1. Everybody has an opinion and they believe it's entitled to be heard.
2. Everybody has an angle. Winners know this and try to ferret out the truth. The best way to get to the bottom of the story is to ask money questions. When someone says they do something that you don't think is lucrative, or that they're not qualified to do, the goal is to keep them talking until they reveal the true story. Which could be they're independently wealthy, or they're really a student, or they live with their parents, or they're a barista.
3. Everybody believes they should have access. If they tweet the company should see it and respond to it. If they send you e-mail not only are they entitled to a response, but a reasoned one responding to their point of view, however unreasonable it might be.
4. 10% of the public is insane, you just don't know which 10% it is.
5. People feel better about themselves by making you feel bad.
6. Gotcha is the game. That's how we bring people who've flown too high back to earth. It might make us feel good, but it ends up forcing reasonable people out of the picture, either because they don't want their dirty laundry aired or because they've got a few skeletons in the closet. Memo to not only the media but the online rabble rousers...we've all got skeletons in the closet, some even findable on Google.
7. Everybody's an expert, even though they may know nothing. Which is funny because so much is Googlable. In a world where facts are rampant many people are ignorant, even some of those with the biggest mouths.
8. If I paid for it it's great.
9. Brands are our heroes. We define our identity by them. Not only your clothing, but your car, your mobile phone, your jewelry... It's a full-time job keeping up with the trends. Logos/no logos. Louis Vuitton/Burberry. You may think you can escape, but the truth is you're being judged. People used to fight about bands, now they fight about brands.
10. Don't advertise you've got something, that you're any better than the hoi polloi, then the hoi polloi will judge you for having it. Don't say you went to Harvard, they were the son of a single mother who couldn't go to college. Don't say you took a vacation, they haven't been on one in years. Don't say you have any money, otherwise the unwashed masses will excoriate you. Don't confuse this with the ignorant rich who believe they're better than everybody else. Just call it poor on poor crime, or middle class on middle class crime. People don't want you movin' on up, because that means they've got to look at their situation, and they don't want to. The end result is those with wealth and power seal their lives off from those who don't have these things. They live behind gates, fly private and vacation in places you've never heard of and they don't talk about it. If someone is talking about their wealth, bragging about their lifestyle, you know they're nouveau riche and not
accepted by the upper class and might not have money for long.
11. Everything you've ever said will be held against you. Which is why you should not put information you don't want everybody to know in print, should not post pictures and so much online. Ironically, the young people know this better than the oldsters. Which is why they've embraced Snapchat and have scraped data from Facebook.
12. You've got someone else's gig, you just don't know it. That's right, there's someone smarter and more qualified who you're holding down and you'd better watch out, they're working behind the scenes to bring you down, because if they can't have the gig, you shouldn't either.
13. People want you to be like them, have the same opinions and lifestyle. If not, you're a chump.
14. Not only are you not good enough, neither is your significant other. Every woman is competing against supermodels and porn stars who adore schlubs and will do anything to please. The whole world is based on making you feel bad about yourself, so it can sell you what will make you feel good about yourself, theoretically anyway.
15. He who yells loudest gets attention while they do, but when they stop we turn to the next person yelling loudly. And the noise of competing yells is so loud that we hate all the yellers, if we haven't completely given up paying attention.
16. Stats rule. People find a way to say they're number one at something, even though in the context of the world at large, that's nothing.
17. The only people who care about you are poor people, because all they've got is their compassion, everybody else is too busy getting ahead to care about you. And in a world where you can fall through the cracks, everybody's looking for an edge. And corporations are the least trustworthy enterprises of all, they're all about the money. But since brands rule, the corporate ethos rules. Our society is purely about money, which is why those without it complain so loudly and do their best to pull others down. Because if you can't have something, nobody else should either. As for hard work and enterprise, most people don't want to look at themselves and discover why they're not moving ahead on the game board of life, they just want to tilt it and slide your piece to the bottom.
18. If it makes money it's unimpeachable. If you criticize it you're a hater.
19. Tribes rule. The lone wolf is passe. Everybody's got their cabal. They stay connected via the internet. They make each other feel good, you don't want to be their enemy.
20. Facts are irrelevant.
21. Everybody's working the refs. You make people afraid of going against you, speaking up about you at all.
22. It's all about the story, the narrative. If every media outlet says the Republicans are a lock for the Senate why should you bother to vote, it's already been decided.
23. No one is there to solve your problems, even if you paid. Which is why those who do help are lionized and why so many are angry and frustrated. People are pushed to the edge. They've got all the modern tools, but they believe they're the product, bought and sold, and no one is looking out for them.
24. Anything very successful has backlash. Whether it be a sports team, Apple or a music star. Enduring this is a skill unto itself. You say you're ignoring it, but the truth is the haters are having an impact, they're making you gun-shy, reluctant to take chances.
25. People do it for the money, not you. They stay off Spotify so they can stay rich, or so they think, they don't care if you listen to their music, they just want you to pay for it.
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Friday 31 October 2014
Rhinofy-Buckinghams Primer
Who?
Young people may not know, but every baby boomer does. From back when we were all addicted to AM radio, before FM infected our brains, when a well-executed pop song was not criticized, but embraced.
KIND OF A DRAG
"Oh, listen
To what I gotta say
Girl, I still love you
I'll always love you
Anyway, anyway, anyway"
And there was the magic, the chorus sealed the deal. Then again, every bit of this two minute opus triumphs, even the skating rink organ in the instrumental break. That's how they used to be made, crisp and compact, back before the FM giants exploded the formula. Unfortunately, too many of today's acts hew to the FM formula and add no innovation atop it, boring us all the while. The Buckinghams never bored us.
DON'T YOU CARE
After the initial hit, the band hooked up with James William Guercio, who steered them to further success, once they parted ways with them they were history, on the chart anyway.
"Mmm, my, my, my, my baby"
The track is good, and this little excerpt makes it superlative!
And sure, the lyrics were relatable, but even more it was about the feel, the plaintive vocal, this was the opposite of the hip-hop heroes, this guy was on the losing end of distance, back when we lived in the dark ages of the pre-feminist era but we still acknowledged the power of women, especially in relationships!
"You said that you'd believe me
Then why'd you ever leave me
I'm standin' here all alone
Without a girl of my own"
And there's nowhere a guy would rather not be, especially if he wasn't flying solo previously.
MERCY, MERCY, MERCY
Yes, the Joe Zawinul song, but with lyrics attached.
This is probably the best thing the Buckinghams ever did, it swung back then and it still swings today.
There's no way you could listen to this without shimmying and singing along. Come on...
"She got the kind of lovin'
Kissin' and a-huggin'"...
HEY BABY (THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG)
"The one we used to hear when we used to get along"
I couldn't believe they said that in a song, it was so conversational!
My sister bought the single, as a result this is burned into my DNA. You used to play them over and over and over again. Actually, that's the way it still is, singles rule, the listeners know, the makers oftentimes do not.
And, of course, the classic lyric:
"It made us feel so groovy
We fell in love, just like in the movies"
Sophomoric, but resonant nonetheless!
SUSAN
The final hit.
"Susan, do you have to be confusin'"?
Huh? Haven't heard that word in a song since.
No, Genesis did "Land Of Confusion." But that was different, it wasn't about a girl but a situation. And when you're young especially, the opposite sex is so confusing!
This bounces along, it's a trifle, but it does have that hip break and the explosion thereafter, barriers were being broken, "Society's Child" was a topic of discussion, but the ending mantra, "I love you, yes I do, I do"...I love all these songs, and there's not much more you can say about them, other than they were joyful to listen to and they still put a smile on your face every time you hear them today.
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/1rSxVpL
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Young people may not know, but every baby boomer does. From back when we were all addicted to AM radio, before FM infected our brains, when a well-executed pop song was not criticized, but embraced.
KIND OF A DRAG
"Oh, listen
To what I gotta say
Girl, I still love you
I'll always love you
Anyway, anyway, anyway"
And there was the magic, the chorus sealed the deal. Then again, every bit of this two minute opus triumphs, even the skating rink organ in the instrumental break. That's how they used to be made, crisp and compact, back before the FM giants exploded the formula. Unfortunately, too many of today's acts hew to the FM formula and add no innovation atop it, boring us all the while. The Buckinghams never bored us.
DON'T YOU CARE
After the initial hit, the band hooked up with James William Guercio, who steered them to further success, once they parted ways with them they were history, on the chart anyway.
"Mmm, my, my, my, my baby"
The track is good, and this little excerpt makes it superlative!
And sure, the lyrics were relatable, but even more it was about the feel, the plaintive vocal, this was the opposite of the hip-hop heroes, this guy was on the losing end of distance, back when we lived in the dark ages of the pre-feminist era but we still acknowledged the power of women, especially in relationships!
"You said that you'd believe me
Then why'd you ever leave me
I'm standin' here all alone
Without a girl of my own"
And there's nowhere a guy would rather not be, especially if he wasn't flying solo previously.
MERCY, MERCY, MERCY
Yes, the Joe Zawinul song, but with lyrics attached.
This is probably the best thing the Buckinghams ever did, it swung back then and it still swings today.
There's no way you could listen to this without shimmying and singing along. Come on...
"She got the kind of lovin'
Kissin' and a-huggin'"...
HEY BABY (THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG)
"The one we used to hear when we used to get along"
I couldn't believe they said that in a song, it was so conversational!
My sister bought the single, as a result this is burned into my DNA. You used to play them over and over and over again. Actually, that's the way it still is, singles rule, the listeners know, the makers oftentimes do not.
And, of course, the classic lyric:
"It made us feel so groovy
We fell in love, just like in the movies"
Sophomoric, but resonant nonetheless!
SUSAN
The final hit.
"Susan, do you have to be confusin'"?
Huh? Haven't heard that word in a song since.
No, Genesis did "Land Of Confusion." But that was different, it wasn't about a girl but a situation. And when you're young especially, the opposite sex is so confusing!
This bounces along, it's a trifle, but it does have that hip break and the explosion thereafter, barriers were being broken, "Society's Child" was a topic of discussion, but the ending mantra, "I love you, yes I do, I do"...I love all these songs, and there's not much more you can say about them, other than they were joyful to listen to and they still put a smile on your face every time you hear them today.
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/1rSxVpL
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Thursday 30 October 2014
Bilbao
It's all about the pintxos.
So I flew on an A380 from LAX. Whew! Have you been on one of these double-decker Airbuses? Considering its size, I figured it'd leave the ground inches from the end of the runway but this gigantic bird had amazing lift and then it was like flying in your living room, big and quiet with more moisture than most planes. However, I can't give a big thumbs-up for Air France. The seats don't lie completely flat, the remote control was cracked and they didn't turn on the water in the bathrooms until just before take-off, the plane was moving while I was washing. It's the little things that count. And the food was far from memorable, but the people were great, the passengers I mean. The French have such style. And they do it with minimalism. They don't overwhelm you like Americans, never mind South Americans, just a little accent here, a way of carrying themselves there, they're so cool.
And so was Paris. I forget it's fall in the rest of the world. It was cloudy and in the fifties and if that was my final destination I would have been worried. But they're having a heat wave in Bilbao, it's in the 80s, and it's oh-so-comfortable.
Bilbao... What do I know about it other than the Guggenheim Museum?
NOTHING!
That's just the kind of American I am. Turns out it's 15km from the sea, so it's a port. And it's surrounded by mountains, not Rockies, but not bumps, and it was an industrial city that collapsed and was reinvigorated by the aforementioned museum. Just like a tech firm, the whole city pivoted, to services, and it worked. They tell me every other Spanish city has tried to do the same thing, but has not succeeded.
As for the Spaniards... Nobody's fat!
You know the ugly Americans, who look like they've spent their lives eating Doritos on the couch watching television. I noticed it at the museum today, like one of every hundred people is overweight, if that, and none of the kids.
So there's an old city and a new. And I'm staying in the new but it's only a ten minute walk to the old. And the thing you do is eat pintxos. You pronounce that PINCHOS! It's a Basque spelling. That's a whole 'nother thing, there's a Basque language, it's like a whole 'nother country. The PR person at the museum was telling us 90% of the attendees were foreigners, I figured that meant non-Spaniards, but it turns out anybody outside the Basque region is a foreigner! So pintxos are what you'd think of as tapas, but they're not. Pintxos are something, usually meat, fish or vegetables, atop a piece of bread. Or maybe a little sandwich too. Every bar has them. You're worried they've been sitting out too long, but I was told they're constantly replenished. And what you do is hop from pintxo bar to pintxo bar, sampling the wares. And the first night we traveled from the new city to the old and back, hitting four of these bars, eating anchovies and squid and shrimp and ham and it was all
good and fun and there's no street food, there must be a law, everybody's driven to the pintxos.
So I'm here for this conference entitled BIME. And what's interesting is the link between Spain and South America. You see it's the language, there's a direct connection. And sure, there are the usual topics, sync and gaming and all the ways you monetize music these days, but since the repertoire is just a bit different, it's all interesting.
And today we got a tour of the Guggenheim. Culture revitalized Bilbao. And it's infectious. I spent half the day there. What were the highlights... Oh, this one room with nine movies of people playing the same mum song. It's hard to describe... It was done in upstate New York. Everybody's listening to the track on headphones and then adding their own component. A guy in the bathtub strumming an acoustic guitar, a guy on a bed playing an electric guitar, a woman bowing a cello, another woman playing an accordion, you get it. But what's really cool is when you approach each player you hear them soloing.
You have to see it.
And that's just the point. You have to leave your house to experience stuff, it's inspiring. I'm thinking I could live in the museum, not to make some bad caper film, but for the inspiration. We're all so caught up in marketing that we forget art is at the core and we have to get into a special space in order to create it. You see the abstract expressionists and the pop artists and the minimalists challenging convention, testing limits, and it illustrates the possibilities. That's one of the problems in music, no one's testing the limits, they want adulation and instant remuneration when the truth is artists are always ahead of the game, confounding public and critics until they ultimately accept their work. Life is about progress, when you remain stagnant you die.
And the wi-fi is touch and go. And it was amazing being in the Bilbao airport after the one in Paris. There's a step down in infrastructure, a step down in maintenance. And despite so much English, many people do not speak English at all, it made me wonder, if I lived here for a while would my high school Spanish training come alive.
Now I am a museum guy. I can go to two a day every day. But that's not the kind of place Bilbao is. Bilbao is more for the living. And I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by people who know how to do so. Everybody's open, everybody has a story, and now I've got to leave you to go to a cafe by the river for cocktails.
Adios!
Ragnar Kjaransson: The Visitors: http://bit.ly/10BXK73
Pintxo Routes: http://bit.ly/13lrB4M
http://bime.net/en-us/
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So I flew on an A380 from LAX. Whew! Have you been on one of these double-decker Airbuses? Considering its size, I figured it'd leave the ground inches from the end of the runway but this gigantic bird had amazing lift and then it was like flying in your living room, big and quiet with more moisture than most planes. However, I can't give a big thumbs-up for Air France. The seats don't lie completely flat, the remote control was cracked and they didn't turn on the water in the bathrooms until just before take-off, the plane was moving while I was washing. It's the little things that count. And the food was far from memorable, but the people were great, the passengers I mean. The French have such style. And they do it with minimalism. They don't overwhelm you like Americans, never mind South Americans, just a little accent here, a way of carrying themselves there, they're so cool.
And so was Paris. I forget it's fall in the rest of the world. It was cloudy and in the fifties and if that was my final destination I would have been worried. But they're having a heat wave in Bilbao, it's in the 80s, and it's oh-so-comfortable.
Bilbao... What do I know about it other than the Guggenheim Museum?
NOTHING!
That's just the kind of American I am. Turns out it's 15km from the sea, so it's a port. And it's surrounded by mountains, not Rockies, but not bumps, and it was an industrial city that collapsed and was reinvigorated by the aforementioned museum. Just like a tech firm, the whole city pivoted, to services, and it worked. They tell me every other Spanish city has tried to do the same thing, but has not succeeded.
As for the Spaniards... Nobody's fat!
You know the ugly Americans, who look like they've spent their lives eating Doritos on the couch watching television. I noticed it at the museum today, like one of every hundred people is overweight, if that, and none of the kids.
So there's an old city and a new. And I'm staying in the new but it's only a ten minute walk to the old. And the thing you do is eat pintxos. You pronounce that PINCHOS! It's a Basque spelling. That's a whole 'nother thing, there's a Basque language, it's like a whole 'nother country. The PR person at the museum was telling us 90% of the attendees were foreigners, I figured that meant non-Spaniards, but it turns out anybody outside the Basque region is a foreigner! So pintxos are what you'd think of as tapas, but they're not. Pintxos are something, usually meat, fish or vegetables, atop a piece of bread. Or maybe a little sandwich too. Every bar has them. You're worried they've been sitting out too long, but I was told they're constantly replenished. And what you do is hop from pintxo bar to pintxo bar, sampling the wares. And the first night we traveled from the new city to the old and back, hitting four of these bars, eating anchovies and squid and shrimp and ham and it was all
good and fun and there's no street food, there must be a law, everybody's driven to the pintxos.
So I'm here for this conference entitled BIME. And what's interesting is the link between Spain and South America. You see it's the language, there's a direct connection. And sure, there are the usual topics, sync and gaming and all the ways you monetize music these days, but since the repertoire is just a bit different, it's all interesting.
And today we got a tour of the Guggenheim. Culture revitalized Bilbao. And it's infectious. I spent half the day there. What were the highlights... Oh, this one room with nine movies of people playing the same mum song. It's hard to describe... It was done in upstate New York. Everybody's listening to the track on headphones and then adding their own component. A guy in the bathtub strumming an acoustic guitar, a guy on a bed playing an electric guitar, a woman bowing a cello, another woman playing an accordion, you get it. But what's really cool is when you approach each player you hear them soloing.
You have to see it.
And that's just the point. You have to leave your house to experience stuff, it's inspiring. I'm thinking I could live in the museum, not to make some bad caper film, but for the inspiration. We're all so caught up in marketing that we forget art is at the core and we have to get into a special space in order to create it. You see the abstract expressionists and the pop artists and the minimalists challenging convention, testing limits, and it illustrates the possibilities. That's one of the problems in music, no one's testing the limits, they want adulation and instant remuneration when the truth is artists are always ahead of the game, confounding public and critics until they ultimately accept their work. Life is about progress, when you remain stagnant you die.
And the wi-fi is touch and go. And it was amazing being in the Bilbao airport after the one in Paris. There's a step down in infrastructure, a step down in maintenance. And despite so much English, many people do not speak English at all, it made me wonder, if I lived here for a while would my high school Spanish training come alive.
Now I am a museum guy. I can go to two a day every day. But that's not the kind of place Bilbao is. Bilbao is more for the living. And I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by people who know how to do so. Everybody's open, everybody has a story, and now I've got to leave you to go to a cafe by the river for cocktails.
Adios!
Ragnar Kjaransson: The Visitors: http://bit.ly/10BXK73
Pintxo Routes: http://bit.ly/13lrB4M
http://bime.net/en-us/
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Apple Notes
iPHONE 6
Everybody thinks I have an Android.
Malcolm Gladwell told me the problem with e-readers is no one knows what you're reading, and for an author that's anathema. The cover of the book sells the book, but if no one can see it...
No one can see I have an iPhone 6. I purchased the Apple case, but it's grey and the Apple logo is very subtle and with my hand around it no one can see it, but to be truthful, I can barely see it.
So, if you want pride of ownership, evidence that you laid down your cash and are a member of the cult, the iPhone 6 disappoints.
One could posit it would be different with the 6 Plus, but the truth is that too looks like a Samsung product. It's kind of like cars before BMW blew up the paradigm and then Hyundai ran with it. They all looked the same. Buildings too, until Philip Johnson took a chance with the AT&T building.
Are phones now a commodity?
Or are they evidence we live in a software society, and it's utility that counts. It's not what you own, but what you have access to, what you rent.
iPAD
Speaking of utility, are larger phones killing tablets?
It appears so.
The excitement and wonder have worn off tablets. They're good for watching Netflix, but if it's data you want, a large phone will do ya. And if you want to type, why not get an ultrathin laptop, like a MacBook Air or one of its Windows competitors.
Ain't that the way of technology, what was new and hip seemingly minutes ago is suddenly passe.
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Everybody thinks I have an Android.
Malcolm Gladwell told me the problem with e-readers is no one knows what you're reading, and for an author that's anathema. The cover of the book sells the book, but if no one can see it...
No one can see I have an iPhone 6. I purchased the Apple case, but it's grey and the Apple logo is very subtle and with my hand around it no one can see it, but to be truthful, I can barely see it.
So, if you want pride of ownership, evidence that you laid down your cash and are a member of the cult, the iPhone 6 disappoints.
One could posit it would be different with the 6 Plus, but the truth is that too looks like a Samsung product. It's kind of like cars before BMW blew up the paradigm and then Hyundai ran with it. They all looked the same. Buildings too, until Philip Johnson took a chance with the AT&T building.
Are phones now a commodity?
Or are they evidence we live in a software society, and it's utility that counts. It's not what you own, but what you have access to, what you rent.
iPAD
Speaking of utility, are larger phones killing tablets?
It appears so.
The excitement and wonder have worn off tablets. They're good for watching Netflix, but if it's data you want, a large phone will do ya. And if you want to type, why not get an ultrathin laptop, like a MacBook Air or one of its Windows competitors.
Ain't that the way of technology, what was new and hip seemingly minutes ago is suddenly passe.
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Wednesday 29 October 2014
It's All About The Data
1. DIY is done. You need a partner who knows the game.
2. The game is trolling for fans on social media. Today it's Facebook, Twitter gives few results, tomorrow it may be __________.
3. Established companies have ongoing relationships with Facebook and Spotify, all the data generators. And these entities share the data with the major labels. And having money is not enough, you've got to have hits, because Facebook doesn't want to foul its site and Spotify is all about what is being played.
4. You want to attach yourself to that which is already getting traction. Someone with their own YouTube channel with a ton of subscribers who spend time at their site, even eight minutes a week, is very valuable. Someone with a Spotify playlist that has subscribers is very valuable.
5. You use these new platforms to find out if you have a hit. That's the first step, turning something into a hit is next.
6. You're looking for a reaction. Without it you're dead in the water, you move on, the data doesn't lie.
7. What looks instant to the mainstream is a long time in coming.
8. The rich are getting richer. Those with relationships and money to spend are increasing market share and the acts that gain traction are getting even bigger.
9. Data is directing the music business. The future is here.
You've got to work it.
I'm in Bilbao, and I just had the most fascinating conversation with Scott Cohen of the Orchard at BIME. I love learning things.
Scott says it's a game, it's the same as it ever was, the big labels rule, because of the DATA!
Let's go back to Lady Gaga. It was all driven by Google AdWords. A guy in Boston who bought them there and when he got a reaction he moved it to different cities. And then it blew up.
But that paradigm is dead. Now it's all about Facebook.
You start a campaign. And if you get no reaction, Facebook blows you out, tells you to change it. Everybody ignores the ads on the side of the page, it's about being in the News Feed, and getting a reaction. That's a start. How many people Like or watch a video or..? We're talking a percent or two, that's a good number. And then, if you're smart, you slowly reel these people in, offering them more and more, turning them into fans. Sure, you can immediately spam them and ask them to buy the album, but that's a mistake, you want to be in it for the long haul.
But let's go back to One Direction. It was the social media that told them they had something. You're always looking for a reaction. And when Syco got that, they fed these fans, with images, tools they could use. Teen print is dead, it's all about teen sites. And you don't pay for this info, then again, you do, remember indie promo? It's all about the relationship with the site. Sure, you might ultimately buy ads, but the goal is to make it look like news, to make it look real. And as a result, One Direction can sell tonnage the first week. That's just indicative of what was happening behind the scenes, that most people were ignorant of. You see there are no overnight successes.
It's the same as it ever was. You pay to play and only a few succeed. And if you don't pay, you're out of the game. Used to be radio promo, then it was Google AdWords, now it's Facebook, tomorrow it'll be...
Who knows!
They're already working Spotify. The key is to get on the playlist. Not only the NME's, but the punter's with a 100 fans. You've got to work it at both the top and the bottom. So some people think it's cool and others drive by and all start spreading the word. You're nothing without a hit, and nothing is a hit without it.
The days of "Gangnam Style" are dead. Everything is being worked. Nothing just spontaneously generates. "Royals" never changed, but the campaign made it ubiquitous.
The major labels are privy to more data than you can conceive of. And they've got money to try out campaigns. And just like it's always been, only one of many tracks hits, but when they get a bite, they work it hard.
How do you know that you've had success, that you're on to something? Wikipedia hits! That's the first thing a new fan will do, go to Wikipedia to learn more. And they only go once, so you've got to be paying someone to get that info when they do. Next Big Sound will give it to you.
Everybody's looking for a reaction, everybody's paying for a reaction. And tons of work is done before most people ever know about something. Isn't it interesting that you hear about a band and check the track out on YouTube and find out it's got 10,000,000 views. How did that happen? The campaign!
And in this new world of streaming listening is different. Something like the album may be coming back. Because it turns out people who like one track might listen to more. And it's all about the time spent. But it's not about the album, but the body of work.
Once again the music business is at the forefront of the digital revolution, only this time the usual suspects have their eyes open. The barrier to entry may be incredibly low, but the barrier to success is higher than ever.
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2. The game is trolling for fans on social media. Today it's Facebook, Twitter gives few results, tomorrow it may be __________.
3. Established companies have ongoing relationships with Facebook and Spotify, all the data generators. And these entities share the data with the major labels. And having money is not enough, you've got to have hits, because Facebook doesn't want to foul its site and Spotify is all about what is being played.
4. You want to attach yourself to that which is already getting traction. Someone with their own YouTube channel with a ton of subscribers who spend time at their site, even eight minutes a week, is very valuable. Someone with a Spotify playlist that has subscribers is very valuable.
5. You use these new platforms to find out if you have a hit. That's the first step, turning something into a hit is next.
6. You're looking for a reaction. Without it you're dead in the water, you move on, the data doesn't lie.
7. What looks instant to the mainstream is a long time in coming.
8. The rich are getting richer. Those with relationships and money to spend are increasing market share and the acts that gain traction are getting even bigger.
9. Data is directing the music business. The future is here.
You've got to work it.
I'm in Bilbao, and I just had the most fascinating conversation with Scott Cohen of the Orchard at BIME. I love learning things.
Scott says it's a game, it's the same as it ever was, the big labels rule, because of the DATA!
Let's go back to Lady Gaga. It was all driven by Google AdWords. A guy in Boston who bought them there and when he got a reaction he moved it to different cities. And then it blew up.
But that paradigm is dead. Now it's all about Facebook.
You start a campaign. And if you get no reaction, Facebook blows you out, tells you to change it. Everybody ignores the ads on the side of the page, it's about being in the News Feed, and getting a reaction. That's a start. How many people Like or watch a video or..? We're talking a percent or two, that's a good number. And then, if you're smart, you slowly reel these people in, offering them more and more, turning them into fans. Sure, you can immediately spam them and ask them to buy the album, but that's a mistake, you want to be in it for the long haul.
But let's go back to One Direction. It was the social media that told them they had something. You're always looking for a reaction. And when Syco got that, they fed these fans, with images, tools they could use. Teen print is dead, it's all about teen sites. And you don't pay for this info, then again, you do, remember indie promo? It's all about the relationship with the site. Sure, you might ultimately buy ads, but the goal is to make it look like news, to make it look real. And as a result, One Direction can sell tonnage the first week. That's just indicative of what was happening behind the scenes, that most people were ignorant of. You see there are no overnight successes.
It's the same as it ever was. You pay to play and only a few succeed. And if you don't pay, you're out of the game. Used to be radio promo, then it was Google AdWords, now it's Facebook, tomorrow it'll be...
Who knows!
They're already working Spotify. The key is to get on the playlist. Not only the NME's, but the punter's with a 100 fans. You've got to work it at both the top and the bottom. So some people think it's cool and others drive by and all start spreading the word. You're nothing without a hit, and nothing is a hit without it.
The days of "Gangnam Style" are dead. Everything is being worked. Nothing just spontaneously generates. "Royals" never changed, but the campaign made it ubiquitous.
The major labels are privy to more data than you can conceive of. And they've got money to try out campaigns. And just like it's always been, only one of many tracks hits, but when they get a bite, they work it hard.
How do you know that you've had success, that you're on to something? Wikipedia hits! That's the first thing a new fan will do, go to Wikipedia to learn more. And they only go once, so you've got to be paying someone to get that info when they do. Next Big Sound will give it to you.
Everybody's looking for a reaction, everybody's paying for a reaction. And tons of work is done before most people ever know about something. Isn't it interesting that you hear about a band and check the track out on YouTube and find out it's got 10,000,000 views. How did that happen? The campaign!
And in this new world of streaming listening is different. Something like the album may be coming back. Because it turns out people who like one track might listen to more. And it's all about the time spent. But it's not about the album, but the body of work.
Once again the music business is at the forefront of the digital revolution, only this time the usual suspects have their eyes open. The barrier to entry may be incredibly low, but the barrier to success is higher than ever.
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Action/Reaction
Do you feel manipulated?
Excuse me for writing about Taylor Swift's "1989," but it's all the press is talking about this week, and that saddens me. The way both traditional and so called new media outlets are reporting this nonstory as if it matters. Then again, we live in the land of Ebolamania, but at least the virus has some news value, there's some actual reporting going on, the "1989" hype smells just like that, hype, as for infecting those who do not care, I doubt it.
The two biggest music stories of the last twelve months were the launches of Beyonce and Weird Al's new albums. The former sprung upon us with no warning, the latter nearly the same, with a viral component of daily videos to excite us. Of course I'm leaving out the U2 story, because of the instant backlash. And what was that backlash based upon? Jamming unwanted things down people's throats. This "1989" hype is not much different. We are not forced to listen to the music but we are exposed to constant faux advertising while Ms. Swift bitches about our criticism. Credit Kim Kardashian, she doesn't complain when we do, she knows blowback goes with the territory, it's the business she's in. But that begs the question, is Ms. Swift in the fame game or the music game? Is the media in the action game, tied in with musicians the same way the players are tied in with corporations, or are they in the reaction game, responding to real news?
Used to be music lasted. That was its defining feature, the way everybody knew it and remembered it. Today most albums come and go in a week. And I do expect "1989" to last longer, come on, Taylor Swift is the biggest act in the land, but will anything on this record infect society as much as "Royals"?
So what we've learned here is the Internet has a way of amplifying the story but not the music. And when the story trumps the music we're lost. We're kind of like Hollywood, where they hype movies that we don't care about, to the point where we know what they are and stop going and then do our best to tune out the din.
But that's the society we live in. One of yelling louder and louder. One in which the biggest act is a corporation, Apple, which drops its products to eager anticipation with no warning and they are then embraced over time. Apple makes hits. And isn't it interesting there are so few of them. Apple is all about the singles, in music we're all about the albums, we overload our audience and then complain that no one is paying attention.
Is anybody paying attention?
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Excuse me for writing about Taylor Swift's "1989," but it's all the press is talking about this week, and that saddens me. The way both traditional and so called new media outlets are reporting this nonstory as if it matters. Then again, we live in the land of Ebolamania, but at least the virus has some news value, there's some actual reporting going on, the "1989" hype smells just like that, hype, as for infecting those who do not care, I doubt it.
The two biggest music stories of the last twelve months were the launches of Beyonce and Weird Al's new albums. The former sprung upon us with no warning, the latter nearly the same, with a viral component of daily videos to excite us. Of course I'm leaving out the U2 story, because of the instant backlash. And what was that backlash based upon? Jamming unwanted things down people's throats. This "1989" hype is not much different. We are not forced to listen to the music but we are exposed to constant faux advertising while Ms. Swift bitches about our criticism. Credit Kim Kardashian, she doesn't complain when we do, she knows blowback goes with the territory, it's the business she's in. But that begs the question, is Ms. Swift in the fame game or the music game? Is the media in the action game, tied in with musicians the same way the players are tied in with corporations, or are they in the reaction game, responding to real news?
Used to be music lasted. That was its defining feature, the way everybody knew it and remembered it. Today most albums come and go in a week. And I do expect "1989" to last longer, come on, Taylor Swift is the biggest act in the land, but will anything on this record infect society as much as "Royals"?
So what we've learned here is the Internet has a way of amplifying the story but not the music. And when the story trumps the music we're lost. We're kind of like Hollywood, where they hype movies that we don't care about, to the point where we know what they are and stop going and then do our best to tune out the din.
But that's the society we live in. One of yelling louder and louder. One in which the biggest act is a corporation, Apple, which drops its products to eager anticipation with no warning and they are then embraced over time. Apple makes hits. And isn't it interesting there are so few of them. Apple is all about the singles, in music we're all about the albums, we overload our audience and then complain that no one is paying attention.
Is anybody paying attention?
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Tuesday 28 October 2014
Is Apple Pay Bigger Than 1989?
It's cool, disruptive and completely unexpected.
Taylor Swift's new album?
No, APPLE PAY!
And you wonder why musicians get no respect.
That's right, while Taylor Swift is busy cozying up to corporations, making sure her message gets out, Apple is competing with corporations and its users are up in arms complaining that CVS and Rite-Aid are out of line.
Huh?
Oh, you're not following this story? Are you really interested in whether Taylor Swift sells a million copies in a week? Have we come to this, in a nation that no longer watches the World Series, is every publication known to man gonna track whether the tree-topping songstress sells albums to 1/300th of the population? If this was a TV show, it'd be canceled.
We didn't think we needed Apple Pay. Hell, the Cupertino company had been castigated for being behind the curve on NFC (near field communication, for the uninitiated), and then suddenly not only do they include it, they launch this totally secure payment system that's easy to use, that brings tomorrow here today. Kind of like listening to "Purple Haze" back in '67!
That's one thing you do nearly every day, buy stuff. And cash is on its way out, the CD may expire first, but they're both history. Meanwhile, when even Target can't keep its data secure, everybody's privacy anxious. But worthwhile stealable data is never transmitted in Apple Pay, so it's the perfect solution.
Only CVS and Rite-Aid don't like it. They took it, now they've banned it. Because they want to use their own much less secure QR code based system to exclude not only Apple, but the credit card companies. Does this sound like Pressplay to you? It does to me. Or how about the telcos, which disabled features on mobile phones before Apple came in and revolutionized the market, putting the power into the hands of the handset manufacturers.
Apple Pay is a revolution.
"1989" is a retread.
It's not like Apple Pay has gotten no ink. But it was lost in the shuffle of the hype for the new iPhones, and the backlash against U2. It's not sexy, it didn't date anybody and write a song about it.
And that's how seemingly everything great starts, off the radar, warmly embraced by early adopters, who beat the drum so loud that the rest of us pay attention.
Expect CVS and Rite-Aid to do a 180.
A million people have already put Apple Pay on their phones, so it looks like Tim Cook is a bigger rock star than Taylor Swift, he reached that number in less than a week.
And Apple's the anti-Swift. That's right, Taylor wants to keep you in the past, forcing you to buy a CD or files when both those formats are tanking. You think things were bad in the physical market? Downloads are off by double digits. But can you find Taylor Swift's album on Spotify? Of course not! Meanwhile, you've got to go to Target to get the special edition with extras. That's like Apple insisting you drive to Best Buy to get a phone that works with Apple Pay. Do you think Best Buy wouldn't pay tonnage to have this exclusive feature? But that's not how Apple rolls.
This Apple Pay story is fascinating. It's easy to use with no glitches and nonparticipating retailers have been caught flat-footed. Users are already agitating to screw CVS and Rite-Aid, telling you how to use the most expensive credit card at their stores so the companies will lose money. ("Why Some Stores Won't Take Apple Pay, and How to Punish Them": http://yhoo.it/10wWYIw)
CVS and Rite-Aid will cave. Apple Pay's kind of like rock and roll. You can't deny its power. The people want it, it takes over. And users smile all the while as those stuck in the past get lost there.
And sure, you've got to have an iPhone 6 to use Apple Pay. But we used to incentivize people in the music business too, don't you remember? To buy CDs? But now everybody's decrying the future, believing streaming will bankrupt them when it's their savior, and who wants to associate with a bunch of crybabies anyway.
The "1989" songs I've heard are catchy. But there's nothing groundbreaking there. And the way the press is fawning over it makes me puke. Is that how far we've come? When our leading recording artist makes retro music with hired hands in an effort to stay sales relevant and everybody in the media laps it up?
Well, not everybody:
"Taylor Swift's '1989': A pivot into pop, a misstep into conformity": http://wapo.st/1v5iI5N
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Taylor Swift's new album?
No, APPLE PAY!
And you wonder why musicians get no respect.
That's right, while Taylor Swift is busy cozying up to corporations, making sure her message gets out, Apple is competing with corporations and its users are up in arms complaining that CVS and Rite-Aid are out of line.
Huh?
Oh, you're not following this story? Are you really interested in whether Taylor Swift sells a million copies in a week? Have we come to this, in a nation that no longer watches the World Series, is every publication known to man gonna track whether the tree-topping songstress sells albums to 1/300th of the population? If this was a TV show, it'd be canceled.
We didn't think we needed Apple Pay. Hell, the Cupertino company had been castigated for being behind the curve on NFC (near field communication, for the uninitiated), and then suddenly not only do they include it, they launch this totally secure payment system that's easy to use, that brings tomorrow here today. Kind of like listening to "Purple Haze" back in '67!
That's one thing you do nearly every day, buy stuff. And cash is on its way out, the CD may expire first, but they're both history. Meanwhile, when even Target can't keep its data secure, everybody's privacy anxious. But worthwhile stealable data is never transmitted in Apple Pay, so it's the perfect solution.
Only CVS and Rite-Aid don't like it. They took it, now they've banned it. Because they want to use their own much less secure QR code based system to exclude not only Apple, but the credit card companies. Does this sound like Pressplay to you? It does to me. Or how about the telcos, which disabled features on mobile phones before Apple came in and revolutionized the market, putting the power into the hands of the handset manufacturers.
Apple Pay is a revolution.
"1989" is a retread.
It's not like Apple Pay has gotten no ink. But it was lost in the shuffle of the hype for the new iPhones, and the backlash against U2. It's not sexy, it didn't date anybody and write a song about it.
And that's how seemingly everything great starts, off the radar, warmly embraced by early adopters, who beat the drum so loud that the rest of us pay attention.
Expect CVS and Rite-Aid to do a 180.
A million people have already put Apple Pay on their phones, so it looks like Tim Cook is a bigger rock star than Taylor Swift, he reached that number in less than a week.
And Apple's the anti-Swift. That's right, Taylor wants to keep you in the past, forcing you to buy a CD or files when both those formats are tanking. You think things were bad in the physical market? Downloads are off by double digits. But can you find Taylor Swift's album on Spotify? Of course not! Meanwhile, you've got to go to Target to get the special edition with extras. That's like Apple insisting you drive to Best Buy to get a phone that works with Apple Pay. Do you think Best Buy wouldn't pay tonnage to have this exclusive feature? But that's not how Apple rolls.
This Apple Pay story is fascinating. It's easy to use with no glitches and nonparticipating retailers have been caught flat-footed. Users are already agitating to screw CVS and Rite-Aid, telling you how to use the most expensive credit card at their stores so the companies will lose money. ("Why Some Stores Won't Take Apple Pay, and How to Punish Them": http://yhoo.it/10wWYIw)
CVS and Rite-Aid will cave. Apple Pay's kind of like rock and roll. You can't deny its power. The people want it, it takes over. And users smile all the while as those stuck in the past get lost there.
And sure, you've got to have an iPhone 6 to use Apple Pay. But we used to incentivize people in the music business too, don't you remember? To buy CDs? But now everybody's decrying the future, believing streaming will bankrupt them when it's their savior, and who wants to associate with a bunch of crybabies anyway.
The "1989" songs I've heard are catchy. But there's nothing groundbreaking there. And the way the press is fawning over it makes me puke. Is that how far we've come? When our leading recording artist makes retro music with hired hands in an effort to stay sales relevant and everybody in the media laps it up?
Well, not everybody:
"Taylor Swift's '1989': A pivot into pop, a misstep into conformity": http://wapo.st/1v5iI5N
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Monday 27 October 2014
Today's Rules
SINGABILITY/CATCHABILITY
You want to create an earworm, something that gets into someone's head that they can't get out. Doesn't matter if it's stupid, it's just got to be addictive.
DANCEABILITY
If it can't be played at the club, if it doesn't induce booty-shaking, you're on the wrong track.
MAKE IT SHORT
So people repeat it endlessly.
CORPORATE PARTNERS
Sell your soul to high heaven. Tie up with anybody who'll have you. It's the only way to break through the clutter.
BUY INSURANCE
Work with the hitmakers du jour, they know what's going on.
BE ON A MAJOR LABEL
You've got to have juice, they're the only ones who have relationships, they spend money.
TOUR FAST AND FURIOUSLY
Appear live constantly, even if for free at first, your goal is to hit the arena before twelve months are gone.
LOOK GOOD AND DATE FABULOUSLY
People follow the gossip columns more than they do the record charts, it's the best publicity you can get. You want to be on TMZ, trust me.
WHORE YOURSELF OUT TO iHEART RADIO
Do everything iHeart Radio will let you. Appear at their festivals. Terrestrial still rules, you want a presence. Even better, sign a deal with a label that's got an iHeart Radio deal.
CAVEAT
All of the above refers to TODAY! Not necessarily tomorrow. Read "Outliers," sure Gladwell talks about the 10,000 hour rule, but just as much he emphasizes timing. Right now we're living in a pop world. To deny it is akin to denying the sun will come up. If you're not making pop music, you're gonna struggle. And no one wants to struggle.
Ain't that the truth. If you can write songs, if you can sing, if you can create hooks, if you can play live and grow an audience...be happy anybody cares and know that the winds of change are blowing and what you're doing could end up the next big thing. The major labels were caught flat-footed, they were not in EDM, it burgeoned without them and the traditional concert promoters involved. Then again, electronic music/raves had been going on for decades before the paradigm blew up in America. You're just outside the system waiting to happen. But know that you never might.
Can you touch our souls? Can you take us on a journey? Can you make us want to become a fan of your music as opposed to your brand? Do you have something pithy to say about the human condition? Then chances are you're creating art. And art, unlike pop, is forever. But art has a harder time breaking through, the stars must align, you have to get lucky.
Don't look back to the way it used to be. That's a fool's errand. Everything was built upon foundations that no longer exist. The advent and breakthrough of FM radio. MTV. The CD.
The Internet has changed everything. Made everything available inherently increasing competition. That's right, you're competing against every recording ever made, from Sinatra to the Beatles to Michael Jackson. People can only listen to one track at one time and unless yours is as good you will never go mega.
Assuming you want to go mega.
Do you dream big?
Then you've got two roads, you can play the game or you cannot.
The reason we love classic rock and those acts can still tour prodigiously today is because they did not play the game, they marched to the beat of their own drummer, literally, the best of them made music that did not sound like anybody else's.
But no one knew that country would merge with rock and as a result the Eagles would own the biggest selling album of all time.
No one knew America would be open to a British Invasion.
No one knew Woodstock would happen and Joni Mitchell would write a song about it.
No one knew the Vietnam war would cause a schism in society and artists would take a side.
No one knew a cable TV music channel would usurp the power of radio and then push sales to previously unheard of levels.
No one knew college students would create P2P programs that would turn the model upside down, never mind have millions of users.
No one knew the Internet was coming, or that broadband would allow you to download music quickly, never mind stream it.
That's right, no one knows the future.
But one thing we do know is it does not look identical to today. And when it comes, it ushers in the new and wipes out the old.
This pop era won't last forever.
Then again, the Internet itself is still fluid. It looks like Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon are winners, but Microsoft is by the side of the road, with BlackBerry and a bunch of roadkill.
Are you up to starving? Are you up to going your own way? Do you have incredible talent? Do you have something intriguing to say?
If not, you'd better make pop.
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You want to create an earworm, something that gets into someone's head that they can't get out. Doesn't matter if it's stupid, it's just got to be addictive.
DANCEABILITY
If it can't be played at the club, if it doesn't induce booty-shaking, you're on the wrong track.
MAKE IT SHORT
So people repeat it endlessly.
CORPORATE PARTNERS
Sell your soul to high heaven. Tie up with anybody who'll have you. It's the only way to break through the clutter.
BUY INSURANCE
Work with the hitmakers du jour, they know what's going on.
BE ON A MAJOR LABEL
You've got to have juice, they're the only ones who have relationships, they spend money.
TOUR FAST AND FURIOUSLY
Appear live constantly, even if for free at first, your goal is to hit the arena before twelve months are gone.
LOOK GOOD AND DATE FABULOUSLY
People follow the gossip columns more than they do the record charts, it's the best publicity you can get. You want to be on TMZ, trust me.
WHORE YOURSELF OUT TO iHEART RADIO
Do everything iHeart Radio will let you. Appear at their festivals. Terrestrial still rules, you want a presence. Even better, sign a deal with a label that's got an iHeart Radio deal.
CAVEAT
All of the above refers to TODAY! Not necessarily tomorrow. Read "Outliers," sure Gladwell talks about the 10,000 hour rule, but just as much he emphasizes timing. Right now we're living in a pop world. To deny it is akin to denying the sun will come up. If you're not making pop music, you're gonna struggle. And no one wants to struggle.
Ain't that the truth. If you can write songs, if you can sing, if you can create hooks, if you can play live and grow an audience...be happy anybody cares and know that the winds of change are blowing and what you're doing could end up the next big thing. The major labels were caught flat-footed, they were not in EDM, it burgeoned without them and the traditional concert promoters involved. Then again, electronic music/raves had been going on for decades before the paradigm blew up in America. You're just outside the system waiting to happen. But know that you never might.
Can you touch our souls? Can you take us on a journey? Can you make us want to become a fan of your music as opposed to your brand? Do you have something pithy to say about the human condition? Then chances are you're creating art. And art, unlike pop, is forever. But art has a harder time breaking through, the stars must align, you have to get lucky.
Don't look back to the way it used to be. That's a fool's errand. Everything was built upon foundations that no longer exist. The advent and breakthrough of FM radio. MTV. The CD.
The Internet has changed everything. Made everything available inherently increasing competition. That's right, you're competing against every recording ever made, from Sinatra to the Beatles to Michael Jackson. People can only listen to one track at one time and unless yours is as good you will never go mega.
Assuming you want to go mega.
Do you dream big?
Then you've got two roads, you can play the game or you cannot.
The reason we love classic rock and those acts can still tour prodigiously today is because they did not play the game, they marched to the beat of their own drummer, literally, the best of them made music that did not sound like anybody else's.
But no one knew that country would merge with rock and as a result the Eagles would own the biggest selling album of all time.
No one knew America would be open to a British Invasion.
No one knew Woodstock would happen and Joni Mitchell would write a song about it.
No one knew the Vietnam war would cause a schism in society and artists would take a side.
No one knew a cable TV music channel would usurp the power of radio and then push sales to previously unheard of levels.
No one knew college students would create P2P programs that would turn the model upside down, never mind have millions of users.
No one knew the Internet was coming, or that broadband would allow you to download music quickly, never mind stream it.
That's right, no one knows the future.
But one thing we do know is it does not look identical to today. And when it comes, it ushers in the new and wipes out the old.
This pop era won't last forever.
Then again, the Internet itself is still fluid. It looks like Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon are winners, but Microsoft is by the side of the road, with BlackBerry and a bunch of roadkill.
Are you up to starving? Are you up to going your own way? Do you have incredible talent? Do you have something intriguing to say?
If not, you'd better make pop.
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Sunday 26 October 2014
Luke Bryan At The Hollywood Bowl
"Oh my God, this is my song
I've been listening to the radio all night long"
I couldn't believe it was really him.
I know I rail against albums, I know I decry the state of modern music, but the truth is I know every lick on Luke Bryan's "Crash My Party" and I've been looking forward to his appearance at the Hollywood Bowl since May, playing the tracks over and over again on my phone. I felt like an adolescent, paying my dues in regular life living for the event that's going to change my life. Maybe that's what the gig really is, a cementing of our bond with the artist, proving that we truly are attached.
Now as a result of the infamous L.A. traffic I missed most of Cole Swindell's opening set, which irked me, but when Lee Brice took the stage I told myself...I could do that.
Not really. But in an era where we're overloaded with slick productions no one can humanly re-create Brice and his band were on stage with no hard drive help singing songs whose meaning I could understand and relate to, it might not have been edgy but the experience was one I was familiar with, you see it began with the Beatles. Sure, we loved their music, we adored them, but they also inspired us to pick up instruments and play, practice and form bands, we needed to not only get closer to the magic but create some ourselves.
And that's what they're doing in Nashville, capturing magic and distributing it to those who care, and if that population is not enough you're Taylor Swift, desirous of being the biggest and reaching everybody when the truth is we're all human, and now that Taylor has achieved her goal she can no longer live her life, date in private, make mistakes, and that's what we all want to do.
For a fabulous town I did not see a single celebrity at last night's gig. But I did see 18,000 people who knew every word, who had their hands in the air singing along at the top of their lungs. They were communing with the music, they were making it their own, and there's few such enjoyable moments in life.
THAT'S MY KIND OF NIGHT
"Might sit down on my diamond plate tailgate
Put in my country ride hip-hop mixtape
Little Conway, a little T-Pain, might just make it rain"
And there you have it right there, the conundrum of today mixed in with some derision. Yes, that's the complaint about Luke, the lyrics, that it's all about trucks and scantily-clad babes, and some of it is, but the production is so damn good, the changes so infectious that you can't help but get caught up in the groove and sing along.
Not to yesterday's country music, there's no western in these songs. They're a curious hybrid of rock and country and rap. Hell, we heard "Timber" and other hits of the day between acts. That's right, all the genres are intertwining, and if you're a purist who hates rap and country you're gonna be left out, sorry.
KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE
It's the sound of the guitar, something Tom Petty specialized in, back when he knew great tracks were not only about sound and attitude, but changes too. And "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" has them.
I discovered this high in the mountains, hiking listening to every Luke Bryan track extant, it immediately jumped out, which is what we're all looking for, something that embraces us with eight arms that won't let go that we think is only our own when the truth is it's everybody's.
ROLLER COASTER
"She's like a song playin' over and over
In my mind, where I still hold her
I had the chance and I should've told her"
Should you? Let them know how you feel?
It's easy when you're married, when you're committed, but before that, when you can't get them out of your mind, when you can't sleep because you're fantasizing and wondering whether they feel the same way you do... Can you reach out and be honest? Or are you too inhibited?
We don't live in an honest society.
But that's what we want so much.
And until we figure it out we want a track to ride shotgun and empower us to be our best selves.
"Roller Coaster" went to number one. Maybe because Luke Bryan is the biggest act in country music. But the truth is we've all got our summer memories, romances that were unanticipated, that we thought were flings but ultimately realized were not.
THIS IS HOW WE ROLL
"The mixtape's got a little Hank, little Drake
A little something bumping, thump, thumping on the wheel ride"
And you wonder why Florida Georgia Line's album entered last week's chart at number one... That's right, those guys you despise captured the cultural zeitgeist better than any other act this year.
The truth is everybody's multicultural, Drake's a half black Jewish rapper who rules his domain and you don't have to be an inner city denizen to adore his music.
"Yeah, we're proud to be young
We stick to our guns
We love who we love and we wanna have fun
Yeah, we cuss on them Mondays
And pray on them Sundays
Pass it around and we dream of that one day"
That's Luke's part on the original, he sang it along with cowriter Cole Swindell last night. And you might abhor the gun and religion references, but the truth is on some level life never changes, we reach adolescence, we imbibe, we test limits and then we go back to doing what's expected of us.
Same as it ever was.
DRINK A BEER
"When I got the news today
I didn't know what to say
So I just hung up the phone"
We've all gotten that call. Sometimes just a voice mail pregnant with bad news. Our hearts are at loose ends, we don't know where to turn.
"I took a walk to clear my head
This is where the walking led
Can't believe you're really gone
Don't feel like going home"
This is the song that made me a Luke Bryan fan. Because I'm a sentimental wuss, I remember all that once happened and never will again, and the people who are no longer here to experience it.
The ones cut down too young by cancer.
The ones flummoxed who took their own lives.
The ones who lost their lives through no fault of their own, unlucky in life.
There's a resignation in the vocal, an ability to keep putting one foot in front of the other, but in a haze.
COUNTRY GIRL (SHAKE IT FOR ME)
So what we've got here is a bunch of not so young men singing songs whose words we understand and relate to atop tracks with hooks so sharp you cannot emerge unscathed.
And not everybody is aware. But those who are need to go to the show the way you need to buy a new iPhone. They need to put on their jeans and boots, maybe sneakers, trucker caps and cowboy hats, and drink and dance and have fun.
And if you follow the news you know that's tough, life is depressing. But you scratch up some dough and even if you're way in the back you feel included, it's a big tent. Some may be Republicans, some may be Democrats, but at the country show it doesn't matter.
And since the politically correct police are absent the big screen features booty-shaking and flirting and all the stuff those with legislative power are trying to exorcise from everyday life. Sure, bad things happen, but life is for the living, for the playing, and you never feel as alive as you do at a country show, where the humanity is in evidence, people performing who grew up in Fresno and other godforsaken backwaters and practiced so hard that they got roles in the country music circus, where how you look is secondary to how you can play.
PLAY IT AGAIN AGAIN
"Sittin' 'round waitin' for it to come on and here it is"
That's right, I waited the entire summer and now it's gone.
I'm not exactly sure what I experienced. Luke jumped up and down, pranced on stage, but to him it was just another night, he didn't strut, didn't demand adulation, he was just doing his job, singing songs we all knew by heart. Usually they beat their chest and keep telling us how much better they are than us, can you hear me Kanye?
And the truth is some of us are smarter than others, but genius is an overrated construct. We're all brilliant, all geniuses in our own way and the road to excellence is paved with desire and hard work and when you break through we all want some of what you've got.
Especially when you can repeat the trick, too often today you're a one hit wonder, you own the scene for a summer, then you disappear, can you hear me Robin Thicke?
And then there's Luke Bryan. Who has a smidge of charisma but is not trading solely on it, who looks like someone who was your frat brother in Georgia, the one who played all the parties and drove to Nashville to make it. And we all know people like this, most come back with their tail between their legs, but a few break through. And most use their newfound fame to join the parade of the fabulous, to live behind gates and go to parties the rest of us are never invited to. But these country guys, they don't seem to change, they seem to still be the same people, thrilled that they're traveling this great country of ours in a plethora of buses picking Les Pauls to the adulation of a throng of thrilled fans.
It's a communal rite.
And it may not be forever, little is.
But it feels so damn good today.
"And she said, play it again, play it again
And I said, play it again, play it again, play it again"
Spotify playlist: http://spoti.fi/1tbvXFk
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I've been listening to the radio all night long"
I couldn't believe it was really him.
I know I rail against albums, I know I decry the state of modern music, but the truth is I know every lick on Luke Bryan's "Crash My Party" and I've been looking forward to his appearance at the Hollywood Bowl since May, playing the tracks over and over again on my phone. I felt like an adolescent, paying my dues in regular life living for the event that's going to change my life. Maybe that's what the gig really is, a cementing of our bond with the artist, proving that we truly are attached.
Now as a result of the infamous L.A. traffic I missed most of Cole Swindell's opening set, which irked me, but when Lee Brice took the stage I told myself...I could do that.
Not really. But in an era where we're overloaded with slick productions no one can humanly re-create Brice and his band were on stage with no hard drive help singing songs whose meaning I could understand and relate to, it might not have been edgy but the experience was one I was familiar with, you see it began with the Beatles. Sure, we loved their music, we adored them, but they also inspired us to pick up instruments and play, practice and form bands, we needed to not only get closer to the magic but create some ourselves.
And that's what they're doing in Nashville, capturing magic and distributing it to those who care, and if that population is not enough you're Taylor Swift, desirous of being the biggest and reaching everybody when the truth is we're all human, and now that Taylor has achieved her goal she can no longer live her life, date in private, make mistakes, and that's what we all want to do.
For a fabulous town I did not see a single celebrity at last night's gig. But I did see 18,000 people who knew every word, who had their hands in the air singing along at the top of their lungs. They were communing with the music, they were making it their own, and there's few such enjoyable moments in life.
THAT'S MY KIND OF NIGHT
"Might sit down on my diamond plate tailgate
Put in my country ride hip-hop mixtape
Little Conway, a little T-Pain, might just make it rain"
And there you have it right there, the conundrum of today mixed in with some derision. Yes, that's the complaint about Luke, the lyrics, that it's all about trucks and scantily-clad babes, and some of it is, but the production is so damn good, the changes so infectious that you can't help but get caught up in the groove and sing along.
Not to yesterday's country music, there's no western in these songs. They're a curious hybrid of rock and country and rap. Hell, we heard "Timber" and other hits of the day between acts. That's right, all the genres are intertwining, and if you're a purist who hates rap and country you're gonna be left out, sorry.
KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE
It's the sound of the guitar, something Tom Petty specialized in, back when he knew great tracks were not only about sound and attitude, but changes too. And "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" has them.
I discovered this high in the mountains, hiking listening to every Luke Bryan track extant, it immediately jumped out, which is what we're all looking for, something that embraces us with eight arms that won't let go that we think is only our own when the truth is it's everybody's.
ROLLER COASTER
"She's like a song playin' over and over
In my mind, where I still hold her
I had the chance and I should've told her"
Should you? Let them know how you feel?
It's easy when you're married, when you're committed, but before that, when you can't get them out of your mind, when you can't sleep because you're fantasizing and wondering whether they feel the same way you do... Can you reach out and be honest? Or are you too inhibited?
We don't live in an honest society.
But that's what we want so much.
And until we figure it out we want a track to ride shotgun and empower us to be our best selves.
"Roller Coaster" went to number one. Maybe because Luke Bryan is the biggest act in country music. But the truth is we've all got our summer memories, romances that were unanticipated, that we thought were flings but ultimately realized were not.
THIS IS HOW WE ROLL
"The mixtape's got a little Hank, little Drake
A little something bumping, thump, thumping on the wheel ride"
And you wonder why Florida Georgia Line's album entered last week's chart at number one... That's right, those guys you despise captured the cultural zeitgeist better than any other act this year.
The truth is everybody's multicultural, Drake's a half black Jewish rapper who rules his domain and you don't have to be an inner city denizen to adore his music.
"Yeah, we're proud to be young
We stick to our guns
We love who we love and we wanna have fun
Yeah, we cuss on them Mondays
And pray on them Sundays
Pass it around and we dream of that one day"
That's Luke's part on the original, he sang it along with cowriter Cole Swindell last night. And you might abhor the gun and religion references, but the truth is on some level life never changes, we reach adolescence, we imbibe, we test limits and then we go back to doing what's expected of us.
Same as it ever was.
DRINK A BEER
"When I got the news today
I didn't know what to say
So I just hung up the phone"
We've all gotten that call. Sometimes just a voice mail pregnant with bad news. Our hearts are at loose ends, we don't know where to turn.
"I took a walk to clear my head
This is where the walking led
Can't believe you're really gone
Don't feel like going home"
This is the song that made me a Luke Bryan fan. Because I'm a sentimental wuss, I remember all that once happened and never will again, and the people who are no longer here to experience it.
The ones cut down too young by cancer.
The ones flummoxed who took their own lives.
The ones who lost their lives through no fault of their own, unlucky in life.
There's a resignation in the vocal, an ability to keep putting one foot in front of the other, but in a haze.
COUNTRY GIRL (SHAKE IT FOR ME)
So what we've got here is a bunch of not so young men singing songs whose words we understand and relate to atop tracks with hooks so sharp you cannot emerge unscathed.
And not everybody is aware. But those who are need to go to the show the way you need to buy a new iPhone. They need to put on their jeans and boots, maybe sneakers, trucker caps and cowboy hats, and drink and dance and have fun.
And if you follow the news you know that's tough, life is depressing. But you scratch up some dough and even if you're way in the back you feel included, it's a big tent. Some may be Republicans, some may be Democrats, but at the country show it doesn't matter.
And since the politically correct police are absent the big screen features booty-shaking and flirting and all the stuff those with legislative power are trying to exorcise from everyday life. Sure, bad things happen, but life is for the living, for the playing, and you never feel as alive as you do at a country show, where the humanity is in evidence, people performing who grew up in Fresno and other godforsaken backwaters and practiced so hard that they got roles in the country music circus, where how you look is secondary to how you can play.
PLAY IT AGAIN AGAIN
"Sittin' 'round waitin' for it to come on and here it is"
That's right, I waited the entire summer and now it's gone.
I'm not exactly sure what I experienced. Luke jumped up and down, pranced on stage, but to him it was just another night, he didn't strut, didn't demand adulation, he was just doing his job, singing songs we all knew by heart. Usually they beat their chest and keep telling us how much better they are than us, can you hear me Kanye?
And the truth is some of us are smarter than others, but genius is an overrated construct. We're all brilliant, all geniuses in our own way and the road to excellence is paved with desire and hard work and when you break through we all want some of what you've got.
Especially when you can repeat the trick, too often today you're a one hit wonder, you own the scene for a summer, then you disappear, can you hear me Robin Thicke?
And then there's Luke Bryan. Who has a smidge of charisma but is not trading solely on it, who looks like someone who was your frat brother in Georgia, the one who played all the parties and drove to Nashville to make it. And we all know people like this, most come back with their tail between their legs, but a few break through. And most use their newfound fame to join the parade of the fabulous, to live behind gates and go to parties the rest of us are never invited to. But these country guys, they don't seem to change, they seem to still be the same people, thrilled that they're traveling this great country of ours in a plethora of buses picking Les Pauls to the adulation of a throng of thrilled fans.
It's a communal rite.
And it may not be forever, little is.
But it feels so damn good today.
"And she said, play it again, play it again
And I said, play it again, play it again, play it again"
Spotify playlist: http://spoti.fi/1tbvXFk
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
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