"Are you with me so far?" The Hotel California Poll

I included the last song becasue it's part of one of my favorite music urban legends involving this album.

Might have voted for the title track some years ago, but I am sort of kind of sick of it, and I will now go for the inapproriately titled "Wasted Time" instead.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Bump.

Lowest turnout evah?

I included the last song becasue it's part of one of my favorite music urban legends involving this album.

I am unaware of this anecdote -- elaborate please?

And how many other music urban legends involving this album are there?

Satan is standing on the balcony on the inside cover. I don't know what that has to do with Lady Marmalade though.

Yes, please explain the Lady Marmalade connection!

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Yes, make with the anecdotes!

The "Lady Marmalade" story:

Some time ago, there was a debate in the "Ask Fred" department of Mojo regarding what "Hotel California" was actually about. A handful of letters were printed with different stories, some regarding the Hotel as an brothel, and others refering to Anton LaVey. One letterwriter claimed that the story as they had been told was that Don Henley had written the song as an Answer to "Lady Marmalade."

The story, as it goes, was that sometime in 1975, Henley got hot for Patti LaBelle, who refused to go out with him. Henley got ticked and decided to write a putdown song, using and inverting the storyline of the group LaBelle's biggest hit (regarding an encouter with mysterious prostitute) as a jumping off point for a parable about everything that was wrong with America (including him not being able to knock boots with Ms. LaBelle).

That was the only place I ever saw that story. It's probably not true, but I wish it was because I find it funny.

I think "Hotel California" is about California.

you know what, never liked this song, but today my downstairs neighbor was blasting it through my floor, and without being able don henley's voice and with the bass booming it sounded pretty ace

being able TO HEAR don henley's voice

i've always loved this song. the lyrics always fascinated me/creeped me out when i was little and the song still retains, for me, a bit of that mystique. can't say i'm too enthusiastic about the rest of the eagles' catalog but i think they can be unfairly maligned, mostly by people who were actually alive in the 70s and associate them with cocaine/sleaziness/something, from what i gather. also fans of the big lebowski don't the eagles.

I'm a stan of In The City. Otherwise can really live without them.

But the Hotel California groove is kind of singular

the lyrics always fascinated me/creeped me out when i was little and the song still retains, for me, a bit of that mystique.

i've said almost exactly this somewhere around here, god knows where or when. anyway, yeah. great song. spooky/lovely american gothic like "don't fear the reaper". never understood the hate, except as a response to ubiquity.

me too, wonder if in an alternate world where the Flying Burrito Brothers or Poco were huge and the Eagles had only a small following, if they wouldn't get more critical respect

otm, way too much disrespect for the ability to write higlhy memorable songs/respect for bands who lack it

totally. i feel like that's a classic "rockist" paradigm, to use a term i learned from this board, because it implicitly devalues the unit of the song, or even the album, for some more holistic concept of the artist's "career." i wrote a blog post about this topic kind of but i will graciously refrain from linking to it.

great song. spooky/lovely american gothic like "don't fear the reaper".

^ this. Also: awesome guitar coda.

The guitars in this song are wonderful. Those little whipsmart stabs Felder lays during the verses, like he's pulling cord on a lawnmower, are underrated.

And I'm a sucker for double-guitar harmonies, but that part in the solo where they both come in do walk up the neck a little at 5:31 is always a treat.

Meisner does a pretty good understated bass line on this whole thing too. Keeps it bouncy without it getting out of hand.

One of those Layla songs where I much prefer the second half to the first half.

yeah awesome bass/drum part, great lead guitar lines throughout. Song does run a little long.

I feel like singing drummers are good at coming up with tasty little parts that don't get in the way and not overdoing fills, because they can't

turn up the eagles
the neighbors are listening

Is that dark sarcasm?

And I'm a sucker for double-guitar harmonies, but that part in the solo where they both come in do walk up the neck a little at 5:31 is always a treat.

OTM

I've never seen this thread before but I'm amused that "Lady Marmalade" had such a strong showing.

And co-sign that the Eagles get more shit than they deserve from many people.

I feel like singing drummers are good at coming up with tasty little parts that don't get in the way and not overdoing fills, because they can't

― --808 542137 (Hurting 2), Monday, April 15, 2013 2:44 PM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

" . . . They just. Can't.Killthebeast" (badalumbumbum)

YES! that is the best part of the song.

well that and the melancholy bass part in the beginning.

i like the part where hes like, we stabbed the beast with our steely ass knives, but we couldnt kill it

SSS

steve summer sweat

i fondly remember puzzling over the meaning of the word "colitas" before the advent of urban dictionary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colitis

"Warm smell of colitas" drives me nuts. How can a smell have temperature?

it gives off an odor when it's warmed up

DON: I wanted to evoke a particular memory, so I thought "warm smell of colitas" brought back what it was like to live in a paradise gone wrong.

GLENN: Those USC co-eds sure smellled like warm colitas!

DON: Well, yeah.

I've never really pondered about the meaning of 'colitas' in the song. Colillas (not colitas) are cigarette butts in spanish and I assumed they were doing some sort of spanglish in there... it could also mean asses in spanish but noone really refers to them as 'colitas' we rather call them 'cola' or 'culo'.

So, I think they meant to say 'colillas' instead of 'colitas'.

Maybe he was trying to say "little female butts."

new board description please

to hell with this insufferable band.

the internets says that colitas are slang for cheap joints. still I don't understand how a smell can be warm.

I was in my friend's car today and he whistled along with the solos when the title track came on the radio.

the solos are the saving grace but damn it takes forever to get there.

http://www.laweekly.com/imager/the-eagles-hotel-california-why-this-song-sucks/b/original/2470286/4972/eagles.JPG

think there's a typo here but you get the idea.

40 years old

Does Henley deserve any credit for the dare I say smooth, effortless groove on this song? Every time I think to listen for him he’s playing some dumb fill. As the “drummer” he should be driving this but the song seems to proceed of its own accord

Felder wrote the music (demo title: "Mexican Reggae")