So, Don Henley isn’t the type of guy I’d want to have a burger and beer with. He’s kind of a grumpy old crank. Guess what? Thirty-five years ago, he was a grumpy old crank though. Only difference was; back in the day his rants occasionally manifested themselves into great music.

“Dirty Laundry”’s a jam. It’s also a pretty severe excoriation of the media, one which is possibly even more relevant these days. I love to stay on top of what’s going on in the world, but it’s often difficult to read through the subtext and spin, the obvious clickbait and the stories designed to provoke the worst possible reactions out of people. Henley covers this and more, making “Dirty Laundry”’s lyrical content either evergreen or prescient. I was only 6 when the song was a hit; so I’m not sure which is more right.

Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that “Dirty Laundry” was written after Henley himself had a dust up with the media in reference to two teenage girls (who were allegedly prostitutes) that overdosed on his property in 1980. So one might say there was some bias there.

I also forgot that for some reason, there is barely any Henley or Eagles music on YouTube. The crank strikes again. Here’s a video parody (using the original song recording, at least.)

Did you know that Lisa Marie Presley covered “Dirty Laundry”? I mean, it makes sense…she has to hate the press. And then, in the video, she featured George Michael. Crazy shit. Pop culture spinning around and eating itself. You can watch that right here.