Just saw the Target Commercial

Ledbetterman10

I have to say that it's lame that the album is only available at Target because I thought it was lame that Guns N Roses and AC/DC's last albums were only available at Walmart. It wouldn't be right if I supported this Target deal because I totally criticized Axl Rose last year.

And it's not about Corporations and stuff like that. But what if you don't live near a Target?

florence151

Hey, this just shows that they are as corrupted as we are.
Humanity is flawed.

I still like their music, poetry and message.

reflectedfromafar

I still can't believe Pearl Jam wear clothes made by companies, drive cars made by manufacturers, eat pre-packaged food, play name brand instruments. Sellouts.

I know none of you 'I'm sad that a band I idealized doesn't live up to a standard that neither they nor I could live up to, chiefly because it's not 199-fucking-1 anymore' fans do any of the same things.

tragicheadjam

sellout or no sellout, target has it all over kmart

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDKVLyRt0jQ

bicyclejoe

SM10080 wrote:

TacoJammer wrote:

On Adult Swim. It's just the Fixer video with Target logos in the background.

Fox Theater, Atlanta GA, 1994: 'There are no fucking sponsors'

Me 15 years ago: "Dude, I'm never going to work in some office for The Man. I'm going to roam the world, writing about war zones and African poverty."

Guess what ... the kids' gots to eat.

High Fidelity 2000

These guys have plenty of "coin" as it is.

Wow. I figured it was just gonna be the video with "get the new Pearl Jam at Target" narrated.

The image of Pearl Jam playing on a stage with Target logos on the "screens" behind them is just kind of disturbing. I think they picked Target cause it's the old Mod logo that Ed puts all over everything. But that is NOT the same as the Given to Fly commercial from 98.

Plus if Ten Club doesn't end up getting access to this "exclusive material" it is FUCKING BULLSHIT.

The Fixer always sounded like a song that would be in a Target commercial to me. That's not necessarily good or bad, it just is what it is.

yield2me

I see both sides of the argument. For me who has been a fan for a very long time dating back to the early days the idea of them doing something like this for Target is on one hand crazy and on the other hand understandable. The way music is delivered these days is nothing like it was back then, music stores are pretty much dead, music is being pirated on the internet, the rise of itunes etc. I understand that the band has to adapt to the changing times and that's just life. Also, people change and the things that were important when you're 20 aren't so important when you're 40, that's life too. I think the band knows that some fans will have a hard time swallowing this change in attitude towards things like this Target deal (Ed said as much in a recent interview), but at the same time the band is sticking true to themselves and doing whatever the fuck they want to do. In my case, it doesn't change the fact that the album kicks ass and that I'm bouncing off the walls with excitement to be seeing them live in a couple weeks...even though the Target stuff is a bit hard to swallow.

Parksy

SM10080 wrote:

Thorns2010 wrote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-QYAWXK7fo

Not sure how long that will be up, but here's the commercial.

Seriously?? People are getting pissed about that??? Chill out/GROW UP!

Dude, this isn't about growing up. This is fucking disturbing. You are likely younger and don't remember some of the shit that I do. At the early shows, PJ used to cover any advertising in an arena--it was part of their rider. There were no interviews, no PR, no garbage--in fact, a guy got tossed out of the band for wanting to do this shit.

THERE ARE NO FUCKING SPONSORS.

What the fuck happened? What went wrong?

Life happened. Things change. Have a coke and a smile.

U R A Crazy Breed

as much as i don't like the whole Target thing...I'm glad the money is going in their pockets and not the douches @ Sony...that's the way it should be.

Parksy

PB11041 wrote:

I have not posted to the forum in about oh, five years, at least.

I think it is disingenuous for anyone to question the folks who seem somewhat confused if not let down by the Target tie in.

That said, the entirety of it is all about self rationalization for the most part from the fan point of view. Fans rationalized the move back to using Ticketmaster in 1998, fans rationalize the bands support of politicians behind vague slogans such as "Vote for Change" which was quizzical at best as it basically amounted to "change" is better than what we already have just for the sake of it, or we don't want to be responsible for this guy who might win, but we definitely don't want Bush. The latter is not terribly hard to agree with but supporting a word is weird.

Personally I gave up on Pearl Jam's dedication to fight the good fight when it limped back tail between legs to Ticketmaster, did it stop me from enjoying the band? Nope. It just opened my eyes wide to the mountains and mole hills, things that matter and don't. In the end trying to take on Ticketmaster could have been done, but clearly to the band the effort was not going to outweigh the shortcomings.

So was I surprised that they made a deal with a corporation, yes. But I have grown up in the 15 years since they first tried to take down a machine and witnessed in that time a great many changes in the way systems work. Pearl Jam was able to make what seems like a fairly mutually beneficial deal with a corporation that they felt was not going to be a stain on their image.

This is not the first time that pearl jam's ethos has come into the alley of rationalization. And it won't be the last. And frankly in the coming year, or frankly months, it will be of significant interest to me to see if they remain silent or rationalize the double down War efforts in Afghanistan more so than running an ad for Target.

well put.