Band Of Horses Help Wal-Mart Express Their Mission Statement
Imagine, if you will, the Wal-Mart board meeting, in which this new ad campaign was pitched full of discussions of what it really means to be Wal-Mart, the finest of the discount retail behemoths, the purveyor of everything, all the time. Everything All The Time? Wait! Ding-ding-ding-ding! Give that ad exec a gold star! Band Of Horses may be ready to Cease To Begin, but Wal-Mart's more interested in publicizing their "Funeral" -- taking that track and setting as background to the store's many merits, that is. Reader Seth informs us of Wal-Mart's new ad initiative, and asks "recognize that song?" We do! Now there's no need to bust out the digicams when BoH lays into "The Funeral," Band fans; just head over to savemoneylivebetter.com to get your fix of majestic, open-skied reverb and get psyched about sweet, sweet savings on digicams ... which you can then take to a Band Of Horses show and use when they sing "The Funeral."
Posted at 2:08 PM in Commercial Appeal
Tags: Band Of Horses
good for them for at least confirming their own shittiness in a public forum
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Those guys are total cockgobblers. Shake hands with the devil, boys.
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If I remeber correctly, the comments a few months ago were pretty positive that it was just fine and dandy that Wilco pimp Volkswagens, I'm betting everyone hates on BOH for pimping Wal-mart. I can see the "But VW's not as EVIL as Wal-Mart." comments coming. Look, all big companies do one thing, they try to make money, thats how they remain big companies. And just for the record, I enjoy both bands, and if they wanna cash checks to fund the touring, etc. then good for them, not that they should care what I think anyway.
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i support bands making money bia commercials, but WAL-MART?
that really is shaking hands with the devil
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Chris - there's making money, and then there's making money by squeezing the life blood out every single employee...and then squeezing some more.
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If you think that's interesting, I happen to know for a fact that they just sold "Is There A Ghost?"
to Ford. Is Ford as evil as VW? I don't know. But I bet BOH's fresh new "southerness" will sell more than a couple pick-up. Yee haw! Better put that money in the bank boys.
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Rogerthat - what an exaggeration if I've ever heard one.
I know someone who has worked for corporate Wal-Mart for years now. Yeah, she tells me her job is boring and for god sakes, she LIVES in Northern Arkansas, but "squeezing the life blood out every single employee"........ C'mon!
Thanks for the laugh on this fine Wednesday!
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Did anyone else hear MAN MAN playing during a Nike commercial for women's soccer?
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On a related topic, how come the new Band of Horses album is prominently featured on Stereogum's "Heavy Rotation" list when you just bashed it in a "Premature Evaluation" a couple of days ago? You're sending mixed signals.
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Before everyone goes jumping up and down all over the band, you should realize that labels and publishers often have the right to set up these deals on behalf of artists. The deal certainly wouldn't happen without the label's okay. SubPop has generally been pretty open to licensing material for commercials for major corporations so honestly, I'm not that surprised.
It looks like the ad agency that did the site was the Martin Agency, the agency that did the Geico Gecko. Maybe, someone can convince them to use Wolf Eyes in a Geico ad...
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Wal*Mart money sure doesn't buy that great of a website. Gross.
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Shocking. Welcome to my shit list guys. At least the New Pornographers were shilling education...
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shity!
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I don't know which is worse, Band of Horses trying to make money off of their creation or Wal-mart forcing people to work for them against their will.
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Those bastards-- making a profit of off their own creative property. Who do they think they are?
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anyone else find it odd that life-affirming Wal-Mart is using a song called "The Funeral" ? And not just that, but listing a credit at the bottom.
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Stereogum is making it really hard for me to look forward to the new record, haha.
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Now that they claim to be from South Carolina, Wal-Mart fits perfectly with their image.
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wow that's one of the most disgusting placements i've ever seen. wilco is fine by me for VW -- it's just a car commercial. however the walmart piece is little more than propaganda. walmart is far from a socially responsible corporation and this piece attempts to convince the consumer otherwise. whoever responsible should hang their heads in shame...all the way to the bank.
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"I don't know which is worse, Band of Horses trying to make money off of their creation or Wal-mart forcing people to work for them against their will."
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHHAHAHAAAAAAA
the second they played a show they were trying to make money off of their creation. um...that's kind of what being in a band is...unless you never release an album, play a show, or get t-shirts made...whether their goal for making music is the paycheck or not (i'm guessing "not"), money is made...even if it's nothing more than the free drink at the bar.
also...ad agencies buy songs from labels. companies do not buy songs from artists, so be careful with all the finger-pointing. remember modest mouse, m83, wilco, the shins, arcade fire, etc. all being in commercials!? go easy on the horses for once.
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I think John Densmore said it best when he said that George Harrison said it best:
"The late, transcendental George Harrison had something to say about this issue. The Beatles "could have made millions of extra dollars [doing commercials], but we thought it would belittle our image or our songs," he said. "It would be real handy if we could talk to John [Lennon]...because that quarter of us is gone...and yet it isn't, because Yoko's there, Beatling more than ever."
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20020708/densmore
I knew bands that didn't need to sell their music to multi-national corporations, and you, Band of Ponies, are not one of those bands.
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yeah, the beatles really needed an extra 100 million clams.
ben bridwell used to be homeless.
lay off the horses, assholes.
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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Oh man, this is priceless. That motherfucker gives some fans shit for taking pictures or videos during this song and then he sells it to Wal-Mart?!? I guess the band just wanted to guarantee they get a spot on the Save Money, Live Better tour with Nickelback, B5, and Rascal Flatts. Please, Please, Please! tell me this story grows some legs and ends this bands shitty career for good.
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sean -- education? Really? University of Phoenix is a FOR PROFIT school. It's a corporation and has some bad, bad shit going on with it (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/education/11phoenix.html?ex=1328850000&en=5c8573d57de4bffe&ei=5088). People who think VW or University of Phoenix or Starbucks aren't as "bad" as Wal-Mart are just kidding themselves.
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In order for a band to survive, and yes,live the rock n roll dream, they have to sell their music...and since everyone is pretty much downloading music for free, bands have to turn to a "benefactor"...in this case a place I never shop at anyway..
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I think all bands should only play songs they wrote themselves in their soundproof garage for their family and cat. That is all. Music is to be horded not heard.
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I'm all for indie bands making a little extra money and getting exposure by selling their music for commercials, but I find this extra gross because of Wal*Mart's "family values" criteria for stocking CDs and magazines.
[http://www.pbs.org/itvs/storewars/stores3_2.html]
I wonder if Wal*Mart will request a "sanitized" verison of Everything All the Time to make "Weed Party? a little less objectionable?
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dun dun dun dun-da dun dun-da dun
DUN DUN DUN DUN-DA DUN DUN-DA DUN!
(^imperial march)
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there are no words.
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I have no words.
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Here it is then people. It's been brought to my attention this websites' existence thru the grapevine after they gave our record a shitty review or something. Then of course I caught wind about this whole fiasco about Wal-Mart and was asked to comment about it and decided to not say a word. It seems to me too large of a deal now to not say anything so now that I'm a little concerned i'll state my peace, thru the same sad medium of blogging (pussy).
Um, I am a total douche. I write derivative geography songs that have been written at least a million times by a million more talented people than I. I know how lucky I am to play music for a living cause i've worked in shitty jobs my whole life since I have no education or skill of any kind. I got lucky with this band and I still have no idea how i'm in this position. SO, now people wanna buy our songs. I don't really care who it is. I think it's pretty hilarious still that anybody likes our songs or allows me and my best friends to do what we love for a living. I've been a bit of a dirtbag my whole life and find it comical that a corporation of any kind would want anything to do with me at all.
I'm a bigger douche (somehow) by even responding to this so let me put an exclamation on this whole topic by saying that with Wal-Marts' money I'll go and buy a bunch of camcorders to hand out during our shows for kids to record 'The Funeral' while my sweaty, stupid face sings a song i ripped off from THE FLAMING LIPS!!! Don't get fucked you guys.
Sincerely,
Benji Birdsmell (bag of horeshit)
P.S.
I drive a 86 Ford F-150. I'm stoked for the Ford promotion. My truck still runs.
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ford blows.
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fucken hell, all of you criticizing cockheads make me want to sell all of my cd's and start listening to poo music, just to distance myself from you holier than thou 'indie' coolkidz. i realise now why my friends think indie fans are pretentious pricks. coz unfortz it seems most of you are.
can any musician whose name isn't spencer do anything right??
obviously not. fuck selling a few thousand cd's and playing gigs to sell out crowds of 200 people, isn't really the most lucrative enterprise.
so why the hate??
any dollar in the pocket keeps these bands making music, and that is fine by me.
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Yeah! There is no inbetween! Either endorse horribly unethical corporations or be poor and sad (and probably smelly)! Right on, ant! Damn those 'indie' fans who expect a little moral 'fibre' from 'their' favourite 'musicians' and/'or' bandz! let's go listen to some poo!
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thanks uncle for clarifying that i used a z and inverted commas. do you object to bands selling their music for advertising in general, or just this company in particular?
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psssst, indie kids... if you really want to be rebellious and contrary, embrace capitalism and rejoice and be glad for your brother's ability to do whatever he wants, to be rewarded for his work... self-righteous indignation is the true conformity these days, and you really don't want to be just like everyone around you, do you? you run the risk of being a boring cliche
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The over-30 realist in me knows these guys have the right to do whatever they want with their music. They need to make a living & provide for their families. Good. More power to them.
But the angry 14-year old in me that listens to Fugazi cries bullshit. I don't know when it became awesome in the indie/punk scene to sell your song to some douchebag corporation that has fuck all to do with music: what once was about a rejection of mainstream record company values now apparently doesn't mind throwing away any credibility for a few bucks. So either they're the next evolutionary step in the indie world, or they're fucking poseurs. My vote goes towards the latter. Maybe now they can do a tour with Kid Rock co-sponsored by Coors AND Wal-Mart. Avril can open. Wouldn't that be punk, kids?
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"The over-30 realist in me knows these guys have the right to do whatever they want with their music."
Ferris, I accept your apology.
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The 14-year old me just kicked your panty-wearing, commodified corporate poseur ass.
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Wal- mart is where I bought one of my first Cds.
Its a turn from where they are now yes, but not a bad one. Now I wonder the market must be booming at wal-mart for bands like BOH.
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Capitalism has nothing to do with the future. Its the present and the past. In this situation BOH's is not changing there music, but enhancing there target appeal. Its more of a return to what made these guys awesome for getting this far. Their ingenuity is something of genius. Indie is music and music evoles ! Get over it you swearing hicks!
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I made these panties myself.
I also grow my own food. I power my homemade electronic devices with electricity I generate myself from windpower and post my comments on a version of the internet not spawned from the military-industrial complex of the sixties. I do not use any petroleum-based products in any form. I do not accept payment for any of my labor.
I do all of this so that I can criticize without hypocrisy those around me that crassly enjoy the benefits of modern, corporate-driven life. And yet I still can't bring myself to rag on Band of Horses.
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Jerry! Jerry ! Jerry!
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are you shitting me?? jesys...Walmart didnt make Bono any cooler..and I am pretty sure he regrets U2's involvment with them in any manner. GOOD LUCK FUCKERS...and I loved ye too..awww..
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Some of you people need to get a fucking life. Seriously. Enjoy the music and if you don't, so be it. Indie cred is the most hilariously stupid concept and thought process I have ever seen. The minute you gain indie cred, you lose it. BOH make good music. Get off their nuts. Everything is derivative. Everything has influences. Everything is similar to everything else. It's either good, or it's crap. This is good. Embrace it. Don't criticize and bash everything down behind your Macbook just because your life sucks.
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I say that more bands need to do Wal Mart commercials. The sooner we get rid of all these pussy indie bands, the better we'll all be. Drum and bass for ever you fucks.
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This very blog was made possible from the advertising support of corporations. I.e. Stereo Gum receives revenue from corporate advertisers - not dissimilar to Wal-Mart.
I find it disingenuous that the same people that slam affiliation with corporations (a la BOH and Wal-Mart) benefit from products and services that are made possible by corporations like Wal-Mart. I'd bet you shop at Wal-Mart.
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BOH is now dead to me.
way to follow up the worst single to date with the worst career move ever. -Thank you for shopping assholes.
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I just threw-up in my mouth a little. A total disappointment.
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The more I think about this- the more I realize artists should get deals like this. I live in Seattle- a city bursting with amazing talent. It's great to see people make something of themselves & dreams. As much as I hate Wal-Mart- Way to go Band Of Horses. (But I can still taste the throw-up.)
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"I post my comments on a version of the internet not spawned from the military-industrial complex of the sixties."
Now that is comedy.
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I don't think BoH ever claimed to subscribe to any indie or punk ideals. If someone could show me an interview where they espouse anti-corporate DIY beliefs I'll shut my mouth. These guys aren't exactly Fugazi. Hell, they're not even Sonic Youth (who has been on a mega-corporate label for years and just signed with Starbucks). Like someone above said, the lead singer was homeless in Seattle for a while (literally lived in the back of a Ryder truck from what I understand). But I'm pretty sure unless you've found yourself washing dishes to pay for your next meal, you're probably in no position to criticize anyone who takes a check for their music.
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Who cares? Seriously. Get yours or somebody else will take it.
Besides, Walmart has a pretty neat list of $12.00 meds. Save money and live better. Save money and live better. Save money and live better.
Happier. Fatter. Less Productive. And I'm okay with that.
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bands have to make money, and selling their songs is a great way to do it. in almost every instance, the band does get final approval regardless of what kind of publishing/label deal they have. the difference here is that it's WALMART. either they didn't do the research and find out what a completely unethical company this is, or they did and they just didn't care. whichever is the case, i am not going to support a band that is this ignorant.
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[Steeling self for onslaught of indignant responses] Does everyone here who are putting it hard to BoH have actual first-hand knowledge of Wal-Mart's corporate evilness, or is everyone just parroting the company line and hoping no one will call you on it? Can anyone name a corporation that you consider ethical enough to allow for indie bands to promote their wares with your blessing?
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This is a joke. I applaud them for making some cash. I mean, really, would you rather Nickelback be making more clams?
How come every band puts a song in a commercial (VW) or is tied to an ad campaign do we have to question their artistic integrity or morals? Meanwhile most of us go ahead and download a full album "illegally" without as much as blinking. I saw more power to these guys. Make all the money you can before hipsters move on to another band to love and then cast aside.
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*say more power
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http://walmartwatch.com/blog/archives/wal_mart_re_uses_flawed_reporting_methods/
"Legitimate, independent reports not commissioned by Wal-Mart show that when the company comes to town, poverty levels go up, wages go down and small businesses go away."
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I am totally horrified that Band of Horses would do this. And don't give me this crap about Sub-Pop being responsible, and if they are the band should come out against the decision and demand the ad be pulled.
I'm not against bands making money. The more money they make the better they can create their music. I remember when Le Tigre licensed Deceptacon to Telus (a Canadian telephone company.) When Kathleen Hanna was asked about this by CBC she said that artists should not feel ashamed about licensing their songs for commercial use. However, she then added that bands should choose very carefully the companies they deal with, that the companies should be fairly benign.
Walmart is a malicious company (see the documentary WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price.) Band of Horses is in bed with the devil and has let its core fans down. Too bad, but it's poetic justice that their new album is a flop. Let this be a lesson to other groups: don't piss off your core fans.
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I just ask, before we get all high and mighty, put yourself in their shoes and what would you do? Faced with the opportunity of making more money just by simply licensing a song to Wal-Mart, c'mon, most likely you would do it. Don't call them an enabler. If that's the case, then we can say any artist that is sold in their store is an enabler. Listen, it's a slippery slope. You can't help but be a hypocrite somewhere along the way. I don't have a problem with BOH involved in this, AT ALL.
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What freaks me out if that I,ve spent the last two days thinking it was Eddie Vedder singing, who I respect as an artist and a person... Is Walmart trying to dicredit him because of his politics by hiring this CLONEBAND? Wonder what Vedder thinks of this.
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"I just ask, before we get all high and mighty, put yourself in their shoes and what would you do?"
Call me old fashioned, but I'd have to ask myself, "What the fuck does my song have to do with Wal-Mart?" and go back and make my money the old timey way: touring & album sales.
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"What freaks me out if that I,ve spent the last two days thinking it was Eddie Vedder singing, who I respect as an artist and a person... Is Walmart trying to dicredit him because of his politics by hiring this CLONEBAND? Wonder what Vedder thinks of this."
WIF?
this makes no sense. either you're really hilarious, or you should go away.
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Dude, Band of Horses already had a song on the vomit train-wreck that is "One Tree Hill." I'd say they sold out a long time ago, if you want to be technical. Thing is, I could care less how they make bank. I'm sure they sleep fine at night.
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www.walmartwatch.com
I stand corrected. A website devoted to helping Wal-Mart understand its own evilness is a godsend. My heart is warmed by the selfless benevolence. Personally, I would rather see a website devoted to explaining to undereducated Wal-Mart workers that they would be better off on the unemployment line, or better still getting the government to outlaw the company outright.
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Fuck capitalism.
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Was anyone else annoyed and discomforted by Bridwell's response to all of this? Makes me kinda sickly. He comes off as, for lack of better words, a selfish hick.
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selfless benevolence?
the site was originally funded by the SEIU (service employees international union).
say what you will about unions, but they do not exist for the reason of selfless benevolence.
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I've tried to enjoy BOH before, but just couldn't.
And since they left Seattle and are now shilling for WalMart, I guess I can stop trying to like them.
Hope you enjoy being back on the street in a year or two, Benji, because at this point, you have nowhere to go but down.
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the sad part is, it's hard to find a band that doesn't sell their music to a huge corporation, feist, the flaming lips, cat power, wilco, ect...Whether or not the company offends you personally doesn't really make a difference, it could have been any band with any company. It kind of makes me irritated to see someone say "fuck capitalism", like someone above just did, while he's screaming it out the window of his jetta.
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"Too bad, but it's poetic justice that their new album is a flop." - JM Canada
HAHA, it's not even released yet and it's already a flop!
"go back and make my money the old timey way: touring & album sales." - Ferris
Is this how you make your money? I doubt it. Your 30+ yr old self should give your 14 yr old self a good beating. Grow up you little bitch, seriously.
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Walmart, patron of the arts.
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I know that sick-in-the-pit-of-your-stomach feeling one gets when you realize your favorite song has been sold to an evil corporation (See My Morning Jacket "Mahgeetah" to Coors). But the band benefits and if you don't spend money with that corporation, they (evil corps) don't get anything out of it.
So don't buy from Wal-Mart if you hate them. I haven't been in one for 7 or 8 years.
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absolutely ridiculous.
A. Have any of you ever tried to "live" off your music? good for them for selling shit to walmart. it makes no difference who the company is considering they are all corrupt but hooray for them for taking a little chunk of the most evil of alls money.
B. Any of you heard the new record yet? its an oustanding record and you guys are all gonna dismiss them because of an old song being used or because they got all "southern".
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I for one think BoH's boring drive by truckers cover-routine is a perfect match for the boring elastic waistband walmart crowd,
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band of horses? who the fuck are they?
wal-mart. jesus.
have a word with yourselves, the horses.
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whoaaa nellie! i don't quite get all the hating here, as someone above said, it's the ad agencies who purchase the songs from the label, at the end of the day, yes BOH agrees, unless they're vehemently opposed-- opposed to making money, that is. the whole thing is oxymoronic really, the indie ethos vs. corporate culture? let's dis walmart and go piss our money away to the closet republicans at urban outfitters! stove pipe pants and military garb are in season, you know!
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"Le Tigre licensed Deceptacon to Telus (a Canadian telephone company.) When Kathleen Hanna was asked about this by CBC she said that artists should not feel ashamed about licensing their songs for commercial use. However, she then added that bands should choose very carefully the companies they deal with, that the companies should be fairly benign."
Never heard of this, but I'm gonna assume it's true.
I agree with Hanna's take. Be capitalist, that's okay, but capitalists are powerful and must have strict responsibility. An artist who takes responsible capitalism seriously should know something about the company who will be using his/her/their music, therefore associating the two together.
Sam Walton, the focus the Wal-Mart commercial in question, was a pro-working class, responsible capitalist. His four kids are NOT. Sam Walton's probably rolling over in his grave about that. In the last 30 or 40 years, Wal-Mart has gone from a paradigm-shifting retailer to the pinnacle of unethical retail corporations. Power, and money, corrupts.
Now, Wal-Mart's made conscious efforts lately to try to improve their image (at least) and treat employees and customers better (which is encouraging). There's no accounting for taste, but Wal-Mart's aesthetic makes me pretty queasy.
While I'm not inclined to give Wal-Mart a free pass on anything ever, nor am I inclined to ever give them a cent of my money on purpose, wouldn't it be ostensibly the same to some of you if BoH gave a song for Target to use? Or is Target arbitrarily "cooler" to some of you? Do any of you overlook the fact that Urban Outfitters buys and sells clothes made by sweatshop laborers in Southeast Asia and Mexico?
Do you overlook the fact that the CEO of Whole Foods engaged in illegal insider trades so it could slowly chip away at its main competition (Wild Oats) so it could swallow it up and be part of its growing corporate empire, further contributing to the shrinking number of local, homegrown co-ops?
Some people in this conversation need to take good, long looks at themselves and then take good, long looks at how they vote with their dollars.
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Okay, okay. So we can all hate on Wal*Mart. How many of you still shop there? It's a hate to love, love to hate kind of relationship with that place.
I have no problem with bands licensing their songs to corporations or television. It's a huge moneymaker; why would you pass up an opportunity? There's a clause in most record deals that reads that the band has to approve of any endorsements or licensing opportunities; if any of them had a personal vendetta against Wal*Mart, they probably wouldn't have let them use the song. A band of straight-edgers isn't going to license their song for use in an alcohol ad, you know? That kind of thing.
So what if they did. You have three options: continue shopping at Wal*Mart and shun BoH, continue listening to BoH and shun Wal*Mart, or just don't give a damn altogether.
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You know what's even shittier? Michelangelo's patrons were the Medicis. Those assholes owned half of Florence, but did they allow unions? Nope. And their peasants had to work for YEARS before going on the HMO. Even worse, the Medicis took all kinds of credit and used Michelangelo's work to further their own interests!
M-Gelo was sell out. The Sistine Chapel is sooooo over.
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Guys... it's Band of Horses. BAND OF FUCKING HORSES! The who cares factor is so high here it's comical.