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Ode to Wal Mart

You're ridiculous.

I go in to get a copy of Velvet Revolver, and all they have is the edit version. That drives me insane that they have that much pull in the industry. It sickens me.

I asked the girl behind the counter if they had the non-edit, and she said no, because Wal Mart is a family store. I said, "Ok, does Wal Mart demand all sexual situations and nudity be removed from DVD's?"

Of course, no answer. Don't edit the damn album, put a "rating" on it like a video game if you have to, or offer both versions.

I know this is old hat, but geez...it's so lame.
 
Yup. Listennin to an edit version is the equivalent of watching Eddie Murphy Comedian, and having Gilbert Godfried say "doo doo" or "Ca ca" in place of every swear word.

It's annoying.

I'm a grown man. I can handle a swear word..I know what I intend to buy, and go in with no delusion as to what I'm sure to get...

The policy of the store is so bass ackwards. Sofa King lame.
 
Mon Rominee said:
You're ridiculous.

I go in to get a copy of Velvet Revolver, and all they have is the edit version. That drives me insane that they have that much pull in the industry. It sickens me.

I asked the girl behind the counter if they had the non-edit, and she said no, because Wal Mart is a family store.


Kudos to Wal-Mart! Why get mad at them for selling only versions that they can sell with a clear conscience? A family store sells family things.

There are an abundance of record stores that will sell you records that aren't edited. You don't get mad at them for not having baby bottles do you?

Taking advantage of their pull in the industry would be if they told Sony to make only "family friendly" albums or they would pull all Sony CD's off of their shelves.
 
Well they don't sell only family friendly dvds and videos. Can they in good conscience sell "Unfaithful" starring Dianne Lane, that promotes extra maritial affairs, and not censor that, yet bleep out a swear word on a record sold one aisle over??? It makes no sense by your definition.

And really, they DO have pull, don't kid yourself...they control by some report I've read a very large marketshare of the sales of CD's nationally. In some cases much moreso than some other music-only chains.

And my particular rant is BECAUSE where I work is not in proximity to any OTHER record stores, especially when I want to pick up something new at lunch, thank you very much.

I know full well where to go to get what I want...just sometimes with such higher-profile offerings where it would be a no-brainer that I could find it at Wal Mart....

I'm simply saying they're rather too selective about their "family" policy. But thanks for your thoughts.

Ron
 
Danksalot said:
Kudos to Wal-Mart! Why get mad at them for selling only versions that they can sell with a clear conscience? A family store sells family things.

There are an abundance of record stores that will sell you records that aren't edited. You don't get mad at them for not having baby bottles do you?

Taking advantage of their pull in the industry would be if they told Sony to make only "family friendly" albums or they would pull all Sony CD's off of their shelves.

That post made as much sense as the Chewbacca Defense.

"Clear Conscience" and "Wal Mart" aren't exactly phrases that go hand in hand (so to speak). (Go ahead and find a "full time" Wal Mart employee with full benefits- family- yeah.)

Maybe you're in favor of legislating morality, but that'll only last until you're on the wrong side of someone's morality. (as monumentally evidenced in the great mistake called Prohibition{and regardless of whether you believe in what Prohibition stood for, it was shamefully unsuccessful and caused even more problems- see Al Capone})

I don't believe it's right to not offer something on the basis that management, or whoever, believes someone shouldn't have it. Imagine going to pick out a new bass and being told that the store owner thought you weren't good enough for the bass you wanted. Sorta the same concept.

Of course, we don't really know that all the non-radio edit copies weren't sold out... :D

Oh, and as far as:

There are an abundance of record stores that will sell you records that aren't edited. You don't get mad at them for not having baby bottles do you?

If a record store had baby bottles, I'd ask management what the hell they were thinking.
 
Mon Rominee said:
That's what off-topic is for right...?

Rule #2: Profanity and Obscenity
Because this forum is viewed by bassists of all ages, all posts must be suitable for viewing by young teens. All profanity must be completely covered with asterisks, or substituted with "@%$#" symbols. Obscene material is not permitted, nor are links to websites containing such material.t. If what you have to say wouldn't be suited for network TV, don't post it here.
 
That's profound crotchgrab.... I never said I didn't like the store or its products, I was commenting on a particular incident, and a practice that is heavy handed as it is selectively hypocritic. That is the area in which they are ridiculous.

I'm all for a good deal, and shop there often. But as an adult, an a father of two, and should be able to make up my own mind what I buy for me and mine, not rely on the store to do it for me....

And Goldenboy, on the basis of the forum rule you cited, which I obviously didn't have in mind, yes, quite ironic. Made me grin. Thanks for the rib jab. :smug:
 
FYI - I have no top secret knowledge of why Wal-Mart's policies are the way they are. These are my own opinions:

The Golden Boy said:
"Clear Conscience" and "Wal Mart" aren't exactly phrases that go hand in hand (so to speak). (Go ahead and find a "full time" Wal Mart employee with full benefits- family- yeah.)

Oh, I thought this was about an album that you wanted. That's all my comment was meant to address. I wasn't saying that Wal-Mart is perfect in every way.

The Golden Boy said:
Maybe you're in favor of legislating morality, but that'll only last until you're on the wrong side of someone's morality. (as monumentally evidenced in the great mistake called Prohibition{and regardless of whether you believe in what Prohibition stood for, it was shamefully unsuccessful and caused even more problems- see Al Capone})

How are these the same? Wal-Mart is saying "I will not sell this", not "nobody can sell this". I will not sell you my bass guitar. Is that the same as the Prohibition, except with bass guitars? No.

Who is trying to legislate morality here? Wal-Mart has no problem with you owning any CD, they just ask that you get it somewhere else because it's something they don't want on their shelves. You, on the other hand, are trying to tell Wal-Mart what it should and should not be doing. Hmmm.

The Golden Boy said:
I don't believe it's right to not offer something on the basis that management, or whoever, believes someone shouldn't have it. Imagine going to pick out a new bass and being told that the store owner thought you weren't good enough for the bass you wanted. Sorta the same concept.

There's a difference between "I don't think you should have this" and "I don't think I should have it". I really doubt that Wal-Mart avoided stocking this particular album because they were afraid that level-headed adults might buy it and listen to it. Their reply indicated that it was not you they were trying to keep from owning the CD, it was themselves.

The Golden Boy said:
If a record store had baby bottles, I'd ask management what they were thinking.

If a family store carried every record (even every "big" record) out there unedited, I would ask the same thing.