My vote doesn't count. I live in California, one of the last primary states. Clinton is gonna win the nomination, Sanders's success is mathematically impossible. As for a convention fight... That hasn't worked out too well in the past.
But I'd be much happier if Bernie was the candidate.
You just can't trust Hillary. AND I'M A DEMOCRAT!
I don't like people who view systems as their plaything and ignore rules, and the e-mail server report illustrates that Clinton views herself as above the law, and that's everything I hate about modern America. You know, the country where there used to be a safety net and if you worked hard you could get ahead. Where we were all seen as equal and you could trust the people in Washington were on your side.
Credibility and character, they're all that matter to me. In both my personal and business lives. Can you count on someone? Will they be there for you in a pinch? If you base your friendships on entertainment and access, purely fun times, you're utilizing the wrong criteria. You want people who are compassionate, who won't abandon you. But once our nation became every man for himself, in the Reagan eighties, the spoils have gone to those who've ignored the systems, whether it be financiers or techies. Even worse, those presently in control don't want to let go. Rather than revolutionize their enterprise, take risks, be exposed to failure, they want to rig the system so they can continue to win. And that's plain ugly. Because the future outs no matter what. And it's the people who've revolted against high entertainment prices, and it's the people who are revolutionizing our political system.
Of course Hillary looks good on paper. She's EXPERIENCED! I don't want an amateur who's viewed YouTube clips to perform my surgery and I respect dues, the time someone has put in in pursuit of becoming not only competent, but expert.
Unlike Donald Trump. A know-nothing whipping up support via false promises.
Hillary's vision is on my side. But there's little center to it. She's constantly wavering, testing the wind, and we all know that those who poll, who go to the research, can tell you where we've been, but can never tell you where we're going.
And the fact that an aged Jewish socialist from Vermont can nearly topple the Clinton machine is testimony to how weak her candidacy is, as well as the public's hunger for change.
You remember the public, right? Those who've gotten ever less and have not shared in the spoils of the economic recovery. Even the "New York Times" featured an inane piece how the economy won't affect the election. HUH? You can point to GDP and unemployment figures all day long, but I don't feel like I'm getting ahead and neither does everybody else. And politics, like entertainment, is a business of perception. It's not how many records you sell, it's how many people THINK you sell! Ditto on tickets, Madonna's tour of the States was an economic dud, but did one media outlet print that? No, everybody just poured on the accolades, too dumb and inexperienced or too overworked to do the research or wanting access to the Material Girl. That moniker was a joke back then, today it's the truth.
Material is everything. How did two people who devoted themselves to public service get so damn rich? The Clintons worked their connections and curried favor and are beholden to the same damn people and interests those of us who've been kept down abhor. Gimme some truth. There's none of it with Clinton. She's smart and educated but sold out.
Which is why I'm predicting Trump will win.
Come on you holier-than-thou liberals attacking the man for being a flailing idiot with insane policies. Don't you get it, people want CHANGE! On the right AND left! And despite Donald's policies being beyond questionable, it's Clinton and her ilk who everybody's pissed at. The "Inside the Beltway" crowd with no clue how the rest of us live. They think the world is their plaything, and it bugs me to no end.
This election is not about facts, but FEELINGS!
Yes, the fact is Bernie's platform is based on flawed economics, but he's gunning for the right solutions, I FEEL he cares about me, I FEEL he's on my side, not like a benevolent boss but another man in the trenches. And never underestimate that. You don't want to be in a foxhole with someone who'll abandon you after you're shot.
I was playing the odds. I was intellectualizing. It was Hillary's time. She's got the most miles under her belt. She'll appoint a reasonable Supreme Court justice, maybe two or three.
But then I realized the rest of the country didn't see it my way. That people were pissed and no amount of reasoning could get them to sell their souls for four more years of no progress for the less than rich individual.
Yes, my vote for Bernie is a protest. Against Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who tried to rig the nomination for Hillary. And all the media which ignored Bernie before attacking him. They're like the record companies, they love the devil they already know.
And if you want to avoid the Trump presidency, if you want Hillary to win because she's the best of two very bad options, then I ask you to start taking Bernie and Trump seriously. And realize the whole game is in play. And that the world has changed. The right is threatening because voters feel ignored and short-changed. Larry Summers says we need economic stimulus but taxes have a bad name and why is the Republican party beholden to the anti-abortionists and religious zealots when they're a distinct minority and most people want the ability to choose and a government sans religion.
And I could trace the right's efforts to control the country via talk radio and Fox News and the Federalist Society, but the truth is the left became complacent too, allowed itself to be tugged to the middle and become beholden to money, representing the underclass, never mind the middle class, poorly.
Pretty screwed up, I know.
But we're closer to revolution than we were in the sixties. Today it's not so much about war but opportunity. We've got a strongman on the right spewing falsehoods and changing his mind willy-nilly, but one thing he's doing is giving his constituents hope. And if you think Hillary's done that, you don't need it, you've already got yours.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. But everything the prognosticators have told us is wrong. You can't trust the data. It's every man for himself.
And it's time to stop triangulating and do what's right, say what's right, stand up for justice.
And the only person doing that is Bernie.
So I'm for him.
Because you're either part of the problem or part of the solution.
And when the reckoning comes, I want to be able to look in the mirror and say I did the right thing, that I was honest, that I had credibility, that I had character, that I was a good citizen on the side of the people as opposed to a nitwit or party apparatchik steering this great nation of ours off a cliff.
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Thursday 26 May 2016
Peter Thiel and Gawker
This is what happens when people have too much money.
They distort not only the legal system, they tear the basic fabric of our country apart.
We revere the rich, believing they made it upon hard work, but the truth is not only do they have educational and family advantages, they bend the rules repeatedly to win. Meanwhile, they tell everybody else to just pick themselves up by their bootstraps so they too can succeed, which is utter hogwash. If you think Trump made his money by being honest and forthright you have no idea how business works, you can't handle the truth.
Thiel is a guy who wants to eviscerate college, create a unique layer of super-tech titans, and have you pay fealty all the while. At least, unlike the bankers, his fortune is predicated upon the establishment of useful ventures, but now he wants to wag the tail of the dog, run the rest of us, and that's not right.
And speaking of fortunes, what is PayPal worth if we don't use it?
Think about that, we're sheep headed to slaughter. We protested in the sixties and we're all about eviscerating unions in the twenty first century. We demonize immigrants, we think everybody's standing in our way, not knowing the game is rigged and the only way to wield power is to join together, but we're so busy bullying each other, pushing each other DOWN the greased ladder, desirous of reaching the heights, that we can't see that there's a gap in the structure, there are no steps to the top, those who've reached the pinnacle have no intention of letting us get there. Whether it's fat cats in Malibu flaunting a law that gives the public access to their beaches or their brethren avoiding taxes, there's a giant middle finger pointed at the middle class, meanwhile these "icons" get fawning press and adoration.
That's what pissed off Peter Thiel, bad press. It's like the guy never had a loss, like he was entitled to sunshine, lollipops and rainbows till the end of time. But that's not how life works, you experience the hard knocks and try to cope. And it used to be that money couldn't help with most of the travails.
But today some people have so much money it's tilted the playing field. Hell, the Kochs just got a LAW SCHOOL named in their honor. The little people, the academics, raised a ruckus, but they were no match for the cash, which Koch had donated. This serial polluter who has silently financed candidates and made you believe there's a plethora of tea partiers out there who resent the status quo when the truth is it's the fat cats who incited the far right.
And for every corporation that refuses to do business in Georgia or North Carolina because of social policy, there are scores who are leaving states based on taxes and fighting regulation tooth and nail. It's little different from a narco building soccer fields while torching not only his enemies, but the general public caught in the crossfire.
"Gawker" breaks the law, sue 'em. We have a First Amendment, if it's breached the enterprise is liable. But the law says if someone's a public figure all is fair game unless it's printed with malicious aforethought, and truth is an absolute defense. And Peter Thiel IS gay. So there's nothing to be said, there's no liability for "Valleywag," and it's tough noogies. But it's not, because this dude needed revenge. As if Nick Denton ran society. Hell, politicos and execs laugh at the "New York Times," it's amazing how the Grey Lady can be manipulated, what it doesn't know, and that's the most important media outlet in the world! You ignore bad press and let it go. Furthermore, isn't all press good press?
No one likes Nick Denton. Certainly not before his recent relationship and attendant mellowing. His enterprise is worth many fewer zeros than those of the titans. But he's got a right to exist, and isn't it the right, and ultimately the job, of the press to keep the playing field even?
Most people didn't care that "Valleywag" outed Peter Thiel. But they did care about the Hulk Hogan case, because it was paraded all over the news, especially the trial. Despicable people doing despicable things. But that's America, where the sideshow is the main show. This case would have gotten no traction without Thiel's backing. Because that's how the system works. It's about deep pockets and access to money and before some had BILLIONS the system worked okay.
But now it's been distorted. And to see others come out and defend Thiel makes me puke. Is this how far we've come? That a "wronged' guy bends the system to his own will? This is more like Russia than the United States, where oligarchs rule until Putin grabs power and pushes them down.
We've all been pushed down in America. Our only hope is the media, artists and us. The media has to keep the transgressors accountable. The artists have to speak the truth. And we have to stand together, with a backbone, for what's right, knowing without our dollars, without our spending power, the whole system grinds to a halt.
Instead, the press prints glowing reviews of everybody with a buck, they're the ones who built up not only Trump, but every Silicon Valley "disrupter." And the artists just want what the billionaires have, meanwhile partaking of their goodies along the way, not only the private plane trips, but the overcompensated private gigs. The fat cats can see every star up close and personal, with only a small circle of friends. You and me can't get a ticket, because even at the public show these rich bastards buy up all the good seats, they're the ones driving up the prices. And the artists keep looking for sponsorships and you can't go to an event that's not supported by some heinous corporation. Meanwhile, you and me are the enablers. We don't seek the truth and we never execute our power, we just put our trust in the untrustable.
Hulk Hogan would have sat at home and steamed. People would have forgotten there was a sex tape, if they ever knew at all. At best he would have sued and settled and we all would have moved on.
But NO! Some jerk decided to distort the game, diverting attention from worthy subjects, doing his best to put the perpetrator, in this case "Gawker," out of business. Drug-taking, fake-wrestling, screwing their friends' wives athletes get to triumph, but those ferreting out truth under the law are not.
We may not be able to prosecute Peter Thiel, but we can shame him. We can refuse to do business with him. We can mention his shenanigans every time his name comes up.
But we won't. Because we revere the business titans. They're stars.
Even though they're messing up this great nation of ours, even though one of their ilk may very well become President.
This is not change we can believe in.
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They distort not only the legal system, they tear the basic fabric of our country apart.
We revere the rich, believing they made it upon hard work, but the truth is not only do they have educational and family advantages, they bend the rules repeatedly to win. Meanwhile, they tell everybody else to just pick themselves up by their bootstraps so they too can succeed, which is utter hogwash. If you think Trump made his money by being honest and forthright you have no idea how business works, you can't handle the truth.
Thiel is a guy who wants to eviscerate college, create a unique layer of super-tech titans, and have you pay fealty all the while. At least, unlike the bankers, his fortune is predicated upon the establishment of useful ventures, but now he wants to wag the tail of the dog, run the rest of us, and that's not right.
And speaking of fortunes, what is PayPal worth if we don't use it?
Think about that, we're sheep headed to slaughter. We protested in the sixties and we're all about eviscerating unions in the twenty first century. We demonize immigrants, we think everybody's standing in our way, not knowing the game is rigged and the only way to wield power is to join together, but we're so busy bullying each other, pushing each other DOWN the greased ladder, desirous of reaching the heights, that we can't see that there's a gap in the structure, there are no steps to the top, those who've reached the pinnacle have no intention of letting us get there. Whether it's fat cats in Malibu flaunting a law that gives the public access to their beaches or their brethren avoiding taxes, there's a giant middle finger pointed at the middle class, meanwhile these "icons" get fawning press and adoration.
That's what pissed off Peter Thiel, bad press. It's like the guy never had a loss, like he was entitled to sunshine, lollipops and rainbows till the end of time. But that's not how life works, you experience the hard knocks and try to cope. And it used to be that money couldn't help with most of the travails.
But today some people have so much money it's tilted the playing field. Hell, the Kochs just got a LAW SCHOOL named in their honor. The little people, the academics, raised a ruckus, but they were no match for the cash, which Koch had donated. This serial polluter who has silently financed candidates and made you believe there's a plethora of tea partiers out there who resent the status quo when the truth is it's the fat cats who incited the far right.
And for every corporation that refuses to do business in Georgia or North Carolina because of social policy, there are scores who are leaving states based on taxes and fighting regulation tooth and nail. It's little different from a narco building soccer fields while torching not only his enemies, but the general public caught in the crossfire.
"Gawker" breaks the law, sue 'em. We have a First Amendment, if it's breached the enterprise is liable. But the law says if someone's a public figure all is fair game unless it's printed with malicious aforethought, and truth is an absolute defense. And Peter Thiel IS gay. So there's nothing to be said, there's no liability for "Valleywag," and it's tough noogies. But it's not, because this dude needed revenge. As if Nick Denton ran society. Hell, politicos and execs laugh at the "New York Times," it's amazing how the Grey Lady can be manipulated, what it doesn't know, and that's the most important media outlet in the world! You ignore bad press and let it go. Furthermore, isn't all press good press?
No one likes Nick Denton. Certainly not before his recent relationship and attendant mellowing. His enterprise is worth many fewer zeros than those of the titans. But he's got a right to exist, and isn't it the right, and ultimately the job, of the press to keep the playing field even?
Most people didn't care that "Valleywag" outed Peter Thiel. But they did care about the Hulk Hogan case, because it was paraded all over the news, especially the trial. Despicable people doing despicable things. But that's America, where the sideshow is the main show. This case would have gotten no traction without Thiel's backing. Because that's how the system works. It's about deep pockets and access to money and before some had BILLIONS the system worked okay.
But now it's been distorted. And to see others come out and defend Thiel makes me puke. Is this how far we've come? That a "wronged' guy bends the system to his own will? This is more like Russia than the United States, where oligarchs rule until Putin grabs power and pushes them down.
We've all been pushed down in America. Our only hope is the media, artists and us. The media has to keep the transgressors accountable. The artists have to speak the truth. And we have to stand together, with a backbone, for what's right, knowing without our dollars, without our spending power, the whole system grinds to a halt.
Instead, the press prints glowing reviews of everybody with a buck, they're the ones who built up not only Trump, but every Silicon Valley "disrupter." And the artists just want what the billionaires have, meanwhile partaking of their goodies along the way, not only the private plane trips, but the overcompensated private gigs. The fat cats can see every star up close and personal, with only a small circle of friends. You and me can't get a ticket, because even at the public show these rich bastards buy up all the good seats, they're the ones driving up the prices. And the artists keep looking for sponsorships and you can't go to an event that's not supported by some heinous corporation. Meanwhile, you and me are the enablers. We don't seek the truth and we never execute our power, we just put our trust in the untrustable.
Hulk Hogan would have sat at home and steamed. People would have forgotten there was a sex tape, if they ever knew at all. At best he would have sued and settled and we all would have moved on.
But NO! Some jerk decided to distort the game, diverting attention from worthy subjects, doing his best to put the perpetrator, in this case "Gawker," out of business. Drug-taking, fake-wrestling, screwing their friends' wives athletes get to triumph, but those ferreting out truth under the law are not.
We may not be able to prosecute Peter Thiel, but we can shame him. We can refuse to do business with him. We can mention his shenanigans every time his name comes up.
But we won't. Because we revere the business titans. They're stars.
Even though they're messing up this great nation of ours, even though one of their ilk may very well become President.
This is not change we can believe in.
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Wednesday 25 May 2016
Mid-Period Stones
Spotify link: https://goo.gl/S6Vfld
This is the era that built the band's reputation. Sure, tons of hits came earlier, which were documented so well on the 1966 compilation "Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass)," but it was after this that the band truly started testing limits, showing they were more than a hit machine, it's these works which truly made the band legendary.
THEIR SATANIC MAJESTIES REQUEST
Released for Christmas '67, this LP is seen as a giant misfire, a poor imitation of the Beatles, inspired by their legendary "Sgt. Pepper." But if this came out today, by a star band, it would be seen as a solid effort. Alas, back then you actually had to buy music, so that which was not laden with hits sat in the bins. Sure, the Beatles ushered in the album era, but it wasn't until a couple of years later, certainly the seventies, that so many got the message. There might have been underground FM radio in San Francisco and New York in 1967, but elsewhere it was years away.
"She's A Rainbow"
This is as close to a hit as "Satanic Majesties" contains. Upbeat but complicated it hearkened back to what came before yet was most certainly innovative. Furthermore, it's dated not a whit. If you were there back then, paying attention, you'll nod your head. If you're a newbie you'll be stunned how poppy the track is. There's this canard that the bands of yore were so busy testing limits that they didn't care about either melody or commercialism, this is patently untrue. You get this on one listen, it's more enticing than seemingly everything on Active Rock radio today.
"2000 Light Years From Home"
The piece de resistance, the reason you bought "Satanic Majesties," an almost five minute journey into outer space when that was truly the final frontier and "Star Trek" ruled and we hadn't yet been to the moon.
The goal was to get a big rig stereo, but this sounds good even on small systems, and is especially good on headphones. The song speaks of alienation, a core concept of the era, funny how Bernie and Trump are appealing to this segment of the population but the acts are busy being upbeat and telling us how much better they are than us. Art is about having more questions than answers. And that's how the Stones broke through, when they were still close to broke and no one knew Mick went to the London School Of Economics.
"Citadel"
What a riff! With a memorable chorus to boot!
Most people don't know this, but if you play it twice you can't get it out of your head, you've got to play it ad infinitum, truly a find.
"In Another Land"
A Bill Wyman track which is a period piece that entranced me back then and that I still like today.
BEGGARS BANQUET
Was released at the same time as the White Album. But unlike the Beatles, the Stones were coming off a stiff, few were waiting with bated breath, furthermore, in the U.S. the cover resembled that of the White Album in its simplicity, so the record was considered an afterthought by many.
BUT IT'S NOT!
Arguably the best Stones LP ever, "Beggars Banquet" was unexpected and broke new ground by being more simplistic, instead of adding more the band took it down to the studs, and the result is staggering, a journey into the minds of artists that we just want to get closer to.
"Sympathy For The Devil"
This was not a hit! It only gained notoriety in the wake of "Let It Bleed" and the Altamont movie, "Gimme Shelter." Funny to think the band was once considered dangerous, that they were aligned with dark forces, but this track enhanced that reputation.
"Street Fighting Man"
Ditto. Its fame came with time. Furthermore, despite the anarchy of 1968, this was seen as a bit inauthentic. The Bay Area bands could own the revolution, but these English cats? Not really.
"Stray Cat Blues"
Listen to the intro, with the alternating male and female moans... This is the most dangerous cut on the LP, this was the true rock and roll ethos, bands of boys going on the road and taking advantage.
"I can see that you're fifteen years old
No, I don't want your ID"
Underage girls, the rockers were famous for them. It was a different era, one in which you could even put these words on wax.
"No Expectations"
Where Rod Stewart got the sound he made famous on his first three albums. This country-influenced number is everything today's Nashville's hits are not. Funny how the Tennessee town is imitating the rock of yesteryear yet the progenitors were in thrall to the crooners of yore.
"Dear Doctor"
Risk rewards. Instead of trying to create radio-friendly fodder, the Stones dropped an even more country-influenced track, which despite its at times tongue-in-cheek vocal ends up being authentic. The kind of track you sing along to at home, it's just you and the record.
"Parachute Woman"
Hooky, an immediate groove, this sound is the backbone of "Exile On Main Street." This track got no traction back when but it's beloved today. It's infectious. Rock would rule if there was one cut as magical as this today.
"Factory Girl"
There are no factories and the musicians are all screwing models.
Most people don't align with perfect 10's. Furthermore, exterior is far from everything. You don't want someone looking over your shoulder, but someone who loves you.
"Salt Of The Earth"
There's not a dud on "Beggars Banquet," you can listen from start to finish without lifting the needle, without pressing "skip." One of Keith's best vocals, the way the track transitions from a low production acoustic number to a kitchen sink production works, what a finish!
P.S. Eventually the original bathroom stall cover was released in the U.S., but our nation is still puritanical. The Stones, Jimi with "Electric Ladyland" and "Queen" with "Bicycle Race"...the artwork was seen as too much for Americans, no wonder we were in thrall to these English cats who tested limits.
LET IT BLEED
My favorite Stones LP, a return to production, a cornucopia of sounds, it's "Sticky Fingers" that gets all the love, but "Let It Bleed" was just a bit less obvious, a bit more soulful.
"Gimmie Shelter"
There was nothing like dropping the needle on this gem. It got little airplay but it became a bedroom staple. Some tracks are just undeniable. Meanwhile, credit Merry Clayton for adding an exuberance, a sexuality that puts the track over the top, the same way the female vocal does at the end of "Exile"'s "Let It Loose."
"Midnight Rambler"
Once upon a time there really was a Boston Strangler, the sixties were a dark era. This cut ended up being the highlight of the live show, with Mick's scarf thrusts and lighting changes. You've got to love a track that changes tempo.
"You Can't Always Get What You Want"
A choir and then Al Kooper's French horn and then poignant lyrics in a seven and a half minute track that accelerates into hyperspace...WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT?
There used to be a Chelsea Drugstore, it was ultimately featured in "A Clockwork Orange," I made a pilgrimage, the place was relatively benign but I tingled walking through the inspiration for this masterpiece.
Yes, it was a one listen smash. But it wasn't until "Sticky Fingers" that everybody was on board. Fans were thrilled, but it wasn't until "The Big Chill" that this track became iconic, deservedly so!
"You Got The Silver"
Possibly Keith's best vocal ever, a magical cut, I prefer it to "Happy."
"Monkey Man"
That twinkly sound, that riffing guitar, this was an explosion in your brain, it's cuts like these that cemented the rock revolution. Just an album track, but unique in its own right. It twists and turns and if you hear this and don't want to go on the road with the band...YOU'RE NO FUN!
"Live With Me"
The first side's "Monkey Man." Almost as good. Every cut on "Let It Bleed" is a winner. Put it in the time capsule, it was on the tour for this LP that the act first got the moniker "The World's Greatest Rock And Roll Band."
GET YER YA-YA'S OUT
"Sympathy For The Devil"
In its slowed-down live iteration, it's all about the groove. Be sure to wait for the solos, they're the highlight of the LP, you grimace and wince, playing your air guitar, this album doesn't live up to its hype as one of the best live LPs ever, but Mick Taylor was now in the band and the unit reached new heights, he drove them there, Ronnie Wood fits the image, is friends with Keith, but Taylor was more lyrical, he stretched Keith, he's a legend who deserves credit.
STICKY FINGERS
The victory lap, the Beatles were toast, the Stones were the biggest act in the world and it's this album that made them such.
"Brown Sugar"
The party didn't start until this played. It was the weekend anthem. You poured down your drink, you got up and boogied, it freed you from your inhibitions, it's pure magic from start to finish, and one cannot write about it without mentioning the great work of the gone and seemingly forgotten Ian Stewart and Bobby Keys.
"Sister Morphine"
My favorite track on the album. Dark and sincere. Never a hit single, rarely played on the radio, no one who grew their hair out did not know it.
"Moonlight Mile"
So subtle, so good. It finished and you felt abandoned. They took you to the edge of the park in the dark and left you there. No one ever talks about this anymore, but this is GENIUS!
"Can't You Hear Me Knocking"
Mick Taylor's coming out party, a fully-integrated member of the band, Taylor shines and then in the second half of the track he obliterates you, so exquisite, so lyrical, with Bobby Keys adding flavor.
Everything on "Sticky Fingers" is great, it's just that the whole LP is a bit more obvious and less dark than what came before, and for those us living in the land of alienation we found it a bit less appealing, but that's like comparing Gehrig and Ruth, Jordan and Pippen, it's all fantastic!
EXILE ON MAIN STREET
Straight to number one and then straight to the dumper. Everybody who heard "Sticky Fingers" wanted to own it, but without hits it didn't sustain. And it was a step back from the obviousness of "Sticky Fingers." "Exile" requires dedication to understand, to get. Put in the time, it's worth the reward.
"Tumbling Dice"
The single that got more juice, more of a hearing, when Linda Ronstadt covered it!
The mix wasn't right. The vocal was buried. The hook wasn't obvious. But if you saw the band live in this era, they could lock on to the groove, and the chorus became majestic. Still, the band seemed to have forgotten how to write a hit, and hits help sell the product, never forget that.
However, with the Beatles finished, with AOR rampant, with "Rolling Stone" respectable, the band's summer tour was a story so big it's hard to fathom today. It's as if you put Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Jay Z, Kenny Chesney and Paul McCartney on the same bill and then brought Tupac back from the dead. There was not a publication that did not cover it, it was the apotheosis of the impact of rock and roll, it was the boomers' victory lap, they'd won, they'd taken over.
"Soul Survivor"
Knowing I was going to see the band, I played this double LP all night and this was the first cut that jumped out, with the staccato, machine gun, guitar.
"Loving Cup"
Phish covers this. It fits their style perfectly. A tight band that starts off in one place and then journeys to another. If this were on "Let It Bleed" it would be better known, but it works on every level.
"Let It Loose"
Probably the best track on "Exile," stay until the end, with the female wail, it's as if she's in the throes of sexual ecstasy and once again you want to get closer, the Stones have done this better than any band, they're the circus you want to join.
"Casino Boogie"
Talk about capturing lightning in a bottle... It's loose, but tight. You can't help but nod your head. Riffs are all fine and dandy, but groove is the essence of the magic, it's when you touch people's souls that you become a legend.
"Ventilator Blues"
"When your spine is CRACKIN'!"
This is what you get when bands are in control as opposed to labels. When it's about music as opposed to money. This has got more power, more nougat, than a slew of Top Forty hits, it evidences humanity and power, if you know "Exile" you know this!
"I Just Want To See His Face"
Where did this come from?
You're sitting at home, in the dark, alone, the record is playing and suddenly there's this subtlety, this otherworldly sound coming out of the speakers. Another Mick Taylor gem. He took the band into places it's never returned to.
And, of course, "Exile" contains Keith's anthem "Happy," the Angela Davis tribute "Sweet Black Angel," and it's hard to mention "Ventilator" without including "Stop Breaking Down," but the truth is for being such a famous album "Exile" is essentially unknown, it's a Dead Sea Scroll hiding in plain sight, but no one wants to take the time to learn the language, to listen to all 18 tracks. Considered to be too long, an unnecessary double disc package way back when, every cut now seems essential on this project that easily fits on one CD.
GOATS HEAD SOUP
A disappointment, a misfire, the whole world was watching and the Stones just couldn't deliver, there was no exceptional cut, nothing to hook you, just a bunch of good stuff, and when you're the Stones, that's not good enough.
"Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)"
My favorite song on the album, the lyrics tell a story, the changes in amplitude hook you, the sounds too, but there's nothing else on the album quite as good.
"Silver Train"
What kind of a world do we live in where Johnny Winter does a better version of your second side opener than you?
"Star Star"
The song with the advance hype, it would have had more success if the title included the F-word, but the truth is it's a middling Chuck Berry rip-off, something you can enjoy that leaves you kind of blah. Not an anthem, but they meant it to be. The Stones seemed to be so busy living the life of the rich and famous that they lost touch with the street.
"Can You Hear The Music"
A minor, totally forgotten cut, it's an unheralded number which is the heart of the LP, if only they cut out the stabs for stardom and focused on this more intimate stuff.
"Winter"
Ditto on this. Great atmosphere.
"Hide Your Love"
Great groove, great vocal, another unheralded winner. Rock was sterilized when you had umpteen tracks and the ability to comp the vocal, bands haven't locked on with each other for eons.
IT'S ONLY ROCK 'N ROLL
Another bummer. The band had lost the formula. Less commercially successful than its predecessor, this album was better, but it all ran together.
"It's Only Rock 'n Roll"
More famous for its title than its music. A middling hit back in '74. Eh.
"Ain't Too Proud To Beg"
A total winner. A Temptations cover that succeeds on its own merits, because of its instrumentation and Mick's impassioned vocal, the best cut on the LP, worth listening to, you'll smile.
"Time Waits For No One"
Mick Taylor's swan song, this is the second best cut on the album. Pay heed to his fingerwork, listeners knew how great this was back when, but fewer were paying attention than in the "Sticky Fingers" era, even though you wouldn't know that based on the press.
BLACK AND BLUE
Seen as an album of odds and ends, a pastiche best avoided, it's funny how this album has only grown in stature over time, its rather stripped-down sound is more accessible than that on the two LPs that preceded it, it was an empty calorie listen way back when, but today it's filling and fulfilling.
"Hot Stuff"
Seen as trend-following disco drivel in '76 the aging process has aided it, but it's still a half-baked dud.
"Hand Of Fate"
The second best cut on "Black And Blue" it got no airplay back then, it seemingly didn't exist, but it gets love today. This would fit in perfectly with their '69-'72 canon, a great groove, a one listen like.
"Fool To Cry"
An actual hit, as opposed to the misfires from previous LPs, it went all the way to number 9 in the U.S., eclipsing "It's Only Rock 'n Roll"'s number 16, but it was weird and wimpy, syrupy, yet still Stones-like. You didn't hate it, but you didn't love it.
"Crazy Mama"
Better than "Silver Train" and "Star Star" on "Goats Head Soup," maybe it's the production that puts it over the top. Completely minor, but inoffensive.
And then comes...
"Memory Motel"
This track came back to life when Mick duetted with Dave Matthews and the result was included on the 1998 live album "No Security," but before that you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone but a hard core fan who knew it. But if you purchased "Black And Blue," and not many did, it wasn't a stiff but it was far from a hit, you discovered this gem at the end of side one.
It's a journey, a story, it humanized the band, and as the song wore to the conclusion of its seven minutes there was an element of majesty.
"You're just a memory
And you used to mean so much to me"
Was that the Stones?
Most of their contemporaries had faded with the sixties. The Stones had carried on and hit new peaks, but now despite beaucoup box office, the legend outstripped the art, this was back when albums still counted, before live was everything, before the LP was just the blueprint for the show.
Who knew a renaissance was just around the corner?
That's right, now including Ron Wood in the place of Mick Taylor, the band dropped a bomb back in '77, when no one was expecting it, the act freshened its sound and delivered an indelible one listen song that dominated not only the airwaves but the house parties as "Brown Sugar" had half a decade before.
Who knew Mick and Keith had "Miss You" in them? Who knew there were Puerto Rican girls just dyin' to meet them? Who knew they could cover the Temps' "Just My Imagination" even more successfully than they covered "Ain't Too Proud To Beg"? Who knew they could break down the sound and lock into the groove of "Beast Of Burden"?
When the Glimmer Twins had their backs to the wall they delivered.
But it was what came before that they built their rep upon.
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This is the era that built the band's reputation. Sure, tons of hits came earlier, which were documented so well on the 1966 compilation "Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass)," but it was after this that the band truly started testing limits, showing they were more than a hit machine, it's these works which truly made the band legendary.
THEIR SATANIC MAJESTIES REQUEST
Released for Christmas '67, this LP is seen as a giant misfire, a poor imitation of the Beatles, inspired by their legendary "Sgt. Pepper." But if this came out today, by a star band, it would be seen as a solid effort. Alas, back then you actually had to buy music, so that which was not laden with hits sat in the bins. Sure, the Beatles ushered in the album era, but it wasn't until a couple of years later, certainly the seventies, that so many got the message. There might have been underground FM radio in San Francisco and New York in 1967, but elsewhere it was years away.
"She's A Rainbow"
This is as close to a hit as "Satanic Majesties" contains. Upbeat but complicated it hearkened back to what came before yet was most certainly innovative. Furthermore, it's dated not a whit. If you were there back then, paying attention, you'll nod your head. If you're a newbie you'll be stunned how poppy the track is. There's this canard that the bands of yore were so busy testing limits that they didn't care about either melody or commercialism, this is patently untrue. You get this on one listen, it's more enticing than seemingly everything on Active Rock radio today.
"2000 Light Years From Home"
The piece de resistance, the reason you bought "Satanic Majesties," an almost five minute journey into outer space when that was truly the final frontier and "Star Trek" ruled and we hadn't yet been to the moon.
The goal was to get a big rig stereo, but this sounds good even on small systems, and is especially good on headphones. The song speaks of alienation, a core concept of the era, funny how Bernie and Trump are appealing to this segment of the population but the acts are busy being upbeat and telling us how much better they are than us. Art is about having more questions than answers. And that's how the Stones broke through, when they were still close to broke and no one knew Mick went to the London School Of Economics.
"Citadel"
What a riff! With a memorable chorus to boot!
Most people don't know this, but if you play it twice you can't get it out of your head, you've got to play it ad infinitum, truly a find.
"In Another Land"
A Bill Wyman track which is a period piece that entranced me back then and that I still like today.
BEGGARS BANQUET
Was released at the same time as the White Album. But unlike the Beatles, the Stones were coming off a stiff, few were waiting with bated breath, furthermore, in the U.S. the cover resembled that of the White Album in its simplicity, so the record was considered an afterthought by many.
BUT IT'S NOT!
Arguably the best Stones LP ever, "Beggars Banquet" was unexpected and broke new ground by being more simplistic, instead of adding more the band took it down to the studs, and the result is staggering, a journey into the minds of artists that we just want to get closer to.
"Sympathy For The Devil"
This was not a hit! It only gained notoriety in the wake of "Let It Bleed" and the Altamont movie, "Gimme Shelter." Funny to think the band was once considered dangerous, that they were aligned with dark forces, but this track enhanced that reputation.
"Street Fighting Man"
Ditto. Its fame came with time. Furthermore, despite the anarchy of 1968, this was seen as a bit inauthentic. The Bay Area bands could own the revolution, but these English cats? Not really.
"Stray Cat Blues"
Listen to the intro, with the alternating male and female moans... This is the most dangerous cut on the LP, this was the true rock and roll ethos, bands of boys going on the road and taking advantage.
"I can see that you're fifteen years old
No, I don't want your ID"
Underage girls, the rockers were famous for them. It was a different era, one in which you could even put these words on wax.
"No Expectations"
Where Rod Stewart got the sound he made famous on his first three albums. This country-influenced number is everything today's Nashville's hits are not. Funny how the Tennessee town is imitating the rock of yesteryear yet the progenitors were in thrall to the crooners of yore.
"Dear Doctor"
Risk rewards. Instead of trying to create radio-friendly fodder, the Stones dropped an even more country-influenced track, which despite its at times tongue-in-cheek vocal ends up being authentic. The kind of track you sing along to at home, it's just you and the record.
"Parachute Woman"
Hooky, an immediate groove, this sound is the backbone of "Exile On Main Street." This track got no traction back when but it's beloved today. It's infectious. Rock would rule if there was one cut as magical as this today.
"Factory Girl"
There are no factories and the musicians are all screwing models.
Most people don't align with perfect 10's. Furthermore, exterior is far from everything. You don't want someone looking over your shoulder, but someone who loves you.
"Salt Of The Earth"
There's not a dud on "Beggars Banquet," you can listen from start to finish without lifting the needle, without pressing "skip." One of Keith's best vocals, the way the track transitions from a low production acoustic number to a kitchen sink production works, what a finish!
P.S. Eventually the original bathroom stall cover was released in the U.S., but our nation is still puritanical. The Stones, Jimi with "Electric Ladyland" and "Queen" with "Bicycle Race"...the artwork was seen as too much for Americans, no wonder we were in thrall to these English cats who tested limits.
LET IT BLEED
My favorite Stones LP, a return to production, a cornucopia of sounds, it's "Sticky Fingers" that gets all the love, but "Let It Bleed" was just a bit less obvious, a bit more soulful.
"Gimmie Shelter"
There was nothing like dropping the needle on this gem. It got little airplay but it became a bedroom staple. Some tracks are just undeniable. Meanwhile, credit Merry Clayton for adding an exuberance, a sexuality that puts the track over the top, the same way the female vocal does at the end of "Exile"'s "Let It Loose."
"Midnight Rambler"
Once upon a time there really was a Boston Strangler, the sixties were a dark era. This cut ended up being the highlight of the live show, with Mick's scarf thrusts and lighting changes. You've got to love a track that changes tempo.
"You Can't Always Get What You Want"
A choir and then Al Kooper's French horn and then poignant lyrics in a seven and a half minute track that accelerates into hyperspace...WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT?
There used to be a Chelsea Drugstore, it was ultimately featured in "A Clockwork Orange," I made a pilgrimage, the place was relatively benign but I tingled walking through the inspiration for this masterpiece.
Yes, it was a one listen smash. But it wasn't until "Sticky Fingers" that everybody was on board. Fans were thrilled, but it wasn't until "The Big Chill" that this track became iconic, deservedly so!
"You Got The Silver"
Possibly Keith's best vocal ever, a magical cut, I prefer it to "Happy."
"Monkey Man"
That twinkly sound, that riffing guitar, this was an explosion in your brain, it's cuts like these that cemented the rock revolution. Just an album track, but unique in its own right. It twists and turns and if you hear this and don't want to go on the road with the band...YOU'RE NO FUN!
"Live With Me"
The first side's "Monkey Man." Almost as good. Every cut on "Let It Bleed" is a winner. Put it in the time capsule, it was on the tour for this LP that the act first got the moniker "The World's Greatest Rock And Roll Band."
GET YER YA-YA'S OUT
"Sympathy For The Devil"
In its slowed-down live iteration, it's all about the groove. Be sure to wait for the solos, they're the highlight of the LP, you grimace and wince, playing your air guitar, this album doesn't live up to its hype as one of the best live LPs ever, but Mick Taylor was now in the band and the unit reached new heights, he drove them there, Ronnie Wood fits the image, is friends with Keith, but Taylor was more lyrical, he stretched Keith, he's a legend who deserves credit.
STICKY FINGERS
The victory lap, the Beatles were toast, the Stones were the biggest act in the world and it's this album that made them such.
"Brown Sugar"
The party didn't start until this played. It was the weekend anthem. You poured down your drink, you got up and boogied, it freed you from your inhibitions, it's pure magic from start to finish, and one cannot write about it without mentioning the great work of the gone and seemingly forgotten Ian Stewart and Bobby Keys.
"Sister Morphine"
My favorite track on the album. Dark and sincere. Never a hit single, rarely played on the radio, no one who grew their hair out did not know it.
"Moonlight Mile"
So subtle, so good. It finished and you felt abandoned. They took you to the edge of the park in the dark and left you there. No one ever talks about this anymore, but this is GENIUS!
"Can't You Hear Me Knocking"
Mick Taylor's coming out party, a fully-integrated member of the band, Taylor shines and then in the second half of the track he obliterates you, so exquisite, so lyrical, with Bobby Keys adding flavor.
Everything on "Sticky Fingers" is great, it's just that the whole LP is a bit more obvious and less dark than what came before, and for those us living in the land of alienation we found it a bit less appealing, but that's like comparing Gehrig and Ruth, Jordan and Pippen, it's all fantastic!
EXILE ON MAIN STREET
Straight to number one and then straight to the dumper. Everybody who heard "Sticky Fingers" wanted to own it, but without hits it didn't sustain. And it was a step back from the obviousness of "Sticky Fingers." "Exile" requires dedication to understand, to get. Put in the time, it's worth the reward.
"Tumbling Dice"
The single that got more juice, more of a hearing, when Linda Ronstadt covered it!
The mix wasn't right. The vocal was buried. The hook wasn't obvious. But if you saw the band live in this era, they could lock on to the groove, and the chorus became majestic. Still, the band seemed to have forgotten how to write a hit, and hits help sell the product, never forget that.
However, with the Beatles finished, with AOR rampant, with "Rolling Stone" respectable, the band's summer tour was a story so big it's hard to fathom today. It's as if you put Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Jay Z, Kenny Chesney and Paul McCartney on the same bill and then brought Tupac back from the dead. There was not a publication that did not cover it, it was the apotheosis of the impact of rock and roll, it was the boomers' victory lap, they'd won, they'd taken over.
"Soul Survivor"
Knowing I was going to see the band, I played this double LP all night and this was the first cut that jumped out, with the staccato, machine gun, guitar.
"Loving Cup"
Phish covers this. It fits their style perfectly. A tight band that starts off in one place and then journeys to another. If this were on "Let It Bleed" it would be better known, but it works on every level.
"Let It Loose"
Probably the best track on "Exile," stay until the end, with the female wail, it's as if she's in the throes of sexual ecstasy and once again you want to get closer, the Stones have done this better than any band, they're the circus you want to join.
"Casino Boogie"
Talk about capturing lightning in a bottle... It's loose, but tight. You can't help but nod your head. Riffs are all fine and dandy, but groove is the essence of the magic, it's when you touch people's souls that you become a legend.
"Ventilator Blues"
"When your spine is CRACKIN'!"
This is what you get when bands are in control as opposed to labels. When it's about music as opposed to money. This has got more power, more nougat, than a slew of Top Forty hits, it evidences humanity and power, if you know "Exile" you know this!
"I Just Want To See His Face"
Where did this come from?
You're sitting at home, in the dark, alone, the record is playing and suddenly there's this subtlety, this otherworldly sound coming out of the speakers. Another Mick Taylor gem. He took the band into places it's never returned to.
And, of course, "Exile" contains Keith's anthem "Happy," the Angela Davis tribute "Sweet Black Angel," and it's hard to mention "Ventilator" without including "Stop Breaking Down," but the truth is for being such a famous album "Exile" is essentially unknown, it's a Dead Sea Scroll hiding in plain sight, but no one wants to take the time to learn the language, to listen to all 18 tracks. Considered to be too long, an unnecessary double disc package way back when, every cut now seems essential on this project that easily fits on one CD.
GOATS HEAD SOUP
A disappointment, a misfire, the whole world was watching and the Stones just couldn't deliver, there was no exceptional cut, nothing to hook you, just a bunch of good stuff, and when you're the Stones, that's not good enough.
"Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)"
My favorite song on the album, the lyrics tell a story, the changes in amplitude hook you, the sounds too, but there's nothing else on the album quite as good.
"Silver Train"
What kind of a world do we live in where Johnny Winter does a better version of your second side opener than you?
"Star Star"
The song with the advance hype, it would have had more success if the title included the F-word, but the truth is it's a middling Chuck Berry rip-off, something you can enjoy that leaves you kind of blah. Not an anthem, but they meant it to be. The Stones seemed to be so busy living the life of the rich and famous that they lost touch with the street.
"Can You Hear The Music"
A minor, totally forgotten cut, it's an unheralded number which is the heart of the LP, if only they cut out the stabs for stardom and focused on this more intimate stuff.
"Winter"
Ditto on this. Great atmosphere.
"Hide Your Love"
Great groove, great vocal, another unheralded winner. Rock was sterilized when you had umpteen tracks and the ability to comp the vocal, bands haven't locked on with each other for eons.
IT'S ONLY ROCK 'N ROLL
Another bummer. The band had lost the formula. Less commercially successful than its predecessor, this album was better, but it all ran together.
"It's Only Rock 'n Roll"
More famous for its title than its music. A middling hit back in '74. Eh.
"Ain't Too Proud To Beg"
A total winner. A Temptations cover that succeeds on its own merits, because of its instrumentation and Mick's impassioned vocal, the best cut on the LP, worth listening to, you'll smile.
"Time Waits For No One"
Mick Taylor's swan song, this is the second best cut on the album. Pay heed to his fingerwork, listeners knew how great this was back when, but fewer were paying attention than in the "Sticky Fingers" era, even though you wouldn't know that based on the press.
BLACK AND BLUE
Seen as an album of odds and ends, a pastiche best avoided, it's funny how this album has only grown in stature over time, its rather stripped-down sound is more accessible than that on the two LPs that preceded it, it was an empty calorie listen way back when, but today it's filling and fulfilling.
"Hot Stuff"
Seen as trend-following disco drivel in '76 the aging process has aided it, but it's still a half-baked dud.
"Hand Of Fate"
The second best cut on "Black And Blue" it got no airplay back then, it seemingly didn't exist, but it gets love today. This would fit in perfectly with their '69-'72 canon, a great groove, a one listen like.
"Fool To Cry"
An actual hit, as opposed to the misfires from previous LPs, it went all the way to number 9 in the U.S., eclipsing "It's Only Rock 'n Roll"'s number 16, but it was weird and wimpy, syrupy, yet still Stones-like. You didn't hate it, but you didn't love it.
"Crazy Mama"
Better than "Silver Train" and "Star Star" on "Goats Head Soup," maybe it's the production that puts it over the top. Completely minor, but inoffensive.
And then comes...
"Memory Motel"
This track came back to life when Mick duetted with Dave Matthews and the result was included on the 1998 live album "No Security," but before that you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone but a hard core fan who knew it. But if you purchased "Black And Blue," and not many did, it wasn't a stiff but it was far from a hit, you discovered this gem at the end of side one.
It's a journey, a story, it humanized the band, and as the song wore to the conclusion of its seven minutes there was an element of majesty.
"You're just a memory
And you used to mean so much to me"
Was that the Stones?
Most of their contemporaries had faded with the sixties. The Stones had carried on and hit new peaks, but now despite beaucoup box office, the legend outstripped the art, this was back when albums still counted, before live was everything, before the LP was just the blueprint for the show.
Who knew a renaissance was just around the corner?
That's right, now including Ron Wood in the place of Mick Taylor, the band dropped a bomb back in '77, when no one was expecting it, the act freshened its sound and delivered an indelible one listen song that dominated not only the airwaves but the house parties as "Brown Sugar" had half a decade before.
Who knew Mick and Keith had "Miss You" in them? Who knew there were Puerto Rican girls just dyin' to meet them? Who knew they could cover the Temps' "Just My Imagination" even more successfully than they covered "Ain't Too Proud To Beg"? Who knew they could break down the sound and lock into the groove of "Beast Of Burden"?
When the Glimmer Twins had their backs to the wall they delivered.
But it was what came before that they built their rep upon.
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Sunday 22 May 2016
Trump vs. Hillary
This is how rap killed rock.
The GOP establishment might be MOR, out of date, hymns for oldsters who refuse to acknowledge times change, but Hillary and her band of Dems are like the rock that got a forty year run and was then stunned when hip-hop eviscerated it.
Don't point to the Desert Trip to validate rock's relevance. That's just oldsters with too much money claiming they're important, when they're absolutely not, except for their cash, which they dispense freely, like the Kochs, like George Soros, like everybody who's lived too long and believes they're entitled to rule the world.
But they're not. It's what you don't know that'll kill you. And that is the times keep a-changin' and he not busy being born is dying and if you haven't seen the Hillary movie there's no media in your neighborhood.
There were a ton of good rock bands. But MTV stopped airing them because hip-hop got better ratings. And because rock became calcified, a cartoon, a caricature of itself. It went from honest to phony, jeans to spandex, and every band which built its rep on danger recorded a power ballad, figuring the suits would like it. If you can't get on television doing what got you traction, give them what they want.
But the hip-hoppers did not.
Don't think of Drake, think of Biggie and Tupac, both killed in the rap wars. We keep hearing the Donald and his minions are gonna wreak havoc not realizing we've already seen this movie, and we survived it.
And if you don't like the popular culture analogy you don't realize that's what the election has become, issues, schmissues, titillate me, make me laugh, play to the cameras, do the unexpected. Hell, the whole Trump campaign has resembled nothing so much as the launch of a musical act, with all the publicity stunts and media manipulation. And the reason he's got more mindshare than any musician is because he's accepting the game has changed, he's playing by new rules, he's creating every day, not worrying if every track's a hit, knowing that if you lose your hold on the public consciousness, you're toast.
Where has Hillary BEEN for the past two weeks? Like an old rocker in the seventies she's taking three years to make her next LP believing when it drops she'll have three hit singles and can go on tour, er, be in the White House, for four years straight. But today, the work of the classic rockers goes straight to the dumper. Despite the run-up, the albums last a weekend, maybe a week at most, and then they're forgotten. We've been hearing for years about Hillary's coronation, it's her time, she deserves it, she has experience. But that's exactly what most people don't want. The same old people providing the same old music, er, politics.
Now I'm not saying Hillary should rap, but it worked pretty good for Aerosmith, when the band hooked up with Run-DMC. Read the oral history, neither act was keen to do it, it was the behind the scenes people who made it happen. ("The Inside Story Of When Run-DMC Met Aerosmith And Changed Music Forever": https://goo.gl/4hNEvz) And the behind the scenes people have to bring Hillary into 2016. Wherein telling people what they want to hear works only if you sometimes tell them what they don't, which enhances your credibility. Hillary has the credibility of a five year old, who'll say anything, deny anything, to not get punished and get ice cream. But ice cream melts and you're left with nothing, and we don't want a five year old running the country, but we do want someone who is looking forward as opposed to back.
And of course so many of the Donald's policies are retro, like a rapper sampling, giving his audience a frame of reference. But if you don't find his antics entertaining, you've got no sense of humor. Hell, I burst out laughing when he called Elizabeth Warren "Pocahontas." Oh, don't get your politically correct knickers in a twist, funny is funny, like those jokes you tell in the dorm when no one is listening.
It's Hillary's election to lose. And she's doing a good job of it. Because instead of making new music, that people want to hear, it's the same damn thing over and over and over again. Check the charts, how many of the acts from the nineties are dominating today? How much of the sound of the nineties is dominating today?
Zilch.
Bernie's triumphing because he's all new, the music industry could learn a lesson, it's the message more than the punim, embrace ageism at your peril.
And Trump's triumphing because he'll say the unsayable, throw bombs, do all the stuff your parents hate before they tell you to turn it down.
That's what the Hillary supporters keep telling Trump, to turn it down. That his music doesn't sound like the music that came before, he didn't pay his dues, he didn't go to music school, he didn't go on the road, he hasn't EARNED his success.
Like every new act that's toppled what's come before.
Hillary, you can't win doing what you've done before. The game changed. And you seem not to have gotten the memo.
Stop worrying about making mistakes.
Start telling your truth.
Don't fall for gotcha moments. Yup, coal mining has got to go, Trump would have doubled down, you caved, have the courage of your convictions.
Make news every day.
Don't worry about being warm and fuzzy, what message are you sending to the young women of America, that to get ahead you've got to shave off your rough edges, that you can't be strong, you have to smile and appeal to men?
Hogwash.
You've just got to make a hit record.
And a hit is always the same, it's new and different.
We crave the new and different.
And right now Bernie and Trump own the charts and you may be touring to aged acolytes, but it's one person one vote in America and despite their connections and cash, they can't help you win. Hell, Bernie out-fundraised you getting cash from individuals, like a modern act which understands everybody streaming is better than a few buying CDs.
Pissed you off there, didn't I.
If you're lamenting the passage of CDs, the death of downloads, the low per-stream payments... If you think YouTube is the enemy, you don't realize Robert Kyncl has more power than everybody in the RIAA combined. The people voted for YouTube, and if you were smart you'd realize it's being eclipsed by Spotify, et al, but you hate them even more.
You're just like Hillary, no wonder you like her so much.
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The GOP establishment might be MOR, out of date, hymns for oldsters who refuse to acknowledge times change, but Hillary and her band of Dems are like the rock that got a forty year run and was then stunned when hip-hop eviscerated it.
Don't point to the Desert Trip to validate rock's relevance. That's just oldsters with too much money claiming they're important, when they're absolutely not, except for their cash, which they dispense freely, like the Kochs, like George Soros, like everybody who's lived too long and believes they're entitled to rule the world.
But they're not. It's what you don't know that'll kill you. And that is the times keep a-changin' and he not busy being born is dying and if you haven't seen the Hillary movie there's no media in your neighborhood.
There were a ton of good rock bands. But MTV stopped airing them because hip-hop got better ratings. And because rock became calcified, a cartoon, a caricature of itself. It went from honest to phony, jeans to spandex, and every band which built its rep on danger recorded a power ballad, figuring the suits would like it. If you can't get on television doing what got you traction, give them what they want.
But the hip-hoppers did not.
Don't think of Drake, think of Biggie and Tupac, both killed in the rap wars. We keep hearing the Donald and his minions are gonna wreak havoc not realizing we've already seen this movie, and we survived it.
And if you don't like the popular culture analogy you don't realize that's what the election has become, issues, schmissues, titillate me, make me laugh, play to the cameras, do the unexpected. Hell, the whole Trump campaign has resembled nothing so much as the launch of a musical act, with all the publicity stunts and media manipulation. And the reason he's got more mindshare than any musician is because he's accepting the game has changed, he's playing by new rules, he's creating every day, not worrying if every track's a hit, knowing that if you lose your hold on the public consciousness, you're toast.
Where has Hillary BEEN for the past two weeks? Like an old rocker in the seventies she's taking three years to make her next LP believing when it drops she'll have three hit singles and can go on tour, er, be in the White House, for four years straight. But today, the work of the classic rockers goes straight to the dumper. Despite the run-up, the albums last a weekend, maybe a week at most, and then they're forgotten. We've been hearing for years about Hillary's coronation, it's her time, she deserves it, she has experience. But that's exactly what most people don't want. The same old people providing the same old music, er, politics.
Now I'm not saying Hillary should rap, but it worked pretty good for Aerosmith, when the band hooked up with Run-DMC. Read the oral history, neither act was keen to do it, it was the behind the scenes people who made it happen. ("The Inside Story Of When Run-DMC Met Aerosmith And Changed Music Forever": https://goo.gl/4hNEvz) And the behind the scenes people have to bring Hillary into 2016. Wherein telling people what they want to hear works only if you sometimes tell them what they don't, which enhances your credibility. Hillary has the credibility of a five year old, who'll say anything, deny anything, to not get punished and get ice cream. But ice cream melts and you're left with nothing, and we don't want a five year old running the country, but we do want someone who is looking forward as opposed to back.
And of course so many of the Donald's policies are retro, like a rapper sampling, giving his audience a frame of reference. But if you don't find his antics entertaining, you've got no sense of humor. Hell, I burst out laughing when he called Elizabeth Warren "Pocahontas." Oh, don't get your politically correct knickers in a twist, funny is funny, like those jokes you tell in the dorm when no one is listening.
It's Hillary's election to lose. And she's doing a good job of it. Because instead of making new music, that people want to hear, it's the same damn thing over and over and over again. Check the charts, how many of the acts from the nineties are dominating today? How much of the sound of the nineties is dominating today?
Zilch.
Bernie's triumphing because he's all new, the music industry could learn a lesson, it's the message more than the punim, embrace ageism at your peril.
And Trump's triumphing because he'll say the unsayable, throw bombs, do all the stuff your parents hate before they tell you to turn it down.
That's what the Hillary supporters keep telling Trump, to turn it down. That his music doesn't sound like the music that came before, he didn't pay his dues, he didn't go to music school, he didn't go on the road, he hasn't EARNED his success.
Like every new act that's toppled what's come before.
Hillary, you can't win doing what you've done before. The game changed. And you seem not to have gotten the memo.
Stop worrying about making mistakes.
Start telling your truth.
Don't fall for gotcha moments. Yup, coal mining has got to go, Trump would have doubled down, you caved, have the courage of your convictions.
Make news every day.
Don't worry about being warm and fuzzy, what message are you sending to the young women of America, that to get ahead you've got to shave off your rough edges, that you can't be strong, you have to smile and appeal to men?
Hogwash.
You've just got to make a hit record.
And a hit is always the same, it's new and different.
We crave the new and different.
And right now Bernie and Trump own the charts and you may be touring to aged acolytes, but it's one person one vote in America and despite their connections and cash, they can't help you win. Hell, Bernie out-fundraised you getting cash from individuals, like a modern act which understands everybody streaming is better than a few buying CDs.
Pissed you off there, didn't I.
If you're lamenting the passage of CDs, the death of downloads, the low per-stream payments... If you think YouTube is the enemy, you don't realize Robert Kyncl has more power than everybody in the RIAA combined. The people voted for YouTube, and if you were smart you'd realize it's being eclipsed by Spotify, et al, but you hate them even more.
You're just like Hillary, no wonder you like her so much.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
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