Wednesday, November 26, 2008

86. The Eagles - Hotel California

Let me quote the Dude here. "I hate the fucking Eagles, man."

I guess I had a fling with them back in the day, because I bought their albums. But I never loved them. I never hung an Eagles poster or wanted their album cover painted on my Levi jacket or had fantasies about Don Henley.

As time went on, my tolerance of the Eagles grew to apathy, which later in life turned into abject loathing. Especially this album and especially the overplayed, overrated, over analyzed title song.

Hotel California is another one of those "rock musicians gone poetically awry" songs, in which a lyricist believes he is not just a writer of catchy rock songs, but a poet as well. An allegorical poet, if you will. Ooohhh, dark, mysterious, cryptic lyrics that will, thirty years down the road, still be the subject of "what do you think it means" conversations. Who cares? This song is BORING. It's like watching a horrible movie with false endings, where you keep shifting in your seat thinking, ok, credits are going to roll right.........now! But no, they cut to yet another drawn out, badly acted scene, maybe one in which there are mirrors on the ceiling and pink champagne on ice. Oh, yes, how Hollywood people live in excess, that must be the theme of this song! No, wait, it's about being stuck in a place you can't get out of...no, it's...hey, a guitar solo! Another long, drawn out, masturbatory guitar experience! Pass the bong!

Favorite song: Try the Eagles of Death Metal instead.
I hate the fuckin' Eagles, man

7 comments:

Solonor Rasreth said...

I can't say I never liked the Eagles, but I surely was sick of them about the 5000th time we had to play "Best of My Love" at a stupid wedding reception.

bran said...

Aye. "Best of My Love" takes the prize as worst ever Eagles song. Not to detract from the suckiness of "Hotel California," the subject of this post. Just concurring with Solly there. You're both right; both songs suck.

Unknown said...

Saying the Eagles suck is reverse pretentious hipsterism. And don't confuse the quality of a song with its over-exposure (which is not the songwriter's fault).

michele said...

I think I explained clearly that overexposure is not only reason I hate the song.

bran said...

maybe he meant that to me, since I said the song sucks? I don't get the comment about reverse pretentious hipsterism, seeing as how I am not atall hip or reverse, and as far as I know, I don't have anyone to impress by being pretentious. what is pretentious about calling an awful POS song what it is?

michele said...

Tim, I listened to a lot of "country rock" in high school. And I don't even consider the Allmans country.

Unknown said...

I don't like The Eagles for other reasons: specifically how they've treated their best musicians. Don Felder and Joe Walsh are mere employees. Felder eventually being fired and given a cease & desist every time he played "Hotel California", a song he wrote. (You can here him play it here. I recommend it.)

And Joe Walsh? Don't blame The Eagles on Walsh; he just gets a paycheck. Can you say James Gang? - Funk 49?