POP / ROCK

Record Warning Label Bill Passes: Pennsylvania, whose motto is “Virtue, Liberty and Independence,” could become the first state in the union to mandate warning labels on albums. A bill recently passed by the state’s House of Representatives would require manufacturers or distributors to place fluorescent yellow parental warning labels on albums, cassettes and CDs that contain explicit lyrics. The label would identify lyrics that describe, advocate or encourage an array of acts from suicide to drug use. The amendment would be retroactive, and a retailer found guilty of selling a product that a manufacturer failed to label could be fined up to $300 and sentenced to 90 days in jail. The Recording Industry Assn. of America, which four years ago instituted a voluntary labeling system for albums containing explicit lyrics, has vowed to challenge the constitutionality of the bill should it become law.