I was in the lobby of the Four Seasons when a maybe ten year old boy sat down at the piano and started to tickle the ivories. This was not some child whose parents had forced him to take piano lessons, rather he was a near-virtuoso. Who was taking lessons at the University of Miami. Paid for by his parents. From Mexico.
Greetings from Vail, Colorado, where the one percent is so rampant, I'm surprised Michael Moore hasn't written a book about it. Used to be skiing was a middle class sport. No more. There's not a single person on the hill in jeans. Lift tickets are $139 a day, and despite being able to purchase a season pass for less than $700, the maze is full of customers. That's right, you've got to wait in line, a long one, to pay through the nose.
How did we get here?
It didn't used to be this way. I went to public school. Some of the kids lived in the projects. But not only did we have music lessons and art classes, paper and pencils were FREE! No more.
Unless you go to private school.
That's the dirty little secret of the one percent, they're pulling away from us. Their kids may be snotty and entitled, but they're educated at the best institutions money can buy, they're enriched not only after school, but during the summer, when they fly to far-flung places to "do good," which looks really good on their college resume compared to the poor kid who stays home in July and August watching television because he can't even get a job.
Even worse, the poor kids don't know about educational opportunities. They don't know about the Ivy League, they don't know elite institutions are need blind, that if you get in, tuition is free if you're broke.
But the poor don't believe they're going to be broke for long. They're living in such complete darkness, they don't even know how the ruling class operates.
Real estate values in Vail are burgeoning. They've blown by the 2008 pre-recession peak. As they have in many wealthy neighborhoods. Meanwhile, the poor can't afford a house at all. And they can't get a job that would pay a mortgage. They're reduced to service jobs, which frequently don't even pay the rent.
Like in Vail. Where the concierge hands you your skis with a smile on his face. His boss told him to do it. But he probably won't get fired if he doesn't, because there's an employment shortage, because there's nowhere to live! Just like your maid takes the bus from an hour away, resort workers can't afford to live in the Village, but there are no far-flung suburbs, only vast open land.
But the minimum wage can't go up because "small business owners" will be hurt and the public will have to pay an extra dime for a hamburger. Well, if you know anything about economics, our country is driven by consumer spending. Most rich people only need one or two cars. We need the regular public to buy cars to get the economy humming. But people are not only broke, they're not optimistic about their future.
Used to be you could have middle class goals, like being a school teacher. But now teachers are chumps, except for the best and the brightest who participate in Teach America, burnishing their resumes before they go to work at the bank. The divide keeps getting bigger and bigger and it doesn't look like it's going to stop.
The rich own the media. They don't want revolution. They want the FCC in their back pocket, just where they need it. So you've got people voting against health care when they've got none and the government would subsidize it. Huh? Life expectancy in America is lagging other established nations, not because the rich are dying in droves, they can see the best doctors, but because the poor don't go to the hospital until it's too late.
So what's going to happen?
It's incumbent upon the rich and the powerful to change things.
But it appears that except for Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, most rich will give a few bucks to charity, but want to keep their lofted perch.
But the rich are not the only powerful ones. We've got artists too.
Jefferson Airplane used to sing about tearing down the walls, that we should be together as a force of change. But today's artists just want to sell out to the corporation so they can fly private too.
And students are so shocked, and so indebted, that they've got no time to do anything but desperately try to get on the gravy train. When I graduated from college I was a ski bum, they don't exist anymore. It's poor immigrants who do all the work in ski areas today.
And sacrifice is a dirty word. We're all so desperate we cling to whatever we have, our coarse society tells us we deserve it, and we can guard it with our firearms.
You don't read about the rich shooting each other, do you? Little Johnny picking up Daddy's gun and popping his sister? That's because Rich Johnny has got a 24/7 nanny, he's never unsupervised, while poor Johnny's parents both work to try and make ends meet.
So it's a land of serfs and lords. And if you don't have a six figure income, you're a serf. Sounds bad, I know it, but it's the truth. Your future is limited, the joke is on you. You've got reality television to keep you company.
And it's no different in the music business. Ever notice the executives have long tenures and tons of cash and almost all acts are poor and have little longevity? You're working on Maggie's Farm all right, where you're worked to death for the quarterly report. Screw credibility, screw getting it right, we need the billing!
And the poor are lining up to be hosed. It's the human lottery. Just give me a chance.
And the middle class is getting squeezed out. Used to be the educated class had power, now the rich go to concierge doctors and have usurped all the goodies of the intelligentsia, whose kids are not so stupid, who are becoming financiers and techies to ensure their survival.
There's no coding in the ghetto. Only sports. Wherein we watch the underprivileged pound each other for our enjoyment. That's the NFL, watch it, but own it.
And since the poor are so ignorant, change is only going to come from above. Elon Musk will fix income inequality before Occupy Wall Street.
But Elon Musk is a footnote compared to a musician.
But we've got blank Britney in Vegas and jive Justin Bieber all over the airwaves as airhead Kim Kardashian rules the gossip pages.
There is no educated Kim Kardashian. Because no one who's paid their time in school is going to sacrifice it for a brief moment in the public eye. They'd rather acquire power than bling.
So we need hope. That's what human beings run upon.
Stop believing you're gonna be rich. Your odds of winning the lottery are just about as good.
Stop being beholden to the rich, educated class. Don't be their lackeys.
Stand up to power.
Have something to say.
And realize we're all in it together. And when we lift up our brother we lift up ourselves, because we all live in a society, which we want to be safe and equitable with opportunity for all.
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Monday 30 December 2013
Kennedy Center Honors
It's an ersatz show with barely more than meaningless medals, but it does prove that the arts are our nation's heritage, its driver, its soul.
I mean when you see the President and his wife rocking out, you know that music moves the country in a way no other medium can, and if you just harness the zeitgeist, you will possess more power than any politician and any banker.
And the problem is the talent. If you've got the lead singer of Panic! At The Disco singing Billy Joel's "Big Shot" you may have appealed to the kids but you've lost all credibility.
However, Rufus Wainwright finally got his star turn with "New York State Of Mind," he wrung its essence out, but improved on the original not a whit.
Unlike Don Henley, who extracted a soulful feeling different yet equal from "She's Got A Way."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZT3DLrf_5I
But the reason I mention Henley is he's a peer. Billy seemed near tears as Henley performed his song. We all want respect. Mostly from those we respect. And in this short segment, Billy's night was made.
But the highlight of the evening was Buddy Guy's rendition of Muddy Waters's "Hoochie Coochie Man."
Performance is a funny game. It's he who transcends who is remembered. You can be good, you can be great, but if you can blow us away...
And that's what Buddy Guy did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AURnhinda_M
It was kind of like Prince at the Super Bowl. An unexpected victory lap that defined the experience. But most people still don't know Mr. Guy, he has gotten awards, but not a victory lap with the public, but last night he did.
He's so relaxed. Unlike so many of today's stars, he's not working too hard. He's reveling in his talent. And so are we.
It's like you're hearing the song for the very first time. But as it goes on, your mind is stretched all the way back to the progenitor, the blues come alive in the hands of this lifer respected by the players who has never gotten the public adulation of Clapton, Page or Beck.
It seems so effortless. Like he's spent his whole life preparing. Like he can wake up in the morning, pick up his Strat and deliver at will.
And it's all now, not calculated and premeditated like the efforts of the politicians and the businessmen.
It's what we all strive for. It's the nougat of sex. The essence of life.
We all want to live in the moment.
And last night, Buddy Guy did.
Acts followed him, but no one else could equal his power, his ability to channel life.
Be careful of who opens for you.
And when you get your chance... DELIVER!
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I mean when you see the President and his wife rocking out, you know that music moves the country in a way no other medium can, and if you just harness the zeitgeist, you will possess more power than any politician and any banker.
And the problem is the talent. If you've got the lead singer of Panic! At The Disco singing Billy Joel's "Big Shot" you may have appealed to the kids but you've lost all credibility.
However, Rufus Wainwright finally got his star turn with "New York State Of Mind," he wrung its essence out, but improved on the original not a whit.
Unlike Don Henley, who extracted a soulful feeling different yet equal from "She's Got A Way."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZT3DLrf_5I
But the reason I mention Henley is he's a peer. Billy seemed near tears as Henley performed his song. We all want respect. Mostly from those we respect. And in this short segment, Billy's night was made.
But the highlight of the evening was Buddy Guy's rendition of Muddy Waters's "Hoochie Coochie Man."
Performance is a funny game. It's he who transcends who is remembered. You can be good, you can be great, but if you can blow us away...
And that's what Buddy Guy did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AURnhinda_M
It was kind of like Prince at the Super Bowl. An unexpected victory lap that defined the experience. But most people still don't know Mr. Guy, he has gotten awards, but not a victory lap with the public, but last night he did.
He's so relaxed. Unlike so many of today's stars, he's not working too hard. He's reveling in his talent. And so are we.
It's like you're hearing the song for the very first time. But as it goes on, your mind is stretched all the way back to the progenitor, the blues come alive in the hands of this lifer respected by the players who has never gotten the public adulation of Clapton, Page or Beck.
It seems so effortless. Like he's spent his whole life preparing. Like he can wake up in the morning, pick up his Strat and deliver at will.
And it's all now, not calculated and premeditated like the efforts of the politicians and the businessmen.
It's what we all strive for. It's the nougat of sex. The essence of life.
We all want to live in the moment.
And last night, Buddy Guy did.
Acts followed him, but no one else could equal his power, his ability to channel life.
Be careful of who opens for you.
And when you get your chance... DELIVER!
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Friday 27 December 2013
Power Top Five
1. Michael Rapino
He writes the checks. And in the twenty first century, it's all about money.
It's not how many albums you sell, but how many tickets. The live business rules. Live Nation is the dominant player. Sure, anybody can write a check once, but if you want to tour the world, more than your local market, chances are you're going to come in contact with Live Nation. Build your relationships.
Furthermore, Rapino controls Artist Nation, i.e. the acts. Did this make him overpay for the Miley Cyrus tour, since she's a client? I'll let you decide.
Rapino worked his way up from the bottom, he's a survivor. He put the knife in Barry Diller and Michael Cohl. If you don't think Rapino is a formidable competitor, you're too busy reading the trades instead of knowing the people who control this business.
And it is a people business.
And the key is to interact with and know as many people as possible.
2. Jay Marciano
Who?
That's the essence of the live business. People are so focused on the flash of recordings that they don't know who's really in control.
Marciano worked his way up from local promoter to Universal Concerts to House of Blues to MSG to AEG Europe to his present role as majordomo of AEG.
And everybody loves him.
Live Nation is run on fear. AEG is a family.
Live Nation is Walmart. AEG is Costco.
AEG is a multifarious company. From its Concerts West division with Meglen and Gongaware, Las Vegas and the Stones, to Paul Tollett and Coachella. And it's constantly expanding, it's got a stake in China.
It's a two horse race. Live Nation and AEG. They all know each other. A good number have worked for both.
They both write the checks. They're the key to your survival.
3. Lucian Grainge
Wasn't Universal supposed to fold after Doug Morris left?
Grainge is a swashbuckler. He slimmed Universal and continued to have hits, and it is a hit business. Major labels have had a remarkable resurgence. Unlike Mr. Morris, Grainge has many years ahead of him. It's his record business, the rest of us just live in it.
4. Daniel Ek
Rail against Spotify, but that demonstrates how behind the times you are. Spotify doesn't care about you, it cares about its competitors...YouTube, Rdio, Deezer, Beats... Only one will survive, and Spotify is so well-positioned the game is almost over, the only company that can compete is Google, but Sergey and Larry's company can't shoot straight, they get it wrong time and again. Unlike Apple, which insists on getting it right, Google releases me-too product marketed poorly. But with YouTube they have a head start.
As for Beats... Its best option is to gain headway in the U.S. and force a merger with Spotify, this is not the headphone business, with the rest of the industry sleeping. This is not a marketing game so much as an investment game. Look at how many countries Spotify is in, the scale. Spotify is a poor marketer, who even knows it's got chips in devices, but while you were lamenting payouts, Spotify invested. All that hogwash about it being unprofitable... Look at the cell phone and cable industries. You invest and invest and invest and then you dominate and rake in cash seemingly forever.
As for streaming revenues, read this recent story from Ethan Smith in the "Wall Street Journal":
"Dollar-and-Cents Secrets of Music Streaming-Staying Power Is More Important Than Bursting on the Scene": http://on.wsj.com/JZiIDV
That's right, while you were busy forwarding that inane Iron Maiden propaganda, about touring where the pirates are (pirates are everywhere, but they mean less every day), the business journal of record, behind a paywall, gave facts and figures, instead of hyped conjecture.
Yup, while you believed the web was democratic, and anybody could play and survive, it turned into the rest of the society, comprised of winners and losers. The rich go to good schools and rule the world and pay for information, the poor watch the flat screen and keep praying, believing if they just do their affirmations, they will be rich too. The joke's on them!
5. Independent Concert Promoters
Whether it be Don Fox's Beaver Productions, the C3 guys, SFX or JAM, they've all got checkbooks, they're all open to opportunities, they too have money, they're not as powerful as Live Nation and AEG, but they dwarf the power of any independent label. They spend cash every day. And, except for SFX, it's their money. So they market and do their best to get it back.
______________________________________
IN THE MIX
1. Sony Music:
Doug Morris, Rob Stringer and L.A. Reid
Don't get swayed by the Beyonce hype. This isn't the disaster of Warner, but this is a ship taking on water. L.A. Reid overspends and delivers little and Doug Morris is running out of time and Rob Stringer can't run the whole operation himself. The plan was to bring in Morris and save the ship, but with Sony itself in disarray, the record label has not gotten the overhaul it needs. They're selling Gracenote instead of investing. They're heading for a cliff. When Doug goes, it's over.
2. Warner Music
Benefits from the Parlophone acquisition but is hampered by being run by non-music guys. You need engineers to make the trains run on time. Atlantic has got Bruno Mars, Warner is starting from scratch. There's no vision, only bean counters. I'd turn it into a catalog only label, but if it's gonna break new acts it's got to learn from T-Mobile, Warner Music has got to be the anti-major. T-Mobile got rid of contracts and exorbitant foreign roaming charges. Warner has to become the act-friendly enterprise. With better royalty rates and open accounting and shorter deals... They've got to attract new talent with less onerous terms. They've got to do something different.
3. Irving Azoff
An enigma. Always two steps ahead of the game, no one is quite sure where Irving is going other than himself. Right now he's involved with deep-pocketed James Dolan (who made his money in cable, see above!) and is opening the Forum in Los Angeles in January. He'll win there, because with no sports teams, and every date available, the schedule will fill, irrelevant of the infrastructure investment and despite the Inglewood location.
Will Irving scoop up acts after his Live Nation exit restrictions expire?
Will he invest in technology? Manage other entertainers?
Irving's making the best movie going, even Geffen retired. Watch and marvel.
4. Coran Capshaw/Red Light
Hmm... A lot of assets that don't add up to much.
He's got Dave Matthews, who is past his peak (everybody ages, Paul McCartney and the Eagles are past their peak too) and a couple of other major acts, but it's mostly a ragtag management operation just this side of disarray wherein it looks like nobody's really home and nobody's really in charge. This is not how you build an empire.
Yes, Capshaw also has an investment in live enterprises, but that gives him a bit of leverage and some cash but it doesn't make him a visionary.
Who does Coran Capshaw want to be? Manager? Promoter? Restaurateur?
He needs to decide and double down. We're waiting for the innovation.
5. Scooter Braun
Wet behind the ears. Don't take bankers' money without an ironclad plan to return it on their terms. Who knows if Bieber is really retiring. Troy Carter lost Lady Gaga. This is a roll-up without a plan. Scooter got the money, now what?
6. Jay Z
Read the Business Insider story:
"Jay Z's Brand Is Suffering Because People Don't Trust Him Anymore": http://read.bi/1c8Z5zB
We've been sold a fiction that the public cares not a whit who you get paid by, who you sell out to. But this is not true. Acts survive on credibility, don't ever forget it. It comes right after the music. Build your legend and protect your image.
7. Adele
XL. Richard Russell. Martin Mills. They're the power here. Adele is just the face. Hell, look what they did with Vampire Weekend. Expect more hits, but Beggars/XL, unlike Coran Capshaw, doesn't dream big, but they keep on delivering.
8. One Direction
A boy band. But the first one of the Internet era. That's why they're so big. You don't have to watch TV or read the paper to know what's going on, you just pull up your phone and communicate with other fans and become part of the action. In the future, big acts will be bigger and bigger, One Direction is just the first. And if you measure success by record sales, you're not privy to One Direction's merch numbers.
9. Steve Barnett/Capitol Records
Great marketing machine. Let's see the enterprise develop its own hit acts.
10. Monty Lipman/Republic
The little engine that could. Monty learned from his mentors and runs a lean machine that keeps delivering. Expect him to keep doing so.
11. Daniel Glass
It's the losses that delivered Daniel his success. Just like a techie, Daniel has learned from failure. Now he knows where every body is buried and is unafraid of anyone. He draws acts to his label because of his commitment, drive and no b.s. attitude. Acts want someone to believe in them. That's the one asset Daniel Glass delivers better than anybody.
12. Marc Geiger, Rob Light and Chip Hooper
Go hand in hand with Rapino, Marciano and the indie promoters.
Their styles are different.
Rob Light is old school. Wood-paneled and respectable.
Geiger is the visionary.
Hooper gets it done, like the deal with AM Only.
You pick which one you want to work with.
Or you could always go with Tom Windish, he's younger, he'll probably want you before the other three do
13. Clear Channel Radio
The most nimble of the terrestrial guys, it's still unclear if they can make the transition to the Internet.
On one hand, it seems like they've read Clayton Christensen's "Innovator's Dilemma," on the other, there's nothing innovative or sexy or compelling about their Internet offerings. Yes, Clear Channel is playing on the Internet, but tell me why I want to listen?
14. Sirius XM
Owes it success to Howard Stern.
But trumps terrestrial because there are no commercials on its music channels and there's a ton more depth. Satellite is a real player. The company is profitable, but it has no reasonable Internet strategy. It doesn't look like Sirius XM will ever dominate. Then again, there's a radio in every car, and that should never be underestimated.
15. Rolling Stone
The problem is musicians are just not that interesting, nor that powerful, which is why Jann Wenner makes all his money from "Us."
It's hard to blame "Rolling Stone," the artists deserve scorn, but watching the magazine straddle music, tech and alternative news has you wondering...is it lost in the seventies?
16. Sean Parker
He's rich, that does not mean he deserves your attention.
All these techies get so much press. Most are one trick ponies. But they are wealthy, and they do change the world more than musicians.
17. Mobile phones
The number two story of 2013, behind online cacophony. The desktop is dead, unless you're literally chained to your desk, which other than at work, most people are not. It all happens on mobile. It's an iOS and Android world. BlackBerry isn't worth reading about, to believe the Microsoft/Nokia pairing will pay dividends is to believe the Surface will kill the iPad. Right now, Apple rules productivity, more people buy Androids but don't utilize them as much. Will this stay so? I'm not so sure it matters, that's the horse race, pay attention to the ecosystem, i.e. mobile apps and mobile purchasing.
18. Pasquale Rotella
Changed the world. At least the U.S. Every mainstream concert promoter missed it. Irrelevant of the Live Nation deal, Rotella's success with Electric Daisy proves once again that music is about the left field success. That just when you think things are becoming complacent, a new trend emerges out of thin air...seemingly. Yes, Rotella has decades in electronic music. It's all about commitment and the long haul, if only the acts realized this.
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He writes the checks. And in the twenty first century, it's all about money.
It's not how many albums you sell, but how many tickets. The live business rules. Live Nation is the dominant player. Sure, anybody can write a check once, but if you want to tour the world, more than your local market, chances are you're going to come in contact with Live Nation. Build your relationships.
Furthermore, Rapino controls Artist Nation, i.e. the acts. Did this make him overpay for the Miley Cyrus tour, since she's a client? I'll let you decide.
Rapino worked his way up from the bottom, he's a survivor. He put the knife in Barry Diller and Michael Cohl. If you don't think Rapino is a formidable competitor, you're too busy reading the trades instead of knowing the people who control this business.
And it is a people business.
And the key is to interact with and know as many people as possible.
2. Jay Marciano
Who?
That's the essence of the live business. People are so focused on the flash of recordings that they don't know who's really in control.
Marciano worked his way up from local promoter to Universal Concerts to House of Blues to MSG to AEG Europe to his present role as majordomo of AEG.
And everybody loves him.
Live Nation is run on fear. AEG is a family.
Live Nation is Walmart. AEG is Costco.
AEG is a multifarious company. From its Concerts West division with Meglen and Gongaware, Las Vegas and the Stones, to Paul Tollett and Coachella. And it's constantly expanding, it's got a stake in China.
It's a two horse race. Live Nation and AEG. They all know each other. A good number have worked for both.
They both write the checks. They're the key to your survival.
3. Lucian Grainge
Wasn't Universal supposed to fold after Doug Morris left?
Grainge is a swashbuckler. He slimmed Universal and continued to have hits, and it is a hit business. Major labels have had a remarkable resurgence. Unlike Mr. Morris, Grainge has many years ahead of him. It's his record business, the rest of us just live in it.
4. Daniel Ek
Rail against Spotify, but that demonstrates how behind the times you are. Spotify doesn't care about you, it cares about its competitors...YouTube, Rdio, Deezer, Beats... Only one will survive, and Spotify is so well-positioned the game is almost over, the only company that can compete is Google, but Sergey and Larry's company can't shoot straight, they get it wrong time and again. Unlike Apple, which insists on getting it right, Google releases me-too product marketed poorly. But with YouTube they have a head start.
As for Beats... Its best option is to gain headway in the U.S. and force a merger with Spotify, this is not the headphone business, with the rest of the industry sleeping. This is not a marketing game so much as an investment game. Look at how many countries Spotify is in, the scale. Spotify is a poor marketer, who even knows it's got chips in devices, but while you were lamenting payouts, Spotify invested. All that hogwash about it being unprofitable... Look at the cell phone and cable industries. You invest and invest and invest and then you dominate and rake in cash seemingly forever.
As for streaming revenues, read this recent story from Ethan Smith in the "Wall Street Journal":
"Dollar-and-Cents Secrets of Music Streaming-Staying Power Is More Important Than Bursting on the Scene": http://on.wsj.com/JZiIDV
That's right, while you were busy forwarding that inane Iron Maiden propaganda, about touring where the pirates are (pirates are everywhere, but they mean less every day), the business journal of record, behind a paywall, gave facts and figures, instead of hyped conjecture.
Yup, while you believed the web was democratic, and anybody could play and survive, it turned into the rest of the society, comprised of winners and losers. The rich go to good schools and rule the world and pay for information, the poor watch the flat screen and keep praying, believing if they just do their affirmations, they will be rich too. The joke's on them!
5. Independent Concert Promoters
Whether it be Don Fox's Beaver Productions, the C3 guys, SFX or JAM, they've all got checkbooks, they're all open to opportunities, they too have money, they're not as powerful as Live Nation and AEG, but they dwarf the power of any independent label. They spend cash every day. And, except for SFX, it's their money. So they market and do their best to get it back.
______________________________________
IN THE MIX
1. Sony Music:
Doug Morris, Rob Stringer and L.A. Reid
Don't get swayed by the Beyonce hype. This isn't the disaster of Warner, but this is a ship taking on water. L.A. Reid overspends and delivers little and Doug Morris is running out of time and Rob Stringer can't run the whole operation himself. The plan was to bring in Morris and save the ship, but with Sony itself in disarray, the record label has not gotten the overhaul it needs. They're selling Gracenote instead of investing. They're heading for a cliff. When Doug goes, it's over.
2. Warner Music
Benefits from the Parlophone acquisition but is hampered by being run by non-music guys. You need engineers to make the trains run on time. Atlantic has got Bruno Mars, Warner is starting from scratch. There's no vision, only bean counters. I'd turn it into a catalog only label, but if it's gonna break new acts it's got to learn from T-Mobile, Warner Music has got to be the anti-major. T-Mobile got rid of contracts and exorbitant foreign roaming charges. Warner has to become the act-friendly enterprise. With better royalty rates and open accounting and shorter deals... They've got to attract new talent with less onerous terms. They've got to do something different.
3. Irving Azoff
An enigma. Always two steps ahead of the game, no one is quite sure where Irving is going other than himself. Right now he's involved with deep-pocketed James Dolan (who made his money in cable, see above!) and is opening the Forum in Los Angeles in January. He'll win there, because with no sports teams, and every date available, the schedule will fill, irrelevant of the infrastructure investment and despite the Inglewood location.
Will Irving scoop up acts after his Live Nation exit restrictions expire?
Will he invest in technology? Manage other entertainers?
Irving's making the best movie going, even Geffen retired. Watch and marvel.
4. Coran Capshaw/Red Light
Hmm... A lot of assets that don't add up to much.
He's got Dave Matthews, who is past his peak (everybody ages, Paul McCartney and the Eagles are past their peak too) and a couple of other major acts, but it's mostly a ragtag management operation just this side of disarray wherein it looks like nobody's really home and nobody's really in charge. This is not how you build an empire.
Yes, Capshaw also has an investment in live enterprises, but that gives him a bit of leverage and some cash but it doesn't make him a visionary.
Who does Coran Capshaw want to be? Manager? Promoter? Restaurateur?
He needs to decide and double down. We're waiting for the innovation.
5. Scooter Braun
Wet behind the ears. Don't take bankers' money without an ironclad plan to return it on their terms. Who knows if Bieber is really retiring. Troy Carter lost Lady Gaga. This is a roll-up without a plan. Scooter got the money, now what?
6. Jay Z
Read the Business Insider story:
"Jay Z's Brand Is Suffering Because People Don't Trust Him Anymore": http://read.bi/1c8Z5zB
We've been sold a fiction that the public cares not a whit who you get paid by, who you sell out to. But this is not true. Acts survive on credibility, don't ever forget it. It comes right after the music. Build your legend and protect your image.
7. Adele
XL. Richard Russell. Martin Mills. They're the power here. Adele is just the face. Hell, look what they did with Vampire Weekend. Expect more hits, but Beggars/XL, unlike Coran Capshaw, doesn't dream big, but they keep on delivering.
8. One Direction
A boy band. But the first one of the Internet era. That's why they're so big. You don't have to watch TV or read the paper to know what's going on, you just pull up your phone and communicate with other fans and become part of the action. In the future, big acts will be bigger and bigger, One Direction is just the first. And if you measure success by record sales, you're not privy to One Direction's merch numbers.
9. Steve Barnett/Capitol Records
Great marketing machine. Let's see the enterprise develop its own hit acts.
10. Monty Lipman/Republic
The little engine that could. Monty learned from his mentors and runs a lean machine that keeps delivering. Expect him to keep doing so.
11. Daniel Glass
It's the losses that delivered Daniel his success. Just like a techie, Daniel has learned from failure. Now he knows where every body is buried and is unafraid of anyone. He draws acts to his label because of his commitment, drive and no b.s. attitude. Acts want someone to believe in them. That's the one asset Daniel Glass delivers better than anybody.
12. Marc Geiger, Rob Light and Chip Hooper
Go hand in hand with Rapino, Marciano and the indie promoters.
Their styles are different.
Rob Light is old school. Wood-paneled and respectable.
Geiger is the visionary.
Hooper gets it done, like the deal with AM Only.
You pick which one you want to work with.
Or you could always go with Tom Windish, he's younger, he'll probably want you before the other three do
13. Clear Channel Radio
The most nimble of the terrestrial guys, it's still unclear if they can make the transition to the Internet.
On one hand, it seems like they've read Clayton Christensen's "Innovator's Dilemma," on the other, there's nothing innovative or sexy or compelling about their Internet offerings. Yes, Clear Channel is playing on the Internet, but tell me why I want to listen?
14. Sirius XM
Owes it success to Howard Stern.
But trumps terrestrial because there are no commercials on its music channels and there's a ton more depth. Satellite is a real player. The company is profitable, but it has no reasonable Internet strategy. It doesn't look like Sirius XM will ever dominate. Then again, there's a radio in every car, and that should never be underestimated.
15. Rolling Stone
The problem is musicians are just not that interesting, nor that powerful, which is why Jann Wenner makes all his money from "Us."
It's hard to blame "Rolling Stone," the artists deserve scorn, but watching the magazine straddle music, tech and alternative news has you wondering...is it lost in the seventies?
16. Sean Parker
He's rich, that does not mean he deserves your attention.
All these techies get so much press. Most are one trick ponies. But they are wealthy, and they do change the world more than musicians.
17. Mobile phones
The number two story of 2013, behind online cacophony. The desktop is dead, unless you're literally chained to your desk, which other than at work, most people are not. It all happens on mobile. It's an iOS and Android world. BlackBerry isn't worth reading about, to believe the Microsoft/Nokia pairing will pay dividends is to believe the Surface will kill the iPad. Right now, Apple rules productivity, more people buy Androids but don't utilize them as much. Will this stay so? I'm not so sure it matters, that's the horse race, pay attention to the ecosystem, i.e. mobile apps and mobile purchasing.
18. Pasquale Rotella
Changed the world. At least the U.S. Every mainstream concert promoter missed it. Irrelevant of the Live Nation deal, Rotella's success with Electric Daisy proves once again that music is about the left field success. That just when you think things are becoming complacent, a new trend emerges out of thin air...seemingly. Yes, Rotella has decades in electronic music. It's all about commitment and the long haul, if only the acts realized this.
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Monday 23 December 2013
Making It
1. You have to NEED to make it.
Wanting to make it is not enough. It must be your one true calling. If you're willing to be broke, with no direction home, you might possibly make it. Sacrifice is the key element. If you're not willing to sacrifice your home, your relationship, forgo children and sleep on the floor when you're forty, don't expect to make it in music, certainly don't expect to sustain.
2. You have to be great.
Good is not good enough. You've got to blow our minds.
3. You can't do it alone.
That's an Internet fiction, from a decade past, that if you just posted something online it could cut through the noise. You need a team:
a. A lawyer
b. A manager
c. An agent.
A lawyer to make sure you don't sign bad deals that hobble you forever.
A manager to play interference, he who sells himself and makes his own deals is destined to piss people off.
And an agent to get you gigs.
An agent is hardest to get. A manager is never easy. But no act ever made it without a manager.
4. Money
It can't buy you love, but it can buy you visibility. That's what you're looking for today.
The story of 2013 is cacophony, noise. Nothing rises above the din unless it is worked by a team. There's just too much out there, and no one agrees what is great. So, gatekeepers are everything. I know this is contrary to everything you've heard for the last ten years, but this is what noise has wrought. How can you attach yourself to those who will get your message out? You must have the goods when you get your chance, but spontaneous virality is doomed in an era where BuzzFeed is a business BASED on virality and Gawker and other outlets play the same game. If you can't get on their radar, if you can't expose a large audience, you're never gonna make it. Sorry.
5. Believers
Sure, you need fans. But all they can do is pay for your Kickstarter record, and have you noticed we hear no more Kickstarter stories, that the outlet is the new BlackBerry, something that used to be that is no longer? If you're just speaking to your fans, getting money from them, you might be able to survive, but you'll never be able to grow.
You need business people, those with power, to believe in you. They need to do favors for you, get you on the radio, get you placed on shows, give you a chance to demonstrate your wares. If you're totally DIY, you're gonna be living in your basement.
6. Sustaining
That's the hardest thing to do these days, not have one hit, but two. The label might sign and promote your single track, and then they'll drop you when you've got no follow-up.
7. Learning
We live in a country where no one can admit they're wrong. If you're not willing to question every choice, do it differently next time, you're never going to make it. Three years ago, almost everything I've said above would be different. You could go viral by your lonesome, social networking worked. But times change. You once used your aforementioned BlackBerry and were thrilled to get your e-mail on the run, now it's all about apps. People hate change, but those who are willing to do so win. Kind of like in Silicon Valley, where it's called "the Pivot." Your original idea didn't work, so you take the core and go in a different direction. You might think you're a rocker, but truly you might be a country artist. You might think you're a singer, but you might really be a songwriter, or a producer.
8. Pay little attention to those who are popular.
By the time you get your chance, completely different people and paradigms might rule. Originality is the key to longevity. Be yourself, not someone else.
9. Publicity
Was useless until this year. With so much information, we see publicity as evidence that someone believes in you. The content is less important than the imprimatur, that you've risen above. Used to be if we saw your name everywhere, we winced. Actually, we still do, but we now know you're not a complete wanker.
10. Word of mouth.
Is still king, but too many are promoting for friends and have terrible taste. We've all got our trusted filters, and those who count are not afraid of the mainstream. The Internet is littered with those who abhor anything that is truly popular. Don't get caught in their backwater, unless you want to starve. You want to be popular. Otherwise, get out.
11. Popularity.
Means people like you and your music. It comes with haters, because it's so hard to break through, people are going to be angry that you did. You'll be told you're ugly, that your music sucks, that you can't sing, that you've got no talent, but don't believe it. It's so hard to make it that if you have, pat yourself on the back and do your best to survive.
12. Longevity.
One hit and you can get royalties forever. Maybe even live dates. But chances are you'll have to have a day job. The rule is, the harder it is to do, the better the chance of survival. Which is why doctors can always be employed, even if they bitch about their compensation. The barrier to entry to music is miniscule, so there are always others who are eager to take your place. The more skills you've got under your belt, the better your chance at lasting. But don't be holier than thou that you can read music and got a degree, these are just tools, building blocks, a foundation, it's what you build on top that counts.
13. Be nice.
It's the key to making it. If you're a jerk, no one's going to want to work for you, go out of their way to promote you. Constantly say thank you and go out of your way to be appreciative. Everybody loves compliments, not just the act.
14. Sour grapes.
Are gonna pull you down. The woulda, shoulda, coulda posse can tell an interesting story over a beer, but these people never succeed. Life is full of challenges, if you haven't been screwed, you haven't played the game. The road to success is paved with humiliation, you can complain about it or swallow it and realize it's dues.
15. There are no guarantees.
Everybody's time goes by. Most only peak for a short while. Enjoy the ride when you break through.
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Wanting to make it is not enough. It must be your one true calling. If you're willing to be broke, with no direction home, you might possibly make it. Sacrifice is the key element. If you're not willing to sacrifice your home, your relationship, forgo children and sleep on the floor when you're forty, don't expect to make it in music, certainly don't expect to sustain.
2. You have to be great.
Good is not good enough. You've got to blow our minds.
3. You can't do it alone.
That's an Internet fiction, from a decade past, that if you just posted something online it could cut through the noise. You need a team:
a. A lawyer
b. A manager
c. An agent.
A lawyer to make sure you don't sign bad deals that hobble you forever.
A manager to play interference, he who sells himself and makes his own deals is destined to piss people off.
And an agent to get you gigs.
An agent is hardest to get. A manager is never easy. But no act ever made it without a manager.
4. Money
It can't buy you love, but it can buy you visibility. That's what you're looking for today.
The story of 2013 is cacophony, noise. Nothing rises above the din unless it is worked by a team. There's just too much out there, and no one agrees what is great. So, gatekeepers are everything. I know this is contrary to everything you've heard for the last ten years, but this is what noise has wrought. How can you attach yourself to those who will get your message out? You must have the goods when you get your chance, but spontaneous virality is doomed in an era where BuzzFeed is a business BASED on virality and Gawker and other outlets play the same game. If you can't get on their radar, if you can't expose a large audience, you're never gonna make it. Sorry.
5. Believers
Sure, you need fans. But all they can do is pay for your Kickstarter record, and have you noticed we hear no more Kickstarter stories, that the outlet is the new BlackBerry, something that used to be that is no longer? If you're just speaking to your fans, getting money from them, you might be able to survive, but you'll never be able to grow.
You need business people, those with power, to believe in you. They need to do favors for you, get you on the radio, get you placed on shows, give you a chance to demonstrate your wares. If you're totally DIY, you're gonna be living in your basement.
6. Sustaining
That's the hardest thing to do these days, not have one hit, but two. The label might sign and promote your single track, and then they'll drop you when you've got no follow-up.
7. Learning
We live in a country where no one can admit they're wrong. If you're not willing to question every choice, do it differently next time, you're never going to make it. Three years ago, almost everything I've said above would be different. You could go viral by your lonesome, social networking worked. But times change. You once used your aforementioned BlackBerry and were thrilled to get your e-mail on the run, now it's all about apps. People hate change, but those who are willing to do so win. Kind of like in Silicon Valley, where it's called "the Pivot." Your original idea didn't work, so you take the core and go in a different direction. You might think you're a rocker, but truly you might be a country artist. You might think you're a singer, but you might really be a songwriter, or a producer.
8. Pay little attention to those who are popular.
By the time you get your chance, completely different people and paradigms might rule. Originality is the key to longevity. Be yourself, not someone else.
9. Publicity
Was useless until this year. With so much information, we see publicity as evidence that someone believes in you. The content is less important than the imprimatur, that you've risen above. Used to be if we saw your name everywhere, we winced. Actually, we still do, but we now know you're not a complete wanker.
10. Word of mouth.
Is still king, but too many are promoting for friends and have terrible taste. We've all got our trusted filters, and those who count are not afraid of the mainstream. The Internet is littered with those who abhor anything that is truly popular. Don't get caught in their backwater, unless you want to starve. You want to be popular. Otherwise, get out.
11. Popularity.
Means people like you and your music. It comes with haters, because it's so hard to break through, people are going to be angry that you did. You'll be told you're ugly, that your music sucks, that you can't sing, that you've got no talent, but don't believe it. It's so hard to make it that if you have, pat yourself on the back and do your best to survive.
12. Longevity.
One hit and you can get royalties forever. Maybe even live dates. But chances are you'll have to have a day job. The rule is, the harder it is to do, the better the chance of survival. Which is why doctors can always be employed, even if they bitch about their compensation. The barrier to entry to music is miniscule, so there are always others who are eager to take your place. The more skills you've got under your belt, the better your chance at lasting. But don't be holier than thou that you can read music and got a degree, these are just tools, building blocks, a foundation, it's what you build on top that counts.
13. Be nice.
It's the key to making it. If you're a jerk, no one's going to want to work for you, go out of their way to promote you. Constantly say thank you and go out of your way to be appreciative. Everybody loves compliments, not just the act.
14. Sour grapes.
Are gonna pull you down. The woulda, shoulda, coulda posse can tell an interesting story over a beer, but these people never succeed. Life is full of challenges, if you haven't been screwed, you haven't played the game. The road to success is paved with humiliation, you can complain about it or swallow it and realize it's dues.
15. There are no guarantees.
Everybody's time goes by. Most only peak for a short while. Enjoy the ride when you break through.
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Friday 20 December 2013
Dealing With Hate
1. Never ever respond.
That's the hater's goal. To entrap you. Draw you into a conversation. Wherein you have to justify your complete existence. You can never ever win, furthermore the hater's friends will pile on. Read if you must, but never acknowledge you've done so.
2. Research the hater.
Especially on Twitter. See how many followers they have. Fewer than you, otherwise they wouldn't bother to hate. Also, check their number of tweets. If someone's tweet count is in the double digit thousands, laugh and move on. First of all, almost no one is going to see their hate. Second, the reason they're hating is to justify their existence. They're looking for attention. Who else would waste so much time blasting their thoughts into the wilderness.
3. Google the hater.
This usually makes you feel better. Because you find out the hater is a loser. Because winners don't have time to hate, they're too busy trying to win.
4. See it as a badge of honor.
If someone is hating you, you've made it.
5. Read it.
Anybody who says they don't read the words of their critics is an optimistic pussy who is afraid of their shadow. As the cliche goes, you can't embrace the good without the bad, you can't acknowledge the love without the hate. The truth is we're all equal. Even if you're winning it's only temporarily, on a scale that will cease to exist. You'll die. Standards change. Do it because you love it. Know that criticism comes with the territory.
6. Don't change who you are.
Then the terrorists have won. Oops, then the haters have won. I'm not saying you can't learn anything from your critics, but the more successful you become, the more hating you're subjected to, and the natural response is to pull back. Don't do that. Then the essence of your art is eviscerated. People love you for that essence. Change for the haters and you're disappointing the lovers.
7. Have a sense of humor.
We all have a tone of voice. We all have expressions we employ. We don't like them to be pointed out, we don't like to be reminded of them, but it's the nature of society. If you can't laugh at yourself, life is gonna be tough. Then again, there's no need to fall upon your sword in the face of a tsunami of hate. Laugh, then have a backbone. Because your backbone is part of your appeal.
8. Understand the hater mentality.
They want to drag you down into the hole they're in. If you succumb, they stop hating, they've made you irrelevant and go on to hating someone else. Hating is not about you, but a frustration embodied in the hater that he or she is not beautiful, successful, winning, whatever. That's all they've got, their hate. You've got so much more.
9. Vitriol is no response.
If you must respond, and as #1 states above, you never should, so you're breaking the number one rule, don't use expletives and don't shout. Twist your language and become sarcastic, stating that the hater is correct, ultimately neutralizing the hate. Or embrace the hate and acknowledge it, yes, I'm a worthless human being with no reason to exist, thanks for pointing that out. The hater is looking for a fight, if you're not fighting, they move on to someone else.
10. Hate is invisible until you amplify it.
Not many people watch Jimmy Kimmel. Most were unaware of Kanye's fashion comments. But by reaching out and responding to the "hate," Kanye made everybody aware of his inane statements. It hurts when you see the hate, it's personal, but it's not personal to anyone else and almost everybody else ignores it. Yes, Google might tell you you're an idiot, but who else is Googling your name?
11. Democracy doesn't rule online.
Anyone can play, but that does not mean anyone can be heard. That's the story of the past two years, how the winners have pulled away from the losers. And the losers don't like it...that they just can't place their stuff online and make it anymore. So who do they rail against? You, the winners!
12. Retweets might mean nothing.
Some people have clubs, not everybody, there are some lonely rogues. And they like nothing more than to slap each other on the back as they pile on. You see this in your Twitter feed and think the whole world is talking about you, but dig deeper and realize that it's the three nerds from high school who suddenly have a voice, but just like in high school, no one is paying attention to them, no one is listening.
13. Haters are professionals.
Haters don't hate once and then stop. They hate and hate and hate and hate, because what they're looking for is acknowledgement. It's unreasonable, but it's fact. See it as their problem, not yours.
14. Few haters will say it to your face.
They love the anonymity of the web, especially in comment threads. Put them in front of the star and they'll get all googly-eyed. Not all of them, some of them are so maladjusted that they will never stop hating until they win, big time, which they can't, because they've got to see themselves as outside underdogs, and to win you have to learn how to be an insider. Winners have relationships, people who will aid them in their endeavors. Haters have no army, except for the silent loners afraid of their reflections. They're on a subliminal trip to nowhere.
15. Hate peters out.
Those websites, those fake Twitter accounts? They die. Because they're one note jokes and you're so much more than that. The hate might be clever, but clever never lasts, it's one note for one time.
16. Hating is like spam.
It will never completely go away, but it will be minimized into irrelevance. Seemingly everybody uses Gmail these days, which employs the great Postini filter. Spam isn't a thing of the past, but it's now an occasional nuisance instead of a headache. Hate is peaking, because as the winners pull away from the losers online, everybody can see the haters for what they are, disgruntled people clamoring for attention who usually have nothing of value to say.
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That's the hater's goal. To entrap you. Draw you into a conversation. Wherein you have to justify your complete existence. You can never ever win, furthermore the hater's friends will pile on. Read if you must, but never acknowledge you've done so.
2. Research the hater.
Especially on Twitter. See how many followers they have. Fewer than you, otherwise they wouldn't bother to hate. Also, check their number of tweets. If someone's tweet count is in the double digit thousands, laugh and move on. First of all, almost no one is going to see their hate. Second, the reason they're hating is to justify their existence. They're looking for attention. Who else would waste so much time blasting their thoughts into the wilderness.
3. Google the hater.
This usually makes you feel better. Because you find out the hater is a loser. Because winners don't have time to hate, they're too busy trying to win.
4. See it as a badge of honor.
If someone is hating you, you've made it.
5. Read it.
Anybody who says they don't read the words of their critics is an optimistic pussy who is afraid of their shadow. As the cliche goes, you can't embrace the good without the bad, you can't acknowledge the love without the hate. The truth is we're all equal. Even if you're winning it's only temporarily, on a scale that will cease to exist. You'll die. Standards change. Do it because you love it. Know that criticism comes with the territory.
6. Don't change who you are.
Then the terrorists have won. Oops, then the haters have won. I'm not saying you can't learn anything from your critics, but the more successful you become, the more hating you're subjected to, and the natural response is to pull back. Don't do that. Then the essence of your art is eviscerated. People love you for that essence. Change for the haters and you're disappointing the lovers.
7. Have a sense of humor.
We all have a tone of voice. We all have expressions we employ. We don't like them to be pointed out, we don't like to be reminded of them, but it's the nature of society. If you can't laugh at yourself, life is gonna be tough. Then again, there's no need to fall upon your sword in the face of a tsunami of hate. Laugh, then have a backbone. Because your backbone is part of your appeal.
8. Understand the hater mentality.
They want to drag you down into the hole they're in. If you succumb, they stop hating, they've made you irrelevant and go on to hating someone else. Hating is not about you, but a frustration embodied in the hater that he or she is not beautiful, successful, winning, whatever. That's all they've got, their hate. You've got so much more.
9. Vitriol is no response.
If you must respond, and as #1 states above, you never should, so you're breaking the number one rule, don't use expletives and don't shout. Twist your language and become sarcastic, stating that the hater is correct, ultimately neutralizing the hate. Or embrace the hate and acknowledge it, yes, I'm a worthless human being with no reason to exist, thanks for pointing that out. The hater is looking for a fight, if you're not fighting, they move on to someone else.
10. Hate is invisible until you amplify it.
Not many people watch Jimmy Kimmel. Most were unaware of Kanye's fashion comments. But by reaching out and responding to the "hate," Kanye made everybody aware of his inane statements. It hurts when you see the hate, it's personal, but it's not personal to anyone else and almost everybody else ignores it. Yes, Google might tell you you're an idiot, but who else is Googling your name?
11. Democracy doesn't rule online.
Anyone can play, but that does not mean anyone can be heard. That's the story of the past two years, how the winners have pulled away from the losers. And the losers don't like it...that they just can't place their stuff online and make it anymore. So who do they rail against? You, the winners!
12. Retweets might mean nothing.
Some people have clubs, not everybody, there are some lonely rogues. And they like nothing more than to slap each other on the back as they pile on. You see this in your Twitter feed and think the whole world is talking about you, but dig deeper and realize that it's the three nerds from high school who suddenly have a voice, but just like in high school, no one is paying attention to them, no one is listening.
13. Haters are professionals.
Haters don't hate once and then stop. They hate and hate and hate and hate, because what they're looking for is acknowledgement. It's unreasonable, but it's fact. See it as their problem, not yours.
14. Few haters will say it to your face.
They love the anonymity of the web, especially in comment threads. Put them in front of the star and they'll get all googly-eyed. Not all of them, some of them are so maladjusted that they will never stop hating until they win, big time, which they can't, because they've got to see themselves as outside underdogs, and to win you have to learn how to be an insider. Winners have relationships, people who will aid them in their endeavors. Haters have no army, except for the silent loners afraid of their reflections. They're on a subliminal trip to nowhere.
15. Hate peters out.
Those websites, those fake Twitter accounts? They die. Because they're one note jokes and you're so much more than that. The hate might be clever, but clever never lasts, it's one note for one time.
16. Hating is like spam.
It will never completely go away, but it will be minimized into irrelevance. Seemingly everybody uses Gmail these days, which employs the great Postini filter. Spam isn't a thing of the past, but it's now an occasional nuisance instead of a headache. Hate is peaking, because as the winners pull away from the losers online, everybody can see the haters for what they are, disgruntled people clamoring for attention who usually have nothing of value to say.
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Hipster Death Spiral
So I asked Anita Elberse what she says to the naysayers.
I'M THE YOUNGEST TENURED PROFESSOR AT HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL, WHO ARE YOU?
Whew!
And there you have it. The separation between the movers and shakers and the hoi polloi. Education.
Kristina from Ticketfly caused a brouhaha in Aspen when she suggested concert tickets be refundable.
The promoters went berserk. But that wasn't the point. Kristina's point was to be unemotional and see what you could do to drive adoption. That's what she learned at Amazon, her prior job, after graduating from Cornell and getting a Stanford MBA.
Yes, it's happening. Nerds are inheriting the earth. Like the man from Google, who went to MIT.
They're pulling away from us. If you're under the age of twenty forget competing for the "Voice," you're better off staying in school. Simon Cowell's at the end of his career, Jeff Bezos is just beginning. Who do you want to hitch your star to?
Thinking outside the box, relying on data. That's one thing the techies do well. What they don't do well is emotions. That's the essence of art, but we've squeezed all that out. We're a pale imitation of the tech companies, trying to ring the Wall Street bell, with our clothing lines and our desire to sell out to the highest bidder. Wanna have a hit record? Go deeper. Into yourself. I mean I can listen to Miley Cyrus's "Wrecking Ball," but it doesn't affect me. It's kind of like an ice cream cone, tastes so good going down but when it's done it's forgotten.
Even worse, there's a thin layer of successful people.
And everybody else sits around and bitches, trying to tear down those who have made it, like Ms. Elberse, not realizing no one is listening.
On Twitter all the rock critics are beating me up for saying that I'm happy with the R&RHOF inductees. I'm an idiot! Don't I know that I should be championing the obscure? That anything successful is not worth paying attention to?
That's so twentieth century. When we were one cohesive society. Now it's every man for himself. And either you pop your head through or you're irrelevant. Even worse, you can be famous and irrelevant. All that counts is the mainstream. If you're not attempting to be known by everybody, if your goal is the niche, it's almost like you don't even exist.
There's one Amazon, one Google, one Apple. But the ignoramuses at home think they can compete. Every day I get an e-mail saying the sender has a new company that will solve the music industry's problems. Ever hear of LICENSING? That you can do nothing without the music? These people believe if their idea is good enough, the majors will capitulate. Kind of like those posting on SoundCloud.
But it don't really happen that way at all.
The way it happens is you get into the game, forge relationships and try to win. And if you're on the sidelines, decrying the game, your voice goes unheard. Once upon a time we had "Rolling Stone" and nothing else. Wenner's book was the Bible. Now we've got so many online publications that only a few matter. Like Vice. Which published the year's 50 worst albums. Isn't it funny that "Yeezus" is on it. The sycophants have lauded it, but the public has yet to embrace it. Could the public be right?
The hipsters need the public to be wrong. To embellish their image. But no one's paying attention to that image.
Furthermore, if you're truly snarky and offensive, we can just Google your ass and find out you live in your parents' basement and work at the library, or for the government, and those are honest pursuits, but if you think they entitle you to be heard, you're dreaming.
So if you want to play the game?
Go to school!
And learn how to write.
And know the only thing that works today is mass. That the Long Tail is a fiction, and that most creative work goes unheard.
You've got to be in the game for eons. You've got to build a fan base and be very good. And even worse, chances are you've got to link up with a traditional marketer or get a huge cash infusion to make it.
I didn't write the rules, I'm just reporting them.
"Vice's Worst 50 Albums Of 2013" (via Jason Hirschhorn's MediaRedefined, Jason's working 24/7 to be a player in the new world, seemingly everybody in Hollywood subscribes, oh, that's right, Hollywood's for wankers and pussies): http://bit.ly/1kqdM9a
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I'M THE YOUNGEST TENURED PROFESSOR AT HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL, WHO ARE YOU?
Whew!
And there you have it. The separation between the movers and shakers and the hoi polloi. Education.
Kristina from Ticketfly caused a brouhaha in Aspen when she suggested concert tickets be refundable.
The promoters went berserk. But that wasn't the point. Kristina's point was to be unemotional and see what you could do to drive adoption. That's what she learned at Amazon, her prior job, after graduating from Cornell and getting a Stanford MBA.
Yes, it's happening. Nerds are inheriting the earth. Like the man from Google, who went to MIT.
They're pulling away from us. If you're under the age of twenty forget competing for the "Voice," you're better off staying in school. Simon Cowell's at the end of his career, Jeff Bezos is just beginning. Who do you want to hitch your star to?
Thinking outside the box, relying on data. That's one thing the techies do well. What they don't do well is emotions. That's the essence of art, but we've squeezed all that out. We're a pale imitation of the tech companies, trying to ring the Wall Street bell, with our clothing lines and our desire to sell out to the highest bidder. Wanna have a hit record? Go deeper. Into yourself. I mean I can listen to Miley Cyrus's "Wrecking Ball," but it doesn't affect me. It's kind of like an ice cream cone, tastes so good going down but when it's done it's forgotten.
Even worse, there's a thin layer of successful people.
And everybody else sits around and bitches, trying to tear down those who have made it, like Ms. Elberse, not realizing no one is listening.
On Twitter all the rock critics are beating me up for saying that I'm happy with the R&RHOF inductees. I'm an idiot! Don't I know that I should be championing the obscure? That anything successful is not worth paying attention to?
That's so twentieth century. When we were one cohesive society. Now it's every man for himself. And either you pop your head through or you're irrelevant. Even worse, you can be famous and irrelevant. All that counts is the mainstream. If you're not attempting to be known by everybody, if your goal is the niche, it's almost like you don't even exist.
There's one Amazon, one Google, one Apple. But the ignoramuses at home think they can compete. Every day I get an e-mail saying the sender has a new company that will solve the music industry's problems. Ever hear of LICENSING? That you can do nothing without the music? These people believe if their idea is good enough, the majors will capitulate. Kind of like those posting on SoundCloud.
But it don't really happen that way at all.
The way it happens is you get into the game, forge relationships and try to win. And if you're on the sidelines, decrying the game, your voice goes unheard. Once upon a time we had "Rolling Stone" and nothing else. Wenner's book was the Bible. Now we've got so many online publications that only a few matter. Like Vice. Which published the year's 50 worst albums. Isn't it funny that "Yeezus" is on it. The sycophants have lauded it, but the public has yet to embrace it. Could the public be right?
The hipsters need the public to be wrong. To embellish their image. But no one's paying attention to that image.
Furthermore, if you're truly snarky and offensive, we can just Google your ass and find out you live in your parents' basement and work at the library, or for the government, and those are honest pursuits, but if you think they entitle you to be heard, you're dreaming.
So if you want to play the game?
Go to school!
And learn how to write.
And know the only thing that works today is mass. That the Long Tail is a fiction, and that most creative work goes unheard.
You've got to be in the game for eons. You've got to build a fan base and be very good. And even worse, chances are you've got to link up with a traditional marketer or get a huge cash infusion to make it.
I didn't write the rules, I'm just reporting them.
"Vice's Worst 50 Albums Of 2013" (via Jason Hirschhorn's MediaRedefined, Jason's working 24/7 to be a player in the new world, seemingly everybody in Hollywood subscribes, oh, that's right, Hollywood's for wankers and pussies): http://bit.ly/1kqdM9a
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Thursday 19 December 2013
I Don't Remember Your Name
I just had a long conversation with someone who didn't remember he'd met me.
I'm not good with names, but I'm great with faces. I remember conversations. And it's always so creepy, especially with girls...do I let on that we have history or do I just play...dumb.
Happens all the time. I run into an old schoolmate, someone I shared dinner with, and they've got no idea what transpired.
I used to explain the connection. But that never worked, it never brought us closer together. I told the story, they'd nod their head, and then we'd be further apart than before.
And after tonight's encounter a song started to go through my brain, the Records' "I Don't Remember Your Name."
"There I was in the middle of a crowd
At a party I didn't want to go to"
This actually happened. In the heart of the San Fernando Valley. It was the night I met my ex-wife. We'd been at a party at the house of Martha Davis of the Motels, and we stopped by at this other party to see our friend Jeff who never arrived. And when I whipped up all my gumption to speak with a woman who instantly rejected me, the Searchers' version of "Hearts In Her Eyes" played on the stereo.
The Searchers never could come back. Even though the album got a good review.
But the original, on the Records' "Crashes"...I played that incessantly in the interim between breaking up with my law school girlfriend and cohabiting with the woman who ultimately became my wife.
This was a different era. There was no YouTube, you had to buy it to hear it. And when I found the well-reviewed "Crashes" in the promo bin of my favorite store in Westwood, I bought it, and fell in love with it.
"Hearts In Her Eyes" was the opener. But the follow-up, "Girl In Golden Disc" was better.
"Save your heart
All for the girl in the golden disc"
That's what all we music nerds have in common, unrequited love. We see a girl and we become fixated. It happens just that fast. They become ours. And they don't even know it.
And then there was "Hearts Will Be Broken":
"I'm in no doubt
From your plans I've been excluded"
Does this still happen anymore? In this hyper-connected world where every kid in the class is invited to the birthday party? Some of us are born to be included, others fear being left out. Gets to the point where we believe we're behind a glass wall, wherein we can see them but they can't see us, we're observers, we just can't participate. And no one seems to know but us.
"I don't remember your name
I think it's best that I level with you
I don't remember your name
I know the face, won't you give me a clue
I don't remember your name
And I'll opine you don't remember mine"
But we never say this. We just fumble along.
And songs play in our head. Especially ones that radiate intelligence, that only we seem to know.
And we wander the universe looking for people to get the references. And when we find them, they become our best friends. At least it was this way back before everybody was a winner, when records were not merely hits or stiffs, when music was more about sitting alone in your home dreaming as opposed to bumping butts in the club.
Spotify playlist: http://spoti.fi/19WGdnq
P.S. You should play these tracks. You're going to be stunned by the thin vocals. But if you give them a shot, the lyrics and the changes will enrapture you.
P.P.S. The Records actually had a hit. Entitled "Starry Eyes." A breezy composition that ran up the chart in the pub rock/power pop era of 1978 England.
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I'm not good with names, but I'm great with faces. I remember conversations. And it's always so creepy, especially with girls...do I let on that we have history or do I just play...dumb.
Happens all the time. I run into an old schoolmate, someone I shared dinner with, and they've got no idea what transpired.
I used to explain the connection. But that never worked, it never brought us closer together. I told the story, they'd nod their head, and then we'd be further apart than before.
And after tonight's encounter a song started to go through my brain, the Records' "I Don't Remember Your Name."
"There I was in the middle of a crowd
At a party I didn't want to go to"
This actually happened. In the heart of the San Fernando Valley. It was the night I met my ex-wife. We'd been at a party at the house of Martha Davis of the Motels, and we stopped by at this other party to see our friend Jeff who never arrived. And when I whipped up all my gumption to speak with a woman who instantly rejected me, the Searchers' version of "Hearts In Her Eyes" played on the stereo.
The Searchers never could come back. Even though the album got a good review.
But the original, on the Records' "Crashes"...I played that incessantly in the interim between breaking up with my law school girlfriend and cohabiting with the woman who ultimately became my wife.
This was a different era. There was no YouTube, you had to buy it to hear it. And when I found the well-reviewed "Crashes" in the promo bin of my favorite store in Westwood, I bought it, and fell in love with it.
"Hearts In Her Eyes" was the opener. But the follow-up, "Girl In Golden Disc" was better.
"Save your heart
All for the girl in the golden disc"
That's what all we music nerds have in common, unrequited love. We see a girl and we become fixated. It happens just that fast. They become ours. And they don't even know it.
And then there was "Hearts Will Be Broken":
"I'm in no doubt
From your plans I've been excluded"
Does this still happen anymore? In this hyper-connected world where every kid in the class is invited to the birthday party? Some of us are born to be included, others fear being left out. Gets to the point where we believe we're behind a glass wall, wherein we can see them but they can't see us, we're observers, we just can't participate. And no one seems to know but us.
"I don't remember your name
I think it's best that I level with you
I don't remember your name
I know the face, won't you give me a clue
I don't remember your name
And I'll opine you don't remember mine"
But we never say this. We just fumble along.
And songs play in our head. Especially ones that radiate intelligence, that only we seem to know.
And we wander the universe looking for people to get the references. And when we find them, they become our best friends. At least it was this way back before everybody was a winner, when records were not merely hits or stiffs, when music was more about sitting alone in your home dreaming as opposed to bumping butts in the club.
Spotify playlist: http://spoti.fi/19WGdnq
P.S. You should play these tracks. You're going to be stunned by the thin vocals. But if you give them a shot, the lyrics and the changes will enrapture you.
P.P.S. The Records actually had a hit. Entitled "Starry Eyes." A breezy composition that ran up the chart in the pub rock/power pop era of 1978 England.
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The Story Is Not The Music
Who's got the time?
Beyonce may have delivered a video album that's got the media and the punters bloviating, but very little of the discussion is about the music, because it's become secondary to the game.
That's what music is today. I'm surprised Parker Brothers doesn't have a label.
Actually, there are multiple games involved.
The game of the executive is to get paid. So when you scratch your head and question short-term thinking, know that you literally have not walked a mile in their shoes. It's about the contract, not the music. Since most of these companies are owned by the public, not individuals. Come on, who in their right mind would start a record label? Only a delusional young fart, wet behind the ears and too stupid to go to business school. Starting a record label today is akin to going into competition with automakers, in Europe, where sales have tanked.
So the game of the indie label is to bitch.
That's the story of the year. Not Ylvis's Fox video or Katy Perry or Lady Gaga, but how Spotify has become the whipping boy. They're screeching from their smart phones, beginning Kickstarter campaigns, utilizing all the new technology to complain that the old business model wherein you sold ten tracks for more than ten bucks has been eviscerated. I'm actually chuckling as I write this. Yes, you want to go back to the old days when it was expensive to record and concert tickets were five bucks. Good luck with that.
And then there's the audience. Which is looking for cool. And is overloaded and has no time to waste listening to anything that's not superior.
Anybody trumpeting the sales of Beyonce's album has missed the point. The rules have changed. Forever. Now it's whether someone has LISTENED to your album!
Come on, how many CDs did you buy before Napster that went unplayed except for the hit.
I'll give you two. I own them. That Alicia Keys debut, with the irresistible "Fallin'". The rest of that album was garbage, I know, I played it. Ditto on Britney Spears's debut. Other than "...Baby One More Time" I can't even name another track. But since those albums sold millions, we were told music was burgeoning, that all was right in the world, even though most of what was sold went unheard.
This isn't about piracy, this is about a correction.
The bundle's been broken. People only want what they want. Make ten incredible tracks and they want all of 'em, but if you've only got one, that's all they need.
That's the game the audience is playing.
And the media is all about the horse race, just like in politics. It doesn't matter what the music sounds like, just whether the act won, i.e. sold a ton. Actually, the two fields are not that different. You've got to be good-looking, with a ton of money and spinmeisters. Yup, the same way you've ignored politics is the same way people are ignoring music, because it's not about music anymore.
Come on. Art is about inspiration. How much inspiration is there in records made by committee? It's all formula, all the time.
And there are those trumpeting the diversity of hip-hop, and the cred of indie rockers, but they don't realize that most of us are not paying attention. Because these genres have become caricatures of what they once were.
But you can't speak this truth in the music business, oh no, because that's undercutting the game!
Wherein we all make a lot of money, party all night and slap each other on the back. And if you don't agree, you're part of the problem.
And the problem, once again, is not piracy, but indifference.
There, I said it. We've got a whole system that most people just don't pay attention to. Music is like curling at the Winter Olympics. People drive by once a year to watch the Grammys, they buy a track or two, but really they've got better things to do with their time.
So how do we solve this problem?
1. Admit that everybody can't be rich and famous. Just because you made it, that doesn't mean we're interested.
2. Acknowledge that the audience only cares about great. Microsoft can't sell Windows phones and we're telling people Selena Gomez is worth paying attention to. We're wasting bandwidth, and people only have so much.
3. Forget the trappings. The fashion, the money, the lifestyle, they're obscuring the essence. The Beatles put out an album with a blank cover, the music spoke for itself, today it's all about imaging and promotion and the music comes last.
4. Forget about radio. It's calcified. It's beholden to advertisers. It doesn't serve the public. Only Top Forty gets any real traction, and any music in new genres is ignored. Music discovery must move online. The so-called "curation." Labels don't want this. They like radio, because they control it, it's a closed shop. But if you want to gain power in today's musical world, be the person who tells people what to listen to. And don't give them tons of choice, because people don't have tons of time, they just get overwhelmed. Just a few tracks please.
5. Stop bitching about streaming. If you're fighting piracy and streaming you're embracing the CD and decrying smartphones. Streaming is the best thing that ever happened to the music business. Because it delivers what the audience wants, everything at its fingertips. If that means some people make less, I want you to bring back record stores, expensive CDs, vinyl... Yup, the old game is through, even if you're playing your LPs, you're no different from a Civil War reenactor. Please get your head out of your butt and look forward.
6. Know that trumpeting sales figures and marketing success takes away from the music. Yup, you there at home, please name one track from the new Beyonce album that's all over the news. But you can name "Royals."
It's as if the music business has turned into Procter & Gamble, a marketing machine purveying unexciting wares, only in the case of music, none of it's necessary.
Yes, that's the truth. We don't need music. We need food and water. We like music.
But only the best music.
So the rich will get richer and the poor will bitch.
At least at this point the public is eating the popcorn and rendering an opinion. But if we keep focusing on rote tunes sold by orchestrated campaigns we risk people tuning out.
Yup, the game is better that the music.
You think everybody cares.
But they don't.
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Beyonce may have delivered a video album that's got the media and the punters bloviating, but very little of the discussion is about the music, because it's become secondary to the game.
That's what music is today. I'm surprised Parker Brothers doesn't have a label.
Actually, there are multiple games involved.
The game of the executive is to get paid. So when you scratch your head and question short-term thinking, know that you literally have not walked a mile in their shoes. It's about the contract, not the music. Since most of these companies are owned by the public, not individuals. Come on, who in their right mind would start a record label? Only a delusional young fart, wet behind the ears and too stupid to go to business school. Starting a record label today is akin to going into competition with automakers, in Europe, where sales have tanked.
So the game of the indie label is to bitch.
That's the story of the year. Not Ylvis's Fox video or Katy Perry or Lady Gaga, but how Spotify has become the whipping boy. They're screeching from their smart phones, beginning Kickstarter campaigns, utilizing all the new technology to complain that the old business model wherein you sold ten tracks for more than ten bucks has been eviscerated. I'm actually chuckling as I write this. Yes, you want to go back to the old days when it was expensive to record and concert tickets were five bucks. Good luck with that.
And then there's the audience. Which is looking for cool. And is overloaded and has no time to waste listening to anything that's not superior.
Anybody trumpeting the sales of Beyonce's album has missed the point. The rules have changed. Forever. Now it's whether someone has LISTENED to your album!
Come on, how many CDs did you buy before Napster that went unplayed except for the hit.
I'll give you two. I own them. That Alicia Keys debut, with the irresistible "Fallin'". The rest of that album was garbage, I know, I played it. Ditto on Britney Spears's debut. Other than "...Baby One More Time" I can't even name another track. But since those albums sold millions, we were told music was burgeoning, that all was right in the world, even though most of what was sold went unheard.
This isn't about piracy, this is about a correction.
The bundle's been broken. People only want what they want. Make ten incredible tracks and they want all of 'em, but if you've only got one, that's all they need.
That's the game the audience is playing.
And the media is all about the horse race, just like in politics. It doesn't matter what the music sounds like, just whether the act won, i.e. sold a ton. Actually, the two fields are not that different. You've got to be good-looking, with a ton of money and spinmeisters. Yup, the same way you've ignored politics is the same way people are ignoring music, because it's not about music anymore.
Come on. Art is about inspiration. How much inspiration is there in records made by committee? It's all formula, all the time.
And there are those trumpeting the diversity of hip-hop, and the cred of indie rockers, but they don't realize that most of us are not paying attention. Because these genres have become caricatures of what they once were.
But you can't speak this truth in the music business, oh no, because that's undercutting the game!
Wherein we all make a lot of money, party all night and slap each other on the back. And if you don't agree, you're part of the problem.
And the problem, once again, is not piracy, but indifference.
There, I said it. We've got a whole system that most people just don't pay attention to. Music is like curling at the Winter Olympics. People drive by once a year to watch the Grammys, they buy a track or two, but really they've got better things to do with their time.
So how do we solve this problem?
1. Admit that everybody can't be rich and famous. Just because you made it, that doesn't mean we're interested.
2. Acknowledge that the audience only cares about great. Microsoft can't sell Windows phones and we're telling people Selena Gomez is worth paying attention to. We're wasting bandwidth, and people only have so much.
3. Forget the trappings. The fashion, the money, the lifestyle, they're obscuring the essence. The Beatles put out an album with a blank cover, the music spoke for itself, today it's all about imaging and promotion and the music comes last.
4. Forget about radio. It's calcified. It's beholden to advertisers. It doesn't serve the public. Only Top Forty gets any real traction, and any music in new genres is ignored. Music discovery must move online. The so-called "curation." Labels don't want this. They like radio, because they control it, it's a closed shop. But if you want to gain power in today's musical world, be the person who tells people what to listen to. And don't give them tons of choice, because people don't have tons of time, they just get overwhelmed. Just a few tracks please.
5. Stop bitching about streaming. If you're fighting piracy and streaming you're embracing the CD and decrying smartphones. Streaming is the best thing that ever happened to the music business. Because it delivers what the audience wants, everything at its fingertips. If that means some people make less, I want you to bring back record stores, expensive CDs, vinyl... Yup, the old game is through, even if you're playing your LPs, you're no different from a Civil War reenactor. Please get your head out of your butt and look forward.
6. Know that trumpeting sales figures and marketing success takes away from the music. Yup, you there at home, please name one track from the new Beyonce album that's all over the news. But you can name "Royals."
It's as if the music business has turned into Procter & Gamble, a marketing machine purveying unexciting wares, only in the case of music, none of it's necessary.
Yes, that's the truth. We don't need music. We need food and water. We like music.
But only the best music.
So the rich will get richer and the poor will bitch.
At least at this point the public is eating the popcorn and rendering an opinion. But if we keep focusing on rote tunes sold by orchestrated campaigns we risk people tuning out.
Yup, the game is better that the music.
You think everybody cares.
But they don't.
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Wednesday 18 December 2013
Rhinofy-Live At The Academy Of Music 1971
"When your arms are empty, got nowhere to go
Come on out and catch a show
There'll be saints and sinners
You'll see losers and winners
All kinds of people you might want to know
Once you get it, you can't forget it
The W.S. Walcott medicine show"
That's the way it used to be. Concerts were not an event, but a show. Sure, you sometimes planned in advance, but other times your phone would ring and you'd hear the question...DO YOU WANNA GO?
And scalpers existed, but you could get a ticket. And if you really cared, you could work your way down front. This was long before the era of luxury boxes and gestapo security.
And hard drives and perfection.
It wasn't about getting it right, like in the video, there was no dancing involved, the show was always a little bit different, which was one of the reasons you went, to be there the night...
The Band played with a horn section.
Yes, they just released an extended version of the Band's legendary "Rock Of Ages" shows.
Can't say that I was ever as enamored as the press, but that doesn't mean I didn't own the original double album and know every lick, it's just that it's hard to improve on that second album, with "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)."
Oh, that's on this package too. But the original is so INTIMATE! You think you're listening to a lone man in a one room shack telling his tale. It's eerie, and when the album hit the runout groove, the silence was positively creepy.
But the best song on "Rock Of Ages" and this package didn't appear on any studio album, it's "Don't Do It."
It's the GROOVE!
"You know I tried to do my best
'Cause I tried to do my best
Don't do it
Don't you break my heart"
That was the best thing about being at the show, everything else fell away. If your girl had left you, if you didn't have the cash for next month's rent, there was a multi-hour respite when all that didn't matter.
Then there's Richard Manuel's vocal on "Across The Great Divide."
Levon gets all the kudos. Rick Danko has almost been completely forgotten, Richard Manuel has.
That's the life of a musician. You can put in your thirty years, but you get neither a gold watch nor a pension. You end up just as you started, with your joy and your despair. And when the despair eclipses the joy...
You know rockers die young.
And you can hear all the pain in Richard's vocal on this live track.
Sure the hits are here. But the Band was never about the hits. Rather, it was... a band.
And that's what you hear in this package. A rollicking enterprise rolling down the track. Back when we used to want to know everybody at the show, instead of making sure we were separate from those less wealthy, privileged and connected.
In days of yore, this new package would go unheard. But now, with Spotify, you can check the whole thing out!
(And don't argue with me about payments, if no one buys something, you don't make any money, and music is best when it's heard...LISTEN!)
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/p6HcZ8
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Come on out and catch a show
There'll be saints and sinners
You'll see losers and winners
All kinds of people you might want to know
Once you get it, you can't forget it
The W.S. Walcott medicine show"
That's the way it used to be. Concerts were not an event, but a show. Sure, you sometimes planned in advance, but other times your phone would ring and you'd hear the question...DO YOU WANNA GO?
And scalpers existed, but you could get a ticket. And if you really cared, you could work your way down front. This was long before the era of luxury boxes and gestapo security.
And hard drives and perfection.
It wasn't about getting it right, like in the video, there was no dancing involved, the show was always a little bit different, which was one of the reasons you went, to be there the night...
The Band played with a horn section.
Yes, they just released an extended version of the Band's legendary "Rock Of Ages" shows.
Can't say that I was ever as enamored as the press, but that doesn't mean I didn't own the original double album and know every lick, it's just that it's hard to improve on that second album, with "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)."
Oh, that's on this package too. But the original is so INTIMATE! You think you're listening to a lone man in a one room shack telling his tale. It's eerie, and when the album hit the runout groove, the silence was positively creepy.
But the best song on "Rock Of Ages" and this package didn't appear on any studio album, it's "Don't Do It."
It's the GROOVE!
"You know I tried to do my best
'Cause I tried to do my best
Don't do it
Don't you break my heart"
That was the best thing about being at the show, everything else fell away. If your girl had left you, if you didn't have the cash for next month's rent, there was a multi-hour respite when all that didn't matter.
Then there's Richard Manuel's vocal on "Across The Great Divide."
Levon gets all the kudos. Rick Danko has almost been completely forgotten, Richard Manuel has.
That's the life of a musician. You can put in your thirty years, but you get neither a gold watch nor a pension. You end up just as you started, with your joy and your despair. And when the despair eclipses the joy...
You know rockers die young.
And you can hear all the pain in Richard's vocal on this live track.
Sure the hits are here. But the Band was never about the hits. Rather, it was... a band.
And that's what you hear in this package. A rollicking enterprise rolling down the track. Back when we used to want to know everybody at the show, instead of making sure we were separate from those less wealthy, privileged and connected.
In days of yore, this new package would go unheard. But now, with Spotify, you can check the whole thing out!
(And don't argue with me about payments, if no one buys something, you don't make any money, and music is best when it's heard...LISTEN!)
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/p6HcZ8
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Tuesday 17 December 2013
Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Inductees
Hallelujah, they finally get it right.
I'm not saying Yes doesn't belong inside, and Deep Purple for the riff to "Smoke On The Water" alone, but it's been years since there was no controversy and everyone agreed.
Except for maybe Kiss.
But the point is there's no hip-hop, no jazz, no Madonna, no questionables like Patti Smith, everyone is deserving and it's about time.
NIRVANA
No questions asked. An automatic.
Let this be a lesson to the industry, that we should focus on individuals as opposed to money and commitments. If so, Kurt Cobain would be alive today.
Just try going on the road. Playing to an adoring throng and then getting in the bus with the same dudes you've known since high school, trying to come down to do it all over again. It takes drugs. And if you're doing drugs it's just a matter of time until you die.
Kurt was pushed too hard. And felt so alone. That's the conundrum of stardom, oftentimes you're the only one left inside, the world spins around you and you're frequently oblivious.
I know nothing about his death you don't, but I will say this guy had an ability to fuse melody and punk in a way that the public just could not resist. Add in the ability to emote with his voice and you have possibly the last rock superstar.
Not that Krist and Dave didn't help. But there are only a few true superstars, and Kurt Cobain was one of them.
Come as you are. Please. Don't dress up. Don't make a deal with a fashion house. Don't do endorsements. Keep it punk.
That's why we believed in Nirvana. Because Kurt believed in rock and roll. Too bad he won't be at the induction ceremony.
CAT STEVENS
And where do the children play?
He wrote "The First Cut Is The Deepest" before anybody knew who he was.
Ditto "Trouble," featured in the classic "Harold and Maude."
And if you didn't play "Tea For The Tillerman" incessantly, you weren't alive. Back when rock was a state of mind more than a sound. Yes, Cat Stevens was truly rock and roll.
As for becoming a Muslim... Story is he committed himself to God after nearly drowning. Near-death experiences will change you. And at least he's still alive.
The albums got worse as time went on. But there were so many hits, such a sound, that this guy would be successful in any era.
He might not have found that "Hard Headed Woman," but we were enraptured by his search.
The hit was "Wild World," but "Sad Lisa" was so seventies, so great, when you didn't have to boast and play to the last row, but could be intimate, to the point where we were all leaning in.
But my favorite track on "Tea For The Tillerman" is the closer, the title cut, only a bit longer than a minute, you had no choice but to drop the needle on the LP and listen to it again.
PETER GABRIEL
The road less taken.
He quit Genesis just when the band was getting traction.
And the third solo album is the best, with "Biko," but he's never done anything you can shrug your shoulders at and say NEXT!
Too much talent, it's too bad he's not still making new, original music. But the problem is the audience is not ready for it. But Gabriel has got a hard core of fans possibly exceeding those of any other act on this list, in intensity if not numbers. Proving you can shoot high instead of dumbing it down.
Wanna tip? Listen to "Secret World Live," one of the top ten live albums ever, one which no one seems to know about. Especially the extended versions of "Secret World" and "In Your Eyes."
But it all comes down to "Solsbury Hill."
"I was feeling part of the scenery"
Alienation. It's the essence of rock and roll. If these people could fit in, play on the football team, date a cheerleader, we'd never have this exquisite greatness.
"I walked right out of the machinery"
That's what we all did. We weren't best friends with our parents, they were clueless, we were forging our own path.
"My heart going boom, boom, boom"
Do you feel alive? Too many are somnambulant. But the best music wakes us up.
"Hey,' he said 'Grab your things
I've come to take you home'"
Here we go! Pack up your old kit bag. We're gonna go down the rabbit hole of rock and roll. To the Fillmore, to Woodstock, to the arena, to the stadium, not every once in a while, but all the time, because rock and roll was the most important thing in our lives, superior to our automobiles, more important than technology.
We're going home.
Just put on the record and...LISTEN!
LINDA RONSTADT
"Oh baby don't it feel like heaven right now
Don't it feel like something from a dream"
The waiting truly is the hardest part. The fact that Linda Ronstadt wasn't inducted upon initial eligibility is a travesty. That she had to get sick for these moribund men to vote her in... These same men who jerked off to her, who didn't even need a picture, who could just close their eyes, because she was just that ubiquitous, everyone knew the cute style icon the men wanted to impress and the girls wanted to befriend. Linda Ronstadt was the seventies' biggest female rock star. Hell, only Zeppelin and the Eagles were in her league. But men hate letting the women inside. Then again, Linda never begged. She snorted cocaine and screwed the desirable people just like the guys. Which is why she was always an insider and the idiots on this committee are not. Because musicians comprise a club, and the fans are not included, not the critics, only the writers, players and singers. They're who we want to be. And inside the inner sanctum...it's all jokes and references and life in a lane so
fast only the strong survive.
If I were Linda Ronstadt I'd give the R&RHOF the middle finger and refuse to show up.
But she will.
And I know she won't be conciliatory. I know she'll tell it like it is. She's not afraid to be three dimensional, to speak her truth, which is why she's a star and you're not.
HALL & OATES
"You're a rich girl, and you've gone too far
'Cause you know it don't matter anyway
You can rely on the old man's money
You can rely on the old man's money
It's a bitch girl, but it's gone too far"
To hear this sound emanating from the radio was...enough to make you drive immediately to buy the album, "Bigger Than Both Of Us," which it truly was. Hall & Oates went from obscurity to superstardom. Even better, after falling all the way back down, even having to play clubs, they came all the way back, with the infectious "You Make My Dreams" and so much more...
It was the "Royals" of yesteryear. You only had to hear a few notes.
"What I want you've got
Though it might be hard to handle"
Yes, it was hard for the wannabes of the twenty first century to admit how much talent the band actually had, how good a voice Daryl Hall possessed. This isn't yacht rock, unless the term represents something so good it rains down money to the point where you can buy one!
Hall & Oates are so good.
Come on, who had that many hits.
And now they've got this victory lap. This inclusion. Just when they'd given up on it.
Because the sound has been burgeoning, become deafening. Hell, who wouldn't want to be invited to Daryl's house?
KISS
Induct Bill Aucoin. Come on, if you're including Brian Epstein and my buddy Andrew Loog Oldham, without whom there'd be no Beatles or Stones, Aucoin deserves to be in too, for without him there'd be no Kiss.
Which might be okay.
But still, even I will admit I liked "Rock And Roll All Nite." It was a band for those who missed the sixties. And despite Gene Simmons being the number one blowhard in music, the guy with no sense of humor about himself, they had a string of hits.
My favorite?
LICK IT UP!
"Don't wanna wait 'til you know me better"
This is the ESSENCE of Motley Crue, which played Kiss's role in the MTV eighties. Come on, let's throw off our inhibitions, take off our clothes in this pre-AIDs era and have some fun!
"You gotta live like you're on vacation"
Before the baby boomers, life was boring. A sentence. But rock and roll said NO MAS! Fun is the one thing that money can't buy. Except a ticket to the show. Where the amps are big and powerful and the songs are known by heart and you're amongst your brethren and there's nowhere you'd rather be.
So...LICK IT UP!
Come on. Life is short. Discover what you're into, and go full bore, to the max. This is what all of the above inductees did. They didn't play it safe, have a fall back position, they just went for greatness.
And we followed them.
P.S. The E Street Band. My only point is if we're gonna induct them, how about the rest of the backup bands? This is b.s., evidence that the R&RHOF is east coast-centric, driven by Jann Wenner and Jon Landau and the holier than thou who think we're listening.
We are not. You don't have to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame to mean something to people. You just have to reach deep down inside and throw your innermost feelings down on wax. Do it right, and it's life itself.
That's rock and roll.
Rock ain't money... Unless you're peeling off hundreds to pay hotel damages.
Rock ain't awards... If you need a Grammy to justify your existence, you lead a sorry little life.
Rock is about ATTITUDE! And SOUND!
Are you willing to do it your way? Not worried about what anybody says? Whether it be Simon Cowell or Doug Morris or Dr. Luke? Are you willing to piss all over the powers-that-be, stand up and lead?
Then you're ready to rock and roll.
And I've only got one message for you. Go straight down to Guitar Center, buy that Les Paul or Stratocaster, and plug it into that Marshall or Fender and TURN IT UP!
Drive your parents crazy.
It's not about tattoos.
It's not about clothing.
It's about what's inside!
It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll.
But if you do...we wanna party with you all night and every day.
"You show us everything you've got
You keep on dancing and the room gets hot
You drive us wild, we'll drive you crazy"
Yes, there's no rock and roll without an audience.
"You keep on shouting, you keep on shouting"
"I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day
I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day
I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day
I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day"
I certainly do. And so do you.
And there's no better place to start than with the above inductees. If you're not happy with these acts, if you don't want to listen to their music, I FEEL SORRY FOR YOU!
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I'm not saying Yes doesn't belong inside, and Deep Purple for the riff to "Smoke On The Water" alone, but it's been years since there was no controversy and everyone agreed.
Except for maybe Kiss.
But the point is there's no hip-hop, no jazz, no Madonna, no questionables like Patti Smith, everyone is deserving and it's about time.
NIRVANA
No questions asked. An automatic.
Let this be a lesson to the industry, that we should focus on individuals as opposed to money and commitments. If so, Kurt Cobain would be alive today.
Just try going on the road. Playing to an adoring throng and then getting in the bus with the same dudes you've known since high school, trying to come down to do it all over again. It takes drugs. And if you're doing drugs it's just a matter of time until you die.
Kurt was pushed too hard. And felt so alone. That's the conundrum of stardom, oftentimes you're the only one left inside, the world spins around you and you're frequently oblivious.
I know nothing about his death you don't, but I will say this guy had an ability to fuse melody and punk in a way that the public just could not resist. Add in the ability to emote with his voice and you have possibly the last rock superstar.
Not that Krist and Dave didn't help. But there are only a few true superstars, and Kurt Cobain was one of them.
Come as you are. Please. Don't dress up. Don't make a deal with a fashion house. Don't do endorsements. Keep it punk.
That's why we believed in Nirvana. Because Kurt believed in rock and roll. Too bad he won't be at the induction ceremony.
CAT STEVENS
And where do the children play?
He wrote "The First Cut Is The Deepest" before anybody knew who he was.
Ditto "Trouble," featured in the classic "Harold and Maude."
And if you didn't play "Tea For The Tillerman" incessantly, you weren't alive. Back when rock was a state of mind more than a sound. Yes, Cat Stevens was truly rock and roll.
As for becoming a Muslim... Story is he committed himself to God after nearly drowning. Near-death experiences will change you. And at least he's still alive.
The albums got worse as time went on. But there were so many hits, such a sound, that this guy would be successful in any era.
He might not have found that "Hard Headed Woman," but we were enraptured by his search.
The hit was "Wild World," but "Sad Lisa" was so seventies, so great, when you didn't have to boast and play to the last row, but could be intimate, to the point where we were all leaning in.
But my favorite track on "Tea For The Tillerman" is the closer, the title cut, only a bit longer than a minute, you had no choice but to drop the needle on the LP and listen to it again.
PETER GABRIEL
The road less taken.
He quit Genesis just when the band was getting traction.
And the third solo album is the best, with "Biko," but he's never done anything you can shrug your shoulders at and say NEXT!
Too much talent, it's too bad he's not still making new, original music. But the problem is the audience is not ready for it. But Gabriel has got a hard core of fans possibly exceeding those of any other act on this list, in intensity if not numbers. Proving you can shoot high instead of dumbing it down.
Wanna tip? Listen to "Secret World Live," one of the top ten live albums ever, one which no one seems to know about. Especially the extended versions of "Secret World" and "In Your Eyes."
But it all comes down to "Solsbury Hill."
"I was feeling part of the scenery"
Alienation. It's the essence of rock and roll. If these people could fit in, play on the football team, date a cheerleader, we'd never have this exquisite greatness.
"I walked right out of the machinery"
That's what we all did. We weren't best friends with our parents, they were clueless, we were forging our own path.
"My heart going boom, boom, boom"
Do you feel alive? Too many are somnambulant. But the best music wakes us up.
"Hey,' he said 'Grab your things
I've come to take you home'"
Here we go! Pack up your old kit bag. We're gonna go down the rabbit hole of rock and roll. To the Fillmore, to Woodstock, to the arena, to the stadium, not every once in a while, but all the time, because rock and roll was the most important thing in our lives, superior to our automobiles, more important than technology.
We're going home.
Just put on the record and...LISTEN!
LINDA RONSTADT
"Oh baby don't it feel like heaven right now
Don't it feel like something from a dream"
The waiting truly is the hardest part. The fact that Linda Ronstadt wasn't inducted upon initial eligibility is a travesty. That she had to get sick for these moribund men to vote her in... These same men who jerked off to her, who didn't even need a picture, who could just close their eyes, because she was just that ubiquitous, everyone knew the cute style icon the men wanted to impress and the girls wanted to befriend. Linda Ronstadt was the seventies' biggest female rock star. Hell, only Zeppelin and the Eagles were in her league. But men hate letting the women inside. Then again, Linda never begged. She snorted cocaine and screwed the desirable people just like the guys. Which is why she was always an insider and the idiots on this committee are not. Because musicians comprise a club, and the fans are not included, not the critics, only the writers, players and singers. They're who we want to be. And inside the inner sanctum...it's all jokes and references and life in a lane so
fast only the strong survive.
If I were Linda Ronstadt I'd give the R&RHOF the middle finger and refuse to show up.
But she will.
And I know she won't be conciliatory. I know she'll tell it like it is. She's not afraid to be three dimensional, to speak her truth, which is why she's a star and you're not.
HALL & OATES
"You're a rich girl, and you've gone too far
'Cause you know it don't matter anyway
You can rely on the old man's money
You can rely on the old man's money
It's a bitch girl, but it's gone too far"
To hear this sound emanating from the radio was...enough to make you drive immediately to buy the album, "Bigger Than Both Of Us," which it truly was. Hall & Oates went from obscurity to superstardom. Even better, after falling all the way back down, even having to play clubs, they came all the way back, with the infectious "You Make My Dreams" and so much more...
It was the "Royals" of yesteryear. You only had to hear a few notes.
"What I want you've got
Though it might be hard to handle"
Yes, it was hard for the wannabes of the twenty first century to admit how much talent the band actually had, how good a voice Daryl Hall possessed. This isn't yacht rock, unless the term represents something so good it rains down money to the point where you can buy one!
Hall & Oates are so good.
Come on, who had that many hits.
And now they've got this victory lap. This inclusion. Just when they'd given up on it.
Because the sound has been burgeoning, become deafening. Hell, who wouldn't want to be invited to Daryl's house?
KISS
Induct Bill Aucoin. Come on, if you're including Brian Epstein and my buddy Andrew Loog Oldham, without whom there'd be no Beatles or Stones, Aucoin deserves to be in too, for without him there'd be no Kiss.
Which might be okay.
But still, even I will admit I liked "Rock And Roll All Nite." It was a band for those who missed the sixties. And despite Gene Simmons being the number one blowhard in music, the guy with no sense of humor about himself, they had a string of hits.
My favorite?
LICK IT UP!
"Don't wanna wait 'til you know me better"
This is the ESSENCE of Motley Crue, which played Kiss's role in the MTV eighties. Come on, let's throw off our inhibitions, take off our clothes in this pre-AIDs era and have some fun!
"You gotta live like you're on vacation"
Before the baby boomers, life was boring. A sentence. But rock and roll said NO MAS! Fun is the one thing that money can't buy. Except a ticket to the show. Where the amps are big and powerful and the songs are known by heart and you're amongst your brethren and there's nowhere you'd rather be.
So...LICK IT UP!
Come on. Life is short. Discover what you're into, and go full bore, to the max. This is what all of the above inductees did. They didn't play it safe, have a fall back position, they just went for greatness.
And we followed them.
P.S. The E Street Band. My only point is if we're gonna induct them, how about the rest of the backup bands? This is b.s., evidence that the R&RHOF is east coast-centric, driven by Jann Wenner and Jon Landau and the holier than thou who think we're listening.
We are not. You don't have to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame to mean something to people. You just have to reach deep down inside and throw your innermost feelings down on wax. Do it right, and it's life itself.
That's rock and roll.
Rock ain't money... Unless you're peeling off hundreds to pay hotel damages.
Rock ain't awards... If you need a Grammy to justify your existence, you lead a sorry little life.
Rock is about ATTITUDE! And SOUND!
Are you willing to do it your way? Not worried about what anybody says? Whether it be Simon Cowell or Doug Morris or Dr. Luke? Are you willing to piss all over the powers-that-be, stand up and lead?
Then you're ready to rock and roll.
And I've only got one message for you. Go straight down to Guitar Center, buy that Les Paul or Stratocaster, and plug it into that Marshall or Fender and TURN IT UP!
Drive your parents crazy.
It's not about tattoos.
It's not about clothing.
It's about what's inside!
It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll.
But if you do...we wanna party with you all night and every day.
"You show us everything you've got
You keep on dancing and the room gets hot
You drive us wild, we'll drive you crazy"
Yes, there's no rock and roll without an audience.
"You keep on shouting, you keep on shouting"
"I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day
I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day
I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day
I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day"
I certainly do. And so do you.
And there's no better place to start than with the above inductees. If you're not happy with these acts, if you don't want to listen to their music, I FEEL SORRY FOR YOU!
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Monday 16 December 2013
Beyonce's Album
It's a stunt. No different from Radiohead's "In Rainbows." Unrepeatable by mere mortals, never mind wannabes and also-rans.
That's how desperate Apple is. It lets Beyonce circumvent its rules and release a "video album," so the record industry can have its bundle and the Cupertino company can delude itself into believing that it's got a solution to Spotify, when the Swedish streaming company is chasing YouTube, not iTunes.
And the media is so impressed by numbers that it trumpets the story, believing its role is to amplify rather than analyze.
Yes, it was a story. The same way a bomb or SpaceX or anything new gets people's attention. Only in this case, there was something to buy. Whoo-hoo! We got lemmings and fans to lay down their credit cards to spend money for the work of a superstar, as if this is a new paradigm.
And we've got Rob Stringer and the rest of the inane music business slapping its back, declaring victory.
What a bunch of hogwash.
The story of 2013 is cacophony. How it's almost impossible to get your message out to anybody but those who truly care. Because we're inundated with a tsunami of information and can't be bothered by that which we are not interested in.
Yes, in a world where Snapchat is burgeoning and Instagram allows private messages we're trumpeting something that went viral.
That's so 2012, that's so "Gangnam Style."
The bottom line is Beyonce is a superstar. And superstars get traction. And everybody else is close to ignored. And you become a superstar by having a bunch of money and power behind you.
Name this year's big viral music video.
There isn't one. That game is gone too. And anything that moves is supported by the big boys, it's all about manipulation.
So you do the same thing Beyonce does. You drop your album with no advance publicity. Will that be news?
OF COURSE NOT!
We've seen the trick!
Beyonce has put in years of hard work and hit tracks to get to the point where people pay attention.
If you've got a stiff album can you whip your audience into a frenzy and get them to buy it first day out by doing no advance publicity? In other words, would Gaga have been better off doing what Beyonce did?
I'd say so.
But that wouldn't work for long. And the point here truly is longevity.
Yes, at the heart of this Beyonce project is old school thinking. Which is let's release an ALBUM!
Are we gonna be talking about "Epic" a year from now? Three months from now?
There's a good chance we're not. That's what's wrong with the album construct, it was built for a different time. When we were starved for information and people waited for radio to work a "new" single years after the album was released.
But these days the entire album is available for free the day it comes out. Do you really expect those sitting on the fence to decide to purchase 18 months out? That was the old game, deliver enough hit singles to convert those who were unsure. The new game is to constantly release product so that the audience will continue to be enticed.
PSY didn't have a follow-up single. Oh, he released one, it got a bit of traction out of curiosity, then disappeared, I dare you to name it.
Carly Rae Jepsen had the hit of the summer and had no follow-up and is now forgotten.
Robin Thicke released an album, but all people wanted was the single, he's a trivia question, do you think he's going to be invited to sing "Blurred Lines" at the 2014 AMAs? Ha!
What's your plan Stan? Just because you've got ten tracks that does not mean anybody is interested.
And that's what you need, a plan. And the plan can't be to sell people one collection at one time. That's as if Google only updated its search engine once a month, instead of constantly. How often do you think you'd go back to Google if that was the case?
It comes down to music. And careers. And today being an artist means constantly creating, building an audience and holding it.
This surprise album changes none of that.
If you think there are lessons to be learned here, you come home from Magic Castle and try to duplicate the tricks.
It's a novelty. A footnote. Near meaningless.
Beyonce is a star. If she tried to do this a year from now, almost nobody would be talking about it.
Next.
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That's how desperate Apple is. It lets Beyonce circumvent its rules and release a "video album," so the record industry can have its bundle and the Cupertino company can delude itself into believing that it's got a solution to Spotify, when the Swedish streaming company is chasing YouTube, not iTunes.
And the media is so impressed by numbers that it trumpets the story, believing its role is to amplify rather than analyze.
Yes, it was a story. The same way a bomb or SpaceX or anything new gets people's attention. Only in this case, there was something to buy. Whoo-hoo! We got lemmings and fans to lay down their credit cards to spend money for the work of a superstar, as if this is a new paradigm.
And we've got Rob Stringer and the rest of the inane music business slapping its back, declaring victory.
What a bunch of hogwash.
The story of 2013 is cacophony. How it's almost impossible to get your message out to anybody but those who truly care. Because we're inundated with a tsunami of information and can't be bothered by that which we are not interested in.
Yes, in a world where Snapchat is burgeoning and Instagram allows private messages we're trumpeting something that went viral.
That's so 2012, that's so "Gangnam Style."
The bottom line is Beyonce is a superstar. And superstars get traction. And everybody else is close to ignored. And you become a superstar by having a bunch of money and power behind you.
Name this year's big viral music video.
There isn't one. That game is gone too. And anything that moves is supported by the big boys, it's all about manipulation.
So you do the same thing Beyonce does. You drop your album with no advance publicity. Will that be news?
OF COURSE NOT!
We've seen the trick!
Beyonce has put in years of hard work and hit tracks to get to the point where people pay attention.
If you've got a stiff album can you whip your audience into a frenzy and get them to buy it first day out by doing no advance publicity? In other words, would Gaga have been better off doing what Beyonce did?
I'd say so.
But that wouldn't work for long. And the point here truly is longevity.
Yes, at the heart of this Beyonce project is old school thinking. Which is let's release an ALBUM!
Are we gonna be talking about "Epic" a year from now? Three months from now?
There's a good chance we're not. That's what's wrong with the album construct, it was built for a different time. When we were starved for information and people waited for radio to work a "new" single years after the album was released.
But these days the entire album is available for free the day it comes out. Do you really expect those sitting on the fence to decide to purchase 18 months out? That was the old game, deliver enough hit singles to convert those who were unsure. The new game is to constantly release product so that the audience will continue to be enticed.
PSY didn't have a follow-up single. Oh, he released one, it got a bit of traction out of curiosity, then disappeared, I dare you to name it.
Carly Rae Jepsen had the hit of the summer and had no follow-up and is now forgotten.
Robin Thicke released an album, but all people wanted was the single, he's a trivia question, do you think he's going to be invited to sing "Blurred Lines" at the 2014 AMAs? Ha!
What's your plan Stan? Just because you've got ten tracks that does not mean anybody is interested.
And that's what you need, a plan. And the plan can't be to sell people one collection at one time. That's as if Google only updated its search engine once a month, instead of constantly. How often do you think you'd go back to Google if that was the case?
It comes down to music. And careers. And today being an artist means constantly creating, building an audience and holding it.
This surprise album changes none of that.
If you think there are lessons to be learned here, you come home from Magic Castle and try to duplicate the tricks.
It's a novelty. A footnote. Near meaningless.
Beyonce is a star. If she tried to do this a year from now, almost nobody would be talking about it.
Next.
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Monday 9 December 2013
Milt Olin
He was a bright guy with a sense of humor and to write this means he's gone.
But he can't be. I just heard from him two weeks ago, we were discussing cars!
Milt loved cars. Had a passion for them. When I first met him at A&M he was driving a Merkur. Ford guaranteed to buy it back at a high price so he got one. For the last decade he'd been driving a Subaru Forester. Because of the high performance turbo engine. He hated the gas mileage, but it was paid for. We commiserated on this. That's one of the last times I saw him live. For lunch in Bel Air, when he paid the bill and said "I'm a patron of the arts." And I've been thinking a lot about Milt because with the freeway constantly closed I've been driving through that neighborhood on the way to Felice's.
I'm not saying I never cry. But when I got the e-mail today tears came to my eyes. How could it be?
Must have been a health issue.
But then to find out he was run over by the police, supposedly while in the bike lane...
What did Elvis Costello sing? Accidents will happen?
And his family had no suspicion. This is when it's worst. When the last time you see them they're alive and vibrant, and the next time it's in the box.
That same first time I saw Milt it was in his office at A&M. He gave me a record. That's what was different back then, everybody remotely attached to the music business was a fan. Sure, you could make money, but that's not what it was about.
And when A&M was sold and merged Milt went back to practicing law. First at Manatt, then he hung out his shingle, with David Altschul.
And he had his clients. Because Milt was sharp. And knew everybody from that era. And a lot of them still have force in the business.
And oh yeah, in the middle he worked at Napster. That's what all the headlines are saying. I'm sure if Milt were here now he'd laugh at that, how far and wide the word spread. Because Milt wasn't about fame, and he could find the irony and the joke in life experiences.
But he won't be having any more.
And just before I got the news I'd been OCD'ing about something. And then it hit me, how irrelevant my petty problems were in the face of death.
It's final.
We think we're gonna live forever.
Then we get cancer or have a heart attack and realize our time is limited.
Still, we expect to live to a ripe old age. Near ninety. Even though the older you get the more frail you become, and so many are gone, no one remembers what you do.
But I remember when the Police was the biggest band in the world.
And Bryan Adams ate up the chart with "Run To You," the entire "Reckless" album.
When A&M was owned by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, when artists came first, when quarterly numbers were not important. It all worked out in the end if you had the right acts and the right team, and they did.
So, so long Milt.
I just wish we'd had another lunch or phone call, or I'd run into you at an event and we'd had another conversation. That was the great thing about Milt, he was never jive, when you connected it was always real, he'd make a sly comment, illustrating that you and he were just cogs in the wheel, but were enjoying the ride.
What a bad pun, unintentional.
So here's where I whip out the cliches.
Hug your loved ones.
Live every day like it's your last, because it just might be.
And if you're doing it to be remembered, know that no one will be. Not even the Beatles, certainly not Steve Jobs. The sands of time will bury them like the pyramids.
Life is about experience. Eat it alive, while you still can.
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But he can't be. I just heard from him two weeks ago, we were discussing cars!
Milt loved cars. Had a passion for them. When I first met him at A&M he was driving a Merkur. Ford guaranteed to buy it back at a high price so he got one. For the last decade he'd been driving a Subaru Forester. Because of the high performance turbo engine. He hated the gas mileage, but it was paid for. We commiserated on this. That's one of the last times I saw him live. For lunch in Bel Air, when he paid the bill and said "I'm a patron of the arts." And I've been thinking a lot about Milt because with the freeway constantly closed I've been driving through that neighborhood on the way to Felice's.
I'm not saying I never cry. But when I got the e-mail today tears came to my eyes. How could it be?
Must have been a health issue.
But then to find out he was run over by the police, supposedly while in the bike lane...
What did Elvis Costello sing? Accidents will happen?
And his family had no suspicion. This is when it's worst. When the last time you see them they're alive and vibrant, and the next time it's in the box.
That same first time I saw Milt it was in his office at A&M. He gave me a record. That's what was different back then, everybody remotely attached to the music business was a fan. Sure, you could make money, but that's not what it was about.
And when A&M was sold and merged Milt went back to practicing law. First at Manatt, then he hung out his shingle, with David Altschul.
And he had his clients. Because Milt was sharp. And knew everybody from that era. And a lot of them still have force in the business.
And oh yeah, in the middle he worked at Napster. That's what all the headlines are saying. I'm sure if Milt were here now he'd laugh at that, how far and wide the word spread. Because Milt wasn't about fame, and he could find the irony and the joke in life experiences.
But he won't be having any more.
And just before I got the news I'd been OCD'ing about something. And then it hit me, how irrelevant my petty problems were in the face of death.
It's final.
We think we're gonna live forever.
Then we get cancer or have a heart attack and realize our time is limited.
Still, we expect to live to a ripe old age. Near ninety. Even though the older you get the more frail you become, and so many are gone, no one remembers what you do.
But I remember when the Police was the biggest band in the world.
And Bryan Adams ate up the chart with "Run To You," the entire "Reckless" album.
When A&M was owned by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, when artists came first, when quarterly numbers were not important. It all worked out in the end if you had the right acts and the right team, and they did.
So, so long Milt.
I just wish we'd had another lunch or phone call, or I'd run into you at an event and we'd had another conversation. That was the great thing about Milt, he was never jive, when you connected it was always real, he'd make a sly comment, illustrating that you and he were just cogs in the wheel, but were enjoying the ride.
What a bad pun, unintentional.
So here's where I whip out the cliches.
Hug your loved ones.
Live every day like it's your last, because it just might be.
And if you're doing it to be remembered, know that no one will be. Not even the Beatles, certainly not Steve Jobs. The sands of time will bury them like the pyramids.
Life is about experience. Eat it alive, while you still can.
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Going Viral
TASTEMAKER ENDORSEMENT
It's personal and people are paying attention.
It's how "Call Me Maybe" went from a ditty with little traction to a worldwide smash. Credit Justin Bieber.
Celebrity endorsements are the number one way to get your music heard. Musicians endorse little, and sometimes want a piece of the action in return, but it's worth it. (Don't confuse this with paid endorsements a la Kim Kardashian.)
Especially on Twitter, where retweets are cheap and easy, if someone famous, with millions of followers, says you're great, you're gonna get a look. Then it's up to you.
It's about numbers and a dedicated fan base. In other words, if it's pop, the star must have millions. If there's credibility and passion...you don't need as big a following, Patterson Hood broke Alabama Shakes.
But don't try to get someone to tweet about you outside your genre. Think about who their followers are.
And you don't get many bites at the apple. You've got to deliver the first time. And it's always about a single track. And if your track is...meh, the chances of recovering from this are low.
GAMING THE SYSTEM
That's how Batkid triumphed. You think it was spontaneous generation?
"It turns out that the foundation had a slew of pro-bono help behind the scenes, perhaps most significantly from Clever Girls Collective, a social media company that orchestrated the event's viral take-off. Clever Girls handled all the social media in the Twitter-focused campaign and deployed its 6,000-plus network of paid influencers to spread the word as the event snowballed. The coverage included a morning-of Twitter chat that called for donations to the foundation and further elevated the event's signature hashtag, #SFBatkid."
http://bit.ly/1brPzY3
That's right, you can pay to get your story spread.
But can you afford it?
And although there's always someone to take your money, the best don't want to tar their reputations, they only work with what they believe they can sell.
Especially if you've got a one time event, with sexy elements, hire the team and try to get everybody motivated before the word gets out.
Yes, money counts.
Didn't used to, but chances are unless you've already made it, or your video has train-wreck value, you've been hyped.
BLOG ENDORSEMENT
People want to read that you're good. A press release does you almost no good. If you can get Pitchfork or any blog with traction to say your music is great, you're gonna get a lot of tire-kickers.
But reaching these sites is damn near impossible. Because they're overloaded with wannabes. This is where relationships become important. Lay the pipe long before you want the result. Or know someone who knows someone.
BUZZMAKERS
This could be dangerous. Because they don't care about you, only advertising/clicks.
BuzzFeed and Gawker are the kings.
To be edified, read this story from the "Wall Street Journal":
"Why Everyone Will Totally Read This Column: A Gawker Editor Tells How He Picks 'Viral' Content Readers Can't Resist Sharing": http://on.wsj.com/IKpr4y
TASTEMAKERS
Howard Stern is the number one exponent. The mainstream is just catching on to this. This is the number one appearance to generate virality, because of his dedicated fan base. It's less how many people listen as opposed to how passionate those listeners are. Just like it's always been in music. Where the pop artist of the day sells fewer tickets than the album act. Then again, most of the album acts drawing today made it decades ago.
TELEVISION
Because you've got a lot of people all watching at the same time.
Any TV doesn't yield dividends, especially when so many channels get such abysmal ratings, nowhere near 1 million people watching at any given time.
But the truth is if you can get on network or a hot cable show and people can see you for the very first time, it counts.
This is radically different than another performance by the usual suspects. This is Phoenix being on SNL before their album comes out. The imprimatur of the channel making everyone interested.
And it doesn't mean much if it's not available on YouTube thereafter. Except for awards shows and sporting events, we're all watching after the fact.
NEWSPAPERS
Don't mean anything unless it's on the website and easily found.
It's all about placement baby. Otherwise, the paper is always last and furthermore the young people who create virality don't read it. In other words, if you see your name in the newspaper, tell your mother, she's the only one who cares.
CONCLUSION
Only the faces have changed.
Then again, with so few meaningful outlets and so much competition, you must have the goods. Those with credibility spreading the word can't afford to make a mistake. If they say something is good, it must be.
And the cycle is so fast, that you might only go viral for a day.
But if you truly catch fire, you can go viral for years, people are still finding out about the aforementioned Alabama Shakes.
We're all looking for greatness, we all want to share. But not everything, only special things.
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It's personal and people are paying attention.
It's how "Call Me Maybe" went from a ditty with little traction to a worldwide smash. Credit Justin Bieber.
Celebrity endorsements are the number one way to get your music heard. Musicians endorse little, and sometimes want a piece of the action in return, but it's worth it. (Don't confuse this with paid endorsements a la Kim Kardashian.)
Especially on Twitter, where retweets are cheap and easy, if someone famous, with millions of followers, says you're great, you're gonna get a look. Then it's up to you.
It's about numbers and a dedicated fan base. In other words, if it's pop, the star must have millions. If there's credibility and passion...you don't need as big a following, Patterson Hood broke Alabama Shakes.
But don't try to get someone to tweet about you outside your genre. Think about who their followers are.
And you don't get many bites at the apple. You've got to deliver the first time. And it's always about a single track. And if your track is...meh, the chances of recovering from this are low.
GAMING THE SYSTEM
That's how Batkid triumphed. You think it was spontaneous generation?
"It turns out that the foundation had a slew of pro-bono help behind the scenes, perhaps most significantly from Clever Girls Collective, a social media company that orchestrated the event's viral take-off. Clever Girls handled all the social media in the Twitter-focused campaign and deployed its 6,000-plus network of paid influencers to spread the word as the event snowballed. The coverage included a morning-of Twitter chat that called for donations to the foundation and further elevated the event's signature hashtag, #SFBatkid."
http://bit.ly/1brPzY3
That's right, you can pay to get your story spread.
But can you afford it?
And although there's always someone to take your money, the best don't want to tar their reputations, they only work with what they believe they can sell.
Especially if you've got a one time event, with sexy elements, hire the team and try to get everybody motivated before the word gets out.
Yes, money counts.
Didn't used to, but chances are unless you've already made it, or your video has train-wreck value, you've been hyped.
BLOG ENDORSEMENT
People want to read that you're good. A press release does you almost no good. If you can get Pitchfork or any blog with traction to say your music is great, you're gonna get a lot of tire-kickers.
But reaching these sites is damn near impossible. Because they're overloaded with wannabes. This is where relationships become important. Lay the pipe long before you want the result. Or know someone who knows someone.
BUZZMAKERS
This could be dangerous. Because they don't care about you, only advertising/clicks.
BuzzFeed and Gawker are the kings.
To be edified, read this story from the "Wall Street Journal":
"Why Everyone Will Totally Read This Column: A Gawker Editor Tells How He Picks 'Viral' Content Readers Can't Resist Sharing": http://on.wsj.com/IKpr4y
TASTEMAKERS
Howard Stern is the number one exponent. The mainstream is just catching on to this. This is the number one appearance to generate virality, because of his dedicated fan base. It's less how many people listen as opposed to how passionate those listeners are. Just like it's always been in music. Where the pop artist of the day sells fewer tickets than the album act. Then again, most of the album acts drawing today made it decades ago.
TELEVISION
Because you've got a lot of people all watching at the same time.
Any TV doesn't yield dividends, especially when so many channels get such abysmal ratings, nowhere near 1 million people watching at any given time.
But the truth is if you can get on network or a hot cable show and people can see you for the very first time, it counts.
This is radically different than another performance by the usual suspects. This is Phoenix being on SNL before their album comes out. The imprimatur of the channel making everyone interested.
And it doesn't mean much if it's not available on YouTube thereafter. Except for awards shows and sporting events, we're all watching after the fact.
NEWSPAPERS
Don't mean anything unless it's on the website and easily found.
It's all about placement baby. Otherwise, the paper is always last and furthermore the young people who create virality don't read it. In other words, if you see your name in the newspaper, tell your mother, she's the only one who cares.
CONCLUSION
Only the faces have changed.
Then again, with so few meaningful outlets and so much competition, you must have the goods. Those with credibility spreading the word can't afford to make a mistake. If they say something is good, it must be.
And the cycle is so fast, that you might only go viral for a day.
But if you truly catch fire, you can go viral for years, people are still finding out about the aforementioned Alabama Shakes.
We're all looking for greatness, we all want to share. But not everything, only special things.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
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Repeatability
You read a book once, you watch a movie a couple of times, but music is forever.
And this is a sea change. In monetization.
Isn't it funny that the film business has accepted this, yet the music business has not. You don't see actors taking to the Internet protesting Netflix, saying that they're losing all that money from DVDs... Oh, that's right, the studios screwed the talent on DVDs, but my point is streaming won in visual entertainment, but seemingly everyone who is a recording artist can't stop bitching about Spotify.
But this isn't about Spotify, or YouTube, or Beats Music, per se. It's about a difference in consumption.
Once upon a time, the big effort was getting people to buy your record.
Now it's getting people to LISTEN TO IT! AGAIN AND AGAIN!
In a world overflowing with entertainment, can you produce something so necessary that your fans and others can't help but be drawn to it and continue to listen to it?
This is the blockbuster syndrome.
Even in the nineties, when MTV was rampant, most people owned little music. CDs were expensive, nobody had many, so they sat there spinning albums, learning all the deep tracks, going to the show to hear them. Now they only have time for the hits. Are you writing and recording hits?
In other words, if it takes multiple plays to understand and get your music, chances are you won't even be niche, if that.
Difficult is passe. You can record the album tracks, but unless you're a superstar and they're as easily digestible and good as the hit, almost no one will listen.
This has already happened in the film business. Check the box office. One or two big winners and then also-rans. Everyone gravitates to the hits, they want to be part of the discussion, and oftentimes we know what's a stiff by Friday afternoon, with our minions out in the theatres reporting.
Same deal in TV. When a show gets bad ratings do they let it run a season to develop an audience? Only in rare instances, maybe when superstar talent is involved and they believe in it, otherwise the show's CANCELED!
That's what's happening throughout the music business. Albums are getting CANCELED, and no one seems to want to admit it.
Look at the SoundScan numbers, they're positively anemic. Everyone blames it on piracy, but the truth is the audience has outgrown the album format, it doesn't work for them, especially when they can go on YouTube and just get the hit.
So when you're laying down your tracks, if you want to gain an audience, you've got to think about them, not you. Is what you're doing so special that your fans will eat it up, play it incessantly and share it with their friends? Or is it good, something palatable people could enjoy, but will skip right over on their way to what's popular.
Don't decry popularity. Those tracks contain an essence most stuff that falls by the wayside does not. "Roar" works, even if it's not as good as Katy Perry's previous stuff. And if she ends up with enough hit singles people will push her album into the millions. But this is so different from when we sold millions to begin with, out of the box, because so many people were interested.
And the cycle is just that fast. Entering at number one is essentially irrelevant. Really, name the number one album from two weeks ago, three, I dare you.
So focus first on tracks. Get people clawing for more instead of foisting your work upon them. We live in a pull economy, and if you're all about pushing, you're probably not gonna last.
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And this is a sea change. In monetization.
Isn't it funny that the film business has accepted this, yet the music business has not. You don't see actors taking to the Internet protesting Netflix, saying that they're losing all that money from DVDs... Oh, that's right, the studios screwed the talent on DVDs, but my point is streaming won in visual entertainment, but seemingly everyone who is a recording artist can't stop bitching about Spotify.
But this isn't about Spotify, or YouTube, or Beats Music, per se. It's about a difference in consumption.
Once upon a time, the big effort was getting people to buy your record.
Now it's getting people to LISTEN TO IT! AGAIN AND AGAIN!
In a world overflowing with entertainment, can you produce something so necessary that your fans and others can't help but be drawn to it and continue to listen to it?
This is the blockbuster syndrome.
Even in the nineties, when MTV was rampant, most people owned little music. CDs were expensive, nobody had many, so they sat there spinning albums, learning all the deep tracks, going to the show to hear them. Now they only have time for the hits. Are you writing and recording hits?
In other words, if it takes multiple plays to understand and get your music, chances are you won't even be niche, if that.
Difficult is passe. You can record the album tracks, but unless you're a superstar and they're as easily digestible and good as the hit, almost no one will listen.
This has already happened in the film business. Check the box office. One or two big winners and then also-rans. Everyone gravitates to the hits, they want to be part of the discussion, and oftentimes we know what's a stiff by Friday afternoon, with our minions out in the theatres reporting.
Same deal in TV. When a show gets bad ratings do they let it run a season to develop an audience? Only in rare instances, maybe when superstar talent is involved and they believe in it, otherwise the show's CANCELED!
That's what's happening throughout the music business. Albums are getting CANCELED, and no one seems to want to admit it.
Look at the SoundScan numbers, they're positively anemic. Everyone blames it on piracy, but the truth is the audience has outgrown the album format, it doesn't work for them, especially when they can go on YouTube and just get the hit.
So when you're laying down your tracks, if you want to gain an audience, you've got to think about them, not you. Is what you're doing so special that your fans will eat it up, play it incessantly and share it with their friends? Or is it good, something palatable people could enjoy, but will skip right over on their way to what's popular.
Don't decry popularity. Those tracks contain an essence most stuff that falls by the wayside does not. "Roar" works, even if it's not as good as Katy Perry's previous stuff. And if she ends up with enough hit singles people will push her album into the millions. But this is so different from when we sold millions to begin with, out of the box, because so many people were interested.
And the cycle is just that fast. Entering at number one is essentially irrelevant. Really, name the number one album from two weeks ago, three, I dare you.
So focus first on tracks. Get people clawing for more instead of foisting your work upon them. We live in a pull economy, and if you're all about pushing, you're probably not gonna last.
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Sunday 8 December 2013
Nebraska
It's in black and white and it's depressing and Bruce Dern doesn't deserve an Oscar, anything else you'd like to know?
I've been reading about this movie for months. Because that's how you do it these days, you ramp up the publicity so that just maybe, people will go. I had to endure the history of Bruce Dern's career, and road trips with Alexander Payne through Nebraska, and if that had anything to do with this flick, I'd tell you, but it doesn't.
Yes, I went to the movies.
I just felt locked up inside. I'd read the newspapers, caught up on e-mail, the sun was setting and...I had to get out of the house.
That's why we used to go to the movies, to get out of the house, because nothing went on at home, there were no friends and no Internet and only a couple of TV channels, everything that happened was out. As a matter of fact, on the way out of the ArcLight I ran into Larry and Carol, which proves the point.
And it's so different in the dark cavern with the big screen. It's a scenario I know so well.
That's what I used to do in the late sixties and seventies. Go to the movies. I felt I knew the stars, that my life would just work if I could...meet Glenda Jackson, I had a crush on her. I knew all the players, back when you could see everything. And I did.
Movies used to be platformed. They opened in L.A. and New York first. When I first came to Los Angeles I literally went every night. It wasn't unusual for me to see three flicks in a day. I didn't go to become an expert, but that's what I was. Back before "Jaws" and "Star Wars" ruined the paradigm, with all their revenues, the same way Wall Street is ruining the country today.
Wall Street and the techies. They're skewing the entire nation. They make so much money that all that's left for the rest of us is crumbs. You're either a winner or a loser. And you know who gets the losers? The arts. Because it takes a special kind of intelligent, educated person to take the road less traveled, the one with bad odds, known as entertainment. There's no safety net. If you're not starting your career right after college, you've already missed a step.
So what we've got in music is reality TV. The same downtrodden denizens who will do anything to make it. There's not a backbone in the business. Everybody's looking to sell out. Sergey Brin and Larry Page want no press and Kanye West keeps telling us what a genius he is. And I'm sure there'd be musicians who spoke truth to power if only you could make as much money as you can in Silicon Valley, but you can't.
So it's a vast wasteland in music.
Of course I'm overstating the point. It's really just like tech. Incredible winners and losers. Instead of Google, Yahoo and Apple, it's Jay Z, Katy Perry and Rihanna. You can't get traction without hits, and you can't have hits unless you play Top Forty music, and tech is spread virally, built up by its users, and entertainment is still employing the ancient formula of hype.
Which brings us back to "Nebraska."
It's not even the movie they're hyping.
But it creeped me out.
There's are scenes where those with no money and no life are sitting catatonic watching television. This is why I left Utah and Vermont, I could see slow death seeping in everywhere.
Just like the buildings. Your mobile phone may be bright and shiny, but too often the edifices are cracking and need a new coat of paint. Yup, the bridge may collapse but you can get your television via cable, fiber optics or satellite dish. Oh, what a great country we live in, where the penumbra's fantastic and the core is rotten.
And that's what our movies used to be about. This rotten core. Before everybody with a profile was a winner and superheroes ruled the multiplex.
Watching "Nebraska" you're reminded that more people are losing than winning in America. That it's hard to get a job. And you don't really know your relatives until you share an inheritance. Bill Gates may be giving away his fortune, but most are praying for a pittance to get them by.
But no one wants to see this anymore. Everybody's praying at the altar of greed. Greed isn't good, it's the national credo, it's what we base every life choice upon, because if you're not rich, you're a poor loser who just can't get by.
So there's a sea of empty seats at "Nebraska," because no one wants to confront the ugly truth that they got the short end of the stick. That all they've got is drugs and alcohol and the same cronies at the bar.
We want hope and choice and the ability to lift ourselves up.
But the job creators tell us it's our own damn fault.
And now they've taken over the whole damn country. Movie studios are small cogs in giant conglomerates, slaves to the bottom line, just like record labels. That's right, the joke is on you.
But some people slip through. Like Alexander Payne.
His movie doesn't deserve an Oscar, but it touched my soul.
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I've been reading about this movie for months. Because that's how you do it these days, you ramp up the publicity so that just maybe, people will go. I had to endure the history of Bruce Dern's career, and road trips with Alexander Payne through Nebraska, and if that had anything to do with this flick, I'd tell you, but it doesn't.
Yes, I went to the movies.
I just felt locked up inside. I'd read the newspapers, caught up on e-mail, the sun was setting and...I had to get out of the house.
That's why we used to go to the movies, to get out of the house, because nothing went on at home, there were no friends and no Internet and only a couple of TV channels, everything that happened was out. As a matter of fact, on the way out of the ArcLight I ran into Larry and Carol, which proves the point.
And it's so different in the dark cavern with the big screen. It's a scenario I know so well.
That's what I used to do in the late sixties and seventies. Go to the movies. I felt I knew the stars, that my life would just work if I could...meet Glenda Jackson, I had a crush on her. I knew all the players, back when you could see everything. And I did.
Movies used to be platformed. They opened in L.A. and New York first. When I first came to Los Angeles I literally went every night. It wasn't unusual for me to see three flicks in a day. I didn't go to become an expert, but that's what I was. Back before "Jaws" and "Star Wars" ruined the paradigm, with all their revenues, the same way Wall Street is ruining the country today.
Wall Street and the techies. They're skewing the entire nation. They make so much money that all that's left for the rest of us is crumbs. You're either a winner or a loser. And you know who gets the losers? The arts. Because it takes a special kind of intelligent, educated person to take the road less traveled, the one with bad odds, known as entertainment. There's no safety net. If you're not starting your career right after college, you've already missed a step.
So what we've got in music is reality TV. The same downtrodden denizens who will do anything to make it. There's not a backbone in the business. Everybody's looking to sell out. Sergey Brin and Larry Page want no press and Kanye West keeps telling us what a genius he is. And I'm sure there'd be musicians who spoke truth to power if only you could make as much money as you can in Silicon Valley, but you can't.
So it's a vast wasteland in music.
Of course I'm overstating the point. It's really just like tech. Incredible winners and losers. Instead of Google, Yahoo and Apple, it's Jay Z, Katy Perry and Rihanna. You can't get traction without hits, and you can't have hits unless you play Top Forty music, and tech is spread virally, built up by its users, and entertainment is still employing the ancient formula of hype.
Which brings us back to "Nebraska."
It's not even the movie they're hyping.
But it creeped me out.
There's are scenes where those with no money and no life are sitting catatonic watching television. This is why I left Utah and Vermont, I could see slow death seeping in everywhere.
Just like the buildings. Your mobile phone may be bright and shiny, but too often the edifices are cracking and need a new coat of paint. Yup, the bridge may collapse but you can get your television via cable, fiber optics or satellite dish. Oh, what a great country we live in, where the penumbra's fantastic and the core is rotten.
And that's what our movies used to be about. This rotten core. Before everybody with a profile was a winner and superheroes ruled the multiplex.
Watching "Nebraska" you're reminded that more people are losing than winning in America. That it's hard to get a job. And you don't really know your relatives until you share an inheritance. Bill Gates may be giving away his fortune, but most are praying for a pittance to get them by.
But no one wants to see this anymore. Everybody's praying at the altar of greed. Greed isn't good, it's the national credo, it's what we base every life choice upon, because if you're not rich, you're a poor loser who just can't get by.
So there's a sea of empty seats at "Nebraska," because no one wants to confront the ugly truth that they got the short end of the stick. That all they've got is drugs and alcohol and the same cronies at the bar.
We want hope and choice and the ability to lift ourselves up.
But the job creators tell us it's our own damn fault.
And now they've taken over the whole damn country. Movie studios are small cogs in giant conglomerates, slaves to the bottom line, just like record labels. That's right, the joke is on you.
But some people slip through. Like Alexander Payne.
His movie doesn't deserve an Oscar, but it touched my soul.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
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