Why I'll always have a soft sport for the MSM in my heart...
Category: Just Plain Silly...
Posted Thursday, March 17, 2005 at 08:29 AM [GMT-6]

...and for the Wall Street Journal, in particular. Where else will you find gripping exposés of crucial topics like this: Rock's Oldest Joke: Yelling 'Freebird!' In a Crowded Theater?

This article is a brilliant example of the depths of investigative journalism which few bloggers even dare to contemplate. Yet, in the end, even the combined resources of the MSM can't completely crack this case (but at least the WSJ has the guts to admit it):

But as with many mysteries, the true origin may be unknowable -- cold comfort for bands still to be confronted with the inevitable cry from the darkness. For them, here's a strategy tried by a brave few: Call the audience's bluff. Phish liked to sing it a cappella. The Dandy Warhols play a slowed-down take singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor describes as sung "like T. Rex would if he were on a lot of pills." And Dash Rip Rock has performed the real song in order to surprise fans expecting the parody. For his part, Mr. [Mike] Doughty suggests that musicians make a pact: Whenever anyone calls for "Freebird," play it in its entirety -- and if someone calls for it again, play it again.

"That would put a stop to 'Freebird,' I think," he says. "It would be a bad couple of years, but it might be worth it."

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Comments

Eric, maybe it's because my Monday morning is extending well into the middle of Thursday this week, but I don't get the point of your post.

Is it that there's no place in the mainstream media for lighter subjects and 'lifestyle' features?

There has often been a little something on the front page of the WSJ (hard copy) that shifts focus away from the movers-and-shakers of Washington and New York ... but it doesn't appear to be placed there at the expense of the 'hard' news.

Posted by: Jeff at March 17, 2005 11:37 AM

Jeff, the key to interpreting this post is to note the category in which I placed it. Any post in "Just Plain Silly" is not to be taken seriously (or only at your own risk), nor should anything be read into it about my true feelings or opinions about a topic.

Now, having said that, I must admit that even I was confused by my own tone in the crafting of this particular post. I've been a WSJ subscriber for almost 20 years, and was a charter subscriber to the online version on Day One. One of the things I love about the publication is its willingness to do articles like this one, and I have the utmost respect for the journalists who work there. I guess I just hit a few wrong notes in highlighting a quite entertaining article.

However, I was serious about one thing I wrote, even if it seems like a backhanded comment. The author of the article went to some trouble to be thorough in researching the topic, even though it's one of little substance. I just don't see (m)any bloggers who have the willingness or the resources to do the same thing. In that respect, even for fluff pieces, score one for the MSM!

Posted by: Eric at March 17, 2005 12:40 PM

Eric, I did misunderstand. Sounds like we are on the same page on this one, after all.

Dang, I hate the kind of Monday I'm having most of this week!

Posted by: Jeff at March 17, 2005 02:02 PM

No problem. In fact, your reaction was a good reminder to me not to blithely throw words onto the page and assume that I've accurately communicated what I intended.

Posted by: Eric at March 17, 2005 02:08 PM

I must be dumb, but I don't have a clue what they are talking about. What is "Freebird"? Why do people yell for it during a concert?

I have no clue.

Posted by: Julie at March 17, 2005 06:37 PM

...OK, wait. Is it the Lynyrd Skynrd song you're talking about?

Why do people holler for that one? Is there some kind of inside joke that I don't know about?

Posted by: Julie at March 17, 2005 06:40 PM

Ah, to be a youth once more. You're not dumb, just young.

"Freebird" is a 70s-vintage song by the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynard. It's one of those long, "Stairway to Heaven"-type showpieces, and some groups can draw it out to 20 minutes or more. Anyway, it became something of a stoner concert-goer joke to yell "Freebird" whenever a band asked if the audience had any requests. As the article points out, it's still going strong, and getting mixed reviews.

I, uh, guess you'd just have to have been there.

[I see you're faster than me.]

Posted by: Eric at March 17, 2005 06:44 PM

"... an' this bird you cannot chay-u-ange .... whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa ...."

Posted by: Jeff at March 17, 2005 07:43 PM

i always wondered why people yell "freebird." i would have loved to have been there in the 70s to really experience lynyrd skynyrd--but alas, i'm today's college youth. thanks for the heads up eric. i still yell it at concerts though...despite being a non-stoner.

Posted by: Laura at March 24, 2005 08:51 AM

Laura, it's comforting to know that our legacy is in good hands! ;-)

Thanks for stopping by...

Posted by: Eric at March 27, 2005 05:23 PM
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