http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSBq8geuJk0
The joke is on us.
And the only people who don't get it are the music business establishment, the usual suspects complicit in creating the drivel that pours out of Top Forty radio, compounding cliches as they parade around believing they're Masters of the Universe.
The truth is...ANYONE CAN DO IT!
That's one of the appeals of rap. You don't have to spend long hours alone practicing. You can hang with your buds and make up your rhymes and ask why you're not famous already, since you just graduated from middle school.
Nobody listening to this crap thinks it's forever. It's got the protein of a milk shake. Goes down easy, makes you sick thereafter.
Once upon a time, all the hit records were different. Now they're all the same.
Now "It's Thanksgiving" is not as good a track as "Friday," with its indelible chorus. But watching the video, you can't help but wonder, not only who Nicole Westbrook is, but who are her parents and what do they think they're achieving here, allowing their young daughter to parade around in too much makeup, as if they can will her, or spend her, to be a slightly older Honey Boo Boo.
And then Nicole starts singing into her drumstick, using it as a microphone just before three minutes in, and you wonder...maybe even she knows it's a joke...
That's what makes this work... The big black guy cooking in the yard, showing up in a turkey costume... This isn't made for the hit parade, but Funny or Die!
It's only the establishment that takes itself seriously. We see reporters lashed to lampposts, reporting on the hurricane, and all we can say is GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE! We know it's for the ratings, we know the people on morning TV are not best friends, the whole world has bifurcated, separated into a camp that believes the old game still rules and those who are laughing hysterically at it.
And that's what's killing music. Because not only is there a laughable establishment, people are lining up to play. On "Idol," "The Voice" and "X Factor." Not a single person watching believes any of the contestants can be a star. Only the producers do. It's HYSTERICAL!
Taylor Swift has got nothing on Nicole Westbrook. Then again, unlike Ms. Swift, at least Nicole Westbrook has a sense of humor. "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" wasn't put together as music, lightning in a bottle that would stand the test of time, it was a purely commercial venture, to keep Ms. Swift in the public eye, to make her and the old men behind her rich. And the complicit mainstream media laid down and said hosannas, as if "calculation" was not in their dictionary.
Meanwhile, the same guy who created "Friday" has repeated his blockbuster formula and is gonna burn up the Internets, which are even more powerful and more important than any radio station, any newspaper, any SoundScan, any Mediabase. Remember, radio refused to play Rebecca Black, but we all know "Friday" and can't even tell you what was a hit on radio a year ago.
Just as funny are the white guy shoegazers who can't sing who themselves are mad they're not rich and famous. But they're not even worth skewering. Because nobody's paying attention.
And then there's Bob Dylan. Who can't even sing, but the media trumpets the hype, says "Tempest" is the album of the year, and when the L.A. "Times" reporter reviews his Hollywood Bowl show, toeing the line, saying how great it is, he's got to add an addendum, after the attendees weigh in and complain how awful it was: http://lat.ms/TQJjqb
You see we know the truth.
The truth is music is now the playground of the wannabe rich. They boast that they tie in with corporations, they overcharge for shows more akin to Broadway musicals than Philharmonic performances, hell, Beatle performances, and scalp their own tickets along the way.
We're bankrupt. It's just like Wall Street. Which still believes it's not at fault, did not bring the economy down, builds thing instead of just making money. Meanwhile, everybody at home is scratching his head and saying...WHAT?
Meanwhile, you desperately try to get on the "Today Show" with your built by committee tracks thinking this is the road into people's hearts.
People's hearts are CLOSED! You can't get in. The people before you have ripped them off so bad, they're multiple times bitten and completely shy.
No wonder nobody lasts anymore.
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Saturday 10 November 2012
Friday 9 November 2012
Rhinofy-The Quadrophenia Demos
"The girl I love
Is a perfect dresser
Wears every fashion
Gets it to the tee."
I bought "Quadrophenia" the night I saw "Billy Jack." I stopped first at Korvette's, I put the paper bag beneath the seat of my '63 Chevy and went into the almost empty theatre in New Haven to see the movie that was not yet a cultural icon, but would soon become one.
And then I went home, after midnight, and dropped the needle on this double album while my parents slept upstairs. The first track that resonated was "Sea And Sand."
Crushes...I guess they're in our DNA. Yes, we all loved Claudia Schiffer, there have been two-dimensional icons since the advent of mass media. But usually it's someone in class, at work, that makes our heart jump. I don't know about you, but I've avoided going to places for fear of running into my crush. I just wouldn't know what to say, it would all be too painful.
Oftentimes it's someone just for you. Not that cheerleader or the class president. You invest all your hopes and dreams within them. Without even having exchanged a word. And even if they turn out to be someone different, you still love them.
"Sea And Sand" is rocking along, and then all of a sudden, it pulls back, it's almost a completely different song... We hear the lyrics above.
Then the song goes back to rocking. And then it gets wistful again...
"I see her dancing
Across the ballroom
U V light makin' starshine
Of her smile.
I am the face,
She has to know me,
I'm dressed up better than anyone
Within a mile"
But the other guys look much better. He sleeps on the beach. It's worse than unrequited love, it's the cold loneliness. That's what we love about rock and roll, it gives us hope.
And at this late date "Quadrophenia" is seen as a masterpiece. But unlike "Tommy," it didn't have "Pinball Wizard" to sell it. It had to marinate in the public consciousness for decades before everyone testified to its greatness. And then there was the movie, the best rock film ever made, with the remixed soundtrack which had much more punch, that sounded so much better.
And, unfortunately, Pete Townshend's "Deep End Live!" is not on Spotify. With the exquisite rendition of "I'm One." But this demo is almost as good.
"Every year is the same
And I feel it again
I'm a loser - no chance to win
Leaves start falling
Come down is calling
Loneliness starts sinking in."
Life is hard. Even if you're a winner. Because victory doesn't last long. You don't make partner, you get sick, your spouse leaves you. And then you're alone, you feel like a loser.
But this was back when rock was an outsider's game. When a gawky guy with a big nose could be a hero. Before everybody wanted to be a member of the group, play nice to be included.
"Where do you get
Those blue blue jeans?
Faded patched secret so tight.
Where do you get
That walk oh so lean?
Your shoes and your shirts
All just right."
Feeling inadequate. Despite the self-esteem movement, I think it's part of the human condition. Feeling you're just not good enough. Despite your best efforts. Pete nails it here better than anybody else.
"I got a Gibson
Without a case
But I can't get that even tanned look on my face
Ill fitting clothes
I blend in the crowd
Fingers so clumsy
Voice too loud."
Music used to be our way out. If we weren't good-looking enough, not popular enough, we could practice, we could get recognition, we could become the one. Before everybody wanted to be a beautiful nitwit without depth on reality TV. Music at its best is an outsider's game, because that's what we all truly are. It's the nature of being alive.
"But I'm one.
I am one.
And I can see
That this is me,
And I will be,
You'll all see
I'm the one."
Don't give up. Take antidepressants if you must. Ride it out to the other side. Because it does get better. If you stay at it. If you realize life is a long game. But the adolescents listening to the Who didn't know this. Ergo those nights at loose ends.
I didn't even know these demos had come out. And in the old days I'm not sure I would have plunked down twenty bucks for them, already owning two double albums of Pete's demos and only listening to them once.
Then again, you've got to hear them. At least that one time. You've got to get closer. Because this is the essence of life.
P.S. If only Pete would post "Empty Glass" on Spotify so I could write about "A Little Is Enough"...
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/p6HcZ8
Previous Rhinofy playlists: http://www.rhinofy.com/lefsetz
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Is a perfect dresser
Wears every fashion
Gets it to the tee."
I bought "Quadrophenia" the night I saw "Billy Jack." I stopped first at Korvette's, I put the paper bag beneath the seat of my '63 Chevy and went into the almost empty theatre in New Haven to see the movie that was not yet a cultural icon, but would soon become one.
And then I went home, after midnight, and dropped the needle on this double album while my parents slept upstairs. The first track that resonated was "Sea And Sand."
Crushes...I guess they're in our DNA. Yes, we all loved Claudia Schiffer, there have been two-dimensional icons since the advent of mass media. But usually it's someone in class, at work, that makes our heart jump. I don't know about you, but I've avoided going to places for fear of running into my crush. I just wouldn't know what to say, it would all be too painful.
Oftentimes it's someone just for you. Not that cheerleader or the class president. You invest all your hopes and dreams within them. Without even having exchanged a word. And even if they turn out to be someone different, you still love them.
"Sea And Sand" is rocking along, and then all of a sudden, it pulls back, it's almost a completely different song... We hear the lyrics above.
Then the song goes back to rocking. And then it gets wistful again...
"I see her dancing
Across the ballroom
U V light makin' starshine
Of her smile.
I am the face,
She has to know me,
I'm dressed up better than anyone
Within a mile"
But the other guys look much better. He sleeps on the beach. It's worse than unrequited love, it's the cold loneliness. That's what we love about rock and roll, it gives us hope.
And at this late date "Quadrophenia" is seen as a masterpiece. But unlike "Tommy," it didn't have "Pinball Wizard" to sell it. It had to marinate in the public consciousness for decades before everyone testified to its greatness. And then there was the movie, the best rock film ever made, with the remixed soundtrack which had much more punch, that sounded so much better.
And, unfortunately, Pete Townshend's "Deep End Live!" is not on Spotify. With the exquisite rendition of "I'm One." But this demo is almost as good.
"Every year is the same
And I feel it again
I'm a loser - no chance to win
Leaves start falling
Come down is calling
Loneliness starts sinking in."
Life is hard. Even if you're a winner. Because victory doesn't last long. You don't make partner, you get sick, your spouse leaves you. And then you're alone, you feel like a loser.
But this was back when rock was an outsider's game. When a gawky guy with a big nose could be a hero. Before everybody wanted to be a member of the group, play nice to be included.
"Where do you get
Those blue blue jeans?
Faded patched secret so tight.
Where do you get
That walk oh so lean?
Your shoes and your shirts
All just right."
Feeling inadequate. Despite the self-esteem movement, I think it's part of the human condition. Feeling you're just not good enough. Despite your best efforts. Pete nails it here better than anybody else.
"I got a Gibson
Without a case
But I can't get that even tanned look on my face
Ill fitting clothes
I blend in the crowd
Fingers so clumsy
Voice too loud."
Music used to be our way out. If we weren't good-looking enough, not popular enough, we could practice, we could get recognition, we could become the one. Before everybody wanted to be a beautiful nitwit without depth on reality TV. Music at its best is an outsider's game, because that's what we all truly are. It's the nature of being alive.
"But I'm one.
I am one.
And I can see
That this is me,
And I will be,
You'll all see
I'm the one."
Don't give up. Take antidepressants if you must. Ride it out to the other side. Because it does get better. If you stay at it. If you realize life is a long game. But the adolescents listening to the Who didn't know this. Ergo those nights at loose ends.
I didn't even know these demos had come out. And in the old days I'm not sure I would have plunked down twenty bucks for them, already owning two double albums of Pete's demos and only listening to them once.
Then again, you've got to hear them. At least that one time. You've got to get closer. Because this is the essence of life.
P.S. If only Pete would post "Empty Glass" on Spotify so I could write about "A Little Is Enough"...
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/p6HcZ8
Previous Rhinofy playlists: http://www.rhinofy.com/lefsetz
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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Thursday 8 November 2012
Thanks Drake!
So I finish dinner with Richard Griffiths, get the latest lowdown on One Direction, hear how much they don't do with old media, how they don't want to overload their fans, and I get into the lobby of the London and check my Twitter feed...
And it's blowing up.
Drake tweeted me.
At 22:43, @Drake wrote: "The Rules by Bob Lefsetz...genius."
I wrote that post weeks ago. In my mind it's already dead. But suddenly it came back alive. Drake stepped on the land mine, expressed his emotion, and brought in his audience, all 9,437,807 of them.
Okay. Some of that number may be fake. Some may have dropped out of Twitter. Some may be overloaded and missed it. But based on the plethora of retweets, I know that a ton of people saw it!
I don't know Drake. Never met him, never got an e-mail from him, off the top of my head I can't even tell you who his manager is.
But somehow he found me.
You can go on late night TV. You can do the usual things. You can make yourself feel good by marketing. But nothing sells like the product itself. When it's great. And despite the supposed short attention spans of the younger generation, they've always got time for great, they're constantly looking for great, they'll stop by and smell the roses of great, they'll tell everybody they know about great.
I wrote that post on October 22nd. Today it's November 7th. It took that long to percolate, to reach Drake.
If you expect instant results, you're dreaming. Or you're paying someone to bop everybody over the head, pissing them off.
I've been doing this for over twenty five years. The best thing that ever happened to me was the Internet, it allowed me to reach the world for free. And if I thought this one tweet were gonna make my career, were gonna rain down cash, I'd be completely stupid. But I do know a credible artist whose fans adore him endorsed me and I end up with a positive imprimatur. Suddenly, a bunch of people I'd be unable to reach in the old world, who wouldn't be paying attention to me in the old world, know who I am. And if they see my name one or two more times, they might check me out further, I might make some new fans.
I don't know where I'm going. It's like someone shut off the lights and I kept walking. And I'm bumping into bushes, stumbling, then other times I run into people and opportunities I could not foresee in the old world.
You can do it the old way. But the old way is dying.
Drake means more than any radio station. Any gatekeeper. The artists are the new gatekeepers. And the way you achieve this is by having an ongoing positive bond with your fans. Not a few old men who say they can break you big. Mystery is out the window. Now you're the guy or girl next door making music, truly Jenny From The Block as opposed to that plastic-surgeried, airbrushed woman using that moniker. Without the machine, J. Lo's got nothing. But those using social media and the new world to their advantage have everything.
As I sit here, the retweets continue to pour in. Nearly a day later.
I did nothing! Other than write a great piece to begin with.
And why did I write it? Because I was so frustrated with a bureaucracy that was failing me, that I got inspired and wrote to blow off steam.
Greatness isn't contemplated. It's not something you think about, hone and perfect. No, greatness is inspiration! Based on years of hard work. You may practice for decades, but you'll only break through when you throw off your inhibitions, trust your instincts and truly capture lightning in a bottle.
If you do this, people know, people find out.
Word spreads incredibly quickly online.
And incredibly slowly.
The key is to be in the game.
If you do something great, it will find its audience. Maybe years later!
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And it's blowing up.
Drake tweeted me.
At 22:43, @Drake wrote: "The Rules by Bob Lefsetz...genius."
I wrote that post weeks ago. In my mind it's already dead. But suddenly it came back alive. Drake stepped on the land mine, expressed his emotion, and brought in his audience, all 9,437,807 of them.
Okay. Some of that number may be fake. Some may have dropped out of Twitter. Some may be overloaded and missed it. But based on the plethora of retweets, I know that a ton of people saw it!
I don't know Drake. Never met him, never got an e-mail from him, off the top of my head I can't even tell you who his manager is.
But somehow he found me.
You can go on late night TV. You can do the usual things. You can make yourself feel good by marketing. But nothing sells like the product itself. When it's great. And despite the supposed short attention spans of the younger generation, they've always got time for great, they're constantly looking for great, they'll stop by and smell the roses of great, they'll tell everybody they know about great.
I wrote that post on October 22nd. Today it's November 7th. It took that long to percolate, to reach Drake.
If you expect instant results, you're dreaming. Or you're paying someone to bop everybody over the head, pissing them off.
I've been doing this for over twenty five years. The best thing that ever happened to me was the Internet, it allowed me to reach the world for free. And if I thought this one tweet were gonna make my career, were gonna rain down cash, I'd be completely stupid. But I do know a credible artist whose fans adore him endorsed me and I end up with a positive imprimatur. Suddenly, a bunch of people I'd be unable to reach in the old world, who wouldn't be paying attention to me in the old world, know who I am. And if they see my name one or two more times, they might check me out further, I might make some new fans.
I don't know where I'm going. It's like someone shut off the lights and I kept walking. And I'm bumping into bushes, stumbling, then other times I run into people and opportunities I could not foresee in the old world.
You can do it the old way. But the old way is dying.
Drake means more than any radio station. Any gatekeeper. The artists are the new gatekeepers. And the way you achieve this is by having an ongoing positive bond with your fans. Not a few old men who say they can break you big. Mystery is out the window. Now you're the guy or girl next door making music, truly Jenny From The Block as opposed to that plastic-surgeried, airbrushed woman using that moniker. Without the machine, J. Lo's got nothing. But those using social media and the new world to their advantage have everything.
As I sit here, the retweets continue to pour in. Nearly a day later.
I did nothing! Other than write a great piece to begin with.
And why did I write it? Because I was so frustrated with a bureaucracy that was failing me, that I got inspired and wrote to blow off steam.
Greatness isn't contemplated. It's not something you think about, hone and perfect. No, greatness is inspiration! Based on years of hard work. You may practice for decades, but you'll only break through when you throw off your inhibitions, trust your instincts and truly capture lightning in a bottle.
If you do this, people know, people find out.
Word spreads incredibly quickly online.
And incredibly slowly.
The key is to be in the game.
If you do something great, it will find its audience. Maybe years later!
--
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--
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--
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Wednesday 7 November 2012
Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours
So I'm lying on my bed, wondering how much longer I have to watch before I can turn off the TV. I saw Romney give his concession speech, which was one of his best efforts ever, despite appearing to be a robot, and I was just waiting to hear what our President, past and future, had to say.
It's long after midnight on the east coast. Even a brand new day in Chicago. He won, but it's not quite the celebration of four years before, we no longer have that kind of hope. And then he hits the stage and there's this song playing in the background, picked up by the room mic, not bled into the main mix like a professional TV program, connecting with the synapses in my brain, stimulating me.
We're gonna continue to have abortion. Gays are gonna have rights. The Supreme Court won't turn so far right that we have revolution. But this is all latent, in the back of my mind, until I hear those notes I know so well, embedded in my DNA, truly bringing together the meaning of this historic event, the reelection of an African-American President who truly embodies the fact we live in a melting pot society, no matter what Karl Rove and Donald Trump have to say.
Yes, in a week where Chris Christie could compliment the President and finally embrace his hero Bruce Springsteen, once again it's illustrated we're all in this together, and nothing evidences this more than our music.
Yes, this blind African-American with this indelible number is the best our country has to offer. In a nation where hip-hop is embraced by whites and Jay-Z playing Barclays gets more ink than Barbra Streisand playing the same joint days thereafter, we've got to admit that this is not our parents' country anymore, IT'S OURS!
"I've done a lot of foolish things
That I really didn't mean, didn't I?"
We all smoked dope, we had unprotected sex, we promised things that did not come true, it's part of growing up. Gotcha only seems to matter in politics, in real life we're all floating down the rushing river, trying to get along.
Obama could not single-handedly give everybody a job and make everybody rich, but he did do the impossible, pass health care legislation and institute a stimulus bill whose only flaw was it was not big enough. He did the best he could. And I wish he were even more left, less conciliatory, that he would stop pandering to Republican talking points like the deficit and just LEAD!
That's what we want our politicians to do.
But that seems to be passe.
The days of Kennedy. The days of the Beatles. Athletes are not role models, just ask Lance Armstrong, but artists certainly are, when they decide to do what's right as opposed to what's expedient, when they throw out the focus groups and speak from the heart.
"Oo-ee baby, you set my soul on fire
That's why I know you're my heart's only desire"
I'd be lying if I said I felt this way about Obama. I didn't even think that his acceptance speech was that great. But when I heard "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" playing on my TV, I loved my country just as much as those right wing wingnuts, I was proud to be an American.
That's right. Just like we rejected Perry Como and embraced the Beatles, Obama's rejecting the Confederate flag that Lynyrd Skynyrd was afraid to abandon and clinging to the hope, the bringing together of the tribes of black and white, that's embedded in the exquisite Stevie Wonder ditty, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours."
That's what he was. This was a better choice of music placement than any movie this decade, any TV show, it was not driven by money, but what was exactly right.
We are together.
Nobody likes government waste.
Nobody likes killing fetuses.
Everybody wants the freedom to live their life how they choose, as long as they don't infringe upon the rights of another.
Everybody wants to be safe.
Everybody wants to crank up the music, throw their hands around their loved ones and exclaim...
SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED I'M YOURS!
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It's long after midnight on the east coast. Even a brand new day in Chicago. He won, but it's not quite the celebration of four years before, we no longer have that kind of hope. And then he hits the stage and there's this song playing in the background, picked up by the room mic, not bled into the main mix like a professional TV program, connecting with the synapses in my brain, stimulating me.
We're gonna continue to have abortion. Gays are gonna have rights. The Supreme Court won't turn so far right that we have revolution. But this is all latent, in the back of my mind, until I hear those notes I know so well, embedded in my DNA, truly bringing together the meaning of this historic event, the reelection of an African-American President who truly embodies the fact we live in a melting pot society, no matter what Karl Rove and Donald Trump have to say.
Yes, in a week where Chris Christie could compliment the President and finally embrace his hero Bruce Springsteen, once again it's illustrated we're all in this together, and nothing evidences this more than our music.
Yes, this blind African-American with this indelible number is the best our country has to offer. In a nation where hip-hop is embraced by whites and Jay-Z playing Barclays gets more ink than Barbra Streisand playing the same joint days thereafter, we've got to admit that this is not our parents' country anymore, IT'S OURS!
"I've done a lot of foolish things
That I really didn't mean, didn't I?"
We all smoked dope, we had unprotected sex, we promised things that did not come true, it's part of growing up. Gotcha only seems to matter in politics, in real life we're all floating down the rushing river, trying to get along.
Obama could not single-handedly give everybody a job and make everybody rich, but he did do the impossible, pass health care legislation and institute a stimulus bill whose only flaw was it was not big enough. He did the best he could. And I wish he were even more left, less conciliatory, that he would stop pandering to Republican talking points like the deficit and just LEAD!
That's what we want our politicians to do.
But that seems to be passe.
The days of Kennedy. The days of the Beatles. Athletes are not role models, just ask Lance Armstrong, but artists certainly are, when they decide to do what's right as opposed to what's expedient, when they throw out the focus groups and speak from the heart.
"Oo-ee baby, you set my soul on fire
That's why I know you're my heart's only desire"
I'd be lying if I said I felt this way about Obama. I didn't even think that his acceptance speech was that great. But when I heard "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" playing on my TV, I loved my country just as much as those right wing wingnuts, I was proud to be an American.
That's right. Just like we rejected Perry Como and embraced the Beatles, Obama's rejecting the Confederate flag that Lynyrd Skynyrd was afraid to abandon and clinging to the hope, the bringing together of the tribes of black and white, that's embedded in the exquisite Stevie Wonder ditty, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours."
That's what he was. This was a better choice of music placement than any movie this decade, any TV show, it was not driven by money, but what was exactly right.
We are together.
Nobody likes government waste.
Nobody likes killing fetuses.
Everybody wants the freedom to live their life how they choose, as long as they don't infringe upon the rights of another.
Everybody wants to be safe.
Everybody wants to crank up the music, throw their hands around their loved ones and exclaim...
SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED I'M YOURS!
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Tuesday 6 November 2012
Nate Silver
1. Breakout Star Of The Election Season
You don't have to be running to win. You don't have to be number one. Concentrate on being a member of the scene and surviving.
2. Paid His Dues
We're so used to here today, gone tomorrow. Young people thrust into the spotlight who then disappear. Rebecca Black left high school to be home-schooled. College is seen as anathema to success. But those who last tend to have paid dues far from the spotlight for a long time. It's what they did when no one was paying attention that counts. The seasoning. Whether it be reading books, listening to music, studying economics... If you've got no background, you'll be exposed as being two-dimensional very soon.
3. Transferable Skills
My inbox is littered with the career questions of those who can no longer work in the music business. They say they're stuck, there's nothing else they can do. I always point them to the wisdom of "What Color Is Your Parachute," the career bible. Richard Bolles speaks of transferable skills. Nate Silver started off in baseball statistics. It was an easy, but unforeseeable to most, switch to polling.
4. Established Players Hate Newcomers
If you think kissing the ass of established players is the road to success, you're sorely mistaken. You know you're on the right path when those in power are excoriating you, as so many did to Mr. Silver. It's almost impossible to get the attention of bigwigs. If they're coming down off their roost to confront you...you know you're winning. If you're just a sailor, taking orders, you're going to go down with the ship.
5. Opportunity
It doesn't come from marketing, but getting it right. Nothing markets you better than excellence.
6. Nerdom
There's been a war on intelligence in the U.S. Education too. But to watch Nate Silver in action is to love him. Because he doesn't primp for the camera, he was on Bill Maher with a bad shave. He wasn't media-trained. He was like that guy next door you grew up with, maybe played with when you were in single digits, but were never best friends with. But you're on board with him as an adult, because you know he paid his dues, that this is really who he is.
7. Methodology
There's an outcry that "Billboard" has changed its charts. By hewing to the old model, you're just ripe to be overrun by he who develops the new. People criticized Silver's methodology incessantly. But it was he who turned out to be most right.
8. Track Record
Republicans forget that it was Silver who said they were going to triumph in 2010. People like those who are beholden only to themselves, who call it as they see it as opposed to playing team ball. Today's media superstars, the ones we're enraptured by, are not team players, they're loners, outliers. To the degree people are angry with them, it's because these winners did not follow the safe path, did not do what was expedient, like the haters.
9. Publicity
Nate Silver's reputation was built online, surfer by surfer, year by year. You think it's all about the big time media performance. Getting on late night TV, on the radio. Mainstream media opportunities mean less than ever before. Furthermore, the audience is sophisticated, people know they're being manipulated. I heard about Silver from my friend who follows politics religiously for years before I started paying attention. We take our cues from those who are deeply invested in a topic, like my friend. The information may sit there for years, until a trigger comes along and we too get on the bandwagon. I kept hearing about the "FiveThirtyEight" blog. And when I saw the link on the homepage of the "New York Times," the bell went off. I read Mr. Silver and became a convert. I respect the nerds, they're going to inherit the earth.
10. Selling Out
Yes, Mr. Silver is now aligned with the "New York Times." But he paid his dues solo, and the news outlet came to him. Stop pitching and start fielding. If you're excellent, people will find you. Furthermore, Mr. Silver has become bigger than the "Times" itself. Last week, 71% of visits to political sites at the "Times" included a stop at Silver's blog. Furthermore, 13% of all visits to the "Times" last week, the number six news site in the U.S., were to Silver's blog. The day before the election, it was 20%. (http://bit.ly/RDFWQI) Talent has power. Individuals can rise to the top seemingly instantly. The corporation is not king in this world where everybody can start themselves online. If you're not making it, you haven't paid your dues and/or you're just not good enough.
11. Gay
Mr. Silver is. It's rarely trumpeted. We now live in a post-gay era. As Chris Rock says, everybody's got a relative who swings the other way. If you're a hater, get over it. Just like Ms. replaced Miss, the tide has turned, gays have a seat at the table. Not that there isn't work to be done educating the naysayers.
12. You Can Win
But you've got to want it. You've got to be willing to follow the road less traveled. You can't take what you read at face value. You've got to be unique. You've got to be so outside they won't let you on the reality TV show. You've got to be everything great about America - self-motivated, with a winning attitude, willing to do the hard work.
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You don't have to be running to win. You don't have to be number one. Concentrate on being a member of the scene and surviving.
2. Paid His Dues
We're so used to here today, gone tomorrow. Young people thrust into the spotlight who then disappear. Rebecca Black left high school to be home-schooled. College is seen as anathema to success. But those who last tend to have paid dues far from the spotlight for a long time. It's what they did when no one was paying attention that counts. The seasoning. Whether it be reading books, listening to music, studying economics... If you've got no background, you'll be exposed as being two-dimensional very soon.
3. Transferable Skills
My inbox is littered with the career questions of those who can no longer work in the music business. They say they're stuck, there's nothing else they can do. I always point them to the wisdom of "What Color Is Your Parachute," the career bible. Richard Bolles speaks of transferable skills. Nate Silver started off in baseball statistics. It was an easy, but unforeseeable to most, switch to polling.
4. Established Players Hate Newcomers
If you think kissing the ass of established players is the road to success, you're sorely mistaken. You know you're on the right path when those in power are excoriating you, as so many did to Mr. Silver. It's almost impossible to get the attention of bigwigs. If they're coming down off their roost to confront you...you know you're winning. If you're just a sailor, taking orders, you're going to go down with the ship.
5. Opportunity
It doesn't come from marketing, but getting it right. Nothing markets you better than excellence.
6. Nerdom
There's been a war on intelligence in the U.S. Education too. But to watch Nate Silver in action is to love him. Because he doesn't primp for the camera, he was on Bill Maher with a bad shave. He wasn't media-trained. He was like that guy next door you grew up with, maybe played with when you were in single digits, but were never best friends with. But you're on board with him as an adult, because you know he paid his dues, that this is really who he is.
7. Methodology
There's an outcry that "Billboard" has changed its charts. By hewing to the old model, you're just ripe to be overrun by he who develops the new. People criticized Silver's methodology incessantly. But it was he who turned out to be most right.
8. Track Record
Republicans forget that it was Silver who said they were going to triumph in 2010. People like those who are beholden only to themselves, who call it as they see it as opposed to playing team ball. Today's media superstars, the ones we're enraptured by, are not team players, they're loners, outliers. To the degree people are angry with them, it's because these winners did not follow the safe path, did not do what was expedient, like the haters.
9. Publicity
Nate Silver's reputation was built online, surfer by surfer, year by year. You think it's all about the big time media performance. Getting on late night TV, on the radio. Mainstream media opportunities mean less than ever before. Furthermore, the audience is sophisticated, people know they're being manipulated. I heard about Silver from my friend who follows politics religiously for years before I started paying attention. We take our cues from those who are deeply invested in a topic, like my friend. The information may sit there for years, until a trigger comes along and we too get on the bandwagon. I kept hearing about the "FiveThirtyEight" blog. And when I saw the link on the homepage of the "New York Times," the bell went off. I read Mr. Silver and became a convert. I respect the nerds, they're going to inherit the earth.
10. Selling Out
Yes, Mr. Silver is now aligned with the "New York Times." But he paid his dues solo, and the news outlet came to him. Stop pitching and start fielding. If you're excellent, people will find you. Furthermore, Mr. Silver has become bigger than the "Times" itself. Last week, 71% of visits to political sites at the "Times" included a stop at Silver's blog. Furthermore, 13% of all visits to the "Times" last week, the number six news site in the U.S., were to Silver's blog. The day before the election, it was 20%. (http://bit.ly/RDFWQI) Talent has power. Individuals can rise to the top seemingly instantly. The corporation is not king in this world where everybody can start themselves online. If you're not making it, you haven't paid your dues and/or you're just not good enough.
11. Gay
Mr. Silver is. It's rarely trumpeted. We now live in a post-gay era. As Chris Rock says, everybody's got a relative who swings the other way. If you're a hater, get over it. Just like Ms. replaced Miss, the tide has turned, gays have a seat at the table. Not that there isn't work to be done educating the naysayers.
12. You Can Win
But you've got to want it. You've got to be willing to follow the road less traveled. You can't take what you read at face value. You've got to be unique. You've got to be so outside they won't let you on the reality TV show. You've got to be everything great about America - self-motivated, with a winning attitude, willing to do the hard work.
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Jimmie Walker On Maron
Who knew JJ could be so fascinating?
I'm still waiting to get to the part where he delves into not being black enough. That he was too commercial and went through a very dark period...pardon the pun, but he was not laughing when he referenced it.
Jimmie talks about going to the Apollo. He gives a history of the Chitlin' Circuit. Not boasting, it's just that Maron's pulling it out of him, and even if you're a baby boomer, some of this stuff will be news to you.
But what's most fascinating is the credit given to Cheech & Chong. Jimmie says it was the duo that changed comedy forever, not Carlin and Pryor, they followed in their footsteps.
Jimmie credits Lou Adler. Who is now known as the guy who sits next to Jack Nicholson at Laker games, but once was the arbiter of what was cool and hip, who not only worked with Jan & Dean, the Mamas and the Papas, Monterey Pop and ultimately Carole King, but signed Cheech & Chong.
Jimmie couldn't believe it. He saw the duo in San Francisco. How was this gonna get on TV, with all the swearing and drug references?
IT WASN'T!
And the Cheech & Chong albums ended up at the top of the chart. That's how I found out about them, an avid "Billboard" reader going to college in the hinterlands...what was this?
Jimmie said comedy used to be Alan King. Something the whole family watched together on "Ed Sullivan." The whole family was not going to be listening to Cheech & Chong, your parents weren't gonna get it, the establishment would be horrified, their comedy was made just for you.
Today everybody's making music for everybody. It's the MTV hangover. Everybody wants to go global, achieve world domination, and this is what kills them.
Blame the baby boomers. Who believe they're still hip, even though they aren't. They get plastic surgery and diet down even thinner than their progeny to become their kids' best friends. What a load of hogwash. In the sixties, your parents were never your best friends. You kept secrets, you didn't share intimacies, it was clear who was boss...and it wasn't you. Parents disciplined. Your goal was to get out of the house. Now kids come home from college and stay there. And you wonder why our culture is in the dumper.
Then again, kids own tech. Baby boomers are amazed. How do you know all this when there's no manual and no class? Kids know tech instinctively. They're forming app and Internet companies on the fly, just like their parents used to form bands. The parents don't get it.
And the parents never got the Beatles.
History has been rewritten. Baby boomers hated Frank Sinatra in the sixties. If you came of age in the sixties, you even hated Elvis Presley. But you never wanted to listen to your parents' music. Today parents wean their kids on the Beatles and they're all in it together, makes my stomach turn.
Want to be successful?
Appeal to the niche. Don't go for every living body. If someone wants in, don't push them away, but don't actively court them. Nothing turns fans away more than you appealing to people that they don't even like. If it's made for me, why should you be interested?
On one hand Lady Gaga does this so well. Her music isn't for everyone and she's all about her alienated tribe. But she plays to the mainstream media, with all the costume changes and pronouncements, and now her career is top-heavy. She's not known for her music, but her identity. If she doesn't release great music in the future, she'll topple. The Beatles had one hit after another, Gaga's been on an endless victory tour.
And fads are more evident than ever. Whether it be Carly Rae Jepsen or PSY. They're here today and gone tomorrow, no different from the Human Beinz's "Nobody But Me" and Napoleon XIV's "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!"
And the waters are muddied by everybody's ability to get in the game and tell you about it. Not realizing they're not good enough and the public is immune to hype.
Music has become lowest common denominator.
And one can argue Cheech & Chong were too. But they were the first. The first to sell the drug culture. Which was burgeoning. Whereas everybody in music today is positively me-too. I mean if Taylor Swift uses Max Martin, do we have any hope of having someone to believe in, who rejects the money culture and is solely concerned with personal exploration and truth?
We're in a bankrupt moment culturally in music. Hell, the only thing interesting is EDM. Which is not that different from Cheech & Chong. Radically different from everything else in the landscape. With no words. Appealing with its beat. Oldsters don't get it. And youngsters clamor.
But what's truly interesting is what comes next. What follows through the door EDM has opened. What greatness that is made for this same audience that doesn't appeal to baby boomers and network television. Hell, EDM sucks on television...ain't that the point?
http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_327_-_jimmy_walker
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I'm still waiting to get to the part where he delves into not being black enough. That he was too commercial and went through a very dark period...pardon the pun, but he was not laughing when he referenced it.
Jimmie talks about going to the Apollo. He gives a history of the Chitlin' Circuit. Not boasting, it's just that Maron's pulling it out of him, and even if you're a baby boomer, some of this stuff will be news to you.
But what's most fascinating is the credit given to Cheech & Chong. Jimmie says it was the duo that changed comedy forever, not Carlin and Pryor, they followed in their footsteps.
Jimmie credits Lou Adler. Who is now known as the guy who sits next to Jack Nicholson at Laker games, but once was the arbiter of what was cool and hip, who not only worked with Jan & Dean, the Mamas and the Papas, Monterey Pop and ultimately Carole King, but signed Cheech & Chong.
Jimmie couldn't believe it. He saw the duo in San Francisco. How was this gonna get on TV, with all the swearing and drug references?
IT WASN'T!
And the Cheech & Chong albums ended up at the top of the chart. That's how I found out about them, an avid "Billboard" reader going to college in the hinterlands...what was this?
Jimmie said comedy used to be Alan King. Something the whole family watched together on "Ed Sullivan." The whole family was not going to be listening to Cheech & Chong, your parents weren't gonna get it, the establishment would be horrified, their comedy was made just for you.
Today everybody's making music for everybody. It's the MTV hangover. Everybody wants to go global, achieve world domination, and this is what kills them.
Blame the baby boomers. Who believe they're still hip, even though they aren't. They get plastic surgery and diet down even thinner than their progeny to become their kids' best friends. What a load of hogwash. In the sixties, your parents were never your best friends. You kept secrets, you didn't share intimacies, it was clear who was boss...and it wasn't you. Parents disciplined. Your goal was to get out of the house. Now kids come home from college and stay there. And you wonder why our culture is in the dumper.
Then again, kids own tech. Baby boomers are amazed. How do you know all this when there's no manual and no class? Kids know tech instinctively. They're forming app and Internet companies on the fly, just like their parents used to form bands. The parents don't get it.
And the parents never got the Beatles.
History has been rewritten. Baby boomers hated Frank Sinatra in the sixties. If you came of age in the sixties, you even hated Elvis Presley. But you never wanted to listen to your parents' music. Today parents wean their kids on the Beatles and they're all in it together, makes my stomach turn.
Want to be successful?
Appeal to the niche. Don't go for every living body. If someone wants in, don't push them away, but don't actively court them. Nothing turns fans away more than you appealing to people that they don't even like. If it's made for me, why should you be interested?
On one hand Lady Gaga does this so well. Her music isn't for everyone and she's all about her alienated tribe. But she plays to the mainstream media, with all the costume changes and pronouncements, and now her career is top-heavy. She's not known for her music, but her identity. If she doesn't release great music in the future, she'll topple. The Beatles had one hit after another, Gaga's been on an endless victory tour.
And fads are more evident than ever. Whether it be Carly Rae Jepsen or PSY. They're here today and gone tomorrow, no different from the Human Beinz's "Nobody But Me" and Napoleon XIV's "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!"
And the waters are muddied by everybody's ability to get in the game and tell you about it. Not realizing they're not good enough and the public is immune to hype.
Music has become lowest common denominator.
And one can argue Cheech & Chong were too. But they were the first. The first to sell the drug culture. Which was burgeoning. Whereas everybody in music today is positively me-too. I mean if Taylor Swift uses Max Martin, do we have any hope of having someone to believe in, who rejects the money culture and is solely concerned with personal exploration and truth?
We're in a bankrupt moment culturally in music. Hell, the only thing interesting is EDM. Which is not that different from Cheech & Chong. Radically different from everything else in the landscape. With no words. Appealing with its beat. Oldsters don't get it. And youngsters clamor.
But what's truly interesting is what comes next. What follows through the door EDM has opened. What greatness that is made for this same audience that doesn't appeal to baby boomers and network television. Hell, EDM sucks on television...ain't that the point?
http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_327_-_jimmy_walker
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Monday 5 November 2012
WEST END WOLF ft. INSANE, MWS & WILLIAM TOPLEY - ON IT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXTnonE-0yA
What do they say, writing about music is like dancing about architecture?
You see music is all about emotion, all about feel, and the best you can do is convey that. Break it down to its components, its elements, and it loses its soul. You end up with facts and figures, but no heart. And this track has heart.
We've got to take music back from the gatekeepers. Whether it be Clear Channel or pricks like Tim Westergren. Clear Channel is beholden to advertisers and both are beholden to Wall Street. Music is secondary to the main mission, which is getting rich. Hell, Westergren is already richer on Pandora stock than most of the musicians whose Pandora payments he trots out. You see music is more valuable than Pandora, than any pipe. In the live performance arena, the musicians get all the money. Close to it. Sure, the promoter gets a few bucks, and the building, but without the star, there's nothing. No one wants to go see an empty Staples Center. And without music, Pandora is worthless. Why should they pay less?
The power is in our hands. If we just realize this. Instead of looking to someone to sell out to, we should have some self respect. A great record can cut across demographic lines, make a ton of money, and it can break through instantly, just look at "Gangnam Style."
Then again, that was mostly about the video.
And great songs go in the ears. Close your eyes and you get the same effect, if it isn't BETTER!
And if I close my eyes and listen to "On It" I no longer care who wins the election tomorrow, the b.s. of life falls away, I'm one and I'm powerful.
I know William Topley. At least I did, twenty years ago. He fronted a band called the Blessing. They failed. He went independent. Most people have no clue who he is. But there's something about his voice, the way he employs background singers.
This cut takes a while to reveal itself. It's not made for Top Forty, just you. And the rapping is superfluous. But it's all about the MOOD!
That intro synth. Like something off "Avalon." It's like you're a balloon tethered to Earth...and then someone cuts the cord. You hover above the world, everybody else's troubles, you just feel fine.
Then that ethereal background vocal comes in. It's the equivalent of touch. An aural massage.
And then William Topley comes in with the chorus.
Maybe this is not your thing. That's fine. Abuse me if you choose. But this is too good to let slide by, it needs to find its audience.
And I don't expect coverage in the newspaper, I don't expect an appearance on the "Today Show." Music triumphed most when it was left of center, made just for me. When we owned it, when it let us go.
"On It" is subtle, but hypnotic. Like a late night drive home in the rain. When you're isolated, yet feel fully alive, as your mind drifts.
That's what music does. Set you free.
You can write about music. If you say how it makes you feel.
And this track makes me feel FUCKING GREAT!
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What do they say, writing about music is like dancing about architecture?
You see music is all about emotion, all about feel, and the best you can do is convey that. Break it down to its components, its elements, and it loses its soul. You end up with facts and figures, but no heart. And this track has heart.
We've got to take music back from the gatekeepers. Whether it be Clear Channel or pricks like Tim Westergren. Clear Channel is beholden to advertisers and both are beholden to Wall Street. Music is secondary to the main mission, which is getting rich. Hell, Westergren is already richer on Pandora stock than most of the musicians whose Pandora payments he trots out. You see music is more valuable than Pandora, than any pipe. In the live performance arena, the musicians get all the money. Close to it. Sure, the promoter gets a few bucks, and the building, but without the star, there's nothing. No one wants to go see an empty Staples Center. And without music, Pandora is worthless. Why should they pay less?
The power is in our hands. If we just realize this. Instead of looking to someone to sell out to, we should have some self respect. A great record can cut across demographic lines, make a ton of money, and it can break through instantly, just look at "Gangnam Style."
Then again, that was mostly about the video.
And great songs go in the ears. Close your eyes and you get the same effect, if it isn't BETTER!
And if I close my eyes and listen to "On It" I no longer care who wins the election tomorrow, the b.s. of life falls away, I'm one and I'm powerful.
I know William Topley. At least I did, twenty years ago. He fronted a band called the Blessing. They failed. He went independent. Most people have no clue who he is. But there's something about his voice, the way he employs background singers.
This cut takes a while to reveal itself. It's not made for Top Forty, just you. And the rapping is superfluous. But it's all about the MOOD!
That intro synth. Like something off "Avalon." It's like you're a balloon tethered to Earth...and then someone cuts the cord. You hover above the world, everybody else's troubles, you just feel fine.
Then that ethereal background vocal comes in. It's the equivalent of touch. An aural massage.
And then William Topley comes in with the chorus.
Maybe this is not your thing. That's fine. Abuse me if you choose. But this is too good to let slide by, it needs to find its audience.
And I don't expect coverage in the newspaper, I don't expect an appearance on the "Today Show." Music triumphed most when it was left of center, made just for me. When we owned it, when it let us go.
"On It" is subtle, but hypnotic. Like a late night drive home in the rain. When you're isolated, yet feel fully alive, as your mind drifts.
That's what music does. Set you free.
You can write about music. If you say how it makes you feel.
And this track makes me feel FUCKING GREAT!
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