I'm in shock.
Actually, I'm in Vail, Colorado. For the final week of the ski season. Didn't know that? All I can tell you is with a laptop and a smartphone, I can work anywhere. And when it comes to skiing, I refer you to Bad Company's "Simple Man," which so eloquently states "Freedom is the only thing, means a damn to me." Didn't picture me as a right winger, did you? No, I'm talking about the true freedom, the one you get sliding down a mountain, where no one can tell you who to be and how you should act. That's life. I recommend it.
And when I was in Aspen last December, I bit down on some steak and...
I felt something weird. Like half of my tooth was moving and half wasn't. And it didn't get better. And I went to the dentist when I returned to L.A. and he couldn't quite diagnose it. He thought it might be an exterior crack, gave me some fluoride, I knew that wasn't the case, but I played along. He said to wait for the tooth to "show itself."
It did this morning.
I bit down on some trail mix, yes, eaten with Dannon coffee yogurt, the elixir of life, and a sharp pain echoed through my brain. And I put my finger in my mouth and realized...my back molar had cracked in two, like a rock you ping with an axe.
This is not good.
I'm a thousand miles from my regular dentist. The last time this happened he said I needed a root canal and an implant. I escaped because I'm so damn old the root had retreated, a fake tooth sufficed.
But now I can't even drink water, the pain is excruciating, it's Friday at 10 AM and...
We call the recommended dentist.
He's got no time for an emergency.
And who he recommends won't fit someone in.
And the next person is out of the office and will only take dental emergencies who are patients.
And after exhausting the recommendation tree, we called the concierge, who came up empty too.
And time is ticking by, what are we to do?
Pull up Yelp.
Turns out we contacted every dentist in Vail. So I tried Avon and Edwards and finally, we got someone who would see us.
If we could get there.
And you know how it is when you suffer an injury. Time stops. You freak out. But when you see a road to treatment, you calm down a bit. The hotel got the Yukon, we were on our way.
Turned out the very nice receptionist had only worked there for a month.
The hygienist was smacking her gum.
The regular dentist was in Mexico, this was a guy who wasn't even listed on the website.
And I'm lying back in the chair, freaking out, wanting to bolt but knowing I have no option.
And this wet behind the ears dentist tells me... They'll make a porcelain crown, I probably won't need a root canal, I'll be good to go.
For $1245.
Huh?
I don't want to bargain, I'm afraid of getting bad service. I have no other option, so I say yes.
This is after turning down the obligatory x-ray, which I know is superfluous.
But the dentist has those specs, you know, with the magnifiers.
And he's wearing rubber gloves and a face mask.
But he doesn't put the bib around my neck.
But if I ask for one, am I undermining him?
So he shoots me up and then mumbles about putting something in my mouth...
It's like a breathing tube. It's gonna capture all the detritus from the tooth as he drills it clean.
This is new to me. My hometown dentist is a professor at USC and I've never experienced this.
But at first there's not enough novocaine.
So we wait a bit longer.
And then he's drilling for greatness. And I'm getting some wetness on my shirt and wondering if I'm getting third world treatment, the substitute dentist in a resort area.
And then they get out the laser, and there's smoke, and suddenly he's poking a wand all around my mouth, making a scan.
The hygienist says the machine might need to be reset. Which undermines my confidence, which wasn't at an all time high after the receptionist had to show the dentist how to make the drill work...
But after taking a ton of pictures, this barely thirtysomething dentist sits behind a console that looks like a periscope in a submarine and he starts clicking on the screen, rotating the trackball, building my crown.
Yup, they've got a machine right there, in fifteen minutes, it's gonna be ready.
And on one hand I'm living in the future. Could it be that this dentist is so young and advanced I've stumbled into exotic territory?
He's driving the console like a kid playing a video game, I'm getting too uptight to watch.
And then this tubular machine in the lobby lights up and starts building the crown, I saw it when I went to the bathroom.
And then it was ready. There was a placement test. And then the obligatory blue articulating paper. And he's drilling the molar below, to make sure the points don't break the new crown.
And I'm getting more and more uptight, and then I tell myself I'm so damn old, how long am I gonna live anyway, does it really have to be right? I mean something has to be done, I can't eat and I can't drink.
And then he's saying he's getting it perfect. Which I love, because I'm all about perfection.
And then voila, he's done!
Complete.
I can eat.
I can ski.
I can...
Barely speak because I'm so freaked out, I'm still freaked out.
But it does seem right.
But the novocaine hasn't worn off yet.
And it's not like I can go back to him for adjustments, even though they told me I could. And my regular dentist would probably charge me.
And then I think how this tooth has been bugging me for months, and maybe this guy who played football in college, graduated with honors from the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry and did a residency with the VA in Utah, was a gift, a professional from the future, one of those young savants who are all about detail, who only know how to get it right.
We'll see!
Meanwhile, I'm gonna go ski!
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Friday 12 April 2013
Thursday 11 April 2013
Rhinofy-Christine McVie
Lindsey Buckingham gets all the credit. Stevie Nicks gets all the attention. But Christine McVie was the glue. She bridged the gap from obscurity to fame. Nicks twirled, but it was Christine with her understated beauty that enraptured us. And it was Christine's track that broke the new Fleetwood Mac. Yes, "Over My Head" paved the way for "Rhiannon." And Bill Clinton's theme song, "Don't Stop," was not the work of an American, but a Brit, Christine McVie.
And for a while there, Christine was part of the Fleetwood Mac reunion, but then she dropped out. And too often band names are brand names and individuals are forgotten, but in Christine's case, this is unjust.
But all her Fleetwood Mac tunes stay in rotation. And if you loved those, maybe you missed her 1984 solo album, produced by Russ Titelman, that had some traction but then disappeared, as if it were never made, but there are a few tracks that I'll never forget, that titillate me to the core.
Like "So Excited"...
"Well, I'm so excited
My baby is on his way"
It's the jangly guitar part and then the pure voice. The track exudes honesty, which is the heart of great music. You really feel like Christine has been waiting all day, cleaning the house, prepping her look, waiting for him to show up.
Who hasn't done this?
It's the essence of love. The anticipation!
"I can't eat
I can't sleep
Since the first time that I saw you
Somebody tell me
What's a poor girl supposed to do"
Eureka! Why is it that we lose our appetite? Suddenly we can survive solely on the butterflies in our stomach. We feel detached from the world but more a part of it than ever before.
"Well, I know my baby
He makes me want to scream and shout
Ooh, he shows me
Shows me what it's all about"
Funny how all the manuals tell you to be cool. Come on, every year there's a best seller supposedly delivering the key to romance. That you should hang back, not show your emotions, not move too fast, that you need to make them prove their love and commitment.
Hogwash!
Love is a runaway train. A journey you've waited for your whole life that's even better than you imagined. And when you're caught up, you never want to let go. They say money is power. That's completely wrong. Love is power. Never forget it.
And just as magical as the acoustic guitar is in "I'm So Excited," the piano entrances you in "Ask Anybody."
"He's a devil and an angel
Ooh, the combination's driving me wild"
Don't we all know it! We fall prey to their wink, their charisma, but they don't return our phone calls, we see them out with other people, we want to let go, but we can't.
"He's a saint and he's a sinner
Ooh, somehow he acts just like a beginner
I guess he's still a child"
Oftentimes they are. They've gotten by on their looks. They're flawed. But we get caught up in their energy, we get on their trip casting aside doubt until...they let us down and we crash so hard we wonder if it was all worth it, even though we know it was...
"Ask anybody
They'll say I'm going wrong
They said I should walk out
But that's not what I want"
You ask for advice, but you don't want to listen to it. What you really want is someone to be irrational, just like you, to tell you to go for it. And despite all the naysaying, you keep going back to the well, you can't let the person go, until you've been so hurt that you admit to your friends they were right.
"But that's all right 'cause I know somehow
We can make it right and I'm putting up a fight
Somehow, somewhere he'll change
And we'll try it all over again without all the pain"
She's delusional. You've seen the movie. You've probably even lived the movie. It's not until you're old and gray that you finally realize that people don't change, and that you certainly can't change them via hope and sheer will. If only they were a little bit different...but they're not.
And then there's that wistful solo! The electronically treated sound that Titelman used to such great success on Steve Winwood's "Back In The High Life." And when it comes in again, unexpectedly, at the end of the song, you can just see it, her staring out the window, sitting in her kitchen, lying in bed, fully awake, engrossed by the thought of him, unable to let him go, even though she never really had him.
And speaking of Winwood, he vocalizes on "One In A Million."
But none of the aforementioned tracks were hits.
But "Got A Hold On Me" was. Maybe because it's the most Fleetwood Mac track on the album. It's got Christine's breathy vocal, a bouncy beat and a catchy chorus. It's really good. But not as good as "So Excited" and "Ask Anybody," which would have fit just perfectly on a Fleetwood Mac album from the seventies, when the band took chances and was not afraid to be dark and evidence its roots.
And maybe because "Christine McVie" was a relative disappointment, Christine retreated. To the point where the press still follows Stevie Nicks's every move, but Christine's been forgotten.
But for those of us who just didn't listen to the songs on the radio, who bought the albums and read all the credits, saw the musicians as three-dimensional, Christine McVie was always the queen. She may not have been a witch, but we'd still shake if we approached her in a bar, we know she'd be honest and forthright and tolerate no b.s.
That's a rock star.
Christine McVie blazed her own path, we were in love with her back then, and we still are now.
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/p6HcZ8
Previous Rhinofy playlists: http://www.rhinofy.com/lefsetz
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And for a while there, Christine was part of the Fleetwood Mac reunion, but then she dropped out. And too often band names are brand names and individuals are forgotten, but in Christine's case, this is unjust.
But all her Fleetwood Mac tunes stay in rotation. And if you loved those, maybe you missed her 1984 solo album, produced by Russ Titelman, that had some traction but then disappeared, as if it were never made, but there are a few tracks that I'll never forget, that titillate me to the core.
Like "So Excited"...
"Well, I'm so excited
My baby is on his way"
It's the jangly guitar part and then the pure voice. The track exudes honesty, which is the heart of great music. You really feel like Christine has been waiting all day, cleaning the house, prepping her look, waiting for him to show up.
Who hasn't done this?
It's the essence of love. The anticipation!
"I can't eat
I can't sleep
Since the first time that I saw you
Somebody tell me
What's a poor girl supposed to do"
Eureka! Why is it that we lose our appetite? Suddenly we can survive solely on the butterflies in our stomach. We feel detached from the world but more a part of it than ever before.
"Well, I know my baby
He makes me want to scream and shout
Ooh, he shows me
Shows me what it's all about"
Funny how all the manuals tell you to be cool. Come on, every year there's a best seller supposedly delivering the key to romance. That you should hang back, not show your emotions, not move too fast, that you need to make them prove their love and commitment.
Hogwash!
Love is a runaway train. A journey you've waited for your whole life that's even better than you imagined. And when you're caught up, you never want to let go. They say money is power. That's completely wrong. Love is power. Never forget it.
And just as magical as the acoustic guitar is in "I'm So Excited," the piano entrances you in "Ask Anybody."
"He's a devil and an angel
Ooh, the combination's driving me wild"
Don't we all know it! We fall prey to their wink, their charisma, but they don't return our phone calls, we see them out with other people, we want to let go, but we can't.
"He's a saint and he's a sinner
Ooh, somehow he acts just like a beginner
I guess he's still a child"
Oftentimes they are. They've gotten by on their looks. They're flawed. But we get caught up in their energy, we get on their trip casting aside doubt until...they let us down and we crash so hard we wonder if it was all worth it, even though we know it was...
"Ask anybody
They'll say I'm going wrong
They said I should walk out
But that's not what I want"
You ask for advice, but you don't want to listen to it. What you really want is someone to be irrational, just like you, to tell you to go for it. And despite all the naysaying, you keep going back to the well, you can't let the person go, until you've been so hurt that you admit to your friends they were right.
"But that's all right 'cause I know somehow
We can make it right and I'm putting up a fight
Somehow, somewhere he'll change
And we'll try it all over again without all the pain"
She's delusional. You've seen the movie. You've probably even lived the movie. It's not until you're old and gray that you finally realize that people don't change, and that you certainly can't change them via hope and sheer will. If only they were a little bit different...but they're not.
And then there's that wistful solo! The electronically treated sound that Titelman used to such great success on Steve Winwood's "Back In The High Life." And when it comes in again, unexpectedly, at the end of the song, you can just see it, her staring out the window, sitting in her kitchen, lying in bed, fully awake, engrossed by the thought of him, unable to let him go, even though she never really had him.
And speaking of Winwood, he vocalizes on "One In A Million."
But none of the aforementioned tracks were hits.
But "Got A Hold On Me" was. Maybe because it's the most Fleetwood Mac track on the album. It's got Christine's breathy vocal, a bouncy beat and a catchy chorus. It's really good. But not as good as "So Excited" and "Ask Anybody," which would have fit just perfectly on a Fleetwood Mac album from the seventies, when the band took chances and was not afraid to be dark and evidence its roots.
And maybe because "Christine McVie" was a relative disappointment, Christine retreated. To the point where the press still follows Stevie Nicks's every move, but Christine's been forgotten.
But for those of us who just didn't listen to the songs on the radio, who bought the albums and read all the credits, saw the musicians as three-dimensional, Christine McVie was always the queen. She may not have been a witch, but we'd still shake if we approached her in a bar, we know she'd be honest and forthright and tolerate no b.s.
That's a rock star.
Christine McVie blazed her own path, we were in love with her back then, and we still are now.
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/p6HcZ8
Previous Rhinofy playlists: http://www.rhinofy.com/lefsetz
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The Album
It's about the money, not the statement.
Do you write ten tunes in your head every two or three years? And in between have long stretches of absolute darkness? Do you not sleep for months and then get under the covers for weeks at a time?
The album is an antiquated construct that fits the modern era not at all but it sustains because it's the only way artists and labels have figured out how to make money.
Oh, so you want an album deal? How would you like to be on RCA Records right now, with their Timberlake juggernaut? Hey, I dare you, name one song beyond "Suit & Tie"!
Oh, you want me to admit I was wrong. That we're all not tired of JT, that he's a god.
I'll admit that there's still life in the old system. Saturation publicity. Getting a fraction of the public excited enough to purchase an album without hearing it first. A frenzy. But that's not love so much as impulse. Like a one night stand instead of a love affair.
And who knows, maybe people will have a love affair with "The 20/20 Experience," doesn't bother me.
But I will tell you there was "The 20/20 Experience" and... Yes, if this is a paradigm for the future, where are the other successes? Justin Timberlake won the lottery and you're still broke, scraping up cash to buy tickets.
And RCA is thrilled. Because they just made their quarter, maybe their whole damn year. Because a label doesn't care what sells, only that something sells. So if you're another act on RCA today, you're getting short shrift, all the energy and dollars are going where the cash is, "The 20/20 Experience."
Yes, you want to be a priority. Why do you want to put your fate in the hands of others?
And why do you want to make an album?
You say it's about the statement, but you didn't make one. The truth is you're just inured to the old way. You're stupid. You're afraid of the future.
The labels do it because that's where the money is. Which is why they made people buy the album for the single back in the last century. And as soon as people got the option to get only what they wanted to hear? Via Napster and iTunes? Singles soared and albums tanked. Because no one wants to hear that much bad music.
It's a circle jerk perpetuated by those on the artistic and business side of the music industry. The public doesn't want albums. Oh, don't tell me about Aunt Liz who still buys CDs. Hell, I'll tell you about Cousin Joe who still uses a flip phone, who thinks the ability to send e-mail and surf the web on a hand-held device is unnecessary.
Sure, there are always segments of the public left behind, living in the past. If you want to appeal to them, be my guest. Hell, that's the specialty of the music industry, living in the past and crying about the future, which is how all the established players missed EDM. They couldn't see how to monetize it. Meanwhile, the deejays are laughing all the way to the bank, they could care less about recorded music sales.
If you have an ongoing relationship with your fan base, tweeting and Facebooking and Tumblring, why do you only release music every year or two? That makes no sense. Your fans want something new, but you won't give it to them. Because you can't fathom the future.
Yup, what's killing the music business is the fact that the fans are more savvy than the industry.
The fans know you can't get a good ticket.
The fans know most of the album sucks.
The fans have money and want to spend it, on you, you've just got to figure out how to do it.
That's the lesson of Amanda Palmer. She figured out how to give fans what they want, engagement and access and music, and she monetized all of it. And following in her footsteps are...
Almost nobody.
Palmer gets off her label, you want on.
Palmer releases material constantly, even a single last week.
You're polishing your turd of an album.
But one day someone like Justin Timberlake, someone that big, will not be a pussy and will embrace the new world, will invent the new paradigm.
In the meantime, you're gonna send me e-mail telling me how ignorant I am, hating on me, so you can feel better about yourself.
Like I care.
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Do you write ten tunes in your head every two or three years? And in between have long stretches of absolute darkness? Do you not sleep for months and then get under the covers for weeks at a time?
The album is an antiquated construct that fits the modern era not at all but it sustains because it's the only way artists and labels have figured out how to make money.
Oh, so you want an album deal? How would you like to be on RCA Records right now, with their Timberlake juggernaut? Hey, I dare you, name one song beyond "Suit & Tie"!
Oh, you want me to admit I was wrong. That we're all not tired of JT, that he's a god.
I'll admit that there's still life in the old system. Saturation publicity. Getting a fraction of the public excited enough to purchase an album without hearing it first. A frenzy. But that's not love so much as impulse. Like a one night stand instead of a love affair.
And who knows, maybe people will have a love affair with "The 20/20 Experience," doesn't bother me.
But I will tell you there was "The 20/20 Experience" and... Yes, if this is a paradigm for the future, where are the other successes? Justin Timberlake won the lottery and you're still broke, scraping up cash to buy tickets.
And RCA is thrilled. Because they just made their quarter, maybe their whole damn year. Because a label doesn't care what sells, only that something sells. So if you're another act on RCA today, you're getting short shrift, all the energy and dollars are going where the cash is, "The 20/20 Experience."
Yes, you want to be a priority. Why do you want to put your fate in the hands of others?
And why do you want to make an album?
You say it's about the statement, but you didn't make one. The truth is you're just inured to the old way. You're stupid. You're afraid of the future.
The labels do it because that's where the money is. Which is why they made people buy the album for the single back in the last century. And as soon as people got the option to get only what they wanted to hear? Via Napster and iTunes? Singles soared and albums tanked. Because no one wants to hear that much bad music.
It's a circle jerk perpetuated by those on the artistic and business side of the music industry. The public doesn't want albums. Oh, don't tell me about Aunt Liz who still buys CDs. Hell, I'll tell you about Cousin Joe who still uses a flip phone, who thinks the ability to send e-mail and surf the web on a hand-held device is unnecessary.
Sure, there are always segments of the public left behind, living in the past. If you want to appeal to them, be my guest. Hell, that's the specialty of the music industry, living in the past and crying about the future, which is how all the established players missed EDM. They couldn't see how to monetize it. Meanwhile, the deejays are laughing all the way to the bank, they could care less about recorded music sales.
If you have an ongoing relationship with your fan base, tweeting and Facebooking and Tumblring, why do you only release music every year or two? That makes no sense. Your fans want something new, but you won't give it to them. Because you can't fathom the future.
Yup, what's killing the music business is the fact that the fans are more savvy than the industry.
The fans know you can't get a good ticket.
The fans know most of the album sucks.
The fans have money and want to spend it, on you, you've just got to figure out how to do it.
That's the lesson of Amanda Palmer. She figured out how to give fans what they want, engagement and access and music, and she monetized all of it. And following in her footsteps are...
Almost nobody.
Palmer gets off her label, you want on.
Palmer releases material constantly, even a single last week.
You're polishing your turd of an album.
But one day someone like Justin Timberlake, someone that big, will not be a pussy and will embrace the new world, will invent the new paradigm.
In the meantime, you're gonna send me e-mail telling me how ignorant I am, hating on me, so you can feel better about yourself.
Like I care.
--
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Tuesday 9 April 2013
Then/Now-It's Better Today Edition
THEN
We had to drive to the record store on Tuesday to buy the new releases.
NOW
The new releases are available at midnight on the internet.
THEN
If you didn't get to the store early enough, the new release sold out. Or never came into the store to begin with.
NOW
Music never gets delayed in shipment and there's an infinite supply.
THEN
Every record store had different inventory.
NOW
All internet sites have essentially the same inventory.
THEN
You'd drive from store to store searching for a catalog item.
NOW
All the catalog is available at your fingertips on the internet.
THEN
You had to go to the bookstore to get the new release.
NOW
The new release is available at midnight, usually on Tuesday, like with music everything's available and there's an endless supply.
THEN
You were sour grapes, saying you couldn't get a deal and no one could buy your music.
NOW
You can make your tunes available for next to nothing via CDBaby and Tunecore. If no one buys them, the onus is on you.
THEN
You had to buy it to hear it.
NOW
Everything is available to hear for free, whether on YouTube or streaming music services like Spotify.
THEN
It was expensive to record.
NOW
It's cheap to record.
THEN
There were three network TV channels.
NOW
There are five hundred channels and there's always something on.
THEN
You had to catch it live.
NOW
You can get it On Demand or record it for later viewing on your DVR.
THEN
You were limited to the radio stations in your market.
NOW
You not only get terrestrial stations in your market, the entire world's radio is available online, usually for free. And you've got algorithm-based services like Pandora and no ad, hand-curated radio like Sirius XM.
THEN
You had to pay a lot of money to get pristine sound.
NOW
Stereo is good and cheap.
THEN
There were skips and other defects.
NOW
The sound is pristine.
THEN
You didn't know about the new releases unless you went to the store or religiously read the music press.
NOW
New release schedules are plentiful and free.
THEN
Your car broke down.
NOW
Your car never breaks down.
THEN
You had cathode ray TV.
NOW
You've got hi-def flat panel TV.
THEN
There were limited news sources.
NOW
There are seemingly unlimited news sources. You can read various opinions and make up your own mind.
THEN
Cancer was a death sentence.
NOW
More and more people survive cancer.
THEN
Everything was expensive.
NOW
Everything is cheap. And powerful. You get a hand-held computer for under $200, oftentimes free with a mobile contract.
THEN
You needed an expensive desktop computer.
NOW
You only need a tablet and a smartphone.
THEN
Your computer crashed.
NOW
Your computer doesn't crash, at least not Macs!
THEN
Shopping was limited to your neighborhood.
NOW
A cornucopia of goods from all over the world is available at your fingertips.
THEN
Music cost a different amount at every store.
NOW
Music costs the same everywhere, and it's cheap. You can't charge more than your competitors because their store is just a click away.
THEN
Ignorance was hard to prove.
NOW
Google reveals facts instantly.
THEN
You were limited to the courses at your school.
NOW
You can take courses from all over the world, even the Ivys, frequently for free.
THEN
Automobiles were notorious pollution devices.
NOW
Cars put out fewer emisisons than ever and hybrids and electrics are a viable alternative.
THEN
Start-ups failed because they had no reach.
NOW
Your potential audience is the world. You can create something that changes society and makes you rich in the confines of your own home.
THEN
Talking heads had credibility on TV news.
NOW
Every field has an expert online who really knows the score, unlike the nitwit newsreaders on televsion.
THEN
You could pull the wool over the public's eyes. George Bush's administration could say that Iraq had WMD and there was no counterbalance of truth.
NOW
The gotcha web dig deeps and pulls out truth. If you're a lying, cheating scumbag, everybody's gonna know.
THEN
People only knew the two-dimensional cardboard you.
NOW
Everybody's three-dimensional as a result of a plethora of information about them online.
THEN
You lost touch with those you grew up with.
NOW
You never lose touch with anybody you ever had contact with.
THEN
Long distance phone calls were expensive.
NOW
Long distance phone calls cost no more than local, and they can even be completely free.
THEN
Videophones were the future.
NOW
Videophones are here and free, via Skype and Facetime.
THEN
Dumb was cool.
NOW
Smart is cool.
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We had to drive to the record store on Tuesday to buy the new releases.
NOW
The new releases are available at midnight on the internet.
THEN
If you didn't get to the store early enough, the new release sold out. Or never came into the store to begin with.
NOW
Music never gets delayed in shipment and there's an infinite supply.
THEN
Every record store had different inventory.
NOW
All internet sites have essentially the same inventory.
THEN
You'd drive from store to store searching for a catalog item.
NOW
All the catalog is available at your fingertips on the internet.
THEN
You had to go to the bookstore to get the new release.
NOW
The new release is available at midnight, usually on Tuesday, like with music everything's available and there's an endless supply.
THEN
You were sour grapes, saying you couldn't get a deal and no one could buy your music.
NOW
You can make your tunes available for next to nothing via CDBaby and Tunecore. If no one buys them, the onus is on you.
THEN
You had to buy it to hear it.
NOW
Everything is available to hear for free, whether on YouTube or streaming music services like Spotify.
THEN
It was expensive to record.
NOW
It's cheap to record.
THEN
There were three network TV channels.
NOW
There are five hundred channels and there's always something on.
THEN
You had to catch it live.
NOW
You can get it On Demand or record it for later viewing on your DVR.
THEN
You were limited to the radio stations in your market.
NOW
You not only get terrestrial stations in your market, the entire world's radio is available online, usually for free. And you've got algorithm-based services like Pandora and no ad, hand-curated radio like Sirius XM.
THEN
You had to pay a lot of money to get pristine sound.
NOW
Stereo is good and cheap.
THEN
There were skips and other defects.
NOW
The sound is pristine.
THEN
You didn't know about the new releases unless you went to the store or religiously read the music press.
NOW
New release schedules are plentiful and free.
THEN
Your car broke down.
NOW
Your car never breaks down.
THEN
You had cathode ray TV.
NOW
You've got hi-def flat panel TV.
THEN
There were limited news sources.
NOW
There are seemingly unlimited news sources. You can read various opinions and make up your own mind.
THEN
Cancer was a death sentence.
NOW
More and more people survive cancer.
THEN
Everything was expensive.
NOW
Everything is cheap. And powerful. You get a hand-held computer for under $200, oftentimes free with a mobile contract.
THEN
You needed an expensive desktop computer.
NOW
You only need a tablet and a smartphone.
THEN
Your computer crashed.
NOW
Your computer doesn't crash, at least not Macs!
THEN
Shopping was limited to your neighborhood.
NOW
A cornucopia of goods from all over the world is available at your fingertips.
THEN
Music cost a different amount at every store.
NOW
Music costs the same everywhere, and it's cheap. You can't charge more than your competitors because their store is just a click away.
THEN
Ignorance was hard to prove.
NOW
Google reveals facts instantly.
THEN
You were limited to the courses at your school.
NOW
You can take courses from all over the world, even the Ivys, frequently for free.
THEN
Automobiles were notorious pollution devices.
NOW
Cars put out fewer emisisons than ever and hybrids and electrics are a viable alternative.
THEN
Start-ups failed because they had no reach.
NOW
Your potential audience is the world. You can create something that changes society and makes you rich in the confines of your own home.
THEN
Talking heads had credibility on TV news.
NOW
Every field has an expert online who really knows the score, unlike the nitwit newsreaders on televsion.
THEN
You could pull the wool over the public's eyes. George Bush's administration could say that Iraq had WMD and there was no counterbalance of truth.
NOW
The gotcha web dig deeps and pulls out truth. If you're a lying, cheating scumbag, everybody's gonna know.
THEN
People only knew the two-dimensional cardboard you.
NOW
Everybody's three-dimensional as a result of a plethora of information about them online.
THEN
You lost touch with those you grew up with.
NOW
You never lose touch with anybody you ever had contact with.
THEN
Long distance phone calls were expensive.
NOW
Long distance phone calls cost no more than local, and they can even be completely free.
THEN
Videophones were the future.
NOW
Videophones are here and free, via Skype and Facetime.
THEN
Dumb was cool.
NOW
Smart is cool.
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Monday 8 April 2013
Andy Johns
They're dropping like flies.
That's what they don't tell you when you're younger, that you're lucky to make it to old age intact. You think you're healthy and then you're not. But the real story is mutations are plentiful in your body and as time goes by you wear down like an old car. You may love your Accord, but after a couple of hundred thousand miles even Hondas fall apart, you need a new transmission, you need new bearings. But unlike automobiles, most people parts are not replaceable. Wanna know why your favorite band can't reunite and tear it up like it used to? Because someone didn't survive and those who are left...half of them have health issues. It's worse if you're a musician, the wear and tear of the road, the abuse of the system, but it's true of all of us. That's one thing the youth have over the old, their health. My dad used to ask me about my health every time we spoke. I didn't get it, I took my good health for granted. If only the cancer hadn't cut him down at the young age of seventy, then I could call him up and say YOU'RE RIGHT, I FINALLY UNDERSTAND!
Andy Johns had the misfortune of having a relatively pedestrian name compared to his older brother Glyn. Come on, you remember Glyn, but Andy?
But when you go through his credits, you'll be absolutely wowed.
Yes, it's about songs.
But it's also about sound!
Andy Johns engineered the heaviest track of all time, Led Zeppelin's "When The Levee Breaks." Listening on headphones is like being hit over the head with a sledgehammer, but it feels so good.
And then there's Jethro Tull's "Stand Up." I don't know why Ian Anderson's band has been maligned and forgotten, true aficionados consider the debut the gold standard, but I always loved this, the follow-up, best. It sounds like it was cut on a dark foggy street, straight out of Sherlock Holmes. It's a classic from start to finish, but I especially want to point out the closing cuts on both sides, "Look Into The Sun" and "For A Thousand Mothers." I can hear the sound of the former without listening to it! Right now it's playing in my head! It's as if it's only the music and you... It takes an engineer to get it right.
And how about "The Stealer," by Free? Almost nobody knows this positively classic recording. It's power and sex and sound all wrapped into one. If I do nothing else but turn you on to "The Stealer" with this missive, my mission will be a success.
The list goes on and on, from "John Barleycorn" to "Stephen Stills" to Eric Clapton to Blind Faith to the Rolling Stones...
This guy was there.
And I've got no idea what killed him.
And I didn't even know him.
But his music? That's part of my DNA!
Andy Johns credits: http://bit.ly/Zv7iip
Spotify playlist: http://spoti.fi/12B7VHU
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That's what they don't tell you when you're younger, that you're lucky to make it to old age intact. You think you're healthy and then you're not. But the real story is mutations are plentiful in your body and as time goes by you wear down like an old car. You may love your Accord, but after a couple of hundred thousand miles even Hondas fall apart, you need a new transmission, you need new bearings. But unlike automobiles, most people parts are not replaceable. Wanna know why your favorite band can't reunite and tear it up like it used to? Because someone didn't survive and those who are left...half of them have health issues. It's worse if you're a musician, the wear and tear of the road, the abuse of the system, but it's true of all of us. That's one thing the youth have over the old, their health. My dad used to ask me about my health every time we spoke. I didn't get it, I took my good health for granted. If only the cancer hadn't cut him down at the young age of seventy, then I could call him up and say YOU'RE RIGHT, I FINALLY UNDERSTAND!
Andy Johns had the misfortune of having a relatively pedestrian name compared to his older brother Glyn. Come on, you remember Glyn, but Andy?
But when you go through his credits, you'll be absolutely wowed.
Yes, it's about songs.
But it's also about sound!
Andy Johns engineered the heaviest track of all time, Led Zeppelin's "When The Levee Breaks." Listening on headphones is like being hit over the head with a sledgehammer, but it feels so good.
And then there's Jethro Tull's "Stand Up." I don't know why Ian Anderson's band has been maligned and forgotten, true aficionados consider the debut the gold standard, but I always loved this, the follow-up, best. It sounds like it was cut on a dark foggy street, straight out of Sherlock Holmes. It's a classic from start to finish, but I especially want to point out the closing cuts on both sides, "Look Into The Sun" and "For A Thousand Mothers." I can hear the sound of the former without listening to it! Right now it's playing in my head! It's as if it's only the music and you... It takes an engineer to get it right.
And how about "The Stealer," by Free? Almost nobody knows this positively classic recording. It's power and sex and sound all wrapped into one. If I do nothing else but turn you on to "The Stealer" with this missive, my mission will be a success.
The list goes on and on, from "John Barleycorn" to "Stephen Stills" to Eric Clapton to Blind Faith to the Rolling Stones...
This guy was there.
And I've got no idea what killed him.
And I didn't even know him.
But his music? That's part of my DNA!
Andy Johns credits: http://bit.ly/Zv7iip
Spotify playlist: http://spoti.fi/12B7VHU
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Sunday 7 April 2013
Customization
I don't want to pay for sports.
I'm not talking a trip to Dodger Stadium, or Staples, but I'm not too eager for that either. I wait until one of my well-heeled friends coughs up a courtside seat, otherwise I just stay home and ignore the whole damn thing.
I didn't used to be this way. I lived for sports.
But then the Yankees were free on TV.
People think Napster ruined the music business. What they don't realize is it was a harbinger of things to come. Turns out most people didn't want the album. Sorry all you musos making and devouring full length statements. With the advent of the CD, albums became so long, you could have sex, take a shower and call your mother and still have time to take out the garbage before they played through. Then again, no one's as oblivious as an artist. He sells something no one needs, and deep into his own thought doesn't realize when he loses his audience's attention.
Kind of like the music business at large. Humming along on overpriced CDs moved by MTV and as soon as people got the option to download just what they wanted, they gave up on the old model.
Kind of like with TV. My cable bill is insane. Of course I want the high speed Internet, the super high speed I pay for. But all those TV channels? I haven't got time to watch them. I finally canceled Cinemax and Showtime. But what bugs me is sports. Because I'm paying a ton of money for something I never watch, and so are you.
Well, maybe you're watching, but everybody with a cable subscription is paying. We're subsidizing your lifestyle. Against the modern welfare system? Then you should be against the cable TV bundle.
But they tell us if they de-bundle it we'll pay more!
What a load of hogwash. The truth is sports and niche channels profit handsomely via payments from providers, which are garnered by ripping off subscribers. They just don't want the gravy train to end. But it's gonna.
The only place where people buy more than they want is Costco. And they do so because it's so damn cheap. But all the content industries are charging us a fortune, and as soon as the public gains an option, people bolt.
I know, I know, there's a ton of buzz about "Mad Men."
Personally, I'm not a fan, I don't choose to watch paint dry.
But the big story of the winter is "House Of Cards," on Netflix. Delivered all at once so people can binge. This is the future. Reruns are done. It's got to be all new all the time on television or we're tuning out. Remember waiting for new episodes of "Seinfeld"...that model is toast!
As for "Mad Men," they sell that at the iTunes Store now. Sure, it might cost a Jackson, but at least you don't have to pay for all the other stuff you don't want.
What else don't you want?
The opening act. Once upon a time you got to the show early, believing there was a reason to pay attention to the opener. Now you know someone paid someone behind the scenes and for your $100 ticket you don't want to be bored, you'll arrive for the headliner, thank you.
And it's newspapers too. What kind of model is that? A surface reading of the news so you can sell advertising? I can get the surface on a zillion sites online, believe me, if someone shoots up a school or Congress grinds to a halt, I don't need a high-priced reporter to tell me the story. But if I want to go deeper...
That's what is the future. Deeper. Our whole world has flipped over. Rather than blanding out and trying to reach everybody, today you gain and identify your fans and keep feeding them ad infinitum. Charge them while you're at it, they're more than willing to pay.
We can ignore the mainstream quite handily. Once upon a time all we had was Top Forty radio. As for that outlet today, I guarantee at least half of my readership has never heard a Rihanna tune...because they don't have to! It's not like they're at home twiddling their thumbs bored, rather they're deep down into what they're interested in, which in today's information economy is readily available.
And ignore the press. The Netflix backlash? Nobody wants to rent a DVD anymore. Reed Hastings was right. Streaming is not only the future, it's now. If you don't make your stuff available for streaming, that just means no one is gonna watch it. Sit there self-satisfied. Like those who insist on charging to hear their music. Huh? You'd better make it easy and cheap or free or feel like free, because very few people are truly interested.
Global stars?
Not like there used to be. Because we don't have to pay attention, we've got options.
Cable TV is gonna crumble. It's gonna happen overnight. Kinda like the switch from film to digital photography. You remember, we were hearing that digital was coming for a decade, but it didn't. Then, overnight, digital cameras exploded and film disappeared and Kodak went into the dumper.
What else is gonna go into the dumper?
You've got to be damn good to have anything more than a tiny audience today. Don't employ yesteryear's paradigm, wherein the public partook of less than quality goods because very little was available. To stand out today, you've got to be incredible, you've got to make yourself necessary.
And no amount of bloviating about basketball is gonna get me to tune back in. I wasted too much of my life watching Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson in the last century, I'm done.
So why am I still paying for you to watch?
That's the question.
And I'm not the only one asking it.
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I'm not talking a trip to Dodger Stadium, or Staples, but I'm not too eager for that either. I wait until one of my well-heeled friends coughs up a courtside seat, otherwise I just stay home and ignore the whole damn thing.
I didn't used to be this way. I lived for sports.
But then the Yankees were free on TV.
People think Napster ruined the music business. What they don't realize is it was a harbinger of things to come. Turns out most people didn't want the album. Sorry all you musos making and devouring full length statements. With the advent of the CD, albums became so long, you could have sex, take a shower and call your mother and still have time to take out the garbage before they played through. Then again, no one's as oblivious as an artist. He sells something no one needs, and deep into his own thought doesn't realize when he loses his audience's attention.
Kind of like the music business at large. Humming along on overpriced CDs moved by MTV and as soon as people got the option to download just what they wanted, they gave up on the old model.
Kind of like with TV. My cable bill is insane. Of course I want the high speed Internet, the super high speed I pay for. But all those TV channels? I haven't got time to watch them. I finally canceled Cinemax and Showtime. But what bugs me is sports. Because I'm paying a ton of money for something I never watch, and so are you.
Well, maybe you're watching, but everybody with a cable subscription is paying. We're subsidizing your lifestyle. Against the modern welfare system? Then you should be against the cable TV bundle.
But they tell us if they de-bundle it we'll pay more!
What a load of hogwash. The truth is sports and niche channels profit handsomely via payments from providers, which are garnered by ripping off subscribers. They just don't want the gravy train to end. But it's gonna.
The only place where people buy more than they want is Costco. And they do so because it's so damn cheap. But all the content industries are charging us a fortune, and as soon as the public gains an option, people bolt.
I know, I know, there's a ton of buzz about "Mad Men."
Personally, I'm not a fan, I don't choose to watch paint dry.
But the big story of the winter is "House Of Cards," on Netflix. Delivered all at once so people can binge. This is the future. Reruns are done. It's got to be all new all the time on television or we're tuning out. Remember waiting for new episodes of "Seinfeld"...that model is toast!
As for "Mad Men," they sell that at the iTunes Store now. Sure, it might cost a Jackson, but at least you don't have to pay for all the other stuff you don't want.
What else don't you want?
The opening act. Once upon a time you got to the show early, believing there was a reason to pay attention to the opener. Now you know someone paid someone behind the scenes and for your $100 ticket you don't want to be bored, you'll arrive for the headliner, thank you.
And it's newspapers too. What kind of model is that? A surface reading of the news so you can sell advertising? I can get the surface on a zillion sites online, believe me, if someone shoots up a school or Congress grinds to a halt, I don't need a high-priced reporter to tell me the story. But if I want to go deeper...
That's what is the future. Deeper. Our whole world has flipped over. Rather than blanding out and trying to reach everybody, today you gain and identify your fans and keep feeding them ad infinitum. Charge them while you're at it, they're more than willing to pay.
We can ignore the mainstream quite handily. Once upon a time all we had was Top Forty radio. As for that outlet today, I guarantee at least half of my readership has never heard a Rihanna tune...because they don't have to! It's not like they're at home twiddling their thumbs bored, rather they're deep down into what they're interested in, which in today's information economy is readily available.
And ignore the press. The Netflix backlash? Nobody wants to rent a DVD anymore. Reed Hastings was right. Streaming is not only the future, it's now. If you don't make your stuff available for streaming, that just means no one is gonna watch it. Sit there self-satisfied. Like those who insist on charging to hear their music. Huh? You'd better make it easy and cheap or free or feel like free, because very few people are truly interested.
Global stars?
Not like there used to be. Because we don't have to pay attention, we've got options.
Cable TV is gonna crumble. It's gonna happen overnight. Kinda like the switch from film to digital photography. You remember, we were hearing that digital was coming for a decade, but it didn't. Then, overnight, digital cameras exploded and film disappeared and Kodak went into the dumper.
What else is gonna go into the dumper?
You've got to be damn good to have anything more than a tiny audience today. Don't employ yesteryear's paradigm, wherein the public partook of less than quality goods because very little was available. To stand out today, you've got to be incredible, you've got to make yourself necessary.
And no amount of bloviating about basketball is gonna get me to tune back in. I wasted too much of my life watching Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson in the last century, I'm done.
So why am I still paying for you to watch?
That's the question.
And I'm not the only one asking it.
--
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