http://www.seattlesubsonic.com/2009/06/01/is-pearl-jam-on-target-for-a-coverup/ The Sound From Under The Clouds Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:24:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 http://www.seattlesubsonic.com/2009/06/01/is-pearl-jam-on-target-for-a-coverup/#comment-3891 misterlevitan Tue, 02 Jun 2009 07:57:23 +0000 http://www.seattlesubsonic.com/?p=4906#comment-3891 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. 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.

]]> http://www.seattlesubsonic.com/2009/06/01/is-pearl-jam-on-target-for-a-coverup/#comment-3886 Kevin leDoux Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:14:47 +0000 http://www.seattlesubsonic.com/?p=4906#comment-3886 A little inside account can be found here: http://stereogum.com/archives/pearl-jams-fixer-to-debut-in-target-ad_071831.html A little inside account can be found here:
http://stereogum.com/archives/pearl-jams-fixer-to-debut-in-target-ad_071831.html

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