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In Praise of Selling out...in the Chicago Reader


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Hey, I just joined on account of this VW thing, it's been bugging me for awhile so I've got to get it off my chest. First of all the question of whether or not they sold out, is mute. This is the most egregious sell-out in the history of rock and roll

First of all, it's "moot," and second, we are not doing this again -- hopefully. Feel free to go back and read the threads where this has been argued exhaustively, but leave it at that. This territory was fully consumed long ago.

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Ok, I was being sort of smarmy there. Sorry man. But seriously, go grab you a beer (or three), pop some corn, and dig in:

 

http://forums.viachicago.org/index.php?showtopic=28843

 

and then:

 

http://forums.viachicago.org/index.php?showtopic=29059

 

and THEN take two aspirin!! :lol

Alright, thanks guy. I actually had read most of what was posted there. I was sort of disappointed in the fact that alot of was along the lines of stop talking. Alot of it was along the lines that there are facts I can choose to perceive, and there are facts I can choose not to perceive. For that, I sort of think we should be ashamed of ourselves, because this country relies on that type of thing too much. As long as these commercials are running, Volkswagen gets to say what they want, and the fact is Tweedy is selling out and making a big fat hypocrite of himself, whether or not we want to face that fact or not.

As long as these commercials are running, this isn't a dead issue. There's no getting over it; this whole new album has become synonimous with Volkswagen, which is exactly what Volkswagen wants. Just on a basic level, we should do all we can to stop it, so that the next time we say, "my favorite band is Wilco," we don't have to hear, "you mean the Volkswagen band?" Like if you mention Bob Seger, most people now think of Chevy trucks. And damn man, we can't stop the war, we can't get decent health care, we can't decent education. We can't hold the politicians and the business community responsible for the mess. But can't we at least stop our Rockers from making clowns of themselves?

And, if anyone has any info on how much revenue the band has brought in, compared to the revenue brought during the first month of A Ghost is Born, it would be appreciated. If not, I'll try to look it up when I have more time.

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I always took "Kicking Television" to be very tounge in cheek. Maybe I've been listening to it wrong.

 

I always thought the lyrics and the song in general was meant as a joke almost. I mean, "I'm working on my abs, I'm working on me" and "MASTURBATION" but I guess he's just a big ol' sellout.

 

(From Toronto show on Saturday, Jeff's shirt says "sellout".)

P1000146.jpg

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Yes, it's just one (stupid) commercial but multiply that by the millions we're bombarded with, and maybe you start to understand why we're stuck in an insane war, why we have the highest levels of violent crime of any modernised, (and a lot non-modernised), why we have more people in prison than Russia and China combined. And Wilco put their stamp of approval on that for what? Next time Tweedy starts ranting about how Americans buy too much stuff, which he has been known to do, Are you really going to take him seriously?

 

 

You know up until this point, I've been pretty quiet. Everyone's allowed to their own opinions, because they're just that...OPINIONS!

 

But...are you SERIOUSLY TRYING to blame Jeff and crew for the sad state of the union we live in?!? Good God!!! :lol

 

 

 

 

Oh, AND I can't believe it took you getting upset to join VC :no

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My Volkswagen prefers Drag the River.

 

did I tell you that I'm seeing the Drive By Truckers in a few weeks. with all the hype, they better be good.

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seriously, i think the commercials suck but Wilco in VW ads is not any sign of the apocalypse. You can clothe yourself in Wilco gear, mark off Wilco's next show on your Wilco calendar, play with your Wilco figurines, put up some posters, dress your kids and pets and in between listening to their major label releases, you might want to time travel to when Jeff was already in a commercial long ago. It's too bad they've gone commercial on us.

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If this sordid mess has taught me anything, it's that people who don't like Wilco songs being used in VW commercials sure do seem to type a lot.

I guess that means, people who don't like Wilco songs being used in VW commercials can formulate at least a rudimentary argument?

And it's kind of lame to shut down threads where people are voicing their opinions in this thing, because as much as you don't want to read this, I don't want to hear those songs in those cheesy ads. And just as Tweedy's got the right to sell his songs to whovever he wants, I got the right to say it sucks. At least until the internet police come along.

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You know up until this point, I've been pretty quiet. Everyone's allowed to their own opinions, because they're just that...OPINIONS!

 

But...are you SERIOUSLY TRYING to blame Jeff and crew for the sad state of the union we live in?!? Good God!!! :lol

Oh, AND I can't believe it took you getting upset to join VC :no

 

 

You do know that he is a registered Republican, right?

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And it's kind of lame to shut down threads where people are voicing their opinions in this thing

That hasn't happened. Threads have only been shut down due to length. Obviously, this is still being discussed.

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Who is...Jeff or the new guy?!?
Jeff - That is why they kicked out Jay - he was a Ross Perot man.
That hasn't happened. Threads have only been shut down due to length. Obviously, this is still being discussed.
That's not really a true statement.
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And it's kind of lame to shut down threads where people are voicing their opinions in this thing, because as much as you don't want to read this, I don't want to hear those songs in those cheesy ads. And just as Tweedy's got the right to sell his songs to whovever he wants, I got the right to say it sucks. At least until the internet police come along.

Nobody shut down the threads because people were expressing opinions. The threads were shut down because they were unwieldy. This thread is open, and you are free to express your opinion in it, just as you are welcome to read any of the other threads on the subject, all of which are still on the board.

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I guess that means, people who don't like Wilco songs being used in VW commercials can formulate at least a rudimentary argument?
I don't know...but I do know that jnickerson (aka ...) could really get his type on. You're not there yet, but it is still early.
And it's kind of lame to shut down threads where people are voicing their opinions in this thing, because as much as you don't want to read this...
I agree, and I don't?
I don't want to hear those songs in those cheesy ads. And just as Tweedy's got the right to sell his songs to whovever he wants, I got the right to say it sucks. At least until the internet police come along.
You've also got the right to not watch TV, or at least change the channel to avoid all the evil commercials.
get his type on.
You're an idiot.
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