Your favorites of these songs by Eagles

[Orbert]

The Boys Of Summer literally transports me back to 1984 and gives me goosebumps. It’s my all time favorite Eagles franchise (including Eagles proper) song.

I was in college, working the midnight shift at a local 24-hour restaurant, and somehow became known as the music guru.  People would ask me questions about music trivia, and since there was a lot less of it in 1984, I generally had the answer.

What is the significance of a "dead head sticker" on a Cadillac?  What is a "dead head sticker"?  It was the 80's, and the 70's weren't that long ago, but they were in fact gone, and the kids I worked with didn't know about the Dead Heads.  So I had to explain it to them.  Ten years ago, there were hippies who'd follow The Grateful Dead around.  Some of those same people wear suits and drive Cadillacs now.  That very concept was novel.  Today, it's nothing.  Our generation is the ruling class.  But in 1984, wow, mind-boggling.

[TAC]

I had a "Maiden sticker on a piece of shit"!

[hefdaddy42]

Kev, what about an Eagles Top 50 (or 25)?

Although there may not be as large an audience here for something like that.

[Stadler]

The Boys Of Summer literally transports me back to 1984 and gives me goosebumps. It’s my all time favorite Eagles franchise (including Eagles proper) song.

I was in college, working the midnight shift at a local 24-hour restaurant, and somehow became known as the music guru.  People would ask me questions about music trivia, and since there was a lot less of it in 1984, I generally had the answer.

What is the significance of a "dead head sticker" on a Cadillac?  What is a "dead head sticker"?  It was the 80's, and the 70's weren't that long ago, but they were in fact gone, and the kids I worked with didn't know about the Dead Heads.  So I had to explain it to them.  Ten years ago, there were hippies who'd follow The Grateful Dead around.  Some of those same people wear suits and drive Cadillacs now.  That very concept was novel.  Today, it's nothing.  Our generation is the ruling class.  But in 1984, wow, mind-boggling.

I've written about this before (maybe even in this thread).  To me it was a metaphor for the loss of the idealism of the '70s.  No Deadhead worth their salt in 1974 would be caught dead in a Cadillac.  And as you wrote, the Deadheads of the '70s grew up, cut their hair and were now part of the "Establishment", but with one foot in the past.  Kind of like me, with my short hair, glasses on my head, on a Zoom call at work, big shot attorney, with an Iron Maiden shirt underneath my blue Oxford button down.   

[Orbert]

Yeah, I'm not sure why it took me so long figure out, but a few years ago I realized that I could wear band T-shirts under my button downs instead of plain white Tees.  I don't wear ties to work anymore (yay for business casual!) but even with the collar open, it's basically a little bit of color showing at the neckline.  No one knows that it's Rush or Bowie or Chicago under there.  Well... I do, and that's what matters.

It's kinda like going grocery shopping these days.  They play The Who, Kansas, Heart, basically a decent Classic Rock playlist.  Not Muzak versions, the real thing.  And of course it makes perfect sense.  The moms and dads these days listen to that, and the people who decide what plays in the store listen to it.

[KevShmev]

Kev, what about an Eagles Top 50 (or 25)?

Although there may not be as large an audience here for something like that.

Just the Eagles or Eagles plus anything any of them did elsewhere? I think the latter could be interesting. 

Also, I am here for any and all praise of The Boys of Summer.  One of my 10 favorites songs ever. 

[hefdaddy42]

Kev, what about an Eagles Top 50 (or 25)?

Although there may not be as large an audience here for something like that.

Just the Eagles or Eagles plus anything any of them did elsewhere? I think the latter could be interesting. 

Whichever way you want to run it, I'm here for it.

[HOF]

Yeah, Boys of Summer is awesome. That “Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac” line is outstanding.

[Stadler]

I'm no Henley fan - I think he's a pretentious dick, if I'm letting my "Stadler^TM" guard down - but it's not just that line, it's the whole fucking song.  That's a top ten all time lyric in my book.

I'm at that age; 55, and there's a lot of looking back.  Innocence and Danger really, REALLY resonated with me for that exact reason.   I just went online to re-read them (I've done that before) and I felt real ache reading the chorus.  I used to think that no matter what you did, what you said, you can always fix it.  While my life is very very good over all, two lost parents, a bad work experience, and one failed marriage have taught me that maybe there's some wisdom in "don't look back, you can never look back".   

[hefdaddy42]

I share your opinion of Henley as a person, but he's certainly a fantastic writer. 

[KevShmev]

Yep, Henley and Frey are/were both monster dickheads, but they both have some good songs, with the Eagles and on their own.

[DTwwbwMP]

MY favorite Eagles song wasn't even on the list!

TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT

[Cool Chris]

MY favorite Eagles song wasn't even on the list!

TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT

Not my #1, but I had to look at the list 3 times before realizing it wasn't just me overlooking its absence.

I could do a Eagles +solo release countdown, but other than Boys of Summer and maybe Life's Been Good, it will be all Eagles.

I am not a huge fan of the band's material (though as a classic rock fan much of their music is ingrained in my psyche), but I recognize that was an incredible assemblage of songwriters they had.  And vocalists!

[Stadler]

Yep, Henley and Frey are/were both monster dickheads, but they both have some good songs, with the Eagles and on their own.

I said "Henley".    I'm not sure I can name an artist - maybe Jackson Browne - I dislike more both personally and musically than Glenn Frey.  He's Don Henley without the songs. 

[KevShmev]

Yep, Henley and Frey are/were both monster dickheads, but they both have some good songs, with the Eagles and on their own.

I said "Henley".    I'm not sure I can name an artist - maybe Jackson Browne - I dislike more both personally and musically than Glenn Frey.  He's Don Henley without the songs. 

So, what you're saying is, you don't belong to the city?

[TAC]

What makes Don Henley such a dick?

[hefdaddy42]

Yep, Henley and Frey are/were both monster dickheads, but they both have some good songs, with the Eagles and on their own.

I said "Henley".    I'm not sure I can name an artist - maybe Jackson Browne - I dislike more both personally and musically than Glenn Frey.  He's Don Henley without the songs. 

I will disagree about the songs.  He's got them.

[Stadler]

Yep, Henley and Frey are/were both monster dickheads, but they both have some good songs, with the Eagles and on their own.

I said "Henley".    I'm not sure I can name an artist - maybe Jackson Browne - I dislike more both personally and musically than Glenn Frey.  He's Don Henley without the songs. 

So, what you're saying is, you don't belong to the city?

No, but the heat is on.  Hef certainly disagrees with me. 

[Stadler]

Yep, Henley and Frey are/were both monster dickheads, but they both have some good songs, with the Eagles and on their own.

I said "Henley".    I'm not sure I can name an artist - maybe Jackson Browne - I dislike more both personally and musically than Glenn Frey.  He's Don Henley without the songs. 

I will disagree about the songs.  He's got them.

So.... I feel like the Eagles egos got the better of them.  The early work was a lot of collaboration, a lot of meshing, a lot of "greater than the sum of the parts".  As they got more famous and more arrogant, I think the combativeness sort of took over.  You had the Henley songs, the Walsh songs, the Frey songs, and it was always sort of obvious what was the what.  I was never a huge Eagles fan, but that greatest hits got a lot of play at college, and whatever affinity I had was sort of lost when it became a vehicle for their solo stuff.  I liked the Henley stuff, because I generally like his voice, I LOVE the Walsh stuff, because I like his view of the world, but I thought the Frey stuff emasculated the band.  It was too Kenny Loggins for me (another guy I'm not a fan of). 

[hefdaddy42]

That explains it.

I like Kenny Loggins.   

[Stadler]

What makes Don Henley such a dick?

For me, it's that he strikes me as a pompous hypocrite.  He's all over the preaching when it suits him - I think he desperately wanted to be par of that Sting/Gabriel/REM/U2 sanctimony in the late 80s early 90s - but he's all over the money when the shit hits the fan.

This isn't all of it, but I kind of think this sums it up (cut and pasted from Wikipedia):

In a 2009 interview, The Plain Dealer music critic John Soeder asked Henley if he regretted writing the lines "So I called up the captain / 'Please bring me my wine' / He said, 'We haven't had that spirit here since 1969'" because wines are fermented while spirits are distilled. Henley responded:

Thanks for the tutorial and, no, you're not the first to bring this to my attention—and you're not the first to completely misinterpret the lyric and miss the metaphor. Believe me, I've consumed enough alcoholic beverages in my time to know how they are made and what the proper nomenclature is. But that line in the song has little or nothing to do with alcoholic beverages. It's a sociopolitical statement. My only regret would be having to explain it in detail to you, which would defeat the purpose of using literary devices in songwriting and lower the discussion to some silly and irrelevant argument about chemical processes.

[Stadler]

That explains it.

I like Kenny Loggins.   

This is a Danger Zone.

[TAC]

What makes Don Henley such a dick?

For me, it's that he strikes me as a pompous hypocrite.  He's all over the preaching when it suits him - I think he desperately wanted to be par of that Sting/Gabriel/REM/U2 sanctimony in the late 80s early 90s - but he's all over the money when the shit hits the fan.

This isn't all of it, but I kind of think this sums it up (cut and pasted from Wikipedia):

In a 2009 interview, The Plain Dealer music critic John Soeder asked Henley if he regretted writing the lines "So I called up the captain / 'Please bring me my wine' / He said, 'We haven't had that spirit here since 1969'" because wines are fermented while spirits are distilled. Henley responded:

Thanks for the tutorial and, no, you're not the first to bring this to my attention—and you're not the first to completely misinterpret the lyric and miss the metaphor. Believe me, I've consumed enough alcoholic beverages in my time to know how they are made and what the proper nomenclature is. But that line in the song has little or nothing to do with alcoholic beverages. It's a sociopolitical statement. My only regret would be having to explain it in detail to you, which would defeat the purpose of using literary devices in songwriting and lower the discussion to some silly and irrelevant argument about chemical processes.

Nothing about that makes him sound like a dick.

I always thought the lyric referenced the Satanic Bible, released in 1969, and the “spirit” and “wine” referred to Jesus. I mean, isn’t Anton LeVay standing in the balcony on the inside cover art?

[hefdaddy42]

What makes Don Henley such a dick?

For me, it's that he strikes me as a pompous hypocrite.  He's all over the preaching when it suits him - I think he desperately wanted to be par of that Sting/Gabriel/REM/U2 sanctimony in the late 80s early 90s - but he's all over the money when the shit hits the fan.

This isn't all of it, but I kind of think this sums it up (cut and pasted from Wikipedia):

In a 2009 interview, The Plain Dealer music critic John Soeder asked Henley if he regretted writing the lines "So I called up the captain / 'Please bring me my wine' / He said, 'We haven't had that spirit here since 1969'" because wines are fermented while spirits are distilled. Henley responded:

Thanks for the tutorial and, no, you're not the first to bring this to my attention—and you're not the first to completely misinterpret the lyric and miss the metaphor. Believe me, I've consumed enough alcoholic beverages in my time to know how they are made and what the proper nomenclature is. But that line in the song has little or nothing to do with alcoholic beverages. It's a sociopolitical statement. My only regret would be having to explain it in detail to you, which would defeat the purpose of using literary devices in songwriting and lower the discussion to some silly and irrelevant argument about chemical processes.

Nothing about that makes him sound like a dick.

I always thought the lyric referenced the Satanic Bible, released in 1969, and the “spirit” and “wine” referred to Jesus. I mean, isn’t Anton LeVay standing in the balcony on the inside cover art?

Nothing about any Eagles lyrics has anything to do with LaVey or the Satanic Bible.  And no, he isn't standing in the balcony.

[Stadler]

See I think that does make him out to be a dick.  He couldn't be humble and answer the question? Nope, he had to take quasi-intellectual shots at the dude asking the question.  Granted, maybe it was a joke at the time and maybe the interviewer asked for it, but that to me is a haughty, "I'm superior" answer.

[hefdaddy42]

See I think that does make him out to be a dick.  He couldn't be humble and answer the question? Nope, he had to take quasi-intellectual shots at the dude asking the question.  Granted, maybe it was a joke at the time and maybe the interviewer asked for it, but that to me is a haughty, "I'm superior" answer.

You're right, it makes him out to be a dick.

But in fairness, that's only because he is a dick.

[TAC]

What makes Don Henley such a dick?

For me, it's that he strikes me as a pompous hypocrite.  He's all over the preaching when it suits him - I think he desperately wanted to be par of that Sting/Gabriel/REM/U2 sanctimony in the late 80s early 90s - but he's all over the money when the shit hits the fan.

This isn't all of it, but I kind of think this sums it up (cut and pasted from Wikipedia):

In a 2009 interview, The Plain Dealer music critic John Soeder asked Henley if he regretted writing the lines "So I called up the captain / 'Please bring me my wine' / He said, 'We haven't had that spirit here since 1969'" because wines are fermented while spirits are distilled. Henley responded:

Thanks for the tutorial and, no, you're not the first to bring this to my attention—and you're not the first to completely misinterpret the lyric and miss the metaphor. Believe me, I've consumed enough alcoholic beverages in my time to know how they are made and what the proper nomenclature is. But that line in the song has little or nothing to do with alcoholic beverages. It's a sociopolitical statement. My only regret would be having to explain it in detail to you, which would defeat the purpose of using literary devices in songwriting and lower the discussion to some silly and irrelevant argument about chemical processes.

Nothing about that makes him sound like a dick.

I always thought the lyric referenced the Satanic Bible, released in 1969, and the “spirit” and “wine” referred to Jesus. I mean, isn’t Anton LeVay standing in the balcony on the inside cover art?

Nothing about any Eagles lyrics has anything to do with LaVey or the Satanic Bible.  And no, he isn't standing in the balcony.

I went to google image the inner album art, but this image does it for me...

[KevShmev]

I don't mind that Henley quote actually, but that is because I have zero regard for critics, so if one was trying to question the art of an artist, it's not Henley's fault if the critic was too dense to get it.  Yeah, he was a dick about it, but most professional critics deserved to have banana peels thrown at them.

[Orbert]

Ha ha, good point!  I think he was being a dick too, but I have no sympathy for most music critics.  So... fair play?

[hefdaddy42]

What makes Don Henley such a dick?

For me, it's that he strikes me as a pompous hypocrite.  He's all over the preaching when it suits him - I think he desperately wanted to be par of that Sting/Gabriel/REM/U2 sanctimony in the late 80s early 90s - but he's all over the money when the shit hits the fan.

This isn't all of it, but I kind of think this sums it up (cut and pasted from Wikipedia):

In a 2009 interview, The Plain Dealer music critic John Soeder asked Henley if he regretted writing the lines "So I called up the captain / 'Please bring me my wine' / He said, 'We haven't had that spirit here since 1969'" because wines are fermented while spirits are distilled. Henley responded:

Thanks for the tutorial and, no, you're not the first to bring this to my attention—and you're not the first to completely misinterpret the lyric and miss the metaphor. Believe me, I've consumed enough alcoholic beverages in my time to know how they are made and what the proper nomenclature is. But that line in the song has little or nothing to do with alcoholic beverages. It's a sociopolitical statement. My only regret would be having to explain it in detail to you, which would defeat the purpose of using literary devices in songwriting and lower the discussion to some silly and irrelevant argument about chemical processes.

Nothing about that makes him sound like a dick.

I always thought the lyric referenced the Satanic Bible, released in 1969, and the “spirit” and “wine” referred to Jesus. I mean, isn’t Anton LeVay standing in the balcony on the inside cover art?

Nothing about any Eagles lyrics has anything to do with LaVey or the Satanic Bible.  And no, he isn't standing in the balcony.

I went to google image the inner album art, but this image does it for me...

Well, if it's on the internet, it must be true!

Is The Eagles song ‘Hotel California’ about Satanism?

However, by far the most common theme to surface in Hotel California rumors is one that links the song to devil worship. The lyrics (which speak of trying to "kill the Beast" and not having had "that spirit here since 1969") form the bedrock of the various Satan-related theories, but the belief is also fed by the album design. The inner cover is a photograph of people in a courtyard of a Spanish-looking inn. In a balcony above them looms a shadowy figure with arms spread. Many who look at that photo see Anton LaVey, leader of the Church of Satan, and interpret the spread arms as his welcoming the populace below into Satan's trap. That the people in the picture seem unaware of the gleefully evil figure standing above them only adds to the implicit horror of the scene — the innocents below are oblivious to their having wandered into the house of the Devil.

It's wonderful imagery. But it doesn't hold up. The shadowy figure was a woman hired for the photo shoot.

[TAC]

I didn’t get this from the internet. This has been common knowledge to me since the mid 80’s.

[hefdaddy42]

I didn’t get this from the internet. This has been common knowledge to me since the mid 80’s.

Well, it's not true, so substitute whatever you want for "the internet".

[Cool Chris]

I've never heard any of this before. But I also had no idea who Anton LaVey was till I saw his name in this thread.

[hefdaddy42]

I've never heard any of this before. But I also had no idea who Anton LaVey was till I saw his name in this thread.

He was an interesting dude.

[Cool Chris]

I love when bands incorporate a little banter between members between songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0DJFdAuKGg&t=110s