An Open Letter to Pearl Jam: Get off the sidelines and join the political revolution!

BrokenGlass
BrokenGlass Posts: 298
edited February 2016 in A Moving Train
Dear Ed, Stone, Jeff, Mike, Matt, and Boom -
If there was any doubt about the potential for a real political revolution in this country, the Iowa voters erased that doubt last night. Their message to the political establishment was what Dylan sang back in 1965:
Your old road is rapidly fading; please get out of the new one if you can't lend a hand, for the times they are a'changing

Now it's on to New Hampshire, where it sure looks like this train will continue to gather steam.

If you're afraid to hope; if all the Bushes and Trumps and the disappointment of Obama's corporate sellouts have left you cynical and jaded; if you just don't believe we have the political will to really make social change happen, I BEG you to read Michael Moore's endorsement of Bernie Sanders:
http://michaelmoore.com/MyEndorsementOfBernie/

You can add a seriously legitimate voice of support to Sen. Sanders' effort to reclaim the American dream. Please consider it. Thanks!

"“Call out the instigators, because there's something in the air. We've got to get together sooner or later, because the revolution's here, and you know it's right. ."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV2DerNIMJQ
Post edited by BrokenGlass on
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Comments

  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    Right on! This is happening and I hope PJ gets on board with this. No one expected Sanders to do as well as he did last night and the momentum is building.

    Get on board!
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • Free
    Free Posts: 3,562
    I think PJ may jump on once it's official. :)
  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,665
    edited February 2016
    Free said:

    I think PJ may jump on once it's official. :)

    Jump on with Bernie?
    Not if Kat has anything to do with it. ;)
    But seriously, PJ (or Eddie, at least) might support Hillary for all we know. And btw, what if half the band supports Hillary, and the other half supports Bernie or Trump (ha)? I guess that question is probably moot anyway, since the band will only show public support for whoever wins the nomination. If Bernie wins, sure, I'd expect them to support him. If Hillary wins, I'd expect them to support her.
    Post edited by PJ_Soul on
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • rr165892
    rr165892 Posts: 5,697
    Oh boy.Here we go
  • Free
    Free Posts: 3,562
    Uh, that's what I meant, PJSoul.

    But how can we forget the band standing together against corporate America? You remember the Ticketmaster fight. And how do we forget the photo of the band in front of the "corporations of America" flag?

    Who knows, maybe they love Big Banks Hillary. But they'll wait til Bernie makes it official. ;)
  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,665
    Free said:

    Uh, that's what I meant, PJSoul.

    But how can we forget the band standing together against corporate America? You remember the Ticketmaster fight. And how do we forget the photo of the band in front of the "corporations of America" flag?

    Who knows, maybe they love Big Banks Hillary. But they'll wait til Bernie makes it official. ;)

    Who knows. I don't feel like they are against big corporations anymore. Not really. They played a private show for Oracle for crying out loud.
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • Free
    Free Posts: 3,562
    Everything this band does is done with integrity though. You can't really love Monsanto, Wall Street, and trashing our environment and still have the decency and integrity to donate so much money to social and environmental issues.
  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,665
    edited February 2016
    Don't get me wrong. I think PJ is very socially responsible as bands go, and very generous (FTR, they donated the proceeds from that Oracle show). I just think they have largely abandoned their strong stance against mega corporations. And IMO it's pretty much because they didn't want to bother anymore, and also for business. It doesn't serve their business to stand against large corporations, and helps it to cooperate with them, which they now do. Show me the money.
    Post edited by PJ_Soul on
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • HughFreakingDillon
    HughFreakingDillon Winnipeg Posts: 39,473
    PJ_Soul said:

    Don't get me wrong. I think PJ is very socially responsible as bands go, and very generous (FTR, they donated the proceeds from that Oracle show). I just think they have largely abandoned their strong stance against mega corporations. And IMO it's pretty much because they didn't want to bother anymore, and also for business. It doesn't serve their business to stand against large corporations, and helps it to cooperate with them, which they now do. Show me the money.

    it still seems to me that they are picky about who they will get in bed with, though.

    By The Time They Figure Out What Went Wrong, We'll Be Sitting On A Beach, Earning Twenty Percent.




  • JimmyV
    JimmyV Boston's MetroWest Posts: 19,598
    I don't think we should presume all members of Pearl Jam currently are supporting the same candidate.
    ___________________________________________

    "...I changed by not changing at all..."
  • HughFreakingDillon
    HughFreakingDillon Winnipeg Posts: 39,473
    the ticketmaster thing was never their fight. they were invited by congress to testify, they didn't openly call for it. ultimately, the fight should have been waged by the consumer. they just got tossed into the fire and were forced to try to put it out.

    they used Target as a distributor of Backspacer because they were the only ones that allowed the band free reign with their fanclub and also indie record stores. I think that's admirable. And all Target was doing was selling their product for them. not really about "show me the money".
    By The Time They Figure Out What Went Wrong, We'll Be Sitting On A Beach, Earning Twenty Percent.




  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,665
    JimmyV said:

    I don't think we should presume all members of Pearl Jam currently are supporting the same candidate.

    I would be surprised if they were.
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    We should give the band guys a break and poll the roadies and guitar techs.
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • Empty Glass
    Empty Glass In Rob's shed Posts: 12,329
    rr165892 said:

    Oh boy.Here we go

    ha, I'm with you. I prefer my rock bands to make music.

    I have always been 100% against the whole Rock the Vote thing or whatever. I understand it was (is) meant to get youth involved. I think it just makes more voters push buttons without doing any research. "Hey, Pearl Jam wants Person A in...I'll vote Person A"
    I've met Rob

    DEGENERATE FUK

    This place is dead

    "THERE ARE NO CLIQUES, ONLY THOSE WHO DON'T JOIN THE FUN" - Empty circa 2015

    "Kfsbho&$thncds" - F Me In the Brain - circa 2015
  • callen
    callen Posts: 6,388
    Empty Glass said:

    rr165892 said:

    Oh boy.Here we go

    ha, I'm with you. I prefer my rock bands to make music.

    I have always been 100% against the whole Rock the Vote thing or whatever. I understand it was (is) meant to get youth involved. I think it just makes more voters push buttons without doing any research. "Hey, Pearl Jam wants Person A in...I'll vote Person A"
    They do have a stage and musicians drive to create sometimes comes from life's issues so it's just natural to have them bring up politics. With that said I disagree with fans requesting or even demanding "PJ GET OFF THE SIDELINES". Fk that, work on some music and if they want to communicate their thoughts, fine.

    Now think it must be frustrating for those that love the music but have alternative views. Was in hole in the wall place having a burger (big thick juicy hand made patties so go there specifically) and they sometimes have live acts. Roadie comes out to set up gear and he had Cruz shirt. We ate and left. Did not want to hear what this band had to say. And didn't give music a shot.
    10-18-2000 Houston, 04-06-2003 Houston, 6-25-2003 Toronto, 10-8-2004 Kissimmee, 9-4-2005 Calgary, 12-3-05 Sao Paulo, 7-2-2006 Denver, 7-22-06 Gorge, 7-23-2006 Gorge, 9-13-2006 Bern, 6-22-2008 DC, 6-24-2008 MSG, 6-25-2008 MSG
  • rr165892
    rr165892 Posts: 5,697
    I want my Favorite acts spewing there political rhetoric about as much as I want my politicians quoting the bible and sucking the religious rights dick.

    Cal, you passed judgement by a roadies shirt?Thats a bit weak.Would you not listen to a band who's singer wears a cross or star around their neck?
    See,you can't judge so quick.If you were tired or the music sucks that's one thing,But you assumed the music would be what?
  • Amongst the Ani
    Amongst the Ani @Wobbie Posts: 7,790
    You heard it here first, Ed supports Cruz.
    Tom Brady & Donald Trump, BFF's
    Fuckus rules all
    Rob
    Seattle
  • HughFreakingDillon
    HughFreakingDillon Winnipeg Posts: 39,473
    rr165892 said:

    I want my Favorite acts spewing there political rhetoric about as much as I want my politicians quoting the bible and sucking the religious rights dick.

    Cal, you passed judgement by a roadies shirt?Thats a bit weak.Would you not listen to a band who's singer wears a cross or star around their neck?
    See,you can't judge so quick.If you were tired or the music sucks that's one thing,But you assumed the music would be what?

    I also find this a bit odd. how do you know he'd say anything during the show about his political views? enjoy the music until it becomes something else.

    By The Time They Figure Out What Went Wrong, We'll Be Sitting On A Beach, Earning Twenty Percent.




  • callen
    callen Posts: 6,388
    rr165892 said:

    I want my Favorite acts spewing there political rhetoric about as much as I want my politicians quoting the bible and sucking the religious rights dick.

    Cal, you passed judgement by a roadies shirt?Thats a bit weak.Would you not listen to a band who's singer wears a cross or star around their neck?
    See,you can't judge so quick.If you were tired or the music sucks that's one thing,But you assumed the music would be what?

    Reread last line of my post. acknowledge I didn't give it a shot.

    As time goes on I want less and less ed talking.
    10-18-2000 Houston, 04-06-2003 Houston, 6-25-2003 Toronto, 10-8-2004 Kissimmee, 9-4-2005 Calgary, 12-3-05 Sao Paulo, 7-2-2006 Denver, 7-22-06 Gorge, 7-23-2006 Gorge, 9-13-2006 Bern, 6-22-2008 DC, 6-24-2008 MSG, 6-25-2008 MSG
  • BrokenGlass
    BrokenGlass Posts: 298
    rr165892 said:

    I want my Favorite acts spewing there political rhetoric about as much as I want my politicians quoting the bible and sucking the religious rights dick.

    First, I understand that many fans are completely uninterested in hearing a band's political views during a show. That's absolutely legit and a matter of personal preference. But, here's my motivation for my original post:
    I want Bernie Sanders elected President and I fervently support the political revolution that it will take for him to be elected, for like-minded Congressional candidates to be elected, and for those policies to be implemented. It is no secret that for any of that to happen, a large segment of the non-voting population has to get energized and organized and motivated to go vote on election day. It is also no secret that a huge subset of the nonvoting population are young people who feel alienated and disenfranchised. I think many Pearl Jam fans fit that bill. Hence, I am urging Pearl Jam to use their cultural influence to spread the gospel of Bernie to folks who may otherwise not pay attention, assuming, of course, that they support Bernie. If that assumption is incorrect, at least I tried.
    Nothing new about any of this. Artists have shared their political views with their fans for centuries. I am sympathetic to your personal distaste for it, but I also am doing my best to help Sen. Sanders.

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