That's how we got into this mess. Reagan legitimized greed and for forty years America has been beholden to the almighty dollar. If someone is rich, they're beyond reproach. They're job creators, they're more worldly and more intelligent and if you knew your place you would get on the endless treadmill and start running...
In place.
Because the truth is it's hard to get ahead in America, especially if you're not born with a silver spoon in your mouth. And if you're not, you're demonized, like Obama, not born in America, "foreign," "other," divisiveness rules and there's no cohesion, you cannot get your message heard.
And its only getting worse.
Twenty minutes ago I tuned into late night TV. I never do that anymore, it used to be a ritual, but it's passe. Jimmy Kimmel has given up jokes and gone for the jokesters themselves, the right wing, especially Trump. Stephen Colbert goes for the same jugular.
But it's an echo chamber.
Because those whose minds they want to change are not listening.
And the truth is the most important powers in America are the media owners. Which is why the right wing attacked them so heavily, to the point too many people no longer trust what they see or read. The end result is we all have our own facts, our own stories, and the nation is ruled by the rich elite.
Until now.
We thought social media was gonna save us. But the problem is, the men running those companies grew up post-Reagan themselves, believing if they deliver for Wall Street, they've delivered for the country. And the fascinating thing about social media is there's no there there, nothing without the public's participation. They're not making anything, they're just selling ads to our eyeballs which cannot stop paying attention to the train-wreck. But being beholden to the dollar none of these outlets can do the right thing, they're categorically against it. Zuck pays fealty to his stock price, believe nothing the man says if it will drive his numbers down. And Snapchat is about entertainment, not news. And Twitter is the land of fake accounts arguing over what the facts are.
And I'm stuck in the middle with you.
Now when the wool was pulled over our eyes, most especially during the Clinton years, when finances were good, when they stole the safety net, we just stopped paying attention and bought our cars and drank our beer and lived our lives. But then, life got hard. Bush II gave more money to the rich, broke the nation's finances, got us into a war benefiting his and his party's donors and then crashed the economy.
But it was the Democrats' fault, it's always the Democrats' fault.
You see this has got nothing to do with right or left, right or wrong, either party, but muddying the water so you'll give up and feel powerless, stop paying attention, like in some third world country, so they can rape and pillage to their content. Can you say "Koch"?
Don't say "Soros," it's a false equivalency.
And if you're arguing with me you're completely missing the point. I'm like Jimmy, I'm like Stephen, I'm preaching to my choir, of which you are not a member. And now we have stopped paying attention to you, we know you're not going to change your view, just go back to the rodeo you came from where immigrants and taxes are bad and people of color are the problem. Our only hope is to get out the vote and get rid of gerrymandering and then...
Kids flipped the script.
You see money is no match for the truth.
We pushed our nation's values to the limit. Congresspeople, most of whom their constituents could not name, were beholden to the money, not the voters, and now the light is being shone upon them and they're flummoxed, crippled. "I can't vote that way because of the NRA." Huh? So you're beholden to gun manufacturers?
And this is not about guns, this is about the American way of life. We're so convinced America is so peachy, the best country in the world, that we believe unrest can't happen here, that it's just a few bad apples. But just like school shootings, the protests, the upheavals, are coming fast and furiously. Right after #MeToo we've got anti-gun protestors. Do you think this is a coincidence? After all, we've been inundated with the news of so many school shootings, WHY NOW?
We haven't had this spirit here since 1969, truly.
So what is happening here is the center no longer holds.
If you're a rightie, if you watch Fox News, you've got no idea about the student protests, unless you read in social media that they were fake, imported agitators. But that kid said if he was an actor, you should have seen him in the school's rendition of "Fiddler On The Roof," he was AWFUL! And less wooden and more honest than anybody in D.C. Hell, it's a thrill to listen to these kids elucidate, gives us faith in the educational system, especially one that's not faith-based and done in the home.
That's right, those people want to divide us.
But suddenly we're becoming united.
So what happens next?
Damned if I know, but it's no longer business as usual.
Sure, people were dumb and voted against their interests and elected Donald Trump.
Then again, so many were sick of business as usual, and couldn't vote for Hillary.
And you and me just picked the most expeditious choice, but it turns out expediency no longer applies.
Meanwhile, we've got a President who keeps looking backward and a Congress that's paralyzed.
And suddenly the jig is up.
That's people power.
We learned that online, if the product is not great it fails, we can research instantly. Which is why the right wants to get rid of net neutrality, don't forget, they're not our public airwaves, they're THEIRS, the people who paid for them, via lobbyists and auctions and...
Maybe there's just unrest. Maybe authoritarianism results. Maybe there becomes one place online we all go to to find out what's going on.
The rich don't want this, they like us confused. But we're wired, we're connected, they have no idea of our power.
That's right, you have power.
And the first thing you have to do is educate yourself, so you can talk authoritatively. Forget emotion, focus on facts, without them you're going to have a hard time succeeding in the future.
And the fact finders adhere to a past paradigm, not taking a stance, that's what's wrong with the so-called "mainstream media." But facts without interpretation are worthless.
Sling your arrows, attack me, but you're missing the point. I'm just the messenger. But there's something happening here, and what it is ain't exactly clear.
For what it's worth.
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Thursday 22 February 2018
Wednesday 21 February 2018
Hirscher Skis Out
The expectations don't square with reality.
Bode Miller is forever tarnished by his failure to win medals in Torino, even though his trove of Olympic trophies is positively staggering. He didn't measure up to the hype. Can anybody measure up to the hype?
In business.
But rarely in art.
And almost never in certain sports. Like skiing.
I find it fascinating the amount of buzz skiing has gotten in these Olympics. The media is overloaded with stories on Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn, two American heroes who are deserving of the attention but...
Then there are the snowboarders, the halfpipe and slopestyle tricksters. Don't confuse them with the downhill skiers, they're more gymnast than slider. Furthermore, despite all the attention, snowboarding is fading. Statistics tell us that the children of Gen X'ers, who drove snowboarding, are reacting and wanna ski. Furthermore, snowboarding is such a huge pain in the ass. Strapping in and out, sitting in the snow, trying to make it across traverses. Burton came out with a new step-in binding, but so far it has not gained traction. And yes, this is a religious war, with skiing on the upswing, but the truth is snow sports are dying. Well, at least flat. They're too expensive, too mature, and the snow itself is in short supply.
But in the sixties it was different. Skiing was the skateboarding of its day. There were hills everywhere, middle class denizens participated. But then with the installation of high speed lifts ticket prices rose and with the concomitant gap between rich and poor those less fortunate stopped skiing. And snowboarding. To the detriment of the industry. Resorts closed. Airlines started charging for baggage, and now skiing is for the one percent.
Except during the Olympics.
Now you've got understand, in Europe, not only Austria and Switzerland, but Norway, Germany, Italy and France too, skiing is nearly as big as football. You can make a killing, what with victory schedules and endorsements. Bode Miller is a household name over there, a legend, not a creep. And Mikaela and Lindsey are superstars.
But over here...
We only focus once every four years. And expect these athletes to deliver.
But that's a misunderstanding of the landscape.
The downhill track was too easy. The wind was a factor. All the elements of skiing the average person has no awareness of came into play, and changed the results.
Did you see the article in today's "New York Times" how Mikaela travels with 70 pairs of skis! Actually, she only took 35 to the Olympics, along with her full time tuner, that's what it takes to win. Hell, Bode was calling the giant slalom and he remarked how one racer was doing so well because he was the only one on Volkls...it's a technical game.
Then again, the "Wall Street Journal" wrote how those with knee injuries, those who've blown their ACLs, actually perform better! And they've all been injured, and they're all a little scared, and no one wins every time.
Except Shiffrin and Hirscher in the slalom.
Well, not exactly, but most of the time. They're automatons.
But Shiffrin didn't. Was it the skis? Was it staying up late after winning the GS? Wasn't she supposed to take home five golds?
As for Hirscher, he already won two. And now he was skiing in his favorite event, where he excels, the aforementioned slalom, and he hadn't skied out in TWO YEARS!
Now you've got to know, the sport has changed. With breakaway gates and shaped skis. Credit Bode for that, he was the first to use the new equipment twenty years ago and went from zero to hero overnight. The spoils go to those willing to take the risks.
And now the risk of skiing out in the slalom is less.
And as the commentators are remarking on how Hirscher always finishes, you could see...
He was late.
You see no skier is perfect. The old adage is, "If you don't fall, you don't ski." It's kinda like golf, nobody gets it right every time. But there are so many more variables, and there's so much more danger.
So Hirscher has his skis in the air, he's throwing them sideways to try and make the next gate. And then he recovers. And then he loses it again. Funny how one little mistake trends through to the end, you rarely settle down completely, is it psychological or..?
And he's got to hit it to win, go straight at the gates to compete, but that increases the danger. And then...
It's over, he can't make the next gate, HE'S OUT!
He screwed with the narrative. He slid down the hill, took off his boards and marched off in a huff. So would you, with all the pressure, all the glory almost in reach, and you blew it.
But that's what life is about. Blowing it. You lose more than you win. Especially if you try new things, especially if you put yourself at risk. This is a sport determined by fractions of a second. Someone losing by two seconds is an also-ran, a competitor with no chance. You've got to lay it all on the line and when everybody is watching...
There's tons of pressure.
But there are so many who don't understand.
Lindsey Vonn doesn't get her gold. Sure, she unfortunately ran first in the Super G, a race with no training run, she was the guinea pig, there was one truly difficult gate. But in the downhill...
Was it her skis? Her line? Was Goggia just that much better?
Someone knows.
But maybe no one. Bode, who is a spectacular commentator, doesn't always get it right, just like in his own ski career. He'd flail and win. He's saying someone is slow and then they turn out fast, you can never tell, kinda like Ledecka, the Czech snowboarder who won the women's Super G, SHE was stunned by her victory.
But Hirscher's moment of potential glory is gone. He won two golds, but not a third, he's a success, but not a legend. It happened just that fast.
And he reminded us that not only is he human, but so are we.
And that ultimately we answer to ourselves.
And when the looky-loos, the once every four year people, are gone, those on the inside will know...
You're still that great, you're still that good.
But not every day.
Nothing is guaranteed.
And that's why life is worth living.
"Why Mikaela Shiffrin Brought 35 Pairs of Skis to the Olympics": http://nyti.ms/2Fo5D5y
"Why Lindsey Vonn's Bad Knee Could Be a Good Thing - One Surgeon calls it the ski-racing paradox: how elite skiers who have torn a knee ligament come out faster and race longer than those who haven't": http://on.wsj.com/2sNAXIh
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Bode Miller is forever tarnished by his failure to win medals in Torino, even though his trove of Olympic trophies is positively staggering. He didn't measure up to the hype. Can anybody measure up to the hype?
In business.
But rarely in art.
And almost never in certain sports. Like skiing.
I find it fascinating the amount of buzz skiing has gotten in these Olympics. The media is overloaded with stories on Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn, two American heroes who are deserving of the attention but...
Then there are the snowboarders, the halfpipe and slopestyle tricksters. Don't confuse them with the downhill skiers, they're more gymnast than slider. Furthermore, despite all the attention, snowboarding is fading. Statistics tell us that the children of Gen X'ers, who drove snowboarding, are reacting and wanna ski. Furthermore, snowboarding is such a huge pain in the ass. Strapping in and out, sitting in the snow, trying to make it across traverses. Burton came out with a new step-in binding, but so far it has not gained traction. And yes, this is a religious war, with skiing on the upswing, but the truth is snow sports are dying. Well, at least flat. They're too expensive, too mature, and the snow itself is in short supply.
But in the sixties it was different. Skiing was the skateboarding of its day. There were hills everywhere, middle class denizens participated. But then with the installation of high speed lifts ticket prices rose and with the concomitant gap between rich and poor those less fortunate stopped skiing. And snowboarding. To the detriment of the industry. Resorts closed. Airlines started charging for baggage, and now skiing is for the one percent.
Except during the Olympics.
Now you've got understand, in Europe, not only Austria and Switzerland, but Norway, Germany, Italy and France too, skiing is nearly as big as football. You can make a killing, what with victory schedules and endorsements. Bode Miller is a household name over there, a legend, not a creep. And Mikaela and Lindsey are superstars.
But over here...
We only focus once every four years. And expect these athletes to deliver.
But that's a misunderstanding of the landscape.
The downhill track was too easy. The wind was a factor. All the elements of skiing the average person has no awareness of came into play, and changed the results.
Did you see the article in today's "New York Times" how Mikaela travels with 70 pairs of skis! Actually, she only took 35 to the Olympics, along with her full time tuner, that's what it takes to win. Hell, Bode was calling the giant slalom and he remarked how one racer was doing so well because he was the only one on Volkls...it's a technical game.
Then again, the "Wall Street Journal" wrote how those with knee injuries, those who've blown their ACLs, actually perform better! And they've all been injured, and they're all a little scared, and no one wins every time.
Except Shiffrin and Hirscher in the slalom.
Well, not exactly, but most of the time. They're automatons.
But Shiffrin didn't. Was it the skis? Was it staying up late after winning the GS? Wasn't she supposed to take home five golds?
As for Hirscher, he already won two. And now he was skiing in his favorite event, where he excels, the aforementioned slalom, and he hadn't skied out in TWO YEARS!
Now you've got to know, the sport has changed. With breakaway gates and shaped skis. Credit Bode for that, he was the first to use the new equipment twenty years ago and went from zero to hero overnight. The spoils go to those willing to take the risks.
And now the risk of skiing out in the slalom is less.
And as the commentators are remarking on how Hirscher always finishes, you could see...
He was late.
You see no skier is perfect. The old adage is, "If you don't fall, you don't ski." It's kinda like golf, nobody gets it right every time. But there are so many more variables, and there's so much more danger.
So Hirscher has his skis in the air, he's throwing them sideways to try and make the next gate. And then he recovers. And then he loses it again. Funny how one little mistake trends through to the end, you rarely settle down completely, is it psychological or..?
And he's got to hit it to win, go straight at the gates to compete, but that increases the danger. And then...
It's over, he can't make the next gate, HE'S OUT!
He screwed with the narrative. He slid down the hill, took off his boards and marched off in a huff. So would you, with all the pressure, all the glory almost in reach, and you blew it.
But that's what life is about. Blowing it. You lose more than you win. Especially if you try new things, especially if you put yourself at risk. This is a sport determined by fractions of a second. Someone losing by two seconds is an also-ran, a competitor with no chance. You've got to lay it all on the line and when everybody is watching...
There's tons of pressure.
But there are so many who don't understand.
Lindsey Vonn doesn't get her gold. Sure, she unfortunately ran first in the Super G, a race with no training run, she was the guinea pig, there was one truly difficult gate. But in the downhill...
Was it her skis? Her line? Was Goggia just that much better?
Someone knows.
But maybe no one. Bode, who is a spectacular commentator, doesn't always get it right, just like in his own ski career. He'd flail and win. He's saying someone is slow and then they turn out fast, you can never tell, kinda like Ledecka, the Czech snowboarder who won the women's Super G, SHE was stunned by her victory.
But Hirscher's moment of potential glory is gone. He won two golds, but not a third, he's a success, but not a legend. It happened just that fast.
And he reminded us that not only is he human, but so are we.
And that ultimately we answer to ourselves.
And when the looky-loos, the once every four year people, are gone, those on the inside will know...
You're still that great, you're still that good.
But not every day.
Nothing is guaranteed.
And that's why life is worth living.
"Why Mikaela Shiffrin Brought 35 Pairs of Skis to the Olympics": http://nyti.ms/2Fo5D5y
"Why Lindsey Vonn's Bad Knee Could Be a Good Thing - One Surgeon calls it the ski-racing paradox: how elite skiers who have torn a knee ligament come out faster and race longer than those who haven't": http://on.wsj.com/2sNAXIh
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Mailbag
Subject: Icarus Director
Hi Bob - Bryan Fogel here.
A few days ago many friends of mine passed onto me your blog / email about ICARUS so I just signed up for your newsletter. Thanks so much for the kind thoughts.
You really understood what I was hoping would be the takeaway from the film and saw straight to the bigger issues at stake far beyond sport, and the threatening of our own democracy through fake news, lies, denials and an media cycle that support this propaganda and enable Trump.
Not sure if saw Rodchenkov on 60 minutes last week or this concerning news today... https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/02/20/sports/olympics/russia-doping-prokhorov.html?referer= ... but we are living in surreal times, much as Orwell predicted and I'm deeply concerned for not only Rodchenkov and his future, but our own country.
I appreciate you taking notice and the time to write about ICARUS and help spread the word about my film. I've been traveling non-stop recently ahead of the Oscars, but I live in LA if you ever want to meet for lunch or a coffee and chat? I think we'd have much to talk about.
My best,
Bryan Fogel
______________________________________
From: Lukedaddy
Subject: Re: Jade Bird's "Lottery"
Problem is, ANY one can make a 'record' and they ALL think they are great and deserve it. Garage band and a mic pre does not make a star.
DUES does.
No place to play now. No live music or rare anyway. No motivation to learn ( outside metal- those musicians work hard at their craft like the music or not).
Just cause you CAN make a 'record' does not mean you should release it. I could auto tune/ Melodyne/ time-correct my Pug dog singing 'The Greatest Love of All'
No buffer between shit and great. No one to say ' You are not ready yet or ... you don't have it man sorry'.
Just ' Oh my son has a band too, or my daughter sings like Whitney' etc....
Ok... I get the old 'One mans shit is another mans chocolate' theory as I live it... but I spent many many years practicing before I made it to a studio.
Then had to endure A+R guys that could not even clap on 2+ 4... played a ton of sessions and I am still learning and practicing 42 years later.
Instant 'GIMME I wanna be famous' is bullshit and should be called out.
There is perhaps a new 'Jimi' and or perhaps a great new young band in a small town somewhere in the world that cant get heard thru the noise.
We NEED a new reason to love music. Everyone's shit sounds the same cause everyone uses the same tools. Same plug ins and samples.
Shit they said WE are slick? WTF there is not a ruff edge in sight these days. We actually sat in a studio and played together. Whatever...
TOO much. You wouldn't eat a giant Toblerone chocolate bar in one sitting would ya? 400 hamburgers etc... ?
Nope we live in a ' Baffle you with bullshit ' world. ( said the old guy).
I will go to my grave swearing I grew up in the best of times for music and life. No one cares, but I do.
Have a nice day and this is MY opinion. Dont hate me for it. There IS some great stuff but ... hard to wade thru in a see thru world.
Steve Lukather
______________________________________
From: Jason Flom
Subject: Re: Jim Guerinot-This Week's Podcast
Bob,
In the 90s I was at an awards show. 2 of the first 5 awards were won by Boyz 2 Men and the other 3 went to A&M acts (Soundgarden, Sheryl Crow, etc.). Each time Boyz 2 Men won they thanked Jesus and each time the other artists won they thanked Jim. It was then that I overheard a guy sitting behind me say to his friend in a reverent tone, "I don't know who this Jim Guerinot guy is but he's up 3 to 2 on God."
True story and a great metaphor for the behind the scenes magic of one of the greats of our era.
Jason
______________________________________
From: Emily Kaye
Subject: Re: Jim Guerinot-This Week's Podcast
Hi Bob,
Guerinot is a force unlike anyone I've ever encountered in my professional life. When the student is ready, the teacher will come...
I've had two mentors; Larry Hamby and Jim Guerinot. Both of whom I worked for and with at A&M Records. Hamby was my guide while I was a burgeoning A&R person at A&M Records. I met Guerinot while he was head of marketing, then GM of the label. After bringing in a band that had moderate success at the label, Guerinot recognized the passion I had for the band, and saw that as something of an asset to the teams working the record. The opportunity came for him to start a label and we talked about it. A&M did not offer me a better opportunity, and frankly my sense of adventure was then, and always will be (perhaps to my detriment), what inspires me and often the path I follow.
In 1998, Peter Harper, Guerinot and I started our journey together and shared a small office with a view of the beach on Main St. in Laguna Beach, CA. Guerinot's vision was to do "it" differently. To think outside of the normal paradigm of the music biz, which was heavily radio/video driven back then. We went back to his roots, the DIY way of making records and developing artists. We headed out "there" with one main principal - "How can we help?". And we succeeded in helping, developing and sharing a grass roots ethos with a handful of kick ass artists.
Guerinot is a leader. He has a fierce yearning for knowledge. He's curious and deeply passionate about music. Working for Guerinot was like getting a masters degree in music and life. How you live outside of work impacts how you deal with your day to day. He showed me what it looks like to have a "life". Although he worked 12- 16 hours days, usually on the weekends as well, he somehow found a way to "live". I emulated that as best I could. And still do.
With that kind of drive comes expectation. He expected me to "show up". And when I pulled any kind of lackluster "I was out late at a show so I slept in... bullshit, I heard about it. He brought a healthy structure to the team which invoked a sense of solidarity. Whereas, if one struggles - we all struggle. If one gets flakey - we all feel it. I came from a world where the A&R dept. was unique and somewhat untouchable. There was a defined line between A&R and everybody else. I will go so far as to say an "elitism". That was not the case in Guerinot's world. I was one of many, we were all on a level playing field. It took a minute to be ok with that, but looking back, it was the humbling I so needed.
I stumbled many times whilst working with Guerinot, yet he continued to be the indefatigable guide who (sometimes forgivingly and unforgivingly), kept me focused and supported.
I'm a fan...
Thanks,
Emily Kaye
PS: I'm married to Jesse Dayton who you featured on one of your blogs earlier last year. My father is Chuck Kaye and my grandfather his Lester Sill. I was born "doomed" for the music biz...
______________________________________
From: Hank Barry
Subject: Quincy Jones
In late 2000 and early 2001, Quincy Jones -
Was amazed to find "Manteca" by Dizzy Gillespie through Napster. A recording he had looked for for years.
Organized a meeting of internet and record types in the basement of his house to try to find common ground (complete with an illustrator / facilitator who kept a gigantic cartoon diary). Bob Ezrin made a lot of sense that day.
Got on the speaker at the Fairmont SF to talk to Sen. Hatch about ways to move forward. Sen. Hatch was helpful (really, and consistently). He also wanted to know whether Quincy had listened to his demos.
When I was walking toward a group of extremely skeptical media executives at Davos, stepped out and gave me a very welcome bear hug.
Came to a meeting at Marilyn Bergman's home office and explained (calmly and eloquently) why Napster mattered.
Spontaneously sang to our daughter on the phone when I told him it was her birthday.
That's him.
______________________________________
From: Brian Rohan
Subject: Quincy Jones Garfield High School Jazz Band
Bob:
Here's a tidbit for you. I saw Quincy Jones in the Garfield High School Jazz Band in 1953 or 1954. The singer was Ray Charles. Bumps Blackwell was also in the band.
You can print my email address. I'll see if I have any friends left in the business.
You are right on about Jason and pretty right on about Danny Goldberg. I think I'll keep reading the news letter.
Brian Rohan
brianrohanesq2@gmail.com
______________________________________
From: Michael Alex
Subject: Re: The Grammy Ratings Decline
"The VMAs blew a hole in the awards show paradigm by knowing to create moments along with the music. There was irreverence, it felt like the show was on the pulse."
Absolutely. I produced the first "look back" (The MTV Video Music Awards Tenth Anniversary Special). A half hour show, we didn't talk about who won what at all. Who cared? Show me Madonna, show me Fart Man, show me Pee Wee Herman. Moments.
______________________________________
From: John Brubaker
Subject: Re: Netflix
Proof the game is already over, nobody says "Amazon and chill" or "Hulu and chill" its "Netflix and chill".
______________________________________
Subject: Re: Mailbag
I was at a convention for a prestigious record label, late 70's. It had been a successful year. All the guys on the promotion team were taken to a strip joint by the promotion head, and given cash to spend there. A well-respected female promotion person asked, within hearing range of the male team, "Why aren't we girls given anything? A manicure/pedicure, something?" No answer. Later, at a company banquet, one of the promotion guys got special recognition for having a good year. His reward was a hooker for the night. He paraded her around, bragging.
Mid 90's radio and record biz convention, hotel lobby. Label executive has ordered an escort from an escort service. He doesn't like to be seen without a hot chic at his side. The executive is above me in rank, tho I am at a fairly high level. The escort arrives but the exec has to take a long phone call. Instructs me to "escort the escort" to a lunch down the street where he is going next. I comply. I was disgusted with myself, but what was I going to do?? Start an argument with my superior in front of industry people? Ruin my chance for advancement?
So many anonymous stories. Akin to enabling, which we did before and continue to do. As we protect ourselves, our careers, we protect the perpetrators. But maybe they are looking over their shoulders. Maybe they have daughters or granddaughters. Maybe they realize what lowlifes they've been, and maybe they will even get around to apologizing. At the very least, maybe they will stop the abuse. Thank you for getting the stories out, it's important.
Name withheld
______________________________________
Subject: Harassment
Sexual harassment ? Why leave it at that? Please, the sexual harassment came from all directions and was (sorry to say) the least of my worries back in my days as a "Handler" or "day to day manager" or all around "road dog". The verbal, emotional, mental and yes, sometimes physical harassment /abuse was what pushed me to an edge of complete breakdown. (From the ashes we rise)
Why stay? Shit, because you wake up one day and you're in a situation you never in your wildest dreams predicted. It was my dream as a little girl to work in "the business" and those dreams came true when the opportunity came to work with some of the greats on both sides of the spectrum. From the star makers to the stars themselves. I took the express elevator up to the top. But boy don't think for a second there's not a price to pay. The top is not bright. It's dark, twisted, layers upon layers of gross entitled leaders directing and dictating. Barking orders, demanding and threatening. Waving your job over your head reminding you how lucky you are and the many others that would die to be in your position and have your job... the next hit and the opportunity to be part of something amazing, is always just a beat away or a session away... so you hang in...you suck it up, soldier on, brush yourself off- it's an addiction of sorts,maybe.
My boss/ mentor at the time was one of the top honchos within the industry. Respected and liked by many. I turned a blind eye to a ton of crazy shit- And I mean crazy shit. From fetching him at Dominatrix sessions to crazy ex girlfriends stalking even me and my own family members! Covering up for him became second nature...The abuse from his own family treating me like I was a street dog in a third world country was equally bad. Endless stories, situations, scenarios. Witnessed and not witnessed. No NDA signed on my end (I was usually the one shoving NDAs down others throats) and boy the stories are real, raw and burned into my memory. The list is long...and gross.
I'm out now and I feel I wasted prime years working long days for peanuts. I'm now a successful business owner with a family. No I don't want you to publish my name. I don't want these assholes to screw up my good and decent karma. But it sure feels good to speak on it. Every dog has her day.
Thanks Bob
______________________________________
Subject: no one is listening
I woke up this morning wishing I could succinctly explain the nightmare that has been a career, & these elements that are only now being discussed, but as I walked through it all in my mind, I was left with "where would I even begin?"
I would begin at the beginning, but then it becomes a long road from the jump...of attempts at seduction from VP's and company owners, some married, coming on to me on business trips in my earliest 20's; to having a ceo ask me to take my clothes off, as he was in front of other C-levels and my department head/direct mgr. when he said it (it was a literal request, a "team bonding"...long story); ....to being fired so a late night coke-addict new boss with no work ethic could steal a multi-million dollar deal I ushered in to my department; ....to a business meeting at a hotel lobby restaurant that got moved to the hotel room at the last minute (yes. not Harvey, but a C-Level)...to, on one occasion being presented with a dildo by my company president (he bought it for someone else and wanted me to see how "great" it was); and to another time years later of a potential client presenting me with a gift of sex toys; ...to the lead executive taking his clothes off during the day in front of his staff at a business retreat. This is just a selection.
These things occur for no other reason than I have female anatomy. As Dave Chappelle mentioned, he would sooner travel on the subway with $25,000 cash, than carry the other thing around. I wasn't "asking for it," not dressing provocatively....I was doing nothing more than existing as a female, optimistically, with no agenda other than to make an honest day's wage, for an honest day's work.
I'm a dedicated person who went into my career (naively) thinking these sorts of things only happened in movies. If all of this sounds preposterous to you, it does to me as well, and I don't possess the creativity to make any of it up. I just don't have that vivid of an imagination, and I couldn't have conceived of any of it, had I not experienced it all first hand.
There are the people who think & say...."deal with it"....."what's the big deal"...."toughen up" etc.
That's what women have been doing, for a long time, forever, stepping up (Neil), stepping aside, letting it roll off, fighting for credit for work they did stolen by others, or strategically disrespected, marginalized, at times deceived, & devalued. (If an employer creates a culture of devaluing the work and breaking down the employee, they can pay less, & forego raises. It's a business model that benefits the P&L.). ... We have been doing this for a long time. That's what we do: we "deal with it."
We don't have "brittle spirits" (Dave Chappelle.). On the contrary, it would be impossible to have a "brittle spirit" and keep going. The environment will make you, sadly and unfortunately, rather "hard," by unfortunate necessity & survival... but it's the opposite of a "brittle spirit." I did not read the NY Times piece about Louis CK (never watched his comedy because he gave me a bad vibe from the word go. Seemed creepy from day 1.) so I can't comment about that one woman's motive with the "brittle spirit"....but there comes a point where you just can't see anymore dicks, or sex toys, or porn in the office pulled up for a minute on the desktop computer (done to me by my boss, in front of my junior male staff mate, ... like a naughty little boy seeing if he could get away with it). Maybe Louis CK's was the last dick flash in a long line of things of that nature.... and maybe she was like "Ok, and now Louis CK has pulled his dick out. That's it... I'm done."
We roll our eyes, joke it off, try to make awkward situations less awkward, act tough & unaffected, play it cool, don't sweat the small stuff, etc. We do all of that.
But what people don't realize....is that there is a cumulative effect. Over time, this as a constant, it's ultimately painful. There is a sort of ptsd that sets in..... and there's that moment where you realize.... how truly valued.... you are not. That all the time, energy, effort, hard work, long hours...... against the devaluation, the mistreatment, a fight to be taken seriously. Or just treated fairly, cordially...like a human being.
When you wake up one day and recognize the magnitude of that.... it's not good.
What's confusing, is these men or otherwise who think it's their right and license to behave in all of these ways, (in industries lacking any real structure or *conscience (*will there be one at some point?) to have real ethics, integrity & protocol to handle these things) ... these men have daughters, sisters, mothers.... why is it ok to treat women in ways that they would not want their daughter to be treated.
I pursued this career and made it my main focus, to be able to provide for myself and for a family; while I saw other peers primarily pursuing husbands for providership. I have no judgment on either. Both have real merits. However I think it's high time we stop engaging in these hostile acts & environments ( that do actually cause damage over time, clearly. ) and appreciate individuals that have noble goals to work hard, contribute to families and society in a professional realm, and at the end of the day are just trying to do good things and want to be treated humanely and fairly in a career. By men and women both. This whole culture of acting like a monster being regarded as some sort of badge of honor really needs to go. It's an old and very tired paradigm. All of this is.
Lastly, Pam Anderson, "just don't take the meeting" was an out of touch thing to say, and shows a true lack of understanding of the power dynamics, for people who are building careers and have bills to pay. When a person is under pressure to move their career forward, produce for their company, pay their bills, carry their own weight....a top executive who's entire existence is built on letting you know he doesn't have any time, is willing to give you time, sometimes you take your chances and meet where he asks because you can't afford to miss the opportunity, and you don't know when and if you will ever have it again, and with no one being transparent about these things, you take the meeting in good faith. A young actress (or executive) is not going to risk the regret of missing the moment when a top executive was going to fit them into their schedule. Anyone who knows anything, knows that meetings & opportunities come, with people who like to act as if they're busier than god (& may be, but are also glad to abuse that)... but then they're fleeting, (esp. if you try to reschedule) and may not come around again for another 6 to 12 months. If ever. In those months, there's rent to pay. .... To Pam's very insensitive point she attempted to make, in 2007, I turned down a late night text invitation from a top / iconic record label executive to come meet him at about 1am. I didn't know him and felt an in-office (or at least, less last-minute 1am) first meeting was more appropriate for my intentions. I've had people tell me I should have accepted. "for my career." Others appreciated my integrity. I'll never know what that was about, and I don't regret it. But even bypassing that situation, (who knows how it would have gone), but even trying to use good judgment, you can see all the other continual instances I could not avoid (across industries, I've been in other areas of media.). I realize Pam Anderson was trying to give "sound advice" but it was a misguided comment lacking real understanding of the issues. I think she was already established and working consistently when she turned down a Weinstein meeting. That's really not comparable to emerging actresses or others who need to further their career, and naively thought a high profile busy person who travels all the time would have a professional meeting. We need to get to the root of the problems, and victim shaming is an out to avoid the obvious real issues here that people might be too scared or not brave enough to truly look in the eye.
*name withheld please.
Hi Bob - Bryan Fogel here.
A few days ago many friends of mine passed onto me your blog / email about ICARUS so I just signed up for your newsletter. Thanks so much for the kind thoughts.
You really understood what I was hoping would be the takeaway from the film and saw straight to the bigger issues at stake far beyond sport, and the threatening of our own democracy through fake news, lies, denials and an media cycle that support this propaganda and enable Trump.
Not sure if saw Rodchenkov on 60 minutes last week or this concerning news today... https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/02/20/sports/olympics/russia-doping-prokhorov.html?referer= ... but we are living in surreal times, much as Orwell predicted and I'm deeply concerned for not only Rodchenkov and his future, but our own country.
I appreciate you taking notice and the time to write about ICARUS and help spread the word about my film. I've been traveling non-stop recently ahead of the Oscars, but I live in LA if you ever want to meet for lunch or a coffee and chat? I think we'd have much to talk about.
My best,
Bryan Fogel
______________________________________
From: Lukedaddy
Subject: Re: Jade Bird's "Lottery"
Problem is, ANY one can make a 'record' and they ALL think they are great and deserve it. Garage band and a mic pre does not make a star.
DUES does.
No place to play now. No live music or rare anyway. No motivation to learn ( outside metal- those musicians work hard at their craft like the music or not).
Just cause you CAN make a 'record' does not mean you should release it. I could auto tune/ Melodyne/ time-correct my Pug dog singing 'The Greatest Love of All'
No buffer between shit and great. No one to say ' You are not ready yet or ... you don't have it man sorry'.
Just ' Oh my son has a band too, or my daughter sings like Whitney' etc....
Ok... I get the old 'One mans shit is another mans chocolate' theory as I live it... but I spent many many years practicing before I made it to a studio.
Then had to endure A+R guys that could not even clap on 2+ 4... played a ton of sessions and I am still learning and practicing 42 years later.
Instant 'GIMME I wanna be famous' is bullshit and should be called out.
There is perhaps a new 'Jimi' and or perhaps a great new young band in a small town somewhere in the world that cant get heard thru the noise.
We NEED a new reason to love music. Everyone's shit sounds the same cause everyone uses the same tools. Same plug ins and samples.
Shit they said WE are slick? WTF there is not a ruff edge in sight these days. We actually sat in a studio and played together. Whatever...
TOO much. You wouldn't eat a giant Toblerone chocolate bar in one sitting would ya? 400 hamburgers etc... ?
Nope we live in a ' Baffle you with bullshit ' world. ( said the old guy).
I will go to my grave swearing I grew up in the best of times for music and life. No one cares, but I do.
Have a nice day and this is MY opinion. Dont hate me for it. There IS some great stuff but ... hard to wade thru in a see thru world.
Steve Lukather
______________________________________
From: Jason Flom
Subject: Re: Jim Guerinot-This Week's Podcast
Bob,
In the 90s I was at an awards show. 2 of the first 5 awards were won by Boyz 2 Men and the other 3 went to A&M acts (Soundgarden, Sheryl Crow, etc.). Each time Boyz 2 Men won they thanked Jesus and each time the other artists won they thanked Jim. It was then that I overheard a guy sitting behind me say to his friend in a reverent tone, "I don't know who this Jim Guerinot guy is but he's up 3 to 2 on God."
True story and a great metaphor for the behind the scenes magic of one of the greats of our era.
Jason
______________________________________
From: Emily Kaye
Subject: Re: Jim Guerinot-This Week's Podcast
Hi Bob,
Guerinot is a force unlike anyone I've ever encountered in my professional life. When the student is ready, the teacher will come...
I've had two mentors; Larry Hamby and Jim Guerinot. Both of whom I worked for and with at A&M Records. Hamby was my guide while I was a burgeoning A&R person at A&M Records. I met Guerinot while he was head of marketing, then GM of the label. After bringing in a band that had moderate success at the label, Guerinot recognized the passion I had for the band, and saw that as something of an asset to the teams working the record. The opportunity came for him to start a label and we talked about it. A&M did not offer me a better opportunity, and frankly my sense of adventure was then, and always will be (perhaps to my detriment), what inspires me and often the path I follow.
In 1998, Peter Harper, Guerinot and I started our journey together and shared a small office with a view of the beach on Main St. in Laguna Beach, CA. Guerinot's vision was to do "it" differently. To think outside of the normal paradigm of the music biz, which was heavily radio/video driven back then. We went back to his roots, the DIY way of making records and developing artists. We headed out "there" with one main principal - "How can we help?". And we succeeded in helping, developing and sharing a grass roots ethos with a handful of kick ass artists.
Guerinot is a leader. He has a fierce yearning for knowledge. He's curious and deeply passionate about music. Working for Guerinot was like getting a masters degree in music and life. How you live outside of work impacts how you deal with your day to day. He showed me what it looks like to have a "life". Although he worked 12- 16 hours days, usually on the weekends as well, he somehow found a way to "live". I emulated that as best I could. And still do.
With that kind of drive comes expectation. He expected me to "show up". And when I pulled any kind of lackluster "I was out late at a show so I slept in... bullshit, I heard about it. He brought a healthy structure to the team which invoked a sense of solidarity. Whereas, if one struggles - we all struggle. If one gets flakey - we all feel it. I came from a world where the A&R dept. was unique and somewhat untouchable. There was a defined line between A&R and everybody else. I will go so far as to say an "elitism". That was not the case in Guerinot's world. I was one of many, we were all on a level playing field. It took a minute to be ok with that, but looking back, it was the humbling I so needed.
I stumbled many times whilst working with Guerinot, yet he continued to be the indefatigable guide who (sometimes forgivingly and unforgivingly), kept me focused and supported.
I'm a fan...
Thanks,
Emily Kaye
PS: I'm married to Jesse Dayton who you featured on one of your blogs earlier last year. My father is Chuck Kaye and my grandfather his Lester Sill. I was born "doomed" for the music biz...
______________________________________
From: Hank Barry
Subject: Quincy Jones
In late 2000 and early 2001, Quincy Jones -
Was amazed to find "Manteca" by Dizzy Gillespie through Napster. A recording he had looked for for years.
Organized a meeting of internet and record types in the basement of his house to try to find common ground (complete with an illustrator / facilitator who kept a gigantic cartoon diary). Bob Ezrin made a lot of sense that day.
Got on the speaker at the Fairmont SF to talk to Sen. Hatch about ways to move forward. Sen. Hatch was helpful (really, and consistently). He also wanted to know whether Quincy had listened to his demos.
When I was walking toward a group of extremely skeptical media executives at Davos, stepped out and gave me a very welcome bear hug.
Came to a meeting at Marilyn Bergman's home office and explained (calmly and eloquently) why Napster mattered.
Spontaneously sang to our daughter on the phone when I told him it was her birthday.
That's him.
______________________________________
From: Brian Rohan
Subject: Quincy Jones Garfield High School Jazz Band
Bob:
Here's a tidbit for you. I saw Quincy Jones in the Garfield High School Jazz Band in 1953 or 1954. The singer was Ray Charles. Bumps Blackwell was also in the band.
You can print my email address. I'll see if I have any friends left in the business.
You are right on about Jason and pretty right on about Danny Goldberg. I think I'll keep reading the news letter.
Brian Rohan
brianrohanesq2@gmail.com
______________________________________
From: Michael Alex
Subject: Re: The Grammy Ratings Decline
"The VMAs blew a hole in the awards show paradigm by knowing to create moments along with the music. There was irreverence, it felt like the show was on the pulse."
Absolutely. I produced the first "look back" (The MTV Video Music Awards Tenth Anniversary Special). A half hour show, we didn't talk about who won what at all. Who cared? Show me Madonna, show me Fart Man, show me Pee Wee Herman. Moments.
______________________________________
From: John Brubaker
Subject: Re: Netflix
Proof the game is already over, nobody says "Amazon and chill" or "Hulu and chill" its "Netflix and chill".
______________________________________
Subject: Re: Mailbag
I was at a convention for a prestigious record label, late 70's. It had been a successful year. All the guys on the promotion team were taken to a strip joint by the promotion head, and given cash to spend there. A well-respected female promotion person asked, within hearing range of the male team, "Why aren't we girls given anything? A manicure/pedicure, something?" No answer. Later, at a company banquet, one of the promotion guys got special recognition for having a good year. His reward was a hooker for the night. He paraded her around, bragging.
Mid 90's radio and record biz convention, hotel lobby. Label executive has ordered an escort from an escort service. He doesn't like to be seen without a hot chic at his side. The executive is above me in rank, tho I am at a fairly high level. The escort arrives but the exec has to take a long phone call. Instructs me to "escort the escort" to a lunch down the street where he is going next. I comply. I was disgusted with myself, but what was I going to do?? Start an argument with my superior in front of industry people? Ruin my chance for advancement?
So many anonymous stories. Akin to enabling, which we did before and continue to do. As we protect ourselves, our careers, we protect the perpetrators. But maybe they are looking over their shoulders. Maybe they have daughters or granddaughters. Maybe they realize what lowlifes they've been, and maybe they will even get around to apologizing. At the very least, maybe they will stop the abuse. Thank you for getting the stories out, it's important.
Name withheld
______________________________________
Subject: Harassment
Sexual harassment ? Why leave it at that? Please, the sexual harassment came from all directions and was (sorry to say) the least of my worries back in my days as a "Handler" or "day to day manager" or all around "road dog". The verbal, emotional, mental and yes, sometimes physical harassment /abuse was what pushed me to an edge of complete breakdown. (From the ashes we rise)
Why stay? Shit, because you wake up one day and you're in a situation you never in your wildest dreams predicted. It was my dream as a little girl to work in "the business" and those dreams came true when the opportunity came to work with some of the greats on both sides of the spectrum. From the star makers to the stars themselves. I took the express elevator up to the top. But boy don't think for a second there's not a price to pay. The top is not bright. It's dark, twisted, layers upon layers of gross entitled leaders directing and dictating. Barking orders, demanding and threatening. Waving your job over your head reminding you how lucky you are and the many others that would die to be in your position and have your job... the next hit and the opportunity to be part of something amazing, is always just a beat away or a session away... so you hang in...you suck it up, soldier on, brush yourself off- it's an addiction of sorts,maybe.
My boss/ mentor at the time was one of the top honchos within the industry. Respected and liked by many. I turned a blind eye to a ton of crazy shit- And I mean crazy shit. From fetching him at Dominatrix sessions to crazy ex girlfriends stalking even me and my own family members! Covering up for him became second nature...The abuse from his own family treating me like I was a street dog in a third world country was equally bad. Endless stories, situations, scenarios. Witnessed and not witnessed. No NDA signed on my end (I was usually the one shoving NDAs down others throats) and boy the stories are real, raw and burned into my memory. The list is long...and gross.
I'm out now and I feel I wasted prime years working long days for peanuts. I'm now a successful business owner with a family. No I don't want you to publish my name. I don't want these assholes to screw up my good and decent karma. But it sure feels good to speak on it. Every dog has her day.
Thanks Bob
______________________________________
Subject: no one is listening
I woke up this morning wishing I could succinctly explain the nightmare that has been a career, & these elements that are only now being discussed, but as I walked through it all in my mind, I was left with "where would I even begin?"
I would begin at the beginning, but then it becomes a long road from the jump...of attempts at seduction from VP's and company owners, some married, coming on to me on business trips in my earliest 20's; to having a ceo ask me to take my clothes off, as he was in front of other C-levels and my department head/direct mgr. when he said it (it was a literal request, a "team bonding"...long story); ....to being fired so a late night coke-addict new boss with no work ethic could steal a multi-million dollar deal I ushered in to my department; ....to a business meeting at a hotel lobby restaurant that got moved to the hotel room at the last minute (yes. not Harvey, but a C-Level)...to, on one occasion being presented with a dildo by my company president (he bought it for someone else and wanted me to see how "great" it was); and to another time years later of a potential client presenting me with a gift of sex toys; ...to the lead executive taking his clothes off during the day in front of his staff at a business retreat. This is just a selection.
These things occur for no other reason than I have female anatomy. As Dave Chappelle mentioned, he would sooner travel on the subway with $25,000 cash, than carry the other thing around. I wasn't "asking for it," not dressing provocatively....I was doing nothing more than existing as a female, optimistically, with no agenda other than to make an honest day's wage, for an honest day's work.
I'm a dedicated person who went into my career (naively) thinking these sorts of things only happened in movies. If all of this sounds preposterous to you, it does to me as well, and I don't possess the creativity to make any of it up. I just don't have that vivid of an imagination, and I couldn't have conceived of any of it, had I not experienced it all first hand.
There are the people who think & say...."deal with it"....."what's the big deal"...."toughen up" etc.
That's what women have been doing, for a long time, forever, stepping up (Neil), stepping aside, letting it roll off, fighting for credit for work they did stolen by others, or strategically disrespected, marginalized, at times deceived, & devalued. (If an employer creates a culture of devaluing the work and breaking down the employee, they can pay less, & forego raises. It's a business model that benefits the P&L.). ... We have been doing this for a long time. That's what we do: we "deal with it."
We don't have "brittle spirits" (Dave Chappelle.). On the contrary, it would be impossible to have a "brittle spirit" and keep going. The environment will make you, sadly and unfortunately, rather "hard," by unfortunate necessity & survival... but it's the opposite of a "brittle spirit." I did not read the NY Times piece about Louis CK (never watched his comedy because he gave me a bad vibe from the word go. Seemed creepy from day 1.) so I can't comment about that one woman's motive with the "brittle spirit"....but there comes a point where you just can't see anymore dicks, or sex toys, or porn in the office pulled up for a minute on the desktop computer (done to me by my boss, in front of my junior male staff mate, ... like a naughty little boy seeing if he could get away with it). Maybe Louis CK's was the last dick flash in a long line of things of that nature.... and maybe she was like "Ok, and now Louis CK has pulled his dick out. That's it... I'm done."
We roll our eyes, joke it off, try to make awkward situations less awkward, act tough & unaffected, play it cool, don't sweat the small stuff, etc. We do all of that.
But what people don't realize....is that there is a cumulative effect. Over time, this as a constant, it's ultimately painful. There is a sort of ptsd that sets in..... and there's that moment where you realize.... how truly valued.... you are not. That all the time, energy, effort, hard work, long hours...... against the devaluation, the mistreatment, a fight to be taken seriously. Or just treated fairly, cordially...like a human being.
When you wake up one day and recognize the magnitude of that.... it's not good.
What's confusing, is these men or otherwise who think it's their right and license to behave in all of these ways, (in industries lacking any real structure or *conscience (*will there be one at some point?) to have real ethics, integrity & protocol to handle these things) ... these men have daughters, sisters, mothers.... why is it ok to treat women in ways that they would not want their daughter to be treated.
I pursued this career and made it my main focus, to be able to provide for myself and for a family; while I saw other peers primarily pursuing husbands for providership. I have no judgment on either. Both have real merits. However I think it's high time we stop engaging in these hostile acts & environments ( that do actually cause damage over time, clearly. ) and appreciate individuals that have noble goals to work hard, contribute to families and society in a professional realm, and at the end of the day are just trying to do good things and want to be treated humanely and fairly in a career. By men and women both. This whole culture of acting like a monster being regarded as some sort of badge of honor really needs to go. It's an old and very tired paradigm. All of this is.
Lastly, Pam Anderson, "just don't take the meeting" was an out of touch thing to say, and shows a true lack of understanding of the power dynamics, for people who are building careers and have bills to pay. When a person is under pressure to move their career forward, produce for their company, pay their bills, carry their own weight....a top executive who's entire existence is built on letting you know he doesn't have any time, is willing to give you time, sometimes you take your chances and meet where he asks because you can't afford to miss the opportunity, and you don't know when and if you will ever have it again, and with no one being transparent about these things, you take the meeting in good faith. A young actress (or executive) is not going to risk the regret of missing the moment when a top executive was going to fit them into their schedule. Anyone who knows anything, knows that meetings & opportunities come, with people who like to act as if they're busier than god (& may be, but are also glad to abuse that)... but then they're fleeting, (esp. if you try to reschedule) and may not come around again for another 6 to 12 months. If ever. In those months, there's rent to pay. .... To Pam's very insensitive point she attempted to make, in 2007, I turned down a late night text invitation from a top / iconic record label executive to come meet him at about 1am. I didn't know him and felt an in-office (or at least, less last-minute 1am) first meeting was more appropriate for my intentions. I've had people tell me I should have accepted. "for my career." Others appreciated my integrity. I'll never know what that was about, and I don't regret it. But even bypassing that situation, (who knows how it would have gone), but even trying to use good judgment, you can see all the other continual instances I could not avoid (across industries, I've been in other areas of media.). I realize Pam Anderson was trying to give "sound advice" but it was a misguided comment lacking real understanding of the issues. I think she was already established and working consistently when she turned down a Weinstein meeting. That's really not comparable to emerging actresses or others who need to further their career, and naively thought a high profile busy person who travels all the time would have a professional meeting. We need to get to the root of the problems, and victim shaming is an out to avoid the obvious real issues here that people might be too scared or not brave enough to truly look in the eye.
*name withheld please.
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Angela
http://spoti.fi/2GzwsD3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_II0fc7hgNY
The Lumineers were supposed to be a one hit wonder.
I was in a race to make it to the dentist's office in Beverly Hills. I was running late and the construction on Olympic was gonna make me later, always trust the map app, ALWAYS, as long as it's not Apple's, which told me it was gonna take 19 minutes when Google said 26 and was right, but...
Howard is on vacation. In a world with no center we all look to something to cling to. And for millions it's Howard Stern, we feel we're part of a community, we know all the players. But when Howard's gone...
That's when I listen to music on the satellite.
And now with Mike Marrone gone from the service I decided to work my way up the dial from the Pulse to the Blend to... And I understood the pop tracks but they did not resonate, I felt I was on a fact-gathering mission, looking at the world through a plate glass window, I could hear the music but I could not feel it.
So I pushed up to the Spectrum and that's where I heard "Angela."
I was at the intersection of Santa Monica and Wilshire and a woman in leather pants was crossing the street. Inside I laughed, I wondered who she was trying to impress at two in the afternoon. And then I thought back to the days of yore, before the internet, when you'd drive to the city to feel the pulse, to find out what was going on, to experience life. But that's all been replaced by the internet. Now we all play in the virtual world, that's where we make and exhibit our bona fides, even if we inflate them. Strange the march of progress, everyone keeps saying it's got to be stopped but it's so much easier to play these days, and that's a good thing, but the landscape has gotten so much more vast, and there are now zillions of famous people, not only the ones you might stumble upon in BH.
Now, although we are experiencing a return to winter in SoCal, it's still clear and sunny. And with the a/c on, yes, you still need it when the temp's in the fifties, your car is a greenhouse, you're in your own cocoon, listening to the music, and this is when I feel best, alone, yet together.
And the funny thing about the Spectrum is the songs they play are both old and new, sometimes recognizable, sometimes not. And I'm thinking back to the days of when I knew every song on the radio, but no one does anymore, if they tell you they do they're lying.
And I heard a Kings Of Leon song that stuck in my head. I changed the channel for a minute when a classic rocker came on, and then I heard "Angela."
It was the vibe, the intimacy, the life. The drum machines, the plastic sound of the Pulse and Blend were gone. It was like stumbling from a skyscraper to a saloon, you could feel the wood, the atmosphere brought you right in. My mood changed, I started to smile, I felt great, I felt like someone got me.
But no one gets this. You won't see "Angela" in the Spotify Top 50, but all the AAA acolytes will tell me it was a "hit" nearly two years ago. But that's like saying you're big in Fresno. How are the rest of us supposed to find this stuff, especially if the act is not interviewed on Stern.
"When you left this town, with your windows down"
You know that feeling, with the radio cranked, not a care in the world, you're leaving the troubles behind.
"The strangers in this town
They raise you up just to cut you down
Oh Angela, it's a long time coming"
I've lived in the country, it's not for me, it's one of the things I lament about internet culture, everybody knows your business and is in it, they've got an opinion on who you are, you're labeled, you've sacrificed your anonymity. That's the conundrum, we want to be known and we want to be anonymous. That's why I live in the city, it's why I don't post on social media, I don't want to hear from every person I ever knew, I don't want to stalk old girlfriends, it's hard enough to erase their memory from my brain.
But I'm known by some, who will criticize me and my views. I'm too late to "Angela," it doesn't have enough changes, it's too white. It's hard to shake off the feedback, to play, but I'm trying to.
And what I'm trying to say is just when I find the music world incomprehensible I stumble upon something like "Angela." I'd like to tell you I found more just like it on the Spectrum, but that would be untrue. Excellence juts out from the landscape like a phoenix. You know it when you hear it. Art is not quantifiable. It's not about charts, but a feeling in the individual, it's about changing people, making them feel understood and part of something bigger, connected to the performer.
I love the reference to the Volvo, I love personalization, the blander the lyrics the less interested I am.
And I wish music like this could be heard by more. It's certainly so much more meaningful than that which is chasing trends. "Angela" is not breaking ground, but it's timeless. Like the best music, it references what came before, but it's totally unique.
"Angela, on my knees, I belong, I believe"
Actually I'm sitting, here at my MacBook Pro. Long after midnight. When I should be winding down. But listening to "Angela" is the only time I've felt great all day. And when I pulled it up on my phone just now I had to tell you.
Home at last.
--
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_II0fc7hgNY
The Lumineers were supposed to be a one hit wonder.
I was in a race to make it to the dentist's office in Beverly Hills. I was running late and the construction on Olympic was gonna make me later, always trust the map app, ALWAYS, as long as it's not Apple's, which told me it was gonna take 19 minutes when Google said 26 and was right, but...
Howard is on vacation. In a world with no center we all look to something to cling to. And for millions it's Howard Stern, we feel we're part of a community, we know all the players. But when Howard's gone...
That's when I listen to music on the satellite.
And now with Mike Marrone gone from the service I decided to work my way up the dial from the Pulse to the Blend to... And I understood the pop tracks but they did not resonate, I felt I was on a fact-gathering mission, looking at the world through a plate glass window, I could hear the music but I could not feel it.
So I pushed up to the Spectrum and that's where I heard "Angela."
I was at the intersection of Santa Monica and Wilshire and a woman in leather pants was crossing the street. Inside I laughed, I wondered who she was trying to impress at two in the afternoon. And then I thought back to the days of yore, before the internet, when you'd drive to the city to feel the pulse, to find out what was going on, to experience life. But that's all been replaced by the internet. Now we all play in the virtual world, that's where we make and exhibit our bona fides, even if we inflate them. Strange the march of progress, everyone keeps saying it's got to be stopped but it's so much easier to play these days, and that's a good thing, but the landscape has gotten so much more vast, and there are now zillions of famous people, not only the ones you might stumble upon in BH.
Now, although we are experiencing a return to winter in SoCal, it's still clear and sunny. And with the a/c on, yes, you still need it when the temp's in the fifties, your car is a greenhouse, you're in your own cocoon, listening to the music, and this is when I feel best, alone, yet together.
And the funny thing about the Spectrum is the songs they play are both old and new, sometimes recognizable, sometimes not. And I'm thinking back to the days of when I knew every song on the radio, but no one does anymore, if they tell you they do they're lying.
And I heard a Kings Of Leon song that stuck in my head. I changed the channel for a minute when a classic rocker came on, and then I heard "Angela."
It was the vibe, the intimacy, the life. The drum machines, the plastic sound of the Pulse and Blend were gone. It was like stumbling from a skyscraper to a saloon, you could feel the wood, the atmosphere brought you right in. My mood changed, I started to smile, I felt great, I felt like someone got me.
But no one gets this. You won't see "Angela" in the Spotify Top 50, but all the AAA acolytes will tell me it was a "hit" nearly two years ago. But that's like saying you're big in Fresno. How are the rest of us supposed to find this stuff, especially if the act is not interviewed on Stern.
"When you left this town, with your windows down"
You know that feeling, with the radio cranked, not a care in the world, you're leaving the troubles behind.
"The strangers in this town
They raise you up just to cut you down
Oh Angela, it's a long time coming"
I've lived in the country, it's not for me, it's one of the things I lament about internet culture, everybody knows your business and is in it, they've got an opinion on who you are, you're labeled, you've sacrificed your anonymity. That's the conundrum, we want to be known and we want to be anonymous. That's why I live in the city, it's why I don't post on social media, I don't want to hear from every person I ever knew, I don't want to stalk old girlfriends, it's hard enough to erase their memory from my brain.
But I'm known by some, who will criticize me and my views. I'm too late to "Angela," it doesn't have enough changes, it's too white. It's hard to shake off the feedback, to play, but I'm trying to.
And what I'm trying to say is just when I find the music world incomprehensible I stumble upon something like "Angela." I'd like to tell you I found more just like it on the Spectrum, but that would be untrue. Excellence juts out from the landscape like a phoenix. You know it when you hear it. Art is not quantifiable. It's not about charts, but a feeling in the individual, it's about changing people, making them feel understood and part of something bigger, connected to the performer.
I love the reference to the Volvo, I love personalization, the blander the lyrics the less interested I am.
And I wish music like this could be heard by more. It's certainly so much more meaningful than that which is chasing trends. "Angela" is not breaking ground, but it's timeless. Like the best music, it references what came before, but it's totally unique.
"Angela, on my knees, I belong, I believe"
Actually I'm sitting, here at my MacBook Pro. Long after midnight. When I should be winding down. But listening to "Angela" is the only time I've felt great all day. And when I pulled it up on my phone just now I had to tell you.
Home at last.
--
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Tuesday 20 February 2018
Jake Gold-This Week's Podcast
This one is different. This is less of an interview than a conversation. As if we were at dinner and you were listening in on us batting the ball back and forth, covering topics as varied as Sirius XM to prog rock to the Canadian health care system.
Jake Gold was the manager who built the career of the Tragically Hip. He was also a judge on "Canadian Idol."
We're still experimenting here.
Hope you enjoy it!
Bob
TuneIn: http://tun.in/tilZNB
Apple Podcasts:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/id1316200737?mt=2&i=1000397753495
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/D5q3et3qozguylyy4ixfzkrielq?t=Jake_Gold-The_Bob_Lefsetz_Podcast
Stitcher:
https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast
Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/bob-lefsetz/jake-gold-10
Overcast: https://overcast.fm/+LBr_dPMo4
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Jake Gold was the manager who built the career of the Tragically Hip. He was also a judge on "Canadian Idol."
We're still experimenting here.
Hope you enjoy it!
Bob
TuneIn: http://tun.in/tilZNB
Apple Podcasts:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/id1316200737?mt=2&i=1000397753495
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/D5q3et3qozguylyy4ixfzkrielq?t=Jake_Gold-The_Bob_Lefsetz_Podcast
Stitcher:
https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast
Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/bob-lefsetz/jake-gold-10
Overcast: https://overcast.fm/+LBr_dPMo4
--
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Student Gun Protests
"Can't start a fire without a spark"
And all this time we were waiting for the musicians to lead.
Illustrating not only the vacuity of the "artists," but the lack of impact of their wares.
In the sixties and seventies, even up into the eighties and nineties, the culture was driven by music.
And for the last twenty years it's been driven by tech.
Now it's driven by politics.
That's what people really want to talk about, the government, their rights, opportunity... But oldsters set in their ways believe paradigms go on forever, but they don't, and time waits for no one, and it won't wait for you or me.
It always happens this way. A minor incident turns into a major conflagration. Whether it be the killing of Archduke Ferdinand that set off World War I or the self-immolation of a fruit vendor in Tunisia that set off the Arab Spring. There was something in the air, all it needed was a trigger.
And sure, this is about gun rights, but it's more than that, it's a frustration with the status quo, the youth of this country are fed up with the expedience of their elders, who've sold out to their pocketbooks. What happens next?
They shot a black man in Ferguson... But he was just black. It didn't register with the white people.
They started deporting immigrants, the white people thought they were safe.
But now their children are getting shot up in schools and..?
Trump blinks, months after the Vegas tragedy he stands up for the banning of bump stocks.
In Tallahassee the state government ignores the younger generation.
You do this at your peril.
It's always the young who initiate change. Whether it be their protests against the Vietnam War or their embrace of Napster on high speed campus networks that almost nobody had at home.
This is the bleeding edge, pardon my bad pun.
So what can you do? What happens next?
Change. Comfort is transitory. For far too long America has been about individuals getting theirs with no consequences, and those more cohesively minded, those who have been left out, are unhappy about this.
Trump's election fostered the #MeToo movement. If the pussy-grabber in chief hadn't won women would not be pushing back, males would not be falling, men would not be questioning their behavior, and if you don't think men are now thinking twice, you're not one.
The more you take away people's rights, the more you force them to give up hope, the more impotent you make them, the more you foster resentment and ultimate upheaval.
Interestingly, the music business has been anti-upheaval, the entertainment business at large too. There's been more protest against digital disruption than in any other field. The producers believe they're entitled to their remuneration. The artists want to go back to what once was. Only that's never going to happen.
It's time to put your bank account in the rearview mirror. It's time to stand up and fight for what's right. It's time to join the community as opposed to trying to stay safe alone in your hole.
This train has left the station. While you're selling merch, they're selling ideas.
And ideas always win.
They're the only thing that matters.
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And all this time we were waiting for the musicians to lead.
Illustrating not only the vacuity of the "artists," but the lack of impact of their wares.
In the sixties and seventies, even up into the eighties and nineties, the culture was driven by music.
And for the last twenty years it's been driven by tech.
Now it's driven by politics.
That's what people really want to talk about, the government, their rights, opportunity... But oldsters set in their ways believe paradigms go on forever, but they don't, and time waits for no one, and it won't wait for you or me.
It always happens this way. A minor incident turns into a major conflagration. Whether it be the killing of Archduke Ferdinand that set off World War I or the self-immolation of a fruit vendor in Tunisia that set off the Arab Spring. There was something in the air, all it needed was a trigger.
And sure, this is about gun rights, but it's more than that, it's a frustration with the status quo, the youth of this country are fed up with the expedience of their elders, who've sold out to their pocketbooks. What happens next?
They shot a black man in Ferguson... But he was just black. It didn't register with the white people.
They started deporting immigrants, the white people thought they were safe.
But now their children are getting shot up in schools and..?
Trump blinks, months after the Vegas tragedy he stands up for the banning of bump stocks.
In Tallahassee the state government ignores the younger generation.
You do this at your peril.
It's always the young who initiate change. Whether it be their protests against the Vietnam War or their embrace of Napster on high speed campus networks that almost nobody had at home.
This is the bleeding edge, pardon my bad pun.
So what can you do? What happens next?
Change. Comfort is transitory. For far too long America has been about individuals getting theirs with no consequences, and those more cohesively minded, those who have been left out, are unhappy about this.
Trump's election fostered the #MeToo movement. If the pussy-grabber in chief hadn't won women would not be pushing back, males would not be falling, men would not be questioning their behavior, and if you don't think men are now thinking twice, you're not one.
The more you take away people's rights, the more you force them to give up hope, the more impotent you make them, the more you foster resentment and ultimate upheaval.
Interestingly, the music business has been anti-upheaval, the entertainment business at large too. There's been more protest against digital disruption than in any other field. The producers believe they're entitled to their remuneration. The artists want to go back to what once was. Only that's never going to happen.
It's time to put your bank account in the rearview mirror. It's time to stand up and fight for what's right. It's time to join the community as opposed to trying to stay safe alone in your hole.
This train has left the station. While you're selling merch, they're selling ideas.
And ideas always win.
They're the only thing that matters.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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--
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Monday 19 February 2018
"An American Marriage"
http://amzn.to/2CxXNTz
I could not put this book down.
For the last three days I've been sitting in a chair getting an IVIG drip. Not a great way to spend a holiday weekend, but to be truthful when you work for yourself the weekdays are holidays and the weekends are downtime you endure, e-mail slows down, people fall back into their lives, and you long for the action.
The first day is always the same, the Benadryl and the steroids make you foggy and tired and it's hard to do just about anything. I watched that movie "Mudbound" on my iPad. Don't.
And I finished that book "The Glass Castle" on day two, when my brain came back. I always thought it was a fantasy, and I hate fantasy, but after reading "Half Broke Horses" I cracked it. Turns out it's the story of the author's upbringing. It resonated because...let's just say I know that life, I know someone who was brought up that way. Can you ever shake your roots? I don't think so.
And "Half Broke Horses" is the thinly fictionalized prequel, about the rambunctious grandmother in a different time. Do spirited people always triumph or is the spirit squeezed out of them? I'm not sure. But your goal is to keep your spirit alive. I'm not being religious here, but when you stop thinking you make a difference, when you think nothing matters and you can't accomplish any more, you're done. But as we age, we oftentimes think this way.
And looking for additional books to read I stumbled upon "An American Marriage." It was the reviews that intrigued me. I didn't know it was an Oprah pick. But if this is what she's into, I'll now read everything she recommends.
So what we've got here is the story of married African-Americans.
Atlanta is the black Hollywood. Certainly in hip-hop. And as hip-hop secures its place in the national consciousness, the world consciousness, Atlanta rises ever higher. Once upon a time we listened to the Allman Brothers play "Hot 'Lanta," but now...
And how much do I know about the black experience? Not much.
The protagonist is a man with swagger, who comes from little but graduates from college and is gonna set the world on fire. But he's a bit of a playa, he steps out, he's imperfect. But lovable just the same. It's these chiaroscuro characters that entrance me. Because we've all got shades of light and gray.
The woman he's married to is somewhat cold and reserved and hot-headed. She's a prize, but you never know if you really have her.
And then something happens.
I won't tell you what it is, even though it happens surprisingly early in this book. But it tests the marriage.
"Marriage is between two people. There is no studio audience."
If you're doing it for the public, if you're marrying a trophy wife so others will be impressed, the joke is on you. Because no one really cares. And you've got to be with this person all the time. Find someone you can be yourself with, who understands you, who gets you.
"Much of life is timing and circumstance, I see that now."
You learn this as you age. The timing's not right. They were married when you were single and now they're not but the spark is not there, no matter how hard you try.
And that's not the plot of this book, but it made me think of that. You can intellectualize all you want, try to bend the will of the gods, but you can't, you can only drift down that lazy river and paddle a bit.
And then there's the issue of who you should be with.
And the sense of duty.
It's all so complicated and much of what comes across the transom is just plain wrong. We see the people on TMZ and think life is about following your instincts, your wishes and desires. But those can get you in big trouble, baby. You've got to hold back, but to what degree?
There's a device in this book that is riveting, the letters between the characters.
And there's the modern device of multiple viewpoints.
But mostly there's the story of people. Time marches on, what do you do, how do you live your life, can you ever turn back the clock?
And for a moment there the book got sappy and overblown and I thought it was building to a predictable ending but it didn't. It surprised me, it was real.
This is not "Gone Girl." This is not a thriller.
Rather this is the story of modern life. Being black in a world where you always have to be on guard. Being married in a world where you never really know if you have somebody.
You may think it's chick lit.
Then again, if that's your viewpoint you probably have a problem with intimacy. Because feelings...expressing them is what relationships are all about.
I recommend this. The added bonus for whites is the insight into black life, without the sugarcoating.
But this is not a racial story, this is a people story. And we're all people. It resonates.
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I could not put this book down.
For the last three days I've been sitting in a chair getting an IVIG drip. Not a great way to spend a holiday weekend, but to be truthful when you work for yourself the weekdays are holidays and the weekends are downtime you endure, e-mail slows down, people fall back into their lives, and you long for the action.
The first day is always the same, the Benadryl and the steroids make you foggy and tired and it's hard to do just about anything. I watched that movie "Mudbound" on my iPad. Don't.
And I finished that book "The Glass Castle" on day two, when my brain came back. I always thought it was a fantasy, and I hate fantasy, but after reading "Half Broke Horses" I cracked it. Turns out it's the story of the author's upbringing. It resonated because...let's just say I know that life, I know someone who was brought up that way. Can you ever shake your roots? I don't think so.
And "Half Broke Horses" is the thinly fictionalized prequel, about the rambunctious grandmother in a different time. Do spirited people always triumph or is the spirit squeezed out of them? I'm not sure. But your goal is to keep your spirit alive. I'm not being religious here, but when you stop thinking you make a difference, when you think nothing matters and you can't accomplish any more, you're done. But as we age, we oftentimes think this way.
And looking for additional books to read I stumbled upon "An American Marriage." It was the reviews that intrigued me. I didn't know it was an Oprah pick. But if this is what she's into, I'll now read everything she recommends.
So what we've got here is the story of married African-Americans.
Atlanta is the black Hollywood. Certainly in hip-hop. And as hip-hop secures its place in the national consciousness, the world consciousness, Atlanta rises ever higher. Once upon a time we listened to the Allman Brothers play "Hot 'Lanta," but now...
And how much do I know about the black experience? Not much.
The protagonist is a man with swagger, who comes from little but graduates from college and is gonna set the world on fire. But he's a bit of a playa, he steps out, he's imperfect. But lovable just the same. It's these chiaroscuro characters that entrance me. Because we've all got shades of light and gray.
The woman he's married to is somewhat cold and reserved and hot-headed. She's a prize, but you never know if you really have her.
And then something happens.
I won't tell you what it is, even though it happens surprisingly early in this book. But it tests the marriage.
"Marriage is between two people. There is no studio audience."
If you're doing it for the public, if you're marrying a trophy wife so others will be impressed, the joke is on you. Because no one really cares. And you've got to be with this person all the time. Find someone you can be yourself with, who understands you, who gets you.
"Much of life is timing and circumstance, I see that now."
You learn this as you age. The timing's not right. They were married when you were single and now they're not but the spark is not there, no matter how hard you try.
And that's not the plot of this book, but it made me think of that. You can intellectualize all you want, try to bend the will of the gods, but you can't, you can only drift down that lazy river and paddle a bit.
And then there's the issue of who you should be with.
And the sense of duty.
It's all so complicated and much of what comes across the transom is just plain wrong. We see the people on TMZ and think life is about following your instincts, your wishes and desires. But those can get you in big trouble, baby. You've got to hold back, but to what degree?
There's a device in this book that is riveting, the letters between the characters.
And there's the modern device of multiple viewpoints.
But mostly there's the story of people. Time marches on, what do you do, how do you live your life, can you ever turn back the clock?
And for a moment there the book got sappy and overblown and I thought it was building to a predictable ending but it didn't. It surprised me, it was real.
This is not "Gone Girl." This is not a thriller.
Rather this is the story of modern life. Being black in a world where you always have to be on guard. Being married in a world where you never really know if you have somebody.
You may think it's chick lit.
Then again, if that's your viewpoint you probably have a problem with intimacy. Because feelings...expressing them is what relationships are all about.
I recommend this. The added bonus for whites is the insight into black life, without the sugarcoating.
But this is not a racial story, this is a people story. And we're all people. It resonates.
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Sunday 18 February 2018
Icarus
https://www.netflix.com/title/80168079
I thought this was a movie about Lance Armstrong.
But it's not.
We knew Lance was doping because of the kerfuffle with that one test, the one that was thrown out. And the words of Greg LeMond, who said scientifically there was no way Lance could win, because of his inability to process oxygen. Yes, I followed this. LeMond was excoriated and Armstrong was venerated until...
It's always until.
And there was some hype about this Oscar nominated documentary but it slid right off of me, even though I get all the publications it was hyped in. Because it's hard to believe anything in a world of sales. It's a symbiotic relationship between media and entertainment, it's not hard news so we'll fudge, say something is good so we can get access down the line. Kinda like the promoter has to take the bad band to get the good one.
But then a friend with no dog in this hunt, who saw the flick on a screener, a man who sees absolutely everything, is more qualified to vote than any member of AMPAS, told me it was his favorite movie of the year.
So I checked it out on Netflix.
Now despite the written word triumphing online, the truth is we live in a visual culture, people don't believe something until they see it, and when they see "Icarus"...
You're not exactly sure where the flick is going. Actually, the director himself was not exactly sure where the flick was going. He was an amateur bike racer who wondered if he doped whether his results would improve. He reached out to the doping bigwig at UCLA, who invented so many of the anti-doping tests, and this man said yes to involvement and then he said no and then he hooked him up with his Russian friend Grigory Rodchenkov, who immediately started to help the director over Skype.
And you think you're watching a nobody on a lark, trying to prove a point that you already know, kinda like Morgan Spurlock in "Super Size Me." But then the movie turns into something different, something very different, because this Russian gentleman...
Breaks the story of the Russian Olympic doping wide open.
And probably you're O.D.'ed on the Olympics, you really don't care, but this is not about the Olympics, but Russia.
And Russia is all over the news this week. Our President considers Vladimir Putin a friend, he thinks the Mueller investigation is much ado about nothing. And then you watch "Icarus" and your eyes bug out.
You see in America we've been sold a bill of goods, a myth, that we live in a democracy where truth wins out and honesty reigns and if you just put your nose to the grindstone it will all work out.
But if that was ever true, it's not now.
Ignore the naysayers. ignore the Trumpers. Ignore the blowback. It's our country to save, and it's at risk.
You see these people lie. All the time. And since Trump got elected the "left wing" media calls him on it, but the right wing does not, and since so many only pay attention to the right wing they've got no idea what the truth is. That the tax cuts are not good for individuals. That Trump is tied-up financially with the Russians. And I'm willing to let Trump stay in office, but as he does our democracy is fading away. We're becoming just like Russia.
Where Putin lies and kills his enemies and throws his hands up and says we've got it wrong, he's honest and forthright and our accusations are inaccurate and we're dreaming. And you watch him and you wonder, how far is this from our own country? Where the Ambassador to the Netherlands denies making comments that are already on tape?
But Putin is not that stupid.
So this Russian scientist... They arrest him and put him in a mental institution, but they release him to help with doping at Sochi. And they're not satisfied with beating the test, they devise a way for the KGB, which is now called the FSB, to literally replace all the samples. So Russia wins more medals than ever and with the public's surging support Putin invades Ukraine and the rest of the world does nothing about it.
And then when incontrovertible evidence comes in the IOC lets the Russians participate in Rio anyway.
So the scientist sneaks out of Russia. And his assets are stripped, his colleague is killed, his direct connection up the food chain, only three away from Putin, resigned and is under criminal investigation, and the man in charge was promoted to Deputy Prime Minister and Putin denies, denies, denies.
Kinda like it is in the United States today.
Don't take my word for it. Don't defend Trump or his right wing cronies, just watch this documentary.
We're in search of greatness. In a world of plenty, we want very little. I'm combing Netflix and finding too much product which does not rivet me. But then I stumble on "Icarus" and my adrenaline starts to flow and my blood starts to boil and I wonder how in a country where everybody's focused on celebrities nobody knows all this. It washes off of you when you see it printed endlessly in the paper. But when you watch the scientist involved, when you see the pols deny, when the scientist has to go into the witness protection program you sit up and get scared and wonder what you can do, how you can push back, you're stunned that this is happening in the world.
But it is.
One person can make a difference. It hurt him financially, but Greg LeMond was right.
The Russian scientist, Grigory Rodchenkov, turned the sporting world upside down.
And it was all because a novice documentarian wanted to go faster on his bicycle.
You can make a difference, truly. That's the story of America, that's the story of the world, how one person can move mountains. If right is on their side.
But too many people believe in expedience, staying quiet so they can get ahead, even though lying never works out in the end.
This is not the fastest movie ever made. But it's one of the most important of the year. All the attention is paid to the Hollywood wankers, with their worldwide productions of sci-fi fantasy, when it's the work of relative nobodies that changes the course of history. Who cares if Steven Spielberg made "The Post," that was then and this is now and Bryan Fogel's achievement eclipses that of Hollywood's most revered director. Because Fogel thought outside of the box, he never backed down, he pursued the story, not the cash.
He made a statement.
You should spend the time to watch it.
It will change your life.
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I thought this was a movie about Lance Armstrong.
But it's not.
We knew Lance was doping because of the kerfuffle with that one test, the one that was thrown out. And the words of Greg LeMond, who said scientifically there was no way Lance could win, because of his inability to process oxygen. Yes, I followed this. LeMond was excoriated and Armstrong was venerated until...
It's always until.
And there was some hype about this Oscar nominated documentary but it slid right off of me, even though I get all the publications it was hyped in. Because it's hard to believe anything in a world of sales. It's a symbiotic relationship between media and entertainment, it's not hard news so we'll fudge, say something is good so we can get access down the line. Kinda like the promoter has to take the bad band to get the good one.
But then a friend with no dog in this hunt, who saw the flick on a screener, a man who sees absolutely everything, is more qualified to vote than any member of AMPAS, told me it was his favorite movie of the year.
So I checked it out on Netflix.
Now despite the written word triumphing online, the truth is we live in a visual culture, people don't believe something until they see it, and when they see "Icarus"...
You're not exactly sure where the flick is going. Actually, the director himself was not exactly sure where the flick was going. He was an amateur bike racer who wondered if he doped whether his results would improve. He reached out to the doping bigwig at UCLA, who invented so many of the anti-doping tests, and this man said yes to involvement and then he said no and then he hooked him up with his Russian friend Grigory Rodchenkov, who immediately started to help the director over Skype.
And you think you're watching a nobody on a lark, trying to prove a point that you already know, kinda like Morgan Spurlock in "Super Size Me." But then the movie turns into something different, something very different, because this Russian gentleman...
Breaks the story of the Russian Olympic doping wide open.
And probably you're O.D.'ed on the Olympics, you really don't care, but this is not about the Olympics, but Russia.
And Russia is all over the news this week. Our President considers Vladimir Putin a friend, he thinks the Mueller investigation is much ado about nothing. And then you watch "Icarus" and your eyes bug out.
You see in America we've been sold a bill of goods, a myth, that we live in a democracy where truth wins out and honesty reigns and if you just put your nose to the grindstone it will all work out.
But if that was ever true, it's not now.
Ignore the naysayers. ignore the Trumpers. Ignore the blowback. It's our country to save, and it's at risk.
You see these people lie. All the time. And since Trump got elected the "left wing" media calls him on it, but the right wing does not, and since so many only pay attention to the right wing they've got no idea what the truth is. That the tax cuts are not good for individuals. That Trump is tied-up financially with the Russians. And I'm willing to let Trump stay in office, but as he does our democracy is fading away. We're becoming just like Russia.
Where Putin lies and kills his enemies and throws his hands up and says we've got it wrong, he's honest and forthright and our accusations are inaccurate and we're dreaming. And you watch him and you wonder, how far is this from our own country? Where the Ambassador to the Netherlands denies making comments that are already on tape?
But Putin is not that stupid.
So this Russian scientist... They arrest him and put him in a mental institution, but they release him to help with doping at Sochi. And they're not satisfied with beating the test, they devise a way for the KGB, which is now called the FSB, to literally replace all the samples. So Russia wins more medals than ever and with the public's surging support Putin invades Ukraine and the rest of the world does nothing about it.
And then when incontrovertible evidence comes in the IOC lets the Russians participate in Rio anyway.
So the scientist sneaks out of Russia. And his assets are stripped, his colleague is killed, his direct connection up the food chain, only three away from Putin, resigned and is under criminal investigation, and the man in charge was promoted to Deputy Prime Minister and Putin denies, denies, denies.
Kinda like it is in the United States today.
Don't take my word for it. Don't defend Trump or his right wing cronies, just watch this documentary.
We're in search of greatness. In a world of plenty, we want very little. I'm combing Netflix and finding too much product which does not rivet me. But then I stumble on "Icarus" and my adrenaline starts to flow and my blood starts to boil and I wonder how in a country where everybody's focused on celebrities nobody knows all this. It washes off of you when you see it printed endlessly in the paper. But when you watch the scientist involved, when you see the pols deny, when the scientist has to go into the witness protection program you sit up and get scared and wonder what you can do, how you can push back, you're stunned that this is happening in the world.
But it is.
One person can make a difference. It hurt him financially, but Greg LeMond was right.
The Russian scientist, Grigory Rodchenkov, turned the sporting world upside down.
And it was all because a novice documentarian wanted to go faster on his bicycle.
You can make a difference, truly. That's the story of America, that's the story of the world, how one person can move mountains. If right is on their side.
But too many people believe in expedience, staying quiet so they can get ahead, even though lying never works out in the end.
This is not the fastest movie ever made. But it's one of the most important of the year. All the attention is paid to the Hollywood wankers, with their worldwide productions of sci-fi fantasy, when it's the work of relative nobodies that changes the course of history. Who cares if Steven Spielberg made "The Post," that was then and this is now and Bryan Fogel's achievement eclipses that of Hollywood's most revered director. Because Fogel thought outside of the box, he never backed down, he pursued the story, not the cash.
He made a statement.
You should spend the time to watch it.
It will change your life.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
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The Chris Rock Netflix Special
I LIKE PEACE MORE THAN PUSSY!
Can you say that in 2018? Then again, when this was recorded Omarosa was still in the White House. But that's what we depend upon from our comedians, the unvarnished truth, the way we would say it. With the F-bombs and the scatological comments. You're drawn right in, the way you aren't with the modern work of the classic rockers. Chris Rock ages and his material changes, musicians age and they sing the same damn songs about love under the moon in June. What's up with that?
Now I'm not saying you're gonna bust a gut watching this. Not that you won't laugh, but Rock is in search of something different. Lessons. Education. What kind of crazy fucked up world do we live in where you learn more from a comedy special than you do in school? One in which a private school says it's got a "No Bully Policy." Rock says the world NEEDS bullies, and I agree with him. It's a rough and tumble society and my father could not stop imparting lessons, that's what he did best. Come to my baseball games? No! Discuss music with me? No! Watch television with me? No! Talk about my emotional state? NO! But when we were together it was an endless class in Life 101, the way the world really works.
And my girlfriends hate it. When I take the air out of their story. When I don't believe what someone says. When I poke holes in the surface to get to the nougat. Guy drives a Lamborghini with no visible means of support? Either he comes from a rich family or he's living on the edge with no money in the bank. That's what life is about, finding out how the world really works. And most people are clueless. Either they buy the hogwash on TV and TMZ, or they believe everything they read in the newspaper. But the truth is it's all artifice and it doesn't apply to you. You're on your own and no one outside your front door gives a rat's ass about you. Oh, they might SAY they do, but they really don't, especially if you're a guy. Lose your job and see how many of those "friends" call or text, NONE! Oh, maybe once or twice to commiserate, but after that they move on to people who can do something for them, that's the reality of males today, they only want to know you if you can do something for them, or get them in the club. Oh, don't tell me about the sixth grade buddy you iMessage with all day long. Is he gonna help you get a new job? And when you're in the shitter and need him to come over he's gonna wimp out and say his wife won't let him.
That's another thing Rock drills down on, marriage.
You've got to make like you care. You've got to have sex whether you're in the mood or not. Fucking and traveling, that's what he says it's all about.
And there you have enough four letter words to unsubscribe. But Chris Rock's special was an inspiration, he was growing and being himself, isn't that what artists do? It's not about playing it safe, maintaining, but pushing the envelope. And when you get it right there are untold accolades. Along with money raining down.
The paradigm has shifted. You don't want a sitcom, NOBODY IS WATCHING! That's right, Marc Maron leveraged his podcast into a sitcom that no one watched and is now over. And the interviewer hates me and that's all right, because Chris Rock dismisses cyberbullying. I mean come on, some dude you don't even know, sitting at home in his underwear, is talking shit to a minimal audience?
But back to bullying, one of the insightful jokes is how when a real bully came along, i.e. Donald Trump, we didn't know how to handle him. That's right, Michelle Obama said when they go low, we go high. How did that work out for the Democrats? IT DIDN'T!
And Chris says a man is all about his job. You meet a new girl and your guy friends ask what she looks like. You meet a new guy and your girlfriends ask WHAT DOES HE DO??
Do nothing and you've got nothing. Even Michelle is bugging Barack, how's that book going, what comes next?
There's more wisdom in this hour than there is in a year of network television. Certainly more than there is in white rock. Hell, country music is lowest common denominator family crap and Chris trumps those crackers. That's right, you can be politically incorrect when you're right, the truth resonates.
And stings.
We want to hear what Chris Rock has to say.
And on one hand he's telling us what's happened to him since we last saw him. He got divorced, he stepped out, he hit on Rihanna. But unlike seemingly everybody else in the public eye, especially those in Washington, D.C., HE'S THOUGHT ABOUT IT! Isn't it funny you can't change your mind in politics when in reality life is all about learning, the lessons that help you get through.
As we venerate the youth in a looks-based culture where the old are derided for their age and there's no center.
That's right, there's no center anymore, no water cooler. Not even Facebook. Never mind on every social media outlet everybody's got their own friends.
And sure, some are communicating, but most want to become famous, and rich.
But few make it. They're not willing to put in the hard work, the ups and downs with no safety net.
Chris Rock triumphed as a new comic on HBO and then failed on SNL. Took him a long time to claw back. And since he has, he's not repeating himself, he's trying new things, especially in his comedy.
White guys telling observational jokes... That's why Seinfeld is lost in the nineties, he never grew, he never changed his act, he never became something different.
Chris Rock has.
And when you watch this show and the truth spits into your eyes and ears your brain starts to percolate, you start to think. And that's what being a human being is all about, cogitating, sifting through the input to establish a course of behavior.
And for all the right wing put-downs of the African-American culture, as they step out and get abortions and divorces and then don't want anyone else to partake of these privileges, it's Chris Rock who is saying to stay married, that the woman is in charge, she rules the house, but really your family is a band, and if you don't play the tambourine with gusto...
It breaks up.
Can you say that in 2018? Then again, when this was recorded Omarosa was still in the White House. But that's what we depend upon from our comedians, the unvarnished truth, the way we would say it. With the F-bombs and the scatological comments. You're drawn right in, the way you aren't with the modern work of the classic rockers. Chris Rock ages and his material changes, musicians age and they sing the same damn songs about love under the moon in June. What's up with that?
Now I'm not saying you're gonna bust a gut watching this. Not that you won't laugh, but Rock is in search of something different. Lessons. Education. What kind of crazy fucked up world do we live in where you learn more from a comedy special than you do in school? One in which a private school says it's got a "No Bully Policy." Rock says the world NEEDS bullies, and I agree with him. It's a rough and tumble society and my father could not stop imparting lessons, that's what he did best. Come to my baseball games? No! Discuss music with me? No! Watch television with me? No! Talk about my emotional state? NO! But when we were together it was an endless class in Life 101, the way the world really works.
And my girlfriends hate it. When I take the air out of their story. When I don't believe what someone says. When I poke holes in the surface to get to the nougat. Guy drives a Lamborghini with no visible means of support? Either he comes from a rich family or he's living on the edge with no money in the bank. That's what life is about, finding out how the world really works. And most people are clueless. Either they buy the hogwash on TV and TMZ, or they believe everything they read in the newspaper. But the truth is it's all artifice and it doesn't apply to you. You're on your own and no one outside your front door gives a rat's ass about you. Oh, they might SAY they do, but they really don't, especially if you're a guy. Lose your job and see how many of those "friends" call or text, NONE! Oh, maybe once or twice to commiserate, but after that they move on to people who can do something for them, that's the reality of males today, they only want to know you if you can do something for them, or get them in the club. Oh, don't tell me about the sixth grade buddy you iMessage with all day long. Is he gonna help you get a new job? And when you're in the shitter and need him to come over he's gonna wimp out and say his wife won't let him.
That's another thing Rock drills down on, marriage.
You've got to make like you care. You've got to have sex whether you're in the mood or not. Fucking and traveling, that's what he says it's all about.
And there you have enough four letter words to unsubscribe. But Chris Rock's special was an inspiration, he was growing and being himself, isn't that what artists do? It's not about playing it safe, maintaining, but pushing the envelope. And when you get it right there are untold accolades. Along with money raining down.
The paradigm has shifted. You don't want a sitcom, NOBODY IS WATCHING! That's right, Marc Maron leveraged his podcast into a sitcom that no one watched and is now over. And the interviewer hates me and that's all right, because Chris Rock dismisses cyberbullying. I mean come on, some dude you don't even know, sitting at home in his underwear, is talking shit to a minimal audience?
But back to bullying, one of the insightful jokes is how when a real bully came along, i.e. Donald Trump, we didn't know how to handle him. That's right, Michelle Obama said when they go low, we go high. How did that work out for the Democrats? IT DIDN'T!
And Chris says a man is all about his job. You meet a new girl and your guy friends ask what she looks like. You meet a new guy and your girlfriends ask WHAT DOES HE DO??
Do nothing and you've got nothing. Even Michelle is bugging Barack, how's that book going, what comes next?
There's more wisdom in this hour than there is in a year of network television. Certainly more than there is in white rock. Hell, country music is lowest common denominator family crap and Chris trumps those crackers. That's right, you can be politically incorrect when you're right, the truth resonates.
And stings.
We want to hear what Chris Rock has to say.
And on one hand he's telling us what's happened to him since we last saw him. He got divorced, he stepped out, he hit on Rihanna. But unlike seemingly everybody else in the public eye, especially those in Washington, D.C., HE'S THOUGHT ABOUT IT! Isn't it funny you can't change your mind in politics when in reality life is all about learning, the lessons that help you get through.
As we venerate the youth in a looks-based culture where the old are derided for their age and there's no center.
That's right, there's no center anymore, no water cooler. Not even Facebook. Never mind on every social media outlet everybody's got their own friends.
And sure, some are communicating, but most want to become famous, and rich.
But few make it. They're not willing to put in the hard work, the ups and downs with no safety net.
Chris Rock triumphed as a new comic on HBO and then failed on SNL. Took him a long time to claw back. And since he has, he's not repeating himself, he's trying new things, especially in his comedy.
White guys telling observational jokes... That's why Seinfeld is lost in the nineties, he never grew, he never changed his act, he never became something different.
Chris Rock has.
And when you watch this show and the truth spits into your eyes and ears your brain starts to percolate, you start to think. And that's what being a human being is all about, cogitating, sifting through the input to establish a course of behavior.
And for all the right wing put-downs of the African-American culture, as they step out and get abortions and divorces and then don't want anyone else to partake of these privileges, it's Chris Rock who is saying to stay married, that the woman is in charge, she rules the house, but really your family is a band, and if you don't play the tambourine with gusto...
It breaks up.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
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If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
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To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
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