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Ode to Wal Mart

#22
The people have more power than they thinking. As long as Walmart produces profits, what incentive do they have to change anything. They cater to a certain demographic. Walmart has every right to sell what they want. Unfortunately, they can sell KKK hoods if they want. But, you don't have to shop there.

Further, we need to patronize smaller businesses more. Find smaller, local companies and contribute. The money is much better spent there. If they don't have the discography you crave, bring it to the manager's attention. Generally, things can be ordered, and with enough demand it can change that retailers inventory.
 
#23
Mon Rominee said:
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
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If you've seen Unfaithful you would know it doesn't exactly promote extra-marital affairs.......... That being said, I agree completely. Hypocrisy runs wild!!!!!
 
#24
I dunno. I've seen some strange s*** happen in the cd section of my Wal-Mart.

I saw Purple Onion there, and I bought The Grand Pecking Order there.

But a friend of mine, and fellow Claypool freak was smugglin' in the goods me thinks.

He also informed me his boss was a huge Claypool fan. He proved that even more so when he brought him with us when he took me to see Primus. :)
 
#25
jazzbo said:
The people have more power than they thinking. As long as Walmart produces profits, what incentive do they have to change anything. They cater to a certain demographic. Walmart has every right to sell what they want. Unfortunately, they can sell KKK hoods if they want. But, you don't have to shop there.

Further, we need to patronize smaller businesses more. Find smaller, local companies and contribute. The money is much better spent there. If they don't have the discography you crave, bring it to the manager's attention. Generally, things can be ordered, and with enough demand it can change that retailers inventory.
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Exactly, thats what I was trying to say with my post.

*!WARNING!*: The Velvet Revolver CD requires liscences to be played on your computer. It promts you to download them when you put the CD in your computer but will not allow you to convert the songs to a format compatible with iTunes or an iPod. Aparently they are working on the issue right now but if you are like me, thats the only way you listen to music and you will have an $18 paperweight.

Peace
Nick
 
#27
jazzbo said:
Further, we need to patronize smaller businesses more. Find smaller, local companies and contribute. The money is much better spent there. If they don't have the discography you crave, bring it to the manager's attention. Generally, things can be ordered, and with enough demand it can change that retailers inventory.
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Yes. Shopping at Wal*Mart contributes to the homogenization of the US. In a period of years, I predict that Wal*Mart will be the only place in any city that people can go in which to buy things. You will buy your cars there. Your instruments. Your music. Your healthcare.

Soon, everyone will work at Wal*Mart, and the company will own our souls.
 
#28
Nick man said:
Exactly, thats what I was trying to say with my post.

*!WARNING!*: The Velvet Revolver CD requires liscences to be played on your computer. It promts you to download them when you put the CD in your computer but will not allow you to convert the songs to a format compatible with iTunes or an iPod. Aparently they are working on the issue right now but if you are like me, thats the only way you listen to music and you will have an $18 paperweight.

Peace
Nick
Click to expand...

wasn't there something like this a long while ago, wHere you could just take a sharpie and color over some parts and you could convert it?
 
#31
jazzbo said:
The people have more power than they thinking. As long as Walmart produces profits, what incentive do they have to change anything. They cater to a certain demographic. Walmart has every right to sell what they want. Unfortunately, they can sell KKK hoods if they want. But, you don't have to shop there.

Further, we need to patronize smaller businesses more. Find smaller, local companies and contribute. The money is much better spent there. If they don't have the discography you crave, bring it to the manager's attention. Generally, things can be ordered, and with enough demand it can change that retailers inventory.
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Exactly. My local store has ordered me, and even found me albums I've only heard rumours about, for no more than the regular price.

http://www.coopamerica.org/
 
#33
Wal-mart sucks.

A little over a half a year ago, I started looking for a job I could work part-time, because I am going to attend college this fall. I made it to the second interview at Wal-mart. (They said they would call me back when they contacted my references. They never called) I got to take that lovely personality test concocted by corporate psychometrics. You know, that one that they give to make sure I am subservient to power, and unable to think for myself. I think it's called the O' Ryan test. I was also interviewed by about four different people; and not one of them shook my hand. I sat down and did the math; it turned out I would make just as much money, if not more, playing music on the weekends. (and that wasn't after caculating gas and mileage to and from work)
 
#34
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.
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Shutup hippy. ;)

Oops, I meant to say, "Hmm, I must say that I don't quite agree with your opinion. You still make a valid point though."
 
#35
jazzbo said:
Further, we need to patronize smaller businesses more. Find smaller, local companies and contribute. The money is much better spent there. If they don't have the discography you crave, bring it to the manager's attention. Generally, things can be ordered, and with enough demand it can change that retailers inventory.
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Agreed.

It may make me sound like a tree-hugging, hippie, Green Party member, but I pretty much dislike huge corporations. I try to patronize smaller stores, as long as there isn't too much of a price difference. I think that small business is what makes capitalism great, not large corporations that treat their customers and employees as faceless numbers.

Okay, hope that post wasn't too political. :D
 
#36
Hehehe....Wal-Mart has pull in the music industry? What kind of pull are you talking about exactly? They certainly have ZERO pull when it comes to what kind of music bands/artists are putting out.

That link for Coop America is a joke. You can help stop sweatshops by giving us money and becoming a member of our stupid club? Puh-leeze! When Americans decide they are not too good to work these type of jobs, sweatshops will thrive. Corporations all over the USA use them, and it is silly to ask them to regulate it. They are about making money, just like you and I are. The bottom line is what matters baby, nothing else. Don't kid yourself.

-Mike
 
#38
WillPlay4Food said:
I didn't know if posting a link here would be a good idea.
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PM me.

Oh and another thing you might find interesting

Aparently Kurt Cobain said in an interview once that he wanted nirvana to put out edited and censorec CDs since places like K-Mart wouldnt carry the normal versions and that was the only place he could get music when he was a kid. He just though a couple a f words and a baby's penis on the cover of his CD was not that big a deal compared to a kid not being able to listen to the band he likes.

So yeah, is it all that big a deal that you dont get to hear Scott Weiland yell some vulgarities?
 
#40
I usually take my homogenized buisness needs to Fred Meyer or Target or some such. They're still huge corps., but at least they aren't as monolithic as Wal-Mart.

I'm too poor to afford the higher cost of independant shops, but I try to buy local and buy small business whenever I can.
 

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