Maybe it's not the music's fault.
Used to be you lay on your bed listening to music dreaming of a better life to come. One with friends, romance, all kinds of excitement.
Now you just log on to the Internet and hunt for these experiences. You know, the peak of a positive e-mail, a congratulatory tweet, a stimulating web page. The odds are low, but far from nonexistent if you participate. So you post, you give to get, this is the modern paradigm.
In other words, who's got time for music that might be challenging, different, require more time to get into? And is the focus on live events their inherent transitory nature, is the fact you can make more money there than from records not a function of P2P thievery but a change in modern life?
No one asks questions anymore. Blame the educational system. Wherein the poor are passed through the most rudimentary of classes and the rich are prepared at prep school but abandon it all in search of cash, which is king in our society today. Did you read Amar Bose's obituaries? You may pooh-pooh the quality of his speakers, but this guy refused to go public for fear of a board forcing him to compromise in the name of profits and said he had one house and one car and he didn't need more money, he lived to think and invent.
Kind of like Douglas Rushkoff.
Last night I listened to his interview with Marc Maron on WTF and I found myself challenging all my preconceptions, gaining new insight into modern life, something that rarely happens in this sell or be sold society of today.
And that was one of Rushkoff's points. That capitalists, corporations, have taken over the Internet, trying to replicate the pre-wired era, and the fit may be bad and the consequences may be worse.
Come on, you know what he's talking about. The endless ads, the crazy self-promotion. Everybody's trying to get attention, they want more, more, more, and there's no time for the contemplated life, which is the essence of music. Unless it's immediate, a one hit wonder, driven by video, like PSY's "Gangnam Style," or wondrously infectious in its own right, like Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe." In other words, musicians have it right, they're asking listeners to jet back to what once was, only listeners are having no part of it, if they're listening at all. They're too busy tweeting and Facebooking and...looking for that hit that only music could give them. Meanwhile, everybody in the industry, and the musicians themselves, is focused on money, something which the techies do so much better. Maybe they should step back and take the road less traveled.
That's what Rushkoff is saying. He advocates unplugging, going face to face. And I get where he's coming from, but I like being able to connect with so many online. Yet he makes the point...what is the point of connecting with your second grade buddy in cyberspace. After you get the hit of dopamine, do you really want to continue, how many relationships can you have, isn't there a reason you grew up and moved on?
Rushkoff advocates local focus. In monetary exchange. In agriculture. He says the old worldwide money game no longer works. In other words, if you're a hero in your hometown, playing your music at every social function, are you ahead of the game, far in front of your peers looking for world domination but not achieving it?
Come on. Jay-Z's album has already been forgotten. And all we really remember about it was that he came up with a new way to make money. What has this got to do with music? And some say Kanye's message on "Yeezus" is important, but without a hit, everyone's focusing elsewhere. So what are the chances for you? Would the public like to spend time ferreting out greatness, unplugging from the web to spend time with albums, or is that a quaint notion discordant with the times, where everybody can get a bigger rush from a text?
I wish I could say Rushkoff is as good a writer as a talker, but I'm finding his book slow going, because he doesn't understand the bedrock of writing is readability, it doesn't matter how good your ideas are if people don't want to read them, but he does bring up a good point. Few people I know talk about music, certainly not those uninvolved making and selling it. They're hooked to the rush of their devices. They only have time for that which they can network online about, driving the blockbuster business.
It's worth thinking about.
I am.
Amar Bose: "'Company directors who pay themselves dividends get enjoyment out of the money, but I wouldn't have that,' he said. 'It's not that I'm a good person. I am just doing what I enjoy the most. I don't want a second house, I have one car, and that's enough. These things don't give me pleasure, but thinking about great little ideas gives me real pleasure.'" http://lat.ms/12xDaxu
Amar Bose 2: "And by refusing to offer stock to the public, Dr. Bose was able to pursue risky long-term research, such as noise-canceling headphones and an innovative suspension system for cars, without the pressures of quarterly earnings announcements." http://nyti.ms/16z8XR0
Rushkoff On Maron: http://bit.ly/11usKEW
"Present Shock": http://www.rushkoff.com/present-shock/
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Saturday 13 July 2013
Friday 12 July 2013
La Grange
My goal is not to die in the 405 reconstruction.
Let me explain this to you. The Democrats voted for stimulus, and money was appropriated to extend the carpool lane from deep in the San Fernando Valley so far south it's a different time zone, assuming time zones changed from north to south, which they might as well, with traffic so slow in Los Angeles. And you might think this is a good idea, but that would mean you've never studied highway science, wherein it's stated if you build it they will come, yup, if you make more lanes it's only a matter of time before they fill up with traffic from citizens living ever further away.
So I'm against the reconstruction. Which has now lasted so many years I don't expect it to ever end. I expect to see Kiewit workers married, having babies and dying before traffic ever flows freely again. Yup, Kiewit is the contractor, their yellow trucks are everywhere, that's where the real money is, not in entertainment, I'm sure Mr. Kiewit is a billionaire.
So let me explain this to you. Realizing that L.A. is gridlocked almost as bad as Brazil, construction doesn't start until dark, when reasonable people are safely home in bed. But I've predicated my whole life on being unreasonable, I'm a contrary, I come from the Yogi Bear school of life, I may sleep til noon but before it's dark I'll have every picnic basket that's in Jellystone Park. In other words, you won't find me in rush hour traffic, but when everybody's car is in the garage, that's when I ply the freeway, with the drunks and the professional drivers. And I'm on that freeway, the dreaded 405, every damn night, it's the main route from Santa Monica to Felice's house, her exit is Skirball, just a hop, skip and a jump before this endless construction, but now...
You can never figure out when exits are open or closed, never mind lanes. I've driven south to go north to have to go east to pack it all in and take Beverly Glen more than once. And I hate the loss of time, but even more I'm worried about my life.
Yes, what do they say, in a massive construction project they factor in the deaths? Yup, like if they build a skyscraper "x" number of people will die? I think they've made that same calculation with the 405, I feel my days are numbered.
Let me explain this to you. While they were fixing the Sunset bridge, I oftentimes got on in Bel Air, I think it's Moraga, I don't even pay attention to signs, I just run on instinct. But the problem is... You get on and your lane ends...instantly. And there's no warning to those zooming down the track.
Now my car's got a ton of power. Which is why I leave so much room between me and the car in front, to the point where people behind me flash their lights and beep their horn...I want room to maneuver. God forbid you drive a Chevette, you're gonna get crunched.
Yup, you accelerate and the orange cones tell you your lane is ending but there's no warning to those already in the lane that you need to merge and it's so late at night they're somnambulant. It's a harrowing experience.
But it gets worse. Just last week they opened the new northbound Sunset on-ramp. Fantastic. Except they haven't yet taken down the barriers, you swing around the corner and are injected into traffic blind... Yup, you can't see through the concrete and the oncoming traffic can't see you.
But Wednesday night was the worst.
Somehow they decided they needed to squeeze five lanes down to two at the top of Mulholland, where they had to completely rebuild two bridges to accommodate the two new lanes. Yes, that's like tearing down your whole house to build a new bathroom, but that's the way this inept reconstruction project was conceived.
Only one problem... I can't see that my lane is going to end. There's no sign. I'm just cruising along and I notice up ahead that...the cones seem to be encroaching upon my lane.
So I put on my blinker. I downshift, I look for my entrance point.
WHICH DOESN'T EXIST!
Big rigs, vans, everybody with their brights on is zooming down the one of two remaining lanes I've got to merge into.
This is finally it. What I've been dreading. Death. After years of reconstruction, my luck has run out.
What do I do? Run through the orange cones and wreck the undercarriage of my automobile and then figure out how to cross back through to merge again? Yup, the three lanes to my right are completely empty, god knows why they had to close them, but the orange cones are so tight there's no way I can go from the wrong side to the good further down the road.
And I'm running all this through my brain, its calculations faster and better than a computer, and I'm completely flummoxed...if I force myself into the left lane will these drivers wake up, going 70 instead of the construction speed limit of 55, and move into the one remaining lane on the left? But there people are doing 80, oblivious to what's going on, what if there's no room?
And if I put on the brakes, how long before someone plows into my rear end?
So I've got the revs high, the pedal to the metal, and miraculously I squeeze in. I really can't tell you how I did it. Reminds me of missing that rock in Val d'Isere, out of control on the ice, with nowhere to stop. My brain shut down, my body took over, I don't know how I survived. Same deal Wednesday night.
And now I'm confronted with a big question. Do I ever take the freeway again?
I don't want to be one of those people who stay on side streets, who take Beverly Glen or Roscomare, but I'm feeling my number is up.
And last night I decide, like a circus performer, I must take the freeway, to get over the fright. I make it on at Sunset and I move into lane number 2 to avoid a problem but it seems like I'm at the Nurburgring, because in lane number 1 everybody's positively flying, oblivious to the changed conditions.
And the radio is blasting, I cannot take my hands off the wheel, it's the soundtrack to my demise, it's keeping me going, and just when I get in the clear, I hear it, the unmistakable, previously resistible, but now indelibly great intro to "La Grange."
Sometimes it's just about the sound, sometimes your brain just shuts down, thinking stops, and what pours out of the speakers into your ears keeps you alive.
"La Grange": http://bit.ly/aCn147
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Let me explain this to you. The Democrats voted for stimulus, and money was appropriated to extend the carpool lane from deep in the San Fernando Valley so far south it's a different time zone, assuming time zones changed from north to south, which they might as well, with traffic so slow in Los Angeles. And you might think this is a good idea, but that would mean you've never studied highway science, wherein it's stated if you build it they will come, yup, if you make more lanes it's only a matter of time before they fill up with traffic from citizens living ever further away.
So I'm against the reconstruction. Which has now lasted so many years I don't expect it to ever end. I expect to see Kiewit workers married, having babies and dying before traffic ever flows freely again. Yup, Kiewit is the contractor, their yellow trucks are everywhere, that's where the real money is, not in entertainment, I'm sure Mr. Kiewit is a billionaire.
So let me explain this to you. Realizing that L.A. is gridlocked almost as bad as Brazil, construction doesn't start until dark, when reasonable people are safely home in bed. But I've predicated my whole life on being unreasonable, I'm a contrary, I come from the Yogi Bear school of life, I may sleep til noon but before it's dark I'll have every picnic basket that's in Jellystone Park. In other words, you won't find me in rush hour traffic, but when everybody's car is in the garage, that's when I ply the freeway, with the drunks and the professional drivers. And I'm on that freeway, the dreaded 405, every damn night, it's the main route from Santa Monica to Felice's house, her exit is Skirball, just a hop, skip and a jump before this endless construction, but now...
You can never figure out when exits are open or closed, never mind lanes. I've driven south to go north to have to go east to pack it all in and take Beverly Glen more than once. And I hate the loss of time, but even more I'm worried about my life.
Yes, what do they say, in a massive construction project they factor in the deaths? Yup, like if they build a skyscraper "x" number of people will die? I think they've made that same calculation with the 405, I feel my days are numbered.
Let me explain this to you. While they were fixing the Sunset bridge, I oftentimes got on in Bel Air, I think it's Moraga, I don't even pay attention to signs, I just run on instinct. But the problem is... You get on and your lane ends...instantly. And there's no warning to those zooming down the track.
Now my car's got a ton of power. Which is why I leave so much room between me and the car in front, to the point where people behind me flash their lights and beep their horn...I want room to maneuver. God forbid you drive a Chevette, you're gonna get crunched.
Yup, you accelerate and the orange cones tell you your lane is ending but there's no warning to those already in the lane that you need to merge and it's so late at night they're somnambulant. It's a harrowing experience.
But it gets worse. Just last week they opened the new northbound Sunset on-ramp. Fantastic. Except they haven't yet taken down the barriers, you swing around the corner and are injected into traffic blind... Yup, you can't see through the concrete and the oncoming traffic can't see you.
But Wednesday night was the worst.
Somehow they decided they needed to squeeze five lanes down to two at the top of Mulholland, where they had to completely rebuild two bridges to accommodate the two new lanes. Yes, that's like tearing down your whole house to build a new bathroom, but that's the way this inept reconstruction project was conceived.
Only one problem... I can't see that my lane is going to end. There's no sign. I'm just cruising along and I notice up ahead that...the cones seem to be encroaching upon my lane.
So I put on my blinker. I downshift, I look for my entrance point.
WHICH DOESN'T EXIST!
Big rigs, vans, everybody with their brights on is zooming down the one of two remaining lanes I've got to merge into.
This is finally it. What I've been dreading. Death. After years of reconstruction, my luck has run out.
What do I do? Run through the orange cones and wreck the undercarriage of my automobile and then figure out how to cross back through to merge again? Yup, the three lanes to my right are completely empty, god knows why they had to close them, but the orange cones are so tight there's no way I can go from the wrong side to the good further down the road.
And I'm running all this through my brain, its calculations faster and better than a computer, and I'm completely flummoxed...if I force myself into the left lane will these drivers wake up, going 70 instead of the construction speed limit of 55, and move into the one remaining lane on the left? But there people are doing 80, oblivious to what's going on, what if there's no room?
And if I put on the brakes, how long before someone plows into my rear end?
So I've got the revs high, the pedal to the metal, and miraculously I squeeze in. I really can't tell you how I did it. Reminds me of missing that rock in Val d'Isere, out of control on the ice, with nowhere to stop. My brain shut down, my body took over, I don't know how I survived. Same deal Wednesday night.
And now I'm confronted with a big question. Do I ever take the freeway again?
I don't want to be one of those people who stay on side streets, who take Beverly Glen or Roscomare, but I'm feeling my number is up.
And last night I decide, like a circus performer, I must take the freeway, to get over the fright. I make it on at Sunset and I move into lane number 2 to avoid a problem but it seems like I'm at the Nurburgring, because in lane number 1 everybody's positively flying, oblivious to the changed conditions.
And the radio is blasting, I cannot take my hands off the wheel, it's the soundtrack to my demise, it's keeping me going, and just when I get in the clear, I hear it, the unmistakable, previously resistible, but now indelibly great intro to "La Grange."
Sometimes it's just about the sound, sometimes your brain just shuts down, thinking stops, and what pours out of the speakers into your ears keeps you alive.
"La Grange": http://bit.ly/aCn147
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Changes In Our Lifetime
PHOTOS
Used to cost something and were shot sparingly and viewed in the future. Today, photos literally cost nothing and are oftentimes shot and discarded. I was stopped at a light in Brentwood yesterday and my eye wandered to see Dustin Hoffman cross Barrington. My first thought was to reach for my phone. In the old days, I would have been formulating the story in my head to tell in the future. Today, the picture tells the story (thank you Rod Stewart!)
MUSIC
Was something you listened to, now it's something you use. You add it to YouTube clips, you integrate it with your projects, it's all done very easily but copyright law has still not caught up with today's uses, nor has the music industry.
CREATION
Used to be expensive and we felt anybody who'd made a record deserved attention. Now anyone can record, even on their iPad, and we need a reason to pay attention.
PHONE
Long distance was expensive, today you can video conference across the globe for nothing.
AUTOS
We used to want something that impressed others with its swooping lines and horsepower, now our vehicle is a badge of our eco-consciousness. You may buy a Porsche, but you're gonna be judged negatively by the very people you're trying to impress. If your car is not a hybrid or an electric, you won't become a pariah like a smoker, but you'll be close.
NEWS
We trusted the few sources we had. Now no one trusts TV news, other than the images displayed. What anybody says is seen as no different from wrestling. Now news is plentiful and the odds of being out of the loop are infinitesimal. Then again, we're all on news overload so except for a few stories, like the Boston bombing, we tune out so much, figuring our friends will clue us in on what's important.
COLLEGE
Was once seen as an eden for few that expanded your brain. Now it's an overpriced haven for everyone to get a job.
SUMMER CAMP
Was where you had color war and made lifelong friends. Now it's where you develop skills and build your college resume.
STEREO
Once upon a time you could only play your music at home, it wasn't until the seventies that you could take it in your car. Today you expect all your music to be available everywhere you go.
INTERNET
You used to lament the downtime, you knew your provider's telephone number by heart. Now, when the Internet goes down it's akin to a blackout, a very rare event. Then again, why is it blackouts are more prevalent in the twenty first century than they were in the twentieth?
RICH PEOPLE
Hid and did their work behind closed doors. Today everybody who's rich wants acknowledgement from the poor, it's like they want to rub it into everybody else's face how much better they are.
GOVERNMENT
Was a functioning body making life better for all of us. Has now been labeled a do-nothing enterprise and those elected on this premise are doing their best to live up to this description. Why run for office if your main goal is to stop legislation?
ABORTION
Easily had, all over our country. Now, unless you live in a northern metropolis, you've got to have money to get an abortion at the clinic not so close to you.
REPUBLICANS
Wanted to live free and die. Now they want to get in your business and tell you how to live.
APPLE
Going out of business then the triumph of the century and then a running out of gas has-been. Illustrating that perception is only key in art.
COMPUTERS
Used to crash and you used to know how they worked. Now your tablet never crashes.
LIGHT BULBS
Became political. Who knew that most of the energy dissipated as heat? If we can switch everybody to efficient LED bulbs, with fluorescents nearly passe, what other problems can we as a nation, with legislation, tackle and solve? In other words, when was the last time you heard someone bitch that they've lost their freedom because they can't buy an incandescent?
ONLINE ADS
Went from nonexistent to de rigueur. Even nytimes.com has ads covering the entire site. The next business is charging people to make the ads disappear, YouTube would be more profitable that way.
YOUTUBE
Went from loss leader to profitable. That's the value of deep pockets, they can think beyond today. And isn't it interesting that the deep pockets in music can only think about yesterday, with execs needing fat paychecks and artists still clamoring to sell overpriced albums nobody wants.
EVANESCENCE
Nothing lasts anymore. Certainly not movies or music. TV has a longer lifespan because it's built for the modern paradigm, needing to be in the consumer's face week after week. Amazing that musicians don't take heed.
MARKETING
Used to be the narrative to sell the product. Now marketing is the product.
HEADPHONES
Used to be rare and expensive, but are now cheap and plentiful, people own multiple pairs. First the product is democratized, then quality improves. So don't bitch about today, think about tomorrow. Everyone will be able to hear your music in good quality, it's just that you've got to give them a reason to listen to it.
KICKSTARTER
Was a way for the underdog to get financing, with the illusion of a profile. Now it's where the already successful go to get way too much money, and as a result they're killing crowdfunding. That's the way of America, anything worth doing is overdone, and killed. If you don't keep it small, you kill it. Kind of like EDM, will Live Nation and SFX kill it? They're gonna try!
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Used to cost something and were shot sparingly and viewed in the future. Today, photos literally cost nothing and are oftentimes shot and discarded. I was stopped at a light in Brentwood yesterday and my eye wandered to see Dustin Hoffman cross Barrington. My first thought was to reach for my phone. In the old days, I would have been formulating the story in my head to tell in the future. Today, the picture tells the story (thank you Rod Stewart!)
MUSIC
Was something you listened to, now it's something you use. You add it to YouTube clips, you integrate it with your projects, it's all done very easily but copyright law has still not caught up with today's uses, nor has the music industry.
CREATION
Used to be expensive and we felt anybody who'd made a record deserved attention. Now anyone can record, even on their iPad, and we need a reason to pay attention.
PHONE
Long distance was expensive, today you can video conference across the globe for nothing.
AUTOS
We used to want something that impressed others with its swooping lines and horsepower, now our vehicle is a badge of our eco-consciousness. You may buy a Porsche, but you're gonna be judged negatively by the very people you're trying to impress. If your car is not a hybrid or an electric, you won't become a pariah like a smoker, but you'll be close.
NEWS
We trusted the few sources we had. Now no one trusts TV news, other than the images displayed. What anybody says is seen as no different from wrestling. Now news is plentiful and the odds of being out of the loop are infinitesimal. Then again, we're all on news overload so except for a few stories, like the Boston bombing, we tune out so much, figuring our friends will clue us in on what's important.
COLLEGE
Was once seen as an eden for few that expanded your brain. Now it's an overpriced haven for everyone to get a job.
SUMMER CAMP
Was where you had color war and made lifelong friends. Now it's where you develop skills and build your college resume.
STEREO
Once upon a time you could only play your music at home, it wasn't until the seventies that you could take it in your car. Today you expect all your music to be available everywhere you go.
INTERNET
You used to lament the downtime, you knew your provider's telephone number by heart. Now, when the Internet goes down it's akin to a blackout, a very rare event. Then again, why is it blackouts are more prevalent in the twenty first century than they were in the twentieth?
RICH PEOPLE
Hid and did their work behind closed doors. Today everybody who's rich wants acknowledgement from the poor, it's like they want to rub it into everybody else's face how much better they are.
GOVERNMENT
Was a functioning body making life better for all of us. Has now been labeled a do-nothing enterprise and those elected on this premise are doing their best to live up to this description. Why run for office if your main goal is to stop legislation?
ABORTION
Easily had, all over our country. Now, unless you live in a northern metropolis, you've got to have money to get an abortion at the clinic not so close to you.
REPUBLICANS
Wanted to live free and die. Now they want to get in your business and tell you how to live.
APPLE
Going out of business then the triumph of the century and then a running out of gas has-been. Illustrating that perception is only key in art.
COMPUTERS
Used to crash and you used to know how they worked. Now your tablet never crashes.
LIGHT BULBS
Became political. Who knew that most of the energy dissipated as heat? If we can switch everybody to efficient LED bulbs, with fluorescents nearly passe, what other problems can we as a nation, with legislation, tackle and solve? In other words, when was the last time you heard someone bitch that they've lost their freedom because they can't buy an incandescent?
ONLINE ADS
Went from nonexistent to de rigueur. Even nytimes.com has ads covering the entire site. The next business is charging people to make the ads disappear, YouTube would be more profitable that way.
YOUTUBE
Went from loss leader to profitable. That's the value of deep pockets, they can think beyond today. And isn't it interesting that the deep pockets in music can only think about yesterday, with execs needing fat paychecks and artists still clamoring to sell overpriced albums nobody wants.
EVANESCENCE
Nothing lasts anymore. Certainly not movies or music. TV has a longer lifespan because it's built for the modern paradigm, needing to be in the consumer's face week after week. Amazing that musicians don't take heed.
MARKETING
Used to be the narrative to sell the product. Now marketing is the product.
HEADPHONES
Used to be rare and expensive, but are now cheap and plentiful, people own multiple pairs. First the product is democratized, then quality improves. So don't bitch about today, think about tomorrow. Everyone will be able to hear your music in good quality, it's just that you've got to give them a reason to listen to it.
KICKSTARTER
Was a way for the underdog to get financing, with the illusion of a profile. Now it's where the already successful go to get way too much money, and as a result they're killing crowdfunding. That's the way of America, anything worth doing is overdone, and killed. If you don't keep it small, you kill it. Kind of like EDM, will Live Nation and SFX kill it? They're gonna try!
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Thursday 11 July 2013
Mailbag
From: Russ Titelman
Subject: Re: Mailbag
Bob,
One more thing about Back in the High Life and Jimmy Bralower. After we had been recording for about a month Will Jennings, who wrote the lyrics to about half of the album, kept asking me to get Steve to play me "Back in the High Life Again". After a couple of requests he finally did. We were in studio C at Power Station and he went to the piano and played me the song but in a rather upbeat Ska meets Willie and the Hand Jive style. I was incredulous and said, "Why didn't you play me this song before? It's just the best." So that weekend Steve and Jimmy got together at Steve's apartment in the 60's just off Madison avenue and they came up with the slower more soulful version of the song. And you can hear the little loop that Jimmy came up with which is sort of the central rhythm of the record with that cool 808 conga pattern. Mournful little thing and very effective. Then we added the rest. Mandolin, piano, synth bass, the fiddle/string solo sound (all played by Steve) and the amazing JR drums. We asked James Taylor to come in to sing the harmonies. Unique and magical record.
______________________________________
From: Andrew Thompson
Subject: An experiment that may be of interest?
Hi Bob
Always enjoy your emails and agree with a lot of what you say, so I thought you may be interested in this little experiment that we ran.
We spent a few weeks visiting new music blogs and hand-picked a list of 504 that we thought would be a good match for our music.
We then emailed them:
___
FROM: The Khanz
SUBJECT: Hey Bob, got time for a quick listen?
Hey Bob
"Kinda like Vampire Weekend - if you shoved a kettle cord up their ass, plugged it into the wall and flicked the power switch."
OK, we didn't write that and we have no idea what it means, but if you want to hear what it sounds like, try "Roll Around" - the new single from Australian indie upstarts, The Khanz.
A tale of grappling with life's slings and arrows, and not always succeeding, "Roll Around" continues a tradition of songs that tackle the more tangled issues young people face, in a spirit of exuberance and joy at being alive.
You can listen to an mp3 or a WAV version.
And you can download some info.
Hope you dig! Release date is 22 July.
Cheers?
Themba, Nick, Harrison and Kat?xxx
www.thekhanz.com.au
___
Here are the results:
Sent: 504
Bounced: 21
Unsubscribes: 1
Read: 34
Listens: 7
Replies: 1
The guy who unsubscribed did so without listening to the track.
Keeping in mind that this is not a random list, but a list of people who are interested enough in new music to put some fairly hefty work in to set up and maintain blogs, when you say "no-one cares", you're right!
Cheers
Andrew
______________________________________
From: Justin Erdman
Subject: Re: Re-Uber
Hey Bob
The Uber Toronto situation is not what that last writer led you to believe. They didn't raise rates on standard taxis - only black cars and SUVs which are much more expensive and in shorter supply even in regular demand times.
But a lot of people believe whatever they read and it seems everyone today has an itchy social media finger...
http://bit.ly/12ZSxTJ
______________________________________
From: Jim Gelcer
Subject: Re: Re-Uber
More on Uber:
You may have heard that Toronto just experienced one of the worst "flash floods" in the city's history -- on this past Monday, July 8th we got as much rain in 2 hours as we normally get in a month.
Anyway, I posted an Uber promo on my facebook feed today and immediately got comments that during the flood, Uber was price gouging. The following blog post was referenced:
http://gigaom.com/2013/07/09/a-tip-for-uber-sometimes-the-best-pr-strategy-is-to-do-something-that-isnt-rational/
So I sent the comments to the Uber Toronto Community Manager and within minutes got the following reply, with a reference to an eloquent blog response written by Uber Toronto GM Billy Guernier:
"Hey Jim,
I'd recommend you read our follow up blog post: http://blog.uber.com/2013/07/10/stormto-follow-up/
Ultimately, it'll be up to you to come to your own conclusion.
Offering services during what turned out to be a freak flash food was an insanely difficult position to be in, we did what we thought was best, we got more cars online (double the usual number) so more people could take rides and get where they needed to be.
Thanks so much.
Lucas,
Uber Toronto Community Manager"
______________________________________
From: Ben Erickson
Subject: Uber Fantastic!
On our tour bus the crew now says "uber" in front of anything awesome using the SNL Hans and Frans voice. I love them because they respond back to you immediately when something gets f****d up. I've had a couple bad experiences and every time they've refunded my money.
In NYC we stopped paying $200 an hour x 2 vans for all day van service when we're in town doing press or TV. It's literally saved thousands per day. At one point before you could pick whether you wanted an SUV or a car I emailed them saying "it'd be awesome for tour mgrs to be able to select SUV vs. car so that we could make sure our gear could fit in the back on the way to press/airports" and they responded within the hour saying it was coming.
SF uber is by far the most efficient and has the best drivers. NYC can be tough, you lose them sometimes and I find there's a lot of non-English speaking drivers. An AWESOME ninja uber trick - if you like your driver, or if you get a brand new bad ass Mercedes that you want to use all day...is you take down the driver's personal cell when he drops you off...then text him the address you want to be picked up at next time you need him and he just drives to that location and texts you....then you sign onto uber and that driver is the closest car and you automatically get him...it's a way to trick the system and make sure you keep a good driver around.
No longer do I have to try to convince a cab to wait for the band out back behind the venue while I've got fans waiting too...I just uber 10 mins before I need them and have the driver standby. It's a tour manager wet dream....
______________________________________
From: Cashis Kling
Subject: Re: Uber
Uber nights are the best nights. And I love that I can send an uber to pick someone up without having to be there or make a call. I've even sent multiple people Ubers simultaneously.
______________________________________
From: Kristi Allain
Subject: Re: Re-Uber
Hey Bob,
Just read all of your Uber stories and felt inclined to share mine. I've been a regular user of Uber for almost a year now. On the way out to vacation for the 4th last week I realized my car was towed just as the Uber picked me up. While I was on the phone with the tow company repeating all the costs, my Uber driver had been adding then up in his head and gave me the total. Then, hearing me say I need to mail my car key back so someone can get my car from impound to avoid $500 of storage fees, and then realizing I couldn't because of the holiday, my driver offered to bring my car key back to my apartment and meet my friend outside with it. He totally saved my life and he did it without even being asked! No LA cab driver would do that in a million years.
______________________________________
From: Bob Ezrin
Subject: Re: Re-Uber
Here's one for you:
On my way home from Ireland, I passed through Newark airport the day before Sandy was about to hit (Sunday). My connection to Nashville was cancelled. My travel agent got me a flight out of LaGuardia for that evening so I headed into Manhattan for an early dinner with friends and expected to head out to LGA for my flight. In the car from Newark, I got texted that my flight was cancelled. She got me a later flight out of JFK...cancelled. I was looking for connections through ANYWHERE: take me to Santiago and fly me to Nashville...cancelled.
You already know the rest of that story. Also, I was staying at the Parker Meridien when they evacuated it because that pesky crane was hanging from the 80th floor of the building next door. I went to stay with friends in Tribeca (the dumbest move a human could have made under the circumstances) two hours before the lights went out and southern Manhattan was marooned.
No planes, no trains...so f*** it: automobiles. I'll drive home! I called and rented (or thought I did) a car from Hertz who even texted me the license plate number of the car I was to pick up uptown the following morning. By now it's Wednesday. I get to Hertz and as I walk in I can see from the 15 or 16 dour looking people sitting outside the rental office that there might be an issue. At the counter they tell me there are no cars on the entire island. I try a limo company we all use, and another. Nada.
And then it hits me: UBER! So far, they have ALWAYS come through. So I hit the app and get told that an SUV is just 10 minutes away from me. They ask if I want to text the driver. I do and I warn him that I want to go to Philly International. So my guy pulls up in a shiny new Escalade. I say "how much to drive me to Philly international?". There's a flight to Nashville from there that is leaving that afternoon and I have the LAST SEAT on it. He says "I have no idea". I say "can we phone them and find out?". So he does and he gets what is essentially a dispatch office. They say they don't know either, they just book the cars and nobody knows who UBER really is or how to reach them. They're an app and live somewhere in the ether. They say "go on the website - the rates are there". So, I go there and calculate using the approximate mileage and and a guesstimation of waiting time that I'm probably looking at $300-350 to get to Philly to get home. By now I've been away a long time and I'm frankly ready to ride a horse to Tennessee if I have to. So I say to my guy "let's do it!" and off we go.
While en route, I get a ping from UBER informing that due to the unusual demand some sort of peak rates are in effect but they use a funny term and honestly I'm not really paying attention. After 3 1/2 days as a bag person I am just thrilled and delighted as Mel Brooks would say to be on my way home.
We get to Philly International and the ride is over and I get that instant "ping" from UBER informing me that my trip cost $925. $925????? WTF! I followed their rules and calculated perfectly and this is three times what I expected. The driver agrees that this just isn't right. Something must be wrong. SO - when the pay up or you can't leave the car screen comes up, I click on "go ahead and try to charge it to my old, expired credit card" and leave a comment with my phone number basically saying I challenge this charge and if you wish to discuss, call me.
It turns out that my calculations didn't account for the surcharges for the size of the car, for riding like a Cholo while being Jewish, for being in an Escalade WITHOUT a posse, for crossing the state line and for it being Wednesday which all added up to $462. I'm joking of course, but they have a complicated formula that helps them to ensure that every trip is profitable for them. BUT I am also being charged what they call "Surge Pricing" which is a new term to me entirely but which means DOUBLE. What???
Anyway, I leave a note expressing my extreme displeasure at the size of the bill and the fact that they are exploiting a natural disaster to gouge long term customers, and know that once they try to process the payment on that old card they will immediately be incentivized to reach out to me. And so they do. But in the most open, personal and satisfying way possible. A very nice man writes me the following explanation based on which I decide that I will bite the bullet and pay the base charge because that's what it costs to take a short hop conveyance on a multi state adventure. It hurts but not NEARLY as much as the original bill - and the driver gets paid which is the most important thing. He was great. The message read:
"Hey Robert,
Sorry for the delay. Much of our team has been without power over the last few days, and it's been a slow process getting back online.
This was quite the trip and I'm sorry for the sticker shock.
What you experienced was actually our "surge pricing", a time where we expect demand to be so extreme we can't possibly have enough supply to fill it all and if we do nothing, getting a ride will be near-impossible.
For more info definitely check out our blog:
http://blog,uber.com/2012/03/14/clear-and-straight-forward-surge-pricing/
Uber was originally built with only short trips in the city in ming, so I apologize for this experience, I would like to refund the surge portion of this trip in full ($462), but I'll need to process the original payment first before I am able to void it and create a new payment.
If you can notify me when the credit card is updated, I would be happy to help!"
Ok - so instead of using market forces to regulate the supply and demand they just go from being an affordable convenience to being out of reach for regular folk whenever the traffic is heavy. That's not so nice. But aside from that, I find his explanation to be rational, personal and matter of fact. I buy it...I feel relieved to be on my way home 2-3 days earlier than most people so I saved more money than that in not being stuck in a hotel and eating in Manhattan, and I accept that I wittingly chose a very expensive way of getting out of Dodge. But what I didn't feel was ripped off. I felt served and valued as a customer.
I am an UBER frequent flyer. I hope it gets to Nashville before too long.
B
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Subject: Re: Mailbag
Bob,
One more thing about Back in the High Life and Jimmy Bralower. After we had been recording for about a month Will Jennings, who wrote the lyrics to about half of the album, kept asking me to get Steve to play me "Back in the High Life Again". After a couple of requests he finally did. We were in studio C at Power Station and he went to the piano and played me the song but in a rather upbeat Ska meets Willie and the Hand Jive style. I was incredulous and said, "Why didn't you play me this song before? It's just the best." So that weekend Steve and Jimmy got together at Steve's apartment in the 60's just off Madison avenue and they came up with the slower more soulful version of the song. And you can hear the little loop that Jimmy came up with which is sort of the central rhythm of the record with that cool 808 conga pattern. Mournful little thing and very effective. Then we added the rest. Mandolin, piano, synth bass, the fiddle/string solo sound (all played by Steve) and the amazing JR drums. We asked James Taylor to come in to sing the harmonies. Unique and magical record.
______________________________________
From: Andrew Thompson
Subject: An experiment that may be of interest?
Hi Bob
Always enjoy your emails and agree with a lot of what you say, so I thought you may be interested in this little experiment that we ran.
We spent a few weeks visiting new music blogs and hand-picked a list of 504 that we thought would be a good match for our music.
We then emailed them:
___
FROM: The Khanz
SUBJECT: Hey Bob, got time for a quick listen?
Hey Bob
"Kinda like Vampire Weekend - if you shoved a kettle cord up their ass, plugged it into the wall and flicked the power switch."
OK, we didn't write that and we have no idea what it means, but if you want to hear what it sounds like, try "Roll Around" - the new single from Australian indie upstarts, The Khanz.
A tale of grappling with life's slings and arrows, and not always succeeding, "Roll Around" continues a tradition of songs that tackle the more tangled issues young people face, in a spirit of exuberance and joy at being alive.
You can listen to an mp3 or a WAV version.
And you can download some info.
Hope you dig! Release date is 22 July.
Cheers?
Themba, Nick, Harrison and Kat?xxx
www.thekhanz.com.au
___
Here are the results:
Sent: 504
Bounced: 21
Unsubscribes: 1
Read: 34
Listens: 7
Replies: 1
The guy who unsubscribed did so without listening to the track.
Keeping in mind that this is not a random list, but a list of people who are interested enough in new music to put some fairly hefty work in to set up and maintain blogs, when you say "no-one cares", you're right!
Cheers
Andrew
______________________________________
From: Justin Erdman
Subject: Re: Re-Uber
Hey Bob
The Uber Toronto situation is not what that last writer led you to believe. They didn't raise rates on standard taxis - only black cars and SUVs which are much more expensive and in shorter supply even in regular demand times.
But a lot of people believe whatever they read and it seems everyone today has an itchy social media finger...
http://bit.ly/12ZSxTJ
______________________________________
From: Jim Gelcer
Subject: Re: Re-Uber
More on Uber:
You may have heard that Toronto just experienced one of the worst "flash floods" in the city's history -- on this past Monday, July 8th we got as much rain in 2 hours as we normally get in a month.
Anyway, I posted an Uber promo on my facebook feed today and immediately got comments that during the flood, Uber was price gouging. The following blog post was referenced:
http://gigaom.com/2013/07/09/a-tip-for-uber-sometimes-the-best-pr-strategy-is-to-do-something-that-isnt-rational/
So I sent the comments to the Uber Toronto Community Manager and within minutes got the following reply, with a reference to an eloquent blog response written by Uber Toronto GM Billy Guernier:
"Hey Jim,
I'd recommend you read our follow up blog post: http://blog.uber.com/2013/07/10/stormto-follow-up/
Ultimately, it'll be up to you to come to your own conclusion.
Offering services during what turned out to be a freak flash food was an insanely difficult position to be in, we did what we thought was best, we got more cars online (double the usual number) so more people could take rides and get where they needed to be.
Thanks so much.
Lucas,
Uber Toronto Community Manager"
______________________________________
From: Ben Erickson
Subject: Uber Fantastic!
On our tour bus the crew now says "uber" in front of anything awesome using the SNL Hans and Frans voice. I love them because they respond back to you immediately when something gets f****d up. I've had a couple bad experiences and every time they've refunded my money.
In NYC we stopped paying $200 an hour x 2 vans for all day van service when we're in town doing press or TV. It's literally saved thousands per day. At one point before you could pick whether you wanted an SUV or a car I emailed them saying "it'd be awesome for tour mgrs to be able to select SUV vs. car so that we could make sure our gear could fit in the back on the way to press/airports" and they responded within the hour saying it was coming.
SF uber is by far the most efficient and has the best drivers. NYC can be tough, you lose them sometimes and I find there's a lot of non-English speaking drivers. An AWESOME ninja uber trick - if you like your driver, or if you get a brand new bad ass Mercedes that you want to use all day...is you take down the driver's personal cell when he drops you off...then text him the address you want to be picked up at next time you need him and he just drives to that location and texts you....then you sign onto uber and that driver is the closest car and you automatically get him...it's a way to trick the system and make sure you keep a good driver around.
No longer do I have to try to convince a cab to wait for the band out back behind the venue while I've got fans waiting too...I just uber 10 mins before I need them and have the driver standby. It's a tour manager wet dream....
______________________________________
From: Cashis Kling
Subject: Re: Uber
Uber nights are the best nights. And I love that I can send an uber to pick someone up without having to be there or make a call. I've even sent multiple people Ubers simultaneously.
______________________________________
From: Kristi Allain
Subject: Re: Re-Uber
Hey Bob,
Just read all of your Uber stories and felt inclined to share mine. I've been a regular user of Uber for almost a year now. On the way out to vacation for the 4th last week I realized my car was towed just as the Uber picked me up. While I was on the phone with the tow company repeating all the costs, my Uber driver had been adding then up in his head and gave me the total. Then, hearing me say I need to mail my car key back so someone can get my car from impound to avoid $500 of storage fees, and then realizing I couldn't because of the holiday, my driver offered to bring my car key back to my apartment and meet my friend outside with it. He totally saved my life and he did it without even being asked! No LA cab driver would do that in a million years.
______________________________________
From: Bob Ezrin
Subject: Re: Re-Uber
Here's one for you:
On my way home from Ireland, I passed through Newark airport the day before Sandy was about to hit (Sunday). My connection to Nashville was cancelled. My travel agent got me a flight out of LaGuardia for that evening so I headed into Manhattan for an early dinner with friends and expected to head out to LGA for my flight. In the car from Newark, I got texted that my flight was cancelled. She got me a later flight out of JFK...cancelled. I was looking for connections through ANYWHERE: take me to Santiago and fly me to Nashville...cancelled.
You already know the rest of that story. Also, I was staying at the Parker Meridien when they evacuated it because that pesky crane was hanging from the 80th floor of the building next door. I went to stay with friends in Tribeca (the dumbest move a human could have made under the circumstances) two hours before the lights went out and southern Manhattan was marooned.
No planes, no trains...so f*** it: automobiles. I'll drive home! I called and rented (or thought I did) a car from Hertz who even texted me the license plate number of the car I was to pick up uptown the following morning. By now it's Wednesday. I get to Hertz and as I walk in I can see from the 15 or 16 dour looking people sitting outside the rental office that there might be an issue. At the counter they tell me there are no cars on the entire island. I try a limo company we all use, and another. Nada.
And then it hits me: UBER! So far, they have ALWAYS come through. So I hit the app and get told that an SUV is just 10 minutes away from me. They ask if I want to text the driver. I do and I warn him that I want to go to Philly International. So my guy pulls up in a shiny new Escalade. I say "how much to drive me to Philly international?". There's a flight to Nashville from there that is leaving that afternoon and I have the LAST SEAT on it. He says "I have no idea". I say "can we phone them and find out?". So he does and he gets what is essentially a dispatch office. They say they don't know either, they just book the cars and nobody knows who UBER really is or how to reach them. They're an app and live somewhere in the ether. They say "go on the website - the rates are there". So, I go there and calculate using the approximate mileage and and a guesstimation of waiting time that I'm probably looking at $300-350 to get to Philly to get home. By now I've been away a long time and I'm frankly ready to ride a horse to Tennessee if I have to. So I say to my guy "let's do it!" and off we go.
While en route, I get a ping from UBER informing that due to the unusual demand some sort of peak rates are in effect but they use a funny term and honestly I'm not really paying attention. After 3 1/2 days as a bag person I am just thrilled and delighted as Mel Brooks would say to be on my way home.
We get to Philly International and the ride is over and I get that instant "ping" from UBER informing me that my trip cost $925. $925????? WTF! I followed their rules and calculated perfectly and this is three times what I expected. The driver agrees that this just isn't right. Something must be wrong. SO - when the pay up or you can't leave the car screen comes up, I click on "go ahead and try to charge it to my old, expired credit card" and leave a comment with my phone number basically saying I challenge this charge and if you wish to discuss, call me.
It turns out that my calculations didn't account for the surcharges for the size of the car, for riding like a Cholo while being Jewish, for being in an Escalade WITHOUT a posse, for crossing the state line and for it being Wednesday which all added up to $462. I'm joking of course, but they have a complicated formula that helps them to ensure that every trip is profitable for them. BUT I am also being charged what they call "Surge Pricing" which is a new term to me entirely but which means DOUBLE. What???
Anyway, I leave a note expressing my extreme displeasure at the size of the bill and the fact that they are exploiting a natural disaster to gouge long term customers, and know that once they try to process the payment on that old card they will immediately be incentivized to reach out to me. And so they do. But in the most open, personal and satisfying way possible. A very nice man writes me the following explanation based on which I decide that I will bite the bullet and pay the base charge because that's what it costs to take a short hop conveyance on a multi state adventure. It hurts but not NEARLY as much as the original bill - and the driver gets paid which is the most important thing. He was great. The message read:
"Hey Robert,
Sorry for the delay. Much of our team has been without power over the last few days, and it's been a slow process getting back online.
This was quite the trip and I'm sorry for the sticker shock.
What you experienced was actually our "surge pricing", a time where we expect demand to be so extreme we can't possibly have enough supply to fill it all and if we do nothing, getting a ride will be near-impossible.
For more info definitely check out our blog:
http://blog,uber.com/2012/03/14/clear-and-straight-forward-surge-pricing/
Uber was originally built with only short trips in the city in ming, so I apologize for this experience, I would like to refund the surge portion of this trip in full ($462), but I'll need to process the original payment first before I am able to void it and create a new payment.
If you can notify me when the credit card is updated, I would be happy to help!"
Ok - so instead of using market forces to regulate the supply and demand they just go from being an affordable convenience to being out of reach for regular folk whenever the traffic is heavy. That's not so nice. But aside from that, I find his explanation to be rational, personal and matter of fact. I buy it...I feel relieved to be on my way home 2-3 days earlier than most people so I saved more money than that in not being stuck in a hotel and eating in Manhattan, and I accept that I wittingly chose a very expensive way of getting out of Dodge. But what I didn't feel was ripped off. I felt served and valued as a customer.
I am an UBER frequent flyer. I hope it gets to Nashville before too long.
B
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Rhinofy-Free
Yes, you all know "All Right Now," hopefully the extended version, with the guitar solo, and I bought that album, "Fire and Water," but I didn't love it. Yet, over the years, after the band broke up and got back together and Paul Rodgers moved on to Bad Company and Paul Kossoff OD'ed on an airplane...I'd hear track after track and would be positively stunned how great they were, I listened to "Molten Gold: The Anthology" incessantly upon its release in 1993, back when you didn't have to play what everybody else did to feel a member of the club, I reveled in being in my own private universe, peeking in on what once was, decades before, when the Stones and so many mid-sixties bands had built upon American R&B and then moved on and...Free was still influenced by those sounds, were creating basic music that sounded so good.
Yes, as time went by, to this day, people kept adding more and more. To the point where you expect to find the kitchen sink, buried somewhere in the track if you're willing to dig deep enough. But so many Free tracks were basic, they were like being in a club, hearing the band live, you listen to their BBC tapes, also on Spotify, and they don't suffer, unlike the live work of so many bands to this day.
But let's start off with my introduction to Free, the one track I knew from the A&M sampler compilation "Friends," "I'll Be Creepin'".
I'LL BE CREEPIN'
Oh, it's all good, the groove, the guitar, the bass, the vocal. But for a track to be indelible it must have a magical element. And in "I'll Be Creepin'" it's the break, at the one minute mark...
"I'll hold you in my arms
Like nobody else
When I know we're apart
I won't take no less"
They're not looking for this sound on the TV competition shows, but right here you hear the magic that made Paul Rodgers one of the paramount vocalists of the rock era. He could belt, but he could also croon... It's almost like he's singing it to you on the couch. Whew!
THE STEALER
When the history of rock and roll is written...Paul Kossoff will be left out.
I won't say he's in the league of Jeff Beck, he may not be as fluid as Eric Clapton, not as good a writer as Jimmy Page, but the sounds he wrung from his instrument... Today, everybody's technique and rarely unique. The intro sound is the essence of rock and roll, the guitar that makes your body bend and draws you to the speaker. There have been so many covers of this track, none quite as good as the original, but like Kossoff himself, most people still don't know it. SPREAD THE WORD!
SONGS OF YESTERDAY
This is notable primarily for Andy Fraser's bass. Not that Kossoff doesn't add intriguing accents. But once again, like with so many Free tracks, it's primarily about the feel. It's like the best band ever is playing in the house next door, no one's paying attention, but that makes no difference, you realize how positively great they are. By not swinging for the fences, they score all the runs.
OH I WEPT
Ditto. Much quieter than "Songs Of Yesterday," "Oh I Wept" has got even more intimacy but still feels like you've found the Hope Diamond when no one was even looking for it. This is the exact opposite of what people are making these days, but exactly what people are looking for. We're looking for humanity, a reflection of mood... Come on, ever stayed inside on a rainy day, dreaming about old loves...THIS SOUNDS LIKE THAT!
CATCH A TRAIN
Nobody knows this cut, and it's positively secondary, but listen to the guitar work and you'll know you're in the presence of something special, from the era when it was all about the album cuts.
LITTLE BIT OF LOVE
Even better, but less innovative than "Catch A Train," if you're under forty you'll think this was an FM staple, but it was not. It's dynamic and it's in your face without being overbearing. This demonstrates how much better Paul Rodgers is than everybody else, someone different sings this and it's just not as good. This was a band of virtuosos, let's not forget drummer Simon Kirke, and together they made a wondrous noise.
MR. BIG
The second side opener of "Fire And Water," it was just too subtle after purchasing the album based on "All Right Now," still it's very good. As is...
FIRE AND WATER
They don't make album openers like this anymore. Something that starts off quiet and isn't radio-ready. Then again, I'd argue a remix, a better production, would have made such a difference. The essence is here, but it's like you're listening through a tunnel. But once you get into Free, it all makes sense. Furthermore, I'm including multiple live takes in this playlist, they're everything the studio version is not...powerful, dynamic and triumphant.
EASY ON MY SOUL
This is positively mind-blowing. So similar to Bad Company's oeuvre, that you won't be surprised to find that monster band did its own version:
http://bit.ly/1dl2QUb
Which is plenty good, but the original is even better, because shooting lower, a bit more controlled...it becomes one of those songs like Split Enz's "Message To My Girl" that means everything to you in spite of the fact that nobody knows it. You just can't play "Easy On My Soul" loud enough, you want it to drown out everything else in your presence, you want to revel only in it.
ALL RIGHT NOW
You have no idea what it was like to be in the car in September 1970 and hear this emanating from the speaker, back when a hit was truly universal, when everybody with ears heard it. Oh, it's a great song, but it's truly about the SOUND! Paul Kossoff belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame just for this. But that's not how it works. You need a champion. And no one's championing Free and too many consider Rodgers's work with Bad Company misogynistic, and those who worry about what others think of their opinions can't stand up and say how incredible this music is.
BUT I AM!
Spotify link: http://bit.ly/12ku9cb
Previous Rhinofy playlists: http://www.rhinofy.com/lefsetz
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Yes, as time went by, to this day, people kept adding more and more. To the point where you expect to find the kitchen sink, buried somewhere in the track if you're willing to dig deep enough. But so many Free tracks were basic, they were like being in a club, hearing the band live, you listen to their BBC tapes, also on Spotify, and they don't suffer, unlike the live work of so many bands to this day.
But let's start off with my introduction to Free, the one track I knew from the A&M sampler compilation "Friends," "I'll Be Creepin'".
I'LL BE CREEPIN'
Oh, it's all good, the groove, the guitar, the bass, the vocal. But for a track to be indelible it must have a magical element. And in "I'll Be Creepin'" it's the break, at the one minute mark...
"I'll hold you in my arms
Like nobody else
When I know we're apart
I won't take no less"
They're not looking for this sound on the TV competition shows, but right here you hear the magic that made Paul Rodgers one of the paramount vocalists of the rock era. He could belt, but he could also croon... It's almost like he's singing it to you on the couch. Whew!
THE STEALER
When the history of rock and roll is written...Paul Kossoff will be left out.
I won't say he's in the league of Jeff Beck, he may not be as fluid as Eric Clapton, not as good a writer as Jimmy Page, but the sounds he wrung from his instrument... Today, everybody's technique and rarely unique. The intro sound is the essence of rock and roll, the guitar that makes your body bend and draws you to the speaker. There have been so many covers of this track, none quite as good as the original, but like Kossoff himself, most people still don't know it. SPREAD THE WORD!
SONGS OF YESTERDAY
This is notable primarily for Andy Fraser's bass. Not that Kossoff doesn't add intriguing accents. But once again, like with so many Free tracks, it's primarily about the feel. It's like the best band ever is playing in the house next door, no one's paying attention, but that makes no difference, you realize how positively great they are. By not swinging for the fences, they score all the runs.
OH I WEPT
Ditto. Much quieter than "Songs Of Yesterday," "Oh I Wept" has got even more intimacy but still feels like you've found the Hope Diamond when no one was even looking for it. This is the exact opposite of what people are making these days, but exactly what people are looking for. We're looking for humanity, a reflection of mood... Come on, ever stayed inside on a rainy day, dreaming about old loves...THIS SOUNDS LIKE THAT!
CATCH A TRAIN
Nobody knows this cut, and it's positively secondary, but listen to the guitar work and you'll know you're in the presence of something special, from the era when it was all about the album cuts.
LITTLE BIT OF LOVE
Even better, but less innovative than "Catch A Train," if you're under forty you'll think this was an FM staple, but it was not. It's dynamic and it's in your face without being overbearing. This demonstrates how much better Paul Rodgers is than everybody else, someone different sings this and it's just not as good. This was a band of virtuosos, let's not forget drummer Simon Kirke, and together they made a wondrous noise.
MR. BIG
The second side opener of "Fire And Water," it was just too subtle after purchasing the album based on "All Right Now," still it's very good. As is...
FIRE AND WATER
They don't make album openers like this anymore. Something that starts off quiet and isn't radio-ready. Then again, I'd argue a remix, a better production, would have made such a difference. The essence is here, but it's like you're listening through a tunnel. But once you get into Free, it all makes sense. Furthermore, I'm including multiple live takes in this playlist, they're everything the studio version is not...powerful, dynamic and triumphant.
EASY ON MY SOUL
This is positively mind-blowing. So similar to Bad Company's oeuvre, that you won't be surprised to find that monster band did its own version:
http://bit.ly/1dl2QUb
Which is plenty good, but the original is even better, because shooting lower, a bit more controlled...it becomes one of those songs like Split Enz's "Message To My Girl" that means everything to you in spite of the fact that nobody knows it. You just can't play "Easy On My Soul" loud enough, you want it to drown out everything else in your presence, you want to revel only in it.
ALL RIGHT NOW
You have no idea what it was like to be in the car in September 1970 and hear this emanating from the speaker, back when a hit was truly universal, when everybody with ears heard it. Oh, it's a great song, but it's truly about the SOUND! Paul Kossoff belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame just for this. But that's not how it works. You need a champion. And no one's championing Free and too many consider Rodgers's work with Bad Company misogynistic, and those who worry about what others think of their opinions can't stand up and say how incredible this music is.
BUT I AM!
Spotify link: http://bit.ly/12ku9cb
Previous Rhinofy playlists: http://www.rhinofy.com/lefsetz
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Wednesday 10 July 2013
Re-Uber
My inbox is blowing up with testimonials. I'm getting more feedback than I do about any record ever. Isn't it interesting that Jay-Z and Kanye's productions are push and Uber is pull and the end result is everybody's talking about Uber and the only ones going on about Jay-Z and Kanye are the talking down from above straight media, who buy into the hype and fan the flames of non-stories, or those most people don't care about.
What Uber has done is create a great service that people want to testify about. It's no different from a band, it's just that Uber is disruptive and solves a problem and therefore people spread the word. We've got tons of problems in music too, but the solutions are just not innovative enough. Algorithms can't fix everything.
Kind of like today's homepage suggestions on Spotify:
"People who listen to The Doobie Brothers are also listening to Tears For Fears."
Isn't this almost like saying some people are bisexual so we're gonna show you some same sex options just in case? (Actually, that seems much more insightful and helpful than these ridiculous music recommendations!)
And then there's:
"You listened to Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers. Here's a song you might like: "Here I Am," by Steve Earle."
Isn't that like taking your longhaired buddy to the country bar?
"You listened to The Doobie Brothers. You might like this song: "Voodoo Child (Slight Return), by Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble."
HUH? Isn't that like saying if you like the Monkees you'll love Jimi Hendrix?
And:
"Since you listened to Traffic, you might like this new release by Graham Parker..."
One can argue strongly that Graham Parker was a REACTION to Traffic.
And that's what we've got in music. Techies inured to VC's and money, clueless about our business. Meanwhile, our audience is inured to the great non-music apps the tech industry does come up with.
And I'm stuck in the middle with you.
Here are a few interesting Uber e-mails...
_____
My father drives under the Uber banner in NYC and absolutely loves being a part of their machine. â•© Truly a Godsend for him.
Joshua Freni
___________________________________________
Just came back from LA where I blew off the rental car and all the valet
parking charges that you get at the hotel and everywhere you go and just
used Uber. Saved time and money!
Tag Gross
___________________________________________
It's hit verb status in Atlanta.â•©
Michael Weeman
___________________________________________
I got introduced to Uber on a recent trip to LA (my previous home). The LA screenings were on and my normal car rental company was empty of vehicles so Uber it was.
So here's one story from a trip from the Valley to Santa Monica ($80 in a black Escalade). The driver was â•©made redundant from a programming job six months previously. He used his $30k redundancy money to buy the car we were riding in. In six months he's built a fleet of 8 cars (all cash purchases), each grossing $12k a month. Each car is running 16 hours a day using 2 drivers on $12 per hour. So even after Uber's 20% slice and gas etc. he's still clearing great money, so great that Uber won't take on any more drivers! OK, LA is huge, taxis are crap (and expensive), and labour (largely illegal) is cheap. But what a phenomenon! I just used the service London (where I now live) and in Berlin. Pretty excellent. Good ideas go global in a flash.
Apply to empty recording studios?
Gavin Aldred
___________________________________________
Recently had an Uber driver that missed turning down the right street; I joked about giving him a bad rating; he joked back that he might give me one too; â•©I asked what he meant, and he explained how each customer is rated so Uber drivers know the customers - good and bad....
Jamie Cheek
___________________________________________
Gary Slaight:
Funny. I was wondering what the charges on my daughters visa were for
Sent from my BlackBerry
___________________________________________
Surely you've been swept up in a deluge of email from folks telling you about the cease and desist:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57591024-93/uber-lyft-sidecar-get-cease-and-desist-letters-from-la/
I needed to take a cab for a 3 mile trip to a friend's wedding downtown. I called the cab co (stupidly trying to save a couple shekels) and when they hadn't arrived in 20 minutes, I called again only to hear the dispatch tell me that no cabs had picked up the call, and she didn't know when they would. This was making me late for a WEDDING, so I got an Uber that showed up in 6 minutes, and of course I could track it the whole way over, which soothed my anxiety about being late.â•©
I hadn't considered the dent in drunk driving that these apps can make. I watched a drunk driver spin out on the 10 east at about 10:30 pm last night and narrowly avoided them. I have no idea how it ended, but I'd be surprised if he didn't get at least one other car before slamming into the median...â•©
You are right, cabs in LA are deplorable. And the immigrant cabbies that are worth their salt are moving to Uber / Lyft et al and making more money. I guess it shouldn't be surprising to see this "disruption" halted by a monolith like the LADOT, but the savvy Uber , Lyft and Sidecar crowd won't stand for it. To your point, it's probably even saving lives for crissakes.
Denton Biety
___________________________________________
In Boston Uber is the best thing to ever happen to transportation.â•© Public transportation (MBTA) shuts down early (12:30 a.m.), and Uber is the easiest way to get home. I know there have been some lawsuits from the Boston/Cambridge cab companies (monopolies?), but I don't know (or care) about the details. All I know is that Uber always shows up on time, the driver doesn't smell bad, the driver wears a seat belt and doesn't talk on the phone the entire time, the driver doesn't hit on you, the driver never says "cash only," and the Uber driver never gets lost. When I have an early morning flight, Uber is the only way I will go to the airport. Uber rules!
Amy Holdorf
___________________________________________
LOVE Uber! I got introduced to it through Soho House Toronto where I'm a member. And now I use it all the time. You choose your car, and then you get the cab driver's name, and picture and can see how many minutes before he gets to you and it's like watching a video game on your phone seeing the cab approach (fun) and then you get a text when he arrives. Also love not having to fumble for cash at your destination and knowing that the tip is taken care of as well!
Jim Gelcer
___________________________________________
THIS:
"...without stains on the back seat and a defiant driver"
In addition to all of the obvious technical advantages and convenience Uber provides, the dozen different drivers I have used have ALL been courteous, polite to a fault, and every single one has driven safely, without distraction. â•©I've never given a rating lower than five stars, and never had reason to.
Cabs in LA? From LAX anyway: 85 miles an hour (minimum), and ten or fifteen feet back from the other Cab they're chasing in the car-pool lane. â•©Rude and INSTANTLY ANGRY no matter how gently you try to suggest that you're not in that big a hurry. â•©No amount or kind of cajolery works. â•©You get glowered at in the rear-view and fear that if the ride doesn't kill you, the diver will do it with his bare hands. â•©Last, but not least: the nauseating roller coaster intensity in heavy traffic, the air conditioning's a rumor, the funk, the heat, the f****d up seats -- â•©literally, hell on wheels.â•©
Guess which service I use and evangelize and CAN'T WAIT until it gets to my hometown??
Thanks for speaking the truth Bob!
Steve Lindstrom
___________________________________________
uber comes to my house in the hollywood heights in under 5 minutes within 'hailing' it via the iphone app, every time. i have never had a grumpy driver, and i have never had a bad uber experience in general. for people who are able to afford it, it's by far the best driver service in the marketplace. â•©
Michael Pukownik
___________________________________________
I use Uber all the time. â•©Love it. â•©And now I know people who are driving for UberX (personal car, not black car) and making serious cash on their spare time. â•©It's a great service, and I hope that LA does not shut it down. â•©Did you see that the city sent them a cease and desist letter? â•©(http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57591024-93/uber-lyft-sidecar-get-cease-and-desist-letters-from-la/)
There is currently a petition going against this: â•©https://www.change.org/petitions/city-of-los-angeles-repeal-the-cease-and-desist-order-on-uber-lyft-and-sidecar
Thanks for posting, great back story on Travis, I had no idea...
Chris Scott
___________________________________________
Uber rules...â•©My travel agent turned me onto it... Solves a million problems for me, and I have not had a bad experience yet. â•©Also makes my Artists more independent, even some of my older ones who are not super APP or Tech savvy... They can get a black car on their own when they are actually ready...â•©No More paying Music Express a 2 Hour minimum, plus wait time as a scheduled challenged artist decides when they actually want to leave. â•©
Uber has pulled me out tof the fire in many cities... â•©Can't get a cab company to pay attention... â•©No Problem! - Fire up the App and a car is at your door in no time flat...
I Love it, and preach Uber to all I know... â•©And I am way to old and jaded to be considered anything close to a hipster...â•©â•©
Eric Frankhouser
___________________________________________
You're right on. I share a coworking space w Uber (coloft in Santa Monica - another disruptive business). They are right on. The app is great, they come quickly, cars are clean, your driver texts you, and they are cheaper than cabs.
Oh: and no cash. Tip included. No cash. Ever.
They recently launched UberX (nonblack cars fir regular people) which sends you a Prius. 30% less than a cab to LAX. Price goes up in crowded times, which is a brilliant way to optimize price.
LA sent them a cease and desist last week which they ignored. They agreed to have all their drivers be licensed with the taxi syndicate and they just kept driving.
Go Uber.
ewchaikin
___________________________________________
We moved back to Chicago after 20 years in car-centric Nashville. Followed my husband in the U-Haul to carMax, sold my 11-year-old Camry on the spot, hopped in the truck and never looked back.
We're ZipCar and Uber users when public trans doesn't work for times/destinations. But the only times we've called on Uber, no cars were available. Yes, we've received discount coupons, but we'd much rather pay full fare for a ride - which we usually need in the rain or snow.
We keep trying, though.
Sarah
___________________________________________
YES YES YES!
It not only reduces the number of drunk drivers, it also reduces traffic, parking congestion and actually is the reason I decide to go out many nights. I end up spending money on shows and at restaurants and bars that I would not have if I had to drive (because I wouldn't have gone out that night). You're Welcome Los Angeles! Take a cab in LA? HUH? The city should subsidize the service! It makes living in LA better. I look forward to using the app because it's COOL. You see the little black cars circling your neighborhhood on the map.â•©The interface is smart.
Not to mention Uber X. Way cheaper and you get picked up in a brand clean Prius V. At least that's what I've gotten every time. I had a great conversation with my intelligent driver (as you mentioned, they're not like cab drivers) while getting a ride to Bjork at the Bowl. We were discussing the backlash from the cab union and TLC (before the city issued the Cease and Desist letter to Uber/Lyft, etc.) He was describing how the idea for company came to be, apparently a group of tech guys sitting in a bar in Switzerland... "Hey let's buy a dozen Town Cars and use them amongst our friends like a private cab company." My driver said "Uber not a transportation company, it's a TECHNOLOGY company. It simply connects the consumer with existing drivers."
I only hope that Uber and Lyft force the archaic cab model to be reconfigured, but we know how that's going to go...
The people that started Uber deserve to get as rich as possible.
Ally Fell
___________________________________________
By the way, I'm 21 and Iâ•©get called a "f****n hipster" at least a few times a year. All my " f****n hipster" friends use Uber in Seattle. We don't have cars and most of theâ•©buses don't run after 2am when the bars close. The normal taxis suck. Uber is big with people my age.
Simon Thwaits
___________________________________________
If it hasn't gotten to LA yet, just wait until you get UberX! Cheaper than a cab, clean like a black car, and most (if not all) are hybrid or electric. Perfect for us idiot tree-huggers! There's even a Tesla here in Chicago somewhere that's on UberX, though I can't for the life of me seem to get lucky enough to ride in it.
http://blog.uber.com/2013/06/26/introducing-uberx-better-than-a-taxi-for-the-same-price/
They should pay me for how much I pimp them to other people. Even though my cynical ass knows how much I'm playing right into their hand, doing their work for them, I don't care. It's great, and I want to be the one that tells my friends about it.â•©
PJ
___________________________________________
My wife and I use Taxi Magic as well. It only uses Yellow Cab in LA but we have been very happy with the service and you can pay ahead of time using the app so you don't have to bother with that inevitable glare when you try to pay for your cab with a credit card since no one carries cash.
David Wilkins
___________________________________________
Don't forget Lyft!â•©
I produce and engineer records in San Francisco and half my clients drive for Lyft. They work only hours a week, have time for writing songs and rehearsing, and now they have money to make records (and pay me!) They - and I - also meet other musicians during Lyft rides. Since so many musicians are drivers, it can be a great networking experience.
Cabbies are pissed, and the City is a little freaky about it, but hey - that's what it feels like to get caught flat footed.
Andy Freeman
___________________________________________
Just got out at LAX and used UBER yet again. The best. Often when I order just the car, they send an SUV in its place. Nice upgrade.
Regular Cab: Venice Beach to LAX is $30
Uber: Venice Beach to LAX is $35
Worth it every time.
Mark Dinerstein
Knitting Factory Presents
___________________________________________
Life in LA and San Francisco has never been better with Uber!â•©
I travel to SF for work a few times a year, cabs are the worst there. As soon as my plane lands I open the app and grab a driver. Just the simple fact that there is no exchange of money makes the service superior.â•©
Waiting for uber chopper to roll out in LA and I'll forever be a changed woman.
Did you see they did a special in NY for guests traveling to the Hampton's during the July 4th holiday?â•©
Sasha Gross
___________________________________________
Bob...I have been traveling the west coast this week for mozcon (SEO/Inbound Marketing conference in Seattle) and Inman Connect (real estate tech conference) and have used Uber no less than 5 times for all of my travel. I was just saying to several folks today that it's the best thing since sliced bread. Could not agree more with your views!
Rivers Pearce
___________________________________________
I used Uber a few months back in SF. â•©Walked out of my meeting to a waiting white Mercedes with a driver who greeted me by name. â•©Cost was a few bucks more than my earlier ride from the airport in a smelly yellow cab. â•©Genius.
Niels Schroeter
___________________________________________
I love Uber.
The other thing that is so great is NO HAGGLING over credit cards. Uber's removed the payment friction completely - you don't have to argue, you don't have to worry about leaving the tip, the receipt is compiled and automatically emailed to you.
That's a big reason why I prefer Uber over using a cab. And I'm in San Francisco, where cabs aren't difficult to hail.
Brent Dady
___________________________________________
For us "hipsters" or "twenty somethings" (especially female ones) Uber is the only way to go, especially when going to an after show or party that doesn't end til 4AM! Safe, convenient & quick with no cash necessary!
Last summer a coworker and I chuckled when we saw Ryan Schreiber (Pitchfork Media) get into one in Chicago's Wicker Park. The guy who started what used to be thought of as the ultra-hip, indie, PBR drinking crowd's underground music blog & festival, getting into a black car, like some politician, instead of hopping on his fixed gear bike to get to Union Park to see Vampire Weekend, A$AP Rocky & Dirty Projectors?! But that's the thing: Uber is for EVERYONE! Even my parents use it!
I believe the pedi-cabs now have apps in Austin for ACL & SXSW.
Have you checked out Appluaze yet? It's an iPhone app (Android next year) and Applauze is to event discovery and ticketing what Uber is to car service.
My boyfriend and I did an experiment the night before the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club show at the Wiltern:
I tried to buy tickets on my phone via LiveNation and he used the Applauze app. He had tickets purchased before the crappy LiveNation mobile interface had even found me seats. Sure we paid a little more, but we had the tickets quick & stress free. We printed them at home (though soon they'll be right on your smartphone)! No need to enter credit card info either because it's saved like Uber.
They even have free events listed too, so it's not just for scenesters with cash & corporate big whigs looking to entertain clients. Check it out. I think you'll have many a things to say about it; if not now, maybe in a year and a half... ;-)
Elise McRoberts
___________________________________________
Took Uber to LAX this morning. I was amazed at what a great experience it was. The car arrived in 4 minutes! Drove us from the heart of Hollywood right to the Delta terminal in under 30 min. in morning traffic. The driver even gave us a code to use to get a first-time rider discount. The cost was only $39 (down from what would have been $69). I would have paid full price anyway. That was the best public transportation experience of my life.
Mark Nubar
___________________________________________
As a long time reader, first time writer... I've always agreed or at least supported the plugs you've given other brands or artists because in often cases they are spot on or at least worth checking out.
I've gotta speak up about Uber ... At least it's Toronto operations.
This week your neighbours up north in the city of Toronto, Canada experienced some of the heaviest severe storm weather we have seen in years. Metropolitan power outages. Flooding. Damage. Electrical fires. Commuters stranded for hours on trains. You name it. We saw it.
Ã¥ber posted a notice that it was hiking up its prices...due to the supply and demand of cars to help get people home safely. In their world, it was a way to incentivize drivers to get on the roads as they would make a bigger fare... But from a publicity, social media, and customer service standpoint this was completely the wrong way to go about it.
While big name hotel brands like the Sheraton and Trump Tower (right?!) were offering DISCOUNTED rates for the night to aid as many people stay safe while they were trapped in the city.... åber segregated the rich from the modest and hiked up its fares instead of giving back to a city that has embraced the service by gladly forking over cash via its app time and time again.
Ã¥ber missed the point. Could it not absorb some of that markup as a company so that it would not affect the end user? Why not take an all hands on deck approach to help one another?
Do they not have families and friends and sons and daughters that were probably also caught in the danger of such severe weather?
Meanwhile, the Good Samaritan was its competition, Hailo. Which was at least empathetic to its clients and following up via twitter on their safety, or apologizing for delays or availability of drivers. All at the same price. They showed at least a general concern for the city they serve. That went a LONG way on a night like that.
You can google all this for verification, as blogs surrounding Uber Toronto's approach keep popping up.
Dez D. (and many others)
Some links:
https://medium.com/p/15857aaa06f2
http://www.blogto.com/city/2013/07/uber_feels_the_heat_after_jacking_up_prices_during_storm/
http://gigaom.com/2013/07/09/a-tip-for-uber-sometimes-the-best-pr-strategy-is-to-do-something-that-isnt-rational/
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What Uber has done is create a great service that people want to testify about. It's no different from a band, it's just that Uber is disruptive and solves a problem and therefore people spread the word. We've got tons of problems in music too, but the solutions are just not innovative enough. Algorithms can't fix everything.
Kind of like today's homepage suggestions on Spotify:
"People who listen to The Doobie Brothers are also listening to Tears For Fears."
Isn't this almost like saying some people are bisexual so we're gonna show you some same sex options just in case? (Actually, that seems much more insightful and helpful than these ridiculous music recommendations!)
And then there's:
"You listened to Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers. Here's a song you might like: "Here I Am," by Steve Earle."
Isn't that like taking your longhaired buddy to the country bar?
"You listened to The Doobie Brothers. You might like this song: "Voodoo Child (Slight Return), by Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble."
HUH? Isn't that like saying if you like the Monkees you'll love Jimi Hendrix?
And:
"Since you listened to Traffic, you might like this new release by Graham Parker..."
One can argue strongly that Graham Parker was a REACTION to Traffic.
And that's what we've got in music. Techies inured to VC's and money, clueless about our business. Meanwhile, our audience is inured to the great non-music apps the tech industry does come up with.
And I'm stuck in the middle with you.
Here are a few interesting Uber e-mails...
_____
My father drives under the Uber banner in NYC and absolutely loves being a part of their machine. â•© Truly a Godsend for him.
Joshua Freni
___________________________________________
Just came back from LA where I blew off the rental car and all the valet
parking charges that you get at the hotel and everywhere you go and just
used Uber. Saved time and money!
Tag Gross
___________________________________________
It's hit verb status in Atlanta.â•©
Michael Weeman
___________________________________________
I got introduced to Uber on a recent trip to LA (my previous home). The LA screenings were on and my normal car rental company was empty of vehicles so Uber it was.
So here's one story from a trip from the Valley to Santa Monica ($80 in a black Escalade). The driver was â•©made redundant from a programming job six months previously. He used his $30k redundancy money to buy the car we were riding in. In six months he's built a fleet of 8 cars (all cash purchases), each grossing $12k a month. Each car is running 16 hours a day using 2 drivers on $12 per hour. So even after Uber's 20% slice and gas etc. he's still clearing great money, so great that Uber won't take on any more drivers! OK, LA is huge, taxis are crap (and expensive), and labour (largely illegal) is cheap. But what a phenomenon! I just used the service London (where I now live) and in Berlin. Pretty excellent. Good ideas go global in a flash.
Apply to empty recording studios?
Gavin Aldred
___________________________________________
Recently had an Uber driver that missed turning down the right street; I joked about giving him a bad rating; he joked back that he might give me one too; â•©I asked what he meant, and he explained how each customer is rated so Uber drivers know the customers - good and bad....
Jamie Cheek
___________________________________________
Gary Slaight:
Funny. I was wondering what the charges on my daughters visa were for
Sent from my BlackBerry
___________________________________________
Surely you've been swept up in a deluge of email from folks telling you about the cease and desist:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57591024-93/uber-lyft-sidecar-get-cease-and-desist-letters-from-la/
I needed to take a cab for a 3 mile trip to a friend's wedding downtown. I called the cab co (stupidly trying to save a couple shekels) and when they hadn't arrived in 20 minutes, I called again only to hear the dispatch tell me that no cabs had picked up the call, and she didn't know when they would. This was making me late for a WEDDING, so I got an Uber that showed up in 6 minutes, and of course I could track it the whole way over, which soothed my anxiety about being late.â•©
I hadn't considered the dent in drunk driving that these apps can make. I watched a drunk driver spin out on the 10 east at about 10:30 pm last night and narrowly avoided them. I have no idea how it ended, but I'd be surprised if he didn't get at least one other car before slamming into the median...â•©
You are right, cabs in LA are deplorable. And the immigrant cabbies that are worth their salt are moving to Uber / Lyft et al and making more money. I guess it shouldn't be surprising to see this "disruption" halted by a monolith like the LADOT, but the savvy Uber , Lyft and Sidecar crowd won't stand for it. To your point, it's probably even saving lives for crissakes.
Denton Biety
___________________________________________
In Boston Uber is the best thing to ever happen to transportation.â•© Public transportation (MBTA) shuts down early (12:30 a.m.), and Uber is the easiest way to get home. I know there have been some lawsuits from the Boston/Cambridge cab companies (monopolies?), but I don't know (or care) about the details. All I know is that Uber always shows up on time, the driver doesn't smell bad, the driver wears a seat belt and doesn't talk on the phone the entire time, the driver doesn't hit on you, the driver never says "cash only," and the Uber driver never gets lost. When I have an early morning flight, Uber is the only way I will go to the airport. Uber rules!
Amy Holdorf
___________________________________________
LOVE Uber! I got introduced to it through Soho House Toronto where I'm a member. And now I use it all the time. You choose your car, and then you get the cab driver's name, and picture and can see how many minutes before he gets to you and it's like watching a video game on your phone seeing the cab approach (fun) and then you get a text when he arrives. Also love not having to fumble for cash at your destination and knowing that the tip is taken care of as well!
Jim Gelcer
___________________________________________
THIS:
"...without stains on the back seat and a defiant driver"
In addition to all of the obvious technical advantages and convenience Uber provides, the dozen different drivers I have used have ALL been courteous, polite to a fault, and every single one has driven safely, without distraction. â•©I've never given a rating lower than five stars, and never had reason to.
Cabs in LA? From LAX anyway: 85 miles an hour (minimum), and ten or fifteen feet back from the other Cab they're chasing in the car-pool lane. â•©Rude and INSTANTLY ANGRY no matter how gently you try to suggest that you're not in that big a hurry. â•©No amount or kind of cajolery works. â•©You get glowered at in the rear-view and fear that if the ride doesn't kill you, the diver will do it with his bare hands. â•©Last, but not least: the nauseating roller coaster intensity in heavy traffic, the air conditioning's a rumor, the funk, the heat, the f****d up seats -- â•©literally, hell on wheels.â•©
Guess which service I use and evangelize and CAN'T WAIT until it gets to my hometown??
Thanks for speaking the truth Bob!
Steve Lindstrom
___________________________________________
uber comes to my house in the hollywood heights in under 5 minutes within 'hailing' it via the iphone app, every time. i have never had a grumpy driver, and i have never had a bad uber experience in general. for people who are able to afford it, it's by far the best driver service in the marketplace. â•©
Michael Pukownik
___________________________________________
I use Uber all the time. â•©Love it. â•©And now I know people who are driving for UberX (personal car, not black car) and making serious cash on their spare time. â•©It's a great service, and I hope that LA does not shut it down. â•©Did you see that the city sent them a cease and desist letter? â•©(http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57591024-93/uber-lyft-sidecar-get-cease-and-desist-letters-from-la/)
There is currently a petition going against this: â•©https://www.change.org/petitions/city-of-los-angeles-repeal-the-cease-and-desist-order-on-uber-lyft-and-sidecar
Thanks for posting, great back story on Travis, I had no idea...
Chris Scott
___________________________________________
Uber rules...â•©My travel agent turned me onto it... Solves a million problems for me, and I have not had a bad experience yet. â•©Also makes my Artists more independent, even some of my older ones who are not super APP or Tech savvy... They can get a black car on their own when they are actually ready...â•©No More paying Music Express a 2 Hour minimum, plus wait time as a scheduled challenged artist decides when they actually want to leave. â•©
Uber has pulled me out tof the fire in many cities... â•©Can't get a cab company to pay attention... â•©No Problem! - Fire up the App and a car is at your door in no time flat...
I Love it, and preach Uber to all I know... â•©And I am way to old and jaded to be considered anything close to a hipster...â•©â•©
Eric Frankhouser
___________________________________________
You're right on. I share a coworking space w Uber (coloft in Santa Monica - another disruptive business). They are right on. The app is great, they come quickly, cars are clean, your driver texts you, and they are cheaper than cabs.
Oh: and no cash. Tip included. No cash. Ever.
They recently launched UberX (nonblack cars fir regular people) which sends you a Prius. 30% less than a cab to LAX. Price goes up in crowded times, which is a brilliant way to optimize price.
LA sent them a cease and desist last week which they ignored. They agreed to have all their drivers be licensed with the taxi syndicate and they just kept driving.
Go Uber.
ewchaikin
___________________________________________
We moved back to Chicago after 20 years in car-centric Nashville. Followed my husband in the U-Haul to carMax, sold my 11-year-old Camry on the spot, hopped in the truck and never looked back.
We're ZipCar and Uber users when public trans doesn't work for times/destinations. But the only times we've called on Uber, no cars were available. Yes, we've received discount coupons, but we'd much rather pay full fare for a ride - which we usually need in the rain or snow.
We keep trying, though.
Sarah
___________________________________________
YES YES YES!
It not only reduces the number of drunk drivers, it also reduces traffic, parking congestion and actually is the reason I decide to go out many nights. I end up spending money on shows and at restaurants and bars that I would not have if I had to drive (because I wouldn't have gone out that night). You're Welcome Los Angeles! Take a cab in LA? HUH? The city should subsidize the service! It makes living in LA better. I look forward to using the app because it's COOL. You see the little black cars circling your neighborhhood on the map.â•©The interface is smart.
Not to mention Uber X. Way cheaper and you get picked up in a brand clean Prius V. At least that's what I've gotten every time. I had a great conversation with my intelligent driver (as you mentioned, they're not like cab drivers) while getting a ride to Bjork at the Bowl. We were discussing the backlash from the cab union and TLC (before the city issued the Cease and Desist letter to Uber/Lyft, etc.) He was describing how the idea for company came to be, apparently a group of tech guys sitting in a bar in Switzerland... "Hey let's buy a dozen Town Cars and use them amongst our friends like a private cab company." My driver said "Uber not a transportation company, it's a TECHNOLOGY company. It simply connects the consumer with existing drivers."
I only hope that Uber and Lyft force the archaic cab model to be reconfigured, but we know how that's going to go...
The people that started Uber deserve to get as rich as possible.
Ally Fell
___________________________________________
By the way, I'm 21 and Iâ•©get called a "f****n hipster" at least a few times a year. All my " f****n hipster" friends use Uber in Seattle. We don't have cars and most of theâ•©buses don't run after 2am when the bars close. The normal taxis suck. Uber is big with people my age.
Simon Thwaits
___________________________________________
If it hasn't gotten to LA yet, just wait until you get UberX! Cheaper than a cab, clean like a black car, and most (if not all) are hybrid or electric. Perfect for us idiot tree-huggers! There's even a Tesla here in Chicago somewhere that's on UberX, though I can't for the life of me seem to get lucky enough to ride in it.
http://blog.uber.com/2013/06/26/introducing-uberx-better-than-a-taxi-for-the-same-price/
They should pay me for how much I pimp them to other people. Even though my cynical ass knows how much I'm playing right into their hand, doing their work for them, I don't care. It's great, and I want to be the one that tells my friends about it.â•©
PJ
___________________________________________
My wife and I use Taxi Magic as well. It only uses Yellow Cab in LA but we have been very happy with the service and you can pay ahead of time using the app so you don't have to bother with that inevitable glare when you try to pay for your cab with a credit card since no one carries cash.
David Wilkins
___________________________________________
Don't forget Lyft!â•©
I produce and engineer records in San Francisco and half my clients drive for Lyft. They work only hours a week, have time for writing songs and rehearsing, and now they have money to make records (and pay me!) They - and I - also meet other musicians during Lyft rides. Since so many musicians are drivers, it can be a great networking experience.
Cabbies are pissed, and the City is a little freaky about it, but hey - that's what it feels like to get caught flat footed.
Andy Freeman
___________________________________________
Just got out at LAX and used UBER yet again. The best. Often when I order just the car, they send an SUV in its place. Nice upgrade.
Regular Cab: Venice Beach to LAX is $30
Uber: Venice Beach to LAX is $35
Worth it every time.
Mark Dinerstein
Knitting Factory Presents
___________________________________________
Life in LA and San Francisco has never been better with Uber!â•©
I travel to SF for work a few times a year, cabs are the worst there. As soon as my plane lands I open the app and grab a driver. Just the simple fact that there is no exchange of money makes the service superior.â•©
Waiting for uber chopper to roll out in LA and I'll forever be a changed woman.
Did you see they did a special in NY for guests traveling to the Hampton's during the July 4th holiday?â•©
Sasha Gross
___________________________________________
Bob...I have been traveling the west coast this week for mozcon (SEO/Inbound Marketing conference in Seattle) and Inman Connect (real estate tech conference) and have used Uber no less than 5 times for all of my travel. I was just saying to several folks today that it's the best thing since sliced bread. Could not agree more with your views!
Rivers Pearce
___________________________________________
I used Uber a few months back in SF. â•©Walked out of my meeting to a waiting white Mercedes with a driver who greeted me by name. â•©Cost was a few bucks more than my earlier ride from the airport in a smelly yellow cab. â•©Genius.
Niels Schroeter
___________________________________________
I love Uber.
The other thing that is so great is NO HAGGLING over credit cards. Uber's removed the payment friction completely - you don't have to argue, you don't have to worry about leaving the tip, the receipt is compiled and automatically emailed to you.
That's a big reason why I prefer Uber over using a cab. And I'm in San Francisco, where cabs aren't difficult to hail.
Brent Dady
___________________________________________
For us "hipsters" or "twenty somethings" (especially female ones) Uber is the only way to go, especially when going to an after show or party that doesn't end til 4AM! Safe, convenient & quick with no cash necessary!
Last summer a coworker and I chuckled when we saw Ryan Schreiber (Pitchfork Media) get into one in Chicago's Wicker Park. The guy who started what used to be thought of as the ultra-hip, indie, PBR drinking crowd's underground music blog & festival, getting into a black car, like some politician, instead of hopping on his fixed gear bike to get to Union Park to see Vampire Weekend, A$AP Rocky & Dirty Projectors?! But that's the thing: Uber is for EVERYONE! Even my parents use it!
I believe the pedi-cabs now have apps in Austin for ACL & SXSW.
Have you checked out Appluaze yet? It's an iPhone app (Android next year) and Applauze is to event discovery and ticketing what Uber is to car service.
My boyfriend and I did an experiment the night before the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club show at the Wiltern:
I tried to buy tickets on my phone via LiveNation and he used the Applauze app. He had tickets purchased before the crappy LiveNation mobile interface had even found me seats. Sure we paid a little more, but we had the tickets quick & stress free. We printed them at home (though soon they'll be right on your smartphone)! No need to enter credit card info either because it's saved like Uber.
They even have free events listed too, so it's not just for scenesters with cash & corporate big whigs looking to entertain clients. Check it out. I think you'll have many a things to say about it; if not now, maybe in a year and a half... ;-)
Elise McRoberts
___________________________________________
Took Uber to LAX this morning. I was amazed at what a great experience it was. The car arrived in 4 minutes! Drove us from the heart of Hollywood right to the Delta terminal in under 30 min. in morning traffic. The driver even gave us a code to use to get a first-time rider discount. The cost was only $39 (down from what would have been $69). I would have paid full price anyway. That was the best public transportation experience of my life.
Mark Nubar
___________________________________________
As a long time reader, first time writer... I've always agreed or at least supported the plugs you've given other brands or artists because in often cases they are spot on or at least worth checking out.
I've gotta speak up about Uber ... At least it's Toronto operations.
This week your neighbours up north in the city of Toronto, Canada experienced some of the heaviest severe storm weather we have seen in years. Metropolitan power outages. Flooding. Damage. Electrical fires. Commuters stranded for hours on trains. You name it. We saw it.
Ã¥ber posted a notice that it was hiking up its prices...due to the supply and demand of cars to help get people home safely. In their world, it was a way to incentivize drivers to get on the roads as they would make a bigger fare... But from a publicity, social media, and customer service standpoint this was completely the wrong way to go about it.
While big name hotel brands like the Sheraton and Trump Tower (right?!) were offering DISCOUNTED rates for the night to aid as many people stay safe while they were trapped in the city.... åber segregated the rich from the modest and hiked up its fares instead of giving back to a city that has embraced the service by gladly forking over cash via its app time and time again.
Ã¥ber missed the point. Could it not absorb some of that markup as a company so that it would not affect the end user? Why not take an all hands on deck approach to help one another?
Do they not have families and friends and sons and daughters that were probably also caught in the danger of such severe weather?
Meanwhile, the Good Samaritan was its competition, Hailo. Which was at least empathetic to its clients and following up via twitter on their safety, or apologizing for delays or availability of drivers. All at the same price. They showed at least a general concern for the city they serve. That went a LONG way on a night like that.
You can google all this for verification, as blogs surrounding Uber Toronto's approach keep popping up.
Dez D. (and many others)
Some links:
https://medium.com/p/15857aaa06f2
http://www.blogto.com/city/2013/07/uber_feels_the_heat_after_jacking_up_prices_during_storm/
http://gigaom.com/2013/07/09/a-tip-for-uber-sometimes-the-best-pr-strategy-is-to-do-something-that-isnt-rational/
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Uber
Is single-handedly putting a dent in drunk driving in Los Angeles.
Do you know this service? Wherein you order up your car via a smartphone app? It's the rage amongst hipsters.
If you're waiting for established industries to change, if you're expecting an advertising campaign to break your new product, you're dreaming, that's just not how it's done these days.
Uber is the brainchild of Travis Kalanick. Who got his start in file-trading, via Scour... You don't hear much about this P2P site these days, it's been lost to the sands of early twenty first century antiquity, but once upon a time Kalanick was a junior Shawn Fanning, with more smugness than Sean Parker.
But then he got out. And looked for new businesses to disrupt. Yes, that's what the techies do that the musicians do not, they look for opportunities, unopened holes, to enter and turn the whole landscape upside down. Kind of like the Luddites who want to make albums... Do they not realize that the Beatles turned the whole singles paradigm upside down by refusing to put singles on albums, by making full length statements like "Sgt. Pepper"? Yes, once upon a time the Beatles led, today's acts just follow, even the biggest, as for the wannabes, they've never even heard of the road less travelled.
Did Travis Kalanick foresee problems. OF COURSE! Did he expect taxi companies to roll over and say fine? OF COURSE NOT! But musicians are just looking for a deep pocket to fund their me-too music, meanwhile complaining that nobody cares.
Want someone to care? Create an undeniable product that people can't stop talking about, like Uber.
I first experienced it in New York, back in May of 2012. That's how they told me to get from the airport. But I was using a BlackBerry, which the twentysomethings booking this gig couldn't fathom, and there was not a BlackBerry app. Which is why if you're using that antiquated POS from the north you should trade it in right now, because it's not about keys on a phone but apps, that's where the future lies, and once you get used to word prediction on an iPhone or Android...it's good enough.
But it turned out you could pull up Uber on your laptop. So I booked a car in the rain. It didn't come.
But Uber kept sending me discounts. Looking for my business.
Oh, what's their business again?
USING AN UNDERUTILIZED RESOURCE! All those black cars combing the city with nothing to do. Kind of like Napster unearthed all those out of print records. Physical retail couldn't stock everything, but online...suddenly albums you searched for for years were available.
But, you said the quality wasn't high enough, there was no artwork!
The artwork has sucked since the advent of the CD and progress always is a step back as well as forward. In other words, we need lousy quality to get to good, which is coming, with faster broadband, files/streams will sound as good as CDs.
And, of course, the New York cabbies and their San Francisco brethren woke up way too late. That's what's fascinating about the entrenched, not only are they unable to see the future, they don't even see it when it's here! And when they do become aware, they can't fathom that their business model can be replaced. It took nearly a year for record labels to see that Napster was a threat. Who'd want to download lo-res files on the Internet? EVERYBODY! Kind of like how hipsters want to pay a premium for a ride in a black car without stains on the back seat and a defiant driver, one that comes when you desire, that does not require you to risk life and limb by standing on the corner and trying to hail...the often unhailable.
Have you used a cab in L.A?
It's almost like they're doing you a favor. You call and they put you on hold and then can't spell your name and can't get your address right and you hope and pray the car arrives on time. As for hailing... Ever been to L.A? It's a giant SUBURB!
But with an app, the info is never wrong, unless you can't type yourself, and you're pulling someone who wants the gig right to your door.
Utterly amazing.
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Do you know this service? Wherein you order up your car via a smartphone app? It's the rage amongst hipsters.
If you're waiting for established industries to change, if you're expecting an advertising campaign to break your new product, you're dreaming, that's just not how it's done these days.
Uber is the brainchild of Travis Kalanick. Who got his start in file-trading, via Scour... You don't hear much about this P2P site these days, it's been lost to the sands of early twenty first century antiquity, but once upon a time Kalanick was a junior Shawn Fanning, with more smugness than Sean Parker.
But then he got out. And looked for new businesses to disrupt. Yes, that's what the techies do that the musicians do not, they look for opportunities, unopened holes, to enter and turn the whole landscape upside down. Kind of like the Luddites who want to make albums... Do they not realize that the Beatles turned the whole singles paradigm upside down by refusing to put singles on albums, by making full length statements like "Sgt. Pepper"? Yes, once upon a time the Beatles led, today's acts just follow, even the biggest, as for the wannabes, they've never even heard of the road less travelled.
Did Travis Kalanick foresee problems. OF COURSE! Did he expect taxi companies to roll over and say fine? OF COURSE NOT! But musicians are just looking for a deep pocket to fund their me-too music, meanwhile complaining that nobody cares.
Want someone to care? Create an undeniable product that people can't stop talking about, like Uber.
I first experienced it in New York, back in May of 2012. That's how they told me to get from the airport. But I was using a BlackBerry, which the twentysomethings booking this gig couldn't fathom, and there was not a BlackBerry app. Which is why if you're using that antiquated POS from the north you should trade it in right now, because it's not about keys on a phone but apps, that's where the future lies, and once you get used to word prediction on an iPhone or Android...it's good enough.
But it turned out you could pull up Uber on your laptop. So I booked a car in the rain. It didn't come.
But Uber kept sending me discounts. Looking for my business.
Oh, what's their business again?
USING AN UNDERUTILIZED RESOURCE! All those black cars combing the city with nothing to do. Kind of like Napster unearthed all those out of print records. Physical retail couldn't stock everything, but online...suddenly albums you searched for for years were available.
But, you said the quality wasn't high enough, there was no artwork!
The artwork has sucked since the advent of the CD and progress always is a step back as well as forward. In other words, we need lousy quality to get to good, which is coming, with faster broadband, files/streams will sound as good as CDs.
And, of course, the New York cabbies and their San Francisco brethren woke up way too late. That's what's fascinating about the entrenched, not only are they unable to see the future, they don't even see it when it's here! And when they do become aware, they can't fathom that their business model can be replaced. It took nearly a year for record labels to see that Napster was a threat. Who'd want to download lo-res files on the Internet? EVERYBODY! Kind of like how hipsters want to pay a premium for a ride in a black car without stains on the back seat and a defiant driver, one that comes when you desire, that does not require you to risk life and limb by standing on the corner and trying to hail...the often unhailable.
Have you used a cab in L.A?
It's almost like they're doing you a favor. You call and they put you on hold and then can't spell your name and can't get your address right and you hope and pray the car arrives on time. As for hailing... Ever been to L.A? It's a giant SUBURB!
But with an app, the info is never wrong, unless you can't type yourself, and you're pulling someone who wants the gig right to your door.
Utterly amazing.
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Tuesday 9 July 2013
Winnermania
They can't be rich so they want to be famous.
That's what you can't understand. Why you're inundated with the "artwork" and musings of boring people whose only asset is the megaphone known as the Web.
It's comical to watch. The underclass infects the Internet with reams of data and the oldsters complain that no one's paying attention to them anymore. People only pay attention to those who can make them famous.
They don't want news. They just want instruction on how to be known.
Once upon a time you studied for a faceless career.
Now your goal is to get a profile, to be invited to the party, if you're lucky, get rich.
But the truth is you can't get rich without having a rich parent or paying a ton of dues. And that's just too hard for most people. But most people can afford a computer, a mobile phone and Internet access. And even though they might delusionally believe the end result will be cash, they've seen enough reality stars crash and burn to know that's not really possible, they're happy being a footnote in the culture.
Everybody wants to be somebody.
I want to be somebody too.
And they make it look so easy. What do Snooki and JWoww have that I don't. Maybe bigger breasts, but I can fix that, that's easier than getting a good score on the LSAT, then again, you can owe $300,000 to the bank and end up with a law degree that won't get you a job.
What came first? The end of the American Dream or the Internet?
Maybe both.
In the eighties it was all about wealth. If Michael Milken had raised cash in the sixties and seventies, no one would have known his name. But learning he'd made half a million dollars in a single year...that got people's attention. Suddenly, all those kumbaya baby boomers cast aside their care for the common man, their so-called brothers, and decided to get some for themselves. Didn't matter how you made your money as long as you had it. And you spent it on ever bigger homes and automobiles.
And then these self-focused nitwits had children. And not only told them they were geniuses, but that they could do whatever they wanted, greatness was at their fingertips, whereas when I grew up if my dad wasn't hitting me, he certainly didn't constantly remind me I was a winner, nothing of the sort, he kept telling me what a big bad world it was out there and that I needed to be prepared, I needed to go to college so he wouldn't have to worry about me when he was gone.
But that was back when college cost one tenth of what it does now. And you went to enrich yourself intellectually as opposed to getting job training. Yup, today parents call their kids' colleges and complain. Can you imagine that in the seventies? Then again, professors were distant, they didn't have e-mail addresses, you went to school so far away you were lucky to speak to your parents once a week, instead of connecting multiple times a day as kids do now.
So if you're texting your mom ten times a day, asking her how to do the laundry and make macaroni, do you really expect to graduate and be ignored?
You can't get a job. That's for the chosen few. And despite the work being so boring, they're seen as heroes. You work at a bank, how lucky! Whereas bankers were buffoons on sitcoms in the sixties.
So you use the tools at your disposal to...
Spam the universe. Tell people how important you are. Will yourself to a success you're not sure the character of but believe you're fully entitled to.
And those not playing the game are seen as losers. Not even the art chicks of yore. In a society of winners and losers you've got to be the former, otherwise you've got no friends.
So everyone's got a song or an app or a blog and they're constantly inundating the rest of us with missives all about it.
And the end result is the rich pull even further away from the poor. Because the rich are educated and the poor are not. And the rich conserve their money and the poor think an ATM card represents an unlimited account.
Media institutions can't fathom it. Don't people want to read the work of experts in newspapers? Of course not, they've got no control over the paper, they'd rather read the words of the social studies student with the popular affairs blog. And the TV stations can't understand the success of the YouTube stars, who seemingly have no talent and little story. But these clips are instructional, they point the way to success for their viewers, a path much easier than convincing overpaid suits that they deserve airtime on their dying channels.
And as a result of this worthless cultural tsunami, those who rise above are bigger than ever. We only have time for hit musicians, hit TV shows, hit movies. Otherwise you're seen as part of the great sea of wannabes, and no one wants to attach themselves to that.
In other words, in the Internet era it's harder to make it than ever before. Sure, you can start on your own, but the road to success is a gauntlet no one has the patience for and few have the skills to navigate. You can get a bunch of Facebook friends and Twitter followers, but then you hit a wall, you've hit the cyber-ceiling. Unless you get on a reality program, you're never going to rise above.
Unless you're supremely talented. And work hard.
But despite the protestations of tens of millions that they embody these qualities the truth is they do not. Because not everybody can play for the Yankees, not everybody can go up against LeBron.
But that's what's great about music and art, unlike sports they're not easily quantifiable, if you hit a roadblock you don't question yourself but those impeding your progress, they just don't get it, they're haters, you'll show them. Whereas a 5'2" paraplegic would never say he could star in the NBA. Oh, he could be a fan, but now that's not good enough, because you're on the sidelines, you can't get on the court, and you can't afford a ticket to the game anyway, you're closed out, better to play in the unrestricted arena known as the Web.
We'll look back at these days with wonder, how we endured such a chaotic, incomprehensible society. Just like we think back to the days of AOL, never mind chat, never mind all the other detritus in the ditch by the side of the information superhighway.
Some things are immutable. Education and talent and perseverance are king. And the best marketing can't sell a lousy product.
But try telling this to today's generation.
You can't. BECAUSE YOU'RE PISSING ON THEIR DREAM!
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That's what you can't understand. Why you're inundated with the "artwork" and musings of boring people whose only asset is the megaphone known as the Web.
It's comical to watch. The underclass infects the Internet with reams of data and the oldsters complain that no one's paying attention to them anymore. People only pay attention to those who can make them famous.
They don't want news. They just want instruction on how to be known.
Once upon a time you studied for a faceless career.
Now your goal is to get a profile, to be invited to the party, if you're lucky, get rich.
But the truth is you can't get rich without having a rich parent or paying a ton of dues. And that's just too hard for most people. But most people can afford a computer, a mobile phone and Internet access. And even though they might delusionally believe the end result will be cash, they've seen enough reality stars crash and burn to know that's not really possible, they're happy being a footnote in the culture.
Everybody wants to be somebody.
I want to be somebody too.
And they make it look so easy. What do Snooki and JWoww have that I don't. Maybe bigger breasts, but I can fix that, that's easier than getting a good score on the LSAT, then again, you can owe $300,000 to the bank and end up with a law degree that won't get you a job.
What came first? The end of the American Dream or the Internet?
Maybe both.
In the eighties it was all about wealth. If Michael Milken had raised cash in the sixties and seventies, no one would have known his name. But learning he'd made half a million dollars in a single year...that got people's attention. Suddenly, all those kumbaya baby boomers cast aside their care for the common man, their so-called brothers, and decided to get some for themselves. Didn't matter how you made your money as long as you had it. And you spent it on ever bigger homes and automobiles.
And then these self-focused nitwits had children. And not only told them they were geniuses, but that they could do whatever they wanted, greatness was at their fingertips, whereas when I grew up if my dad wasn't hitting me, he certainly didn't constantly remind me I was a winner, nothing of the sort, he kept telling me what a big bad world it was out there and that I needed to be prepared, I needed to go to college so he wouldn't have to worry about me when he was gone.
But that was back when college cost one tenth of what it does now. And you went to enrich yourself intellectually as opposed to getting job training. Yup, today parents call their kids' colleges and complain. Can you imagine that in the seventies? Then again, professors were distant, they didn't have e-mail addresses, you went to school so far away you were lucky to speak to your parents once a week, instead of connecting multiple times a day as kids do now.
So if you're texting your mom ten times a day, asking her how to do the laundry and make macaroni, do you really expect to graduate and be ignored?
You can't get a job. That's for the chosen few. And despite the work being so boring, they're seen as heroes. You work at a bank, how lucky! Whereas bankers were buffoons on sitcoms in the sixties.
So you use the tools at your disposal to...
Spam the universe. Tell people how important you are. Will yourself to a success you're not sure the character of but believe you're fully entitled to.
And those not playing the game are seen as losers. Not even the art chicks of yore. In a society of winners and losers you've got to be the former, otherwise you've got no friends.
So everyone's got a song or an app or a blog and they're constantly inundating the rest of us with missives all about it.
And the end result is the rich pull even further away from the poor. Because the rich are educated and the poor are not. And the rich conserve their money and the poor think an ATM card represents an unlimited account.
Media institutions can't fathom it. Don't people want to read the work of experts in newspapers? Of course not, they've got no control over the paper, they'd rather read the words of the social studies student with the popular affairs blog. And the TV stations can't understand the success of the YouTube stars, who seemingly have no talent and little story. But these clips are instructional, they point the way to success for their viewers, a path much easier than convincing overpaid suits that they deserve airtime on their dying channels.
And as a result of this worthless cultural tsunami, those who rise above are bigger than ever. We only have time for hit musicians, hit TV shows, hit movies. Otherwise you're seen as part of the great sea of wannabes, and no one wants to attach themselves to that.
In other words, in the Internet era it's harder to make it than ever before. Sure, you can start on your own, but the road to success is a gauntlet no one has the patience for and few have the skills to navigate. You can get a bunch of Facebook friends and Twitter followers, but then you hit a wall, you've hit the cyber-ceiling. Unless you get on a reality program, you're never going to rise above.
Unless you're supremely talented. And work hard.
But despite the protestations of tens of millions that they embody these qualities the truth is they do not. Because not everybody can play for the Yankees, not everybody can go up against LeBron.
But that's what's great about music and art, unlike sports they're not easily quantifiable, if you hit a roadblock you don't question yourself but those impeding your progress, they just don't get it, they're haters, you'll show them. Whereas a 5'2" paraplegic would never say he could star in the NBA. Oh, he could be a fan, but now that's not good enough, because you're on the sidelines, you can't get on the court, and you can't afford a ticket to the game anyway, you're closed out, better to play in the unrestricted arena known as the Web.
We'll look back at these days with wonder, how we endured such a chaotic, incomprehensible society. Just like we think back to the days of AOL, never mind chat, never mind all the other detritus in the ditch by the side of the information superhighway.
Some things are immutable. Education and talent and perseverance are king. And the best marketing can't sell a lousy product.
But try telling this to today's generation.
You can't. BECAUSE YOU'RE PISSING ON THEIR DREAM!
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Monday 8 July 2013
Mailbag
From: Rick Warren
Subject: From Rick Warren
Bob, here's the backstory.
Years ago, I was asked to teach a class of Rabbis at University of Judaism. Through that I met two of my dear friends, Rabbi David Wolpe and Songwriter/Producer Craig Taubman of Sinai Temple in L.A. When they invited me to preach there, I took my church's music leader, Rick Muchow and he became close friends with Craig, and invited Craig company anddown to lead music at a Saddleback Church service.
Craig told Rick Muchow about you and your excellent blog, so he started following you. Yesterday, Rick sent me your quote, since I am famous for preaching long (often a full hour) every week, and yet 24,000 show up to hear it. I thought your quote was great so I tweeted it. Then last night Rick M came over and we played guitars for a while and laughed about it.
You are right about how people are drowning in over-communication. There's too much information and not enough meaning.
Bless you Bob.
Rick
Dr. Rick Warren
Saddleback Church
Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan
____________________________________________
From: Alex Winter
Subject: Re: Downloaded
I first met Fanning in 02, as his company was crumbling around him. As an early Internet user (BBS and Newsgroups on early 90's), I was blown away by both the community and file sharing aspects of Napster. It was an overnight seismic leap forward.
Fanning was pretty burned out when we first met, and I first pitched a way to tell their story. It took him and Parker a long time to recover from the beating they took, however self-imposed that beating was. But it was immediately evident that Fanning was an idealistic genius, working from a place of pure, unfiltered idealism for his 'Vision' of creating a global community connected through music. And despite having created that community, where before him no one had succeeded, he was humbled and brought low. And broke. Napster was never about the money and it was never about the 'free'. It was about community and convenience. And there's no service that provides those two things today the way Napster did 13 years ago. And that's a crying shame.
Thanks for a great piece man.
Alex Winter
Director/Downloaded
____________________________________________
From: Andrew Oldham
Subject: Re: The International
bob;
the wood.... two feet away.... love it.....
one of the ingredients that made - or did not , dependent upon your taste - the mono recording of the stones " tell me " from the first album was the kick drum leaking through keith's acoustic guitar mike.
continued best, o
____________________________________________
From: Russ Titelman
Subject: Higher Love
Bob,
Saw Philippe's note to you via Linda M. I had almost forgotten that he accompanied me to Steve's house in Gloucestershire for two weeks when we tweaked and edited the songs preparing for recording in NYC.
We actually started at Right Track Studios for the first two weeks, then went to Power Station for another couple of weeks and then to Unique where we finished the record with Tom Lord Alge for the remaining 6 or 7 months.
The intro to Higher Love is actually John Robinson playing his toms and not Jimmy B. We flew it in from a different place at the end of the track. Chaka spotted it when she was doing her bit. It was a complicated and joyous process.
And Philippe is right to mention Jimmy Bralower. He did an amazing job taking Steve's programs and making them come alive.
Best rt
____________________________________________
From: Dave Mason
Hi Bob,
Just thought I would drop you a line, thanks for the Traffic and Tommy LiPuma articles, you obviously have good taste.
I am planning on doing shows next year based around the first 2 Traffic albums, DAVE MASONS TRAFFIC JAM.
Already have a number of dates in place.
Dave
____________________________________________
From: BERTON AVERRE
Subject: Re: Jay-Z/Samsung/SoundScan
Well, at the risk of going a little TOO old school, Alfred E. Neuman's "It's A Gas!" wasn't going to crack the Top 40 no matter how many of those issues Mad Magazine sold.
A record's a record, a promotion's a promotion, for f**k's sake. Bank the money, buy another gas guzzler with it, and move on to the next paycheck, Mr. Hyphen Z.
____________________________________________
From: Marty Winsch
Subject: Re: Jay-Z/Samsung
The lines have become severely blurred. Used to be clear (to the public) that those with the music were the "artists" and the ones on the other side of the table were those who were looking to profit from a relationship with content, a specific brand of art. In this case, the technologists are the "artists" and the content providers the businessmen. This is no different than MySpace and then Facebook hijacking accessibility to artist fan bases by trading "free" promotional opportunities as the artists stand by, blindly, and pay via the severely compromised value of their individual brands. Artists need a cause, a purpose, war to fight and increasing their very own probability of accessibility to a certain level of affluence isn't it, is not sustainable viscerally speaking. The allied forces of Jay-Z and Samsung fighting the evils of iTunes Radio can hardly be considered Country Joe & the Fish v. the Vietnam War.
____________________________________________
From: Peter Malick
Subject: Re: Jay-Z/Samsung
Right on, Bob,
I feel that the sad reality is that the quest for corporate sponsorship now directly impacts the creative process. Bigtime.
About a year ago, I was working with a baby artist on an EP for a fairly large indie label. The artist & I got together to write when she was in town, and over the course of 3 extended visits we penned about a dozen songs.
The plan was to choose 3 or 4 of our co-writes for inclusion in the EP. We'd penned a pretty clever, (if I do say so myself) light hearted jab at the natural food industry titled "Overboard". We both felt it was among the best songs that we wrote, and it certainly was the most unique. Quirky in a good way.
When it came time to commit to the songs we were going to track, though, she became nervous that Overboard might foul any chance of a future Whole Foods endorsement or sponsorship, even though Whole Foods was never mentioned in the song. Believe me, this song was not a political rant, but a more a humorous nudge to those of us who are a bit obsessive (and I count myself among that crowd).
The chill factor is real, and where the path ends we do not know. I get her hesitation. It's tough making a living in this business. I also fully agree with you, and if we can't express ourselves as artists, what exactly are we doing?
Peter Malick
____________________________________________
From: Toby
Subject: Re: Tell Me What You Want, And I'll Give You What You Need
I finished the Clive Davis book. Compelled to keep going, looking for any signs of life. There were none.
Next I read Tony Bennett's book "Life Is A Gift: The Zen of Bennett." Tony - who never has a bad word to say about ANYbody - twice goes off on Clive. TWICE. He was so pissed that Clive tried to make him go strictly commercial that he had to come back around and mention it again!
Note that Clive never once mentioned Tony Bennett - and the millions of records he sold for them - in his laundry list of accomplishments.
In his new autobio, Burt Bacharach tells a quick tale of Clive promising Burt and then failing to tell Luther Vandross he'd been kicked off "That's What Friends Are For" in favor of Elton John. Which then inadvertently put Burt in an awkward position that hurt Luther.
Point being, the best Clive bio will be after he dies and they can reinstate all the bad stuff edited out for the first edition.
____________________________________________
From: Kevin Oliver
Subject: Re: The Way John Fogerty Should Have Done It
Darius Rucker made it in country because that's what he wanted to do in the first place...
I know this because I've known him since we were 10 and 11 in middle school, and we sang in high school and college choral groups together, too, and he has always wanted to be a country singer. I can remember attending club shows in Columbia, SC with him and also Mark Bryan (Hootie guitarist), seeing Nanci Griffith, John Hiatt, and New Grass Revival, and there is footage of Darius singing Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" at the 1984 presidential inaguration in D.C. with our collegiate choir, Carolina Alive. Hootie was just a detour (a very successful one, albeit still a detour) in his master plan.
He's loved country music since forever; his mother raised him on Al Green and classic country. It's that genuine love for the genre which made him a quick hit with the country music crowd; he wasn't slumming for a paycheck like Jewel or Bon Jovi, and country fans can smell a fake in a heartbeat. Too bad he's got crap for song-pickers, as each country album has had worse and worse songs on it for some reason...you'd think he'd get better material, being a rising star. He needs to cut an album of cutting edge writers' songs, not the same old cookie cutter junk that only sounds good because he has a God-given voice that can make even that stuff sound decent.
Kevin Oliver
____________________________________________
From: Danny Whittle
Subject: Re: The Daft Punk Album
Regarding daft punk fans wanting them to go forward, well I think them doing a disco sounding live album is genius because they know they have written songs and it will be all the other DJs and producers who remix and rework their album that will present it in the "newer electronic way" by putting this album out they were inviting other upfront trendy DJs to rework it. Luciano dropped an amazing "his version" of get lucky at coachella and it went off.
This will be the most remixed album if all time and its mostly because daft punk didn't do the electronic thing themselves. Very smart
____________________________________________
From: Jay Coyle
Subject: Re: Success Is Elusive
Bob-
I wrote to you back in January and closed it with "I await your missive in March about Bowie's sales numbers." well- I was off by a few weeks but we both knew this was coming!
And I will send it along again based on your recent spot on "Success is Elusive."
Bowie lost the chance to speak directly to his fans. He missed the golden opportunity to super serve his fans and allow them to connect with him in such a way that they felt their importance to him. All rock stars would be nothing without their fans, right? So if Bowie took the time to do the talking himself, going directly to his e-mail list and webpage with PERSONAL missives on what, when and why and let the PR happen out of that- just think what would have happened? All of those obsessed Bowie fans would hang on every word and then tell two friends and then tell two friends and so on. The Tribe would have taken over and the "man behind the curtain" would have been seen to be a real artist doing new music FOR HIS FANS. But what we got was a rock star stuck with the Star-making Record Biz of yesterday who let the PR machine do all the work. And in the end, he seems to me to be more detached and distant than ever before.
Sadly- if Bowie wants the ALBUM (another chat all together) to sell- then he just cut his sales in half as the fans feel out of the equation. Pre-sale on iTunes...WHAT THE F%*k! What about his elder fans who want a piece of Vinyl to obsess over and absorb this new ALBUM. The whole pre-sale on iTunes just proves that he (and his management) are not thinking about his core super fans. I went to his web page in search of the other part of the pre-sale equation (shirts, t-shirts, vinyl) and the ONLY thing you can do is go to iTunes. UGH! Why do bands miss the most simple fact- SUPER SERVE THE FANS.
Bowie missed the boat on an opportunity to straddle a new Millenium as a coming out of retirement and connecting directly with the fans. To your point that most stars are treated as Heroes and thus the myth of the supernatural rock god still seems to be in place. That is what bummed me out.
And fast forward to today- here we are when the fans really did not feel invested, the PR machine stopped and the product (mainly pushed to an iTunes pre-sale) left this thing dying on the vine. The fans got new music but it was all about the product and not about the artist + fan connection.
Could you imagine if he blew up the old record business model and just went direct-to-fan on PledgeMusic and made it all about the EXPERIENCE by giving the fans a way to have been included in on the whole process? THAT would have been a PR story that would have sustained and when it was time for the Press to move on to the next story then the thousands of fans would continue talking about it. Just think what type long-tail fan engagement that would have been...plus he would have made more money to retire on but the fans would have had more of investment to be his Tribe and carry his legacy onwards without him around...thus making more money for him from the grave!
Oh-well!
Cheers-
Jay Coyle
Music Geek
____________________________________________
From: Heather Church
Subject: Re: Buyer's Guide
Hi Bob...
Agreed on all of your best-to-buys. After reading it, I was putting away my laundry and realized that this best-to-buy should also apply to t shirts, and specifically merch shirts. I buy a shirt at every show I go to...I love art and know that small bands make their money through touring, so I when I see quality music, I buy whatever they are selling...if I LOVE what they do, I will buy extra and give them away. I'm also an avid Kickstarter (etc) junkie and love getting prizes for my donations. With that said, there are two things that bands should know...1) women like music too and we will buy your stuff, so get shirts that fit girls and 2) stop using cheap, crappy shirts to put your band name on. They suck, and I won't wear them. American Apparel (or the like) shirts may cost a few bucks more, but they're comfortable and they look good on. I'm happy to be a walking billboard for your band, but not at the cost of my own comfort or appearance.
Heather
____________________________________________
From: Britt Benston
Subject: Re: Zach Braff's Kickstarter
Three separate project contributions on Kickstarter months ago, no product yet.
____________________________________________
From: Kendra Hite
Subject: Re: Emily Ratajkowski
Hey Bob!
I'm not sure about the other 7 girls in Robert Palmers 'Simply Irresistable' video but here's one of them, me.
Then there were the professional dancers and the awesome female guitarist, who wore the same dress as us, which the great English director Terence Donavan filmed close ups shredding that ridiculous guitar line.
I wanted to be her.
That was 1988. Now I'm 43 and recording my first record in New Paltz, NY. Rhett Miller of the Old 97's is my producer. Lucky me. I've got Paul Frazier, David Byrnes bassist, and his buddy Adam Jackson as my rhythm section.
My career as a model was a successful 25 year run. I quit because I could neither think nor do anything other than write songs and learn how to play guitar. I believe my marriage even ended because of the obsession/dedication to the craft. C'est la vie. I have two beautiful teenagers from that 15 year relationship.
I can even say that filming with Mr. Palmer saved my life as I was schedule to fly on Pan Am flight 103 which was bombed over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21st, 1988. The video took an extra day to film so my agency re-booked me on flight 104 on the 22nd. I overheard about the bombing from two stewardesses discussing it on the plane. Unsettling to say the least. God bless all those touched by that tragedy.
I was a huge fan of the 'Addicted To Love' video so booking 'Simple Irresistable' was one of the highlights of my career. Mr. Palmer's sudden death saddened me along with millions.
He was an exceptionally lovely gentleman to work with and is sorely missed.
Love you Bob!
Kendra Hite
p.s. A year later Pepsi used footage from the video to create a very cool commercial!
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Subject: From Rick Warren
Bob, here's the backstory.
Years ago, I was asked to teach a class of Rabbis at University of Judaism. Through that I met two of my dear friends, Rabbi David Wolpe and Songwriter/Producer Craig Taubman of Sinai Temple in L.A. When they invited me to preach there, I took my church's music leader, Rick Muchow and he became close friends with Craig, and invited Craig company anddown to lead music at a Saddleback Church service.
Craig told Rick Muchow about you and your excellent blog, so he started following you. Yesterday, Rick sent me your quote, since I am famous for preaching long (often a full hour) every week, and yet 24,000 show up to hear it. I thought your quote was great so I tweeted it. Then last night Rick M came over and we played guitars for a while and laughed about it.
You are right about how people are drowning in over-communication. There's too much information and not enough meaning.
Bless you Bob.
Rick
Dr. Rick Warren
Saddleback Church
Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan
____________________________________________
From: Alex Winter
Subject: Re: Downloaded
I first met Fanning in 02, as his company was crumbling around him. As an early Internet user (BBS and Newsgroups on early 90's), I was blown away by both the community and file sharing aspects of Napster. It was an overnight seismic leap forward.
Fanning was pretty burned out when we first met, and I first pitched a way to tell their story. It took him and Parker a long time to recover from the beating they took, however self-imposed that beating was. But it was immediately evident that Fanning was an idealistic genius, working from a place of pure, unfiltered idealism for his 'Vision' of creating a global community connected through music. And despite having created that community, where before him no one had succeeded, he was humbled and brought low. And broke. Napster was never about the money and it was never about the 'free'. It was about community and convenience. And there's no service that provides those two things today the way Napster did 13 years ago. And that's a crying shame.
Thanks for a great piece man.
Alex Winter
Director/Downloaded
____________________________________________
From: Andrew Oldham
Subject: Re: The International
bob;
the wood.... two feet away.... love it.....
one of the ingredients that made - or did not , dependent upon your taste - the mono recording of the stones " tell me " from the first album was the kick drum leaking through keith's acoustic guitar mike.
continued best, o
____________________________________________
From: Russ Titelman
Subject: Higher Love
Bob,
Saw Philippe's note to you via Linda M. I had almost forgotten that he accompanied me to Steve's house in Gloucestershire for two weeks when we tweaked and edited the songs preparing for recording in NYC.
We actually started at Right Track Studios for the first two weeks, then went to Power Station for another couple of weeks and then to Unique where we finished the record with Tom Lord Alge for the remaining 6 or 7 months.
The intro to Higher Love is actually John Robinson playing his toms and not Jimmy B. We flew it in from a different place at the end of the track. Chaka spotted it when she was doing her bit. It was a complicated and joyous process.
And Philippe is right to mention Jimmy Bralower. He did an amazing job taking Steve's programs and making them come alive.
Best rt
____________________________________________
From: Dave Mason
Hi Bob,
Just thought I would drop you a line, thanks for the Traffic and Tommy LiPuma articles, you obviously have good taste.
I am planning on doing shows next year based around the first 2 Traffic albums, DAVE MASONS TRAFFIC JAM.
Already have a number of dates in place.
Dave
____________________________________________
From: BERTON AVERRE
Subject: Re: Jay-Z/Samsung/SoundScan
Well, at the risk of going a little TOO old school, Alfred E. Neuman's "It's A Gas!" wasn't going to crack the Top 40 no matter how many of those issues Mad Magazine sold.
A record's a record, a promotion's a promotion, for f**k's sake. Bank the money, buy another gas guzzler with it, and move on to the next paycheck, Mr. Hyphen Z.
____________________________________________
From: Marty Winsch
Subject: Re: Jay-Z/Samsung
The lines have become severely blurred. Used to be clear (to the public) that those with the music were the "artists" and the ones on the other side of the table were those who were looking to profit from a relationship with content, a specific brand of art. In this case, the technologists are the "artists" and the content providers the businessmen. This is no different than MySpace and then Facebook hijacking accessibility to artist fan bases by trading "free" promotional opportunities as the artists stand by, blindly, and pay via the severely compromised value of their individual brands. Artists need a cause, a purpose, war to fight and increasing their very own probability of accessibility to a certain level of affluence isn't it, is not sustainable viscerally speaking. The allied forces of Jay-Z and Samsung fighting the evils of iTunes Radio can hardly be considered Country Joe & the Fish v. the Vietnam War.
____________________________________________
From: Peter Malick
Subject: Re: Jay-Z/Samsung
Right on, Bob,
I feel that the sad reality is that the quest for corporate sponsorship now directly impacts the creative process. Bigtime.
About a year ago, I was working with a baby artist on an EP for a fairly large indie label. The artist & I got together to write when she was in town, and over the course of 3 extended visits we penned about a dozen songs.
The plan was to choose 3 or 4 of our co-writes for inclusion in the EP. We'd penned a pretty clever, (if I do say so myself) light hearted jab at the natural food industry titled "Overboard". We both felt it was among the best songs that we wrote, and it certainly was the most unique. Quirky in a good way.
When it came time to commit to the songs we were going to track, though, she became nervous that Overboard might foul any chance of a future Whole Foods endorsement or sponsorship, even though Whole Foods was never mentioned in the song. Believe me, this song was not a political rant, but a more a humorous nudge to those of us who are a bit obsessive (and I count myself among that crowd).
The chill factor is real, and where the path ends we do not know. I get her hesitation. It's tough making a living in this business. I also fully agree with you, and if we can't express ourselves as artists, what exactly are we doing?
Peter Malick
____________________________________________
From: Toby
Subject: Re: Tell Me What You Want, And I'll Give You What You Need
I finished the Clive Davis book. Compelled to keep going, looking for any signs of life. There were none.
Next I read Tony Bennett's book "Life Is A Gift: The Zen of Bennett." Tony - who never has a bad word to say about ANYbody - twice goes off on Clive. TWICE. He was so pissed that Clive tried to make him go strictly commercial that he had to come back around and mention it again!
Note that Clive never once mentioned Tony Bennett - and the millions of records he sold for them - in his laundry list of accomplishments.
In his new autobio, Burt Bacharach tells a quick tale of Clive promising Burt and then failing to tell Luther Vandross he'd been kicked off "That's What Friends Are For" in favor of Elton John. Which then inadvertently put Burt in an awkward position that hurt Luther.
Point being, the best Clive bio will be after he dies and they can reinstate all the bad stuff edited out for the first edition.
____________________________________________
From: Kevin Oliver
Subject: Re: The Way John Fogerty Should Have Done It
Darius Rucker made it in country because that's what he wanted to do in the first place...
I know this because I've known him since we were 10 and 11 in middle school, and we sang in high school and college choral groups together, too, and he has always wanted to be a country singer. I can remember attending club shows in Columbia, SC with him and also Mark Bryan (Hootie guitarist), seeing Nanci Griffith, John Hiatt, and New Grass Revival, and there is footage of Darius singing Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" at the 1984 presidential inaguration in D.C. with our collegiate choir, Carolina Alive. Hootie was just a detour (a very successful one, albeit still a detour) in his master plan.
He's loved country music since forever; his mother raised him on Al Green and classic country. It's that genuine love for the genre which made him a quick hit with the country music crowd; he wasn't slumming for a paycheck like Jewel or Bon Jovi, and country fans can smell a fake in a heartbeat. Too bad he's got crap for song-pickers, as each country album has had worse and worse songs on it for some reason...you'd think he'd get better material, being a rising star. He needs to cut an album of cutting edge writers' songs, not the same old cookie cutter junk that only sounds good because he has a God-given voice that can make even that stuff sound decent.
Kevin Oliver
____________________________________________
From: Danny Whittle
Subject: Re: The Daft Punk Album
Regarding daft punk fans wanting them to go forward, well I think them doing a disco sounding live album is genius because they know they have written songs and it will be all the other DJs and producers who remix and rework their album that will present it in the "newer electronic way" by putting this album out they were inviting other upfront trendy DJs to rework it. Luciano dropped an amazing "his version" of get lucky at coachella and it went off.
This will be the most remixed album if all time and its mostly because daft punk didn't do the electronic thing themselves. Very smart
____________________________________________
From: Jay Coyle
Subject: Re: Success Is Elusive
Bob-
I wrote to you back in January and closed it with "I await your missive in March about Bowie's sales numbers." well- I was off by a few weeks but we both knew this was coming!
And I will send it along again based on your recent spot on "Success is Elusive."
Bowie lost the chance to speak directly to his fans. He missed the golden opportunity to super serve his fans and allow them to connect with him in such a way that they felt their importance to him. All rock stars would be nothing without their fans, right? So if Bowie took the time to do the talking himself, going directly to his e-mail list and webpage with PERSONAL missives on what, when and why and let the PR happen out of that- just think what would have happened? All of those obsessed Bowie fans would hang on every word and then tell two friends and then tell two friends and so on. The Tribe would have taken over and the "man behind the curtain" would have been seen to be a real artist doing new music FOR HIS FANS. But what we got was a rock star stuck with the Star-making Record Biz of yesterday who let the PR machine do all the work. And in the end, he seems to me to be more detached and distant than ever before.
Sadly- if Bowie wants the ALBUM (another chat all together) to sell- then he just cut his sales in half as the fans feel out of the equation. Pre-sale on iTunes...WHAT THE F%*k! What about his elder fans who want a piece of Vinyl to obsess over and absorb this new ALBUM. The whole pre-sale on iTunes just proves that he (and his management) are not thinking about his core super fans. I went to his web page in search of the other part of the pre-sale equation (shirts, t-shirts, vinyl) and the ONLY thing you can do is go to iTunes. UGH! Why do bands miss the most simple fact- SUPER SERVE THE FANS.
Bowie missed the boat on an opportunity to straddle a new Millenium as a coming out of retirement and connecting directly with the fans. To your point that most stars are treated as Heroes and thus the myth of the supernatural rock god still seems to be in place. That is what bummed me out.
And fast forward to today- here we are when the fans really did not feel invested, the PR machine stopped and the product (mainly pushed to an iTunes pre-sale) left this thing dying on the vine. The fans got new music but it was all about the product and not about the artist + fan connection.
Could you imagine if he blew up the old record business model and just went direct-to-fan on PledgeMusic and made it all about the EXPERIENCE by giving the fans a way to have been included in on the whole process? THAT would have been a PR story that would have sustained and when it was time for the Press to move on to the next story then the thousands of fans would continue talking about it. Just think what type long-tail fan engagement that would have been...plus he would have made more money to retire on but the fans would have had more of investment to be his Tribe and carry his legacy onwards without him around...thus making more money for him from the grave!
Oh-well!
Cheers-
Jay Coyle
Music Geek
____________________________________________
From: Heather Church
Subject: Re: Buyer's Guide
Hi Bob...
Agreed on all of your best-to-buys. After reading it, I was putting away my laundry and realized that this best-to-buy should also apply to t shirts, and specifically merch shirts. I buy a shirt at every show I go to...I love art and know that small bands make their money through touring, so I when I see quality music, I buy whatever they are selling...if I LOVE what they do, I will buy extra and give them away. I'm also an avid Kickstarter (etc) junkie and love getting prizes for my donations. With that said, there are two things that bands should know...1) women like music too and we will buy your stuff, so get shirts that fit girls and 2) stop using cheap, crappy shirts to put your band name on. They suck, and I won't wear them. American Apparel (or the like) shirts may cost a few bucks more, but they're comfortable and they look good on. I'm happy to be a walking billboard for your band, but not at the cost of my own comfort or appearance.
Heather
____________________________________________
From: Britt Benston
Subject: Re: Zach Braff's Kickstarter
Three separate project contributions on Kickstarter months ago, no product yet.
____________________________________________
From: Kendra Hite
Subject: Re: Emily Ratajkowski
Hey Bob!
I'm not sure about the other 7 girls in Robert Palmers 'Simply Irresistable' video but here's one of them, me.
Then there were the professional dancers and the awesome female guitarist, who wore the same dress as us, which the great English director Terence Donavan filmed close ups shredding that ridiculous guitar line.
I wanted to be her.
That was 1988. Now I'm 43 and recording my first record in New Paltz, NY. Rhett Miller of the Old 97's is my producer. Lucky me. I've got Paul Frazier, David Byrnes bassist, and his buddy Adam Jackson as my rhythm section.
My career as a model was a successful 25 year run. I quit because I could neither think nor do anything other than write songs and learn how to play guitar. I believe my marriage even ended because of the obsession/dedication to the craft. C'est la vie. I have two beautiful teenagers from that 15 year relationship.
I can even say that filming with Mr. Palmer saved my life as I was schedule to fly on Pan Am flight 103 which was bombed over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21st, 1988. The video took an extra day to film so my agency re-booked me on flight 104 on the 22nd. I overheard about the bombing from two stewardesses discussing it on the plane. Unsettling to say the least. God bless all those touched by that tragedy.
I was a huge fan of the 'Addicted To Love' video so booking 'Simple Irresistable' was one of the highlights of my career. Mr. Palmer's sudden death saddened me along with millions.
He was an exceptionally lovely gentleman to work with and is sorely missed.
Love you Bob!
Kendra Hite
p.s. A year later Pepsi used footage from the video to create a very cool commercial!
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