The "Dixie Chicking" of Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam hears the wrath of dozens of fans for anti-Bush remarks and song

On April 1, 2003, Pearl Jam learned a hard lesson when dozens of its fans walked out of the band's concert in Denver when singer Eddie Vedder made anti-Bush comments followed by sticking a mask of the President on a pole and stomping on it. "Sure, we were shocked," said Mike McCready, one of the band's guitarists. "It's one of the nice things about the press in America these days. Twelve thousand people can support what you do, but if twenty or thirty don't, the A.P., or Fox News is there to capture it on tape."

One of the members of the crowd who walked out in disgust was clearly mistaken about the song's target. "The mask had a real big nose and floppy ears, like Ross Perot," said Janice Miller, 35, of Littleton. "I handed out flyers for Perot's last campaign and I thought, 'it's not fair, why is he beating up Perot?' I didn't realize it was Bush."

Kevin Wiltmore, 24, of Denver was part of the horde of twenty or thirty people who left the show when the band broke into the song "Bushleaguer," during which Vedder stomped on the Bush mask. "Sure, I support the troops, man," said Wiltmore, who drives a tow truck for Vern's Towing. "But, at the time, my bladder was supporting a couple of those forty ounce brewskis and I was desperate for relief, if you know what I mean." Wiltmore said he wasn't familiar with the band's political message.

A dozen members of the local Denver group, Young Republicans Against Socialist Stereotypes (YouRASS), bought tickets for the show to make a point by walking out during the band's rendition of "Bushleaguer." "We don't like Pearl Jam playing anti-American music that demeans our President. YouRASS is committed to creating a furor against anyone who speaks against the leader," said Adolf Reichswatter, 21 of Littleton, the leader of the YouRASS walkout. The YouRASS members were easy to spot in the crowd, as each was adorned in a pith helmet.

Clear Channel Entertainment, which owns about 10% of the radio stations in America, and which spearheaded the movement to stigmatize the Dixie Chicks for similar anti-Bush comments, was one of the first to respond to Vedder's anti-American statements. Billy Joe Goebbels, Clear Channel's Director of Content Control and Music Marginalization, stated "We'll make sure our friends at the Associated Press get the full story on this massive protest and that it's carried in all the major newspapers. It won't make any difference if it was twenty people or twenty thousand because the average reader can't count above twenty."

Although Pearl Jam's music is a bit on the edgy side to the music approved by Goebbels and his inner circle, who prefer the music of the American Idol kids to anything with real passion, Goebbels added that Clear Channel planned to add Pearl Jam to its nationwide approved playlist and then immediately ban them from the same playlist in a symbolic gesture to show its disapproval. Goebbels added that "Clear Channel is the largest concert promoter in the country so we can stick it to them next time they go out on tour, assuming they're not completely ruined over this incident."

During its performance, the band reiterated its support for the troops, while at the same time slamming President Bush. There was no comment on whether the band would continue to perform the song "Bushleaguer" or whether Vedder would repeat his theatrics in the future. Last week, however, the band began selling the Bush masks and poles on its web site to a strong demand, if that is any indication.

The lyrics of "Bushleaguer" are reproduced below:

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