Say something charitable about the Eagles.

that's the best that i can do!

That's not a good thing, though....well, that charity part seems spot-on.

they had enough sense to hire joe walsh, who provided comic relief when glen and don were snorting coke in their hottubs.

that SNL uses them as a butt of jokes=I am right

I think they're pretty decent. I never turn them off when they come on classic rock radio. Well, except for "Take It To the Limit". I really just think it is not a very good song, it's just very sluggish and bathetic.

But The Long Run is a fantastic album, especially the second side - it's pretty flawless. I'd always loved "The Long Run" and "Heartache Tonight" from growing up with 'em, and then during a high school summer break trip to Florida a buddy brought the Long Run cassette. We played it constantly. Wow - "In the City" is great, I love Joe Walsh. Woah - "Those Shoes"! Eric B. sampled that cut! Wow - "The Greeks Don't Want no Freaks" - that's a pretty funny song!!

Not liking the Eagles makes me a robot? I don't like Steely Dan either....what does that make me?

"Dirty Laundry," not to be pedantic, is Henley SOLO, not The Eagles. But, calling it Punk Rock is a bad call.....decrying the media for hounding celebrities and stirring up gossip is hardly punk.

What does this have to do with their music, though? (I never said I'd wannna invite them over to my house for DINNER for crissakes....Well, maybe I'd invite Joe Walsh. He'd be FUN to eat with!)

ps) They rock harder than most metal (and punk) bands, by the way.

Also, there was a pretty funny Onion story based on 'Take it Easy'

No, not that, just that your response was soooo patently "Alex in NYC." It's cool, though... it was funny!

the eagles were even more robotic than kraftwerk or their progeny, FWIW.

I was thinking of a way to lambast their whole aesthetic. It's not just their style that bugs me (which it does), but their music doesn't really speak to me. I can't really empathize with "Life in the Fast Lane" or any of that shit. Also, their little morality tales lamenting the hollow shenanigans of Californian celebrity culture rings a bit false when you examine their own excesses.

They rock harder than most metal (and punk) bands, by the way.

Seems like you've been partaking in a bit too much of the "warm smell of colitas", Chuck my friend.

*By "Christians" I don't mean all Christians, just the kind who get their information about rock'n'roll from pamphlets distributed at church youth group conferences. One of my friends in college had one of these pamphlets, and it remains one of my favorite pieces of music criticism. I wish I had stolen it from him.

workin on the dreams he planned to try,
the days go by....

Metal and punk bands tend to sound LOUDER than the Eagles. But to rock HARD, you need a rhythm section, Alex. (And right, Motorhead and AC/DC and the County Bishops and Guns N Roses and Turbonegro and Nazareth and etc etc etc have rhythm sections. I didn't say the Eagles rock harder than ALL metal and punk bands. Just MOST of them.)

Anyway, I think you proved what I've always suspected: People hate the Eagles because of what the Eagles supposedly STOOD for. But I don't CARE what they stood for. I care about their SONGS.

you could also say that about KISS and Ted Nugent ...

As far as satanic - man, I don't know but the gatefold to Hotel California is downright creepy. That sort of sepia washed-out photo of all those people staring back at you; and what's that guy doing up there on the terrace?!

... which sounds like a Teamsters' wet dream!

Did I suggest otherwise?

Anyway, I think you proved what I've always suspected: People hate the Eagles because of what the Eagles supposedly STOOD for. But I don't CARE what they stood for. I care about their SONGS.

I think their music is staid, trite, lifeless, dull, banal and unexceptional. Walsh added a bit to their arsenal, but not enough to save them from inspiring lethal ennui.

Did I suggest otherwise?

Anyway, I think you proved what I've always suspected: People hate the Eagles because of what the Eagles supposedly STOOD for. But I don't CARE what they stood for. I care about their SONGS.

Well, I think their music is staid, trite, lifeless, dull, banal and unexceptional. Walsh added a bit to their arsenal, but not enough to save them from inspiring lethal ennui.

Ha! The Christian youth pamphlet cited that very gatefold. It claimed the guy on the terrace was Anton LaVey and that the whole song was about the founding of the Satanic Church. (Also cited as servants of the dark lord, for reasons that now escape me, were Olivia Newton-John, the Bee Gees and Fleetwood Mac. Oh, Fleetwood Mac was because Stevie Nicks is a witch.)

I like "Boys of Summer" better than any Eagles song, but I give most of the credit for that to Mike Campbell. OK, the lyrics aren't bad, in a self-important aging Baby Boomer way. The Eagles themselves...they were an OK singles band, right? "Heartache Tonight" is pretty great. "Lyin' Eyes" is nice. I can live a long, long time without ever hearing "7 Bridges Road" again, tho.

the 1978 eagles = the 2003 phillies (jim thome = baseball's joe walsh. both thome and walsh are connected to cleveland, so the comparison fits!)

Ah, but unlike Nugent, they don't look like they are thisclose to keeling over.

The Eagles: Destroy by Fire Bombing or with Thermonuclear Devices?

Also, I had meant to second Ben Boyer on the Langley "Desperado" - it was easily the best thing about that record, which I generally didn't care for.

I think it's impossible NOT to factor in what 'they stood for' when you make an estimate of a band's career -- it's part of the whole Eagles package, same as their clothes, their album covers, etc.

sure ... or #6, since the housemartins aren't indefensible at all!

Which doesn't really answer the question of why Dylan, the Stones et al. get away with their rage. (Maybe that's why I've never wholeheartedly loved them, either, except for Costello and even then not his most enraged stuff, unless Blood and Chocolate counts, which it probably does.)

Johnny Cash's cover of "Desperado" is also quite nice.

TS: the eagles v. SARS!

i wouldn't, either. although if the alternative is listening to the eagles, and since SARS isn't necessarily fatal (if caught early enough) ...

2. the one with the long hair's kinda cute

3. they're easy targets for the jokes of elitist hipsters who're afraid to like anything a)their parents listen to and b)release the 2nd highest grossing album in history

4. their horribly almost proggy usage of harmonising guitar solos hides the fact that harmonising guitar solos can seriously kick ass, thus making it more likely that people will be surprised when and if i use them tastefully and my fanbase will be ever the more rabid

5. ditto on the langley school comment

Donny wore his hair real nice some say...

The reputation of "The Boys of Summer" on this board is starting to snowball, which I'm fine with, misogynist or not.

Jackie N. and I used to listen to his sister Belinda's copy of The Long Run when she wasn't home. Sam S. and I rocked out to "Witchy Woman," and Scott H. and I used to sing "Take It Easy" when we went over to the elementary school gym to dunk on their little hoops. But I've never really met many women who love the Eagles.

It's funny how thin and whispy the guitar sound is! Like you wouldn't expect a band like them to attempt something like that, it's almost .. vulnerable.

And that kick-hihat (boom-tchik) sound is so not disco (hi-hat's would never be clipped off like that) it makes you wonder if it's this intentional piss-take or this horrible misapprehension!

(it's the same pattern on Zep's "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" and um, some other cut that came to mind when I was listening but I forgot)

"King of Hollywood" really sucks though.

I don't understand Chuck's claim that they 'rock', since they almost never rock, either in the Little Richard earlyearlymorning sense nor in the Kiss Detroit Rock City sense, nor even in the 1-2-3-4 Ramonesy sense. "Life in the Fast Lane" comes closest, but even it peters out into synth-boogie about halfway through. And the lyrics suck.

Still, I love playing their stuff on guitar, especially "Take It Easy," "Already Gone," "On The Border," even "Hotel California." Great at parties, 'cuz the girls know the words, too. Same with "Desperado" on piano (and "Jump" too, although I skip the Styx soloing).

PS Nice Big Pussy move on Don Felder.

I turn on the tube and what do I see
A whole lotta people cryin' "Don't blame me"
They point their crooked little fingers ar everybody else
Spend all their time feelin' sorry for themselves
Victim of this, victim of that
Your momma's too thin; your daddy's too fat

Get over it
Get over it
All this whinin' and cryin' and pitchin' a fit
Get over it, get over it

You say you haven't been the same since you had your little crash
But you might feel better if I gave you some cash
The more I think about it, Old Billy was right
Let's kill all the lawyers, kill 'em tonight
You don't want to work, you want to live like a king
But the big, bad world doesn't owe you a thing

Get over it
Get over it
If you don't want to play, then you might as well split
Get over it, Get over it

It's like going to confession every time I hear you speak
You're makin' the most of your losin' streak
Some call it sick, but I call it weak

You drag it around like a ball and chain
You wallow in the guilt; you wallow in the pain
You wave it like a flag, you wear it like a crown
Got your mind in the gutter, bringin' everybody down
Complain about the present and blame it on the past
I'd like to find your inner child and kick its little ass

Get over it
Get over it
All this bitchin' and moanin' and pitchin' a fit
Get over it, get over it

Get over it
Get over it
It's gotta stop sometime, so why don't you quit
Get over it, get over it

(i wish they were actually called the wagles, though, like i just typed)

http://www.eugenemirman.com/

yet another reason to kill don henley and glen frey.

* the person who utters this line is a low-life rabble-rouser leading a mob; in other words, shakespeare did not approve of these sentiments. not that that inconvenient fact ever stops shitheads like don and glen from spouting off that line ... not to mention that they prob. love the lawyers they hired to go after eric b & rakim for "unauthorized sampling."

They seem like 'good musicians'.

When they play country I like it a lot.

They don't make the mistake of finishing their guitar solos sooner than they have to.

nothing happened.

I don't say that there is anything wrong with that. Possibly it is right or inevitable.

But it is notable to me that I have no real context or back-story about them, no history of Eagle hegemony or anti-Eagle polemic, and I just like a lot of their tracks, from what I've heard so far.

I'm not sure if that's charitable though.

I'm agreeing with JBR lately that In The City is a standout awesome song among many duds.

"Those Shoes" and "Disco STrangler" are superbly fuckwithable sample-sources. (But they'll surely sue your ass if you ever try to deprive 'em of royalties.)

I still may check out On The Border or Desperado next time I find 'em for a buck.

amazing how the 70s era east coast rock crit hate for these dudes had such a long lasting influence. i don't own any of their records but it's funny how i rarely change the station when their tunes come on my car radio, i think that is the best context for their stuff.

James Gang's "Rides Again" album is so, so awesome.

There comes a point once or twice a year where it's somehow the right time to listen to the Eagles. It's right time for the peaceful, easy feeling.

Also, Joe Walsh did a song called 'I like big tits'.

"Those Shoes" and "Disco STrangler" are superbly fuckwithable sample-sources. (But they'll surely sue your ass if you ever try to deprive 'em of royalties.)

"Never Let Her Slip Away" followed by "Heartache Tonight" to thread.

They harmonize well. I only like a few of their songs. What really bugs me about this band are their fans("The f---g Eagles, dude!") and their inflated self-image (from reading interviews with the band).

Not to mention Radio 2's unending fixation of them as the apex of all popular music.

whereas in reality they were the Bachman-Turner Overdrive to the Burritos' Guess Who.

How could the Eagles possibly be the apex of all popular music?!?

. . . maybe the nadir.

what's with the eagles hate?

i've noticed that lately, my dislike of all things played to death on the radio, has now been replaced with nostalgia for things i simply don't hear much living overseas (eagles, boston, van halen etc) which gives me a new understanding of why everybody likes this stuff in the first place. i mean, nostalgia (usually for middle american soundtrack to drunken tailgate parties and fumbling teenager sex after the high school football game, but whatever) plays such a big part in the continuing popularity of your classic rock fodder, now i think i'm beginning to finally get it.

anyway, charitable thoughts towards the eagles:

good songs! what on earth are you guys dismissing all those fantastic tunes for?
great harmonies
what's wrong with their lyrics? if you can't relate you can't relate, but really, i don't think that makes them sucky, i think most of their lyrics are very well writen, and work perfectly at what they're trying to get accross
the afore-mentioned 27-gazillion-selling best of album doesn't have a weak song on it
pisses off trendier-than-though critic types, and hipsters in general

granted, i can see how having to listen to them constantly on classic rock radio at the job site or whatever might turn anyone off.

"Desperado" is a GREAT album!

Then I am a sucker for most anyone with that kind of wonderful vocal harmonies. Surely, they were not Queen or ELO, but they were still great at that bit.

Whenever they attempted to "rock out" they usually failed though.

They make the worst Flying Burrito Bros. songs sound a bit less worse.

They were friends with Warren Zevon.

They pissed off David Crosby

Then I am a sucker for most anyone with that kind of wonderful vocal harmonies

They did have great vocal harmonies, I admit.

I remember reading that Bernie Leadon was a big reason for the harmonies. He whipped the others in shape, vocally speaking, and worked on the arrangements. That said, they're good harmonies, but they've got nothing on the Dillards!

They played the only bluegrass songs I ever heard at a Yes show. What they were doing opening for Yes I'm not too sure.

Felder's book is pretty hilarious.

http://arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/Image/eagles08.jpg

Eagles - Get Over It lyrics
I turn on the tube and what do I see
A whole lotta people cryin' "Don't blame me"
They point their crooked little fingers ar everybody else
Spend all their time feelin' sorry for themselves
Victim of this, victim of that
Your momma's too thin; your daddy's too fat

Funny but kind of damaging to the Eagles' legacy. They did it to themselves by stooping to that level.

You gotta let somebody love you

Also
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JowmXbaGSoU

f--k the eagles.

good harmonies, tho.

I think The Eagles are great but the fact that they have come up with poo like this makes me suspicious of them.

http://assets.rollingstone.com/assets/images/story/q-a-don-henley-opens-up-about-the-history-of-the-eagles-at-sundance-20130120/1000x600/130120-don-henley-600-1358703786.jpg

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/q-a-don-henley-opens-up-about-the-history-of-the-eagles-at-sundance-20130120

^^would watch

yeah I hate the Eagles but I kinda want to see that.

Somje of them had interesting pre-band histories like Gene Clark affiliations etc.
1st lp isn't quite as bad schlock as later stuff, and there are some decent live sets from around that time apparently.

paved the way for punk? Even if they were one of the things it was reacting to.

did some good backing vocals on other people's records is about as generous as i can get

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/si/dam/assets/130116134311-chip-kelly2-single-image-cut.jpg

http://upperwetside.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/joe-walsh.jpg

did they inject New York strippers into their faces?

Don Henley is now David Bowie.

https://twitter.com/extranapkins/status/234520243924516864

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlOSWRZ4bl0

Beastie Boys sampling "Those Shoes" on "High Plains Drifter" effing rules.

The interludes on their forthcoming live album have titles.

https://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/eagles-live-from-the-forum-mmxviii-preview-take-it-easy/

2. Joe Walsh: “How ya doin?”
5. Don Henley: “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen”
9. Timothy B. Schmit: “Hey, everybody, that’s Joe Walsh”
12. Don Henley: “Just want to thank all of you…”
14. Deacon Frey: “Hello, everybody…”
19. Vince Gill: “How about a nice hand for California, man…”
24. Joe Walsh: “Is everybody OK?”

Bonus track: Don Henley: “Well, yeah”