

If you follow music, you will have noticed that once that label was added to many music CDs, they became more popular than others. As we got into the hip hop and rap music era, that was the music that became hotter to get than others types – and it typically had the most Explicit Lyrics labels.

RockStar crazy has been a week where you see fighting to do something or not do something in a crazy way. We talked about crazy ideas that brought many of their creators to the top, and some ideas brought the person to a failure that ultimately changed the career or business they pursued from there.

So many times we worry about what our government is doing to our world. Recently I was in a discussion with a friend about how we need more tax programs from one group to fund another group. This blog is not about politics, but we need to look at the best things we have now and, if a law changes, we need to find the best way to use it.

In the discussion I had, my friend said they need to change the tax rate for that form of income. He talked about taxing the rich at a higher rate. Well, in the case where the Rock Industry took a hit with a label, in a way it backfired. Now those musicians are working to put more of those explicit-language CDs out because they seem to make more money from them.

When you change laws, all you do is change the ways people do things. Those that profit from something will change the way they do things to get around a new law directed at them. They will still profit in life; they will take the idea of RockStar crazy and build their world in a different way.

This week has been about getting you to stop pointing fingers at what others are doing and start looking at what you are doing. If you want to make your world better, be RockStar Crazy in your own way. Before you ask someone to change the laws, look at what you are really doing. Like I said earlier, when my daughter was younger I tried to listen to a different kind of music, but it was not me. When I decided to find the best in the things I loved, that is when I found true success. Yes, my daughter, Jess, still has a respect for doing the right thing; she wants to build a better world. Be yourself and find ways to make your world better. Be your own RockStar Crazy.

I’m Tim Gillette, the Rocker Life Coach. It’s time to live your dream, to love what you do and those you share life with. Build the change in your own life and be your own RockStar Crazy.