Is Pearl Jam on Target for a Coverup?!
June 1st, 2009
Last Thurs, May 28, local uber-stars, Pearl Jam, performed a uber-secret show at the Showbox without any prior announcement. The lucky crowd contained 300 hired extras, many of whom were from the area’s unemployed ranks. After entering the venue, the extras soon discovered they were not there for a private concert as it may have seemed, rather Pearl Jam was filming a commercial for Target with Cameron Crowe at the theater to direct filming.
.
According to “websites” (that have since taken down all reference to the concert ever happening) Pearl Jam toyed with some new material from their yet untitled album.. a little diddy called “Something’s Going On,” now more likely to be titled “The Fixer” was played over and over to get just the right shots.
.
Rumors has it that Pearl Jam could release their album exclusively at Target stores. Fan club members would still be able to purchase the album online as thi would only apply to retail sales. So why this change ofr heart for the thr supposedly anti-corporate rock giants? Some might say.. sell out?!?! Regardless of what you’d call it, I still commend them for their stand against the TicketBastard but question why all websites with reference to this show/commercial/etc have since deleted their articles.
For those of you wanting to check out the new song-whatever it’s called, you can see it tonight (June 1) on the Tonight Show. For more on the totally secret show at the Showbox, check Antiquiet here:
June 1st, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Kevin leDoux said:
A little inside account can be found here:
http://stereogum.com/archives/pearl-jams-fixer-to-debut-in-target-ad_071831.html
June 1st, 2009 at 11:57 pm
misterlevitan said:
Hmm. I’ll say that the song was good tonight. The stories swirling around the interwebs are all over the map. The bottom line seems to be that “Target isn’t a competitor” to the likes of Easy Street Records, Sonic Boom, Silver Platters, etc… so it’s “worth it” to distribute through this channel. So does this mean Pearl Jam just wants consumers? Target’s the same as fuckin’ WalMart in my book. I don’t and won’t shop at either place, especially for “art”. I mean, what real fan of rock music doesn’t have access to a record store, or the interwebs for downloading, free or otherwise, for that matter? Is PJ *really* going to sell more records, get their message out to people who *need to hear it* by going through Target? This isn’t a cure for fucking cancer. It doesn’t need to be more widely-available. Every PJ record since Vs. has sold fewer than the previous album (to the best of my memory). Are they trying to reverse that trend by pandering to the Target crowd? If they were so trigger-happy to pull videos from eMpTV all those years ago, why is this band seemingly so supportive of putting their records on the shelves next to censored versions of pop bullshit at a store patronized by the pasty, blunted, high-fructose-fueled and Ford-Taurus-driving masses?
Whether it’s Pearl Jam, Fugazi, Ani DiFranco, Ween, Nirvana, or Neil Young, music is not essential to Life On This Planet. So distributing via a huge retail chain doesn’t seem to be worth the cost of the stigma that will be attached by the “true” fans – whoever they are – who don’t need a retail chain or even a brick-and-mortar to get what is basically a luxury item. It’s gonna take me a bit to resolve this issue, but for the time being, I am confused. I have been an unwavering PJ fan since the first album many years ago. A distribution deal, or selling music to Rhapsody or Guitar Hero, isn’t going to shake my allegiance, but it sure is confusing. What altruistic and honorable gains are to be made through this arrangement? I’m really curious to know.