Discussion of Eagles Documentary "History of the Eagles"

[sodascouts]

One thing Glenn and Don both say in that 1977 limo ride is that they think part of the reason they're so popular is because they "look like" their audience.

Nowadays that's not necessarily true. I wonder how that's changed their perspective?

[Thirsty&Hot]

For me, even something as simple as Don asking Glenn if he'd eaten anything and Glenn replying "I had a bowl of Rice Crispies" makes me smile. It's like we're getting a little peek into their everyday lives, and I think that's cool.

Thank goodness for the Super 8 Camera with sound!

yesss! I love all those little (sometimes hidden til repeated viewings) treasures! you feel like you're seeing something you're not supposed to see. kinda like how you might feel nowadays if a celebrity you like posts a photo on instagram or twitter. it IS public, but makes you feel like you're seeing something special...a behind the scenes look into a snippet of their life!

I think it's so great that they filmed things like their trip to Joshua Tree, and their Spread Eagle/Third Encore parties.

big smiles! and lots of rewinding and replaying hehe

"here comes my baby"

[TimothyBFan]

I agree with the whole limo thing just being silly. LOVED it!!! I have laughed each time I've seen it and it took a couple of viewings to catch what all was being said. The first time was when I caught the driver not even being there.

Troub--- I feel you are spot on about these guys taking it very seriously and being hard working to get to the top. That's what makes them the stars they are today!!! Nothing wrong with that.

I just want to set the record straight here--again, FOR MYSELF. It wasn't so much WHAT Glenn said in the doc but HOW he said it, in most cases. I just felt things could of been handled a bit differently. Just that simple and just my opinion. No big deal. Just expressed my opinion. Etc....

Now I am just hoping when I see several post about "haters gotta hate", "loathe him", "hate", "gotta get their digs in", that the members like me that simply expressed our opinion without going overboard or snotty about it, are not being lumped into a larger group. I feel that it's a bit harsh.

I'm not surprised you and Cathy expected a lot worse when seeing the doc after reading this thread than you actually saw. With the level of outrage some people have been expressing against Glenn here, you'd think he'd admitted to spending his spare time kicking puppies and dumping old ladies out of wheelchairs.

Nope! Never thought Glenn kicked puppies or dumped the elderly from wheelchairs. And I'd be willing to put money down that even the members that have expressed their opinions a bit more vehemently that I did, thought that either.

Good point. One's perspective depends a great deal on one's own personality.

How sensitive are you? How quick are you to take offense? How quick are you to judge? Are you reluctant to assume the worst, or is that your default setting? Do you like to read positive comments, or do you eagerly embrace negative ones (even bringing them over from other sites if there aren't enough to suit you here)? It all comes down to the individual.

Sure I love to read positive comments, who doesn't? I also like to make them but I'm not afraid of saying when I don't feel something I saw was "positive" and what I saw from Glenn, in my book, was not "positive". I don't feel I'm overly sensitive, quick to be offended or to judge and I don't assume the worst.

I simply didn't like what I saw from Glenn in about a 12th of the documentary. I'm not a "hater" or a "loather" because of it or because I expressed that opinion.

BTW--- Soda--I hope you don't feel I'm picking on you but these were the 2 comments I read this morning regarding it and was to lazy to go back and look for the others.

[Thirsty&Hot]

I honestly don't think there are any true Glenn "haters" here.
At least I hope not!

I guess there were some comments made about people being disappointed in hearing some of the things Glenn said in the doc, but I don't consider that "hating".

Speaking personally, as I said in recent post, the "loathers" I was was referring to were the ones outside of the Border! like random people on twitter and articles written about the documentary in which they tear Glenn and even Don Henley apart for being "controlling" "assholes".

[Thirsty&Hot]

One thing Glenn and Don both say in that 1977 limo ride is that they think part of the reason they're so popular is because they "look like" their audience.

Nowadays that's not necessarily true. I wonder how that's changed their perspective?

Interesting thought!
My guess is that they probably just thank the Classic Rock radio stations for keeping their music alive even after they disbanded. This, paired with parents passing their love of the Eagles along, allowed future generations to hear the greatness for themselves. Plus their songs are so nostalgic, beautiful, and sometimes timeless. They create a certain mood and romance. They even make bad situations sound romantic as in Lyin' Eyes. They transport people to Southern California in the 70s. They also remind people of a specific time in their lives because, as Glenn put it, "people DID things to the Eagles".
I don't think it really has too much to do with their looks for most people (outside of the Border ) anymore. For me, it was all about the music for the longest time until I saw how beautiful they were in the documentary! hehe The music speaks for itself!

[Houston Debutante]

It's really interesting how differently we can see things! I thought the limo bit was really funny. I didn't get the sense that either of them were being very serious. I thought Glenn's "You never know what those kids'll do" was deliberately exaggerated and amusing. I love it when Don tells the driver to lock the door and then realises he's not even there! "NOW lock it." Haha. I also find myself laughing when Glenn pushes in front of Don to get into the car and Don says in a deep voice "No, no, you first, I insist." I love their little humorous exchanges. It strikes me how little they have changed really... their personalities are still pretty much the same. It's clear to me now how passionate, driven and ambitious Glenn is, and always has been - and how impulsive and excitable he can be. He knows it, too. I liked it when he said to Joe "I get nuts sometimes and I'm sorry." We're all who we are! I didn't feel any ill will towards Glenn whilst watching the film. I can understand how people might think someone is an asshole for demanding more money or whatever (because most of us don't live in that kind of world) but I was surprised to find myself mostly agreeing with what Don and Glenn said. Not that I don't feel sorry for Bernie, Randy and even Felder... but I genuinely believe that whatever happened happened for the good of the band. Glenn said he began to sing less and less "because we had Henley". Glenn wasn't a hypocrite - he always did what was best for the band and he expected the same from the others. I totally respect that. The Victim of Love thing illustrates that point perfectly... I can understand why Felder wanted to sing it and, in some ways, of course it would have been nice to let him sing his song, but that's not what a meticulous and phenomenally successful band does. They HAVE to do what's best for the band - and there's no doubt that Don Henley singing makes for a much better record. Felder admits that. Don's analogy about Felder demanding to sing VOL being akin to him demanding to play lead guitar on Hotel California is totally accurate, and I don't think it's unkind. Put in that context, it makes perfect sense to me.

Back to the old footage, I love those sweet, humorous moments that come through in the clips. I really got the sense of the band being like brothers - just ordinary guys hanging around in often extraordinary situations. It made me realise how well Don and Glenn got on - it really was them against the world at the beginning. I know Don has had his wild moments, but I think it's really endearing that he's always been kind of quieter and more serious than the others - it's obvious how worried he was during the airport situation in the Bahamas (lol) and the fact that he was the only one who agreed with Glyn Johns about the 'no alcohol/drugs' rule in the studio says a lot about his maturity, even in the early '70s.

I just really enjoyed seeing all of that old footage and getting to know them as young men. It brings it all to life, for me - the passion, the arguments, the desire, the hard work, the fun and the silliness - and I can't get enough of it! I was a bit apprehensive about watching the DVD after all of the bad feeling generated from it, but I can honestly say that I have a new-found respect for the band. It's obvious how hard they have always worked and how each member put the success of the band as a whole at the top of their list. If Glenn really was an egocentric asshole, I'm pretty sure he would be demanding to sing much more than he does and that he and Don would have come to bitter blows a long, long time ago. The Eagles are so successful because the band is bigger than any of the individual members... and that's the way they have always wanted it.

I will be another person who quotes you. I completely agree. I was surprised by how extreme some of the negative reactions have been. The documentary seemed pretty tame to me.

[TimothyBFan]

Interesting thought!
My guess is that they probably just thank the Classic Rock radio stations for keeping their music alive even after they disbanded. This, paired with parents passing their love of the Eagles along, allowed future generations to hear the greatness for themselves.

I have a case in point here--- this morning on FB, one of my friends, an 18 year old young lady, had as her status, "Some dance to remember, some dance to forget". I complimented her on her status. She responded back, saying she really likes the Eagles and she remembered my bumper sticker I use to have that said that. I used to babysit her about 12-15 years ago. I'm taking credit for this one.

[cbecrad]

Interesting thought!
My guess is that they probably just thank the Classic Rock radio stations for keeping their music alive even after they disbanded. This, paired with parents passing their love of the Eagles along, allowed future generations to hear the greatness for themselves. Plus their songs are so nostalgic, beautiful, and sometimes timeless. They create a certain mood and romance. They even make bad situations sound romantic as in Lyin' Eyes. They transport people to Southern California in the 70s. They also remind people of a specific time in their lives because, as Glenn put it, "people DID things to the Eagles".
I don't think it really has too much to do with their looks for most people (outside of the Border ) anymore. For me, it was all about the music for the longest time until I saw how beautiful they were in the documentary! hehe The music speaks for itself!

I completely agree. They even said themselves they didn't seeing it lasting that long. Because that that point bands just hadn't been around for many years. No one predicted what would happen in the future. We just thank our lucky stars this music is timeless and will continue to be around and inspire generations to come.
I got my mom to watch the documentary with me and although she is around the same age as the guys in the band, even she became a fan again. During the second disc she started getting emotional when she saw Joe Walsh put his cigarette in his guitar strings because it reminded her of my dad when they were first married in the early 70s and he would play his guitar.
As for the "hater comments", I haven't been reading the entire thread but I certainly have nothing against people having their own opinions. That's kind of what a message board is for, right? And if you don't like it you can simply click on something else. Over the years I have been a member of many a message board and email group and sometimes I do think people tend to take things too personally. But as long as you don't do that and are able to see another's point of view while still giving your own, it's fine and everyone will get along .

[sodascouts]

I think I should clarify what I feel a Glenn-hater is and yes, I do think there are a few people on this board who fit these criteria. I won't name names, but I hope these people are self-aware enough to see themselves and question if they really want to be that person.

You might be a Glenn hater if:

1. You call him names such as "asshole," "dick," "jerk," etc.

2. You go beyond questioning his actions to condemning him as a person.

3. The majority of your posts are spent picking him apart. No throwaway phrase, gesture, facial expression, or verbal intonation is too insignificant for you to make a federal case out of. Even little things have you up in arms, and you spend post after post harping on them.

4. You have no problem exaggerating or distorting what he said in order to criticize him. When someone corrects you by clarifying what he really said, you ignore that and keep repeating the misinformation.

5. You are unwilling to give him the smallest benefit of the doubt.

6. You insult his fans with statements like you don't understand how anyone could support such a person, as if he's freaking Hitler. They can't defend him without you characterizing them as mindlessly uncritical fanatics who are completely blinded by bias and devoid of reason.

7. You eagerly cheer on other people doing the above and consider them your "allies" no matter how bad they get. All it takes for them to be your BFF is that they criticize Glenn.

If you don't understand why the above constitutes hating on someone, perhaps you should ask yourself if you would be cool with people doing that to an Eagle you DO like.

As I said at the beginning, if you are self-aware enough to realize that I'm talking about you and that hating on someone is not something you want to engage in, then please tone it down. I would respect that. Everyone gets carried away, but not everyone is strong enough to rein themselves in. You can criticize without being a hater.

[cbecrad]

Wow that certainly defines a hater. I would hope nobody would waste time doing those things here, but I suppose there are haters everywhere.