WILLIN'
"And if you give me weed, whites and wine
And you show me a sign
Well I'll be willin', to be movin'"
Probably the most famous road/trucker/dope song of all time.
Then again, is that a category of one?
I discovered "Willin'" in the fall of '71 in a cover version by Seatrain.
Check it out here: http://bit.ly/PmkkLa
At this late date, you'll probably excoriate it, but you've got to know in '71 no one had any idea who Lowell George was, never mind Little Feat.
Actually, I discovered this track by hearing a cover band do Seatrain's cover. Yes, I was spending a Friday night at the Roundhouse in Manchester, Vermont, and the only thing I remember about that night, other than the waitress trying to kick us out for not drinking enough, even though we were the only people there, was this song. I asked what it was and had to buy the original. And, if you're on a Seatrain kick, check out "Song Of Job."
But the point is Little Feat recorded this track twice, on both of its first two albums, but it's known mostly by covers, most famously by Linda Ronstadt.
"I've been from Tucson to Tucumcari
Tehachapi to Tonopah"
One of the great things about moving out west is having records come alive. I've BEEN to Tehachapi, it's where the train goes round in a famous circle. And when you drive the lonesome highways you see those signs for...Tonopah and Tucumcari.
Never a Top Forty hit, never a radio staple, "Willin'" is more famous and remembered more than most.
EASY TO SLIP
The first album sunk like a stone, and so did the second, but after buying the third, I went back and purchased the second, entitled "Sailin' Shoes," and discovered this exquisite opener. A magical track that almost no one knows, once you do, you'll find it playing in your brain at opportune times, like skiing the bumps in Utah, where it became my anthem. The acoustic guitar, the changes, the vocal...
"Well I don't want to drift forever
In the shadow of your leaving me
So I'll light another cigarette
And try to remember to forget"
That's what we're all trying to do, forget. To stop our memory drifting back to...what once was.
SAILIN' SHOES
You'll know the Robert Palmer cover. The band had history with him. In case you're not in the know, I'll include the famous three song trilogy that opens Palmer's debut. It'll have you movin' and groovin' and missing Palmer for a lot more than that famous video.
TRIPE FACE BOOGIE
The funny thing about "Sailin' Shoes," other than its Neon Park cover, is the fact that when I bought it every track was unknown, but over time so many have surfaced, like "Sailin' Shoes" above. They became classics when the band performed them live and recorded them on their album "Waiting For Columbus." But "Tripe Face Boogie" is the second most accessible track on the record, which is why I'm including it here, and not the equally good "Cold, Cold, Cold" and "Teenage Nervous Breakdown."
A APOLITICAL BLUES
What's the trope? Almost no one bought the Velvet Underground's debut, but everyone who did started a band? Well, methinks Lowell George and Little Feat influenced just as many players. You probably know this song from Van Halen's second album with Sammy Hagar, "OU812."
JULIETTE
"Dixie Chicken" is a masterpiece, not the title track, but the album. It was so well-reviewed that I bought it and couldn't understand it, but since I'd spent my money on it, I played it until I did, and the first track that revealed itself to me was "Juliette." Play this for someone today and they'll say...WHO'S THAT?
That's the power of Lowell George's voice. So sweet, so meaningful, from an era when it wasn't about hit singles. No, that's not true, by this point, in order to make some dough, that's what you needed, a hit, but it wasn't until the next album that they got one.
FOOL YOURSELF
I think more people know Bonnie Raitt's cover, but the original is even better, because of Lowell's sweet voice. I'm sure Bonnie would agree, she was a Lowell acolyte, he played great slide on "I Feel The Same" from her second LP, "Takin' My Time."
FAT MAN IN THE BATHTUB
Was Lowell the fat man in the bathtub?
I'll let you decide.
This is all about the groove. If you can lock on to one just as tight and memorable, you'll have a career in this business.
ROLL UM EASY
Sounds like it was cut in your bedroom. So intimate. That's what we've lost so much with today's in your face music, check out J.D. Souther's cover: http://bit.ly/NUoFV5
KISS IT OFF
For the vocal alone. When Lowell sings about being the child of some electric nightmare, the hair on the back of your neck will stand.
TWO TRAINS
There are so many grooves on this record, it's astounding they could all fit on one LP!
ON YOUR WAY DOWN
An Allen Toussaint composition that the band makes its own, the key is this:
"The same dudes you misuse on your way up
You might meet up
On your way down"
Ain't that the truth! These words go through my brain on a regular basis!
DIXIE CHICKEN
A classic, who knew?
Kind of like Todd Rundgren's "Bang The Drum All Day," long after its initial release...this could be the second most famous Little Feat song ever, but this one is known for the band's rendition!
OH, ATLANTA
The hit! Just when it looked like Little Feat was gonna be for fans only, Billy Payne came up with this gem and it lit up the FM airwaves.
SKIN IT BACK
It's a sexual reference. Let's just say, if you're Jewish, you probably won't get it. Written by Paul Barrere, Little Feat was not only Lowell George. Merry Clayton's brother Sam played percussion, and Richie Hayward pounded the skins and Kenny Gradney completed the rhythm section, it was a band of virtuosos!
THE FAN
If you couldn't play...
"You were a sweet girl
When you were a cheerleader
But I think you're much better now"
Ha!
You think rock stars do it for the money, but really, they do it for the sex!
ROCK AND ROLL DOCTOR
"Two degrees in be-bop, a PHD in swing
He's the master of rhythm, he's a rock and roll king"
ALL THAT YOU DREAM
Credit Linda Ronstadt for making this one famous too.
"The Last Record Album" had no hits, but its peaks were SO HIGH!
"I've been down, BUT NOT LIKE THIS BEFORE!"
LONG DISTANCE LOVE
The piece de resistance, wherein Lowell George demonstrates his greatness.
We live in an era where it's all about the surface, everybody's in your face playing smash mouth football. But the people we remember most, the people who get the most...action, are those who slink up behind the beat and steal our hearts, when we're not even looking.
And the universality... We've all gotten long distance love and had to give up!
ROCKET IN MY POCKET
"Time Loves A Hero" was a true disappointment, the band's albums were getting progressively worse, especially with the decrease in Lowell's involvement. This is good, but almost too obvious.
STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART
From the posthumous album, this George/Payne composition is the highlight of "Down On The Farm."
GRINGO
This Billy Payne composition is the highlight of the posthumous collection "Hoy-Hoy!" You probably don't know it, you should.
SPANISH MOON
The studio version is on the fourth album, "Feats Don't Fail Me Now," but the definitive take is on the band's live album "Waiting For Columbus." Whoa, the bass! Whoa, the horns! Whoa, the groove! Whoa, Lowell's vocal!
"There's whiskey and bad cocaine
Poison get you just the same
And if that, that don't kill you soon
The women will down at the Spanish Moon!"
THE FAN
The live take from "Hoy-Hoy!" It's dark and dirty...
"I heard you got an infection from a guitar player of great renown!"
TWO TRAINS
The live take from "Hoy-Hoy!" You can hear the fingers on the frets, the fingers on the keys!
ROCKET IN MY POCKET
Live, it kills. From "Waiting For Columbus."
TRIPE FACE BOOGIE
Live, from "Waiting For Columbus," you can't help but get up and move, shake a tail feather, even if you're alone when this comes over the speaker or headphones.
MERCENARY TERRITORY
It's so DARK! This is the same sound the Band was selling, but live Little Feat did it even better. Levon Helm was a great singer, but Lowell's just as good, if not better, and he wrote, but he's slowly fading into the rearview mirror, he's not being remembered.
Except for those who believe.
"I did my time in that rodeo
It's been so long and I've got nothing to show"
Yes, that's what being in a band is like. Round 'em up, go on the road, and see what happens. And oftentimes, all you've got left is your memories.
"Well, I'm so plain loco
Fool that I am I'd do it all over again"
Sure, some people get rich, but most are bit by the sound, the lifestyle, they've got no choice, they want in!
Who knows, a century from now people may come to the greatness of Lowell George, because when you underplay, when you focus on getting it right as opposed to telling people how great you are...they know.
Spotify playlist: http://spoti.fi/1cLxhJ3
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Friday 14 March 2014
Thursday 13 March 2014
Business Rules
1. You've got to get along. If you don't have good people skills, you'll never succeed, even if you run your own business.
2. Money talks. He who has cash has leverage, and someone always has more than you do. There's rarely a deal between equals.
3. Leverage is not always about money. I.e. if you're an unsigned band that can sell out arenas, you'll get an incredible deal from the label.
4. If a deal is too good, it probably is. In other words, if the other person can't make any money, there's going to be a problem.
5. The best deals are win-wins.
6. If you're not willing to risk, if you're not willing to give something up, you're going to sit on the sidelines. Sure, the label might not offer you your dream deal, but the alternative is to go it alone, which is an option, but probably not the one you want since you entered negotiations in the first place.
7. You don't know everything, you just think you do. If you're not learning every day, you're hanging with the wrong people and not applying yourself.
8. The more powerful the person, the less the chance you'll see them at the conference. The conference is for never have and wannabes and for the purveyor to make coin. In other words, have a good time at SXSW, but the real winners are the people who put on the conference.
9. A contract does not guarantee behavior. At most it's a guideline. If you think suing to get what you want is a solution, that the contract entitles you to win, you're naive.
10. Some people use litigation as both a business strategy and a profit center. If someone has deeper pockets than you, you're not on an equal footing.
11. The real world is very different from books. In other words, there are very few professors who can succeed in the real world. Theory is one thing, practice is another.
12. Lawyers are worth every dollar you pay them. So choose wisely and don't expect a deal. You need an outside voice. Someone who knows the pitfalls.
13. News often isn't. It may be on the Business page, but frequently the corporation has a relationship with the journalist and wants a certain story told.
14. If you haven't been screwed, you haven't been in business. There's more than one way to fail, you learn lessons from your defeats, which is why so many want to hire those who've failed, because they've gained so much experience!
15. Nitpicking is for losers. If you can't let something go by, if you want the other party to live up to every letter of a contract, you're going to find yourself an outcast by the sidelines.
16. Winners see tomorrow as well as today. If you don't have the exit strategy in place when you're negotiating a deal, you're going to find yourself in an uncomfortable position down the line.
17. Those who give the best advice are the hardest to get to know, and the hardest to get to speak at length. The powerful don't want to know the powerless, there has to be an advantage in it for them, or else the response will be very brief.
18. Time is irreplaceable. Never waste someone else's. Make your pitch short and to the point and thank the other person for listening. You think you're explaining your point, ensuring success by going on at length, but the truth is the other person is rolling their eyes and looking at their watch, wondering how they can get out of this meeting and never ever speak with you again.
19. Most conference calls are a waste of time. Do your best to avoid them. If you're on one, talk only business and make it brief.
20. Respect your adversary/opponent. Treat people with dignity, dividends will follow.
21. Don't take you or your business too seriously. Make jokes.
22. Have fun. Work takes up too much of your time not to.
23. Break the rules. All the winners do. School is all about rules, which is why those who've done well in school rarely do well in business.
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2. Money talks. He who has cash has leverage, and someone always has more than you do. There's rarely a deal between equals.
3. Leverage is not always about money. I.e. if you're an unsigned band that can sell out arenas, you'll get an incredible deal from the label.
4. If a deal is too good, it probably is. In other words, if the other person can't make any money, there's going to be a problem.
5. The best deals are win-wins.
6. If you're not willing to risk, if you're not willing to give something up, you're going to sit on the sidelines. Sure, the label might not offer you your dream deal, but the alternative is to go it alone, which is an option, but probably not the one you want since you entered negotiations in the first place.
7. You don't know everything, you just think you do. If you're not learning every day, you're hanging with the wrong people and not applying yourself.
8. The more powerful the person, the less the chance you'll see them at the conference. The conference is for never have and wannabes and for the purveyor to make coin. In other words, have a good time at SXSW, but the real winners are the people who put on the conference.
9. A contract does not guarantee behavior. At most it's a guideline. If you think suing to get what you want is a solution, that the contract entitles you to win, you're naive.
10. Some people use litigation as both a business strategy and a profit center. If someone has deeper pockets than you, you're not on an equal footing.
11. The real world is very different from books. In other words, there are very few professors who can succeed in the real world. Theory is one thing, practice is another.
12. Lawyers are worth every dollar you pay them. So choose wisely and don't expect a deal. You need an outside voice. Someone who knows the pitfalls.
13. News often isn't. It may be on the Business page, but frequently the corporation has a relationship with the journalist and wants a certain story told.
14. If you haven't been screwed, you haven't been in business. There's more than one way to fail, you learn lessons from your defeats, which is why so many want to hire those who've failed, because they've gained so much experience!
15. Nitpicking is for losers. If you can't let something go by, if you want the other party to live up to every letter of a contract, you're going to find yourself an outcast by the sidelines.
16. Winners see tomorrow as well as today. If you don't have the exit strategy in place when you're negotiating a deal, you're going to find yourself in an uncomfortable position down the line.
17. Those who give the best advice are the hardest to get to know, and the hardest to get to speak at length. The powerful don't want to know the powerless, there has to be an advantage in it for them, or else the response will be very brief.
18. Time is irreplaceable. Never waste someone else's. Make your pitch short and to the point and thank the other person for listening. You think you're explaining your point, ensuring success by going on at length, but the truth is the other person is rolling their eyes and looking at their watch, wondering how they can get out of this meeting and never ever speak with you again.
19. Most conference calls are a waste of time. Do your best to avoid them. If you're on one, talk only business and make it brief.
20. Respect your adversary/opponent. Treat people with dignity, dividends will follow.
21. Don't take you or your business too seriously. Make jokes.
22. Have fun. Work takes up too much of your time not to.
23. Break the rules. All the winners do. School is all about rules, which is why those who've done well in school rarely do well in business.
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Tuesday 11 March 2014
Pono
Selling files in a streaming world is like asking me to give up my Tesla for a bicycle. A bigger bicycle that doesn't exist that you want me to pay for on spec.
Can everybody stop begging? Crowdfunding is so two years ago. Know anybody with a Pebble watch? What a disappointment. Oh, they keep on improving the product, but the early adopters, the ones who pledged on Kickstarter, they got screwed, and Samsung's product is superior, and also recently upgraded, so if you want me to lay my money down so you can get the support no VC will give you, I'll pass.
There are no unsigned bands who got screwed by the major label system. That was the fallacy that was supposed to be eradicated by the Internet. You know, a plethora of badasses who the major labels just couldn't understand were gonna rise like a phoenix and revolutionize not only the business, but our ears. But it turns out Lorde was signed before adolescence and Jason Flom flew to New Zealand for American rights and if you don't think the majors are scouring the world for anything good, and signing it up if it has commercial potential, you don't have an Internet connection and believe everybody deserves a chance.
So here we've got alta-kacher Neil Young wanting us to believe he's a tech king. I'm not sure WME and CAA can figure out tech investment, but artist Young has got it mainlined. Why does everybody think they can do everything? What next, is Neil Young gonna join the NBA? Are sixty year olds gonna dominate at Wimbledon? Face it, you're lucky if you can be world-class at one thing.
And now I've got a single device that lets me play music, surf the web, talk, text, stream music and files...and Neil says I've got it all wrong, I've got to go back ten years and get a single player, that looks chunky in the pics, so I can get higher quality audio. Why don't you just lobby for a faster Internet connection, so I can get hi-res streams? Isn't Google Fiber gonna wipe you out? Do you really want me to go back in time fifteen years when MP3s were cool? What next, a return to BlackBerry, because it had a keyboard and it was such a good e-mail device?
But you can't even show me a finished product. And even though you're a rich rock star (aren't they all?) you can't pay for it, I have to. And that means very few people will, and I'll end up with a paperweight.
No thanks.
But every media outlet in the world is covering this story, as if it has meaning. But it doesn't.
Oh, they'll review Neil Young's new record too, but no one will buy that either. Oh, a few might stream it, but then move on, because he hasn't made memorable music since "Greendale," and that's cutting him a break.
Do I want high quality music on the run?
Of course!
But portable turntables never broke through.
And neither will Pono.
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Can everybody stop begging? Crowdfunding is so two years ago. Know anybody with a Pebble watch? What a disappointment. Oh, they keep on improving the product, but the early adopters, the ones who pledged on Kickstarter, they got screwed, and Samsung's product is superior, and also recently upgraded, so if you want me to lay my money down so you can get the support no VC will give you, I'll pass.
There are no unsigned bands who got screwed by the major label system. That was the fallacy that was supposed to be eradicated by the Internet. You know, a plethora of badasses who the major labels just couldn't understand were gonna rise like a phoenix and revolutionize not only the business, but our ears. But it turns out Lorde was signed before adolescence and Jason Flom flew to New Zealand for American rights and if you don't think the majors are scouring the world for anything good, and signing it up if it has commercial potential, you don't have an Internet connection and believe everybody deserves a chance.
So here we've got alta-kacher Neil Young wanting us to believe he's a tech king. I'm not sure WME and CAA can figure out tech investment, but artist Young has got it mainlined. Why does everybody think they can do everything? What next, is Neil Young gonna join the NBA? Are sixty year olds gonna dominate at Wimbledon? Face it, you're lucky if you can be world-class at one thing.
And now I've got a single device that lets me play music, surf the web, talk, text, stream music and files...and Neil says I've got it all wrong, I've got to go back ten years and get a single player, that looks chunky in the pics, so I can get higher quality audio. Why don't you just lobby for a faster Internet connection, so I can get hi-res streams? Isn't Google Fiber gonna wipe you out? Do you really want me to go back in time fifteen years when MP3s were cool? What next, a return to BlackBerry, because it had a keyboard and it was such a good e-mail device?
But you can't even show me a finished product. And even though you're a rich rock star (aren't they all?) you can't pay for it, I have to. And that means very few people will, and I'll end up with a paperweight.
No thanks.
But every media outlet in the world is covering this story, as if it has meaning. But it doesn't.
Oh, they'll review Neil Young's new record too, but no one will buy that either. Oh, a few might stream it, but then move on, because he hasn't made memorable music since "Greendale," and that's cutting him a break.
Do I want high quality music on the run?
Of course!
But portable turntables never broke through.
And neither will Pono.
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Monday 10 March 2014
The Problem
We haven't had an act worth talking about since Gaga.
And she took herself out of contention by disconnecting from reality, the bane of too many stars. Once you stop walking the street, once you think you truly are a celebrity, we're no longer interested.
That's why we loved John Lennon. He'd fuck up now and again. Do or say something strange. Whether it was saying the Beatles were more popular than Jesus or photographing himself nude with his new bride. Lennon had an edge. Then again, this was a guy who wanted to live in New York City without protection. Unfortunately, it cost him.
Remember when everybody was talking about music?
Then you're a baby boomer. Or a Gen-X'er who came of age with MTV. Or a hip-hop acolyte. At all three times, music drove the culture, it gave us a reason to pay attention. Now..?
Who do we blame?
The people who make and sell it.
Primarily the people who sell it, who've never had skin in the game and think the business goes on forever, which it does, not realizing most people are only interested in the spike.
Maybe we need a commissioner. It's helped out professional sports.
But the truth is, music is adrift. With Bono the face of Elevation Partners and Guy Oseary trumpeting his investments with Ashton Kutcher it's no wonder that U2's track had no traction and the band postponed their album and tour.
You see they just don't get it.
They're an oldies act.
Go out and play the hits. You're done. Toast. We don't want any more.
The only person who seems to know this is Billy Joel. Who's refused to make new music for decades, because no one wants it.
We don't want that which will top the chart, we want that which has to be released or its maker will self-destruct.
We live in an era that's all about TV and tech. Dramas and apps. And the only way to compete with them is to be just as innovative and good.
So...
1. Every major label should invest in one work project. An act that does not fit the Top Forty paradigm that the purveyors believe deserves to be heard, that they're willing to stand by album after album as the artist develops. This is the essence of Richard Russell's greatness. He signs the act first, then figures out how to sell it. Have a competition, put it on television, we want the best new acts and we don't want them to be like anything before, unless they can sing well and write even better, which no one seems to be able to do today, ergo the usual suspect songwriters dominating the chart.
2. Indie labels can play, but the truth is indies are usually ignorant and indiscriminating, just like the acts they sell. Recording is cheap, distribution is even cheaper. Today, it's all about the marketing, that's the advantage the major labels have. But the only person who ever started a record company at Sony is Doug Morris, who swears by radio and retail, and that was a good formula...in the last century.
3. New executive blood. In the sixties, labels had the house hippies. The truth is there's no upward mobility at record labels today. Until we let teenagers work there, they'll continue to write apps. Until we let people make decisions on taste, we'll get me-too product. Until you can make millions in your twenties, no one of any worth will want to work at a label.
4. The curious case of Scooter Braun. Bieber was worthless, but he garnered a lot of attention. Credit Braun, who decided to do it his way. Imagine if Bieber truly had something to say, if he was not just a pin-up for those who had never had sex. Imagine if all the attention paid to this nitwit was focused on someone of merit. Braun did it his way, but most people of his ilk, from good families with money, don't want to go into the music business. Why? So you can make little money as old farts control your game? Scooter started in the uncontrollable world known as YouTube, before the labels even knew its power. If you can't see the game differently, we don't care what you've got to say or sell.
5. Universality. That was the key to Adele's success. What we need is something that plays to almost everybody, but what we've got in music are endless niches, from hip-hop to metal to EDM. But the truth is members of all cadres glom on to something great, something transcendent, like Adele. Dream big.
6. Pull, not push. We're immune to marketing messages, especially when they're all about crap. If what you've got doesn't ignite passion and followers all by its lonesome, forget about it. This is the story of Lorde, "Royals" sold itself, all the label did was pour gasoline on the fire. More like this please.
7. The curse of plenty. The public is overloaded. At least TV is expensive. But there's an endless tsunami of records and most people just throw up their hands and say NO MAS! We've got to spoon-feed people, just a couple of acts at a time.
8. Classic rock is fading in the rearview mirror. Hip-hop is deep into its maturity. We're ready for something new. But all the brains are not focusing on music. Music is a special medium, none other competes, but people are only interested when it's great.
9. Innovation sells. Avicii mashes up acoustic and soul with EDM and he ends up with the most played track in the history of Spotify. Avicii thought outside the box. When he previewed this music, the horde at Ultra pooh-poohed it. Because people always first reject what they ultimately embrace. If you're not getting a huge reaction, you're not different enough. If you're so outside that people hate you, that's not so bad, people hate everything different, and it takes years for people to embrace things. The masses came late to both the "Sopranos" and "Breaking Bad."
But no one wants to change the paradigm, no one wants to lead, except for the powerless. And the powerless don't seem to be able to stem the tide of income inequality, why should they be able to bring back the heyday of music?
We've got to jawbone the powerful to the point where they take risks, to the point where they just don't do it the way they always have.
The public is ready for new and different, the public is ready to embrace great. But instead, they're fed an endless buffet of who gives a shit.
Like Coachella... Let's see, I go see some ancient acts and those who will never go mainstream. Good for those who want to parade in bikinis and ogle other bodies, bad for music. And the complacent press writes about this festival as if it matters. And Coachella is the granddaddy! Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo mean even less. The former is a party and the latter is a rite of passage, neither breaks any music.
Same with television competitions. They don't want new and different, it doesn't get instant ratings. No one is interested in last week's episode of the "Voice," but a great record can sell decades later.
And all the fighting amongst ourselves! The acts decrying streaming services, everybody complaining they can't get paid. Most people ignore these battles. Just deliver a hit, then they're interested.
There's more good music than ever before.
But that's not good enough.
We watch the Oscar people trumpet that which no one cares about. Which is why the movie business is being driven towards a cliff. It's worldwide blockbusters or art films that play better as extended series on television. Remind me why I should overpay to go to the theatre again?
We need a rethink. And a doubling-down. And a stop to complaints. And a removal of focus on tech. Everything ever recorded is already available... What are we gonna listen to? How are we gonna get others to listen? When are we going to go out to dinner and find people talking about music instead of television??
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And she took herself out of contention by disconnecting from reality, the bane of too many stars. Once you stop walking the street, once you think you truly are a celebrity, we're no longer interested.
That's why we loved John Lennon. He'd fuck up now and again. Do or say something strange. Whether it was saying the Beatles were more popular than Jesus or photographing himself nude with his new bride. Lennon had an edge. Then again, this was a guy who wanted to live in New York City without protection. Unfortunately, it cost him.
Remember when everybody was talking about music?
Then you're a baby boomer. Or a Gen-X'er who came of age with MTV. Or a hip-hop acolyte. At all three times, music drove the culture, it gave us a reason to pay attention. Now..?
Who do we blame?
The people who make and sell it.
Primarily the people who sell it, who've never had skin in the game and think the business goes on forever, which it does, not realizing most people are only interested in the spike.
Maybe we need a commissioner. It's helped out professional sports.
But the truth is, music is adrift. With Bono the face of Elevation Partners and Guy Oseary trumpeting his investments with Ashton Kutcher it's no wonder that U2's track had no traction and the band postponed their album and tour.
You see they just don't get it.
They're an oldies act.
Go out and play the hits. You're done. Toast. We don't want any more.
The only person who seems to know this is Billy Joel. Who's refused to make new music for decades, because no one wants it.
We don't want that which will top the chart, we want that which has to be released or its maker will self-destruct.
We live in an era that's all about TV and tech. Dramas and apps. And the only way to compete with them is to be just as innovative and good.
So...
1. Every major label should invest in one work project. An act that does not fit the Top Forty paradigm that the purveyors believe deserves to be heard, that they're willing to stand by album after album as the artist develops. This is the essence of Richard Russell's greatness. He signs the act first, then figures out how to sell it. Have a competition, put it on television, we want the best new acts and we don't want them to be like anything before, unless they can sing well and write even better, which no one seems to be able to do today, ergo the usual suspect songwriters dominating the chart.
2. Indie labels can play, but the truth is indies are usually ignorant and indiscriminating, just like the acts they sell. Recording is cheap, distribution is even cheaper. Today, it's all about the marketing, that's the advantage the major labels have. But the only person who ever started a record company at Sony is Doug Morris, who swears by radio and retail, and that was a good formula...in the last century.
3. New executive blood. In the sixties, labels had the house hippies. The truth is there's no upward mobility at record labels today. Until we let teenagers work there, they'll continue to write apps. Until we let people make decisions on taste, we'll get me-too product. Until you can make millions in your twenties, no one of any worth will want to work at a label.
4. The curious case of Scooter Braun. Bieber was worthless, but he garnered a lot of attention. Credit Braun, who decided to do it his way. Imagine if Bieber truly had something to say, if he was not just a pin-up for those who had never had sex. Imagine if all the attention paid to this nitwit was focused on someone of merit. Braun did it his way, but most people of his ilk, from good families with money, don't want to go into the music business. Why? So you can make little money as old farts control your game? Scooter started in the uncontrollable world known as YouTube, before the labels even knew its power. If you can't see the game differently, we don't care what you've got to say or sell.
5. Universality. That was the key to Adele's success. What we need is something that plays to almost everybody, but what we've got in music are endless niches, from hip-hop to metal to EDM. But the truth is members of all cadres glom on to something great, something transcendent, like Adele. Dream big.
6. Pull, not push. We're immune to marketing messages, especially when they're all about crap. If what you've got doesn't ignite passion and followers all by its lonesome, forget about it. This is the story of Lorde, "Royals" sold itself, all the label did was pour gasoline on the fire. More like this please.
7. The curse of plenty. The public is overloaded. At least TV is expensive. But there's an endless tsunami of records and most people just throw up their hands and say NO MAS! We've got to spoon-feed people, just a couple of acts at a time.
8. Classic rock is fading in the rearview mirror. Hip-hop is deep into its maturity. We're ready for something new. But all the brains are not focusing on music. Music is a special medium, none other competes, but people are only interested when it's great.
9. Innovation sells. Avicii mashes up acoustic and soul with EDM and he ends up with the most played track in the history of Spotify. Avicii thought outside the box. When he previewed this music, the horde at Ultra pooh-poohed it. Because people always first reject what they ultimately embrace. If you're not getting a huge reaction, you're not different enough. If you're so outside that people hate you, that's not so bad, people hate everything different, and it takes years for people to embrace things. The masses came late to both the "Sopranos" and "Breaking Bad."
But no one wants to change the paradigm, no one wants to lead, except for the powerless. And the powerless don't seem to be able to stem the tide of income inequality, why should they be able to bring back the heyday of music?
We've got to jawbone the powerful to the point where they take risks, to the point where they just don't do it the way they always have.
The public is ready for new and different, the public is ready to embrace great. But instead, they're fed an endless buffet of who gives a shit.
Like Coachella... Let's see, I go see some ancient acts and those who will never go mainstream. Good for those who want to parade in bikinis and ogle other bodies, bad for music. And the complacent press writes about this festival as if it matters. And Coachella is the granddaddy! Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo mean even less. The former is a party and the latter is a rite of passage, neither breaks any music.
Same with television competitions. They don't want new and different, it doesn't get instant ratings. No one is interested in last week's episode of the "Voice," but a great record can sell decades later.
And all the fighting amongst ourselves! The acts decrying streaming services, everybody complaining they can't get paid. Most people ignore these battles. Just deliver a hit, then they're interested.
There's more good music than ever before.
But that's not good enough.
We watch the Oscar people trumpet that which no one cares about. Which is why the movie business is being driven towards a cliff. It's worldwide blockbusters or art films that play better as extended series on television. Remind me why I should overpay to go to the theatre again?
We need a rethink. And a doubling-down. And a stop to complaints. And a removal of focus on tech. Everything ever recorded is already available... What are we gonna listen to? How are we gonna get others to listen? When are we going to go out to dinner and find people talking about music instead of television??
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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