Eagles: Headliners - oh, the irony

[Freypower]

This quote from Glenn in 1975 is a bit enigmatic, but perhaps I'm missing something:

"My feeling is that Los Angeles is the Rome of North America, during the chaos. And if there's going to be any fall of the dynasty, I'd like to see it from L.A. because I think L.A. will feel it first."

The fall of the decadent empire. Isn't that what the whole Hotel California album was about? LA as Glenn apparently saw it was full of selfish rich people wallowing in their decadence (Tiffany twisted etc) while turning a blind eye to the poor. I would think he thought the rich were more visible & prominent in LA because of the music & movie industries than they were in other cities where they were more low key. So he thought if the US empire was going to crumble the first symptoms would occur in LA.

You get a direct reference in Disco Strangler; 'Rome is burning, but that's alright' & much later more broadly in I've Got Mine. I would argue that the title track from LROOE also bemoans this American decline as evidenced in the divide between rich & poor & the flaunting of wealth & privliege. I'm not giving an opinion on this; just trying to interpret what he may have meant.

[sodascouts]

This is good to know! I wasn't sure what were quotes from the guys or just from the book.

Just look for the quotation marks, either single or double. As an English teacher, I take attribution seriously. If I say it's a quote from one of the guys, then unless otherwise indicated, anything that I transcribe with be a direct quote. By "otherwise indicated" I mean with internal single quotes that set it apart, or with brackets that indicate a word's been replaced.

Here's an example of what it looks like when there's a set off quote, indicated by a single quotation mark surrounding the exact words, with the rest bound by double quotation marks. I've bolded the single ones to help you see them (at the end, there is both a single and double to indicate closing Felder's quote as well as the book quote). Hope that helps!

"To [Felder], Eagles music is 'a real good statement of the head of earthpeople, the people who have had some drug experiences, the people who have done a lot of thinking about what's going on. Without getting into the whole cosmic rap like the Grateful Dead. I think it's a real valid statement about a certain group of people and their evolution at a certain point in time. And that's what music is, it's a reflection of what's happening.'"

Hmm... so, is "earthpeople" a 70s term for hippies?

[AlreadyGone95]

Earthpeople- sounds like something a Martian would say .

FP, your interpretation of that quote is pretty much the same as mine.

As for having to wait and sit around for something to "spark" and you start working on it, I much like that idea more than a regular 9-5 job. That kind of job seems really monotonous and stifling to me, but it's probably what I'll end up doing.

[NightMistBlue]

If you read the NYU songwriting seminar thread though (in the Glenn section), it doesn't seem at all like Glenn is advocating a "wait for inspiration to strike" workstyle. I wrote down his quote, "Show up and try every day." And Don H. has said that Glenn is more workmanlike in his songwriting approach, sitting down at the piano or his desk whether he feels like it or not.

[VAisForEagleLovers]

If you read the NYU songwriting seminar thread though (in the Glenn section), it doesn't seem at all like Glenn is advocating a "wait for inspiration to strike" workstyle. I wrote down his quote, "Show up and try every day." And Don H. has said that Glenn is more workmanlike in his songwriting approach, sitting down at the piano or his desk whether he feels like it or not.

Yes, most people wait for inspiration, believing you can't force it. Judging from Glenn's quote, he didn't do either. He sought interactions, went places, and kept his mind open to possibilities. That is, after all, how we got Lyin' Eyes! His workman-like approach probably included trying a lot of things to see if they'd work. Not forcing it per se, but more of the belief that he wouldn't know if it would work or not until he tried.

[VAisForEagleLovers]

Just look for the quotation marks, either single or double. As an English teacher, I take attribution seriously. If I say it's a quote from one of the guys, then unless otherwise indicated, anything that I transcribe with be a direct quote. By "otherwise indicated" I mean with internal single quotes that set it apart, or with brackets that indicate a word's been replaced.

Here's an example of what it looks like when there's a set off quote, indicated by a single quotation mark surrounding the exact words, with the rest bound by double quotation marks. I've bolded the single ones to help you see them (at the end, there is both a single and double to indicate closing Felder's quote as well as the book quote). Hope that helps!

"To [Felder], Eagles music is 'a real good statement of the head of earthpeople, the people who have had some drug experiences, the people who have done a lot of thinking about what's going on. Without getting into the whole cosmic rap like the Grateful Dead. I think it's a real valid statement about a certain group of people and their evolution at a certain point in time. And that's what music is, it's a reflection of what's happening.'"

Hmm... so, is "earthpeople" a 70s term for hippies?

Thank you for the clarification. I know all this, of course, but since you felt the need to explain it, and I knew you wouldn't do that unless you had a good reason, I went back and looked at post #55. I can see the single quotes when I put the reading glasses on. The joys of presbyopia.

[NightMistBlue]

Right, I think a lot of (Earth)people get too critical too soon and end up inhibiting the creative process. I forget where I saw this, but Don H. was saying it was really helpful for him to write with Glenn because Frey is less inhibited as a songwriter - he'll say or sing anything, even if it sounds bad, just to get the wheels turning so to speak.

[sodascouts]

I think part of their problems with joint songwriting occurred when that changed; Glenn has said that after the huge success of Hotel California, they both were afraid to voice ideas in case they weren't good enough. It made the process a lot harder.

On another note, Glenn gets outraged over a critical review c. 1975:

"Some guy reviewed us for the New York Times and labeled our songs escapist rock. Now to me our songs are more realist rock, confrontist rock, than anybody's. [...] What we're doing is all stuff that happened to us. We don't make any of it up. It happens to us in real life - a relationship with a girl, a spiritual thing, whatever. I hate those stupid labels. I hate when people call us a country-rock band because they are so full of it. We can do anything! We can do rock and roll, we can do country music - anything!"

You tell 'em, Glenn!

[AlreadyGone95]

Glenn tellin' it like it is!

For me, music as a whole is an escape, but the Eagles' music is about real life. That's why it resonates with so many people.

[VAisForEagleLovers]

I think part of their problems with joint songwriting occurred when that changed; Glenn has said that after the huge success of Hotel California, they both were afraid to voice ideas in case they weren't good enough. It made the process a lot harder.

On another note, Glenn gets outraged over a critical review c. 1975:

"Some guy reviewed us for the New York Times and labeled our songs escapist rock. Now to me our songs are more realist rock, confrontist rock, than anybody's. [...] What we're doing is all stuff that happened to us. We don't make any of it up. It happens to us in real life - a relationship with a girl, a spiritual thing, whatever. I hate those stupid labels. I hate when people call us a country-rock band because they are so full of it. We can do anything! We can do rock and roll, we can do country music - anything!"

You tell 'em, Glenn!

I treat their music as escapist rock at times, but in a real way. By that I mean a song like Peaceful Easy Feeling. There have been many times in my life when it was real, and there are times when I'm stressed and angry or upset. Listening to PEF takes me back to a place in my life where things were better. So I'm escaping back to my own life which was real.