the older i get, the more easily disillusioned i become.

the last time i whinged about selling out i said:

And when blatant greed outweighs moral fibre, or loyalty to one’s beliefs, it’s hard to fathom the depths to which society has sunk in pursuit of the almighty dollar. art, music, film all plundered by conglomerates with no sense of sanctity or cultural reverence. and stars, writers, singers all eager to prostrate themselves at the temple of crass commercialism.

I don’t know why i still expect any semblance of moral rectitude – nothing is sacred and no one is immune. it just strikes me as a sad commentary on today’s society that the threshold for cashing in seems to get lower with every passing day.

but one of the last people i would ever have believed possible of selling out at that level would have been bruce springsteen.

bruce has built his musical career as an icon cum proxy spokesperson for the blue-collar, unionized, hardscrabble working class american.  the flannel shirts and worn jeans and brow-sweaty bandanna are an integral part of his lyrical and physical imagery.  many of his songs specifically reference the plight of the working poor, and he has deep ties to the protest songs of the 60s.  he’s made no bones about his political leanings, his lyrics often reference a post-globalisation wasteland, and his 2004 record “devils & dust” was noted for its anti-corporate sentiments.

so imagine my surprise to learn that bruce has inked an exclusive deal with wal-mart to release his greatest hits album.

that’s right – walmart.  the largest and most controversial anti-union employer, the most prominent worldwide symbol of  exploitative labour practices and globalisation, the largest profiteer of outsourced american jobs, the most vocal anti-obama corporation.

i recently had a discussion with a friend of mine about veal.  i said i don’t eat veal (or fois gras) because i believe it deliberately creates a market for animal suffering.  he then played devil’s advocate, accusing my other meat-eating and leather-wearing tendencies of exemplifying hypocrisy.  i said that while i understand that some people try to live completely vegan anti-cruelty lifestyles, i am not capable of such rigours in the world i inhabit.  i cannot stand on principle against everything i find morally objectionable, and still live my life – and i don’t pretend to.  my actions are specific and my parameters narrow.  i pick and chose my battles, and do what i feel i can.

so i understand that sometimes we make compromises for the sake of profit or expediency or convenience.

however i don’t go around singing about the nastiness of veal, then sell my songs to a gigantic commercial cattle operation either.

and so this is more than a sellout.  using kurt cobain’s image to sell sneakers is selling out.  this is hypocrisy of the most repulsive kind.  making your fortune by worshipping the working class hero, then undercutting him by doing a deal with the devil to line your pocket at the expense of american labour, is frankly, gross.

god, i remember when people used to stand for something.

i’m beginning to understand why so many old people are crotchety.

reel big fish – sellout

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Like this post

Unlike