Wal-Mart alters Willie Nelson's album cover...

[AX10]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/eo/20050712/en_music_eo/16920

:wtf:?

[FreedomAngel82]

1. Understandable I think

It's pot and some people don't like that or want their kids to get any ideas. :shrug: I guess. But did Nelson agree to the two cover verison's?

[Dr Fate]

3. What kids listen to Willie Nelson?

It's not understandable at all- would they have censored an LP with an explosion or an illegal machine gun on the cover?

ADULTS buy Willie records. Mostly ADULTS who already know what pot leaves look like.

[Cha]

2. Whatever...I'd never see it in that

damn store, anyway.

walmart is blacklisted.

[iamjoy]

4. It's The New Censorship

not directly by our government, but powerful special interest groups aligned with powerful corporations.

You could also see theaters refusing to show certain movies because they don't want to face a boycott by the American Family Ass. or some such group.

[LeftyMom]

5. But you can get the toby kieth cd where he sings about smoking with Willie

at WalMart. I fail to see the big difference. :shrug: Is it really a big secret that Willie lights one up every now and then? :smoke:

[me b zola]

9. He lit up on the roof of the WH!

:smoke:

[Initech]

6. Rule of thumb - never buy CDs at Wal-Mart

I have about 300 albums, and not a single one has been purchased at Wal-Mart.

I may buy Willie's new album out of protest.

[Clintmax]

11. Or anything else for that matter!

I don't give my hard earned money to Wal-Mart. Blacklist for sure!

[Initech]

12. I made that mistake today, unfortunately.

I went to go drop some film off and then I saw that they Titus, and since I didnt want to drive very far, I bought it.

I usually try to avoid Wal-Mart like the plague though.

[Lefty48197]

7. Walmart controls the music industry

Book publishing too. If you want to sell in Walmart, you have to put up with their censorship. Virtually all of the music that is sold with a regular version, and a censored version, have the second version produced almost exclusively for sale at Walmart. Don't agree to have your music censored, and you won't sell it at Walmart. Don't sell it at Walmart and you'll lose 50% of your sales. It's sickening how much power they have over artists. I think Jon Stewart put the naked "Supreme" Court photo in his last book, just so that Walmart wouldn't sell it.

[Zen Democrat]

8. And Stewart's book was at the top of the bestseller list for months.

Apparently Walmart didn't make much difference there.

I don't know anyone who buys their books or music at Walmart.

[Lefty48197]

10. That's a good thing.

Here's some bad news about Walmart and retail music sales, and some more comments about the Stewart book:

http://www.dailycardinal.com/media/paper439/news/2004/10/22/Arts/america.Pulled.From.Shelves-777327.shtml

"Wal-Mart has long had a reputation for disallowing material it considers crude, notably in the area of music. The leading retailer of pop music nationwide, Wal-Mart has a notorious ban on CDs with parental advisory warnings and has been known to censor albums with explicit lyrics or covers. The megamart once went as far as to airbrush a bikini on the unclothed model adorning the cover of White Zombie's "Supersexy Swingin' Sounds" album, even though the photo revealed nothing...

"By coming down on the work of one of Comedy Central's most popular stars, Wal-Mart has put itself into the crosshairs of critics who suggest the retailers have an ulterior motive."

"If Jon Stewart was not so vocal, currently, in regards to his criticism of the conservative regime in this country," Ruff said, "then there would be no attempt at censorship of his book."

[CatholicEdHead]

13. Probably partly from supporting Kucinch last year

[NoSheep]

14. Wal-Mart will continue to do whatever they want as long as people shop

there.:-(

[Incitatus]

15. hmm

What's wrong with using special packaging for books and CDs instead of redesigning the covers?
Either way fuck Wal-Mart.

[wtmusic]

16. Of course, let's not mention that Willie must have given the OK

Sales über alles

[LaPera]

17. Buy Blue! Costco.

http://www.buyblue.org/alphalist.php

[Lex]

18. I enjoying smoking palm fronds, so . . .

[NMMNG]

19. One of the many reasons I don't shop at Wal-fart

Of course radio censors just as bad. I was listening to a mix station the other day and heard Tom Petty sing "Let's get to the point, lets hit another joint"... Apparently "rolling" one was too intense for them. :hippie: