Sunday, November 25, 2007

Eagles Fly High--At Wal*Mart

I haven't done a Wal*Mart story in awhile, so allow me to correct that by linking to this article.

One of the most popular rock bands of all time has finally managed to offend--not for its songs, but for how it sells them. There's a lesson here in technology, new business models, and hidebound "progressives."


I'm sensing the "progressives" here aren't going to like "progress".

The first new album from the Eagles in over a decade, "Long Road Out of Eden," has already sold more than a million copies, hitting Billboard's #1 in its first week. It's the kind of blockbuster that used to pay Christmas bonuses at the big record companies, only this album wasn't produced by a big record company. The Eagles released it themselves and are selling it exclusively through Wal-Mart.

This isn't going down well in certain elite precincts.


Now I'm the first to recognize that change isn't necessarily progress, but let's see what Don Henley has to say:

"You would have thought we did a deal with the devil," Mr. Henley says. "People have been crying out for a new paradigm. So we did something new."


Fair enough. I support capitalism.

So let's applaud Mr. Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh and the other Eagles for some creative capitalism, however politically incorrect.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad to see you supporting Don Henley! You and Michael Moore.

The world of entertainment has few bigger critics of W than Henley. Let me guess: he's right to work with Walmart and wrong to criticize W.

Open up and swallow the whole package!

Darren said...

Of course. By supporting one thing he does, naturally I must support *everything* he does. Is that how *you* operate?

I implore you--please try to demonstrate some sense of intelligence when you come here.

Anonymous said...

Anon

War Story. No Shit, There I Was, in my of my life’s ambitions, listening to the Eagles live in New Orleans during the Hell Freezes over Tour, 1994. About half way through the show Don Henley started his propaganda about the Wetlands Act and how we need to contact then Congressman Billy Tauzin to support the bill.

Well I’ve loved the Eagles since I could hear music but there politics is typical old Hollywood. Leftist, non thinking and destructive to my liberty. But Don’s got the right to say what he wants, it’s a free country in spite of the efforts of the Regressive, aka Leftist Movement. So I expressed my opinion of his opinion. I got up and took a leak.

And used the times to buy t-shirts.

I have all the Eagles albums (including Long Road Out of Eden, which is a fantastic CD). I also love the music of groups like The Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen & the East Street Band. I just don’t care for their bullshit leftwing politics.

In the immortal words of Laura Ingraham, “Shut Up and Sing!

Ellen K said...

I think that Henley has matured somewhat and managed to separate his musical achievements from his environmental statements. Did you see the 60 minutes interview where two of the members wouldn't even look at each other when they are talking? I wonder who made the decision? Especially when one of the quotes went something like "no band is a democracy, in the end someone makes the decisions."

Darren said...

I don't watch 60 Minutes :-)

Anonymous said...

OK, so I'm a bit confused. The problem here is that the proles who shop at WalMart aren't capable of appreciating the exquisite nuance in the music of the Eagles that only their betters can discern? Or is it that WalMart, that great oppressor of the people (or at least labor unions), is somehow keeping the music out of upscale, toney establishments? The great unwashed get it first? Horrors!

Anonymous said...

Ellen K

I did for the first time in ages watch 60 minutes to see the interview and it was great. The major reason was because they stayed off politics and concentrated on the band and its music.

One thing I was puzzled by. They said they got back together in 1994 because they though a tour would be very successful. I remember when the album “Common Threads-Songs of the Eagles” came out in 1993 and in an interview Travis Tritt said their getting back was an accident. Tritt said he would love to do a video for the song but he would like to see the members of the band in it and the producers laughed their asses off because “Don Henley and Glenn Fry haven’t spoken in thirteen years…” But they did make the video with Tritt and the rest is history. I have no doubt the thought of “Hey guys, out fans can now afford 75-100 a seat tickets now!” now was a major factor in the decision.

Ellen K said...

No doubt that plays into it. There are plenty of classic rockers who have political and financial agendas tied to "last call" tours. But there are some entertainers that seem to understand their role as entertainment over lecturer. We Fogarty a couple of years ago and he's a wild eyed liberal, but there was no mention of his political views or snide remarks at his show.