Pearl Jam has apparently joined the Dixie Chicks by making anti-Bush statements at a concert. I love the reporting… the headline reads “Pearl Jam war criticism prompts walkout” which, while technically accurate doesn’t exactly report what happened. The BBC version of the same story is even worse… “Pearl Jam Bush stunt angers fans.” Man, by these reporting standards, my headline to this story is allowable and OK, I guess.
Pearl Jam issued the following statement:
Statement from Pearl Jam April 3, 2003
Thursday April 3, 8:00 pm ETOKLAHOMA CITY, April 3 /PRNewswire/ — There were close to 12,000 people at the April 1st Denver show. It’s possible two dozen left during encore but it was not noticeable amongst the 11,976 who were loudly applauding and enjoying the evening’s music. It just made a better headline to report otherwise. [You'll note the writer doesn't mention this in his review of the show from the day prior. See "Pearl Jam Show Will Make a Great CD" by Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News. And it is little more than a mention in any of the show reviews.]
Dissension is nothing we shy away from — it should just be reported about more accurately. Ed’s talk from the stage centered on the importance of freedom of speech and the importance of supporting our soldiers as well as an expression of sadness over the public being made to feel as though the two sentiments can’t occur simultaneously.
Hear, hear.
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