Re: OT: Censorship American style

John Vamp wrote:
On May 22, 9:17 am, "Dr. Winston O'Boogie" <quarrym...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
The Gnorkmeister wrote:
On May 21, 7:27 pm, "Raymond O'Hara" <raymond-oh...@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
"John Vamp" <jvampate...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:8a80c6ff-bb2b-4947-abfb-a0af18b59c4e@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On May 21, 9:51 pm, "Raymond O'Hara" <raymond-oh...@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=410538&GT1=28102

Green Day lashes out at Wal-Mart policy
May 21, 2009, 6:34 AM EST
NEW YORK (AP) -- Green Day has the most popular CD in the country,
but you won't be able to find it at your local Wal-Mart.

The band says the giant superstore chain refused to stock its
latest CD, "21st Century Breakdown," because Wal-Mart wanted the
album edited for language and content, and they refused.

"Wal-Mart's become the biggest retail outlet in the country, but
they won't
carry our record because they wanted us to censor it," frontman
Billie Joe Armstrong said in a recent interview.

While Wal-Mart sells CDs from acts known for raunchy content,
including Eminem's latest, they offer customers the "clean"
version of those CDs, which are edited for content that may be
objectionable. But in Armstrong's view, "There's nothing dirty
about our record."

"They want artists to censor their records in order to be carried
in there,"
he said. "We just said no. We've never done it before. You feel
like you're
in 1953 or something."

"21st Century Breakdown" contains curses and some references
considered adult.

Wal-Mart said that it's the company's long-standing policy not to
stock any
CD with a parental advisory sticker.

"As with all music, it is up to the artist or label to decide if
they want to market different variations of an album to sell,
including a version that
would remove a PA rating," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien
said. "The label and artist in this case have decided not to do
so, so we unfortunately
can not offer the CD."

But guitarist Mike Dirnt said: "As the biggest record store in the
America,
they should probably have an obligation to sell people the correct
art."

Not being sold at Wal-Mart didn't stop the band - which kicks off
a U.S. tour summer tour in Seattle on July 3 - from landing at the
top of the album
charts this week. "21st Century Breakdown" sold about 215,000
copies since its debut on Friday.

The album is the follow-up to their multiplatinum, Grammy-winning
CD "American Idiot," and like that album, deals with weighty
topics. While "American Idiot" spoke to the frustration over the
presidency of George W. Bush and the Iraq War, this CD speaks to
the loss of innocence and confusion
in today's society.

While Armstrong, Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool are still top-sellers
without Wal-Mart, Armstrong said the store's policy is
disappointing, considering it
has become the dominant seller of CDs with the decline of
traditional music
stores.

"If you think about bands that are struggling or smaller than
Green Day ...
to think that to get record your out in places like that, but they
won't carry it because of the content and you have to censor
yourself," he said. "I mean, what does that say to a young kid
who's trying to speak his mind making a record for the first time?
It's like a game that you have to play.
You have to refuse to play it."

What's your point?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

why am I not surprised you approve of Wal-Mart..

I approve of any business deciding what they want to sell in their
stores. I approve of customers deciding if they want to shop and
that store. What if a CD came out with a girl doing it with a
donkey on the cover? You don't think Walmart or any other retailer
should have the right not to carry it? You are taking your central
planning liberal fascism too far.

ray thinks it depends on the donkey.

That's ridiculous. You're comparing apples to oranges. Wal-Mart is a
part of what is wrong with this country. Good for Green Day. If more
people acted that way toward the chain, it would take an edge off
the real facism.

I have absolutely no love for Wal Mart (I prefer mom and pop stores
rather than big chain stores, but hey, that's just my preference), but
don't you think that companies have the right to sell the products
they choose? Is Blockbuster required, somehow, to sell or rent X-
rated videos? Or do they have the right to sell/rent whatever movies
they choose?

It's not "censorship" to say, "We don't want to sell that movie/album/
video game because we don't approve of the content. If you want us to
sell it, you're going to have to work with us and put together a
cleaner product." That's not censorship. That's free market
economics.

Now, that Wal Mart may be hypocritical here because they sell other,
not-so-holy things, well, that's a different topic of discussion.

John

I pretty much agree with you on this, I guess my point is that people also
have a right to choose to buy whatever the so desire. I think Wal-Mart, whom
I loath, is being ridiculous for the way the demand an edited version to
sell in their store. When and artist puts out a record in it's intended
original version, it's artistic expression and all the stuff that goes with
it, and that's great. I don't always like or agree with what they produce,
but it is their right to do so, The fact some are giving in to a major
corporation, for the sake of the almighty dollar is probably what gets me
the most. If they do this, it's definitly NOT about the music, and usually
not worth listening to. I applaud Green Day, even though I'm not a fan of
theirs, for staying true to themselves on this.


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: OT: Censorship American style
    ... NEW YORK -- Green Day has the most popular CD in the country, ... but you won't be able to find it at your local Wal-Mart. ... they should probably have an obligation to sell people the correct ... stores. ...
    (alt.sports.baseball.bos-redsox)
  • Re: OT: Censorship American style
    ... but you won't be able to find it at your local Wal-Mart. ... album edited for language and content, ... they should probably have an obligation to sell people the correct ... stores. ...
    (alt.sports.baseball.bos-redsox)
  • Re: OT: Censorship American style
    ... but you won't be able to find it at your local Wal-Mart. ... they should probably have an obligation to sell people the correct ... stores. ... especially when they sell movies with far worse content unedited. ...
    (alt.sports.baseball.bos-redsox)
  • Re: OT: Censorship American style.
    ... won't be able to find it at your local Wal-Mart. ... to market different variations of an album to sell, ... they should probably have an obligation to sell people the correct art." ... You have to refuse to play it." ...
    (sci.military.naval)
  • Re: OT: Censorship American style
    ... won't be able to find it at your local Wal-Mart. ... to market different variations of an album to sell, ... stores. ... I approve of any business deciding what they want to sell in their ...
    (alt.sports.baseball.bos-redsox)