Not the band, THE ALBUM!
Then again, it was the band.
The cognoscenti tell you it's all about the first, with "Dear Mr. Fantasy" and those songs other people covered, like "Heaven Is In Your Mind" and "Coloured Rain." But I've always maintained the follow-up was the definitive statement. Then again, "John Barleycorn" was quite a comeback.
Yes, the band broke up and then got back together, when musicians followed their muse, back before recording was free and you could do your side project and play to the disinterested at will.
And despite being seen as Steve Winwood's band, "Traffic"'s breakout star is Dave Mason, who promptly went on to record one of the greatest solo debuts of all time and has spent the rest of his life trying to follow it up.
"Alone Together" is brilliant. But we first realized how great Dave Mason was with Traffic's opening cut, "You Can All Join In."
Listen on headphones, be ready to be jetted back to when stereo effects were all the rage. The lead vocal is entirely in the right channel. Throughout the song. And on headphones you can hear all the asides, the extras, the joy of singing, of playing music. Yup, now it's about perfection, and so much has been lost. "You Can All Join In" is a quintessential album opener, it hooks you. If I get another e-mail from somebody telling me to spend more time with an album, to play it ten times through, I'm gonna tear whatever hair I have left from the top of my head. No, that's not the audience's job. It's your job to make music so enticing people want to, NEED TO, hear it ad infinitum before it even finishes. "You Can All Join In" fits the bill.
The other Dave Mason gem is...the original version of "Feelin' Alright."
Imagine "Feelin' Alright" not being famous, just an album cut, that you discovered and loved, way before Joe Cocker shot it into the stratosphere and "The Wonder Years" and radio play made it an indelible classic rock/baby boomer hit. Oh, we knew it was magic back then, we didn't need to have it recut. It's the way Dave sings... World weary, it's the opposite of the "American Idol" ethos. Instead of overselling it, batting you over the head with it, it's like you've entered Mason's lair and he's telling you the story...
And, of course, you've got Chris Wood's sax... And never underestimate Steve Winwood's piano accents... It's what you don't play that makes what you do play so memorable, so infectious.
The original is so relaxed, so personal you feel like you know the players even if you've never met them.
And let's go for the Mason trifecta, with "Cryin' To Be Heard," my favorite cut on the album for so long. It's the dynamics. Or maybe my whole damn life I've been crying to be heard.
It's the way Mason sings... Once upon a time the musicians made the records for themselves, which made the results so human we all needed to hear them.
Wood and Winwood shine again. Listen to that harpsichord!
And let's now switch the focus to the best song on the album, Winwood's "40,000 Headmen."
You've got to see it live. It's the way the whole band hesitates, just before he looks behind and sees the 40,000 headmen. Whew!
And as great as Mason's vocals are, Winwood positively blows him away here. It's like a journeyman infielder being eclipsed by a superstar.
But wait, there's more!
If you want to know what '68 was truly like, listen to "Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring." Back then, music was primary, it existed outside mainstream culture, it was just for us, laying back on our new beanbag chairs, amidst the smoke and the drink, lazing on a sunny afternoon. "Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring" sounds more like San Francisco than the bands who lived there!
And, of course, there's "No Time To Live." The intro sounds like it was cut in Morocco. And Winwood's vocal is so heartfelt, so real, you're stunned into submission...that's the power of music.
And yes, Capaldi, the drummer, the cowriter, sings "Vagabond Virgin." And "Means To An End" finishes the album with the same upbeat feel as the opener, "You Can All Join In." But the second song on the record is the indelible PEARLY QUEEN!
"I bought a sequined suit from a pearly queen
And she could drink more wine than I'd ever seen
She had some gypsy blood flowing through her feet
And when the time was right she said that I would meet
My destiny"
What is my destiny?
I wasn't sure back then, but it was albums like "Traffic" that steered me in my ultimate direction. You just wanted to get inside them. You had to go to the gig to see the band. You had to go every tour to hear the album cuts, back when there were no singles and every track was worth hearing.
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/p6HcZ8
Previous Rhinofy playlists: http://www.rhinofy.com/lefsetz
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Friday 24 May 2013
More IMS/Ibiza
1. The research report is now free. Although it's not. As in the website has not been updated to reflect this. The change should be imminent, I recommend you go to: http://www.internationalmusicsummit.com and download it when it is...free. You'll learn a lot.
2. Went clubbing last night. Did I really say that? I mean I went to clubs. And that's the word that popped out of my mouth/keyboard, but I would never sit at home and say...I'M GOING OUT CLUBBING! Because I'm just not that kind of person. But the people in Ibiza are...
Like the women in the hotel elevator...
I'm staying at the Gran Hotel (http://www.ibizagranhotel.com/en/home). The rooms all have bathtubs...in the rooms. I think I missed the memo as to why I'd want this. And decks...overlooking the pool, where all the action is. And yes, the women are topless. But even more interesting is their bodies are not perfect. Not that they seem inhibited by this. It's like TMZ and Radar Online never got to Ibiza, you can let your freak flag fly.
As for the women in the elevator... They had skintight pants made of material that looked like leather, with glitter, and heels very high, but they were not twenty or even thirty, they were way past forty. People this age in America stay home. But here you go out.
And when you do...
What stunned me at Pacha was the bad bodies and unattractive people. Whoa! Save the hate mail. I'm just saying I live in Los Angeles, where how you look is more important than where you went to college, if you even did. It's an outdoor/workout culture, where if you weren't born beautiful, you're doing everything in your power to appear so. Sure, some people get plastic surgery, but you'd be stunned what diet and exercise and makeup and a stylist can do.
But the women at Pacha didn't get the message. Everybody looked positively...normal. Lumpy bodies. Far from dazzling clothing.
As for the men...they were even worse. Chunky in t-shirts. Really. I'm climbing the stairs to the bathroom and I'm asking myself...are they planning to get laid?
I just don't know... The culture that is. Is it just dancing and drugging, or at the end of the night do these less than perfect specimens exchange bodily fluids? Maybe it doesn't matter how you look, just that you're there...I'm gonna have to do more research.
As for the club...it wasn't dead, but it wasn't jumping. But it was early. About 1:15. Yes, the most desirable slot is around 4 A.M. Hell, there are even outdoor venues where the sun rising over the dance floor is part of the appeal.
Next we went to Downtown Cipriani to hear Rob da Bank and Fatboy Slim.
So I'm standing there, sipping a limon, and what's coming out of the speaker is...is that Michael McDonald's "I Keep Forgettin'"?
Yup!
Rob is a Radio 1 deejay. A specialist. Early morning transition. From sleep to awakening. Turns out the station is full of these people, who do once a week shows. It's as if Top Forty was programmed like a public radio station. And what Rob played constantly surprised me.
And then Norman got behind the decks.
Rob used CDs. Burned ones. That he inserted into Pioneer decks that could be manipulated like vinyl.
Fatboy Slim used his laptop.
And Norman/Fatboy, whose real name is Quentin, was more into it than those on the floor, clapping his hands, jitterbugging in his bare feet...yup, he always deejays in his bare feet. And this was his second gig of the night! Deejaying, when done right, is FUN!
What a concept.
As for the clientele at Downtown Cipriani...it was much more upscale. But I was warned by an agent that those desirable women were high class hookers. Study them long enough and you can pick them out.
So I stayed until about three, got to bed a bit after four and woke up around noon, that's the Ibiza lifestyle.
3. Just heard Ben Turner interview Sven Vath.
Either you know who he is or you don't. That's the essence of dance culture, either you're clued in or left out. But the great thing is if you get the bug, you can go down the rabbit hole online, you can educate yourself. It's just like the sixties and seventies, except the acts are different and so is the music...bottom line, you want to know everything.
And standing on the diving board of EDM, a term everybody here loathes, you're wondering whether to dive into the pool. Because you just can't dip your toe, you've got to go head first, you've got to learn. But being in Ibiza motivates you. Because you hear such intriguing music. Nile Rodgers did an anthem for the IMS, and it was good, the guitar part at the end was riveting, but the remix by Eats Everything was killer. You wanted to hear it again. And that's the essence of all great music.
And Vath is pushing fifty. He slept in a chair the first summer he was here. He eventually got a Monday night slot. And now he's a deejaying, curating superstar. It's a lifestyle. You can give up the trappings and move to Ibiza, but you can't have one foot in the real world and one here, it just doesn't work.
And Vath is from Frankfurt, English is not his first language, but listen long enough and insight emerges that most Americans never evidence.
He was asked about VIP.
Yes, it's serious business here. Up to 40,000 euros a night.
Sven said he played for the dance floor. Yes, the essence is always the hoi polloi. They buy all the products and make all the movements. If you're not playing to everyman, you're lost. That's what the techies have right and the "artists" have wrong. Techies want to make gear/applications used by everybody, Rush Limbaugh loves Apple as much as the Progressives. Whereas the "artists" are just looking to sell out to the Fortune 500. When all the money comes from looking in the other direction, to the people.
And Sven was asked about this summer season in Ibiza.
And I was stunned he was honest.
Prices were too high. Southern Europe, Spain and Italy, Ibiza's backbone, are going through an economic crisis, who can afford to come to these events at the clubs?
Funny how it takes a deejay to speak the truth.
Just because some rich pricks can overpay to attend so they can tell their buds they were there, never forget, once again, it's the hoi polloi who pay your bills, who keep you going. I don't care if the Rolling Stones average $300+ a ticket, that's just too damn high to go to a rock show. Go paperless, leave some money on the table. Sure, you may be thwarting the scalpers, but you're also thwarting your hard core fans, who live for this music. Yup, the music is everything to the poor, it's an accoutrement to the rich.
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2. Went clubbing last night. Did I really say that? I mean I went to clubs. And that's the word that popped out of my mouth/keyboard, but I would never sit at home and say...I'M GOING OUT CLUBBING! Because I'm just not that kind of person. But the people in Ibiza are...
Like the women in the hotel elevator...
I'm staying at the Gran Hotel (http://www.ibizagranhotel.com/en/home). The rooms all have bathtubs...in the rooms. I think I missed the memo as to why I'd want this. And decks...overlooking the pool, where all the action is. And yes, the women are topless. But even more interesting is their bodies are not perfect. Not that they seem inhibited by this. It's like TMZ and Radar Online never got to Ibiza, you can let your freak flag fly.
As for the women in the elevator... They had skintight pants made of material that looked like leather, with glitter, and heels very high, but they were not twenty or even thirty, they were way past forty. People this age in America stay home. But here you go out.
And when you do...
What stunned me at Pacha was the bad bodies and unattractive people. Whoa! Save the hate mail. I'm just saying I live in Los Angeles, where how you look is more important than where you went to college, if you even did. It's an outdoor/workout culture, where if you weren't born beautiful, you're doing everything in your power to appear so. Sure, some people get plastic surgery, but you'd be stunned what diet and exercise and makeup and a stylist can do.
But the women at Pacha didn't get the message. Everybody looked positively...normal. Lumpy bodies. Far from dazzling clothing.
As for the men...they were even worse. Chunky in t-shirts. Really. I'm climbing the stairs to the bathroom and I'm asking myself...are they planning to get laid?
I just don't know... The culture that is. Is it just dancing and drugging, or at the end of the night do these less than perfect specimens exchange bodily fluids? Maybe it doesn't matter how you look, just that you're there...I'm gonna have to do more research.
As for the club...it wasn't dead, but it wasn't jumping. But it was early. About 1:15. Yes, the most desirable slot is around 4 A.M. Hell, there are even outdoor venues where the sun rising over the dance floor is part of the appeal.
Next we went to Downtown Cipriani to hear Rob da Bank and Fatboy Slim.
So I'm standing there, sipping a limon, and what's coming out of the speaker is...is that Michael McDonald's "I Keep Forgettin'"?
Yup!
Rob is a Radio 1 deejay. A specialist. Early morning transition. From sleep to awakening. Turns out the station is full of these people, who do once a week shows. It's as if Top Forty was programmed like a public radio station. And what Rob played constantly surprised me.
And then Norman got behind the decks.
Rob used CDs. Burned ones. That he inserted into Pioneer decks that could be manipulated like vinyl.
Fatboy Slim used his laptop.
And Norman/Fatboy, whose real name is Quentin, was more into it than those on the floor, clapping his hands, jitterbugging in his bare feet...yup, he always deejays in his bare feet. And this was his second gig of the night! Deejaying, when done right, is FUN!
What a concept.
As for the clientele at Downtown Cipriani...it was much more upscale. But I was warned by an agent that those desirable women were high class hookers. Study them long enough and you can pick them out.
So I stayed until about three, got to bed a bit after four and woke up around noon, that's the Ibiza lifestyle.
3. Just heard Ben Turner interview Sven Vath.
Either you know who he is or you don't. That's the essence of dance culture, either you're clued in or left out. But the great thing is if you get the bug, you can go down the rabbit hole online, you can educate yourself. It's just like the sixties and seventies, except the acts are different and so is the music...bottom line, you want to know everything.
And standing on the diving board of EDM, a term everybody here loathes, you're wondering whether to dive into the pool. Because you just can't dip your toe, you've got to go head first, you've got to learn. But being in Ibiza motivates you. Because you hear such intriguing music. Nile Rodgers did an anthem for the IMS, and it was good, the guitar part at the end was riveting, but the remix by Eats Everything was killer. You wanted to hear it again. And that's the essence of all great music.
And Vath is pushing fifty. He slept in a chair the first summer he was here. He eventually got a Monday night slot. And now he's a deejaying, curating superstar. It's a lifestyle. You can give up the trappings and move to Ibiza, but you can't have one foot in the real world and one here, it just doesn't work.
And Vath is from Frankfurt, English is not his first language, but listen long enough and insight emerges that most Americans never evidence.
He was asked about VIP.
Yes, it's serious business here. Up to 40,000 euros a night.
Sven said he played for the dance floor. Yes, the essence is always the hoi polloi. They buy all the products and make all the movements. If you're not playing to everyman, you're lost. That's what the techies have right and the "artists" have wrong. Techies want to make gear/applications used by everybody, Rush Limbaugh loves Apple as much as the Progressives. Whereas the "artists" are just looking to sell out to the Fortune 500. When all the money comes from looking in the other direction, to the people.
And Sven was asked about this summer season in Ibiza.
And I was stunned he was honest.
Prices were too high. Southern Europe, Spain and Italy, Ibiza's backbone, are going through an economic crisis, who can afford to come to these events at the clubs?
Funny how it takes a deejay to speak the truth.
Just because some rich pricks can overpay to attend so they can tell their buds they were there, never forget, once again, it's the hoi polloi who pay your bills, who keep you going. I don't care if the Rolling Stones average $300+ a ticket, that's just too damn high to go to a rock show. Go paperless, leave some money on the table. Sure, you may be thwarting the scalpers, but you're also thwarting your hard core fans, who live for this music. Yup, the music is everything to the poor, it's an accoutrement to the rich.
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Thursday 23 May 2013
Nile Rodgers In Ibiza
"We're up all night 'til the sun
We're up all night to get some
We're up all night for good fun
We're up all night to get lucky"
Number one in 65 countries!
And what's the most distinctive element of "Get Lucky"?
NILE RODGERS'S GUITAR PART!
So they put the Daft Punk track up on the PA, Nile's got to hear it, he hasn't played it for a year, he doesn't know the key, he doesn't know the lick.
And he starts off all wrong. Finally figures out it's in B minor. And he's looking down at his Stratoscaster, up in the air for inspiration, he's making mistakes, he's not only trying to find the notes, but the groove.
And then, you can feel it, he's locking on. He's settled in just when you figure he'll be unable to. And his right hand is flicking, his head is nodding, his body is writhing, he's playing along to himself.
And then it gets better, he STANDS!
I'm thousands of miles from home. It's way too early for Ibiza, where most people don't arise until noon and dinner is close to midnight. I'm in a conference room. The lights are bright. And suddenly I'm having a peak experience. The link between sitting at home in Santa Monica listening on my headphones to being in the presence of the creator.
"We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky"
That we were!
Nile figured he'd never connect with Daft Punk. When they were in Paris he was in St. Tropez. And vice versa. But finally they rang him in the Big Apple, his hometown, and they came to his apartment and...
They talked concepts.
That's what Nile wants to do, hear you describe the drawing in your head. And then he adds paint to complete the picture. He's all about building from the bottom up. Writing then rewriting. What comes out first sucks, but when he's done, it's magic!
We saw this exact process in front of our very eyes!
First and foremost, Nile Rodgers can talk.
This is unusual. Too often the musicians are distant, laconic, two-dimensional people who can barely complete a sentence. They speak through their music and that's it.
But not Nile. Maybe because he's from New York, the land of conversation.
And the land of the hang. That's how Nile's got so many of his gigs, by hanging. He was in a club imbibing while David Bowie drank orange juice and the end result was..."Let's Dance."
Wanna work with Nile?
Hang with him.
And I'm sure he's a good time. Because he's smart, he's got insight. You can see him working it, but you don't mind, because he's so entertaining. If you think becoming successful is purely about playing, you haven't made it. The social aspect is at least fifty percent.
And you need help. Collaboration. Nile believes in it. Pushing each other to greatness.
After Daft Punk got "Get Lucky" they'd have everybody redo their parts, individually. And then they'd send the result to the next person in the chain. Nathan East heard Nile's new work and then he had to recut his bass part, he had to raise his game to complement Nile and the other players.
Complement. That's Nile's style. He wants to add the accents.
Speaking of which, he said he doesn't argue about song splits, because often the tiniest little thing pushes the song over the top, like "ahh...Freak Out!"
What I loved about Nile was he was not humble.
He said Chic was so damn rich they didn't even file a purchase order for their albums, they just delivered them and got a check. Hell, that's how they found out they were dropped, when they delivered their new album and the label wouldn't pay for it!
And Nile doesn't work with you unless he can add something.
And he plays guitar on every album he does.
And he jumps from project to project...
Not that he doesn't live online. He's easily reachable!
The old myth is I'm better than you, I'm different from you, I want nothing to do with you!
Not that Nile has much time.
And the insights!
How could Madonna use "bourgeoisie" in a song?
He winced, then he found himself singing along in the car.
He's driven by jealousy. He wishes he did what you did. So he takes it and twists it and improves it and makes it his own.
He rarely thought his records were hits, he depended upon the label and the deejays to make them so.
And the stories!
Miles Davis imploring Nile to write him a "Good Times."
The inability to create a hit for Peter Gabriel, who blamed himself for delivering substandard songs.
And his best gig ever... Playing the stadium in San Diego where cheers were so loud the police insisted they take a tour around the warning track in a golf car to allay a riot. The band had already gone back to L.A., they couldn't play, and Marvin Gaye was already set up. Furthermore, when the cops knocked on the dressing room door they thought it was a bust. For they were hoovering up lines of coke!
These are the things that musicians remember.
And Nile never goes to clubs anymore. He's sober, and he can't take hearing "I love you man!" over and over again as the bass thumps.
But he loves dance music.
And pop.
That's his goal, to create hits. Indelible productions that play worldwide. Obscurity is no fun.
And he wouldn't shut up, he wore us out. If you're not passionate about what you do, if you're not more into it than we are, if you don't live for it...you're never gonna make it.
Nile Rodgers figuring out his part on "Get Lucky": http://t.co/1K15FTER44
Nile in "Get Lucky" full swing: http://t.co/1W90xY6PS7
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We're up all night to get some
We're up all night for good fun
We're up all night to get lucky"
Number one in 65 countries!
And what's the most distinctive element of "Get Lucky"?
NILE RODGERS'S GUITAR PART!
So they put the Daft Punk track up on the PA, Nile's got to hear it, he hasn't played it for a year, he doesn't know the key, he doesn't know the lick.
And he starts off all wrong. Finally figures out it's in B minor. And he's looking down at his Stratoscaster, up in the air for inspiration, he's making mistakes, he's not only trying to find the notes, but the groove.
And then, you can feel it, he's locking on. He's settled in just when you figure he'll be unable to. And his right hand is flicking, his head is nodding, his body is writhing, he's playing along to himself.
And then it gets better, he STANDS!
I'm thousands of miles from home. It's way too early for Ibiza, where most people don't arise until noon and dinner is close to midnight. I'm in a conference room. The lights are bright. And suddenly I'm having a peak experience. The link between sitting at home in Santa Monica listening on my headphones to being in the presence of the creator.
"We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky"
That we were!
Nile figured he'd never connect with Daft Punk. When they were in Paris he was in St. Tropez. And vice versa. But finally they rang him in the Big Apple, his hometown, and they came to his apartment and...
They talked concepts.
That's what Nile wants to do, hear you describe the drawing in your head. And then he adds paint to complete the picture. He's all about building from the bottom up. Writing then rewriting. What comes out first sucks, but when he's done, it's magic!
We saw this exact process in front of our very eyes!
First and foremost, Nile Rodgers can talk.
This is unusual. Too often the musicians are distant, laconic, two-dimensional people who can barely complete a sentence. They speak through their music and that's it.
But not Nile. Maybe because he's from New York, the land of conversation.
And the land of the hang. That's how Nile's got so many of his gigs, by hanging. He was in a club imbibing while David Bowie drank orange juice and the end result was..."Let's Dance."
Wanna work with Nile?
Hang with him.
And I'm sure he's a good time. Because he's smart, he's got insight. You can see him working it, but you don't mind, because he's so entertaining. If you think becoming successful is purely about playing, you haven't made it. The social aspect is at least fifty percent.
And you need help. Collaboration. Nile believes in it. Pushing each other to greatness.
After Daft Punk got "Get Lucky" they'd have everybody redo their parts, individually. And then they'd send the result to the next person in the chain. Nathan East heard Nile's new work and then he had to recut his bass part, he had to raise his game to complement Nile and the other players.
Complement. That's Nile's style. He wants to add the accents.
Speaking of which, he said he doesn't argue about song splits, because often the tiniest little thing pushes the song over the top, like "ahh...Freak Out!"
What I loved about Nile was he was not humble.
He said Chic was so damn rich they didn't even file a purchase order for their albums, they just delivered them and got a check. Hell, that's how they found out they were dropped, when they delivered their new album and the label wouldn't pay for it!
And Nile doesn't work with you unless he can add something.
And he plays guitar on every album he does.
And he jumps from project to project...
Not that he doesn't live online. He's easily reachable!
The old myth is I'm better than you, I'm different from you, I want nothing to do with you!
Not that Nile has much time.
And the insights!
How could Madonna use "bourgeoisie" in a song?
He winced, then he found himself singing along in the car.
He's driven by jealousy. He wishes he did what you did. So he takes it and twists it and improves it and makes it his own.
He rarely thought his records were hits, he depended upon the label and the deejays to make them so.
And the stories!
Miles Davis imploring Nile to write him a "Good Times."
The inability to create a hit for Peter Gabriel, who blamed himself for delivering substandard songs.
And his best gig ever... Playing the stadium in San Diego where cheers were so loud the police insisted they take a tour around the warning track in a golf car to allay a riot. The band had already gone back to L.A., they couldn't play, and Marvin Gaye was already set up. Furthermore, when the cops knocked on the dressing room door they thought it was a bust. For they were hoovering up lines of coke!
These are the things that musicians remember.
And Nile never goes to clubs anymore. He's sober, and he can't take hearing "I love you man!" over and over again as the bass thumps.
But he loves dance music.
And pop.
That's his goal, to create hits. Indelible productions that play worldwide. Obscurity is no fun.
And he wouldn't shut up, he wore us out. If you're not passionate about what you do, if you're not more into it than we are, if you don't live for it...you're never gonna make it.
Nile Rodgers figuring out his part on "Get Lucky": http://t.co/1K15FTER44
Nile in "Get Lucky" full swing: http://t.co/1W90xY6PS7
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Wednesday 22 May 2013
Ibiza
That's where I am. For the IMS (International Music Summit), the kingpins of dance music, EDM or as Shelly Finkel informed us, ECM, "Electronic Music Culture," which is what they call it at Live Nation.
Which is going deep. They just bought Insomniac. They don't want to be left out. Is EDM the future?
Interesting question.
The most fascinating panel so far was at the very beginning, wherein Kevin Watson presented the statistics. He said they were going to be posted on the IMS website (http://www.internationalmusicsummit.com), but what I didn't know is they're gonna charge for them, which is a big mistake, isn't that how the labels got in trouble? Then again, those who need to read 'em can afford 'em and probably won't do so anyway.
Information, it's the essence of the modern world. But not the music business. The music business is built on B.S. Smoke and mirrors. Otherwise known as lies. That gig that sold out, it didn't. That album that sold millions, it didn't. And if a statistic is visible, like Twitter followers, they employ companies to muck them up, drive them up, so they ultimately become meaningless. Tell the label how many Facebook likes you've got, they don't care. Online statistics are a way for nobodies at home to feel glorious. It's a way for those not good enough at sports to get a trophy. But if you think amassing followers online is the key to long term success, you've never heard of Tila Tequila.
So what did I learn from the report?
1. 72 million people watched the Tomorrowland after movie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWb5Qc-fBvk). You know, the ad that plays AFTER the show is over. Huh? Everybody thinks a show is an evanescent thing, one and done. But that's not true at all. You're in the longevity business, the repeatability business, the excitement business. You want people to feel they've missed out, that they need to go next time. Every act could do this, create a compilation of what they did on tour. But they don't, because they can't see the immediate benefit. That's shortsighted. These videos are glossy and titillating and better than most stuff Hollywood releases. It's the "Real World" on steroids. You want to go hang out, rub bodies... Yes, live music is about the experience, and you've got to make people want to go.
2. "The largest EDM clubs in Vegas make over $600m pa, with two huge additions arriving in 2013."
XS does over $80 mil
Marquee, almost as much
TAO, a bit over 60
Heard of these places? Probably not. And that's just the point. As aboveground as EDM has become, it's still underground. Because it doesn't appeal to the mainstream media. The talent isn't made up of photogenic paraders, there's no drama and the reporters hate the music. Which is why EDM is burgeoning. It's owned by the young. It's a perfect medium for today, not dependent upon recordings and based on the unstealable live experience.
As for Vegas... Is it the new Ibiza?
Well, Ibiza has got Ushuaia.
Huh?
Check it out: http://www.ushuaiabeachhotel.com
This is where you want to go. Take a look at the pics. If you don't feel the bodies, if you can't see the sex, you're deaf, dumb and blind. And it's far from free, there's plenty of money to be made, selling not only music but a full experience, like hotel rooms.
Then again, Pacha blinked. In case you missed it, read the "New York Times" story:
"Trouble Stalking Night-Life Paradise": http://nyti.ms/10H3V34
The guy from Pacha on the panel today gave no additional insight. But the club took itself out of the game almost instantly. It's like Katy Perry going back to Christian music. We'll see if it lasts.
As for the Las Vegas/Ibiza war... Ibiza benefits from having a short season. Being all about the music. But never underestimate Vegas, the desert capital has the money.
As for clubs being the new venues...no one imagined playing rock in arenas and stadiums.
3. The Global EDM Industry is now worth over $4.5 billion.
Wasn't the music business supposed to be dead?
Well, it just got reinvented.
As for that 4.5, the lion's share is live, which is 2.5, brand sponsorship and production hardware and software are .75 and recorded music is 1.25. In other words, if you're looking to recorded music to make you're nut, you're looking in the wrong place.
Live Nation has it right, it is a culture. With everything the bankrupt rock culture once possessed. It's for the fans. It's deep. You can feel it. It's not fly by night. Will it last forever?
OF COURSE!
Will it be as big as it is now?
Questionable...
Turns out it's a hits business. Guetta's crossed over, and now Calvin Harris has too, with 400 million YouTube views and Spotify streams, 7 million sales in the UK and USA, 1 million plays on SoundCloud and an estimated 500 million torrent downloads. Yup, free music can be good for you. But the main point is it's now the aggregate, sales numbers are not everything, you've got to look at the total picture.
In order for EDM to continue its victory lap, it needs not only its Donna Summer, but many more. It's started. But when you turn on the radio and hear EDM music regularly, you'll know it's here to stay.
Otherwise, it's a scene. And scenes come and go, sometimes overnight.
Like the Irish guys I had lunch with told me... Dance is dead in clubs there. Fans want to see bands, like Imagine Dragons. But festivals are all about DJs. They're thinking the bubble might be close to bursting.
And then there's the DJ/fan relationship. It's key. The business people are trumpeting branding, all those endorsement/advertisements with the private jets and high rolling lifestyle. That worked for hip-hop, but that's a different culture. English agents thought it was putting a barrier between act and fan. That it was death. In other words, are we returning to a music culture? People get enough money culture in the rest of their lives, they might not tolerate it in dance.
But I will tell you the excitement of being here is palpable. No one's bitching, the music is pumping, the scene around the pool is enticing, I'm all ears and eyes.
P.S. There's an app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/international-music-summit/id646200913?mt=8 Just like Twitter, don't think of apps as moneymakers unto themselves, but a way to service your fans. Furthermore, many more people downloaded the app than are attending the conference. Yes, you can play at home. Don't think of apps as being long term, but rather short term information. An app for this tour...next year you create a new one. If you can't stand in the audience and pull up information about what you're seeing, the promoter did not do his job.
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Which is going deep. They just bought Insomniac. They don't want to be left out. Is EDM the future?
Interesting question.
The most fascinating panel so far was at the very beginning, wherein Kevin Watson presented the statistics. He said they were going to be posted on the IMS website (http://www.internationalmusicsummit.com), but what I didn't know is they're gonna charge for them, which is a big mistake, isn't that how the labels got in trouble? Then again, those who need to read 'em can afford 'em and probably won't do so anyway.
Information, it's the essence of the modern world. But not the music business. The music business is built on B.S. Smoke and mirrors. Otherwise known as lies. That gig that sold out, it didn't. That album that sold millions, it didn't. And if a statistic is visible, like Twitter followers, they employ companies to muck them up, drive them up, so they ultimately become meaningless. Tell the label how many Facebook likes you've got, they don't care. Online statistics are a way for nobodies at home to feel glorious. It's a way for those not good enough at sports to get a trophy. But if you think amassing followers online is the key to long term success, you've never heard of Tila Tequila.
So what did I learn from the report?
1. 72 million people watched the Tomorrowland after movie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWb5Qc-fBvk). You know, the ad that plays AFTER the show is over. Huh? Everybody thinks a show is an evanescent thing, one and done. But that's not true at all. You're in the longevity business, the repeatability business, the excitement business. You want people to feel they've missed out, that they need to go next time. Every act could do this, create a compilation of what they did on tour. But they don't, because they can't see the immediate benefit. That's shortsighted. These videos are glossy and titillating and better than most stuff Hollywood releases. It's the "Real World" on steroids. You want to go hang out, rub bodies... Yes, live music is about the experience, and you've got to make people want to go.
2. "The largest EDM clubs in Vegas make over $600m pa, with two huge additions arriving in 2013."
XS does over $80 mil
Marquee, almost as much
TAO, a bit over 60
Heard of these places? Probably not. And that's just the point. As aboveground as EDM has become, it's still underground. Because it doesn't appeal to the mainstream media. The talent isn't made up of photogenic paraders, there's no drama and the reporters hate the music. Which is why EDM is burgeoning. It's owned by the young. It's a perfect medium for today, not dependent upon recordings and based on the unstealable live experience.
As for Vegas... Is it the new Ibiza?
Well, Ibiza has got Ushuaia.
Huh?
Check it out: http://www.ushuaiabeachhotel.com
This is where you want to go. Take a look at the pics. If you don't feel the bodies, if you can't see the sex, you're deaf, dumb and blind. And it's far from free, there's plenty of money to be made, selling not only music but a full experience, like hotel rooms.
Then again, Pacha blinked. In case you missed it, read the "New York Times" story:
"Trouble Stalking Night-Life Paradise": http://nyti.ms/10H3V34
The guy from Pacha on the panel today gave no additional insight. But the club took itself out of the game almost instantly. It's like Katy Perry going back to Christian music. We'll see if it lasts.
As for the Las Vegas/Ibiza war... Ibiza benefits from having a short season. Being all about the music. But never underestimate Vegas, the desert capital has the money.
As for clubs being the new venues...no one imagined playing rock in arenas and stadiums.
3. The Global EDM Industry is now worth over $4.5 billion.
Wasn't the music business supposed to be dead?
Well, it just got reinvented.
As for that 4.5, the lion's share is live, which is 2.5, brand sponsorship and production hardware and software are .75 and recorded music is 1.25. In other words, if you're looking to recorded music to make you're nut, you're looking in the wrong place.
Live Nation has it right, it is a culture. With everything the bankrupt rock culture once possessed. It's for the fans. It's deep. You can feel it. It's not fly by night. Will it last forever?
OF COURSE!
Will it be as big as it is now?
Questionable...
Turns out it's a hits business. Guetta's crossed over, and now Calvin Harris has too, with 400 million YouTube views and Spotify streams, 7 million sales in the UK and USA, 1 million plays on SoundCloud and an estimated 500 million torrent downloads. Yup, free music can be good for you. But the main point is it's now the aggregate, sales numbers are not everything, you've got to look at the total picture.
In order for EDM to continue its victory lap, it needs not only its Donna Summer, but many more. It's started. But when you turn on the radio and hear EDM music regularly, you'll know it's here to stay.
Otherwise, it's a scene. And scenes come and go, sometimes overnight.
Like the Irish guys I had lunch with told me... Dance is dead in clubs there. Fans want to see bands, like Imagine Dragons. But festivals are all about DJs. They're thinking the bubble might be close to bursting.
And then there's the DJ/fan relationship. It's key. The business people are trumpeting branding, all those endorsement/advertisements with the private jets and high rolling lifestyle. That worked for hip-hop, but that's a different culture. English agents thought it was putting a barrier between act and fan. That it was death. In other words, are we returning to a music culture? People get enough money culture in the rest of their lives, they might not tolerate it in dance.
But I will tell you the excitement of being here is palpable. No one's bitching, the music is pumping, the scene around the pool is enticing, I'm all ears and eyes.
P.S. There's an app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/international-music-summit/id646200913?mt=8 Just like Twitter, don't think of apps as moneymakers unto themselves, but a way to service your fans. Furthermore, many more people downloaded the app than are attending the conference. Yes, you can play at home. Don't think of apps as being long term, but rather short term information. An app for this tour...next year you create a new one. If you can't stand in the audience and pull up information about what you're seeing, the promoter did not do his job.
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WME
They're looking for a few good men...and women.
Geiger told me he went to New Orleans, to speak at a convention of music educators. Why? Because he wanted their best and brightest, he wanted the cream of the crop to come work for him at WME.
No, Geiger doesn't make the decision. He'll pass people through, like the person Mother Hubbard recommended, but he wants a better caliber of person for their training program.
They take fifty a year.
Forget the summer internship, that's a whole 'nother deal, albeit worthwhile. WME is looking for fifty people a year go to through their boot camp in L.A., New York, Nashville, Miami...do you have the goods?
Everybody says there's no opportunity.
There certainly isn't any at the labels. I have a friend who manages a household name act, he feels sorry for those who work at the label. While the top dogs gallivant around, the workers burn the midnight oil for little compensation and almost no possibility of moving up the food chain. Take a look at these companies...it's still the same damn baby boomers, even older than baby boomers! So when you complain you can't get a job at the label, all I can say is you're looking in the wrong damn place.
But are you cut out for the WME training program? Are you ready to put your nose to the grindstone and work?
That's the problem with millennials. They want the reward quickly, with positive feedback along the way. I know, because I had dinner with an exec for a publishing company just the other night, she said college students come in and refuse to take a starter job, they refuse to make tea. She laughs and forgets them. She had a starter job, she still makes tea, despite having a fancy schmantzy title. Want instant rewards, work for yourself!
Then again, that's a long hard road, and there's no mentoring.
But, as stated above, Geiger doesn't want just anybody. He wants those with insight, who preferably have already achieved something. Yes, that's the dirty little secret. Have you booked some bands or are you still wet behind the ears? Do you want it all on a silver platter or have you been kicked around yet are both excited and humbled?
We have not had the best and the brightest in music for a very long time.
And yes, Marc Geiger is looking to traditional music business programs. But I asked him about those who attended Ivies, who can think but need to be trained. He told me WME was open to all comers, to bring it on. And that you can apply on the website, and what he was telling me was not news.
But it was news to me.
P.S. You've got to be a college graduate. Don't bitch about all the money spent, don't tell me you're different, this is the entry price, kind of like needing to be sixteen with hours of experience to get your driver's license. Used to be college started you up the ladder, now it gives you a chance to climb the ladder.
P.P.S. Two years, that's how long the boot camp is. You'll get enough money to pay your bills, but not a whole hell of a lot more, not that you'll have time to spend it. This is a delayed gratification program, like life.
P.P.P.S. Assuming you make it through, and many wash out, then you'll be assigned to a department, and ultimately you'll get your freedom in four to seven years when an opening arises. Yup, four years in you'll be making 60+, assuming you're good. And then...then you've got to show your mettle, you've got to demonstrate your wares. They don't pass you along just because you've been there, you've got to show initiative, you've got to demonstrate results, and if you do, you can make a lot of money. Yup, the board has tilted. The power's no longer with the labels but the agents and the promoters. And WME is actively looking for people. You're not going to start off making what you would at the bank, but you might love your work, and that's what life's about.
P.P.P.P.S. Carole Katz. She's the sieve, she's the decider. I debated leaving her name out, making you hunt for it, because it's those with initiative who win, but I'll give you some focus. Don't barrage her with e-mails and inundate her with cookies. Send something of substance, this is not a two-dimensional beauty contest, WME wants to know who you are, then they want to teach you their method.
P.P.P.P.P.S. It's an arms race. Geiger's not the only one looking for people, WME's not the only agency with a training program. And yes, you can start on your own and merge later, but generally speaking that's a different kind of person, like Tom Windish, who wants to remain independent. If you're looking for opportunities, I just gave you one. But competition is fierce. Welcome to the music business.
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Geiger told me he went to New Orleans, to speak at a convention of music educators. Why? Because he wanted their best and brightest, he wanted the cream of the crop to come work for him at WME.
No, Geiger doesn't make the decision. He'll pass people through, like the person Mother Hubbard recommended, but he wants a better caliber of person for their training program.
They take fifty a year.
Forget the summer internship, that's a whole 'nother deal, albeit worthwhile. WME is looking for fifty people a year go to through their boot camp in L.A., New York, Nashville, Miami...do you have the goods?
Everybody says there's no opportunity.
There certainly isn't any at the labels. I have a friend who manages a household name act, he feels sorry for those who work at the label. While the top dogs gallivant around, the workers burn the midnight oil for little compensation and almost no possibility of moving up the food chain. Take a look at these companies...it's still the same damn baby boomers, even older than baby boomers! So when you complain you can't get a job at the label, all I can say is you're looking in the wrong damn place.
But are you cut out for the WME training program? Are you ready to put your nose to the grindstone and work?
That's the problem with millennials. They want the reward quickly, with positive feedback along the way. I know, because I had dinner with an exec for a publishing company just the other night, she said college students come in and refuse to take a starter job, they refuse to make tea. She laughs and forgets them. She had a starter job, she still makes tea, despite having a fancy schmantzy title. Want instant rewards, work for yourself!
Then again, that's a long hard road, and there's no mentoring.
But, as stated above, Geiger doesn't want just anybody. He wants those with insight, who preferably have already achieved something. Yes, that's the dirty little secret. Have you booked some bands or are you still wet behind the ears? Do you want it all on a silver platter or have you been kicked around yet are both excited and humbled?
We have not had the best and the brightest in music for a very long time.
And yes, Marc Geiger is looking to traditional music business programs. But I asked him about those who attended Ivies, who can think but need to be trained. He told me WME was open to all comers, to bring it on. And that you can apply on the website, and what he was telling me was not news.
But it was news to me.
P.S. You've got to be a college graduate. Don't bitch about all the money spent, don't tell me you're different, this is the entry price, kind of like needing to be sixteen with hours of experience to get your driver's license. Used to be college started you up the ladder, now it gives you a chance to climb the ladder.
P.P.S. Two years, that's how long the boot camp is. You'll get enough money to pay your bills, but not a whole hell of a lot more, not that you'll have time to spend it. This is a delayed gratification program, like life.
P.P.P.S. Assuming you make it through, and many wash out, then you'll be assigned to a department, and ultimately you'll get your freedom in four to seven years when an opening arises. Yup, four years in you'll be making 60+, assuming you're good. And then...then you've got to show your mettle, you've got to demonstrate your wares. They don't pass you along just because you've been there, you've got to show initiative, you've got to demonstrate results, and if you do, you can make a lot of money. Yup, the board has tilted. The power's no longer with the labels but the agents and the promoters. And WME is actively looking for people. You're not going to start off making what you would at the bank, but you might love your work, and that's what life's about.
P.P.P.P.S. Carole Katz. She's the sieve, she's the decider. I debated leaving her name out, making you hunt for it, because it's those with initiative who win, but I'll give you some focus. Don't barrage her with e-mails and inundate her with cookies. Send something of substance, this is not a two-dimensional beauty contest, WME wants to know who you are, then they want to teach you their method.
P.P.P.P.P.S. It's an arms race. Geiger's not the only one looking for people, WME's not the only agency with a training program. And yes, you can start on your own and merge later, but generally speaking that's a different kind of person, like Tom Windish, who wants to remain independent. If you're looking for opportunities, I just gave you one. But competition is fierce. Welcome to the music business.
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Tuesday 21 May 2013
London City Airport
I've got time to kill, Catskill, June in July...so I figured I'd check in.
Just went through security. They've got a great system with the trays. You know, the bins you put your wares into to be scanned.
You see there's a return path, like at the grocery store, or the way it used to be, in the days of parcel pickup, when they'd put your bags into a bin and it would slide down rollers all the way outside and a gentleman, actually a boy, and never a girl, would put your groceries in your trunk. I guess that went the way of full-service gas stations, but the point is those rollers, do you remember them? When you're through with your tray at London City Airport, they put it on rollers and it rolls down to those who now need it, so there's never a shortage, never a need for an employee to stack them up and drive them back to the beginning. And I know you're saying SO WHAT, but I'm the kind of guy who travels heavy, and I'm always running out of bins, so I thought that was pretty cool.
As for yesterday, we went to dinner and discussed Rammstein.
Have you seen them?
Everything's so close! Webbo and Janet flew to Berlin for the show. I saw them opening up for Ozzy, back in the nineties, and the music is superfluous, but the show is amazing!
When you get rock and rollers together, no matter what country, no matter what nationality, you end up talking shows but really you communicate through lyrics. That's how Janet connected with Derek Smalls, i.e. Harry Shearer, he was giving away an Ivor and he quoted one of his band's obscure lyrics and she gave him the next line backstage. That's Spinal Tap to you, and the point is nothing is obscure to a fan.
Before that Lisa had a get-together.
You can't have get-togethers in L.A., because no one can get together! Tell everybody to meet in L.A. at six and they'll say NO! Because you just can't get from there to here, traffic is that damn bad. But in London, even more than New York, you can be anywhere shortly via public transportation, and that engenders human contact, it enriches society.
Before that we went to the Museum of London. I'm fascinated with what happened here. Not only the Royals, but the hardscrabble life of yesteryear to today.
The biggest impression upon me?
The Black Death. Put a perspective on SARS. Yup, it could happen, some disease could wipe us out.
And there was plague thereafter. And they didn't know what caused it, there were a ton of cockamamie theories, kind of like when the AIDS epidemic began.
And then there was the great fire...
Streets were so crowded that you could reach out and touch your neighbor across them. Yup, people not only built up, they built out. Houses were narrow at the bottom and wide at the top. And the fire began in a bakery, but you're stunned there wasn't one sooner, with so many people cooking and heating.
And of course there was the footage of the bombing of London. The tales of those who were there. About losing their loved ones, narrowly escaping. I was always fascinated with the concept of taking shelter in the subway, i.e. the Underground. Turns out that was for the hoi polloi. Higher classes considered them breeding grounds of crime and disease. And there was a lot of fear, but there was a story of some soldier who told everybody down under there were gonna be many nights of bombing, so they had to get used to it, and then he began to sing...
Yup, music gets you through. Always.
And speaking of music, you won't be bitching about the loss of recorded music sales when you contemplate what happened to the blacksmiths. Progress eradicates the past, and if you try to hold on to it you're doomed. But in America, not only are taxes unnecessary, no one can lose their job. It's like we need a national rethink, a decision to all go forward together, but that would require some to win and others to lose and that's just not the American Way, although it is.
And London goes up and down over the centuries. There's endless war. Royals come and Royals go. But if you lived back then, you probably thought you were at the height of modernity, after all you had sewers, built with log pipes. Huh?
And you see all this stuff in the museum and you wonder if you should save yours. I'm a pack rat, but as you get older possessions become meaningless. Oh, you want the utilitarian necessities, but the extras become superfluous. You need no gifts, you need nothing extra, because you can't take it with you.
I don't understand those people who build palaces, monuments to themselves, and then usually die so soon thereafter. Life is about living. But it's easy to get sidetracked.
But everything's in the cloud today, so it's all about experiences, connection, sparks.
And infrastructure is important, but it's those who titillate us, who amaze us, who make us feel warm and fuzzy and blow our minds who are truly important today.
In other words, you may have all the money, but you may have missed the point.
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Just went through security. They've got a great system with the trays. You know, the bins you put your wares into to be scanned.
You see there's a return path, like at the grocery store, or the way it used to be, in the days of parcel pickup, when they'd put your bags into a bin and it would slide down rollers all the way outside and a gentleman, actually a boy, and never a girl, would put your groceries in your trunk. I guess that went the way of full-service gas stations, but the point is those rollers, do you remember them? When you're through with your tray at London City Airport, they put it on rollers and it rolls down to those who now need it, so there's never a shortage, never a need for an employee to stack them up and drive them back to the beginning. And I know you're saying SO WHAT, but I'm the kind of guy who travels heavy, and I'm always running out of bins, so I thought that was pretty cool.
As for yesterday, we went to dinner and discussed Rammstein.
Have you seen them?
Everything's so close! Webbo and Janet flew to Berlin for the show. I saw them opening up for Ozzy, back in the nineties, and the music is superfluous, but the show is amazing!
When you get rock and rollers together, no matter what country, no matter what nationality, you end up talking shows but really you communicate through lyrics. That's how Janet connected with Derek Smalls, i.e. Harry Shearer, he was giving away an Ivor and he quoted one of his band's obscure lyrics and she gave him the next line backstage. That's Spinal Tap to you, and the point is nothing is obscure to a fan.
Before that Lisa had a get-together.
You can't have get-togethers in L.A., because no one can get together! Tell everybody to meet in L.A. at six and they'll say NO! Because you just can't get from there to here, traffic is that damn bad. But in London, even more than New York, you can be anywhere shortly via public transportation, and that engenders human contact, it enriches society.
Before that we went to the Museum of London. I'm fascinated with what happened here. Not only the Royals, but the hardscrabble life of yesteryear to today.
The biggest impression upon me?
The Black Death. Put a perspective on SARS. Yup, it could happen, some disease could wipe us out.
And there was plague thereafter. And they didn't know what caused it, there were a ton of cockamamie theories, kind of like when the AIDS epidemic began.
And then there was the great fire...
Streets were so crowded that you could reach out and touch your neighbor across them. Yup, people not only built up, they built out. Houses were narrow at the bottom and wide at the top. And the fire began in a bakery, but you're stunned there wasn't one sooner, with so many people cooking and heating.
And of course there was the footage of the bombing of London. The tales of those who were there. About losing their loved ones, narrowly escaping. I was always fascinated with the concept of taking shelter in the subway, i.e. the Underground. Turns out that was for the hoi polloi. Higher classes considered them breeding grounds of crime and disease. And there was a lot of fear, but there was a story of some soldier who told everybody down under there were gonna be many nights of bombing, so they had to get used to it, and then he began to sing...
Yup, music gets you through. Always.
And speaking of music, you won't be bitching about the loss of recorded music sales when you contemplate what happened to the blacksmiths. Progress eradicates the past, and if you try to hold on to it you're doomed. But in America, not only are taxes unnecessary, no one can lose their job. It's like we need a national rethink, a decision to all go forward together, but that would require some to win and others to lose and that's just not the American Way, although it is.
And London goes up and down over the centuries. There's endless war. Royals come and Royals go. But if you lived back then, you probably thought you were at the height of modernity, after all you had sewers, built with log pipes. Huh?
And you see all this stuff in the museum and you wonder if you should save yours. I'm a pack rat, but as you get older possessions become meaningless. Oh, you want the utilitarian necessities, but the extras become superfluous. You need no gifts, you need nothing extra, because you can't take it with you.
I don't understand those people who build palaces, monuments to themselves, and then usually die so soon thereafter. Life is about living. But it's easy to get sidetracked.
But everything's in the cloud today, so it's all about experiences, connection, sparks.
And infrastructure is important, but it's those who titillate us, who amaze us, who make us feel warm and fuzzy and blow our minds who are truly important today.
In other words, you may have all the money, but you may have missed the point.
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Monday 20 May 2013
Rhinofy-Top Ten-May 11, 1968
1. "Honey" Bobby Goldsboro
I HATE this song! So wimpy, I had to endure it endlessly in the pre-FM car radio days.
And when FM finally hit cars, it was really spotty. Sometimes we had to tune in the AM band just to get reception. Now in '68, I was fully an album guy, my single purchasing days were far behind me. But because of this auto situation, I knew the radio hits. I can sing every lick of this song, it's an insidious number that gets in your head that you can't get out.
But all these years later, every time I hear it, I smile.
Explain that to me! How songs you hate you end up liking decades later.
Note - liking, not loving...
2. "Tighten Up" Archie Bell & The Drells
Drells?
I reference this song every time I go skiing. When I get off the lift, I tell my compatriots I've got to do the TIGHTEN UP! Yup, buckle my boots tight for my next run.
My older sister bought this single. Girls seem to get soul first, they've got the rhythm in them, isn't it interesting so many play bass...
That's just to say I didn't really get "Tighten Up" at first, but hearing it in my house I came to enjoy it. And just like with "Honey" above, I smile every time I hear it...
3. "Young Girl" The Union Gap Featuring Gary Puckett
I don't know if they could have released this song today, what with the politically correct army and the religious zealots...
Then again, this is an undeniable smash, and when we were young the lyrics oftentimes went over our head, we were enraptured by the sound and the feel, and from beginning to end, "Young Girl" works. It's the apotheosis of the Union Gap. Which may not sound like much, but they had a run...this song was ubiquitous on the radio, I never changed the channel when it came on initially and continued to listen to it as time went by, some classics you can never burn out on. I won't say it still sounds fresh today, but its magic is intact. It's a mini Phil Spector production, there are horns, a whole bunch of stuff, the wall of sound is porous, but we can't help but immerse ourselves in it.
4. "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" Hugo Montenegro, His Orchestra And Chorus
I never saw the movie. Oh, I had buddies who waxed rhapsodic about the charms of Clint Eastwood, but I didn't get hooked until he went American, and then I saw everything he did...both the dramas and the comedies, from "Dirty Harry" to "Bronco Billy," he was truly talented.
Every baby boomer knows this track. They can name it within one second of hearing the riff, the hook, the cry from the desert, the western of your mind.
5. "Cry Like A Baby" The Box Tops
Nothing can top their initial single, "The Letter," but I loved this too, primarily because of Alex Chilton's vocal, he had the same name in Big Star, but never sounded the same. And although the production sounds a bit cheesy, you can still hear the drama, and that solo is akin to a George Harrison masterpiece, simple yet so right. The track is only two and a half minutes long, but there's so much in it, from the aforementioned guitar solo to the brass to the backup vocals, it's exquisite work.
6. "A Beautiful Morning" The Rascals
It looks like they're finally getting their victory lap.
The Rascals were the biggest thing on the east coast. They held their own against all the British groups. To hear this in the morning was to start your day with a bounce in your step.
7. "Cowboys To Girls" The Intruders
"I remember when I used to play shoot 'em up"
This is another track where the lyrics didn't truly resonate until I got older, when it was a hit I was done with guns, but I wasn't fully grown up. Then again, it was a girl in Old Greenwich who turned me on to it. I met her skiing at Stratton and we used to correspond, it'd make my heart pitter-patter when I arrived home and a letter was on my blotter, where my father put my mail. Wish I still had those missives, but I threw them out in a fit of pique, angry she'd moved on. Once again, I was relatively immune to so many soul classics, but this girl turned me on to this one. Every time I hear it I think back to her and those days...
And once again, could this lyric make the hit parade today?
"I remember when I chased the girls and beat 'em up"
We know what he's talking about, but there are certain things you don't say today, for fear of the backlash. Then again, that's what you do with girls, disdain them until you do a 180...I know, I saw it on the "Rugrats," where physicality turned to affection on the playground!
8. "The Unicorn" The Irish Rovers
I haven't heard this since. I couldn't even place the title. But as soon as it started to play...instant recognition, that's what endless airplay did back then, burn these songs into our subconscious.
"The Unicorn" is kind of like Donovan's "Atlantis," you laugh at it, but you still like it!
9. "Mrs. Robinson" Simon & Garfunkel
"The Graduate" dominated discussion...it was controversial and poignant. But in an era where everybody wanted to be hip, wanted to not only acknowledge the new reality but partake, backlash was close to nonexistent. Today the same baby boomers who embraced the movie decry the loss of everything they know, like CDs, while lamenting the fast pace of the future.
Then again, I don't think today's graduates would understand the movie, which was all about finding yourself after college graduation. Nobody has time to lose, nobody can trust their instincts and emotions these days, everybody's chasing the big bucks...or being left behind.
As for the power of song... "Mrs. Robinson" single-handedly brought Joe DiMaggio back into the public consciousness. He was not happy about it, but there would have been no Mr. Coffee ads on TV, no latter-day bucks, without this song. The younger generation knew Joe, but we'd never seen him play, he'd retired when our hero, Mickey Mantle, took the field in 1951, but suddenly, in this pre-Internet era, his visage was everywhere, tied up with Marilyn Monroe and dignity and...
Then again, this was when artists were kings, when the personal statement was key, before money trumped everything.
10. "Lady Madonna" The Beatles
Of course this is not on Spotify, the Beatles led fifty years ago, today they come last. But once upon a time, even four years after their American debut, a Beatles song would blast out of the speaker outshining everything.
McCartney says Fats Domino was an inspiration. I'm gonna attach his cover to this playlist, but he's not the only one who did it, so did the dearly-departed Richie Havens and Booker T. And The MG's and...THE UNION GAP, on their YOUNG GIRL album!
P.S. This is the "Billboard" Top Ten, your mileage may vary, because at this point in time radio was still local, and some stations ran songs up the chart and kicked them to the curb quicker than others.
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/p6HcZ8
Previous Rhinofy playlists: http://www.rhinofy.com/lefsetz
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I HATE this song! So wimpy, I had to endure it endlessly in the pre-FM car radio days.
And when FM finally hit cars, it was really spotty. Sometimes we had to tune in the AM band just to get reception. Now in '68, I was fully an album guy, my single purchasing days were far behind me. But because of this auto situation, I knew the radio hits. I can sing every lick of this song, it's an insidious number that gets in your head that you can't get out.
But all these years later, every time I hear it, I smile.
Explain that to me! How songs you hate you end up liking decades later.
Note - liking, not loving...
2. "Tighten Up" Archie Bell & The Drells
Drells?
I reference this song every time I go skiing. When I get off the lift, I tell my compatriots I've got to do the TIGHTEN UP! Yup, buckle my boots tight for my next run.
My older sister bought this single. Girls seem to get soul first, they've got the rhythm in them, isn't it interesting so many play bass...
That's just to say I didn't really get "Tighten Up" at first, but hearing it in my house I came to enjoy it. And just like with "Honey" above, I smile every time I hear it...
3. "Young Girl" The Union Gap Featuring Gary Puckett
I don't know if they could have released this song today, what with the politically correct army and the religious zealots...
Then again, this is an undeniable smash, and when we were young the lyrics oftentimes went over our head, we were enraptured by the sound and the feel, and from beginning to end, "Young Girl" works. It's the apotheosis of the Union Gap. Which may not sound like much, but they had a run...this song was ubiquitous on the radio, I never changed the channel when it came on initially and continued to listen to it as time went by, some classics you can never burn out on. I won't say it still sounds fresh today, but its magic is intact. It's a mini Phil Spector production, there are horns, a whole bunch of stuff, the wall of sound is porous, but we can't help but immerse ourselves in it.
4. "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" Hugo Montenegro, His Orchestra And Chorus
I never saw the movie. Oh, I had buddies who waxed rhapsodic about the charms of Clint Eastwood, but I didn't get hooked until he went American, and then I saw everything he did...both the dramas and the comedies, from "Dirty Harry" to "Bronco Billy," he was truly talented.
Every baby boomer knows this track. They can name it within one second of hearing the riff, the hook, the cry from the desert, the western of your mind.
5. "Cry Like A Baby" The Box Tops
Nothing can top their initial single, "The Letter," but I loved this too, primarily because of Alex Chilton's vocal, he had the same name in Big Star, but never sounded the same. And although the production sounds a bit cheesy, you can still hear the drama, and that solo is akin to a George Harrison masterpiece, simple yet so right. The track is only two and a half minutes long, but there's so much in it, from the aforementioned guitar solo to the brass to the backup vocals, it's exquisite work.
6. "A Beautiful Morning" The Rascals
It looks like they're finally getting their victory lap.
The Rascals were the biggest thing on the east coast. They held their own against all the British groups. To hear this in the morning was to start your day with a bounce in your step.
7. "Cowboys To Girls" The Intruders
"I remember when I used to play shoot 'em up"
This is another track where the lyrics didn't truly resonate until I got older, when it was a hit I was done with guns, but I wasn't fully grown up. Then again, it was a girl in Old Greenwich who turned me on to it. I met her skiing at Stratton and we used to correspond, it'd make my heart pitter-patter when I arrived home and a letter was on my blotter, where my father put my mail. Wish I still had those missives, but I threw them out in a fit of pique, angry she'd moved on. Once again, I was relatively immune to so many soul classics, but this girl turned me on to this one. Every time I hear it I think back to her and those days...
And once again, could this lyric make the hit parade today?
"I remember when I chased the girls and beat 'em up"
We know what he's talking about, but there are certain things you don't say today, for fear of the backlash. Then again, that's what you do with girls, disdain them until you do a 180...I know, I saw it on the "Rugrats," where physicality turned to affection on the playground!
8. "The Unicorn" The Irish Rovers
I haven't heard this since. I couldn't even place the title. But as soon as it started to play...instant recognition, that's what endless airplay did back then, burn these songs into our subconscious.
"The Unicorn" is kind of like Donovan's "Atlantis," you laugh at it, but you still like it!
9. "Mrs. Robinson" Simon & Garfunkel
"The Graduate" dominated discussion...it was controversial and poignant. But in an era where everybody wanted to be hip, wanted to not only acknowledge the new reality but partake, backlash was close to nonexistent. Today the same baby boomers who embraced the movie decry the loss of everything they know, like CDs, while lamenting the fast pace of the future.
Then again, I don't think today's graduates would understand the movie, which was all about finding yourself after college graduation. Nobody has time to lose, nobody can trust their instincts and emotions these days, everybody's chasing the big bucks...or being left behind.
As for the power of song... "Mrs. Robinson" single-handedly brought Joe DiMaggio back into the public consciousness. He was not happy about it, but there would have been no Mr. Coffee ads on TV, no latter-day bucks, without this song. The younger generation knew Joe, but we'd never seen him play, he'd retired when our hero, Mickey Mantle, took the field in 1951, but suddenly, in this pre-Internet era, his visage was everywhere, tied up with Marilyn Monroe and dignity and...
Then again, this was when artists were kings, when the personal statement was key, before money trumped everything.
10. "Lady Madonna" The Beatles
Of course this is not on Spotify, the Beatles led fifty years ago, today they come last. But once upon a time, even four years after their American debut, a Beatles song would blast out of the speaker outshining everything.
McCartney says Fats Domino was an inspiration. I'm gonna attach his cover to this playlist, but he's not the only one who did it, so did the dearly-departed Richie Havens and Booker T. And The MG's and...THE UNION GAP, on their YOUNG GIRL album!
P.S. This is the "Billboard" Top Ten, your mileage may vary, because at this point in time radio was still local, and some stations ran songs up the chart and kicked them to the curb quicker than others.
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/p6HcZ8
Previous Rhinofy playlists: http://www.rhinofy.com/lefsetz
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Sunday 19 May 2013
London/Bowie
It's still light out!
I don't know what time it is there, but it's ten after nine here, eleven now, and the sun still hasn't set... I don't know if it'll ever set, when I slept at Richard's house three years back during the summer solstice it was like that Al Pacino movie set in Alaska, "Insomnia," you're waiting for complete darkness and it never comes!
So what have I observed about Londoners...THEY SMOKE!
Once upon a time smoking was cool, now everybody knows it causes cancer. I can understand doing it for a bit when you're a teenager, that rebellion thingy, but once you grow up...do you not want to grow old? I know quitting sucks, but so does dying. You realize that when the end is near, like so many other truths your parents told you.
And I realized everybody was smoking because I saw them out last night in Piccadilly Circus. I'm used to L.A., where there is no nightlife, where everything interesting is happening at home, and you're not invited. But there's definitely a scene in London, and it's not only there.
But back to smoking... I did see a woman outside a hospital, in a wheelchair, with the drip bag attached, puffing on a cigarette. And no, it wasn't a "MAD" magazine photo shoot.
Today we started off with a jaunt around Hyde Park. We saw Kensington Palace. The newlyweds with the soon to be newborn are going to live there, I wouldn't, maybe because the point was made again and again in the play last night, that it's actually not good to be the queen. Everybody's got problems, and we want our privacy to work them through.
And then we strolled down to the V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum) for the David Bowie exhibition.
I learned plenty.
Just not what they intended.
The exhibit is schizophrenic, it's needed to be laid out linearly, from yesterday to today. But you keep wondering why they skipped "Ziggy Stardust" when they're talking about "The Earthling," and then you go into a further room and there it is. Huh?
And if you're a big fan, and I was, you know so much.
But not everything.
First and foremost, BOWIE WAS DYING TO MAKE IT!
Yup, it didn't happen by accident. His father gave him an acrylic saxophone, he played a twelve string because it looked good. He was in numerous bands before going solo and striking it rich. And in each and every one of them, he was focused not only on the music, but the look, both the fashions and the staging.
And he came from a musical family. Not only was his mother a singer, so was his father's first wife. Yup, Bowie's dad John blew $400,000 to $600,000 in today's money, his inheritance, trying to make his first wife famous.
That's what they don't tell you about performers, it's in their blood.
And I didn't know that Paul Buckmaster did the strings on "Space Oddity" and Rick Wakeman played keyboard.
But what struck me most about the exhibit was...
1. Influences.
You've got to soak it up, you've got to read, watch and observe. Nobody exists in a vacuum. You need to be inspired, you need to twist and meld these influences into something new.
2. Bowie was a product of his era, when pop stars were king, when television was the best exposure. We don't live in that era anymore. What I don't understand is why today's stars don't utilize today's medium, i.e. the Internet. No one wants an album every few years when they're surfing the Net every minute for new info. Furthermore, when it comes to imaging, everybody's looking at a mobile handset! Bowie blew it with his new album. He could have taken over the Internet, he could have matched his music to the era, but he didn't.
You've got to:
A. Create and distribute constantly. Perfection is irrelevant. Don't polish, release. Used to be we had very little music, we saved for albums and played them incessantly, because it's all we had. Now, we've got the history of recorded music at our fingertips, we're grazers, graze along with us!
B. Mystery is history. We pondered who Bowie truly was, it was part of his magic, now there's a camera on every corner and everybody's known. Use this to your advantage! The old pop star is dead, create the new one!
C. Communicate the way your fans do. Tweeting and Instagraming is not marketing or promotion, it's your art, the same way Bowie's outfits were.
3. Pop careers are brief. Primarily because radio abandons you. Give Bowie credit, he kept innovating, but radio became static. And without radio, he couldn't penetrate anybody but his fan base. It's a harsh reality. Although with the decline of radio, a new reality is being born.
4. They make the point that pop stars used to try and become movie stars, because musical careers were brief and movie stars were kings. But by the late sixties, rock stars were kings. Bowie tried to make the movie/acting thing work for him, it never works for any pop star, not even Justin Timberlake, but it does keep you in the public eye.
I guess what I'm saying is David Bowie was a product of his era.
And his era passed.
So why do you keep playing by his rules? It'd be like trying to dial a push button phone, push the keys hard on a computer, as if it were a manual typewriter...you've got to adjust to the new game.
Everything used to be so small, so quaint. You could do a show and build word of mouth slowly. Now, if you're any good, the highlights of your performance are all over YouTube in minutes. And if you're not a star, no one cares what you do. Everything's topsy-turvy, but the business runs like it's still the same.
And video... Today you make your own. You don't have to worry about acting. They're truly advertisements for the rest of your work. And they're cheap. You can make them for free!
Not that you can't spend.
But how are you going to spend?
Yes, the biggest disappointment of the Bowie show was it was made for non-fans. You know a fan, he wants to dig deep, he laps up the obscure, he lives for factoids. But there were very few in this exhibit. It was a victory lap for the uninitiated.
Not that that's Bowie's fault.
And good for him that he can draw so many people, it was packed.
But we own the music, not the curators or the mainstream reviewers. Music is for fans.
And I can tell you that Ron Davies wrote "It Ain't Easy" on the "Ziggy Stardust" album, but there was no depth about that production whatsoever. Although I did see some handwritten lyrics, which was so cool.
Remember dropping the needle on "Five Years"?
That's a feeling not contained in this exhibition.
Then again, that's music, something you hear, not see.
It all comes down to the music. The imaging is subservient to that.
I would have wanted to hear more from Tony Visconti, more from Ken Scott, more studio pictures, more context of what was and was not successful at the time.
But instead we get costumes from SNL.
Oh, I don't want to bitch, I just want to give you some perspective.
Let go! Be inspired! Create! Blow our minds!
Human nature has not changed. We want to be intrigued, we want to be titillated, and now, like never before, you can go straight to your audience, there are no restrictions. So I just can't understand why you're doing it the same old way.
That's why music is unhealthy. Because there are no David Bowies.
Mr. Jones had one helluva long ride. You wanna know why? Because he kept adjusting. He kept looking at the landscape and cogitating his place in it. And when he got on top, he went into hyperdrive, he was anything but safe, that's when he accelerated change, that's when he truly began to lead.
See anybody doing that today?
The challenge is set. The gauntlet is thrown down.
Your move.
"David Bowie is": http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/david-bowie-is/
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I don't know what time it is there, but it's ten after nine here, eleven now, and the sun still hasn't set... I don't know if it'll ever set, when I slept at Richard's house three years back during the summer solstice it was like that Al Pacino movie set in Alaska, "Insomnia," you're waiting for complete darkness and it never comes!
So what have I observed about Londoners...THEY SMOKE!
Once upon a time smoking was cool, now everybody knows it causes cancer. I can understand doing it for a bit when you're a teenager, that rebellion thingy, but once you grow up...do you not want to grow old? I know quitting sucks, but so does dying. You realize that when the end is near, like so many other truths your parents told you.
And I realized everybody was smoking because I saw them out last night in Piccadilly Circus. I'm used to L.A., where there is no nightlife, where everything interesting is happening at home, and you're not invited. But there's definitely a scene in London, and it's not only there.
But back to smoking... I did see a woman outside a hospital, in a wheelchair, with the drip bag attached, puffing on a cigarette. And no, it wasn't a "MAD" magazine photo shoot.
Today we started off with a jaunt around Hyde Park. We saw Kensington Palace. The newlyweds with the soon to be newborn are going to live there, I wouldn't, maybe because the point was made again and again in the play last night, that it's actually not good to be the queen. Everybody's got problems, and we want our privacy to work them through.
And then we strolled down to the V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum) for the David Bowie exhibition.
I learned plenty.
Just not what they intended.
The exhibit is schizophrenic, it's needed to be laid out linearly, from yesterday to today. But you keep wondering why they skipped "Ziggy Stardust" when they're talking about "The Earthling," and then you go into a further room and there it is. Huh?
And if you're a big fan, and I was, you know so much.
But not everything.
First and foremost, BOWIE WAS DYING TO MAKE IT!
Yup, it didn't happen by accident. His father gave him an acrylic saxophone, he played a twelve string because it looked good. He was in numerous bands before going solo and striking it rich. And in each and every one of them, he was focused not only on the music, but the look, both the fashions and the staging.
And he came from a musical family. Not only was his mother a singer, so was his father's first wife. Yup, Bowie's dad John blew $400,000 to $600,000 in today's money, his inheritance, trying to make his first wife famous.
That's what they don't tell you about performers, it's in their blood.
And I didn't know that Paul Buckmaster did the strings on "Space Oddity" and Rick Wakeman played keyboard.
But what struck me most about the exhibit was...
1. Influences.
You've got to soak it up, you've got to read, watch and observe. Nobody exists in a vacuum. You need to be inspired, you need to twist and meld these influences into something new.
2. Bowie was a product of his era, when pop stars were king, when television was the best exposure. We don't live in that era anymore. What I don't understand is why today's stars don't utilize today's medium, i.e. the Internet. No one wants an album every few years when they're surfing the Net every minute for new info. Furthermore, when it comes to imaging, everybody's looking at a mobile handset! Bowie blew it with his new album. He could have taken over the Internet, he could have matched his music to the era, but he didn't.
You've got to:
A. Create and distribute constantly. Perfection is irrelevant. Don't polish, release. Used to be we had very little music, we saved for albums and played them incessantly, because it's all we had. Now, we've got the history of recorded music at our fingertips, we're grazers, graze along with us!
B. Mystery is history. We pondered who Bowie truly was, it was part of his magic, now there's a camera on every corner and everybody's known. Use this to your advantage! The old pop star is dead, create the new one!
C. Communicate the way your fans do. Tweeting and Instagraming is not marketing or promotion, it's your art, the same way Bowie's outfits were.
3. Pop careers are brief. Primarily because radio abandons you. Give Bowie credit, he kept innovating, but radio became static. And without radio, he couldn't penetrate anybody but his fan base. It's a harsh reality. Although with the decline of radio, a new reality is being born.
4. They make the point that pop stars used to try and become movie stars, because musical careers were brief and movie stars were kings. But by the late sixties, rock stars were kings. Bowie tried to make the movie/acting thing work for him, it never works for any pop star, not even Justin Timberlake, but it does keep you in the public eye.
I guess what I'm saying is David Bowie was a product of his era.
And his era passed.
So why do you keep playing by his rules? It'd be like trying to dial a push button phone, push the keys hard on a computer, as if it were a manual typewriter...you've got to adjust to the new game.
Everything used to be so small, so quaint. You could do a show and build word of mouth slowly. Now, if you're any good, the highlights of your performance are all over YouTube in minutes. And if you're not a star, no one cares what you do. Everything's topsy-turvy, but the business runs like it's still the same.
And video... Today you make your own. You don't have to worry about acting. They're truly advertisements for the rest of your work. And they're cheap. You can make them for free!
Not that you can't spend.
But how are you going to spend?
Yes, the biggest disappointment of the Bowie show was it was made for non-fans. You know a fan, he wants to dig deep, he laps up the obscure, he lives for factoids. But there were very few in this exhibit. It was a victory lap for the uninitiated.
Not that that's Bowie's fault.
And good for him that he can draw so many people, it was packed.
But we own the music, not the curators or the mainstream reviewers. Music is for fans.
And I can tell you that Ron Davies wrote "It Ain't Easy" on the "Ziggy Stardust" album, but there was no depth about that production whatsoever. Although I did see some handwritten lyrics, which was so cool.
Remember dropping the needle on "Five Years"?
That's a feeling not contained in this exhibition.
Then again, that's music, something you hear, not see.
It all comes down to the music. The imaging is subservient to that.
I would have wanted to hear more from Tony Visconti, more from Ken Scott, more studio pictures, more context of what was and was not successful at the time.
But instead we get costumes from SNL.
Oh, I don't want to bitch, I just want to give you some perspective.
Let go! Be inspired! Create! Blow our minds!
Human nature has not changed. We want to be intrigued, we want to be titillated, and now, like never before, you can go straight to your audience, there are no restrictions. So I just can't understand why you're doing it the same old way.
That's why music is unhealthy. Because there are no David Bowies.
Mr. Jones had one helluva long ride. You wanna know why? Because he kept adjusting. He kept looking at the landscape and cogitating his place in it. And when he got on top, he went into hyperdrive, he was anything but safe, that's when he accelerated change, that's when he truly began to lead.
See anybody doing that today?
The challenge is set. The gauntlet is thrown down.
Your move.
"David Bowie is": http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/david-bowie-is/
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Rock Stars
Test limits. They do the unexpected. They make our jaws drop.
Have you seen "Book Of Mormon"? There's a tribal chief with a name so OUT THERE, so OFFENSIVE, so SWEAR WORD, that I cannot use it in this e-mail, or you won't get it.
Yup, I love to use the F-word. But I can't. Because too many of you work for uptight corporations with spam filters that won't let that word through. Yup, you think you're so hip, that you're not like your parents, that you're open-minded and accepting. But the truth is so many are still on the treadmill of life, working for the man, and we depend upon artists to show us the light, to question convention, to stretch our minds, to show us the POSSIBILITIES!
In other words, there's a market for imitation, but what we're truly interested in, what truly lasts, is ORIGINALITY!
Where is it in music, come on, all you tattooed and pierced knee-jerkers, point out all those acts doing the unexpected, wowing us.
No, we've got a veritable plethora of me-toos.
And for those who are different, they're too often not good. The trick is to be different and mainstream, whether it be the Beatles, with "Sgt. Pepper," or the "South Park" boys, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, with "Book Of Mormon."
A Broadway play? It doesn't SCALE!
That's the first thing a wannabe rock star tells you, he's going for world domination, he's the next Madonna. Well I hate to tell you, but the reason you know Madonna's name is because there's only one. Forget the lost, dieted-down-to-nothing woman parading on stages today, once upon a time Madonna was a head-twisting paragon of the new, whose flock was developed by not only excellent music, but a belt that said "Boy Toy" and a song about being a virgin. If you don't think that shook up the establishment, you never saw the video for "Like A Prayer." This wasn't manufactured controversy, it was the real thing!
And where do we see it today?
Maybe with Amy Winehouse. She tragically died, too many of the greats just weren't made for this world, but her music didn't sound quite like anything that came before, never mind since. Sure, she had influences, but she took them and concocted something new.
Bruno Mars?
Where's the originality?
And I'm saying that because he's talented, he's vaunted, he's one of the good ones!
As for rock acts, it seems they're all stuck in the seventies or eighties, whether they be metal acts imitating Zeppelin and Metallica, or rock bands in jeans and hats who seem to be nothing but Ronnie Van Zant's children.
And rock stars are always resisted at first. I didn't watch "South Park," it was a cartoon! A herky-jerky concoction with high-pitched voices. But word of mouth became deafening, over years! And they never backed down, they'd skewer someone, never the safe target, and never apologize.
And they did a successful movie.
So did they repeat the formula?
NO!
They moved on, to Broadway.
Want to be inspired? Want to see the real deal? Want to see what it's all about?
Go see "Book Of Mormon."
Sitting in the audience for that play is like watching "Springtime For Hitler" in "The Producers." You're shocked, you just sit there with your mouth agape.
It's a long hard path to stardom. But it's on the road not taken. And the reason we've got such a mediocre music scene is because nobody wants to do something different, they just want to go on a TV show or imitate someone who's already made it, thinking if they do a good job singing someone else's hit on YouTube, they're entitled to worldwide notoriety.
NO!
Write your own damn song. Make it completely different.
There was no Talking Heads before the band emerged. And there's been none since.
And in the classic rock era, the greats all sounded different.
And that's why it was classic. It was a hotbed of innovation. Everybody inspired each other to innovate.
Today artists just inspire each other to sell out. Have a clothing line. A perfume with their name on it.
And if you don't think I'm speaking the truth, you can't handle the truth!
Peace out.
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Have you seen "Book Of Mormon"? There's a tribal chief with a name so OUT THERE, so OFFENSIVE, so SWEAR WORD, that I cannot use it in this e-mail, or you won't get it.
Yup, I love to use the F-word. But I can't. Because too many of you work for uptight corporations with spam filters that won't let that word through. Yup, you think you're so hip, that you're not like your parents, that you're open-minded and accepting. But the truth is so many are still on the treadmill of life, working for the man, and we depend upon artists to show us the light, to question convention, to stretch our minds, to show us the POSSIBILITIES!
In other words, there's a market for imitation, but what we're truly interested in, what truly lasts, is ORIGINALITY!
Where is it in music, come on, all you tattooed and pierced knee-jerkers, point out all those acts doing the unexpected, wowing us.
No, we've got a veritable plethora of me-toos.
And for those who are different, they're too often not good. The trick is to be different and mainstream, whether it be the Beatles, with "Sgt. Pepper," or the "South Park" boys, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, with "Book Of Mormon."
A Broadway play? It doesn't SCALE!
That's the first thing a wannabe rock star tells you, he's going for world domination, he's the next Madonna. Well I hate to tell you, but the reason you know Madonna's name is because there's only one. Forget the lost, dieted-down-to-nothing woman parading on stages today, once upon a time Madonna was a head-twisting paragon of the new, whose flock was developed by not only excellent music, but a belt that said "Boy Toy" and a song about being a virgin. If you don't think that shook up the establishment, you never saw the video for "Like A Prayer." This wasn't manufactured controversy, it was the real thing!
And where do we see it today?
Maybe with Amy Winehouse. She tragically died, too many of the greats just weren't made for this world, but her music didn't sound quite like anything that came before, never mind since. Sure, she had influences, but she took them and concocted something new.
Bruno Mars?
Where's the originality?
And I'm saying that because he's talented, he's vaunted, he's one of the good ones!
As for rock acts, it seems they're all stuck in the seventies or eighties, whether they be metal acts imitating Zeppelin and Metallica, or rock bands in jeans and hats who seem to be nothing but Ronnie Van Zant's children.
And rock stars are always resisted at first. I didn't watch "South Park," it was a cartoon! A herky-jerky concoction with high-pitched voices. But word of mouth became deafening, over years! And they never backed down, they'd skewer someone, never the safe target, and never apologize.
And they did a successful movie.
So did they repeat the formula?
NO!
They moved on, to Broadway.
Want to be inspired? Want to see the real deal? Want to see what it's all about?
Go see "Book Of Mormon."
Sitting in the audience for that play is like watching "Springtime For Hitler" in "The Producers." You're shocked, you just sit there with your mouth agape.
It's a long hard path to stardom. But it's on the road not taken. And the reason we've got such a mediocre music scene is because nobody wants to do something different, they just want to go on a TV show or imitate someone who's already made it, thinking if they do a good job singing someone else's hit on YouTube, they're entitled to worldwide notoriety.
NO!
Write your own damn song. Make it completely different.
There was no Talking Heads before the band emerged. And there's been none since.
And in the classic rock era, the greats all sounded different.
And that's why it was classic. It was a hotbed of innovation. Everybody inspired each other to innovate.
Today artists just inspire each other to sell out. Have a clothing line. A perfume with their name on it.
And if you don't think I'm speaking the truth, you can't handle the truth!
Peace out.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
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