W.A.S.P.
[disambiguation: Warner-Amex Satellite Productions AKA WASP]
Los Angeles-based heavy metal outfit formed in the early 1980's. W.A.S.P. was among the most controversial of hair metal bands, mixing themes of sexual perversion and Satanism into an intoxicating stew of forbidden pleasure and intincing pain. Its acronym was commonly thought to represent either We Are Satan's People or We Are Sexual Perverts (in fact, both expansions appeared on various LP infolds). The band's early oeuvre, including "Scream Until You Like It" and "Headless Children", helped cement its position on the outer reaches of mainstream acceptability, a boundary it later transgressed with 1986's "Animal (F*ck Like a Beast)". The song's video received 'round-the-clock airplay on Warner-Amex Satellite Productions's Music Television, also known as WASP MTV [1], leading to a barrage of confusion and vitriol. Throughout the video, the band displayed its moniker - without periods - in flames surrounded by Satanic paraphernalia and bikini-clad women with silver buzz saws protruding from their pubic areas, leading naive parents and guardians to conclude the video to be a longform advertisement for the company, contributing to the channel's eventual expulsion from mainstream media packages. The incident is often grouped under the banner of "Poltergeist Moments", a term for shockingly violent, sexualized or otherwise disturbing content readily available on early basic cable.
- ↑ Or, simply MTV.