I've never been a huge Pearl Jam fan, but I've always respected the way they've handled their careers. They've never sold out, took on Ticketmaster and chose art over money. If you haven't heard, the AT & T Blue Room, which touts itself as a hip place to watch various music festivals (yes, they're just trying to rope in more of the 17-30 market), recently streamed the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago. During Pearl Jam's set, Eddie Vedder made some pretty simple statements about George Bush. No, there weren't any f-bombs - just a simple change in the lyrics to make a point. AT & T censored the new lyrics. When the public went nuts and AT & T was fielding complaints from furious music fans, they capitulated and blamed the "gaffe" on the vendor. Now that's just hysterical. Ummmm, AT & T is one of the largest republican donors; they're Blue Room initiative is a huge priority at this mega-corp. and they just didn't notice this act of censorship? Rigggggggght. The fact that they blamed this on their vendor, speaks volumes about how they view the intellect of their subscribers. As AT & T continues to grow, and the telecom market continues to be consolidated, expect more of this. Maybe they're not as bad as say ExxonMobile, BlueCross/BlueShield, or BP, but they're definitely playing the same game. And they need to be stopped.
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