Spotify playlist: https://goo.gl/UAKOib
________
"Friday night, nothing much to do but hang around"
"Long Flowing Robe"
Todd Rundgren
From Todd's second solo LP, "The Ballad Of Todd Rundgren," the best work he ever did, and as a result of streaming services it's right at your fingertips to check out. This album, and especially its predecessor, were almost impossible to find, coming out on the Ampex label, that's right, like the tape. I bought both as cut-outs. I was astounded how good "Ballad" was and still is, in an alternative universe this is well-known, there's not a clunker on it, listen and be AMAZED!
_____________________________
"The sky is burnin'
I believe my soul's on fire"
"Burnin' Sky"
Bad Company
From the fourth LP, the nadir of the group's work, before the renaissance with "Desolation Angels."
This track went through my head all last night, Friday night, because Santa Clarita is burning up, you could see the flames, a halo of destruction mere miles away, a plume of smoke blowing towards Glendale, today covering the entire Valley.
_____________________________
"I was dirty and you took me home and washed my face"
"Leaving You"
Bad Company
This is the other great track on the "Burnin' Sky" album, actually the best, even better than the title track. I remember Robert Hilburn excoriating the lyrics, but I could never get over the sound, that vocal. Whoever thought of marrying Mick Ralphs and Paul Rodgers was a genius. And speaking of genius, we always thought in Mott The Hoople it was Ian Hunter, but that's not true, the act was never as good with Ariel Bender, then again, that first Ian Hunter solo LP on Chrysalis is better than any of Mott's work other than the first Columbia album, you know, the one with "All The Young Dudes."
_____________________________
"Freedom is the only thing means a damn to me"
"Simple Man"
Bad Company
Since I'm on a Bad Company kick, this is from the previous album, "Run With The Pack," the third. This is the second cut, maybe my favorite Bad Company cut ever, even more than "Seagull." These lyrics go through my brain whenever I'm on top of a mountain, skis on my feet, outside the law with my own destiny in my hands. Don't need no gun for that, just some powder and sunshine, even a storm.
_____________________________
"Lonely For Your Love"
Bad Company
Not the best cut on "Desolation Angels," but the intensity of the vocal puts it way over the top, this is what it's like when people sing and mean it, not the histrionics of the melisma masters, those people on TV competitions who don't know singing comes from the soul, not the vocal cords.
_____________________________
"Hey last night when the moon was new"
"How About That"
Bad Company
Actually, it was full a couple of nights back, but last night you couldn't see a damn thing. This is from the 1992 album "Dangerous Age," the one with the other lead singer, Brian Howe, I know, heretical, but I always loved this. I was thinking of Bud Prager, the manager during this period last night. Long story, I watched this film on Netflix, the "Invitation," can't recommend it but I will, kind of a horror thingy, with an amazing twist. Starts slow, the ending could be more dramatic, but the climax, when the truth comes out, WHEW! And at the end they look out over the hills, and... I won't ruin the movie but the last time I saw Bud Prager it was in the Hollywood Hills in a house just like that back in the early part of the century, he told me all the rock and roll stories, mostly about his best friend Felix Pappalardi and Cream and now...they're both gone.
_____________________________
"It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"
R.E.M.
Actually, I don't.
But this song has been going through my brain all day, it's dark, like end times in L.A. today, that's what the smoke and ash from the fire has done.
It's weird, it's not fine.
_____________________________
"Ignoreland"
R.E.M.
My favorite R.E.M. cut, because of the majesty, and the intensity of the vocal. Seems like we need R.E.M. right about now, can they reunite, even with Bill Berry, in support of Hillary, they're big lefties. I know, I know, we need acts that appeal to the younger generation, but they grew up in an era where you don't do anything that might tarnish your brand, alienate some potential customers. But now that she's pop and not country can't Taylor Swift come out for Hillary, I mean she's all about girl power, how about demonstrating some real belief?
_____________________________
"Oh mama, I'm in fear for my life from the long arm of the law"
"Renegade"
Styx
I know, I know, you hate Styx. I'm not a big fan myself, however I do love me some Tommy Shaw and this is one of his cuts. I know it by heart, it got a ton of airplay way back when, as well as "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" from the same LP, "Pieces Of Eight," but...
It's just for fans going to the shed for triple-headers every summer, right?
NO!
Watch this!:
https://goo.gl/0sHmkf
That's the trailer for season two of "Narcos," and twenty odd seconds in, when the voice over ends and the Netflix logo comes on...you'll hear "Renegade." Could this be Styx's "Don't Stop Believin'" moment? That's right, the Journey track was hiding in plain sight and then the "Sopranos" made it a cultural institution. "Narcos" could do the same for Styx.
Well, a man can dream, can't he?
_____________________________
"I went back to the doctor
To get another shrink"
"The Real Me"
Alfie Boe, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Robert Ziegler
"Pete Towshend's Classic Quadrophenia"
Actually, my shrink is on vacation for a month, I could use him right about now, it's been quite a week, with too many issues still unresolved.
This is what I love about Spotfy, that everything's available, stuff that I didn't even know existed or forgot about, like this album, check it out, it's pretty powerful.
_____________________________
"How many friends have I really got
You can count 'em on one hand
How many friends have I really got
How many friends have I really got
That love me, that want me, that'll take me as I am"
"How Many Friends"
The Who
From the disappointing LP "By Numbers," but this is my favorite track on the record.
I was searching on Pete Townshend and found what I thought was a demo album but it turned out to be an entire record of interviews, I'm including the ones on "How Many Friends" here.
I'm also including the original studio track.
_____________________________
"We know all success
When we all find our own dreams
And our love is enough
To knock down any walls"
"Pure And Easy"
Pete Townshend
From the first solo album, "Who Came First," which was unavailable for years until Rykodisc released a deluxe version in the eighties. Pete's solo work is better than his late work with the Who, this is my favorite track of his.
_____________________________
"They say that love often passes in a second
And you can never catch it up
So I'm hanging on to you as though eternity beckons
But it's clear that the match is rough"
"A Little Is Enough"
Pete Townshend
His best solo cut ever, from the hit album "Empty Glass" which is akin to "The Ballad Of Todd Rundgren," however not as consistent but with peaks even higher.
One of my favorite love songs ever.
And those SOUNDS!
_____________________________
"We're Not Gonna Take It"
The Who
"Live In Canada/1969"
So it's two a.m. and I'm sitting outside and I'm deep into a Pete Townshend trance and I find this, an expanded version of "Tommy" with a live performance of the rock opera, from back when bands were testing limits, even though it took a couple of years for the mainstream to catch on, specifically after the Woodstock movie.
I saw this tour, one of the three best shows ever.
And listening to all these cuts you'll be stunned how great Roger Daltrey's voice is. Made me wince at Desert Trip, none of these people can still hit the notes.
_____________________________
"Ever since I was young boy I played the silver ball"
"Pinball Wizard"
Pete Townshend
Demo
Yes, this same expanded version of "Tommy" contains demos, and Pete's voice is underwhelming but when you hear that explosive guitar in your left ear you're reminded of lying on your bedroom floor listening to the studio take on headphones, waiting for that stereo effect.
_____________________________
"Every year is the same
I feel it again
I'm a loser, no chance to win"
"I'm One"
Pete Townshend
Do you have this take, from "Deep End Live!"? It's even better than the original on "Quadrophenia."
One thing I've come to realize as I've gotten older...
Everybody's lost, everybody's insecure, many just put up a good front. Of course this is common wisdom, but now I FEEL IT!
_____________________________
"Diamond In The Rough"
Shawn Colvin
In my iTunes library I've got an MP3 of Pete Townshend singing this, from Shawn Colvin's initial LP, she might have won a Grammy for "Sunny Came Home" but she was never as good as this again, this is the first cut that enraptured me, the advance cassette got me through the breakup with my wife, we all need something riding shotgun as we go down the avalanche.
_____________________________
"Baby Seat"
Barenaked Ladies
I think I saw Barenaked Ladies were performing in the area, Songkick is integrated into Spotify. This is my favorite Barenaked Ladies cut, I discovered it when the 2002 Olympics when the band performed and I got hooked and downloaded so much of their work. And I saw the group last year in Vail, during the World Championships, but they didn't do this and won't because it's a Steven Page song and he's no longer in the group. And they were astoundingly good despite not having a hit in eons, they had a sense of humor about themselves and that's always appreciated. But I wish the act could reunite. Not sure what's going on, but I do know once you're past your hits and you're living off your touring revenue...no one wants to split the money further.
_____________________________
"There was a time, not too far gone
When I was changed by just a song"
"Hot Summer Nights"
Walter Egan
I wondered if this was on Spotify, a couple of weeks back I checked and found out Walter Egan had a recent album, just a couple of years back, and I pulled it up, ready to wince, but it was really good, anybody who was a fan would like it, it's called "Myth America," I almost wrote about it but I know no one cares, especially when there's not a hit, but back in the seventies we purchased albums of acts we were fans of and dropped the needle and they satisfied us, whether they were on the radio or not.
But "Hot Summer Nights" was on the radio, just not in the Walter Egan iteration, it was covered by this act Night, the lead singer was Stevie Vann, I did some research, but what I never knew was she was the wife of MUTT LANGE!
Night's version is on Spotify but I'm not gonna put it on this playlist, because it's the same song but not the same record. Egan's take is intimate, it's all about the picking...
"Those songs we sung are in us still
Ringing out with all their might
In the heart of a hot summer night"
I played new stuff first, I was coursing through the playlists, the pop hits, the country hits, the up and coming country tracks but...the more I listened the more disoriented I became, I needed to be rooted and when I went on my journey back I was stunned to find these acts were even more talented than acknowledged, they deserved recognition, but they're fading in the rearview mirror...
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Saturday 23 July 2016
The Girl On The Train
https://goo.gl/0AXRKU
What's it like to be jilted? Thrown over for a new love when you've placed your full trust in your betrothed?
Trust. It's the first thing that goes. That's the dirty little secret of divorce. Conventional wisdom is you split the assets and go on with your life, especially if there are no assets, and no children. But you stood up in front of friends and family and now it's over? Marriage is about commitment. It trumps money and sex and all those things people look for. Enduring relationships are about character first and foremost, how people were raised, what they believe in. Want to know how it'll turn out with you two? Look into their past. And no matter what they tell you, that doesn't mean this time it will be different.
As for what people tell you...
Not everyone is a manipulator, not everyone is a sociopath. And to prevent a life alone, one of constant suspicion, we believe, we give people the benefit of the doubt. But some don't deserve it.
And then there are those caught in the web who deny it and turn it upon you. When confronted with truth they explain it just a little bit differently. Blame you for the result. And you want to believe them, you don't want to think anybody's that evil. But some are.
"The Girl On The Train" is not the new "Gone Girl." Read it if you haven't, "Gone Girl" that is. The movie doesn't capture it. It's too Fincher slick, too perfect. Whereas the book starts off totally two-dimensional and then you're caught in an unforeseen maelstrom. The device is mindblowing. I don't know how Gillian Flynn follows it up. Kind of like Radiohead's "In Rainbows," you do the trick once and you can never do it again.
But "Gone Girl" is about the trick.
There's no trick in "The Girl On The Train." On one hand it's a relatively pedestrian mystery/thriller. You're reading along wondering whodunit. And you're not glued to the page, but it is hard to put down, you do want to know who was responsible, how it happened. But it's not a revelation that knocks you back, it's foreshadowed a bit, not a complete left turn, as it is in so many genre books. So ultimately what makes the book a good read is the underlying issues, the ones delineated above.
Life is hard. Even if you have a roof over your head. We're all struggling and we all feel alone. In this can-do society you don't want to be seen as a can-not, but life is a maze with too many walls and too much wasted time. And no one likes to backtrack.
Substance abuse. Ever look at the underling pain? Not only physical, but emotional? Especially in men, who won't admit their problems or seek help. They just try to power through, as they fall deeper down a well they may never climb out of.
Love. One of the characters in the book says there's no such thing as a soulmate, and I believe that, despite the acclamations of adoration and satisfaction by so many, some of whom are lying outright, others who are purely delusional. You've got to stand your ground to have a good relationship, not all of the time, but some of the time.
Money. Everybody wants more. For the freedom it allows, the room to move, even if you never do, it's all about the possibilities, without them you're mentally doomed.
"The Girl On The Train" has been out for eighteen months. It's still in the top ten. I wish it were better, but in a world of so much mediocrity and self-promotion we're in search of a bit of truth and community. And there's truth in this book and community in having read it.
I tried three times before I dove in again yesterday. I wanted to finish it before the movie.
And now I know the movie will miss the essence. Because what is said cannot be conveyed on screen, it's something in your mind, that only the written word can provide a reasonable facsimile of.
We live in an era of blockbusters. And those of us who were around before the internet overwhelmed us with possibilities shy away from the toppermost. We figure there must be something wrong with something that everybody else pays attention to.
But after reading too many books that missed the mark, like the sadly overrated "Girls," I decided to go where everybody else did.
And I don't care who did it.
But the makeup of the person who did. How that person ruined the lives of more than his victim.
That's sticking with me.
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What's it like to be jilted? Thrown over for a new love when you've placed your full trust in your betrothed?
Trust. It's the first thing that goes. That's the dirty little secret of divorce. Conventional wisdom is you split the assets and go on with your life, especially if there are no assets, and no children. But you stood up in front of friends and family and now it's over? Marriage is about commitment. It trumps money and sex and all those things people look for. Enduring relationships are about character first and foremost, how people were raised, what they believe in. Want to know how it'll turn out with you two? Look into their past. And no matter what they tell you, that doesn't mean this time it will be different.
As for what people tell you...
Not everyone is a manipulator, not everyone is a sociopath. And to prevent a life alone, one of constant suspicion, we believe, we give people the benefit of the doubt. But some don't deserve it.
And then there are those caught in the web who deny it and turn it upon you. When confronted with truth they explain it just a little bit differently. Blame you for the result. And you want to believe them, you don't want to think anybody's that evil. But some are.
"The Girl On The Train" is not the new "Gone Girl." Read it if you haven't, "Gone Girl" that is. The movie doesn't capture it. It's too Fincher slick, too perfect. Whereas the book starts off totally two-dimensional and then you're caught in an unforeseen maelstrom. The device is mindblowing. I don't know how Gillian Flynn follows it up. Kind of like Radiohead's "In Rainbows," you do the trick once and you can never do it again.
But "Gone Girl" is about the trick.
There's no trick in "The Girl On The Train." On one hand it's a relatively pedestrian mystery/thriller. You're reading along wondering whodunit. And you're not glued to the page, but it is hard to put down, you do want to know who was responsible, how it happened. But it's not a revelation that knocks you back, it's foreshadowed a bit, not a complete left turn, as it is in so many genre books. So ultimately what makes the book a good read is the underlying issues, the ones delineated above.
Life is hard. Even if you have a roof over your head. We're all struggling and we all feel alone. In this can-do society you don't want to be seen as a can-not, but life is a maze with too many walls and too much wasted time. And no one likes to backtrack.
Substance abuse. Ever look at the underling pain? Not only physical, but emotional? Especially in men, who won't admit their problems or seek help. They just try to power through, as they fall deeper down a well they may never climb out of.
Love. One of the characters in the book says there's no such thing as a soulmate, and I believe that, despite the acclamations of adoration and satisfaction by so many, some of whom are lying outright, others who are purely delusional. You've got to stand your ground to have a good relationship, not all of the time, but some of the time.
Money. Everybody wants more. For the freedom it allows, the room to move, even if you never do, it's all about the possibilities, without them you're mentally doomed.
"The Girl On The Train" has been out for eighteen months. It's still in the top ten. I wish it were better, but in a world of so much mediocrity and self-promotion we're in search of a bit of truth and community. And there's truth in this book and community in having read it.
I tried three times before I dove in again yesterday. I wanted to finish it before the movie.
And now I know the movie will miss the essence. Because what is said cannot be conveyed on screen, it's something in your mind, that only the written word can provide a reasonable facsimile of.
We live in an era of blockbusters. And those of us who were around before the internet overwhelmed us with possibilities shy away from the toppermost. We figure there must be something wrong with something that everybody else pays attention to.
But after reading too many books that missed the mark, like the sadly overrated "Girls," I decided to go where everybody else did.
And I don't care who did it.
But the makeup of the person who did. How that person ruined the lives of more than his victim.
That's sticking with me.
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Friday 22 July 2016
More Trump
You know what's missing from everyone of these replies telling you how out of touch you are? Any mention or acknowledgement of Trump's racism, xenophobia or sexism. You know why? Because none of the people supporting him have the capacity to recognize any of those traits, because they are immersed in a daily existence where those exact traits subconsciously inform every second of their and their communities' existence. I grew up in a town 30 miles north of NYC and the mentality there is exactly the same: "I use the N-word from time to time but I'm not a racist. I hate Mexicans and Muslims but that's only because I love America. And yeah, I think women should stay in the kitchen and bedroom, but I'm not a bad guy."
I'm not making this up. I lived with it for years. And I could take you back there today and it would be the same. And this is in the "liberal northeast," a 45 minute drive from the epicenter! You can't show someone racism when they don't have any clue as to what the term actually means. It's the same problem when you start trying to show them "facts." They honestly dont even know what the word means because they've been bombarded by the likes of Fox News and Alex Jones for decades feeding them false definitions.
Once we understand how absolutely impenetrable this problem is, the sooner we can understand that it can never be fixed and our nation as most have understood it to this point, is doomed.
Jim Rich
Editor-in-chief
NY Daily News
PS: when I say doomed, I mean the give and take of our two-party political system that has guided, for better or worse, every domestic and international policy decision for decades. That can't exist when so many from one side of the dynamic refuses to admit the sky is blue simply because they are physically unable to see the sky is blue. They honestly believe it is green.
____________________________________
Every single one of these is male. I feel that many men that are For Trump are sexist and afraid to see a woman in power. A$$holes!!!
Misty Stafford
____________________________________
Every one of those names that were Google-able were old (angry) white guys. Luckily, math.
Jay Hughen
____________________________________
Nothing short of terrifying, and as the granddaughter of Zionists and holocaust refugees, I find the "if the Jews only had guns" argument absolutely fucking revolting. Has he never heard of the resistance or the haganah? What he thinks as everyone was rounded up if they had just started shooting, they would have been fine?
What a fucking numbskull.
And all these idiots that think we can just "un-globalize"…these are our colleagues? Please.
Alicia Yaffe
____________________________________
"Question: What is the difference between a pizza and an unarmed Jew living in Germany during WWII?
Answer: A pizza doesn't make any noise when you put it in the oven.
I'll bet all of the 6 million Jews who died under Hitler's oppressive government didn't own guns, but I'll also bet the ones who turned them in to the Nazis wished they didn't. Maybe a few more would still be alive. Think about it when you vote for Hitler, er, Hillary this Fall."
I've seen these idiots in right wing forums for a long time. This guy is particularly heinous, as I'm an Israeli Jew who's lived in the Midwest and NYC. We don't need this terrified, small man's help. Believe me, his bubble is a self curated hell-hole with constant self-congratulatory conspiracy theories by all the usual suspects - Alex Jones, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh. He is free to choose whatever facts he wants to spew while he masturbates with his guns and pictures of Sarah Palin. Or maybe Scott Baio...?
We do live in a bubble, but so do they, Bob.
Now it's just a matter of who's is big enough to win in the fall.
I want to tell this guy to fuck off and literally rip his head off in person, but that would make me small and terrified. Like him.
Mark Palgy
____________________________________
The Jews? Really? This idiot with his insulting joke has never read a history book. The Jews were armed and many of the ghettos saw significant attacks against the occupying Nazi's. It's well documented, and the point he made actually illustrates the fantasy of the 2nd Amendment. The Jews were beaten by superior numbers, better armed troops and an enemy with more resources. Same would happen here if this country was invaded and civilians were left trying to hold their own. It would look like Syria here.
Most of the respondents think that someone who sees the damage done by gun violence is a pussy. Invariably they have little hands, like their leader.
Only a few comments were well thought out and reasoned. The rest were just noise from an uninformed and intellectually stunted chorus.
Democratic = elite? Wow, unlike a billionaire, father and son presidents in bed with the Saudi royal family, and a bunch of other extremely wealthy old white guys. Go figure.
John Brodey
____________________________________
Godwin's Law prevails once again...
Richard Musterer
____________________________________
Mojo Bone says : "Thus far, there's been no reported violence at the Cleveland convention, nor the environs thereof. Don't it make you wonder if those of us who say 'an armed society is a polite society' are right?"
No guns are allowed in or around the arena- open carry or concealed- by the wishes of the Republican convention. There is a perimeter around the convention site. According to the theory, this should have resulted in violence and impoliteness. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/30/us/politics/secret-service-bans-guns-at-gop-convention-ending-debate.html
Zak Vreeland
____________________________________
Scary.
I'm based in Sao Paulo (produce events there). I had been thinking about moving to the US, but starting to think
things aren't so bad over here after all….
Edo Van Duijn
____________________________________
As a Canadian, this email reinforces what many of us think about Americans.... gun toting maniacs whose heads are so far down in the sand it's laughable. I am truly terrified about the direction your country is going in. Good luck Bob, you're going to need it.
Andrew Matthews
____________________________________
If this truly is reflective of opinion in the USA then your country will get the POTUS it deserves .. and God help you all.
As a 'Limey' here in the UK suffering post-Brexit result, I thought we had fucked up. Turns out we've got a mild case of dyspepsia. Your country on the other hand may be about to inflict open heart surgery on itself. With a spoon.
One of the most myopic nations in history got even more short sighted. Kool Aid is not recommended for diabetics.
Mike Cosby
____________________________________
The "Pro Trump" answers you received and shared with the list are partially disturbing to read. For me as German the "example" of non-armed jews was especially disgusting and irrational. The answers you distributed also give hints about some of the problems we (the western world) face. It is not about Trump vs. Hillary, it is not about free access vs. restricted access to guns and unfortunately it is not about good vs. bad music (or taste?). These discussions are all symptomes of an unballanced, unfair and highly media hyped world which is driving a single thing: the discontentment of people as a group and the individuals.
As you mentioned before it is all bout the money...
In most cases a nation gets the leadership it deserves, I hope that the US people make the right choice.
Best regards
Markus Rindchn
____________________________________
The pathetic part is that you have so many readers with middle-aged onset dementia. Don't seem to remember the golden era only 8-15 years ago with our last republican: 9/11/2001, a war w/ no planning fought over lies, total attack on civil liberties and privacy dubbed the Patriot Act, of all things. Worst recession since before any of us were born, crash of equity markets and Dow down to 6600 (it's 18,500 now; 82 million retirement portfolios have recovered threefold between 2009-2016). Yep, that's a few things "W" brought you, and I didn't even get into job losses and unemployment stats.
Now they've latched onto a guy who's father seeded him with $100M when in his 20's (1 1/2 -2B into today's dollars), and they buy the great businessman hallucination. Any economist can tell you Trump could have plunked his money in an S & P 500 fund, gone scuba diving in Costa Rica, and have considerably wider coffers.
So, as of his hour-plus speech Thursday night, the true believers will be holding out their pots, waiting for that chicken to fall in. Waiting for Donald. Waiting for Godot......
Edgar Koshatka
____________________________________
I had to stop reading at this:
'You're a typical liberal from the NE that doesn't understand American family values..."
Trump has 5 children from 3 different women. It's known that he cheated on both former wives, even bragging about it. American family values? Hahaha.
How would it be perceived if Barack Obama had 5 different children from 3 women? Hmmm.
Nikki Vinci
____________________________________
All very emotional responses. If we really wanted to look in to facts, how many people die in America, and other places where guns are plentiful (and many other similarly interesting, unemotional truths) compared to countries that don't, all these pro-gun people would lose.
Where were all the guns during 9-11, and how could they have helped?... so preaching that we all need guns to keep ourselves safe when 'Hitler', or Isis, or whoever comes, is flawed too.
I live in South Africa and it is well known that people with guns are a target - so criminals actually look for people with guns, to get those guns for themselves, and do harm to other people with those guns, and do harm to the people they steal the guns from. What better way for a criminal to arm themselves - steal a gun that's licensed to someone else. I guess in America criminals are spoiled for choice.
And how many kids kill themselves or others with their parent's guns? I could go on with the examples, but I don't believe this is a search for the truth - whether guns do more harm than good.
But people are emotional, hence the anger at your letter, the name calling. And owning a gun might make you feel like you have some power... but looking at some of these responses, I am scared of these people owning guns... so angry, ignored by their leaders, powerless... the last people who should be owning guns.
Most of these people, even when angry, probably could not bring themselves to kill another human being just so. To wrap their hands around someone's throat and squeeze until the light dims from their eyes, or hold them under water for minutes until they stop struggling... but a gun... a gun distances you from your prey, from the act of killing. And that scares me.
Stick to your 'guns', Bob... I appreciate the way you think.
I would much rather live in a world full of Bob's than angry, gun-wielding people.
Shaun
____________________________________
Bob,
i own probable 30 plus guns and they are all in my house right now!…... in multiple places and all properly stashed away.
I never think of them as being for personal protection! From what or who?
I've hunted since I was a 7 year old kid with my Dad and family and I have numerous trophies hanging on my walls right now.
But when a gun crazy buddy of mine came parading into my house to show me his new hog leg pistol, I immediately felt ….LESS SAFE!
Guns kill people too easily…...either by accident of otherwise.
I believe the world would be a far safer place if sensible gun laws were enacted!…and as a result a lot fewer folks would get blown away!
Look at the statistics for Great Britain. That's my point.
The NRA is way off on many things and that is why I have never joined.
Go Hillary! Dump Trump!
Jeff Shoaf
PS: Trumpster is such a misguided, pathologically lying and pathetic moron and is truly
____________________________________
Re: Ted
This guy is despicable as well as uneducated. I only wonder where he went to school. He believe the lie that the US "gave" $180 billion to Iran when it was actually their funds that had been frozen since the hostage crisis, and not our money at all? He has the lack of taste and intelligence, and that is putting it lightly, to tell a holocaust joke and actually believes that the only thing that cost 6 million jews their lives was that they were unarmed? He should be publicly shamed, not hidden behind a first name only.
Toby Mamis
____________________________________
"You're a typical liberal from the NE that doesn't understand American family values....as you've never had children."- Barry Burmaster
Because of course, liberals from the NE don't come from American families. But I think I know the new coded language of what "American" really means.
And Barry paid for college when it cost $500/yr. And he knows the Trump children right? I mean, since he vouches for their character like he helped raise them. SMH.
Just mind blowing.
Shawn Young
____________________________________
I didn't read the trump email because I'm sick of this BS.
But some of these responses are just outright sickening. Ted and his Jew pizza jokes can **** right off. How offensive can you possibly be?
I'm British. We don't have guns and mass shootings are rare. So rare that in the case of a Lincolnshire shooting this week the questions we the public asked ourselves were 'how the hell did he have a gun to kill his family?' After sandy hook some people didn't even question society, didn't have the gumption to ask what was wrong. They DEFENDED the perpetrator and his right to bear arms. He had no right - in his state of mind. Simple legislation would prevent these tragedies.
I'm inexpressibly GLAD I don't live in a society where everyone has a gun. It would scare the shit out of me knowing that my neighbours or people in my neighbourhood owned guns. Cause some of them are mentally ill, have rage issues, are cocky, young disenfranchised men.
Open carry wouldn't make them or me polite. It would make us all scared. THAT IS TYRANNY.
Lewis Fieldhouse
____________________________________
The funniest thing about those replies is that one of your readers claims "I don't know where you went to college".
Since subscribing to The Letter I think I know more about Middlebury than I do my own alma mater.
Nick Peters,
Sydney
____________________________________
Bob you should remind everyone the bounce back of California, who thanks to Brexit is I think the 7 th largest economy in the world? This was with dem gov and dem controlled government.
George Drakoulias
____________________________________
It's amazing to me how someone can call you out for being "out of touch" with being an American cause you don't have kids????
So people that don't have kids aren't actual Americans? Please. Typical right-wing b.s.
Meanwhile in the same breath praise Trump's kids for being "raised-right"? We're talking about the same guy that abused and paid off his first wife and says his own daughter is "hot".
Please, he didn't raise those kids. There is several nannies responsible for how good or bad his kids turned out. I'm a degree of separation away from him I know.
This is the problem though, the bottom don't really know what's it's like to be the 1%.
Talk about being out of touch- they are so clue-less about this lifestyle, that if they really knew how it was, they would be as mad as you. Money reigns supreme.
Maybe in the next life it won't, but money gets you power and a seat at the table whether you deserve to be there or not.
It's just the way life works.
David Garcia
____________________________________
yes, i'm with you.
been posting a lot about the gop nonsense for years, and receiving lots and lots of negative responses.
after november if trump wins i'l probably head to new zealand or canada.
this country deserves the government it gets(especially with anti-hillary left wing forces either not voting or working to get trump elected).
seems like ignorance has won.
i don't know, maybe it's fluoride in the water? or just too many people in love with their ignorance and their anger.
moby
____________________________________
Yes. All the Pinders are with you. Although I have been here 40 years I still do not have my US Citizenship but the kids and wife are 100% with you. Reading the responses was very scary, and sadly did not burst our bubble as we know that many are right wing, frightened and uninformed. Look at my homeland with Brexit.
We are with you mate.
Mike Pinder and Family
____________________________________
... Today, yesterday seems like a long time ago - and there's a tear, a tear in my eye;
I hardly recognize the things that I used to know, yes there's a tear, a tear in my eye ...
(SomeDay - Richie Furay [Hand In Hand])
even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus (Revelation 22:20) for hope and change I can really believe in ...
Richie Furay
____________________________________
Wow some of those responses were something else! As a Sanders supporter I was disappointed to see him throw "support" (if you could call it that, he looked miserable at that podium giving that speech) behind Clinton, who I'm fairly sure is a sociopath on some level.
That said, I think Hillary represents the past, the status quo, the Man, and those haven't worked for us in awhile, so in the interest of moving the country ahead, and I can't believe I'm saying this, I kind of hope Trump gets elected. I think he knows he's not prepared to be president and even if he does screw everything up, sometimes you have to break things down in order to build them back up again. The only positive I can see to another Clinton presidency would be her Supreme Court nomination. I'll likely write in Bernie at the polls, but I think we need to make our big mistake the way Germany, Japan, and Italy did so we can move beyond it and rebuild the country rather than continuing to stand on the precipice trying to decide whether or not to jump. Keep em coming Bob!
Adam James Deiboldt
____________________________________
There are a lot more of us than you think voting for Trump. We're just tired of arguing with Democratic Liberals.
Geoff Patterson
____________________________________
I agree. You're a self loathing East Coast loser and a West Coast wannabe who's poor, ugly and bald.
Tim Flanagan
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I'm not making this up. I lived with it for years. And I could take you back there today and it would be the same. And this is in the "liberal northeast," a 45 minute drive from the epicenter! You can't show someone racism when they don't have any clue as to what the term actually means. It's the same problem when you start trying to show them "facts." They honestly dont even know what the word means because they've been bombarded by the likes of Fox News and Alex Jones for decades feeding them false definitions.
Once we understand how absolutely impenetrable this problem is, the sooner we can understand that it can never be fixed and our nation as most have understood it to this point, is doomed.
Jim Rich
Editor-in-chief
NY Daily News
PS: when I say doomed, I mean the give and take of our two-party political system that has guided, for better or worse, every domestic and international policy decision for decades. That can't exist when so many from one side of the dynamic refuses to admit the sky is blue simply because they are physically unable to see the sky is blue. They honestly believe it is green.
____________________________________
Every single one of these is male. I feel that many men that are For Trump are sexist and afraid to see a woman in power. A$$holes!!!
Misty Stafford
____________________________________
Every one of those names that were Google-able were old (angry) white guys. Luckily, math.
Jay Hughen
____________________________________
Nothing short of terrifying, and as the granddaughter of Zionists and holocaust refugees, I find the "if the Jews only had guns" argument absolutely fucking revolting. Has he never heard of the resistance or the haganah? What he thinks as everyone was rounded up if they had just started shooting, they would have been fine?
What a fucking numbskull.
And all these idiots that think we can just "un-globalize"…these are our colleagues? Please.
Alicia Yaffe
____________________________________
"Question: What is the difference between a pizza and an unarmed Jew living in Germany during WWII?
Answer: A pizza doesn't make any noise when you put it in the oven.
I'll bet all of the 6 million Jews who died under Hitler's oppressive government didn't own guns, but I'll also bet the ones who turned them in to the Nazis wished they didn't. Maybe a few more would still be alive. Think about it when you vote for Hitler, er, Hillary this Fall."
I've seen these idiots in right wing forums for a long time. This guy is particularly heinous, as I'm an Israeli Jew who's lived in the Midwest and NYC. We don't need this terrified, small man's help. Believe me, his bubble is a self curated hell-hole with constant self-congratulatory conspiracy theories by all the usual suspects - Alex Jones, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh. He is free to choose whatever facts he wants to spew while he masturbates with his guns and pictures of Sarah Palin. Or maybe Scott Baio...?
We do live in a bubble, but so do they, Bob.
Now it's just a matter of who's is big enough to win in the fall.
I want to tell this guy to fuck off and literally rip his head off in person, but that would make me small and terrified. Like him.
Mark Palgy
____________________________________
The Jews? Really? This idiot with his insulting joke has never read a history book. The Jews were armed and many of the ghettos saw significant attacks against the occupying Nazi's. It's well documented, and the point he made actually illustrates the fantasy of the 2nd Amendment. The Jews were beaten by superior numbers, better armed troops and an enemy with more resources. Same would happen here if this country was invaded and civilians were left trying to hold their own. It would look like Syria here.
Most of the respondents think that someone who sees the damage done by gun violence is a pussy. Invariably they have little hands, like their leader.
Only a few comments were well thought out and reasoned. The rest were just noise from an uninformed and intellectually stunted chorus.
Democratic = elite? Wow, unlike a billionaire, father and son presidents in bed with the Saudi royal family, and a bunch of other extremely wealthy old white guys. Go figure.
John Brodey
____________________________________
Godwin's Law prevails once again...
Richard Musterer
____________________________________
Mojo Bone says : "Thus far, there's been no reported violence at the Cleveland convention, nor the environs thereof. Don't it make you wonder if those of us who say 'an armed society is a polite society' are right?"
No guns are allowed in or around the arena- open carry or concealed- by the wishes of the Republican convention. There is a perimeter around the convention site. According to the theory, this should have resulted in violence and impoliteness. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/30/us/politics/secret-service-bans-guns-at-gop-convention-ending-debate.html
Zak Vreeland
____________________________________
Scary.
I'm based in Sao Paulo (produce events there). I had been thinking about moving to the US, but starting to think
things aren't so bad over here after all….
Edo Van Duijn
____________________________________
As a Canadian, this email reinforces what many of us think about Americans.... gun toting maniacs whose heads are so far down in the sand it's laughable. I am truly terrified about the direction your country is going in. Good luck Bob, you're going to need it.
Andrew Matthews
____________________________________
If this truly is reflective of opinion in the USA then your country will get the POTUS it deserves .. and God help you all.
As a 'Limey' here in the UK suffering post-Brexit result, I thought we had fucked up. Turns out we've got a mild case of dyspepsia. Your country on the other hand may be about to inflict open heart surgery on itself. With a spoon.
One of the most myopic nations in history got even more short sighted. Kool Aid is not recommended for diabetics.
Mike Cosby
____________________________________
The "Pro Trump" answers you received and shared with the list are partially disturbing to read. For me as German the "example" of non-armed jews was especially disgusting and irrational. The answers you distributed also give hints about some of the problems we (the western world) face. It is not about Trump vs. Hillary, it is not about free access vs. restricted access to guns and unfortunately it is not about good vs. bad music (or taste?). These discussions are all symptomes of an unballanced, unfair and highly media hyped world which is driving a single thing: the discontentment of people as a group and the individuals.
As you mentioned before it is all bout the money...
In most cases a nation gets the leadership it deserves, I hope that the US people make the right choice.
Best regards
Markus Rindchn
____________________________________
The pathetic part is that you have so many readers with middle-aged onset dementia. Don't seem to remember the golden era only 8-15 years ago with our last republican: 9/11/2001, a war w/ no planning fought over lies, total attack on civil liberties and privacy dubbed the Patriot Act, of all things. Worst recession since before any of us were born, crash of equity markets and Dow down to 6600 (it's 18,500 now; 82 million retirement portfolios have recovered threefold between 2009-2016). Yep, that's a few things "W" brought you, and I didn't even get into job losses and unemployment stats.
Now they've latched onto a guy who's father seeded him with $100M when in his 20's (1 1/2 -2B into today's dollars), and they buy the great businessman hallucination. Any economist can tell you Trump could have plunked his money in an S & P 500 fund, gone scuba diving in Costa Rica, and have considerably wider coffers.
So, as of his hour-plus speech Thursday night, the true believers will be holding out their pots, waiting for that chicken to fall in. Waiting for Donald. Waiting for Godot......
Edgar Koshatka
____________________________________
I had to stop reading at this:
'You're a typical liberal from the NE that doesn't understand American family values..."
Trump has 5 children from 3 different women. It's known that he cheated on both former wives, even bragging about it. American family values? Hahaha.
How would it be perceived if Barack Obama had 5 different children from 3 women? Hmmm.
Nikki Vinci
____________________________________
All very emotional responses. If we really wanted to look in to facts, how many people die in America, and other places where guns are plentiful (and many other similarly interesting, unemotional truths) compared to countries that don't, all these pro-gun people would lose.
Where were all the guns during 9-11, and how could they have helped?... so preaching that we all need guns to keep ourselves safe when 'Hitler', or Isis, or whoever comes, is flawed too.
I live in South Africa and it is well known that people with guns are a target - so criminals actually look for people with guns, to get those guns for themselves, and do harm to other people with those guns, and do harm to the people they steal the guns from. What better way for a criminal to arm themselves - steal a gun that's licensed to someone else. I guess in America criminals are spoiled for choice.
And how many kids kill themselves or others with their parent's guns? I could go on with the examples, but I don't believe this is a search for the truth - whether guns do more harm than good.
But people are emotional, hence the anger at your letter, the name calling. And owning a gun might make you feel like you have some power... but looking at some of these responses, I am scared of these people owning guns... so angry, ignored by their leaders, powerless... the last people who should be owning guns.
Most of these people, even when angry, probably could not bring themselves to kill another human being just so. To wrap their hands around someone's throat and squeeze until the light dims from their eyes, or hold them under water for minutes until they stop struggling... but a gun... a gun distances you from your prey, from the act of killing. And that scares me.
Stick to your 'guns', Bob... I appreciate the way you think.
I would much rather live in a world full of Bob's than angry, gun-wielding people.
Shaun
____________________________________
Bob,
i own probable 30 plus guns and they are all in my house right now!…... in multiple places and all properly stashed away.
I never think of them as being for personal protection! From what or who?
I've hunted since I was a 7 year old kid with my Dad and family and I have numerous trophies hanging on my walls right now.
But when a gun crazy buddy of mine came parading into my house to show me his new hog leg pistol, I immediately felt ….LESS SAFE!
Guns kill people too easily…...either by accident of otherwise.
I believe the world would be a far safer place if sensible gun laws were enacted!…and as a result a lot fewer folks would get blown away!
Look at the statistics for Great Britain. That's my point.
The NRA is way off on many things and that is why I have never joined.
Go Hillary! Dump Trump!
Jeff Shoaf
PS: Trumpster is such a misguided, pathologically lying and pathetic moron and is truly
____________________________________
Re: Ted
This guy is despicable as well as uneducated. I only wonder where he went to school. He believe the lie that the US "gave" $180 billion to Iran when it was actually their funds that had been frozen since the hostage crisis, and not our money at all? He has the lack of taste and intelligence, and that is putting it lightly, to tell a holocaust joke and actually believes that the only thing that cost 6 million jews their lives was that they were unarmed? He should be publicly shamed, not hidden behind a first name only.
Toby Mamis
____________________________________
"You're a typical liberal from the NE that doesn't understand American family values....as you've never had children."- Barry Burmaster
Because of course, liberals from the NE don't come from American families. But I think I know the new coded language of what "American" really means.
And Barry paid for college when it cost $500/yr. And he knows the Trump children right? I mean, since he vouches for their character like he helped raise them. SMH.
Just mind blowing.
Shawn Young
____________________________________
I didn't read the trump email because I'm sick of this BS.
But some of these responses are just outright sickening. Ted and his Jew pizza jokes can **** right off. How offensive can you possibly be?
I'm British. We don't have guns and mass shootings are rare. So rare that in the case of a Lincolnshire shooting this week the questions we the public asked ourselves were 'how the hell did he have a gun to kill his family?' After sandy hook some people didn't even question society, didn't have the gumption to ask what was wrong. They DEFENDED the perpetrator and his right to bear arms. He had no right - in his state of mind. Simple legislation would prevent these tragedies.
I'm inexpressibly GLAD I don't live in a society where everyone has a gun. It would scare the shit out of me knowing that my neighbours or people in my neighbourhood owned guns. Cause some of them are mentally ill, have rage issues, are cocky, young disenfranchised men.
Open carry wouldn't make them or me polite. It would make us all scared. THAT IS TYRANNY.
Lewis Fieldhouse
____________________________________
The funniest thing about those replies is that one of your readers claims "I don't know where you went to college".
Since subscribing to The Letter I think I know more about Middlebury than I do my own alma mater.
Nick Peters,
Sydney
____________________________________
Bob you should remind everyone the bounce back of California, who thanks to Brexit is I think the 7 th largest economy in the world? This was with dem gov and dem controlled government.
George Drakoulias
____________________________________
It's amazing to me how someone can call you out for being "out of touch" with being an American cause you don't have kids????
So people that don't have kids aren't actual Americans? Please. Typical right-wing b.s.
Meanwhile in the same breath praise Trump's kids for being "raised-right"? We're talking about the same guy that abused and paid off his first wife and says his own daughter is "hot".
Please, he didn't raise those kids. There is several nannies responsible for how good or bad his kids turned out. I'm a degree of separation away from him I know.
This is the problem though, the bottom don't really know what's it's like to be the 1%.
Talk about being out of touch- they are so clue-less about this lifestyle, that if they really knew how it was, they would be as mad as you. Money reigns supreme.
Maybe in the next life it won't, but money gets you power and a seat at the table whether you deserve to be there or not.
It's just the way life works.
David Garcia
____________________________________
yes, i'm with you.
been posting a lot about the gop nonsense for years, and receiving lots and lots of negative responses.
after november if trump wins i'l probably head to new zealand or canada.
this country deserves the government it gets(especially with anti-hillary left wing forces either not voting or working to get trump elected).
seems like ignorance has won.
i don't know, maybe it's fluoride in the water? or just too many people in love with their ignorance and their anger.
moby
____________________________________
Yes. All the Pinders are with you. Although I have been here 40 years I still do not have my US Citizenship but the kids and wife are 100% with you. Reading the responses was very scary, and sadly did not burst our bubble as we know that many are right wing, frightened and uninformed. Look at my homeland with Brexit.
We are with you mate.
Mike Pinder and Family
____________________________________
... Today, yesterday seems like a long time ago - and there's a tear, a tear in my eye;
I hardly recognize the things that I used to know, yes there's a tear, a tear in my eye ...
(SomeDay - Richie Furay [Hand In Hand])
even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus (Revelation 22:20) for hope and change I can really believe in ...
Richie Furay
____________________________________
Wow some of those responses were something else! As a Sanders supporter I was disappointed to see him throw "support" (if you could call it that, he looked miserable at that podium giving that speech) behind Clinton, who I'm fairly sure is a sociopath on some level.
That said, I think Hillary represents the past, the status quo, the Man, and those haven't worked for us in awhile, so in the interest of moving the country ahead, and I can't believe I'm saying this, I kind of hope Trump gets elected. I think he knows he's not prepared to be president and even if he does screw everything up, sometimes you have to break things down in order to build them back up again. The only positive I can see to another Clinton presidency would be her Supreme Court nomination. I'll likely write in Bernie at the polls, but I think we need to make our big mistake the way Germany, Japan, and Italy did so we can move beyond it and rebuild the country rather than continuing to stand on the precipice trying to decide whether or not to jump. Keep em coming Bob!
Adam James Deiboldt
____________________________________
There are a lot more of us than you think voting for Trump. We're just tired of arguing with Democratic Liberals.
Geoff Patterson
____________________________________
I agree. You're a self loathing East Coast loser and a West Coast wannabe who's poor, ugly and bald.
Tim Flanagan
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Thursday 21 July 2016
Pro Trump
This is what we're up against.
The good news is I received 433 responses to my convention piece and got only 46 negative responses.
The bad news is not all Trump supporters are vocal about it and so many say they won't vote at all, or will for a third party candidate, seeming to forget the lesson of Bush vs. Gore (and Nader!) back in 2000.
This ain't the sixties anymore. When the younger generation was wrapped up in music and everybody leaned left. Just because you're a music lover that does not mean you're a liberal.
Read these. They'll puncture your bubble.
_________________________________
_________________________________
what nonsense......... the country has been defined by Obama and Hillary for the last 7.5 years!
Those were your candidates.......so the county is now the way you wanted it, with those two running the show.
Hillary will continue with more of the same shit........and you are voting for her!
Me thinks thou protest too much..........
matt mavrolas
_________________________________
No. (Not with you.)
Scott Hazlewood
_________________________________
I'm with you Bob, but for this; guns are only scary at first. ( I mean, think about it; what's scary about a gun that you're holding?) Once you've learned how to safely operate them, they're just a tool; no more dangerous than a pneumatic nailer, just a helluva lot more portable. I live in the open carry state next door to Ohio, and you can rest assured, it looks nothing like an episode of "Gunsmoke"; sure, it's legal to openly pack heat, but almost nobody does, and particularly not with long arms, unless we're hunting, because it attracts attention. Open carry is actually pretty damned inconvenient, in practice, and everybody I know that regularly carries does so either with a concealed permit or illegally, which brings me to my point. Thus far, there's been no reported violence at the Cleveland convention, nor the environs thereof. Don't it make you wonder if those of us who say 'an armed society is a polite society' are right?
Mojo Bone
_________________________________
Bob-
I mostly enjoy your messages, but I have to believe that you send some of these out to provoke a response. If this is your goal, then you did indeed succeed.
However, if you were sincere in your remarks, then it brings into question your understanding of the music business, because your statements on politics and for that matter, the gun issue, are so flawed as to be laughable. You are projecting your feelings and emotions as facts, which clearly are only one side of the debate.
I don't know where you went to college, but if you took a world history class, maybe you could send them a copy of your article and persuade them to give you your money back. It shouldn't take a lot of persuading.
Question: What is the difference between a pizza and an unarmed Jew living in Germany during WWII?
Answer: A pizza doesn't make any noise when you put it in the oven.
I'll bet all of the 6 million Jews who died under Hitler's oppressive government didn't own guns, but I'll also bet the ones who turned them in to the Nazis wished they didn't. Maybe a few more would still be alive. Think about it when you vote for Hitler, er, Hillary this Fall. She doesn't like guns either. Maybe that's why she didn't send any men with guns to help those four guys in Libya. It was only four guys, but as Hitler, er, Hillary said "What difference does it make?" Obviously, none to her. But it does to the loved ones of those men, it does to me, and it should to you.
It was nice of Hillary to accept Obama's support for her campaign, the same guy who gave $180 Billion to one of the enemies of Israel, who, if they could, would arm missiles with nukes to take out Jerusalem. Maybe you missed that in the news while you were recovering from your fall on the way to the slopes.
Final question: Did that fall knock all of the common sense out of you?
Keep the comedy coming!
Ted
_________________________________
Dude..this was so rough to read.
U obviously are clueless as to what is really going on in the Republican Party. It's undergoing reformation. It's being split into two factions a pro-America (Trump) verses a globalization (Bush/Ryan/establishment).
Meanwhile your beloved Democratic Party is doing the same retread shit they've done since the 60's.
You keep your biased head in the sand. As for the rest of America, we are moving forward.
P.S. Hillary may win but that doesn't change who she is and you can F-ing have all you won't of that.
Jack Lynady
_________________________________
No !!! (Not with you.)
Steve Haymes
_________________________________
Been a subscriber for years. Please stay out of politics. You are welcome to your liberal left opinions, but save it for your dinner parties and ski resort cronies.
"When you win, and you will..." Not a good look Bob, not a good look.
Patrick
Sellersville, PA
_________________________________
I read this intently thinking that maybe just maybe you would tell your followers of something….anything that is better now than 7 and a half years ago. At no time in my 6+ decades in this great country have we had the multitude of hugely significant problems all happening at once. Citizens on food stamps, lack of jobs, porous borders, race relations, terrorism on our soil, lack of respect for law enforcement, dismal education system, trade imbalances, insurmountable debt to leave to our children/grand-children, our enemies gaining strength, honesty from our leaders. You get the picture? I could go on.
Bottom line Bob is that your core theme to musicians is always to recognize when things aren't going great you can't just sit around bitching about it. You have to see what isn't working and then change course even when it doesn't feel comfortable. That's where we are right now in this great nation. Its last call. Do we want to be like the clueless record executives that you talk about that can't see next week due to their butts glued to the past or will we decide that this just flat out ain't working and maybe its time to take a bold move in another direction. I never figured you to be a status quo guy but few things surprise me anymore. A band doesn't get better by sticking with the same failed thinking. Sometimes you gotta shake things up…replace the lead singer or fire the dishonest manager to make great music.
Steve Harry
Managing Director
East Coast Entertainment
_________________________________
as flawed as Trump is, he is still preferable to hillary. you already know millions think that way.
Thaddeus Graham
_________________________________
It ain't "your country"
Wolfgang Berger
_________________________________
Bob: don't talk about guns you know nothing about them and it makes you sound like a pussy, which I believe you are not.
Kurt Lambeth
_________________________________
Dear Bob,
Basically NO! I could never bring myself to vote for Hillary no matter the other candidate. Not saying Trump would be any better or worse, though I would have liked to seen Marco Rubio nominated. My only hope is that Hillary is disqualified for her transgressions somehow and the Dems have to find an alternative.
Keep 'em coming, Bob. I don't usually disagree.
Dean Nardi
Knoxville TN
_________________________________
So, from this we can tell you are a fraidy-cat around guns for some childish reason. But we can mark you down as a "maybe" for a Trump supporter. LOL.
If you think Clinton and the Dems have ANY answers, then you are the one who is insane. Delusional.
That said, I often enjoy your opinions on music and tech. More often than not, we agree in those realms.
Barry Pike
_________________________________
Your full of shit! You should read more and write less.
Jim Garrett
Chief Revenue Officer
_________________________________
no (Not with you.)
Charlie Gaylord
_________________________________
I've had about enough of your inane bullshit with this once-bearable-now-trite newsletter...you're a fucking shill for Apple, Facebook, the book publishers and Hillary Clinton & the DNC. You're so far gone, you're ready to embrace Sharia Law. I'm Unsubscribing from this waste of my time....
Stan Miller
_________________________________
You have lost your mind Bob. Trump ain't perfect but Hillary would be a far worse leader. Get off you wacko liberal agenda and wake up
Jv
_________________________________
No, sir. I am not.
Myrle McNeal
_________________________________
NO
Robert J. Levatino CPA
_________________________________
Not this time, Bob. None of this makes sense, you're right. But as bas as Trump "seems" Hillary Clinton (and her husband) are not the answer.
Emails? You bet. It isn't just the emails, though. It's Benghazi and the trade for Bowe Burgdahl and the IRS scandal targeting political opponents. These and more happened while she was an integral part of this administration.
You're right. I don't recognize this country anymore. But it's time to get the other side in there for a term or two.
Bill Shafer
_________________________________
No.
John Warden
_________________________________
FAR AWAY FROM YOU - don't like your politics
you're pretty interesting otherwise
Benjamin Nowak
_________________________________
Typical effin' liberal. Wow
William Watts
_________________________________
Uh, no, sorry.
MGordon
_________________________________
Disagree
Cardinalmedia
_________________________________
Spoken like a true elitist out of touch progressive Californian.
Sean Mormelo
_________________________________
No, Not with you. You whiffed on this one! The democrats are the elites now. So lets get back to music.
John Barone in Hollywood
_________________________________
"...this is the fringe..."
Lol. You must definitely live in a liberal bubble. Trump is more mainstream than you realize. The Republican elites/establishment; not so much.
When the elite/establishment said, "we aren't coming to the convention," most modern Republicans said, "GOOD! You big government globalist warmongers and the limousine liberal Dems are the problem and we don't want your poison here anyway!"
Mingle with the little people a bit, Bob; it'll open your eyes. This will be hard for you to swallow, but out in that vast expanse of "flyover country" (and a steadily growing number on the coasts) there are very few people in America who think like YOU.
Think are thinking like Trump...
America First
Border Security/Vetted Immigration
American Jobs First
Less Government Intrusion
American Education
American Innovation
American Greatness
...and that's why he is so popular. He's saying what the NeoCon and NeoLibs won't say and is willing to do what they won't do. Political correctness be damned.
And yes, I am a Millennial saying this.
Selah.
Imagine Recordings
_________________________________
Nope. Not with you. Can't even believe you are so blind. I always enjoyed your articles on music. But as a moderate, I am blacklisted as a musician in this wing-nut, left leaning country now. I'm done listening to all of that crap. Lets hope Trump wins, to teach all of you lefties a hard lesson you desperately need to learn. It ain't all about you. Buh bye Bob, nice knowing you.
rodreb
_________________________________
Bob,
I've never written before but this piece was over the top.... My guess is because you want to get a reaction.
I'm a democrat that is going to vote for Trump!!!
So....No, I'm not with you!!
You're a typical liberal from the NE that doesn't understand American family values....as you've never had children.
Our country is going to hell because of liberal elitists like you who want to force their beliefs on America and we're tired of it!!
Look at Trumps children....they didn't become that way because they were rich,....it's because of how they were raised and if you had children you would understand that....
I grew up one of seven children in Philadelphia and luckily we moved to Oklahoma when I was 12 as I probably would've been an elitist liberal just like you.
I smoked pot in College was a liberal, however, I
paid 100% of my college education and Graduated. I've been married 34 years and have three children and three grandchildren.
I've had to move 14 times all over the USA
for job opportunities, never once asking for help....as my parents instilled that into all of my brothers and sisters. WORK HARD AND YOU WILL GET AHEAD!
Unfortunately that's no longer true....I'm tired of working hard and getting a bonus and over 40% is going to the Government...,what for more free phones...and food stamps???
So vote for Hillary, who's above the law and keeps the poor down because it makes her richer!
Barry Burmaster
_________________________________
Really Bob, It's all the fault of the Republican elite? You are a very intelligent man but your judgement in my opinion is very myopic! America is not recognizable because the elite of both parties have done this! The Democrats are as guilty as the Republicans. The truly sad part in all of this is that we the people have allowed this to happen.
Ross Robinson, MD
Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, PC
Anesthesia and Intensive Care
Saint Thomas West
Nashville TN
_________________________________
Bob:
You have some "good ones" -- A lot of those.
You also have some "bad ones" -- This is a bad one.
Kurtis Barton, Media Hacker
_________________________________
Nope.
We are seeking The Future, as you once did. (how can you not get this?)
Dennis Brent
_________________________________
Bob,
Are you serious?
You've got a dead set Muslim for a president , under whom race relations have gone backwards over the past 8 years, and you've got a Democratic presidential nominee who the FBI says is extremely careless with state secrets and whose foundation is totally funded by the Saudis....and you blame all of America's woes on the Republicans?
What are you smoking, mate?
Regards
Tony McAuslan
_________________________________
Okay I must say I'm shocked at you Bob. I had hopes that you were a man of conviction who backed Sanders because you really believed in something different. But you along with other Bernie supports I know, have now said you will vote for Hillary despite her being the worst of all Bernie spoke against.
I hear many people like you who bash the Republican Party for all that's ails this nation like it hasn't been a snowball effect from many horrible missteps of presidents past. It's been so long since we've had a real leader I think we've forgotten what it's like but I'll say one thing, it sure ain't Hillary.
I have two friends who are going to vote independent rather than vote for Hillary. Those friends are voting on principle of which I thought you would as well. If your passion for Bernie was true, you would not vote for Hillary because she is cut from the same mold as Trump and all the other fat cats who've destroyed Washington and our faith in politics.
You speak of hate and divisiveness coming from the republicans but you can't honestly believe the democrats don't spew the same crap behind closed doors. Do you really think they have the answer?
We're all just guessing and history is bound to repeat whether we learn our lessons or not because every next generation thinks they can do better than the last so we cast aside whatever we see fit.
I really don't care who you vote for but I had to finally say something about being disappointed with you. You speak of a bygone era where belief in something greater was true belief and it formed a nation. If you're belief ran as deep, you would follow it to another candidate other than Hillary.
Stand up. At least you know you voted with conviction at the end of it all.
Peace,
Ted Yoder
_________________________________
Never. You sound so foolish, might as well piss in the wind.
Charles A Bull
_________________________________
No.
John Kendig
_________________________________
I disagree with you on this Bob.
Trump is imperfect, Clinton is flawed.
Obama has wasted truckloads of opportunity. His greatest feat is to remind Americans that we are to blame for the acts of the few. I wish I never voted for him.
Get with it brother, this is as good as it gets.
PALancia
_________________________________
No. You have lost your mind. Obama hates US. Hillary is a bad, nasty person. How can you say anything good about her?
Grateful
_________________________________
Take the Country back from who? Haven't we had a Democratic president for nearly 8 years?
Dick Eastman
_________________________________
Stick to what you know Pal.
Richard Rosenberg
_________________________________
No!
onedragon
_________________________________
TRUMP FOR POTUS!
Brad Folmar
_________________________________
Fuck you
Clay Miller
_________________________________
Your views are so wacked. I like when you talk about music. But your political views are just nonsense.
William
_________________________________
You are a fucking idiot Bob !!!!!
Wake the fuck up
Everett Lybolt
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The good news is I received 433 responses to my convention piece and got only 46 negative responses.
The bad news is not all Trump supporters are vocal about it and so many say they won't vote at all, or will for a third party candidate, seeming to forget the lesson of Bush vs. Gore (and Nader!) back in 2000.
This ain't the sixties anymore. When the younger generation was wrapped up in music and everybody leaned left. Just because you're a music lover that does not mean you're a liberal.
Read these. They'll puncture your bubble.
_________________________________
_________________________________
what nonsense......... the country has been defined by Obama and Hillary for the last 7.5 years!
Those were your candidates.......so the county is now the way you wanted it, with those two running the show.
Hillary will continue with more of the same shit........and you are voting for her!
Me thinks thou protest too much..........
matt mavrolas
_________________________________
No. (Not with you.)
Scott Hazlewood
_________________________________
I'm with you Bob, but for this; guns are only scary at first. ( I mean, think about it; what's scary about a gun that you're holding?) Once you've learned how to safely operate them, they're just a tool; no more dangerous than a pneumatic nailer, just a helluva lot more portable. I live in the open carry state next door to Ohio, and you can rest assured, it looks nothing like an episode of "Gunsmoke"; sure, it's legal to openly pack heat, but almost nobody does, and particularly not with long arms, unless we're hunting, because it attracts attention. Open carry is actually pretty damned inconvenient, in practice, and everybody I know that regularly carries does so either with a concealed permit or illegally, which brings me to my point. Thus far, there's been no reported violence at the Cleveland convention, nor the environs thereof. Don't it make you wonder if those of us who say 'an armed society is a polite society' are right?
Mojo Bone
_________________________________
Bob-
I mostly enjoy your messages, but I have to believe that you send some of these out to provoke a response. If this is your goal, then you did indeed succeed.
However, if you were sincere in your remarks, then it brings into question your understanding of the music business, because your statements on politics and for that matter, the gun issue, are so flawed as to be laughable. You are projecting your feelings and emotions as facts, which clearly are only one side of the debate.
I don't know where you went to college, but if you took a world history class, maybe you could send them a copy of your article and persuade them to give you your money back. It shouldn't take a lot of persuading.
Question: What is the difference between a pizza and an unarmed Jew living in Germany during WWII?
Answer: A pizza doesn't make any noise when you put it in the oven.
I'll bet all of the 6 million Jews who died under Hitler's oppressive government didn't own guns, but I'll also bet the ones who turned them in to the Nazis wished they didn't. Maybe a few more would still be alive. Think about it when you vote for Hitler, er, Hillary this Fall. She doesn't like guns either. Maybe that's why she didn't send any men with guns to help those four guys in Libya. It was only four guys, but as Hitler, er, Hillary said "What difference does it make?" Obviously, none to her. But it does to the loved ones of those men, it does to me, and it should to you.
It was nice of Hillary to accept Obama's support for her campaign, the same guy who gave $180 Billion to one of the enemies of Israel, who, if they could, would arm missiles with nukes to take out Jerusalem. Maybe you missed that in the news while you were recovering from your fall on the way to the slopes.
Final question: Did that fall knock all of the common sense out of you?
Keep the comedy coming!
Ted
_________________________________
Dude..this was so rough to read.
U obviously are clueless as to what is really going on in the Republican Party. It's undergoing reformation. It's being split into two factions a pro-America (Trump) verses a globalization (Bush/Ryan/establishment).
Meanwhile your beloved Democratic Party is doing the same retread shit they've done since the 60's.
You keep your biased head in the sand. As for the rest of America, we are moving forward.
P.S. Hillary may win but that doesn't change who she is and you can F-ing have all you won't of that.
Jack Lynady
_________________________________
No !!! (Not with you.)
Steve Haymes
_________________________________
Been a subscriber for years. Please stay out of politics. You are welcome to your liberal left opinions, but save it for your dinner parties and ski resort cronies.
"When you win, and you will..." Not a good look Bob, not a good look.
Patrick
Sellersville, PA
_________________________________
I read this intently thinking that maybe just maybe you would tell your followers of something….anything that is better now than 7 and a half years ago. At no time in my 6+ decades in this great country have we had the multitude of hugely significant problems all happening at once. Citizens on food stamps, lack of jobs, porous borders, race relations, terrorism on our soil, lack of respect for law enforcement, dismal education system, trade imbalances, insurmountable debt to leave to our children/grand-children, our enemies gaining strength, honesty from our leaders. You get the picture? I could go on.
Bottom line Bob is that your core theme to musicians is always to recognize when things aren't going great you can't just sit around bitching about it. You have to see what isn't working and then change course even when it doesn't feel comfortable. That's where we are right now in this great nation. Its last call. Do we want to be like the clueless record executives that you talk about that can't see next week due to their butts glued to the past or will we decide that this just flat out ain't working and maybe its time to take a bold move in another direction. I never figured you to be a status quo guy but few things surprise me anymore. A band doesn't get better by sticking with the same failed thinking. Sometimes you gotta shake things up…replace the lead singer or fire the dishonest manager to make great music.
Steve Harry
Managing Director
East Coast Entertainment
_________________________________
as flawed as Trump is, he is still preferable to hillary. you already know millions think that way.
Thaddeus Graham
_________________________________
It ain't "your country"
Wolfgang Berger
_________________________________
Bob: don't talk about guns you know nothing about them and it makes you sound like a pussy, which I believe you are not.
Kurt Lambeth
_________________________________
Dear Bob,
Basically NO! I could never bring myself to vote for Hillary no matter the other candidate. Not saying Trump would be any better or worse, though I would have liked to seen Marco Rubio nominated. My only hope is that Hillary is disqualified for her transgressions somehow and the Dems have to find an alternative.
Keep 'em coming, Bob. I don't usually disagree.
Dean Nardi
Knoxville TN
_________________________________
So, from this we can tell you are a fraidy-cat around guns for some childish reason. But we can mark you down as a "maybe" for a Trump supporter. LOL.
If you think Clinton and the Dems have ANY answers, then you are the one who is insane. Delusional.
That said, I often enjoy your opinions on music and tech. More often than not, we agree in those realms.
Barry Pike
_________________________________
Your full of shit! You should read more and write less.
Jim Garrett
Chief Revenue Officer
_________________________________
no (Not with you.)
Charlie Gaylord
_________________________________
I've had about enough of your inane bullshit with this once-bearable-now-trite newsletter...you're a fucking shill for Apple, Facebook, the book publishers and Hillary Clinton & the DNC. You're so far gone, you're ready to embrace Sharia Law. I'm Unsubscribing from this waste of my time....
Stan Miller
_________________________________
You have lost your mind Bob. Trump ain't perfect but Hillary would be a far worse leader. Get off you wacko liberal agenda and wake up
Jv
_________________________________
No, sir. I am not.
Myrle McNeal
_________________________________
NO
Robert J. Levatino CPA
_________________________________
Not this time, Bob. None of this makes sense, you're right. But as bas as Trump "seems" Hillary Clinton (and her husband) are not the answer.
Emails? You bet. It isn't just the emails, though. It's Benghazi and the trade for Bowe Burgdahl and the IRS scandal targeting political opponents. These and more happened while she was an integral part of this administration.
You're right. I don't recognize this country anymore. But it's time to get the other side in there for a term or two.
Bill Shafer
_________________________________
No.
John Warden
_________________________________
FAR AWAY FROM YOU - don't like your politics
you're pretty interesting otherwise
Benjamin Nowak
_________________________________
Typical effin' liberal. Wow
William Watts
_________________________________
Uh, no, sorry.
MGordon
_________________________________
Disagree
Cardinalmedia
_________________________________
Spoken like a true elitist out of touch progressive Californian.
Sean Mormelo
_________________________________
No, Not with you. You whiffed on this one! The democrats are the elites now. So lets get back to music.
John Barone in Hollywood
_________________________________
"...this is the fringe..."
Lol. You must definitely live in a liberal bubble. Trump is more mainstream than you realize. The Republican elites/establishment; not so much.
When the elite/establishment said, "we aren't coming to the convention," most modern Republicans said, "GOOD! You big government globalist warmongers and the limousine liberal Dems are the problem and we don't want your poison here anyway!"
Mingle with the little people a bit, Bob; it'll open your eyes. This will be hard for you to swallow, but out in that vast expanse of "flyover country" (and a steadily growing number on the coasts) there are very few people in America who think like YOU.
Think are thinking like Trump...
America First
Border Security/Vetted Immigration
American Jobs First
Less Government Intrusion
American Education
American Innovation
American Greatness
...and that's why he is so popular. He's saying what the NeoCon and NeoLibs won't say and is willing to do what they won't do. Political correctness be damned.
And yes, I am a Millennial saying this.
Selah.
Imagine Recordings
_________________________________
Nope. Not with you. Can't even believe you are so blind. I always enjoyed your articles on music. But as a moderate, I am blacklisted as a musician in this wing-nut, left leaning country now. I'm done listening to all of that crap. Lets hope Trump wins, to teach all of you lefties a hard lesson you desperately need to learn. It ain't all about you. Buh bye Bob, nice knowing you.
rodreb
_________________________________
Bob,
I've never written before but this piece was over the top.... My guess is because you want to get a reaction.
I'm a democrat that is going to vote for Trump!!!
So....No, I'm not with you!!
You're a typical liberal from the NE that doesn't understand American family values....as you've never had children.
Our country is going to hell because of liberal elitists like you who want to force their beliefs on America and we're tired of it!!
Look at Trumps children....they didn't become that way because they were rich,....it's because of how they were raised and if you had children you would understand that....
I grew up one of seven children in Philadelphia and luckily we moved to Oklahoma when I was 12 as I probably would've been an elitist liberal just like you.
I smoked pot in College was a liberal, however, I
paid 100% of my college education and Graduated. I've been married 34 years and have three children and three grandchildren.
I've had to move 14 times all over the USA
for job opportunities, never once asking for help....as my parents instilled that into all of my brothers and sisters. WORK HARD AND YOU WILL GET AHEAD!
Unfortunately that's no longer true....I'm tired of working hard and getting a bonus and over 40% is going to the Government...,what for more free phones...and food stamps???
So vote for Hillary, who's above the law and keeps the poor down because it makes her richer!
Barry Burmaster
_________________________________
Really Bob, It's all the fault of the Republican elite? You are a very intelligent man but your judgement in my opinion is very myopic! America is not recognizable because the elite of both parties have done this! The Democrats are as guilty as the Republicans. The truly sad part in all of this is that we the people have allowed this to happen.
Ross Robinson, MD
Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, PC
Anesthesia and Intensive Care
Saint Thomas West
Nashville TN
_________________________________
Bob:
You have some "good ones" -- A lot of those.
You also have some "bad ones" -- This is a bad one.
Kurtis Barton, Media Hacker
_________________________________
Nope.
We are seeking The Future, as you once did. (how can you not get this?)
Dennis Brent
_________________________________
Bob,
Are you serious?
You've got a dead set Muslim for a president , under whom race relations have gone backwards over the past 8 years, and you've got a Democratic presidential nominee who the FBI says is extremely careless with state secrets and whose foundation is totally funded by the Saudis....and you blame all of America's woes on the Republicans?
What are you smoking, mate?
Regards
Tony McAuslan
_________________________________
Okay I must say I'm shocked at you Bob. I had hopes that you were a man of conviction who backed Sanders because you really believed in something different. But you along with other Bernie supports I know, have now said you will vote for Hillary despite her being the worst of all Bernie spoke against.
I hear many people like you who bash the Republican Party for all that's ails this nation like it hasn't been a snowball effect from many horrible missteps of presidents past. It's been so long since we've had a real leader I think we've forgotten what it's like but I'll say one thing, it sure ain't Hillary.
I have two friends who are going to vote independent rather than vote for Hillary. Those friends are voting on principle of which I thought you would as well. If your passion for Bernie was true, you would not vote for Hillary because she is cut from the same mold as Trump and all the other fat cats who've destroyed Washington and our faith in politics.
You speak of hate and divisiveness coming from the republicans but you can't honestly believe the democrats don't spew the same crap behind closed doors. Do you really think they have the answer?
We're all just guessing and history is bound to repeat whether we learn our lessons or not because every next generation thinks they can do better than the last so we cast aside whatever we see fit.
I really don't care who you vote for but I had to finally say something about being disappointed with you. You speak of a bygone era where belief in something greater was true belief and it formed a nation. If you're belief ran as deep, you would follow it to another candidate other than Hillary.
Stand up. At least you know you voted with conviction at the end of it all.
Peace,
Ted Yoder
_________________________________
Never. You sound so foolish, might as well piss in the wind.
Charles A Bull
_________________________________
No.
John Kendig
_________________________________
I disagree with you on this Bob.
Trump is imperfect, Clinton is flawed.
Obama has wasted truckloads of opportunity. His greatest feat is to remind Americans that we are to blame for the acts of the few. I wish I never voted for him.
Get with it brother, this is as good as it gets.
PALancia
_________________________________
No. You have lost your mind. Obama hates US. Hillary is a bad, nasty person. How can you say anything good about her?
Grateful
_________________________________
Take the Country back from who? Haven't we had a Democratic president for nearly 8 years?
Dick Eastman
_________________________________
Stick to what you know Pal.
Richard Rosenberg
_________________________________
No!
onedragon
_________________________________
TRUMP FOR POTUS!
Brad Folmar
_________________________________
Fuck you
Clay Miller
_________________________________
Your views are so wacked. I like when you talk about music. But your political views are just nonsense.
William
_________________________________
You are a fucking idiot Bob !!!!!
Wake the fuck up
Everett Lybolt
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Wednesday 20 July 2016
The Convention
I don't recognize my country.
For this I blame the Republicans.
Not the rank and file voters, but the establishment, the elite, which has preached hatred for so long that now we end up with a country divided between the knowledgeable and the ignorant, the tax-free and the worker bee, those who think the government is anathema and those who know that freedom means nothing without protection.
Ohio is an open carry state.
How can this be?
Ever held a gun? One of the scariest experiences possible. You immediately feel the power. To maim, to kill. Sure, you can shoot targets but so many want their firearms for protection, even though it's their kin they end up shooting.
You can't make a western movie or television show because ratings are so low, but it's "Maverick" and "Bonanza" 24/7 in these bizarre places where people can shoulder rifles publicly. If this is freedom, I want no part of it.
And I abhor the fact that the media hasn't pissed on this convention which is a Trump party speaking to so few. That's right, they moved the stage up to the middle, because there aren't enough people to fill the place. But, rather than point out that this is the fringe, with cuckoo ideas, the talking heads heap gravitas upon these hatemongers twisting the truth.
If you listen to Ted Cruz you believe that Obama is dead set on the destruction of America.
But Cruz didn't win the nomination. No one could beat Trump because there wasn't a reasonable Republican candidate extant. One embodying their agenda of kissing the ass of the poor while paying fealty to the rich. If you think cutting the budget of the IRS is a boon to our country you don't know that most people file a short form, they don't even itemize their deductions, it's the fat cats that do that, these same ultra-rich who now go unsupervised and don't pay. Like Trump himself, who won't even release his returns, because he's afraid we'll find out he's gaming the system and not that rich to begin with. What kind of screwed up party is this anyway? That reveres the rich but is made up of the ignorant and poor, who believe their chance is coming the same way nitwits who play the lottery and drop out of school believe if they can only get on reality TV, their lives will be made.
This ain't America.
With a Congress dead set on thwarting every effort by the other party and the President. The call it "governance," not "do-nothingism." These same people who won't even approve a centrist Supreme Court Justice. Hillary, do me a favor, when you win, and you will, nominate a true lefty, cast Merrick Garland aside, you can't work with these people, you've got to go for the jugular and show them who's boss, that the game can't be rigged. If you lose, you accept it. As opposed to stopping all action like a five year old crying because his mom took away his toys.
The Republicans have defined the debate.
Government is bad and inept and the rich know better and if you stopped taxing them money would rain down all over this great nation of ours. They keep saying the big issue is the national debt when the truth is interest rates have stayed at marginal levels for years and running a country is not like balancing your home budget.
Disputing this would require you to have some knowledge, some insight.
But that's the Republican game, fanning the flames of ignorance while working behind the scenes to foster an agenda for the very few, the one percent.
Meanwhile, the Democrats have blinked, let the Republicans set the agenda, lefties are afraid to take a hard stand because of the reaction, as if they never watched the NBA and don't realize the Republicans are working the refs. That's right, say anything contrary to their agenda and you're inundated with blowback. But that does not mean you should refrain from speaking the truth.
And there's little veracity at this convention.
The elite have lost control of their own narrative.
It's as if tribute bands took over for the real thing. Tribute bands who kept saying tickets for superstars are too high and if we let any new music gain traction our society will die.
Someone's got to speak the truth. Someone's got to stand up to this inanity.
I'm not saying the Democrats are perfect, that Hillary isn't a flawed candidate.
But I am saying that Trump and his ilk are INSANE!
And no one will say so, not his party or the talking head media.
Sometimes there aren't two sides to every story. Sometimes people are just plain wrong, no matter how many believe the untruths.
We thought Nixon was divisive?
He was a veritable prince compared to Trump. He was a Democrat by today's standards. Oh, how far we've come.
But there is a solution. All you've got to do is get out and vote. There are more of us than them, like I said, they couldn't even fill the damn arena.
It's truly time for us to take our imperfect, already great country back.
ARE YOU WITH ME??
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For this I blame the Republicans.
Not the rank and file voters, but the establishment, the elite, which has preached hatred for so long that now we end up with a country divided between the knowledgeable and the ignorant, the tax-free and the worker bee, those who think the government is anathema and those who know that freedom means nothing without protection.
Ohio is an open carry state.
How can this be?
Ever held a gun? One of the scariest experiences possible. You immediately feel the power. To maim, to kill. Sure, you can shoot targets but so many want their firearms for protection, even though it's their kin they end up shooting.
You can't make a western movie or television show because ratings are so low, but it's "Maverick" and "Bonanza" 24/7 in these bizarre places where people can shoulder rifles publicly. If this is freedom, I want no part of it.
And I abhor the fact that the media hasn't pissed on this convention which is a Trump party speaking to so few. That's right, they moved the stage up to the middle, because there aren't enough people to fill the place. But, rather than point out that this is the fringe, with cuckoo ideas, the talking heads heap gravitas upon these hatemongers twisting the truth.
If you listen to Ted Cruz you believe that Obama is dead set on the destruction of America.
But Cruz didn't win the nomination. No one could beat Trump because there wasn't a reasonable Republican candidate extant. One embodying their agenda of kissing the ass of the poor while paying fealty to the rich. If you think cutting the budget of the IRS is a boon to our country you don't know that most people file a short form, they don't even itemize their deductions, it's the fat cats that do that, these same ultra-rich who now go unsupervised and don't pay. Like Trump himself, who won't even release his returns, because he's afraid we'll find out he's gaming the system and not that rich to begin with. What kind of screwed up party is this anyway? That reveres the rich but is made up of the ignorant and poor, who believe their chance is coming the same way nitwits who play the lottery and drop out of school believe if they can only get on reality TV, their lives will be made.
This ain't America.
With a Congress dead set on thwarting every effort by the other party and the President. The call it "governance," not "do-nothingism." These same people who won't even approve a centrist Supreme Court Justice. Hillary, do me a favor, when you win, and you will, nominate a true lefty, cast Merrick Garland aside, you can't work with these people, you've got to go for the jugular and show them who's boss, that the game can't be rigged. If you lose, you accept it. As opposed to stopping all action like a five year old crying because his mom took away his toys.
The Republicans have defined the debate.
Government is bad and inept and the rich know better and if you stopped taxing them money would rain down all over this great nation of ours. They keep saying the big issue is the national debt when the truth is interest rates have stayed at marginal levels for years and running a country is not like balancing your home budget.
Disputing this would require you to have some knowledge, some insight.
But that's the Republican game, fanning the flames of ignorance while working behind the scenes to foster an agenda for the very few, the one percent.
Meanwhile, the Democrats have blinked, let the Republicans set the agenda, lefties are afraid to take a hard stand because of the reaction, as if they never watched the NBA and don't realize the Republicans are working the refs. That's right, say anything contrary to their agenda and you're inundated with blowback. But that does not mean you should refrain from speaking the truth.
And there's little veracity at this convention.
The elite have lost control of their own narrative.
It's as if tribute bands took over for the real thing. Tribute bands who kept saying tickets for superstars are too high and if we let any new music gain traction our society will die.
Someone's got to speak the truth. Someone's got to stand up to this inanity.
I'm not saying the Democrats are perfect, that Hillary isn't a flawed candidate.
But I am saying that Trump and his ilk are INSANE!
And no one will say so, not his party or the talking head media.
Sometimes there aren't two sides to every story. Sometimes people are just plain wrong, no matter how many believe the untruths.
We thought Nixon was divisive?
He was a veritable prince compared to Trump. He was a Democrat by today's standards. Oh, how far we've come.
But there is a solution. All you've got to do is get out and vote. There are more of us than them, like I said, they couldn't even fill the damn arena.
It's truly time for us to take our imperfect, already great country back.
ARE YOU WITH ME??
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Chaos Monkeys Update
I'm finished.
I'd like to tell you it's an easy satisfying read but the truth is despite the book being billed as a Facebook expose, the first half, when Antonio Garcia Martinez is delineating his travails in a startup, is much more interesting than the details of his tenure at the social network thereafter.
And the dirty little secret is most acquisitions are acqui-hires, for talent as opposed to product, and the bandied about number is oftentimes much higher than reality, never mind needing to work at the new establishment for years to get your payout, but there are a ton of lessons in this book that should be heeded.
"People go into startups thinking that the technical problems are the challenge... No, every real problem in startups is a people problem, and as such they're the hardest to solve, as they often don't have a real solution, much less a ready software fix."
Ideas are a dime a dozen, execution is everything. And to succeed you need a team, and that group only succeeds if you can get along. People look at Hollywood and think they could move out west and triumph, do a better job, and why is it all these people without an education, certainly not from a top-notch institution, are succeeding? Because they know people. Sure, you might see the misdeeds in the media, but the truth is winners in the entertainment business are cunning individuals who've entranced an entire posse who will lay down for them. It's about loyalty. And you incur this via favors, by connecting, by getting along. Not by being a doormat, but by being fun and getting things done.
"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough."
That's Mario Andretti speaking.
I wrestle with this, I don't want to make mistakes. I'm trying to learn to lose control. I always think of the Beatles, who got everything right, then again, they were making it up as they went along, they were clueless at the time. The problem might be that I know too much, or that I operate in fields already well-defined. The greats venture into the unknown and create something out of thin air, and when you don't know where you're going you're definitely going to go the wrong way some of the time.
"As Geoff Ralston, a YC partner told us: people don't really change, they just become better actors."
It's the adjustment that adds friction, that prevents an enterprise from moving forward. Once the game is defined, everybody knows their role, but when there's chaos, greatness can emerge. Meanwhile, I've said for years that people in relationships don't change. I don't want to believe this is true. I want to believe people can gain awareness and adjust. Then again, everything someone tells you on a first date is true, believe them, it's these unguarded revelations that will come to haunt you in the future. What you didn't believe, what you thought was cute, you'll find totally true and abhorrent as time goes by, even if it does explain so much.
"PG was our genius guru, but like many brilliant minds, he occasionally got things flamingly and egregiously wrong, and this was one such instance."
Or as James Taylor put it in "Lighthouse":
"But just because I might be standing here
That don't mean I won't be wrong this time
You could follow me and lose your mind"
We're all looking for beacons, we're all looking for guidance. But it's best to accumulate data and trust your own instincts, then you only have yourself to blame.
Or, as Bob Dylan sang:
"Don't follow leaders
Watch the parking meters"
"in Silicon Valley, the Land of No Sarcasm"
That's what easterners don't understand about California, the optimism, the can-do spirit, the ability to make friends with enemies and move on like the past didn't happen.
On the east coast it's dreary, everybody's bringing each other down. It's a cutting atmosphere whereas California is an uplifting atmosphere, and if you were brought up in the east it seems so phony. AND IT IS! But then you realize you like it this way, that everybody's into their own trip and ignoring you, you're free of the barbs, if not the sharp elbows. Yes, everybody in California wants to get ahead, and if you're in their way, watch out, they're not about to lend a helping hand.
"In VC (venture capital), as often in life, it's the incompetent and insecure who are generally the assholes; the masterful and successful - not to mention those universally perceived as the best in their field - are playing the long game."
Like Tom Freston. Who never luxuriates in his status, is always endearing and delegates as opposed to consolidating power. What a difference from Philippe Daumann, who will lose his job at Viacom and never work again, as opposed to Freston, who is one of the engines behind Vice's success. Vice is MTV on steroids, it's much more than music. News is today's music, if only the musicians understood this.
"I gave him an extended version of our pitch, which he consumed with that look of rapt attention, accompanied by staccato bursts of questions, which was the unmistakable sign of sincere investor interest."
1. Listen, nothing endears you to people more.
2. Ask questions, it demonstrates interest.
3. If people aren't laser-focused on you and your pitch and want to know more, you know you've failed.
4. The greats will give you all their attention until they won't. Don't waste their time and don't be offended when they've moved on. They remember what's important to them, and if you made an impression, you're seared into their brain.
"America still loves an underdog, and you'll be surprised at how many allies come out of the woodwork when some obnoxious incumbent is challenged by a scrappy startup with a convincing story."
You have friends you are unaware of until you find out you share a common enemy. Then they'll go to war with you and support you in your effort to rectify an injustice. You are not the first victim of this bullying jerk who believes the world bends to their will. You know, the asshole who tells you you'll never work again after you stand up for yourself. That person has always been imperious. The world is a web of relationships, and someone can always get to the perpetrator, you've just got to work your network to achieve the desired result.
"So long as you maintain unit cohesion and a shared sense of purpose, and have the basic rudiments of living, you will outlast, outfight, and out-rage any company that sets out to destroy you. Men with nothing to lose will stop at nothing to win."
This is why upstarts succeed. They're willing to work harder, stay up all night, live in substandard conditions and sacrifice all for the goal. Every winner has a tale of utmost sacrifice. If they don't, they're lying. Or their success is paper-thin and about to be revealed.
"To quote Balzac, 'The secret of great fortunes without apparent cause is a forgotten crime, as the crime was properly done.'"
People forget. They just see where you are, not how you got there. Joe Kennedy was a bootlegger. Sean Parker started at Napster... Once you've got the cash, status and gravitas come naturally.
"In a world where superficial relationships and glib bullshit are the rule, there's nothing more fearsome than to see true loyalty at work."
People will go out of their way for you, they like to help, it makes them feel good, and if they can settle a score in the process, even better.
"The harsh reality is this: to have influence in the world, you need to be willing and able to reward your friends and punish your enemies."
Those who are nice and offend no one don't succeed. They become vice-presidents and stall out. The true movers and shakers spread the wealth and gain allies, and they're willing to go after their enemies' jugular.
"First, the ability to monomaniacally and obsessively focus on one thing and one thing only, at the expense of everything else in life."
Are you willing to sacrifice everything to make it? Not only a steady income, but a roof over your head, good food on the table and a relationship and children? If so, you have a chance of making it. If not, you're already in the rearview mirror.
"Second, the ability to take and endure endless amounts of shit."
It hurts, but it's the only way to the top. If you're unwilling to be on the receiving end of tons of doo-doo, justified or unjustified, you don't have the cojones to make it. You're gonna make mistakes, and there are others who just want to keep you down and dissuade you, deal with it.
"Love is grand, but hate and fear last longer."
This is the cynicism losers abhor.
"I observe that some men, like bad runners in the stadium, abandon their purposes when close to the goal; while it is at that particular point, more than at any other, that others secure the victory over their rivals. —Polybius, Histories"
Can you close? Or do you dream of success and when you get to contract you start thinking about the millions of ways it can go wrong and are afraid to sign. I know, I've got this fear, I'm trying to overcome it, trying to realize that all deals are imperfect and you never know what will happen after you leave the starting line. Could be bad, but could be incredibly great too. As I always say, you never know what will happen once you walk out your front door.
"Do they have that 'lean and hungry look' of Cassius in Julius Caesar, and eat at dingy taquerias, or perhaps live off cheap staples like ramen or food substitutes? Those are the truly dangerous ones, the ones who live like organized crime trigger men, guerrilla fighters, or sailors at sea - eating shitty food and living in cheap, dumpy crash pads - and who couldn't give a damn about quality of life. Those are the people to fear, because they don't need anything an antagonist can deprive them of."
Whew! When you got nothin', you got nothin' to lose. You win on your brains and hard effort, not your sports car or fancy office.
"Here's another lesson for the aspiring startupista: don't skimp on lawyers."
They're cheap in the end. And the best ones not only know the game, but the players. You're looking for advice and protection, and those never come cheap.
"Lawyers didn't get into law because they're good at business; bamboozle them however so long as they get cracking."
You can't sell your law practice in California. There is no asset value to your firm. Lawyers don't have all the money, their clients do.
"Such scheming happens either by phone or in person, with no emails or messaging involved. That's when you can tell you're really in some juicy shit; conversely, if you're still emailing about it, there's actually nothing real going on."
Because there's no paper trail, no record, nothing to subpoena.
"Often, given the reigning shabby-chic aesthetic, you couldn't immediately distinguish between the technohipsters and the drugged-out homeless. (As the hardened SoMa veteran joke goes: the homeless have Android phones, while the techies have iPhones.)"
It's true. If you're using Android, you're behind the curve, you're a joke, primarily because you're not on iMessage. Technohipsters love to group message on iMessage, comments can fly fast and furiously. And if you're on Android, you're left out. Don't argue, it's such a small, inexpensive part of the game, just get an iPhone.
"Team-work? Who ever made a fortune by team-work? There's only one way to make a fortune and that's to down the fellow who's up against you. - W. Somerset Maugham, 'Straight Flush'"
You're in it together until you find out you're not. The truth is people are out for themselves. The sooner you learn this, the better off you'll be. Your business partners will stab you in the back, leave you out, do what's expedient. If your husband or wife does this, you've chosen really badly, re-evaluate your criteria.
"I asked Sacca, who ignored my inquiries; as we were to learn, this was a man who only ever talked his book."
Chris Sacca's another one whose past has been forgotten now that he's become a billionaire. Look into his efforts with Philip Falcone, would you have done that? I know Sacca, he came to Aspen and spoke twice. He blew the attendees' minds, demonstrating what Google, his then employer, could do for you, which the music biz people in attendance were clueless as to. Then I wrote about it and Sacca said his speech was off the record, which he'd never said, and then he REWROTE my missive and told me to post that. I just took the post down. But that's Sacca, a man who needs no introduction who thinks he owns the world and is now on "Shark Tank." By "his book," Martinez means Sacca, an investor in the startup, gives advice and pulls strings that are beneficial to him. In this case Sacca had and still has a big stake in Twitter, so he wanted the acquisition to happen there.
"If you can only be good at one thing, be good at lying...because if you're good at lying, you're good at everything. - @gselevator"
Think about this. Once you've left the field of honesty, everything is up for grabs.
"As every new arrival in California comes to learn, that superficially sunny 'Hi!' they get from everybody is really, 'Fuck you, I don't care.'"
Natives don't want to be your friend. Best to align yourself with transplants.
"Have a mad vision, and you're a kook. Get a crowd to believe in it as well, and you're a leader."
Or as Joe Walsh put it:
"Everybody's so different
I haven't changed"
"That was the uniquely piratical attitude: if you could get shit done and quickly, nobody cared much about credentials or traditional legalistic morality. The hacker ethos prevailed above all."
That's the California tech ethos, it's all about results. No one cares where you went to school or who your parents are, it all comes down to "What have you done for me lately?"
"Facebook is full of true believers who really, really, really are not doing it for the money, and really, really will not stop until every man, woman, and child on earth is staring into a blue-framed window with a Facebook logo."
Determination is everything, never underestimate the power of the true believer. Remember when Google+ was gonna kill Facebook? That didn't happen.
"In general, be it at startups or aggressive companies like Facebook, there should be a cultural bias for launching."
Get your record out as opposed to making sure it's perfect. This is something the old cats can't fathom but the young acts understand.
"As in life, so in business: maintain a bias for action over inaction."
When you're unsure, go for it!
"This too shall pass. What befell Sun could befall us too, so MOVE FAST AND BREAK THINGS!"
One day Facebook will die. The major labels are surviving on their catalogs, which they wield as power in negotiations, without the old tracks upstarts would rule. But in tech, the assets fade very quickly, he not busy being born is busy dying.
"If we don't create the thing that kills Facebook, someone else will. 'Embracing change' isn't enough. It has to be so hardwired into who we are that even talking about it seems redundant. The Internet is not a friendly place. Things that don't stay relevant don't even get the luxury of leaving ruins. They disappear."
This is how tech beat the music business. You don't accept the blows, you give them.
"A man with a conviction is a hard man to change. Tell him you disagree and he turns away. Show him facts or figures and he questions your sources. Appeal to logic and he fails to see your point. - Leon Festinger et al., When Prophecy Fails"
This is why despite the "New York Times" attacking Trump every damn day, he still stands. Where were the Democrats when the underclass was suffering as a result of trade deals? As for the Republicans, they defined the debate, Hillary is a liar, Obama is ruining the country...to the point where Democrats are on defense. But despite playing the long game, the Republicans lost touch with their base completely and now their party is in disarray and no one is reunifying it.
"All ambitious men want either to please their fathers or to punch them in the goddamned face."
Well-adjusted people don't win. Winners have deep-seated anger, frustrations and inadequacies that make them play so hard and succeed, to demonstrate their worth.
"How did we finally get on the right track? The way Facebook sussed out anything: it mooched information from potential acquirees and business partners via meetings of dubious good faith, and then figured out how to hack the outside world to its advantage. It's what every large company with incumbent leverage does, incidentally."
Don't trust the man. He'll entice you with candy, take everything you've got and leave your carcass by the roadway. You might have a legal case, but good luck finding enough dough to sue the deep pocket.
"When confronted with an unwelcome social situation (which is most of them), I default to a Terry Gross pose of interviewing journalist."
Me too! This is why we read, to see ourselves in print, to feel so not alone. When I'm anxious, when it's quiet, I start asking questions. People will tell you anything and everything. But I judge those who never reciprocate, who never ask me about me, and they're few and far between, the people who care about anybody but themselves.
"Facebook had no interest in real innovation. It liked its faxes. Like any large company, Facebook would always aim to create monopoly pricing power and maintain information asymmetry, rather than drive true innovation. If Facebook played with the outside world, it always played with loaded dice."
The "Innovator's Dilemma" is your friend. Every established enterprise leans on its past, it's your opening to disrupt them.
"There's a negative selection in which the cream (or whatever it is that initially rises) gets constantly skimmed off, and you are what's left after years of continual skimming."
It's a rat race out there, become complacent and not only are you left behind, YOU'RE OUT!
"To quote Theodor Herzl, 'If you will it, it is no dream; and if you do not will it, a dream it will remain.'"
It's all about the effort, success comes through hard work.
"Chaos Monkeys" is a hard read. And, when you get to the Facebook half your eyes start to glaze over a bit. But it's more than worth plowing through, for the insights, for the lessons... Martinez Googled everybody he was gonna meet with. Life is about preparation, but don't be so busy preparing that you don't play, because once the game begins...ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!
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I'd like to tell you it's an easy satisfying read but the truth is despite the book being billed as a Facebook expose, the first half, when Antonio Garcia Martinez is delineating his travails in a startup, is much more interesting than the details of his tenure at the social network thereafter.
And the dirty little secret is most acquisitions are acqui-hires, for talent as opposed to product, and the bandied about number is oftentimes much higher than reality, never mind needing to work at the new establishment for years to get your payout, but there are a ton of lessons in this book that should be heeded.
"People go into startups thinking that the technical problems are the challenge... No, every real problem in startups is a people problem, and as such they're the hardest to solve, as they often don't have a real solution, much less a ready software fix."
Ideas are a dime a dozen, execution is everything. And to succeed you need a team, and that group only succeeds if you can get along. People look at Hollywood and think they could move out west and triumph, do a better job, and why is it all these people without an education, certainly not from a top-notch institution, are succeeding? Because they know people. Sure, you might see the misdeeds in the media, but the truth is winners in the entertainment business are cunning individuals who've entranced an entire posse who will lay down for them. It's about loyalty. And you incur this via favors, by connecting, by getting along. Not by being a doormat, but by being fun and getting things done.
"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough."
That's Mario Andretti speaking.
I wrestle with this, I don't want to make mistakes. I'm trying to learn to lose control. I always think of the Beatles, who got everything right, then again, they were making it up as they went along, they were clueless at the time. The problem might be that I know too much, or that I operate in fields already well-defined. The greats venture into the unknown and create something out of thin air, and when you don't know where you're going you're definitely going to go the wrong way some of the time.
"As Geoff Ralston, a YC partner told us: people don't really change, they just become better actors."
It's the adjustment that adds friction, that prevents an enterprise from moving forward. Once the game is defined, everybody knows their role, but when there's chaos, greatness can emerge. Meanwhile, I've said for years that people in relationships don't change. I don't want to believe this is true. I want to believe people can gain awareness and adjust. Then again, everything someone tells you on a first date is true, believe them, it's these unguarded revelations that will come to haunt you in the future. What you didn't believe, what you thought was cute, you'll find totally true and abhorrent as time goes by, even if it does explain so much.
"PG was our genius guru, but like many brilliant minds, he occasionally got things flamingly and egregiously wrong, and this was one such instance."
Or as James Taylor put it in "Lighthouse":
"But just because I might be standing here
That don't mean I won't be wrong this time
You could follow me and lose your mind"
We're all looking for beacons, we're all looking for guidance. But it's best to accumulate data and trust your own instincts, then you only have yourself to blame.
Or, as Bob Dylan sang:
"Don't follow leaders
Watch the parking meters"
"in Silicon Valley, the Land of No Sarcasm"
That's what easterners don't understand about California, the optimism, the can-do spirit, the ability to make friends with enemies and move on like the past didn't happen.
On the east coast it's dreary, everybody's bringing each other down. It's a cutting atmosphere whereas California is an uplifting atmosphere, and if you were brought up in the east it seems so phony. AND IT IS! But then you realize you like it this way, that everybody's into their own trip and ignoring you, you're free of the barbs, if not the sharp elbows. Yes, everybody in California wants to get ahead, and if you're in their way, watch out, they're not about to lend a helping hand.
"In VC (venture capital), as often in life, it's the incompetent and insecure who are generally the assholes; the masterful and successful - not to mention those universally perceived as the best in their field - are playing the long game."
Like Tom Freston. Who never luxuriates in his status, is always endearing and delegates as opposed to consolidating power. What a difference from Philippe Daumann, who will lose his job at Viacom and never work again, as opposed to Freston, who is one of the engines behind Vice's success. Vice is MTV on steroids, it's much more than music. News is today's music, if only the musicians understood this.
"I gave him an extended version of our pitch, which he consumed with that look of rapt attention, accompanied by staccato bursts of questions, which was the unmistakable sign of sincere investor interest."
1. Listen, nothing endears you to people more.
2. Ask questions, it demonstrates interest.
3. If people aren't laser-focused on you and your pitch and want to know more, you know you've failed.
4. The greats will give you all their attention until they won't. Don't waste their time and don't be offended when they've moved on. They remember what's important to them, and if you made an impression, you're seared into their brain.
"America still loves an underdog, and you'll be surprised at how many allies come out of the woodwork when some obnoxious incumbent is challenged by a scrappy startup with a convincing story."
You have friends you are unaware of until you find out you share a common enemy. Then they'll go to war with you and support you in your effort to rectify an injustice. You are not the first victim of this bullying jerk who believes the world bends to their will. You know, the asshole who tells you you'll never work again after you stand up for yourself. That person has always been imperious. The world is a web of relationships, and someone can always get to the perpetrator, you've just got to work your network to achieve the desired result.
"So long as you maintain unit cohesion and a shared sense of purpose, and have the basic rudiments of living, you will outlast, outfight, and out-rage any company that sets out to destroy you. Men with nothing to lose will stop at nothing to win."
This is why upstarts succeed. They're willing to work harder, stay up all night, live in substandard conditions and sacrifice all for the goal. Every winner has a tale of utmost sacrifice. If they don't, they're lying. Or their success is paper-thin and about to be revealed.
"To quote Balzac, 'The secret of great fortunes without apparent cause is a forgotten crime, as the crime was properly done.'"
People forget. They just see where you are, not how you got there. Joe Kennedy was a bootlegger. Sean Parker started at Napster... Once you've got the cash, status and gravitas come naturally.
"In a world where superficial relationships and glib bullshit are the rule, there's nothing more fearsome than to see true loyalty at work."
People will go out of their way for you, they like to help, it makes them feel good, and if they can settle a score in the process, even better.
"The harsh reality is this: to have influence in the world, you need to be willing and able to reward your friends and punish your enemies."
Those who are nice and offend no one don't succeed. They become vice-presidents and stall out. The true movers and shakers spread the wealth and gain allies, and they're willing to go after their enemies' jugular.
"First, the ability to monomaniacally and obsessively focus on one thing and one thing only, at the expense of everything else in life."
Are you willing to sacrifice everything to make it? Not only a steady income, but a roof over your head, good food on the table and a relationship and children? If so, you have a chance of making it. If not, you're already in the rearview mirror.
"Second, the ability to take and endure endless amounts of shit."
It hurts, but it's the only way to the top. If you're unwilling to be on the receiving end of tons of doo-doo, justified or unjustified, you don't have the cojones to make it. You're gonna make mistakes, and there are others who just want to keep you down and dissuade you, deal with it.
"Love is grand, but hate and fear last longer."
This is the cynicism losers abhor.
"I observe that some men, like bad runners in the stadium, abandon their purposes when close to the goal; while it is at that particular point, more than at any other, that others secure the victory over their rivals. —Polybius, Histories"
Can you close? Or do you dream of success and when you get to contract you start thinking about the millions of ways it can go wrong and are afraid to sign. I know, I've got this fear, I'm trying to overcome it, trying to realize that all deals are imperfect and you never know what will happen after you leave the starting line. Could be bad, but could be incredibly great too. As I always say, you never know what will happen once you walk out your front door.
"Do they have that 'lean and hungry look' of Cassius in Julius Caesar, and eat at dingy taquerias, or perhaps live off cheap staples like ramen or food substitutes? Those are the truly dangerous ones, the ones who live like organized crime trigger men, guerrilla fighters, or sailors at sea - eating shitty food and living in cheap, dumpy crash pads - and who couldn't give a damn about quality of life. Those are the people to fear, because they don't need anything an antagonist can deprive them of."
Whew! When you got nothin', you got nothin' to lose. You win on your brains and hard effort, not your sports car or fancy office.
"Here's another lesson for the aspiring startupista: don't skimp on lawyers."
They're cheap in the end. And the best ones not only know the game, but the players. You're looking for advice and protection, and those never come cheap.
"Lawyers didn't get into law because they're good at business; bamboozle them however so long as they get cracking."
You can't sell your law practice in California. There is no asset value to your firm. Lawyers don't have all the money, their clients do.
"Such scheming happens either by phone or in person, with no emails or messaging involved. That's when you can tell you're really in some juicy shit; conversely, if you're still emailing about it, there's actually nothing real going on."
Because there's no paper trail, no record, nothing to subpoena.
"Often, given the reigning shabby-chic aesthetic, you couldn't immediately distinguish between the technohipsters and the drugged-out homeless. (As the hardened SoMa veteran joke goes: the homeless have Android phones, while the techies have iPhones.)"
It's true. If you're using Android, you're behind the curve, you're a joke, primarily because you're not on iMessage. Technohipsters love to group message on iMessage, comments can fly fast and furiously. And if you're on Android, you're left out. Don't argue, it's such a small, inexpensive part of the game, just get an iPhone.
"Team-work? Who ever made a fortune by team-work? There's only one way to make a fortune and that's to down the fellow who's up against you. - W. Somerset Maugham, 'Straight Flush'"
You're in it together until you find out you're not. The truth is people are out for themselves. The sooner you learn this, the better off you'll be. Your business partners will stab you in the back, leave you out, do what's expedient. If your husband or wife does this, you've chosen really badly, re-evaluate your criteria.
"I asked Sacca, who ignored my inquiries; as we were to learn, this was a man who only ever talked his book."
Chris Sacca's another one whose past has been forgotten now that he's become a billionaire. Look into his efforts with Philip Falcone, would you have done that? I know Sacca, he came to Aspen and spoke twice. He blew the attendees' minds, demonstrating what Google, his then employer, could do for you, which the music biz people in attendance were clueless as to. Then I wrote about it and Sacca said his speech was off the record, which he'd never said, and then he REWROTE my missive and told me to post that. I just took the post down. But that's Sacca, a man who needs no introduction who thinks he owns the world and is now on "Shark Tank." By "his book," Martinez means Sacca, an investor in the startup, gives advice and pulls strings that are beneficial to him. In this case Sacca had and still has a big stake in Twitter, so he wanted the acquisition to happen there.
"If you can only be good at one thing, be good at lying...because if you're good at lying, you're good at everything. - @gselevator"
Think about this. Once you've left the field of honesty, everything is up for grabs.
"As every new arrival in California comes to learn, that superficially sunny 'Hi!' they get from everybody is really, 'Fuck you, I don't care.'"
Natives don't want to be your friend. Best to align yourself with transplants.
"Have a mad vision, and you're a kook. Get a crowd to believe in it as well, and you're a leader."
Or as Joe Walsh put it:
"Everybody's so different
I haven't changed"
"That was the uniquely piratical attitude: if you could get shit done and quickly, nobody cared much about credentials or traditional legalistic morality. The hacker ethos prevailed above all."
That's the California tech ethos, it's all about results. No one cares where you went to school or who your parents are, it all comes down to "What have you done for me lately?"
"Facebook is full of true believers who really, really, really are not doing it for the money, and really, really will not stop until every man, woman, and child on earth is staring into a blue-framed window with a Facebook logo."
Determination is everything, never underestimate the power of the true believer. Remember when Google+ was gonna kill Facebook? That didn't happen.
"In general, be it at startups or aggressive companies like Facebook, there should be a cultural bias for launching."
Get your record out as opposed to making sure it's perfect. This is something the old cats can't fathom but the young acts understand.
"As in life, so in business: maintain a bias for action over inaction."
When you're unsure, go for it!
"This too shall pass. What befell Sun could befall us too, so MOVE FAST AND BREAK THINGS!"
One day Facebook will die. The major labels are surviving on their catalogs, which they wield as power in negotiations, without the old tracks upstarts would rule. But in tech, the assets fade very quickly, he not busy being born is busy dying.
"If we don't create the thing that kills Facebook, someone else will. 'Embracing change' isn't enough. It has to be so hardwired into who we are that even talking about it seems redundant. The Internet is not a friendly place. Things that don't stay relevant don't even get the luxury of leaving ruins. They disappear."
This is how tech beat the music business. You don't accept the blows, you give them.
"A man with a conviction is a hard man to change. Tell him you disagree and he turns away. Show him facts or figures and he questions your sources. Appeal to logic and he fails to see your point. - Leon Festinger et al., When Prophecy Fails"
This is why despite the "New York Times" attacking Trump every damn day, he still stands. Where were the Democrats when the underclass was suffering as a result of trade deals? As for the Republicans, they defined the debate, Hillary is a liar, Obama is ruining the country...to the point where Democrats are on defense. But despite playing the long game, the Republicans lost touch with their base completely and now their party is in disarray and no one is reunifying it.
"All ambitious men want either to please their fathers or to punch them in the goddamned face."
Well-adjusted people don't win. Winners have deep-seated anger, frustrations and inadequacies that make them play so hard and succeed, to demonstrate their worth.
"How did we finally get on the right track? The way Facebook sussed out anything: it mooched information from potential acquirees and business partners via meetings of dubious good faith, and then figured out how to hack the outside world to its advantage. It's what every large company with incumbent leverage does, incidentally."
Don't trust the man. He'll entice you with candy, take everything you've got and leave your carcass by the roadway. You might have a legal case, but good luck finding enough dough to sue the deep pocket.
"When confronted with an unwelcome social situation (which is most of them), I default to a Terry Gross pose of interviewing journalist."
Me too! This is why we read, to see ourselves in print, to feel so not alone. When I'm anxious, when it's quiet, I start asking questions. People will tell you anything and everything. But I judge those who never reciprocate, who never ask me about me, and they're few and far between, the people who care about anybody but themselves.
"Facebook had no interest in real innovation. It liked its faxes. Like any large company, Facebook would always aim to create monopoly pricing power and maintain information asymmetry, rather than drive true innovation. If Facebook played with the outside world, it always played with loaded dice."
The "Innovator's Dilemma" is your friend. Every established enterprise leans on its past, it's your opening to disrupt them.
"There's a negative selection in which the cream (or whatever it is that initially rises) gets constantly skimmed off, and you are what's left after years of continual skimming."
It's a rat race out there, become complacent and not only are you left behind, YOU'RE OUT!
"To quote Theodor Herzl, 'If you will it, it is no dream; and if you do not will it, a dream it will remain.'"
It's all about the effort, success comes through hard work.
"Chaos Monkeys" is a hard read. And, when you get to the Facebook half your eyes start to glaze over a bit. But it's more than worth plowing through, for the insights, for the lessons... Martinez Googled everybody he was gonna meet with. Life is about preparation, but don't be so busy preparing that you don't play, because once the game begins...ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!
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Tuesday 19 July 2016
Katy Perry-Rise
What kind of crazy fucked-up world do we live in where Katy Perry's Olympic anthem is exclusive to Apple Music yet freely available to stream on YouTube/Vevo?
This is why the music industry is losing its battle with YouTube and the government, it's a self-dealing only for cash enterprise that puts the fan last. No wonder the fans don't care.
Katy's team could have said NO to Apple, which is acting more and more like a parody of Engulf & Devour from that Mel Brooks movie only with less humor and even less success.
And then there's inane Apple proposal to the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board for a minimum publishing rate on streams which in reality is just an underhanded shot at Spotify's free tier, one news outlets sussed out immediately.
WHERE ARE YOU TIM COOK???
Apple's brand is built on loyalty, there must be belief. Meanwhile, Jimmy Iovine has single-handedly put a dent in your image, turning so many off to your company when you have no hit product in the marketplace and you must do your best to shore up and burnish your image.
There's been one misstep after another since Apple Music has been launched, whether it be pushing U2's lame new album upon everybody or screwing up users' iTunes library. You changed all the art on mine, which I spent dozens of hours getting right. I want my time back, but no one cares about me, you're just busy playing insider footsie with an enterprise with an image so bad its customers had no problem stealing its wares willy-nilly, yes, I'm talking about you, recorded music industry.
Exclusives are not fan-friendly.
But since when did the music business care about the fan, especially when money is involved? Hell, acts would rather let scalpers reap the upside of underpriced tickets than raise the prices to fair market value, which would kill bots overnight. But no, not in the music business, where a fake image is everything.
And then there's the double-dealing. Katy's worried about being Kanye, keeping his new album on Tidal such that no one heard it. So she puts it on YouTube/Vevo. The truth is no one wants to be left out, no one wants their music to go unheard, NO ONE wants to put it behind a paywall. Yet we keep hearing from the industry that YouTube is the enemy???
And how does Apple Music's exclusive strategy even work when the tracks are available elsewhere? Why should someone sign up for the streaming service? As for sales... If you think sales still matter you don't have a Netflix account, and kids do, they just use their parents' password and steal what is unavailable. The movie industry has its head even further up its ass than the music business.
Let the best streaming service win.
And right now, even the "New York Times" believes the Apple Music interface is lame. How about doing some work on the underlying product instead of the penumbra? It'd be like saying your laptop case is made of gold but your operating system is riddled with bugs.
Greedy bastards selling out for a buck, employing subterfuge behind an opaque scrim.
Same as it ever was.
And the public knows it.
"Apple, in Seeming Jab at Spotify, Proposes Simpler Songwriting Royalties": http://goo.gl/tebcRD
"Spotify and Apple Music: The Goth vs. the Stoner": http://goo.gl/1WIDAr
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This is why the music industry is losing its battle with YouTube and the government, it's a self-dealing only for cash enterprise that puts the fan last. No wonder the fans don't care.
Katy's team could have said NO to Apple, which is acting more and more like a parody of Engulf & Devour from that Mel Brooks movie only with less humor and even less success.
And then there's inane Apple proposal to the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board for a minimum publishing rate on streams which in reality is just an underhanded shot at Spotify's free tier, one news outlets sussed out immediately.
WHERE ARE YOU TIM COOK???
Apple's brand is built on loyalty, there must be belief. Meanwhile, Jimmy Iovine has single-handedly put a dent in your image, turning so many off to your company when you have no hit product in the marketplace and you must do your best to shore up and burnish your image.
There's been one misstep after another since Apple Music has been launched, whether it be pushing U2's lame new album upon everybody or screwing up users' iTunes library. You changed all the art on mine, which I spent dozens of hours getting right. I want my time back, but no one cares about me, you're just busy playing insider footsie with an enterprise with an image so bad its customers had no problem stealing its wares willy-nilly, yes, I'm talking about you, recorded music industry.
Exclusives are not fan-friendly.
But since when did the music business care about the fan, especially when money is involved? Hell, acts would rather let scalpers reap the upside of underpriced tickets than raise the prices to fair market value, which would kill bots overnight. But no, not in the music business, where a fake image is everything.
And then there's the double-dealing. Katy's worried about being Kanye, keeping his new album on Tidal such that no one heard it. So she puts it on YouTube/Vevo. The truth is no one wants to be left out, no one wants their music to go unheard, NO ONE wants to put it behind a paywall. Yet we keep hearing from the industry that YouTube is the enemy???
And how does Apple Music's exclusive strategy even work when the tracks are available elsewhere? Why should someone sign up for the streaming service? As for sales... If you think sales still matter you don't have a Netflix account, and kids do, they just use their parents' password and steal what is unavailable. The movie industry has its head even further up its ass than the music business.
Let the best streaming service win.
And right now, even the "New York Times" believes the Apple Music interface is lame. How about doing some work on the underlying product instead of the penumbra? It'd be like saying your laptop case is made of gold but your operating system is riddled with bugs.
Greedy bastards selling out for a buck, employing subterfuge behind an opaque scrim.
Same as it ever was.
And the public knows it.
"Apple, in Seeming Jab at Spotify, Proposes Simpler Songwriting Royalties": http://goo.gl/tebcRD
"Spotify and Apple Music: The Goth vs. the Stoner": http://goo.gl/1WIDAr
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Roger Ailes
"And sooner or later
Everybody's kingdom must end
And I'm so afraid your courtiers
Cannot be called best friends"
"The King Must Die"
Elton John
Roger harassed Megyn. He's soon to be gone. (http://goo.gl/apNT5V)
This is what happens when you think you're bigger than the game, that the rules don't apply to you, that if you just circle the wagons and fight hard enough you'll make it through. The end comes when you least expect it.
Gretchen Carlson realized you win in the court of public opinion, that if you've made it to the courtroom you've already lost. Which is something the music business could learn, it's shaming the well-liked YouTube and its inane efforts to change the law are just that, crazy and ineffectual.
When you're the top dog, people are gunning for you. And your best chance for success is to be nice to those below you. Because the same dudes you abused on your way up you might meet up on your way down (thank you Allen Toussaint!)
On one hand Ailes established the new paradigm, one the Democrats and celebrities have still not adjusted and adhered to. You don't apologize, you don't show weakness, once you grant an opening the public will pour through, and most people were never on your side to begin with. Fox News might win in cable news, but that's barely better than winning the Little League World Series. You see not that many people watch. But the left can't stop pointing out the bias, playing right into Ailes's hand, making his outlet ever more powerful. Donald Trump used this same game to win the Republican nomination. You might be laughing that Melania cribbed her speech from Michelle, but so far no one on Trump's team is admitting it, and his fans cannot be swayed from their belief in him, the same way Swifties believe Taylor is always right.
So what happens now?
The only band to survive the loss of its lead singer is Van Halen. And despite record success with Sammy, most fans prefer the Dave iteration. Sure, Genesis called Phil Collins up from the drums to replace Peter Gabriel, and now oldies acts like Foreigner are touring with faux frontmen, but the truth is individuals make a difference, especially in the United States, the land of the rugged individual.
Apple is a shadow of itself without Steve Jobs.
And if you expect Fox News to survive in its present incarnation you think there's a Red Rocker of news.
It's possible, but probably not.
Life is a long game. You do your best to outlast your enemies.
But if you want to kill them along the way, you've got to go for the jugular, you've got to play rough.
No one condones sexual harassment, no one condones rape. Prove it and you've got an instant correction factor.
You want your opponent to touch the third rail and die instantly.
And that's what Gretchen Carlson did.
So, so long Roger Ailes. A fat cat from the past who thought brains trumped behavior. Politics might be show business for ugly people, but not every entertainer is entitled to a lifetime career.
And so long Bill O'Reilly. No one's got your back. There are no wagons to circle. Like a superstar deejay fired from the clear channel station you're gonna find you're expendable, the institution is bigger than any individual. And America abhors a bully.
So long blond bombshell anchors showing their legs on camera. You're gonna have to appeal with your brains as opposed to your looks.
And so long Fox News. It'll exist in name, but the Murdoch brothers won't tolerate its present agenda, they're lefties, they want a mellower version at best, one that puts out trial balloons as opposed to employing a scorched earth policy.
Where there's smoke, there's fire. Yesterday "New York" printed that Ailes was history and the Fox people denied it. Today, "New York" doubled-down, they said not only was the station's star Megyn Kelly harassed, but Ailes would step down by August 1st.
Republicans have lost control of their own party. And now their house organ has taken a huge hit, news is up for grabs.
This is a correction factor. Not only will it aid women in the workplace, it demonstrates they have power, that they can play the game as well as the boys.
This is a victory for truth, justice and the American Way.
"The king is dead, the king is dead"
Spotify: https://goo.gl/IQ0E33
YouTube: https://goo.gl/OHSsi9
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Everybody's kingdom must end
And I'm so afraid your courtiers
Cannot be called best friends"
"The King Must Die"
Elton John
Roger harassed Megyn. He's soon to be gone. (http://goo.gl/apNT5V)
This is what happens when you think you're bigger than the game, that the rules don't apply to you, that if you just circle the wagons and fight hard enough you'll make it through. The end comes when you least expect it.
Gretchen Carlson realized you win in the court of public opinion, that if you've made it to the courtroom you've already lost. Which is something the music business could learn, it's shaming the well-liked YouTube and its inane efforts to change the law are just that, crazy and ineffectual.
When you're the top dog, people are gunning for you. And your best chance for success is to be nice to those below you. Because the same dudes you abused on your way up you might meet up on your way down (thank you Allen Toussaint!)
On one hand Ailes established the new paradigm, one the Democrats and celebrities have still not adjusted and adhered to. You don't apologize, you don't show weakness, once you grant an opening the public will pour through, and most people were never on your side to begin with. Fox News might win in cable news, but that's barely better than winning the Little League World Series. You see not that many people watch. But the left can't stop pointing out the bias, playing right into Ailes's hand, making his outlet ever more powerful. Donald Trump used this same game to win the Republican nomination. You might be laughing that Melania cribbed her speech from Michelle, but so far no one on Trump's team is admitting it, and his fans cannot be swayed from their belief in him, the same way Swifties believe Taylor is always right.
So what happens now?
The only band to survive the loss of its lead singer is Van Halen. And despite record success with Sammy, most fans prefer the Dave iteration. Sure, Genesis called Phil Collins up from the drums to replace Peter Gabriel, and now oldies acts like Foreigner are touring with faux frontmen, but the truth is individuals make a difference, especially in the United States, the land of the rugged individual.
Apple is a shadow of itself without Steve Jobs.
And if you expect Fox News to survive in its present incarnation you think there's a Red Rocker of news.
It's possible, but probably not.
Life is a long game. You do your best to outlast your enemies.
But if you want to kill them along the way, you've got to go for the jugular, you've got to play rough.
No one condones sexual harassment, no one condones rape. Prove it and you've got an instant correction factor.
You want your opponent to touch the third rail and die instantly.
And that's what Gretchen Carlson did.
So, so long Roger Ailes. A fat cat from the past who thought brains trumped behavior. Politics might be show business for ugly people, but not every entertainer is entitled to a lifetime career.
And so long Bill O'Reilly. No one's got your back. There are no wagons to circle. Like a superstar deejay fired from the clear channel station you're gonna find you're expendable, the institution is bigger than any individual. And America abhors a bully.
So long blond bombshell anchors showing their legs on camera. You're gonna have to appeal with your brains as opposed to your looks.
And so long Fox News. It'll exist in name, but the Murdoch brothers won't tolerate its present agenda, they're lefties, they want a mellower version at best, one that puts out trial balloons as opposed to employing a scorched earth policy.
Where there's smoke, there's fire. Yesterday "New York" printed that Ailes was history and the Fox people denied it. Today, "New York" doubled-down, they said not only was the station's star Megyn Kelly harassed, but Ailes would step down by August 1st.
Republicans have lost control of their own party. And now their house organ has taken a huge hit, news is up for grabs.
This is a correction factor. Not only will it aid women in the workplace, it demonstrates they have power, that they can play the game as well as the boys.
This is a victory for truth, justice and the American Way.
"The king is dead, the king is dead"
Spotify: https://goo.gl/IQ0E33
YouTube: https://goo.gl/OHSsi9
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Monday 18 July 2016
Taylor/Kanye/Kim Brouhaha
What kind of crazy fucked-up world do we live in where the dust-up eclipses the song?
People don't have time to check out a track. That's the dirty little secret the music industry doesn't want to admit, that so many have tuned out new music because it's overwhelming, and the plethora of playlists isn't helping.
But that Kanye track, you know, the one off the album only on Tidal, the collection more famous for its penumbra than its bona fides, talked shit about Taylor Swift.
If you ask me, it was over the line. But there is no line anymore, when you can Google porn and the only people against sex and dope work for the government. So, in an attention overload society, even the biggest of stars must resort to stunts for mindshare. Believe me, Kanye was thinking about the controversy and the attendant ink when he wrote the words.
Which would have meant nothing if it weren't for the flames fanned by the media.
And today popular culture is a sport. We've all got the celebrities we root for, whether they be Michael Moore or Donald Trump, Kanye West or Taylor Swift. You don't want to get on the bad side of either, I've got the e-mail and tweets to prove it. Offend someone with acolytes and you're gonna be buried in hatred.
But just when you thought the story was dead, Kim K. drops a bomb on her TV show. This was completely unforeseen. Kinda like Gretchen Carlson attacking Roger Ailes. Carlson wanted to catch Ailes and his team unawares, Carlson played to the media, because we all know the court...is the court of last resort. People think Woody Allen is guilty, we keep reading about it in the paper, even though the court said he was innocent!
And Taylor Swift seems to have forgotten the first rule of social media, which is you do your best not to pour gasoline on a fire. If Taylor hadn't barked back, this story would have faded away. Kim K. might be rich, but the ratings for her show are minimal.
But Taylor responded.
And now she's losing.
I get her point, it's hard to cogitate and give the right answer on the spot. And always playing nice except when she writes lyrics, Taylor didn't call Kanye out in the phone call.
And recording phone calls is illegal in most states. But come on, the government's gonna crack down on Kanye? When? After it eradicates crime in the inner city? Stops illegal drug use? Gets rid of gangs?
Kanye and Kim may not have the right to record and distribute, but they certainly have the power. And if you think every time you break a law you get arrested...
But the more interesting thing is how Taylor Swift is losing control of her own narrative. Which evolved from vindictive boy crazy nut to girl-bonding everywoman. But she's not, everywoman, that is. She's a superstar living in a bubble who's lost touch of how she's perceived. And the media was on her side because she sold ads and played ball, reporters love access, but now Swiftie's shenanigans are on repeat, there's no news there, just endless boyfriends, girlfriends and staged do-gooding.
So the media has turned and piled on and Taylor Swift's carefully managed image has taken a hit.
Let's be real folks. America is so starved for stars, the music landscape is so incomprehensible, that he or she who works with the biggest superstar in the world, Max Martin, will continue to dominate. It's kinda like country, where writers want their songs sung by hitmakers, Taylor Swift has access to the best songwriters in the land, so she'll continue to dominate.
Unless music changes.
Which it hasn't in fifteen years.
But the truth is no one's that big anymore. We've got a thin layer of superstars playing to a small vertical of fans. This ain't the Beatles versus the Stones, Kanye versus Taylor is more like Herman's Hermits versus Gerry and the Pacemakers. Then again, those two British Invasion acts had much more musical penetration.
Used to be about the music. Used to be a great track was known by everybody. Used to be your image was secondary to your tunes.
Not anymore!
P.S. It was not only E!, Kim also took to Snapchat, the social media site du jour, to spread the word. Today's celebs might have little talent but they're media-savvy, they know how to use the tools to get their message across.
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People don't have time to check out a track. That's the dirty little secret the music industry doesn't want to admit, that so many have tuned out new music because it's overwhelming, and the plethora of playlists isn't helping.
But that Kanye track, you know, the one off the album only on Tidal, the collection more famous for its penumbra than its bona fides, talked shit about Taylor Swift.
If you ask me, it was over the line. But there is no line anymore, when you can Google porn and the only people against sex and dope work for the government. So, in an attention overload society, even the biggest of stars must resort to stunts for mindshare. Believe me, Kanye was thinking about the controversy and the attendant ink when he wrote the words.
Which would have meant nothing if it weren't for the flames fanned by the media.
And today popular culture is a sport. We've all got the celebrities we root for, whether they be Michael Moore or Donald Trump, Kanye West or Taylor Swift. You don't want to get on the bad side of either, I've got the e-mail and tweets to prove it. Offend someone with acolytes and you're gonna be buried in hatred.
But just when you thought the story was dead, Kim K. drops a bomb on her TV show. This was completely unforeseen. Kinda like Gretchen Carlson attacking Roger Ailes. Carlson wanted to catch Ailes and his team unawares, Carlson played to the media, because we all know the court...is the court of last resort. People think Woody Allen is guilty, we keep reading about it in the paper, even though the court said he was innocent!
And Taylor Swift seems to have forgotten the first rule of social media, which is you do your best not to pour gasoline on a fire. If Taylor hadn't barked back, this story would have faded away. Kim K. might be rich, but the ratings for her show are minimal.
But Taylor responded.
And now she's losing.
I get her point, it's hard to cogitate and give the right answer on the spot. And always playing nice except when she writes lyrics, Taylor didn't call Kanye out in the phone call.
And recording phone calls is illegal in most states. But come on, the government's gonna crack down on Kanye? When? After it eradicates crime in the inner city? Stops illegal drug use? Gets rid of gangs?
Kanye and Kim may not have the right to record and distribute, but they certainly have the power. And if you think every time you break a law you get arrested...
But the more interesting thing is how Taylor Swift is losing control of her own narrative. Which evolved from vindictive boy crazy nut to girl-bonding everywoman. But she's not, everywoman, that is. She's a superstar living in a bubble who's lost touch of how she's perceived. And the media was on her side because she sold ads and played ball, reporters love access, but now Swiftie's shenanigans are on repeat, there's no news there, just endless boyfriends, girlfriends and staged do-gooding.
So the media has turned and piled on and Taylor Swift's carefully managed image has taken a hit.
Let's be real folks. America is so starved for stars, the music landscape is so incomprehensible, that he or she who works with the biggest superstar in the world, Max Martin, will continue to dominate. It's kinda like country, where writers want their songs sung by hitmakers, Taylor Swift has access to the best songwriters in the land, so she'll continue to dominate.
Unless music changes.
Which it hasn't in fifteen years.
But the truth is no one's that big anymore. We've got a thin layer of superstars playing to a small vertical of fans. This ain't the Beatles versus the Stones, Kanye versus Taylor is more like Herman's Hermits versus Gerry and the Pacemakers. Then again, those two British Invasion acts had much more musical penetration.
Used to be about the music. Used to be a great track was known by everybody. Used to be your image was secondary to your tunes.
Not anymore!
P.S. It was not only E!, Kim also took to Snapchat, the social media site du jour, to spread the word. Today's celebs might have little talent but they're media-savvy, they know how to use the tools to get their message across.
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