Money or mindshare, that's the question.
In case you didn't know, "Everything Is Love" is only available on Tidal, although a single is viewable on YouTube. Distribution is king, and Tidal ain't got none.
Now let's go back to the last decade, when the issue was early release, theft of product. Boy have times changed. The issue now is being ignored. And the hip-hop acts have all learned that advance promotion is worthless, you're squandering attention when you need it most. Best to start at the same starting line around the world on the same day. Ergo, today's surprise drop. If people are paying attention to you, this is the best way to do it, because news outlets all over the world will detail the release. You could never get this amount of promotion the old drip-drip in advance way. And the public is excited, wants to spread the word, but you can't LISTEN?
We learned with the launch of Tidal that acts are not as big as they think they are, cannnot overcome market forces. When Tidal was launched, YouTube was still the standard for music. And then Spotify made inroads by having a free tier. And now Beyonce is dissing Spotify in her lyrics, it's as if someone told you not to buy a Prius because they've got a personal beef with Toyota. Consumers don't have a problem with Spotify, they love it, it's only acts that are stuck in the past.
Furthermore, 'Lemonade" is still not available on Spotify, begging the question how big an event Beyonce's performance at Coachella truly was. You could see it, but not stream it other than live. And you've got to strike at the moment. Being available thereafter is so twentieth century.
But you've got to applaud Jay for dissing the Grammys. But wouldn't it be better if this message was available everywhere, so it could have impact? Believe me, if "Everything Is Love" were on all platforms, all streaming services, it would go to number one and maybe even stay there for a while, gaining even more publicity. But now it's hobbled. By distribution. Kanye's album got mediocre reviews, but it was streamed ad infinitum. And let me tell you, anybody who's buying should be forgotten, they've missed the memo, they're not active customers, tracks and CDs are going by the wayside, going down, down, down, furthermore you only get paid once on them, whereas with streaming you get paid in perpetuity.
But Jay wants to prop up Tidal, which he owns. Ever hear of cutting your losses? Learned about sunk costs? Every investor has losers, even Warren Buffett. And Buffett famously stays out of technology and plays for the long term. He isn't in early, but late. And of course there are exceptions to this game, but Jay made a mistake, and should admit it, at least to himself.
So he's all about the dollars, when today it's about cultural impact.
We keep hearing about challenged news outlets, that there's not enough money in them. But the truth is they run the country. They decide what to write about, what to promote. And they used to own both content and distribution and the recent hubbub about Facebook is a challenge to their distribution model.
Meanwhile, peeps keep thinking the internet is free, that you can play and win online, but that's so 2009, you can create it, but you can't make people read, watch or listen to it. Which is why it's such a conundrum that the Carters didn't realize while they had the floor, they should give everybody a chance to partake.
So what we've got now is a Tower of Babel society where everybody's in their own niche and inaccurate information is consumed. But Jay speaks the truth on the Grammys and...
If I were the Grammy organization, I'd just ignore the pressure, it will be forgotten. I'm not saying rap should be marginalized, that rap does not deserve awards, but that those in the marketplace infrequently send messages that fade, and the key is to play long enough to outlast them.
Ain't that a head-turner.
That's right, it's a game. You have to learn how to play it, with modern tools.
Trump learned he could win with Twitter, something the oldsters like Hillary completely ignored.
That's right, you cannot live in the past. Like the Trump voters mad at those who supposedly stole their cheese. The immigrants, the Jews, the Asians, the blacks... It's the last cry of a dying constituency, when ""Black Panther" is one of the biggest grossing movies of all time, you know that racism has declined and the only ones who have not gotten the message are the racists themselves.
So, when the whole world is watching African-Americans, when hip-hop rules, you can either move the needle, illuminate issues, focus on change, as MTV did in its heyday, featuring a rainbow of colors, or you can look to your pocketbook, a failing strategy employed by the movie studios, the networks and the record companies,
Thats right, the last shoe has not dropped, the labels are about to take a huge hit. Once Spotify starts giving advances...
We learned in the past that the labels can be trumped. By MTV. By iTunes. You've got to play the long game. But Sony blew out most of its stock in Spotify immediately, and now the value of the streaming service has gone UP! And why has it gone up? Because of the advances to artists, which they said they were gonna give in their roadshow! It's not like it was a secret. And if you think Rob Stringer, et al, are any match for Wall Street, you don't realize Spotify is more valuable than any label and you cannot take away something the public has already become accustomed to.
It does take money to make it, now just as it did in the twentieth century. But money has no loyalty, you don't need to get it from some specific place. And if you do a deal with Spotify you get much more than you did from the label.
And if you're exclusive on Tidal, you're playing that old Billy Preston song, "Nothing From Nothing," which equals nothing in case you've forgotten.
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Saturday 16 June 2018
Friday 15 June 2018
Seymour Stein's Book
https://amzn.to/2laAid7
He takes a swing at Mo Ostin, multiple swings, in fact. He who writes history owns it, will this sway people's opinion of the Warner majordomo, does anybody care?
That's what struck me so much reading this book, so much is ancient history. The decimation of the Warner Music Group was in the middle nineties. Paul Ackerman is dead. I remember when Tommy Noonan ran "Billboard"'s charts. Does anybody else, does anybody care?
This is the anti-Clive book, although Seymour takes a swing at Clive too. "Siren Song" is not self-aggrandizing, not a tribute to himself. Be sure, Seymour takes credit for his signings, and shouldn't he? His acts will last, have a much greater impact than the blowhard Clive's ever will. Seymour Stein is the heart and soul of American rock and roll, Clive is just another schlockmeister. As for Mo, it's Seymour's acts that buoyed Warner in the eighties. Seymour signed Madonna, as well as the Talking Heads and even Seal.
So...
Usually these tomes focus on the stars, I did this, I did that, the household names we're all familiar with. Whereas "Siren Song" spends a substantial length on history. Not only Seymour's personal one, but most especially Syd Nathan and his King Records operation, an outfit that was already superseded when most baby boomers started paying attention, after the Beatles.
You cannot have a conversation with Seymour without him mentioning Syd. Here he goes into detail. How Syd owned every piece of the chain other than radio and retail. He signed and manufactured and shipped. He drove a Buick as to not appear too glammy, and he did it all out of CINCINNATI!
As for Seymour...
Before he worked for Syd, he interned at "Billboard." He knows all the history, to this day.
And he scraps and scrambles to make it. Forming Sire with Richard Gottehrer and limping along on the U.S. rights to British records until he hits it big with Focus, whereupon his wife Linda tells him to squeeze Richard out. Never underestimate the power of a spouse, you need a TEAM!
But Seymour is GAY!
But this isn't a coming out story. Seymour always knew he was gay, his first sexual experience was with a man, but he kind of fell into it with Linda, before he fell out of it. Meanwhile, he was part of the scene, Elton John and his lover/manager John Reid stayed at his house during the height of Elton's fame. That's right, SEYMOUR! If you know him, it's hard to believe, but Seymour's got the gift of gab and is always a friend and his wife needed the action.
As for signing all those acts...
He combed international before anybody else.
And he signed the Ramones, Depeche Mode and...
The list is too long to mention. Sure, he had a bunch of flops. But for a while there...
And he just knew it in his gut. It was all about songs. And records.
So the truth is he believes Mo screwed him financially. Essentially stole his company for $2 million. Hmm... He admits he needed a joint venture to get Warner's team behind his records, and there was a contract, doesn't Seymour bear some of the fault?
I'm sure he does. But he keeps hitting it over the fence and he feels mistreated emotionally, not only financially. He makes a good case for Mo running a cult wherein he was king and demanded fealty and still might squeeze you out.
As for Geffen, he's up on the man, because David helped AIDS patients, even those he didn't know, without publicity.
And in between, you've got Roger Ames and the story of the death of Warner. He doesn't blame Morgado, but the egos involved. And it is interesting that both Mo and Kras could not succeed on their own, after the fact.
It's been a long ride, and Seymour has loved every minute of it. In a business where you work 24/7 and don't complain, where your personal life is demoted and those around you suffer but you just can't get enough of the action.
But it's all about those records, the songs.
At the end of the book Seymour pays tribute to national anthems, Hebrew hymns, and I must say, those songs in shul turned me on, made me a music fan.
"Siren Song" is not "Hit Men," it's not the best book ever written on the music business. But other than Fredric Dannen's legendary work, and Tom King's book about David Geffen, "The Operator," "Siren Song" could be the third best book about the music business ever. Because it pulls no punches. It gives history. It tells how the business works. It illuminates a path to success.
It's easily readable.
You should buy it.
P.S. Drives me crazy how the book was not proofread. This happens again and again with books from major publishers. In this case, articles are left out constantly, there are many missing "to's," "the's" and "and's."
P.P.S. Unlike Joel Selvin's Sammy Hagar book, "Siren Song" is not written in Seymour's voice, it does not sound like him, he doesn't talk that way, but his emotional self does shine through. Seymour is passionate, a complainer with a gleam in his eye. He's Jewish through and through, and he owns it!
P.P.P.S. Seymour is not afraid to pass judgment. He says Michael Ostin suffered from working under his father, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, whereas Lenny Waronker did not work for his dad at Liberty and Michael Rosenblatt did not work for his father at his labels.
P.P.P.P.S. Seymour is unafraid to delineate people's pluses and minuses. He thinks Howie Klein knew how to make the trains run on time, but was a bad A&R guy. You have to get the gig that fits your strengths.
P.P.P.P.P.S. Of course Seymour is biased, of course he's got scores to settle, but at least he's honest about all of it. This is a two-faced business, where most people are not friends, despite glad-handing. To get how Seymour truly feels makes the book resonate, whether you agree or not.
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He takes a swing at Mo Ostin, multiple swings, in fact. He who writes history owns it, will this sway people's opinion of the Warner majordomo, does anybody care?
That's what struck me so much reading this book, so much is ancient history. The decimation of the Warner Music Group was in the middle nineties. Paul Ackerman is dead. I remember when Tommy Noonan ran "Billboard"'s charts. Does anybody else, does anybody care?
This is the anti-Clive book, although Seymour takes a swing at Clive too. "Siren Song" is not self-aggrandizing, not a tribute to himself. Be sure, Seymour takes credit for his signings, and shouldn't he? His acts will last, have a much greater impact than the blowhard Clive's ever will. Seymour Stein is the heart and soul of American rock and roll, Clive is just another schlockmeister. As for Mo, it's Seymour's acts that buoyed Warner in the eighties. Seymour signed Madonna, as well as the Talking Heads and even Seal.
So...
Usually these tomes focus on the stars, I did this, I did that, the household names we're all familiar with. Whereas "Siren Song" spends a substantial length on history. Not only Seymour's personal one, but most especially Syd Nathan and his King Records operation, an outfit that was already superseded when most baby boomers started paying attention, after the Beatles.
You cannot have a conversation with Seymour without him mentioning Syd. Here he goes into detail. How Syd owned every piece of the chain other than radio and retail. He signed and manufactured and shipped. He drove a Buick as to not appear too glammy, and he did it all out of CINCINNATI!
As for Seymour...
Before he worked for Syd, he interned at "Billboard." He knows all the history, to this day.
And he scraps and scrambles to make it. Forming Sire with Richard Gottehrer and limping along on the U.S. rights to British records until he hits it big with Focus, whereupon his wife Linda tells him to squeeze Richard out. Never underestimate the power of a spouse, you need a TEAM!
But Seymour is GAY!
But this isn't a coming out story. Seymour always knew he was gay, his first sexual experience was with a man, but he kind of fell into it with Linda, before he fell out of it. Meanwhile, he was part of the scene, Elton John and his lover/manager John Reid stayed at his house during the height of Elton's fame. That's right, SEYMOUR! If you know him, it's hard to believe, but Seymour's got the gift of gab and is always a friend and his wife needed the action.
As for signing all those acts...
He combed international before anybody else.
And he signed the Ramones, Depeche Mode and...
The list is too long to mention. Sure, he had a bunch of flops. But for a while there...
And he just knew it in his gut. It was all about songs. And records.
So the truth is he believes Mo screwed him financially. Essentially stole his company for $2 million. Hmm... He admits he needed a joint venture to get Warner's team behind his records, and there was a contract, doesn't Seymour bear some of the fault?
I'm sure he does. But he keeps hitting it over the fence and he feels mistreated emotionally, not only financially. He makes a good case for Mo running a cult wherein he was king and demanded fealty and still might squeeze you out.
As for Geffen, he's up on the man, because David helped AIDS patients, even those he didn't know, without publicity.
And in between, you've got Roger Ames and the story of the death of Warner. He doesn't blame Morgado, but the egos involved. And it is interesting that both Mo and Kras could not succeed on their own, after the fact.
It's been a long ride, and Seymour has loved every minute of it. In a business where you work 24/7 and don't complain, where your personal life is demoted and those around you suffer but you just can't get enough of the action.
But it's all about those records, the songs.
At the end of the book Seymour pays tribute to national anthems, Hebrew hymns, and I must say, those songs in shul turned me on, made me a music fan.
"Siren Song" is not "Hit Men," it's not the best book ever written on the music business. But other than Fredric Dannen's legendary work, and Tom King's book about David Geffen, "The Operator," "Siren Song" could be the third best book about the music business ever. Because it pulls no punches. It gives history. It tells how the business works. It illuminates a path to success.
It's easily readable.
You should buy it.
P.S. Drives me crazy how the book was not proofread. This happens again and again with books from major publishers. In this case, articles are left out constantly, there are many missing "to's," "the's" and "and's."
P.P.S. Unlike Joel Selvin's Sammy Hagar book, "Siren Song" is not written in Seymour's voice, it does not sound like him, he doesn't talk that way, but his emotional self does shine through. Seymour is passionate, a complainer with a gleam in his eye. He's Jewish through and through, and he owns it!
P.P.P.S. Seymour is not afraid to pass judgment. He says Michael Ostin suffered from working under his father, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, whereas Lenny Waronker did not work for his dad at Liberty and Michael Rosenblatt did not work for his father at his labels.
P.P.P.P.S. Seymour is unafraid to delineate people's pluses and minuses. He thinks Howie Klein knew how to make the trains run on time, but was a bad A&R guy. You have to get the gig that fits your strengths.
P.P.P.P.P.S. Of course Seymour is biased, of course he's got scores to settle, but at least he's honest about all of it. This is a two-faced business, where most people are not friends, despite glad-handing. To get how Seymour truly feels makes the book resonate, whether you agree or not.
--
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--
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Thursday 14 June 2018
Prince's Vault
"Hey, look me over
Tell me do you like what you see"
Michael Howe asked me if I wanted to experience Prince's vault. He was the Purple One's last A&R guy at Warner Brothers, he's the archivist.
Who'd turn that down?
So I went to a listening room in North Hollywood and...
The walking wounded. There are a ton of us around. Who experienced the golden age of music. From the Beatles to the internet. And I'm not saying the internet is bad, I love Spotify, but something's changed.
It used to cost a lot of money to record.
Very few acts, relatively speaking, could be distributed.
Getting inside was almost impossible. But if you had passion and a work ethic, you could penetrate the bubble, although it was always hard to stay in.
And music drove the culture, it was everything.
We read the liner notes, we played our albums over and over. And the holy grail was to get inside the studio, where the sounds were laid down on tape, where the magic happened.
Not that you could not get close at home. It just required a few thousand dollars, to buy a stereo setup. That's what you showed off, that's what you were proud of, not the number of likes, not pictures of where you'd been, but the pure sound you could reproduce at home. And you had a mental wish list, you always wanted to upgrade. And you judged people on their sound system. And you listened. For the pure joy of it.
That's what it was like in the room today.
First there was the equipment. Lipinski towers and subwoofers, a brand I'd never heard of, although I know EveAnna Manley, whose products were the link between said speakers and...the laptop. Yes, this would be impossible way back when. You'd have to change reels.
And that's what Michael Howe has done, gone through all the reels. Prince recorded just about everything. From demos to live shows. And when his voice came out of the speaker...
You thought he was still alive.
It was that clear, it was that present. He's counting down the numbers, instructing the band and...
Some famous tracks were written years before, there are multiple iterations, you can hear them develop.
And there's video too.
This was back when you could only experience it at the club. When your show wasn't dictated by the videoclip, when it wasn't all on hard drive, when you used to have to know how to play!
And to see Prince in action...
His mop of hair going from styled to stringy as the gig progressed. Twisting and turning the lyrics for an audience rapt in attention. And then squeezing out notes on his Telecaster...
Yes, he didn't always have the custom axes. He had to prove himself. He had to pay his dues. He had to make it.
And it was a slow ascent. His talent was there, but he did not emerge fully-formed. He changed. Didn't always sing in falsetto, worked with different musicians, because you need a band, you can't do it alone. On some of the demos he does play all the instruments, but to deliver live...
The band was well-rehearsed, he conducted it.
It was everything.
Now I listened to finished versions of songs made famous by other people.
Demos of household name songs.
Soundcheck workouts of songs long before they were finalized on wax.
It was amazing.
Not that everybody will care.
And it is kind of weird that he was lord of his kingdom, deciding what to release, and now he isn't, and his vault is being raided.
But we want to know how he did it. We want an explanation. How did he become a star?
Through sheer will.
He needed it.
The same way Steve Jobs needed to change the world, Elon Musk too.
But back then it was music. A club. Quite large, but some were more passionate than others. They followed the game like sports.
And giants walked the earth, who might not be so good at speaking, but they could sure lay it down on tape.
This was the magic.
This is what we lived for.
It's so weird to be jetted back to the garden, to have your brain prick up and your hair stand on end. Back when musicians channeled truth as opposed to being celebrities. When you listened to a record to be taken away, to a better place, a nirvana that only players had the roadmap to.
He's so alive on the recordings.
But so dead in real life.
It's a conundrum. Couldn't his death be prevented?
But we're all lords of our own domain.
But it's our individualism that draws attention.
Prince was one of a kind.
Still is.
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Tell me do you like what you see"
Michael Howe asked me if I wanted to experience Prince's vault. He was the Purple One's last A&R guy at Warner Brothers, he's the archivist.
Who'd turn that down?
So I went to a listening room in North Hollywood and...
The walking wounded. There are a ton of us around. Who experienced the golden age of music. From the Beatles to the internet. And I'm not saying the internet is bad, I love Spotify, but something's changed.
It used to cost a lot of money to record.
Very few acts, relatively speaking, could be distributed.
Getting inside was almost impossible. But if you had passion and a work ethic, you could penetrate the bubble, although it was always hard to stay in.
And music drove the culture, it was everything.
We read the liner notes, we played our albums over and over. And the holy grail was to get inside the studio, where the sounds were laid down on tape, where the magic happened.
Not that you could not get close at home. It just required a few thousand dollars, to buy a stereo setup. That's what you showed off, that's what you were proud of, not the number of likes, not pictures of where you'd been, but the pure sound you could reproduce at home. And you had a mental wish list, you always wanted to upgrade. And you judged people on their sound system. And you listened. For the pure joy of it.
That's what it was like in the room today.
First there was the equipment. Lipinski towers and subwoofers, a brand I'd never heard of, although I know EveAnna Manley, whose products were the link between said speakers and...the laptop. Yes, this would be impossible way back when. You'd have to change reels.
And that's what Michael Howe has done, gone through all the reels. Prince recorded just about everything. From demos to live shows. And when his voice came out of the speaker...
You thought he was still alive.
It was that clear, it was that present. He's counting down the numbers, instructing the band and...
Some famous tracks were written years before, there are multiple iterations, you can hear them develop.
And there's video too.
This was back when you could only experience it at the club. When your show wasn't dictated by the videoclip, when it wasn't all on hard drive, when you used to have to know how to play!
And to see Prince in action...
His mop of hair going from styled to stringy as the gig progressed. Twisting and turning the lyrics for an audience rapt in attention. And then squeezing out notes on his Telecaster...
Yes, he didn't always have the custom axes. He had to prove himself. He had to pay his dues. He had to make it.
And it was a slow ascent. His talent was there, but he did not emerge fully-formed. He changed. Didn't always sing in falsetto, worked with different musicians, because you need a band, you can't do it alone. On some of the demos he does play all the instruments, but to deliver live...
The band was well-rehearsed, he conducted it.
It was everything.
Now I listened to finished versions of songs made famous by other people.
Demos of household name songs.
Soundcheck workouts of songs long before they were finalized on wax.
It was amazing.
Not that everybody will care.
And it is kind of weird that he was lord of his kingdom, deciding what to release, and now he isn't, and his vault is being raided.
But we want to know how he did it. We want an explanation. How did he become a star?
Through sheer will.
He needed it.
The same way Steve Jobs needed to change the world, Elon Musk too.
But back then it was music. A club. Quite large, but some were more passionate than others. They followed the game like sports.
And giants walked the earth, who might not be so good at speaking, but they could sure lay it down on tape.
This was the magic.
This is what we lived for.
It's so weird to be jetted back to the garden, to have your brain prick up and your hair stand on end. Back when musicians channeled truth as opposed to being celebrities. When you listened to a record to be taken away, to a better place, a nirvana that only players had the roadmap to.
He's so alive on the recordings.
But so dead in real life.
It's a conundrum. Couldn't his death be prevented?
But we're all lords of our own domain.
But it's our individualism that draws attention.
Prince was one of a kind.
Still is.
--
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--
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Wednesday 13 June 2018
Mailbag
Re: Paul Rodgers
I have to say that Paul Rogers has what is probably the best ever voice for rock and blues rock, and has had that voice for 50 yrs! And one of the reasons is not only the physical gift of his vocal instrument , but the knowledge and, maybe most importantly, the feel for how to use it to its full advantage. It comes naturally to him.
We toured with a Bad Company in the 70's and in 2009 and it was a treat to listen to them educate the public on the gutsy simplicity and power required to be a true rock band.
My biggest regret is that Free was here and gone so fast. They took a phenomenal drummer in Simon Kirke, and simplistic but powerful bass player in Andy Fraser, and added Paul Kossof's incendiary guitar in both lead and rhythm and made the ideal group to back a singer like Paul. The tracks were simple and economically rich, lots of space, and they rocked like nobody else before or since! Besides the anthemic "Alright Now", which was everywhere in that period, songs like "I'll Be Creepin" told the true story of in your face rock power. You add in Paul's soulful voice and it was irresistible if you truly love rock on the gut level. It's moved you!
The fact that Paul isn't in the HOF is a travesty! And the music industry is crying out for real rock to re-emerge and drive today's playlists even if they don't know it. It's honest and it's real. No gimmicks, no fluff.
Tom Johnston
_______________________________________
From: Steve Lukather
Re: Paul Rodgers
In my opinion, one of the greatest voices of our generation !
I have had the honor of working with him back in 1994 live and on record. Just incredible and he is also a gentleman's- gentleman.
To hear THAT voice come out of the monitors in a hall ... then while playing the opening riff to All Right Now and turn and hear the REAL voice come out..?
Now was a childhood dream for me and that was a life changing song for me as a kid.. all of us as kids from my era.
One of the greatest riffs ever written in rock history and Paul and the guys have written so many classics! Historic stuff!
Who doesn't perk up when they hear that riff ?
Paul Kossoff -WOW- what guitar player!! That sound and touch. You just don't hear that anymore.. its golden!
What guitar player from my generation does not know that riff and that solo note for note?
Then all the great Bad Co music and all he has done.. hard to pick a favorite!
Paul has put gold into every thing he has ever done ( as did all the players on those classic records)
When you hear the opening vocal line to the song 'Bad Company'.. its goosebumps EVERY time. Never gets old !!
None of his/their music does and Paul's voice has never lost a step.
Luke
_______________________________________
From: Lionel Conway
Subject: Re: Paul Rodgers-This Week's Podcast
Bob. I'm glad you have some recognition out to Mick Ralph's. I was working with Chris Blackwell running island music back in early 60s , I had two bands Free and Mott the Hoople. The latter was all about Ian Hunter. He was the band. Mick was very frustrated and after several years decided he wanted out. He came to see me and said he had a couple of songs that he had written. But Ian wasn't interested. So he wanted to demo them and use them for either his own thing or another band. He played them for me and I was floored, he had languished for years without any recognition with Mott and from that demo session that I helped facilitate , out came. two iconic Rock standards. " feel like making love " and ' I can't get enough of your loving ". Kudos to paul Rogers for his great performance on both ,but Micks songs made the band.
_______________________________________
Re: Paul Rodgers
I'm through the Free bit and I am little bummed that you didn't spend more time on that:
1. Paul mentioned being in a band with Bruce Thomas and I believe Micky Moody. Moody is/was one of England's finest slide blues players. A charter member of the original Whitesnake, he, Coverdale and Bernie Marsden wrote Fool for your Lovin (recorded 2x)
2. More on Andy Fraser…he was 15 when he joined Free. Besides co-writing All Right now, he also co-wrote The Stealer and My Brother Jake
3. The final Free tour…the Heartbreaker record.. with Wishing Well…more on that would have been nice as well as the decision to use Del Richardson from Osibisa as the lead guitar on the tour. And bonus info is that Snuffy Walden played on the record. Look up his IMBD.
The Bad Co stuff…well…I would have like to hear more about the Swansong/Peter Grant stuff. I was part of meetings with LZ which discussed Swansong…
Peter Mensch
Q Prime
_______________________________________
Re: Paul Rodgers
In the 90's I was fortunate to record with Paul Rodgers for a few days and learned one of the more valuable lessons of my recording career.
He was on tour and in Indianapolis and needed a place to record. I can't remember who the drummer and bassist were but Neal Schon was playing guitar. Neal was so much fun.
Obviously, I was so excited about getting to record one of the great voices in rock history and one of rock's great guitarists too.
For Paul's vocal I set up my most expensive mic, one worth thousands of dollars that everyone loves and sounds great on almost every voice.
Paul sang through the song once and came into the control room. After listening all the way through the song he said "It sounds quite nice but I'd fancy 57. It's what we used on all of the Bad Company records"
A $100 Shure Sm57! I was in shock!
So I set up the Sm57 and when he starts to sing there it is ... the voice I've heard my whole life.
It was a great lesson ... the most expensive tool that you have is not always the right one. Every recording session since then its always in the back of my mind.
The second lesson was that he didn't just ask for the Sm57. He was open to a little experimentation ... the mark of a great artist.
I regularly meet with recording students from several colleges and recording schools as well as working with a lot of young bands ... this story is one I never fail to tell.
Paul was such a gentleman and a pleasure to work with. I was also fortunate to mix a couple of live radio broadcasts on the Bob and Tom Show with Paul and Bad Company and as a solo act ... always the Sm57.
Alan Johnson
_______________________________________
Subject: RE: Fauda-Season 2
When I started watching Season 2 of Fauda I realized that the dubbing was messed up. I couldn't handle five minutes of it, (apparently it was an issue for many). I decided to go on Lior Raz's (Doron) Instagram account and tell him that the dubbing was killing me and not representative of his incredible acting. He wrote back immediately and told me how to change my Netflix settings (Switch to Hebrew with English subtitles.)
I then binged all 12 episodes in less than 24 hours…AND went back to Season 1 to watch it again the next day.
That's how good this show is.
Bravo to every actor, director, photographer, costume designer, make-up artist…who contributed to Fauda. The show is one of the most brilliant ones out there. Great tv is alive and well!
Shari Siskind
_______________________________________
Subject: Re: The Kissing Booth
I watched this movie with my wife. She likes romantic comedies and I saw an ad for this somewhere and thought it would fit the bill. It did…sort of.
It's not a very good movie but then again, when Hollywood stops making rom-coms for the theaters so they can fill the screens with superhero movies, somebody will pick up the slack. And a mediocre effort's better than nothing in a vacuum.
For me, the strangest thing about the movie was the soundtrack. Pop rock songs, including several covers of 80's songs (Safety Dance, Right Here Right Now, Don't You Forget About Me). Almost no hip hop. Makes no sense as the soundtrack for the lives of teenagers today. But it made sense as the soundtrack for older adults watching the movie. I think they were hoping to expand their audience: draw in young people with the cast and pull in older types looking for a rom-com with the music.
BTW, the young actress playing the lead role, Joey King, was the best thing about the movie with quirky but attractive looks and an appealing personality. And who played the mother of the two brothers in the love triangle, who also gave Joey some advice on how to deal with teen angst in a high school rom com?
Molly Ringwald.
George Evanko
_______________________________________
Subject: Re: Mailbag-Kissing Booth/Triple Crown & MORE! (Even CHIPS!)
Bob, the girl was modern and of an achievable-degree of pulchritude, but both brothers were eye-frigging-popping. No brainer.
Makes a girl wanna say "Me, too!"
Regards,
Paula Franceschi
_______________________________________
From: Dee J
Subject: Re: The Kissing Booth
My daughter and I watched "The Kissing Booth" last weekend. She has watched all of the teen films I grew up watching (Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, etc.) and believes that today's theatrical releases are primarily super hero, action or horror films. She loves coming of age teen targeted films and series and Netflix delivers.
_______________________________________
From: Matt Colwell
Subject: Re: The Kissing Booth
I had a song ("Swimming In Stars") from one of my artists featured in the movie and since putting it up on DSPs 10 days ago it has been streamed 167,000 times on Spotify, 170k times on YouTube, and Shazamed 20k times. This is with no outside press or promo, all driven from the cult-fanbase of the film.
_______________________________________
From: Catalina Berretta
Subject: Re: The Kissing Booth
Hi Bob,
I'm a college student who watched The Kissing Booth with all my roommates. We love it because it's the most absurd, insane, stupid and fucking hilarious movie we've watched this year. Terrible acting, terrible plot, terrible characterization all add up to the most iconic, unaware Netflix film yet. In fact, since watching, we have referenced that movie at least once a day. I lost my breath so many times laughing about it with my roommates.
That said, so many pre-teens eat that shit up. I know I would've at 11-13 and they are all streaming. Just wanted to say that also now, they're part of the audience and they contribute to higher ratings even though their taste is unironic and terrible. But that's what being 11 is all about! - Catu, 21, Boston MA
_______________________________________
Subject: Re: The Kissing Booth
Admittedly it was a self-indulgent detour from my normal viewing habits and criteria,
but I'm 75 and I loved "The Kissing Booth." Don't think that won't give the Netflix AlgorhythMaster a severe case of hives!
Jesse McRae
_______________________________________
From: Will Ward
Subject: RE: The Kissing Booth
We rep Jacob. It's insane how this movie blew up.
William M. Ward, Jr.
Fourward
10250 Constellation Blvd., Suite 2710
Century City, California 90067
_______________________________________
Wise delivers!
https://bit.ly/2MrxX9Z
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I have to say that Paul Rogers has what is probably the best ever voice for rock and blues rock, and has had that voice for 50 yrs! And one of the reasons is not only the physical gift of his vocal instrument , but the knowledge and, maybe most importantly, the feel for how to use it to its full advantage. It comes naturally to him.
We toured with a Bad Company in the 70's and in 2009 and it was a treat to listen to them educate the public on the gutsy simplicity and power required to be a true rock band.
My biggest regret is that Free was here and gone so fast. They took a phenomenal drummer in Simon Kirke, and simplistic but powerful bass player in Andy Fraser, and added Paul Kossof's incendiary guitar in both lead and rhythm and made the ideal group to back a singer like Paul. The tracks were simple and economically rich, lots of space, and they rocked like nobody else before or since! Besides the anthemic "Alright Now", which was everywhere in that period, songs like "I'll Be Creepin" told the true story of in your face rock power. You add in Paul's soulful voice and it was irresistible if you truly love rock on the gut level. It's moved you!
The fact that Paul isn't in the HOF is a travesty! And the music industry is crying out for real rock to re-emerge and drive today's playlists even if they don't know it. It's honest and it's real. No gimmicks, no fluff.
Tom Johnston
_______________________________________
From: Steve Lukather
Re: Paul Rodgers
In my opinion, one of the greatest voices of our generation !
I have had the honor of working with him back in 1994 live and on record. Just incredible and he is also a gentleman's- gentleman.
To hear THAT voice come out of the monitors in a hall ... then while playing the opening riff to All Right Now and turn and hear the REAL voice come out..?
Now was a childhood dream for me and that was a life changing song for me as a kid.. all of us as kids from my era.
One of the greatest riffs ever written in rock history and Paul and the guys have written so many classics! Historic stuff!
Who doesn't perk up when they hear that riff ?
Paul Kossoff -WOW- what guitar player!! That sound and touch. You just don't hear that anymore.. its golden!
What guitar player from my generation does not know that riff and that solo note for note?
Then all the great Bad Co music and all he has done.. hard to pick a favorite!
Paul has put gold into every thing he has ever done ( as did all the players on those classic records)
When you hear the opening vocal line to the song 'Bad Company'.. its goosebumps EVERY time. Never gets old !!
None of his/their music does and Paul's voice has never lost a step.
Luke
_______________________________________
From: Lionel Conway
Subject: Re: Paul Rodgers-This Week's Podcast
Bob. I'm glad you have some recognition out to Mick Ralph's. I was working with Chris Blackwell running island music back in early 60s , I had two bands Free and Mott the Hoople. The latter was all about Ian Hunter. He was the band. Mick was very frustrated and after several years decided he wanted out. He came to see me and said he had a couple of songs that he had written. But Ian wasn't interested. So he wanted to demo them and use them for either his own thing or another band. He played them for me and I was floored, he had languished for years without any recognition with Mott and from that demo session that I helped facilitate , out came. two iconic Rock standards. " feel like making love " and ' I can't get enough of your loving ". Kudos to paul Rogers for his great performance on both ,but Micks songs made the band.
_______________________________________
Re: Paul Rodgers
I'm through the Free bit and I am little bummed that you didn't spend more time on that:
1. Paul mentioned being in a band with Bruce Thomas and I believe Micky Moody. Moody is/was one of England's finest slide blues players. A charter member of the original Whitesnake, he, Coverdale and Bernie Marsden wrote Fool for your Lovin (recorded 2x)
2. More on Andy Fraser…he was 15 when he joined Free. Besides co-writing All Right now, he also co-wrote The Stealer and My Brother Jake
3. The final Free tour…the Heartbreaker record.. with Wishing Well…more on that would have been nice as well as the decision to use Del Richardson from Osibisa as the lead guitar on the tour. And bonus info is that Snuffy Walden played on the record. Look up his IMBD.
The Bad Co stuff…well…I would have like to hear more about the Swansong/Peter Grant stuff. I was part of meetings with LZ which discussed Swansong…
Peter Mensch
Q Prime
_______________________________________
Re: Paul Rodgers
In the 90's I was fortunate to record with Paul Rodgers for a few days and learned one of the more valuable lessons of my recording career.
He was on tour and in Indianapolis and needed a place to record. I can't remember who the drummer and bassist were but Neal Schon was playing guitar. Neal was so much fun.
Obviously, I was so excited about getting to record one of the great voices in rock history and one of rock's great guitarists too.
For Paul's vocal I set up my most expensive mic, one worth thousands of dollars that everyone loves and sounds great on almost every voice.
Paul sang through the song once and came into the control room. After listening all the way through the song he said "It sounds quite nice but I'd fancy 57. It's what we used on all of the Bad Company records"
A $100 Shure Sm57! I was in shock!
So I set up the Sm57 and when he starts to sing there it is ... the voice I've heard my whole life.
It was a great lesson ... the most expensive tool that you have is not always the right one. Every recording session since then its always in the back of my mind.
The second lesson was that he didn't just ask for the Sm57. He was open to a little experimentation ... the mark of a great artist.
I regularly meet with recording students from several colleges and recording schools as well as working with a lot of young bands ... this story is one I never fail to tell.
Paul was such a gentleman and a pleasure to work with. I was also fortunate to mix a couple of live radio broadcasts on the Bob and Tom Show with Paul and Bad Company and as a solo act ... always the Sm57.
Alan Johnson
_______________________________________
Subject: RE: Fauda-Season 2
When I started watching Season 2 of Fauda I realized that the dubbing was messed up. I couldn't handle five minutes of it, (apparently it was an issue for many). I decided to go on Lior Raz's (Doron) Instagram account and tell him that the dubbing was killing me and not representative of his incredible acting. He wrote back immediately and told me how to change my Netflix settings (Switch to Hebrew with English subtitles.)
I then binged all 12 episodes in less than 24 hours…AND went back to Season 1 to watch it again the next day.
That's how good this show is.
Bravo to every actor, director, photographer, costume designer, make-up artist…who contributed to Fauda. The show is one of the most brilliant ones out there. Great tv is alive and well!
Shari Siskind
_______________________________________
Subject: Re: The Kissing Booth
I watched this movie with my wife. She likes romantic comedies and I saw an ad for this somewhere and thought it would fit the bill. It did…sort of.
It's not a very good movie but then again, when Hollywood stops making rom-coms for the theaters so they can fill the screens with superhero movies, somebody will pick up the slack. And a mediocre effort's better than nothing in a vacuum.
For me, the strangest thing about the movie was the soundtrack. Pop rock songs, including several covers of 80's songs (Safety Dance, Right Here Right Now, Don't You Forget About Me). Almost no hip hop. Makes no sense as the soundtrack for the lives of teenagers today. But it made sense as the soundtrack for older adults watching the movie. I think they were hoping to expand their audience: draw in young people with the cast and pull in older types looking for a rom-com with the music.
BTW, the young actress playing the lead role, Joey King, was the best thing about the movie with quirky but attractive looks and an appealing personality. And who played the mother of the two brothers in the love triangle, who also gave Joey some advice on how to deal with teen angst in a high school rom com?
Molly Ringwald.
George Evanko
_______________________________________
Subject: Re: Mailbag-Kissing Booth/Triple Crown & MORE! (Even CHIPS!)
Bob, the girl was modern and of an achievable-degree of pulchritude, but both brothers were eye-frigging-popping. No brainer.
Makes a girl wanna say "Me, too!"
Regards,
Paula Franceschi
_______________________________________
From: Dee J
Subject: Re: The Kissing Booth
My daughter and I watched "The Kissing Booth" last weekend. She has watched all of the teen films I grew up watching (Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, etc.) and believes that today's theatrical releases are primarily super hero, action or horror films. She loves coming of age teen targeted films and series and Netflix delivers.
_______________________________________
From: Matt Colwell
Subject: Re: The Kissing Booth
I had a song ("Swimming In Stars") from one of my artists featured in the movie and since putting it up on DSPs 10 days ago it has been streamed 167,000 times on Spotify, 170k times on YouTube, and Shazamed 20k times. This is with no outside press or promo, all driven from the cult-fanbase of the film.
_______________________________________
From: Catalina Berretta
Subject: Re: The Kissing Booth
Hi Bob,
I'm a college student who watched The Kissing Booth with all my roommates. We love it because it's the most absurd, insane, stupid and fucking hilarious movie we've watched this year. Terrible acting, terrible plot, terrible characterization all add up to the most iconic, unaware Netflix film yet. In fact, since watching, we have referenced that movie at least once a day. I lost my breath so many times laughing about it with my roommates.
That said, so many pre-teens eat that shit up. I know I would've at 11-13 and they are all streaming. Just wanted to say that also now, they're part of the audience and they contribute to higher ratings even though their taste is unironic and terrible. But that's what being 11 is all about! - Catu, 21, Boston MA
_______________________________________
Subject: Re: The Kissing Booth
Admittedly it was a self-indulgent detour from my normal viewing habits and criteria,
but I'm 75 and I loved "The Kissing Booth." Don't think that won't give the Netflix AlgorhythMaster a severe case of hives!
Jesse McRae
_______________________________________
From: Will Ward
Subject: RE: The Kissing Booth
We rep Jacob. It's insane how this movie blew up.
William M. Ward, Jr.
Fourward
10250 Constellation Blvd., Suite 2710
Century City, California 90067
_______________________________________
Wise delivers!
https://bit.ly/2MrxX9Z
--
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--
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The TV/Music Analogy
"The Sopranos" was the Beatles.
There was music before "I Want To Hold Your Hand" hit the airwaves in '64, before the band was on "Ed Sullivan," quite good stuff indeed, like the Four Seasons and the Beach Boys, but the Beatles were different, a quantum leap forward, in their wake came a slew of British acts, the so-called "Invasion," suddenly everybody was picking up an electric guitar, suddenly everybody was listening on their transistor, the same way people are watching television today.
There was TV before "The Sopranos." Quite good stuff at times, like "thirtysomething," but "The Sopranos" not only showed TV could be as good as movies, but also something different, it was not limited to ninety minutes, it was a whole series, you got hooked, and suddenly HBO was the go-to, unlike the theatre.
Now after the Beatles came FM radio. Format changes make a difference. FM is like television streaming, it opens up the possibilities! Before FM we were limited to the hit, after FM the album burgeoned, what was in between the hits was suddenly important. Many people didn't get it at first, they stuck with AM and singles, greatest hits albums, just like many moviegoers pooh-poohed the television revolution. And then came streaming Netflix, along with Amazon and Hulu, and suddenly we were in a golden age of television, it was where the action was, where we all wanted to be. We talked about TV the way we used to talk about records. Everybody had their favorites, you lived to sit in front of the flat screen and consume, and then debate.
Many people resist revolutions. The Beatles, et al, wiped out whole styles of music. Perry Como was no longer on the hit parade, Elvis either, and despite present nostalgia for eras past, the truth is many were left behind as the pioneers went forward. Just like those who still go to the movie theatre, or watch network television in real time today. That's another breakthrough with streaming, you get what you want when you want it. In any event, the people yearning for the music business of yore have been left behind. Streaming is FM, but only rappers seem to know this, they own the new format.
So we lived through an era of music domination, when TV was square. Then it was all consolidated in the seventies and crashed. But MTV, a new technological breakthrough, gave music new legs. Until videos became extravaganzas and how you looked became more important than how you played. Napster added excitement, but radio stayed behind, is still behind, and then TV came along to fill the gap.
Despite there being over 400 scripted series a year, way too much product, it's even worse in music. And acts don't get canceled in music, they keep putting out tracks, vying for attention. The consumer rules, but the consumer has been ignored in music.
So what comes next?
Further consolidation in television. With ultimately a few streaming outlets. And then fewer shows, and fewer payments for those shows, and then, eventually, something will come along to fill TV's place. Another location to experience story.
What comes next in music? The truth is rap is long in the tooth, and rock is positively calcified. Those deep in the trenches believe if they just slog hard enough they will succeed, nothing could be further from the truth. To capture hearts and minds there must be something different, a new sound. But it's nowhere to be found. No Beatles who put in 10,000 hours in Hamburg before most people had ever heard of them.
Now in between music and TV came the tech revolution. Everybody bought a computer to play, now everybody has a smartphone to play. But only a few entities control the sphere. We depend upon them, we're addicted, but the excitement of the late twentieth and early twenty first centuries is gone.
After TV becomes consolidated and loses its excitement what follows?
I don't know. Will it be something we have never contemplated, or a spin on the old?
Music is mature. Corporations own not only the labels, but the touring outfits.
Tech is mature. It's Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Google and Microsoft.
TV is still in flux. Yesterday's court decision re AT&T and Time Warner is significant, other shoes will now drop.
But then?
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There was music before "I Want To Hold Your Hand" hit the airwaves in '64, before the band was on "Ed Sullivan," quite good stuff indeed, like the Four Seasons and the Beach Boys, but the Beatles were different, a quantum leap forward, in their wake came a slew of British acts, the so-called "Invasion," suddenly everybody was picking up an electric guitar, suddenly everybody was listening on their transistor, the same way people are watching television today.
There was TV before "The Sopranos." Quite good stuff at times, like "thirtysomething," but "The Sopranos" not only showed TV could be as good as movies, but also something different, it was not limited to ninety minutes, it was a whole series, you got hooked, and suddenly HBO was the go-to, unlike the theatre.
Now after the Beatles came FM radio. Format changes make a difference. FM is like television streaming, it opens up the possibilities! Before FM we were limited to the hit, after FM the album burgeoned, what was in between the hits was suddenly important. Many people didn't get it at first, they stuck with AM and singles, greatest hits albums, just like many moviegoers pooh-poohed the television revolution. And then came streaming Netflix, along with Amazon and Hulu, and suddenly we were in a golden age of television, it was where the action was, where we all wanted to be. We talked about TV the way we used to talk about records. Everybody had their favorites, you lived to sit in front of the flat screen and consume, and then debate.
Many people resist revolutions. The Beatles, et al, wiped out whole styles of music. Perry Como was no longer on the hit parade, Elvis either, and despite present nostalgia for eras past, the truth is many were left behind as the pioneers went forward. Just like those who still go to the movie theatre, or watch network television in real time today. That's another breakthrough with streaming, you get what you want when you want it. In any event, the people yearning for the music business of yore have been left behind. Streaming is FM, but only rappers seem to know this, they own the new format.
So we lived through an era of music domination, when TV was square. Then it was all consolidated in the seventies and crashed. But MTV, a new technological breakthrough, gave music new legs. Until videos became extravaganzas and how you looked became more important than how you played. Napster added excitement, but radio stayed behind, is still behind, and then TV came along to fill the gap.
Despite there being over 400 scripted series a year, way too much product, it's even worse in music. And acts don't get canceled in music, they keep putting out tracks, vying for attention. The consumer rules, but the consumer has been ignored in music.
So what comes next?
Further consolidation in television. With ultimately a few streaming outlets. And then fewer shows, and fewer payments for those shows, and then, eventually, something will come along to fill TV's place. Another location to experience story.
What comes next in music? The truth is rap is long in the tooth, and rock is positively calcified. Those deep in the trenches believe if they just slog hard enough they will succeed, nothing could be further from the truth. To capture hearts and minds there must be something different, a new sound. But it's nowhere to be found. No Beatles who put in 10,000 hours in Hamburg before most people had ever heard of them.
Now in between music and TV came the tech revolution. Everybody bought a computer to play, now everybody has a smartphone to play. But only a few entities control the sphere. We depend upon them, we're addicted, but the excitement of the late twentieth and early twenty first centuries is gone.
After TV becomes consolidated and loses its excitement what follows?
I don't know. Will it be something we have never contemplated, or a spin on the old?
Music is mature. Corporations own not only the labels, but the touring outfits.
Tech is mature. It's Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Google and Microsoft.
TV is still in flux. Yesterday's court decision re AT&T and Time Warner is significant, other shoes will now drop.
But then?
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--
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Fauda-Season 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-tILBxRiQ4
Are you watching this?
We just finished five seasons of "The Americans." That's right, sixty five episodes, I can't believe it myself. But we cannot see the sixth, unless we're willing to pay for it, $24.95, that's never gonna happen, the content companies are bleeding us dry, and it's gonna be worse when they all merge and they're the only game in town. We're going through a great consolidation, with a dash of musical chairs thrown in. The five hundred channel universe...KAPUT! Now there are just gonna be a few outlets, and you'll subscribe to some or all of them. As for the vaunted YouTube revolution, did you read that article about YouTubers burning out? (https://bit.ly/2LoO2ft) That's right, it was another canard sold to the youth, a supposedly easy way to make money, a PARADIGM SHIFT, while the big boys, Google and Amazon and Facebook and Apple...took the lion's share of the revenue and the government supported the rich. You work 24/7 on Maggie's Farm and they change the algorithm and you're making less and if you're dependent upon likes, getting subscribers, working the system, you're toast. If your talent isn't strong enough to stand on its own, draw people to it by itself, give up now. And yes, there are those making money unboxing, but that's like telling you Bill Gates and Steve Jobs dropped out of college and you're just a shot away from being a billionaire. Yeah, right.
And "The Americans" is plot-driven. It's got few layers, it ain't that deep, but it does hook you, because of the drama, because Keri Russell BELIEVES!
Do you believe in your mission? Do you have a mission? Are you willing to die for it, like Hamas?
I won't bore you with the Arab/Israeli rhetoric. The story today is you can't convince people to change their opinion, even with facts, they're stuck in their rut and they're sticking to it. And I know that's saying the same thing twice but that's how much they've self-reinforced their ideas, living in an echo chamber, but...
"Fauda" is about the Arab/Israeli conflict. On the West Bank. And...
These are not the Jews you anti-Semites think they are. Hell, you could line them up and most would not pick them as Jews. People have no idea what's going on in the world, especially Americans, because THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ANYWHERE!
Like Israel. Like the desert.
That's right, it's not a lush landscape, they didn't give Jews California's Central Valley, but the Mojave Desert. But the elements make you feel alive. When you see Doron riding a motorcycle in the sand you think...one breakdown and he could die. What are the risks of you dying, other than by O.D.'ing on opiates? I'd say that's how far down your life has fallen, but the truth is Purdue wanted to hook you, by saying Oxycontin was not addictive, and then it became so scarce you got hooked on heroin and...
If your life's in danger, if you're running on adrenaline, you ain't got time for drugs. Because...
Doron is a movie star. Not a superhero, not someone buff like the Rock, not a pretty boy like Tom Cruise, but a male who attracts you through attitude and action. He's doing the right thing, as if nobody is watching, and then he does the wrong thing and everybody is watching and they blame him. He can't win. But he's fighting for more than stripes on his uniform, which none of them wear, he's all about a CAUSE!
People need causes in life. And they need to do something about them. Being anti-Trump is not a cause. Getting out into the field and changing America is. The FBI is a cause, but now it's been denigrated. We've lost our way.
But we're addicted to television.
So, waiting for the next season of "The Americans" to appear on Amazon, we dove into season two of "Fauda." Felice wants to stop, it's too violent, the characters are not likable.
But that's my kind of show. I hate when people say they can't relate. Is entertainment just escapism? How about eye-opening, how about instructive, how about making you THINK!
Everybody's into the formula. Everybody likes a happy ending. But it rarely turns out that way, you get cancer and you die. Or you live long enough to find out you're irrelevant. What is life about? Damned if I know. But the longer I live I understand actions of the past, I can see why people become revolutionaries, lay their lives on the line, die for the cause, because other than the cause, WHAT IS THERE?
We're threatened in the U.S. By the racist right and the corporations. Save me your bile, if you don't agree, why are you reading this? You think your e-mails of denial are gonna convert me to your side? You're just demonstrating your ignorance. I read "The Wall Street Journal," I listen to Fox on the satellite, it all makes me laugh, you're so busy demonizing "The New York Times" you don't even read it, and there's a hell of a lot more news there than anywhere else.
But you're dug into your trough. Like Hamas. Hamas doesn't want peace, doesn't want a solution, unless it means Israel no longer exists. Is Israel perfect? No. Has it made mistakes? Yes. But when someone says you have no right to exist, you fight back, irrelevant of what the naysayers claim.
And "Fauda" is about this tension. You can enjoy it, if that's the word, whether you know anything about the Arab/Israeli conflict or not. Although you're gonna have to read subtitles. That's a threshold in dumbed-down America, if you've got to read, you're out. But the world is based on words, written ones, it's why Trump is such a bozo, he doesn't, read that is. And his grammar is terrible. People judge you on this, you should know, and right now Trump is winning and the liberals are letting him and the whole damn situation, the whole damn country, no longer makes sense.
So we turn to entertainment.
But there are more forms than laughable comedies, superheroes and mindless dreck. There is stuff that wakes you up, that gets you in touch with your humanity, that gets you to question your behavior.
Like "Fauda."
P.S. Shirin tries to resist Doron, but she cannot. If she were American, Laetitia Eido, would get a nose job, but her honker here just makes her more attractive, she's unique, like you, like me. We're all different, but we're all the same, that's the conundrum. We despise each other but we cannot get along without each other. And what stimulates us, keeps us going, is love.
Are you watching this?
We just finished five seasons of "The Americans." That's right, sixty five episodes, I can't believe it myself. But we cannot see the sixth, unless we're willing to pay for it, $24.95, that's never gonna happen, the content companies are bleeding us dry, and it's gonna be worse when they all merge and they're the only game in town. We're going through a great consolidation, with a dash of musical chairs thrown in. The five hundred channel universe...KAPUT! Now there are just gonna be a few outlets, and you'll subscribe to some or all of them. As for the vaunted YouTube revolution, did you read that article about YouTubers burning out? (https://bit.ly/2LoO2ft) That's right, it was another canard sold to the youth, a supposedly easy way to make money, a PARADIGM SHIFT, while the big boys, Google and Amazon and Facebook and Apple...took the lion's share of the revenue and the government supported the rich. You work 24/7 on Maggie's Farm and they change the algorithm and you're making less and if you're dependent upon likes, getting subscribers, working the system, you're toast. If your talent isn't strong enough to stand on its own, draw people to it by itself, give up now. And yes, there are those making money unboxing, but that's like telling you Bill Gates and Steve Jobs dropped out of college and you're just a shot away from being a billionaire. Yeah, right.
And "The Americans" is plot-driven. It's got few layers, it ain't that deep, but it does hook you, because of the drama, because Keri Russell BELIEVES!
Do you believe in your mission? Do you have a mission? Are you willing to die for it, like Hamas?
I won't bore you with the Arab/Israeli rhetoric. The story today is you can't convince people to change their opinion, even with facts, they're stuck in their rut and they're sticking to it. And I know that's saying the same thing twice but that's how much they've self-reinforced their ideas, living in an echo chamber, but...
"Fauda" is about the Arab/Israeli conflict. On the West Bank. And...
These are not the Jews you anti-Semites think they are. Hell, you could line them up and most would not pick them as Jews. People have no idea what's going on in the world, especially Americans, because THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ANYWHERE!
Like Israel. Like the desert.
That's right, it's not a lush landscape, they didn't give Jews California's Central Valley, but the Mojave Desert. But the elements make you feel alive. When you see Doron riding a motorcycle in the sand you think...one breakdown and he could die. What are the risks of you dying, other than by O.D.'ing on opiates? I'd say that's how far down your life has fallen, but the truth is Purdue wanted to hook you, by saying Oxycontin was not addictive, and then it became so scarce you got hooked on heroin and...
If your life's in danger, if you're running on adrenaline, you ain't got time for drugs. Because...
Doron is a movie star. Not a superhero, not someone buff like the Rock, not a pretty boy like Tom Cruise, but a male who attracts you through attitude and action. He's doing the right thing, as if nobody is watching, and then he does the wrong thing and everybody is watching and they blame him. He can't win. But he's fighting for more than stripes on his uniform, which none of them wear, he's all about a CAUSE!
People need causes in life. And they need to do something about them. Being anti-Trump is not a cause. Getting out into the field and changing America is. The FBI is a cause, but now it's been denigrated. We've lost our way.
But we're addicted to television.
So, waiting for the next season of "The Americans" to appear on Amazon, we dove into season two of "Fauda." Felice wants to stop, it's too violent, the characters are not likable.
But that's my kind of show. I hate when people say they can't relate. Is entertainment just escapism? How about eye-opening, how about instructive, how about making you THINK!
Everybody's into the formula. Everybody likes a happy ending. But it rarely turns out that way, you get cancer and you die. Or you live long enough to find out you're irrelevant. What is life about? Damned if I know. But the longer I live I understand actions of the past, I can see why people become revolutionaries, lay their lives on the line, die for the cause, because other than the cause, WHAT IS THERE?
We're threatened in the U.S. By the racist right and the corporations. Save me your bile, if you don't agree, why are you reading this? You think your e-mails of denial are gonna convert me to your side? You're just demonstrating your ignorance. I read "The Wall Street Journal," I listen to Fox on the satellite, it all makes me laugh, you're so busy demonizing "The New York Times" you don't even read it, and there's a hell of a lot more news there than anywhere else.
But you're dug into your trough. Like Hamas. Hamas doesn't want peace, doesn't want a solution, unless it means Israel no longer exists. Is Israel perfect? No. Has it made mistakes? Yes. But when someone says you have no right to exist, you fight back, irrelevant of what the naysayers claim.
And "Fauda" is about this tension. You can enjoy it, if that's the word, whether you know anything about the Arab/Israeli conflict or not. Although you're gonna have to read subtitles. That's a threshold in dumbed-down America, if you've got to read, you're out. But the world is based on words, written ones, it's why Trump is such a bozo, he doesn't, read that is. And his grammar is terrible. People judge you on this, you should know, and right now Trump is winning and the liberals are letting him and the whole damn situation, the whole damn country, no longer makes sense.
So we turn to entertainment.
But there are more forms than laughable comedies, superheroes and mindless dreck. There is stuff that wakes you up, that gets you in touch with your humanity, that gets you to question your behavior.
Like "Fauda."
P.S. Shirin tries to resist Doron, but she cannot. If she were American, Laetitia Eido, would get a nose job, but her honker here just makes her more attractive, she's unique, like you, like me. We're all different, but we're all the same, that's the conundrum. We despise each other but we cannot get along without each other. And what stimulates us, keeps us going, is love.
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Tuesday 12 June 2018
Paul Rodgers-This Week's Podcast
Playlist: https://spoti.fi/2MjYxSu
ALL RIGHT NOW!
That's right, this week's podcast guest is the voice, vocalist extraordinaire, PAUL RODGERS!
I remember distinctly driving in my mom's Country Squire on the way to the Yale Bowl for a Herman's Hermits-headed revival concert (the following week it was Led Zeppelin!) and hearing the mellifluous sound of this track emanating from the dashboard, some cuts you only need to hear once to get, to love, to have them seared into your brain. And as great as Paul's vocal is, the secret ingredient is Paul Kossoff's guitar-playing, an axeman Paul considers to be the best ever, and Rodgers has worked with Jimmy Page and...
And while I was ensconced at Middlebury I sent away for a free A&M sampler album entitled "Friends" that contained the Free cut "I'll Be Creepin'." You should check it out on the above-linked playlist, it'll get under your skin, especially when Paul croons "I'll hold you in my arms/Like nobody else," you'll swoon. Be sure to check out the rest of the Free tracks included, most were not hits, certainly not in the U.S., but hopefully they're the blueprint for a resurgent blues-rock sound in the United States, there's genius here.
And then...
We couldn't get enough of their love.
Mick Ralphs? He was overshadowed by Ian Hunter in Mott The Hoople, wasn't he just a sideman? Turns out, anything but. That track jumped out of radios across America in the summer of '74, just after I graduated from college, but my favorite cut from the initial LP is the title tune, and I love "Seagull" almost as much, Paul talks about both of them here, as well as having the band's name first.
And as big as that initial Bad Company album was, the second, STRAIGHT SHOOTER, was even BIGGER! This is the one containing the monster, "Feel Like Makin' Love."
"Baby, when I think about you
I think about love"
And then comes the staccato of that machine-gun guitar and...FEEL LIKE MAKIN' LOVE...FEEL LIKE MAKIN' LOVE... FEEL LIKE MAKIN' LOVE...FEEL LIKE MAKIN' LOVE TO YOU!
And the follow-up album, "Run With The Pack," opens with the anthem "Live For The Music," that's my theme song...
"Some people say I'm a-no good
Layin' in my bed all day
But when the nighttime comes I'm ready to rock
And roll my troubles away"
And right after that...
SIMPLE MAN!
"Freedom is the only thing that means a damn to me"
Ain't that the truth. I'm a square peg in a round hole, I don't fit in, the only place I feel comfortable is in the grasp of a record, which understands me. I hear "Simple Man" and I picture myself atop a mountain, viewing the vast landscape, feeling peaceful and powerful, this is the Bad Company song I sing to myself most.
And Bad Company went on to have more hits. Paul ultimately worked with Jimmy Page, Kenney Jones, Queen and so many more. And despite being ignored by the cognoscenti, he resides in the heart of every dyed-in-the-wool rock fan, talk about being unjustly excluded from the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, that ridiculous institution, Paul Rodgers and his bands are the EPITOME of rock and roll, and if you're a listener, you know it.
So sitting down with Paul was a great thrill. Because he's still got it, his intellect and his voice and...listen to him croon herein. Hell, the Bad Company show at the L.A. County Fair (https://bit.ly/2JK312Y) is the best one I've seen this decade, the one I enjoyed most, the one that got me out of my brain, that tore away my everyday problems, that had me thrusting my arm in the air believing that music was enough to base an existence upon, that I'd won at this game called life.
That's the power of music.
That's the power of rock and roll.
THAT'S THE POWER OF PAUL RODGERS! HE MAKES US FEEL FREE!
Listen to a snippet here: https://bit.ly/2sRvOw7
Listen to the podcast:
TuneIn: https://listen.tunein.com/paulrodgersletter
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/paul-rodgers/id1316200737?i=1000413543322&mt=2
Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/D2cp7cn7xpybcmf6wp7xsmn2zcq?t=Paul_Rodgers-The_Bob_Lefsetz_Podcast
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bob-lefsetz/paul-rodgers-27
Overcast: https://overcast.fm/+LBr8yOK_U
Acast: https://www.acast.com/theboblefsetzpodcast/paul-rodgers
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ALL RIGHT NOW!
That's right, this week's podcast guest is the voice, vocalist extraordinaire, PAUL RODGERS!
I remember distinctly driving in my mom's Country Squire on the way to the Yale Bowl for a Herman's Hermits-headed revival concert (the following week it was Led Zeppelin!) and hearing the mellifluous sound of this track emanating from the dashboard, some cuts you only need to hear once to get, to love, to have them seared into your brain. And as great as Paul's vocal is, the secret ingredient is Paul Kossoff's guitar-playing, an axeman Paul considers to be the best ever, and Rodgers has worked with Jimmy Page and...
And while I was ensconced at Middlebury I sent away for a free A&M sampler album entitled "Friends" that contained the Free cut "I'll Be Creepin'." You should check it out on the above-linked playlist, it'll get under your skin, especially when Paul croons "I'll hold you in my arms/Like nobody else," you'll swoon. Be sure to check out the rest of the Free tracks included, most were not hits, certainly not in the U.S., but hopefully they're the blueprint for a resurgent blues-rock sound in the United States, there's genius here.
And then...
We couldn't get enough of their love.
Mick Ralphs? He was overshadowed by Ian Hunter in Mott The Hoople, wasn't he just a sideman? Turns out, anything but. That track jumped out of radios across America in the summer of '74, just after I graduated from college, but my favorite cut from the initial LP is the title tune, and I love "Seagull" almost as much, Paul talks about both of them here, as well as having the band's name first.
And as big as that initial Bad Company album was, the second, STRAIGHT SHOOTER, was even BIGGER! This is the one containing the monster, "Feel Like Makin' Love."
"Baby, when I think about you
I think about love"
And then comes the staccato of that machine-gun guitar and...FEEL LIKE MAKIN' LOVE...FEEL LIKE MAKIN' LOVE... FEEL LIKE MAKIN' LOVE...FEEL LIKE MAKIN' LOVE TO YOU!
And the follow-up album, "Run With The Pack," opens with the anthem "Live For The Music," that's my theme song...
"Some people say I'm a-no good
Layin' in my bed all day
But when the nighttime comes I'm ready to rock
And roll my troubles away"
And right after that...
SIMPLE MAN!
"Freedom is the only thing that means a damn to me"
Ain't that the truth. I'm a square peg in a round hole, I don't fit in, the only place I feel comfortable is in the grasp of a record, which understands me. I hear "Simple Man" and I picture myself atop a mountain, viewing the vast landscape, feeling peaceful and powerful, this is the Bad Company song I sing to myself most.
And Bad Company went on to have more hits. Paul ultimately worked with Jimmy Page, Kenney Jones, Queen and so many more. And despite being ignored by the cognoscenti, he resides in the heart of every dyed-in-the-wool rock fan, talk about being unjustly excluded from the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, that ridiculous institution, Paul Rodgers and his bands are the EPITOME of rock and roll, and if you're a listener, you know it.
So sitting down with Paul was a great thrill. Because he's still got it, his intellect and his voice and...listen to him croon herein. Hell, the Bad Company show at the L.A. County Fair (https://bit.ly/2JK312Y) is the best one I've seen this decade, the one I enjoyed most, the one that got me out of my brain, that tore away my everyday problems, that had me thrusting my arm in the air believing that music was enough to base an existence upon, that I'd won at this game called life.
That's the power of music.
That's the power of rock and roll.
THAT'S THE POWER OF PAUL RODGERS! HE MAKES US FEEL FREE!
Listen to a snippet here: https://bit.ly/2sRvOw7
Listen to the podcast:
TuneIn: https://listen.tunein.com/paulrodgersletter
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/paul-rodgers/id1316200737?i=1000413543322&mt=2
Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/D2cp7cn7xpybcmf6wp7xsmn2zcq?t=Paul_Rodgers-The_Bob_Lefsetz_Podcast
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bob-lefsetz/paul-rodgers-27
Overcast: https://overcast.fm/+LBr8yOK_U
Acast: https://www.acast.com/theboblefsetzpodcast/paul-rodgers
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Monday 11 June 2018
Mailbag-Kissing Booth/Triple Crown & MORE! (Even CHIPS!)
Bob, Netflix distribution is only half the story. Here's the best part: the film is based on a story published on Toronto-based social writing/reading platform Wattpad by a then 15 year-old from Wales named Beth Reekles. Her story has tens of millions of reads on Wattpad. Meaning that Netflix already had a massive built-in audience for the film.
Best,
Jordan Jacobs
P.S. Let me know if you'd like an intro to Wattpad founder Allen Lau. They have a huge global YA lit platform that is unknown to most people outside that demographic.
______________________________________
Interesting note re: The Kissing Booth. Before the movie came out on Netflix a few weeks ago, its star, Joey King, had less than 1 million followers on Instagram. As of today she has 3.9M. That's impact!
Adam Graham
The Detroit News
______________________________________
Critics being out of touch with the audience (and audience not caring what critics say) is how you get to Trump after NYT misses it. That the great unwashed have spoken doesn't make it right
Michael Olsen
______________________________________
Much of the public has never cared about critics because many people don't read and are ill informed. That's why we got a reality show star for our president. If popularity was based on critics, Led Zeppelin and Journey never would have had a hit.
Steve Cabral
______________________________________
I have a 12 year old son and he loves "The Kissing Booth" and he keeps telling me about how the kids at school are obsessed with this movie. I watched a little bit of it. I am 51. Definitely not for me but hey I am not the intended audience.
Keep up the good work
Rich Siegmeister
______________________________________
I WAS there. I couldn't stop crying when Justified won. Strangers hugged and high-fived. I have NEVER experienced that level of excitement as part of a crowd. The energy and emotion as the horses came down the final stretch was truly BEYOND. The man next to me flew in from LA, so we traded stories of being LA natives and mourned Hollywood Park. (As for Belmont: they ran out of food, ran out of the signature drink, the "Belmont Jewel," and the lines for both betting and bathrooms were pretty unbearable (says this veteran of thousands of concerts and festivals.) Plus, the LIRR took our money, made us two hours late, and ultimately didn't even get us to Belmont. Thanks for the save, Uber.) But it didn't matter. That 2:28 seconds more than made up for all the hassles.
I was only 9 or 10 when Secretariat won, but he has been my champion ever since. My mother and I named our car "Secretariat." And I kept the Time Magazine "Super Horse" cover. Years later (a few years ago) while chatting with guitarist Tom Morello, he told me that he watched Secretariat race (on you tube, I'm presuming) for inspiration. Then he had his assistant call and ask if Tom could buy my mag cover! (which is somewhere in my storage unit.... I hope!)
And, an added note: Third Eye Blind played before (mini-set) and after (full set) the race. And they killed it. Singer Stephan Jenkins mentioned his pleasure and surprise re: the amount of people there and into them. (Yes, many admittedly drunk, and drunk on the thrill of the day.) But I saw a lot of people singing along to not-the-hits, and they got a genuine encore.
All that said: Justify is no Secretariat, no disrespect intended. Secretariat was a once-in-a-lifetime horse and athlete. The Elvis of his time, but with a happier ending.
Katherine Turman, music journalist and Producer, Nights with Alice Cooper
www.katherineturman.com
______________________________________
Take it from me, a long-time horse owner, etc., they DO know when they win…
Won't bore you with details, but they aren't robots…
Nick Ben-Mair
______________________________________
Subject: Re: Ye's Album Length
My teenaged boys listened to "ye" the day it dropped like we used to
listen to albums: in order, all the way through. Their comments were
that it's a "piece", almost like one 20-minute song with different
movements: "it dips in the middle but finishes strong"
My age 30+ music biz peeps said "No hits, meh".
My teens said "that misses the point, Kanye's got some things to say
and is going back to simpler roots on this one." Almost like they know
at any moment Another "album" could drop, or more collabs, with hits
galore. They immediately expressed interest in seeing him tour this
20 minute piece (and whatever else he feels like performing).
Generational thing.... Rap is stickier than ever for them! Inagaddadavita....
Michele Page
______________________________________
Subject: Re: Ye's Album Length
Date: June 5, 2018 at 6:09:04 AM PDT
Bob,
The first song on Pusha T's Daytona album is called, "If You Know You Know". He performed it on Jimmie Kimmel last week.
The main groove of that song is sampled from a record I co-wrote and recorded back in 1972 in Detroit called, "Twelve O'clock Satanial". We were inspired by music which had a more philosophical and universal message, verses just straight rock & roll... Progressive Rock. Bands like, King Crimson, Yes and Emerson-Lake-& Palmer. Because our song wasn't commercial, we never had expectations of our record selling very much. It was just the type of music we loved.
What's amazing is, 46 years later, producer Kanye West picks my song to sample and put on a hard-core rap album for millions to hear! (There's another song on the album where Kanye actually sampled 5 seconds of a song called, "Heart of the Sunrise" by Yes)
Goes to show, if you maintain your integrity and stay true to what you love, things will work out.
Rich Nesbit
______________________________________
From: Steve Androulakis
Subject: Re: WWDC
"So, the geeks get it. They go into tech to fulfill an inner dream, to play in that sandbox more than to get rich."
I work as a coder for Amazon Alexa and YES, that's it! For many of us it's less about the (great) money, and more about the great things you can do while sailing on the big battleship.
______________________________________
From: Eric Harle
Subject: Re: Moby's Book
Hi Bob,
there should have been a link to the playlist of all the music in the book at the back but not sure as it's not in all copies.
here is all the music mentioned in the book on this playlist
http://moby.la/companionplaylistMo
This microsite has a link to the cd compilation we also put together for the book release just in case
http://moby.com/book/
thanks
eric
______________________________________
From: ZOX
Subject: Re: Speaking of Podcasts...
great vid. one correction re: aggregators: CDbaby takes 9% in perpetuity of that 65-70% (they don't even mention it on their site!), vs. Tunecore that just has a one-time fee and lets you keep 100% of that 65%-70%. our band's stuff is distro'ed via CDbaby, which i regret, because we lose that 9% each year. But can't switch to Tunecore because then we'd be pulled from all the Spotify playlists when we switch aggregators….
______________________________________
From: Michael Lee Wolfe
Subject: Re: Run Away From The Mainstream
Hi Bob,
It's about time you wrote a piece like this! The rest of the iceberg! I find you first and foremost entertaining and often informative. And I am diggin' the podcasts. Good work.
Now. As for the artists like myself who have built a reasonable career in obscurity I rather doubt your words will add much wisdom. Those who have been experimenting, recording and gigging away for years already know about being unclassifiable. As the art critic Robert Hughes once said, (more or less) "... an artist with something to say will find a way to survive like weeds in the cracks of the sidewalk." We are the rest of the iceberg. We've been singing that song since long before Woody Guthrie wrote "Jesus Christ"!
All the best. Feats Don't Fail Me Now!
Michael Lee Wolfe
Oviedo, Spain
______________________________________
Subject: Re: Howard Stern On Letterman On Netflix
Bob - I love your examples and your points but the ready example that existed before social media and closed clubs like Netflix is Black or Latino entertainment and culture. In social media there is "black" twitter— where trending topics are often and mostly very different than the mainstream, even on Netflix there are shows that blacks love and watch that get no traction with the mainstream press or viewer. There are stories in Latino press about ICE and other government issues that don't make the broader media. Tyler Perry literally built an empire selling media to underserved communities. I'm not a huge fan of Mr Perry but I recognize that his success is speaking to an audience that advertisers don't covet but whose attention he commands.
Does the mainstream media laud the Latin acts that sell out MSG multiple nights like they do the YouTuber or the classic rock act who makes a token appearance at some outdoor shed.
Artist stay in their lane, but our traditional media companies sells viewers to advertisers and are hunting for a largely white, male rock demographic and are ignoring the people standing all around them (black women, Latinos) who are clamoring for more things they like. Oprah is huge but white males aren't watching her network or perhaps even understanding her allure.
I worked In record stores in the early wee (Spec's in South Florida) when we counted records for album charts. And then soundscan came in and showed us what the people really wanted. And ain't that what it's all about; to paraphrase the O'Jays song, "you got to give the people, give the people what they want!"
Cross cultural stars exist but when you Look at the audiences as a whole we were already in silos, sometimes to narrowly cast by the media purveyors but there remains some truth in those divisions.
Thanks
Trevor
______________________________________
From: Gary Gold
Subject: Re: Kenny Aronoff-This Week's Podcast
Thanks for the Kenny bit.
Kenny Aronoff and I go WAY back. We were in a few bands together… most notably the New York Jazz Ensemble, where we switched off vibes playing and drums. We played at Alices's at Avaloch a lot… which was where Alice's restaurant moved to after it got famous. It was across the street from the Music Inn and Tanglewood so whoever was playing those venues, would often come up and play with us. We both lived in the Berkshires but the rest of the band came up from NYC and included Kenny Kirkland (probably the greatest keyboardist there ever was, next to Herbie) and CJ McBee son of the great jazz bassist Cecil Mcbee (Trane and Miles).
Kenny was super generous musically and even more so with the "drum stuff". Still is to this day.
We did a lot of practicing in those days. I had the rare opportunity of being one of the few people to study with Tony Williams and Kenny studied with Tony's mentor, Alan Dawson. There are a lot of Dawson protege's out there and you can always tell who they are, basically because they are BADASS and SWING. There is a thing called the Rudimental Ritual and if you can play it you are already a master.
Anecdotally, I was producing a Smokey Robinson record not too long ago over at The Village in LA. There is a little secret doorway that connects Studio's A and B. Those by the way are two of the greatest rooms and consoles in all of music. Sly and the Family Stone to Fleetwood Mac and MANY classic records recorded there.
So I had played drums on this track and Smokey mentioned he wanted to give the song to Blake Shelton (you'd be amazed at all the music that Smokey is into). I had snuck thru the secret door to see what was up in A - and was surprised to find Kenny finishing a track for I don't know who. The engineer/producer had more mics up on Kenny's kit than I had ever seen on a drum kit and it sounded AMAZING. After hugs, jewish geography, who is where and shut-ups, I asked Kenny if he would be interested in replacing my tracks on this Smokey tune and of course, he was excited. I ran back and asked Smokey, explaining who Kenny was and saying that I thought his rock groove was bang-on for this song. Smokey green lit and the next morning BOOM two takes and we were done.
I love Kenny and his whole family. Good kind peeps.
And my deepest thanks you Bob. The truth you speak is always uplifting, and even more so in this post truth era.
Cheers,
Gary Gold
______________________________________
Subject: Re: Mailbag-Kenny Aronoff, Women In The Music Business And More!
Bob I know this is a little late but I had to testify.
Yes Kenny is brilliant and trained but he plays like he isn't trained when needed reckless and free.
Over the years I've jammed and partied with him all over the world and I can tell you this...I have never seen him in a bad mood HE IS ALWAYS HAPPY!
And another thing is this,
Kenny doesn't just play beats he creates hooks with the drums.
You mentioned the big drum solo in Jack And Diana and what about his snare roll breaks on Lonely Old Night....Those Drums parts are as important as the chorus!
Love ya Kenny!!
Stevie Salas
______________________________________
Subject: Re: Bernie Sanders On Bill Maher
Bob,
When people talk of Trump "playing to his base" most know what that means. How would the Democrats describe their base? Would they know how to "play to their base"? My guess is that a lot of the people who the Dems think of as their base are actually voting for Trump. Because those that the Dems think of as their base no longer believe a word tossed at them.
Bernie doesn't talk at those people. He doesn't just sympathize. He doesn't empathize ("I understand what you're going through") which the worst BS-radar in the world can detect. He takes an approach of "this is what needs to be done" and lets the listener decide if that will help them. And that's why they like respond.
Most Dems act like the Malcom McDowell character toward the end of "O Lucky Man" when he mixes with the homeless and cries "My Brothers. My Sisters." And they beat the shit out of him. The people who feel left out want somebody to bring them in, not somebody they think of as a rich fucker who will fly in (or more often over), drop a few heartfelt tears and then never look back.
Steve
______________________________________
Just demolished a bag of cape cod bbq chips
Awesome
910 calories
Reduced fat and sodium
Hard to stop eating and put Down bag
When I was a kid it was wise but now It's cape cod bbq or salt and vinegar! Goodnight and all the best! Regards,
Jac Berman
______________________________________
I think what this shows is that food is definitely more interesting to the masses than music is these days. If only there was as much passion for the arts as there is for the grocery store...
Daryl Williams
______________________________________
"Our #1 Best Seller! Chocolate Covered Potato Chips"
Photo from Garlord, Mich..
Metro Detroit is the region that consumes the most potato chips, has been since the '70s, according to social scientists..
Marshall Crenshaw
______________________________________
It's late but did no one mention Zapp's potato chips from "the little chippery in Gramercy, LA"?
What I thought as a child was the original one and only kettle fried chip, fried specifically in peanut oil. That guy originally expanded his brand in part by giving his Zapp's chips away for free on the side of the interstate (I-10 in Baton Rouge). My dad brought them home raving about them. Good stuff.
Michael Treadway
______________________________________
http://www.middleswarthchips.com
David Beard
______________________________________
+1 vote for Tim's Cascade Style
Interestingly, they are marketed as "Bob's Texas Style" in Texas. Same exact packaging as Tim's, except for the replacement of the name and replacing the image of the state of Washington with the state of Texas. Their jalapeno chips are easily the best ever made.
Steve Boom
______________________________________
omg yes - we must move on to Linden's Chocolate Chip cookies. Nothing else comes close.
Deb Wilker
______________________________________
Here in the great northwest, it was Nally's potato chips.
GS
Gregg M. Stieber, CPA
______________________________________
Wise potato chips (when the large bag was 25 cents) doused in Franks hot sauce.
Oh, and I was obsessed with the onion / garlic.
That's all I got -
Rhonda Cowan
______________________________________
Ok. No mentions so far of Better Made Rainbow Chips (from Detroit!) which are ALL brown and with green spots on them. Better Made finally got smart and started delivering the spotted and dark chips that we all loved in one big bag. With some French onion dip (Dean's or Yoder's), there's no better snack in the WORLD. All their chip products are delicious (Vidalia onion and the vinegar and salt are my other faves), but the Rainbows are the only bagful of joy for we dark chip lovers that I know of anywhere.
Also, honorable mention to Paramount Potato Chips out of Flint, Michigan (my friend Mark Farner's home town), with possibly the cheesiest and most memorable jingle from my childhood. Long gone, unfortunately, but they had Slim Chiply as their spokesman....the "flavor deputy protecting crispness in every sack"....a stop-motion potato chip, complete with cowboy hat and a badge. Beats the Wise owl by a country mile.
Just sayin'.
Cheers,
Pete Kehoe
______________________________________
If you haven't tasted Jays Potato Chips from Chicago you haven't had the best. Came in big bags or even larger cans than Charles Chips. In Cub Scouts (70 years ago) we painted the Jays cans and used them for waste baskets at home. Those were the days my friend........
Jack Feldman
______________________________________
Thanks Bob for giving us a few blissful moments thinking about potato chips instead of the real world. Trying not to order Charles chips!!
Lisa Namerow
______________________________________
Utz Carolina Style BBQ. They're hard to find in stores (you can easily order online) - out of this world good.
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4080718
Mike Fiebach
Founder & CEO
Fame House
______________________________________
I have to back Clint Weiler's note. I grew up in the potato chip belt (SE PA) and red bag Good's chips are superior to Wise, Utz, Cape Cod and every other contender that I've tried out there.
Vito Ellison
______________________________________
Cape Cod robust russet (when they're available)
Wasn't Wise a primarily east coast brand?
Mitchell Manasse
______________________________________
In the late 80's I left NYC to head up west coast marketing for SMG. The only kickback I ever took, was a monthly delivery of Charles Chips...My boss back in Philadelphia knew of this kickback, but being born and raised in Pennsylvania he understood!
Whitten Pell
______________________________________
Granny Goose?
Bob Jameson
______________________________________
This was fun. My Mom's family was from Allentown (name of the best Billy Joel song, even though you know it was supposed to be "Levittown" but that didn't sing as well), so we were Charles' Chips fans.
What about ice cream? I'm still angry that the best mainstream ice cream brand, dating back 150 years, Breyer's, made with no additives, thickeners, stabilizers, etc, etc until 2003 when parent company Unilever started sneaking in carob bean gum and now the stuff is just junk (thank god for Pa's Turkey Hill All Natural carries on the old Breyer's tradition). You're out there in Cali - are you on this (totally justified) McConnell's of Santa Barbara Ice Cream kick? $9.99 per pint, I know, but its "insanely great". Thoughts?
Rob Wolfson
______________________________________
I usually get something from your newsletter and this was no different.
I love ripple chips but the suggestion to try the kettle cooked because they're strong...never thought like that!
We grew up with sex, drugs and rock and toll.....don't forget the chips...haha
Thanks again
All my best
Jeff Harris
______________________________________
You really struck a chord writing about potato chips. Finally a subject folks can rally around and smile despite disagreement on whats best!
I am with you. I grew up in Riverside Conn and Wise were the only chips I knew ( and loved ).
My father was transferred to Atlanta from New York in 1964 and suddenly I found myself an impressionable stubborn teenager in the deep South. Wise chips were nowhere to be found and Lays tasted aweful to me. Many things were strange to me - soft drinks instead of soda, boys wore saddle oxfords (what to me were girl's shoes) nicknamed ra ra's, and everyone said yes sir and yes ma'am to adults. There was a silver lining - my parents bought me and my siblings tickets to see the Beatles at Atlanta stadium which lead to my lifelong involvrment in the music business.
My family moved back to the New York area during my college years. Wise chips were back in my life with beer !
Russell Carter
______________________________________
Sorry I missed the chip fun - on Dead & Co tour.
I grew up in Lancaster PA (near Clair Brothers) and found myself back here after being a happy LA, CA resident.
There was only ONE Charles Chip factory and it was in Lancaster. Charles Chips was on the way to school, we were tortured by the heavenly aroma every time we passed the factory on Marietta Ave. We would have potato battles there amongst the tractor trailer loads. (if you got hit those potatoes hurt and caused bruises) There was literally piles of chip cans ready for washing and re-use stacked 20 tall. Nothing beats a Charles Chip.
Today that land has a cluster of family homes on it.
David B. Cooper
______________________________________
I've gained 5 pounds since your first Potato Chip post!
Loren Parkins
______________________________________
Okay, Bob. I had to throw my memories at-cha…in the mid 50's in Western PA and NE Ohio where the chips of the day were NUM NUM POTATO CHIPS distributed by my first show biz manager, Jack Monaco of Farrell, PA. Me and my group, The Velvets, rehearsed in the NUM NUM warehouse, a large one room un-everything storage space that we got at no cost and were allowed a large bag of NUM NUM chips…ta die for. Then we'd go to the record hops in our mint green jackets and do back-up-vocals for the headliners! Jerry Sharell
______________________________________
If you want a cynical evaluation of the nerve you hit here with potato chips it's nos surprise to me- it's because the entire entertainment industry is ADHD and is addicted to white flour-based snacks like any child who has ADHD. You will get the same enthusiastic reply if you discuss doughnuts, cookies, cakes or pretzels. They buzz us- a cheap and readily available "high". I love potato chips, am addicted to them and eat a bag everyday. And what ever happened to Wise's Cottage fries? Boy i miss them.
Best,
Hillel Wachs
______________________________________
I miss a friggin week of the Lefsetz letter and I come back to POTATO CHIPS?
We are truly all searching for a connection… any kind of connection, aren't we.
Eric Chaikin
______________________________________
I am a doctor... and I played one on the radio. Trust me when I tell you there is no narrative in which potato chips are even remotely healthy. The science is there. As a very occasional guilty pleasure there is probably little risk. But people who consume junk foods like potato chips and drink diet soft drinks are contributing to their eventual ill health.
Dr. Jack M. Casey, G.M.
WERS-FM, Boston, MA
______________________________________
Thanks for those Utz write-ins!!
Ted Utz
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Best,
Jordan Jacobs
P.S. Let me know if you'd like an intro to Wattpad founder Allen Lau. They have a huge global YA lit platform that is unknown to most people outside that demographic.
______________________________________
Interesting note re: The Kissing Booth. Before the movie came out on Netflix a few weeks ago, its star, Joey King, had less than 1 million followers on Instagram. As of today she has 3.9M. That's impact!
Adam Graham
The Detroit News
______________________________________
Critics being out of touch with the audience (and audience not caring what critics say) is how you get to Trump after NYT misses it. That the great unwashed have spoken doesn't make it right
Michael Olsen
______________________________________
Much of the public has never cared about critics because many people don't read and are ill informed. That's why we got a reality show star for our president. If popularity was based on critics, Led Zeppelin and Journey never would have had a hit.
Steve Cabral
______________________________________
I have a 12 year old son and he loves "The Kissing Booth" and he keeps telling me about how the kids at school are obsessed with this movie. I watched a little bit of it. I am 51. Definitely not for me but hey I am not the intended audience.
Keep up the good work
Rich Siegmeister
______________________________________
I WAS there. I couldn't stop crying when Justified won. Strangers hugged and high-fived. I have NEVER experienced that level of excitement as part of a crowd. The energy and emotion as the horses came down the final stretch was truly BEYOND. The man next to me flew in from LA, so we traded stories of being LA natives and mourned Hollywood Park. (As for Belmont: they ran out of food, ran out of the signature drink, the "Belmont Jewel," and the lines for both betting and bathrooms were pretty unbearable (says this veteran of thousands of concerts and festivals.) Plus, the LIRR took our money, made us two hours late, and ultimately didn't even get us to Belmont. Thanks for the save, Uber.) But it didn't matter. That 2:28 seconds more than made up for all the hassles.
I was only 9 or 10 when Secretariat won, but he has been my champion ever since. My mother and I named our car "Secretariat." And I kept the Time Magazine "Super Horse" cover. Years later (a few years ago) while chatting with guitarist Tom Morello, he told me that he watched Secretariat race (on you tube, I'm presuming) for inspiration. Then he had his assistant call and ask if Tom could buy my mag cover! (which is somewhere in my storage unit.... I hope!)
And, an added note: Third Eye Blind played before (mini-set) and after (full set) the race. And they killed it. Singer Stephan Jenkins mentioned his pleasure and surprise re: the amount of people there and into them. (Yes, many admittedly drunk, and drunk on the thrill of the day.) But I saw a lot of people singing along to not-the-hits, and they got a genuine encore.
All that said: Justify is no Secretariat, no disrespect intended. Secretariat was a once-in-a-lifetime horse and athlete. The Elvis of his time, but with a happier ending.
Katherine Turman, music journalist and Producer, Nights with Alice Cooper
www.katherineturman.com
______________________________________
Take it from me, a long-time horse owner, etc., they DO know when they win…
Won't bore you with details, but they aren't robots…
Nick Ben-Mair
______________________________________
Subject: Re: Ye's Album Length
My teenaged boys listened to "ye" the day it dropped like we used to
listen to albums: in order, all the way through. Their comments were
that it's a "piece", almost like one 20-minute song with different
movements: "it dips in the middle but finishes strong"
My age 30+ music biz peeps said "No hits, meh".
My teens said "that misses the point, Kanye's got some things to say
and is going back to simpler roots on this one." Almost like they know
at any moment Another "album" could drop, or more collabs, with hits
galore. They immediately expressed interest in seeing him tour this
20 minute piece (and whatever else he feels like performing).
Generational thing.... Rap is stickier than ever for them! Inagaddadavita....
Michele Page
______________________________________
Subject: Re: Ye's Album Length
Date: June 5, 2018 at 6:09:04 AM PDT
Bob,
The first song on Pusha T's Daytona album is called, "If You Know You Know". He performed it on Jimmie Kimmel last week.
The main groove of that song is sampled from a record I co-wrote and recorded back in 1972 in Detroit called, "Twelve O'clock Satanial". We were inspired by music which had a more philosophical and universal message, verses just straight rock & roll... Progressive Rock. Bands like, King Crimson, Yes and Emerson-Lake-& Palmer. Because our song wasn't commercial, we never had expectations of our record selling very much. It was just the type of music we loved.
What's amazing is, 46 years later, producer Kanye West picks my song to sample and put on a hard-core rap album for millions to hear! (There's another song on the album where Kanye actually sampled 5 seconds of a song called, "Heart of the Sunrise" by Yes)
Goes to show, if you maintain your integrity and stay true to what you love, things will work out.
Rich Nesbit
______________________________________
From: Steve Androulakis
Subject: Re: WWDC
"So, the geeks get it. They go into tech to fulfill an inner dream, to play in that sandbox more than to get rich."
I work as a coder for Amazon Alexa and YES, that's it! For many of us it's less about the (great) money, and more about the great things you can do while sailing on the big battleship.
______________________________________
From: Eric Harle
Subject: Re: Moby's Book
Hi Bob,
there should have been a link to the playlist of all the music in the book at the back but not sure as it's not in all copies.
here is all the music mentioned in the book on this playlist
http://moby.la/companionplaylistMo
This microsite has a link to the cd compilation we also put together for the book release just in case
http://moby.com/book/
thanks
eric
______________________________________
From: ZOX
Subject: Re: Speaking of Podcasts...
great vid. one correction re: aggregators: CDbaby takes 9% in perpetuity of that 65-70% (they don't even mention it on their site!), vs. Tunecore that just has a one-time fee and lets you keep 100% of that 65%-70%. our band's stuff is distro'ed via CDbaby, which i regret, because we lose that 9% each year. But can't switch to Tunecore because then we'd be pulled from all the Spotify playlists when we switch aggregators….
______________________________________
From: Michael Lee Wolfe
Subject: Re: Run Away From The Mainstream
Hi Bob,
It's about time you wrote a piece like this! The rest of the iceberg! I find you first and foremost entertaining and often informative. And I am diggin' the podcasts. Good work.
Now. As for the artists like myself who have built a reasonable career in obscurity I rather doubt your words will add much wisdom. Those who have been experimenting, recording and gigging away for years already know about being unclassifiable. As the art critic Robert Hughes once said, (more or less) "... an artist with something to say will find a way to survive like weeds in the cracks of the sidewalk." We are the rest of the iceberg. We've been singing that song since long before Woody Guthrie wrote "Jesus Christ"!
All the best. Feats Don't Fail Me Now!
Michael Lee Wolfe
Oviedo, Spain
______________________________________
Subject: Re: Howard Stern On Letterman On Netflix
Bob - I love your examples and your points but the ready example that existed before social media and closed clubs like Netflix is Black or Latino entertainment and culture. In social media there is "black" twitter— where trending topics are often and mostly very different than the mainstream, even on Netflix there are shows that blacks love and watch that get no traction with the mainstream press or viewer. There are stories in Latino press about ICE and other government issues that don't make the broader media. Tyler Perry literally built an empire selling media to underserved communities. I'm not a huge fan of Mr Perry but I recognize that his success is speaking to an audience that advertisers don't covet but whose attention he commands.
Does the mainstream media laud the Latin acts that sell out MSG multiple nights like they do the YouTuber or the classic rock act who makes a token appearance at some outdoor shed.
Artist stay in their lane, but our traditional media companies sells viewers to advertisers and are hunting for a largely white, male rock demographic and are ignoring the people standing all around them (black women, Latinos) who are clamoring for more things they like. Oprah is huge but white males aren't watching her network or perhaps even understanding her allure.
I worked In record stores in the early wee (Spec's in South Florida) when we counted records for album charts. And then soundscan came in and showed us what the people really wanted. And ain't that what it's all about; to paraphrase the O'Jays song, "you got to give the people, give the people what they want!"
Cross cultural stars exist but when you Look at the audiences as a whole we were already in silos, sometimes to narrowly cast by the media purveyors but there remains some truth in those divisions.
Thanks
Trevor
______________________________________
From: Gary Gold
Subject: Re: Kenny Aronoff-This Week's Podcast
Thanks for the Kenny bit.
Kenny Aronoff and I go WAY back. We were in a few bands together… most notably the New York Jazz Ensemble, where we switched off vibes playing and drums. We played at Alices's at Avaloch a lot… which was where Alice's restaurant moved to after it got famous. It was across the street from the Music Inn and Tanglewood so whoever was playing those venues, would often come up and play with us. We both lived in the Berkshires but the rest of the band came up from NYC and included Kenny Kirkland (probably the greatest keyboardist there ever was, next to Herbie) and CJ McBee son of the great jazz bassist Cecil Mcbee (Trane and Miles).
Kenny was super generous musically and even more so with the "drum stuff". Still is to this day.
We did a lot of practicing in those days. I had the rare opportunity of being one of the few people to study with Tony Williams and Kenny studied with Tony's mentor, Alan Dawson. There are a lot of Dawson protege's out there and you can always tell who they are, basically because they are BADASS and SWING. There is a thing called the Rudimental Ritual and if you can play it you are already a master.
Anecdotally, I was producing a Smokey Robinson record not too long ago over at The Village in LA. There is a little secret doorway that connects Studio's A and B. Those by the way are two of the greatest rooms and consoles in all of music. Sly and the Family Stone to Fleetwood Mac and MANY classic records recorded there.
So I had played drums on this track and Smokey mentioned he wanted to give the song to Blake Shelton (you'd be amazed at all the music that Smokey is into). I had snuck thru the secret door to see what was up in A - and was surprised to find Kenny finishing a track for I don't know who. The engineer/producer had more mics up on Kenny's kit than I had ever seen on a drum kit and it sounded AMAZING. After hugs, jewish geography, who is where and shut-ups, I asked Kenny if he would be interested in replacing my tracks on this Smokey tune and of course, he was excited. I ran back and asked Smokey, explaining who Kenny was and saying that I thought his rock groove was bang-on for this song. Smokey green lit and the next morning BOOM two takes and we were done.
I love Kenny and his whole family. Good kind peeps.
And my deepest thanks you Bob. The truth you speak is always uplifting, and even more so in this post truth era.
Cheers,
Gary Gold
______________________________________
Subject: Re: Mailbag-Kenny Aronoff, Women In The Music Business And More!
Bob I know this is a little late but I had to testify.
Yes Kenny is brilliant and trained but he plays like he isn't trained when needed reckless and free.
Over the years I've jammed and partied with him all over the world and I can tell you this...I have never seen him in a bad mood HE IS ALWAYS HAPPY!
And another thing is this,
Kenny doesn't just play beats he creates hooks with the drums.
You mentioned the big drum solo in Jack And Diana and what about his snare roll breaks on Lonely Old Night....Those Drums parts are as important as the chorus!
Love ya Kenny!!
Stevie Salas
______________________________________
Subject: Re: Bernie Sanders On Bill Maher
Bob,
When people talk of Trump "playing to his base" most know what that means. How would the Democrats describe their base? Would they know how to "play to their base"? My guess is that a lot of the people who the Dems think of as their base are actually voting for Trump. Because those that the Dems think of as their base no longer believe a word tossed at them.
Bernie doesn't talk at those people. He doesn't just sympathize. He doesn't empathize ("I understand what you're going through") which the worst BS-radar in the world can detect. He takes an approach of "this is what needs to be done" and lets the listener decide if that will help them. And that's why they like respond.
Most Dems act like the Malcom McDowell character toward the end of "O Lucky Man" when he mixes with the homeless and cries "My Brothers. My Sisters." And they beat the shit out of him. The people who feel left out want somebody to bring them in, not somebody they think of as a rich fucker who will fly in (or more often over), drop a few heartfelt tears and then never look back.
Steve
______________________________________
Just demolished a bag of cape cod bbq chips
Awesome
910 calories
Reduced fat and sodium
Hard to stop eating and put Down bag
When I was a kid it was wise but now It's cape cod bbq or salt and vinegar! Goodnight and all the best! Regards,
Jac Berman
______________________________________
I think what this shows is that food is definitely more interesting to the masses than music is these days. If only there was as much passion for the arts as there is for the grocery store...
Daryl Williams
______________________________________
"Our #1 Best Seller! Chocolate Covered Potato Chips"
Photo from Garlord, Mich..
Metro Detroit is the region that consumes the most potato chips, has been since the '70s, according to social scientists..
Marshall Crenshaw
______________________________________
It's late but did no one mention Zapp's potato chips from "the little chippery in Gramercy, LA"?
What I thought as a child was the original one and only kettle fried chip, fried specifically in peanut oil. That guy originally expanded his brand in part by giving his Zapp's chips away for free on the side of the interstate (I-10 in Baton Rouge). My dad brought them home raving about them. Good stuff.
Michael Treadway
______________________________________
http://www.middleswarthchips.com
David Beard
______________________________________
+1 vote for Tim's Cascade Style
Interestingly, they are marketed as "Bob's Texas Style" in Texas. Same exact packaging as Tim's, except for the replacement of the name and replacing the image of the state of Washington with the state of Texas. Their jalapeno chips are easily the best ever made.
Steve Boom
______________________________________
omg yes - we must move on to Linden's Chocolate Chip cookies. Nothing else comes close.
Deb Wilker
______________________________________
Here in the great northwest, it was Nally's potato chips.
GS
Gregg M. Stieber, CPA
______________________________________
Wise potato chips (when the large bag was 25 cents) doused in Franks hot sauce.
Oh, and I was obsessed with the onion / garlic.
That's all I got -
Rhonda Cowan
______________________________________
Ok. No mentions so far of Better Made Rainbow Chips (from Detroit!) which are ALL brown and with green spots on them. Better Made finally got smart and started delivering the spotted and dark chips that we all loved in one big bag. With some French onion dip (Dean's or Yoder's), there's no better snack in the WORLD. All their chip products are delicious (Vidalia onion and the vinegar and salt are my other faves), but the Rainbows are the only bagful of joy for we dark chip lovers that I know of anywhere.
Also, honorable mention to Paramount Potato Chips out of Flint, Michigan (my friend Mark Farner's home town), with possibly the cheesiest and most memorable jingle from my childhood. Long gone, unfortunately, but they had Slim Chiply as their spokesman....the "flavor deputy protecting crispness in every sack"....a stop-motion potato chip, complete with cowboy hat and a badge. Beats the Wise owl by a country mile.
Just sayin'.
Cheers,
Pete Kehoe
______________________________________
If you haven't tasted Jays Potato Chips from Chicago you haven't had the best. Came in big bags or even larger cans than Charles Chips. In Cub Scouts (70 years ago) we painted the Jays cans and used them for waste baskets at home. Those were the days my friend........
Jack Feldman
______________________________________
Thanks Bob for giving us a few blissful moments thinking about potato chips instead of the real world. Trying not to order Charles chips!!
Lisa Namerow
______________________________________
Utz Carolina Style BBQ. They're hard to find in stores (you can easily order online) - out of this world good.
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4080718
Mike Fiebach
Founder & CEO
Fame House
______________________________________
I have to back Clint Weiler's note. I grew up in the potato chip belt (SE PA) and red bag Good's chips are superior to Wise, Utz, Cape Cod and every other contender that I've tried out there.
Vito Ellison
______________________________________
Cape Cod robust russet (when they're available)
Wasn't Wise a primarily east coast brand?
Mitchell Manasse
______________________________________
In the late 80's I left NYC to head up west coast marketing for SMG. The only kickback I ever took, was a monthly delivery of Charles Chips...My boss back in Philadelphia knew of this kickback, but being born and raised in Pennsylvania he understood!
Whitten Pell
______________________________________
Granny Goose?
Bob Jameson
______________________________________
This was fun. My Mom's family was from Allentown (name of the best Billy Joel song, even though you know it was supposed to be "Levittown" but that didn't sing as well), so we were Charles' Chips fans.
What about ice cream? I'm still angry that the best mainstream ice cream brand, dating back 150 years, Breyer's, made with no additives, thickeners, stabilizers, etc, etc until 2003 when parent company Unilever started sneaking in carob bean gum and now the stuff is just junk (thank god for Pa's Turkey Hill All Natural carries on the old Breyer's tradition). You're out there in Cali - are you on this (totally justified) McConnell's of Santa Barbara Ice Cream kick? $9.99 per pint, I know, but its "insanely great". Thoughts?
Rob Wolfson
______________________________________
I usually get something from your newsletter and this was no different.
I love ripple chips but the suggestion to try the kettle cooked because they're strong...never thought like that!
We grew up with sex, drugs and rock and toll.....don't forget the chips...haha
Thanks again
All my best
Jeff Harris
______________________________________
You really struck a chord writing about potato chips. Finally a subject folks can rally around and smile despite disagreement on whats best!
I am with you. I grew up in Riverside Conn and Wise were the only chips I knew ( and loved ).
My father was transferred to Atlanta from New York in 1964 and suddenly I found myself an impressionable stubborn teenager in the deep South. Wise chips were nowhere to be found and Lays tasted aweful to me. Many things were strange to me - soft drinks instead of soda, boys wore saddle oxfords (what to me were girl's shoes) nicknamed ra ra's, and everyone said yes sir and yes ma'am to adults. There was a silver lining - my parents bought me and my siblings tickets to see the Beatles at Atlanta stadium which lead to my lifelong involvrment in the music business.
My family moved back to the New York area during my college years. Wise chips were back in my life with beer !
Russell Carter
______________________________________
Sorry I missed the chip fun - on Dead & Co tour.
I grew up in Lancaster PA (near Clair Brothers) and found myself back here after being a happy LA, CA resident.
There was only ONE Charles Chip factory and it was in Lancaster. Charles Chips was on the way to school, we were tortured by the heavenly aroma every time we passed the factory on Marietta Ave. We would have potato battles there amongst the tractor trailer loads. (if you got hit those potatoes hurt and caused bruises) There was literally piles of chip cans ready for washing and re-use stacked 20 tall. Nothing beats a Charles Chip.
Today that land has a cluster of family homes on it.
David B. Cooper
______________________________________
I've gained 5 pounds since your first Potato Chip post!
Loren Parkins
______________________________________
Okay, Bob. I had to throw my memories at-cha…in the mid 50's in Western PA and NE Ohio where the chips of the day were NUM NUM POTATO CHIPS distributed by my first show biz manager, Jack Monaco of Farrell, PA. Me and my group, The Velvets, rehearsed in the NUM NUM warehouse, a large one room un-everything storage space that we got at no cost and were allowed a large bag of NUM NUM chips…ta die for. Then we'd go to the record hops in our mint green jackets and do back-up-vocals for the headliners! Jerry Sharell
______________________________________
If you want a cynical evaluation of the nerve you hit here with potato chips it's nos surprise to me- it's because the entire entertainment industry is ADHD and is addicted to white flour-based snacks like any child who has ADHD. You will get the same enthusiastic reply if you discuss doughnuts, cookies, cakes or pretzels. They buzz us- a cheap and readily available "high". I love potato chips, am addicted to them and eat a bag everyday. And what ever happened to Wise's Cottage fries? Boy i miss them.
Best,
Hillel Wachs
______________________________________
I miss a friggin week of the Lefsetz letter and I come back to POTATO CHIPS?
We are truly all searching for a connection… any kind of connection, aren't we.
Eric Chaikin
______________________________________
I am a doctor... and I played one on the radio. Trust me when I tell you there is no narrative in which potato chips are even remotely healthy. The science is there. As a very occasional guilty pleasure there is probably little risk. But people who consume junk foods like potato chips and drink diet soft drinks are contributing to their eventual ill health.
Dr. Jack M. Casey, G.M.
WERS-FM, Boston, MA
______________________________________
Thanks for those Utz write-ins!!
Ted Utz
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The Kissing Booth
Used to be it was records that percolated in the marketplace and steadily grew off the radar, now it's television shows, specifically "The Kissing Booth" on Netflix. Heard of it? I HADN'T!!
I get this e-mail from this Wall Street analyst Rich Greenfield, he's younger than his picture depicts, and today he's going on about this Netflix movie "The Kissing Booth," which is #9 most popular on IMDB: https://imdb.to/2HEUz3w
Distribution is king. The platform is the medium. Netflix serves up what it believes you'll like based on viewing habits and then...
You spread the word.
We haven't seen anything like this since the late sixties, when the youthquake diverged from the mainstream and ultimately took over the culture. But then these youth grew up, the so-called baby boomers, and ruled, and now they think they know everything, BUT THEY DON'T!
I read three newspapers cover to cover every day. Never mind checking their apps multiple times a day. And I've never ever heard of this movie.
But I do have to read every Sunday about weekend theatrical grosses, WHICH ARE COMPLETELY OUT OF TOUCH! Turns out some of the potential audience is going out, but most are staying home in front of the flat screen, watching flicks that totally elude the mainstream.
Also on IMDB "Kissing Booth" star Jacob Elordi is the #3 most popular actor/actress and Joey King is #7, and I've never heard of them! (https://imdb.to/2HFNAHm)
Furthermore, with 125 million subscribers, and about 300 million viewers, some Netflix shows have reached 40-50 million viewers. This dwarfs theatrical, this even dwarfs cable. What is going on here?
First and foremost, Netflix allows you to share your account. It's the opposite of the music business with CD copy protection and demonization of listeners.
And despite Spotify customizing playlists, nothing seems to organically grow from them. What I mean is we all have different Discover Weekly playlists, so nothing blossoms. Although Spotify does track skip and save rates and if you gain traction you can move up the playlist hierarchy and become a hit, but it seems like it's all hip-hop, nothing left field has broken through, why, is there just too much product? Or must Spotify dig in deeper and make tracks from other genres hits?
But one thing we know for sure is the public has detached from the gatekeepers. People are not doing what we expect them to, never mind what we tell them to do.
We haven't seen this paradigm since the '80s, when "Eddie and the Cruisers" was on HBO and the soundtrack went nuclear. Turns out more people saw it on cable than ever went to the theatre.
Now more people are seeing it on Netflix.
And Netflix is based on data. Not only whether you start a series, but whether you stop it, and when. Does HBO have any of this data?
No!
P.S. "The Kissing Booth" has a lousy critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes, of 17%%%! Although the audience score is 72%. Proving that critics are out of touch with the audience, the public doesn't care about critics and online ratings are less important than buzz. The Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes is higher, 72%. You might ask why not in the nineties, if the movie is so popular. That's because it's a phenomenon and everybody's aware of it, watches it and wants to weigh in. Not everyone agrees, but everyone in the demo is watching!
P.P.S. Are you about the money or the cultural impact? If it's about the latter, you're better off on television, most specifically Netflix. The small screen is no longer a second-class citizen, that's the BIG SCREEN! And never forget, it's about audience, the more people you reach, the bigger and more lucrative your career is in the long run.
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I get this e-mail from this Wall Street analyst Rich Greenfield, he's younger than his picture depicts, and today he's going on about this Netflix movie "The Kissing Booth," which is #9 most popular on IMDB: https://imdb.to/2HEUz3w
Distribution is king. The platform is the medium. Netflix serves up what it believes you'll like based on viewing habits and then...
You spread the word.
We haven't seen anything like this since the late sixties, when the youthquake diverged from the mainstream and ultimately took over the culture. But then these youth grew up, the so-called baby boomers, and ruled, and now they think they know everything, BUT THEY DON'T!
I read three newspapers cover to cover every day. Never mind checking their apps multiple times a day. And I've never ever heard of this movie.
But I do have to read every Sunday about weekend theatrical grosses, WHICH ARE COMPLETELY OUT OF TOUCH! Turns out some of the potential audience is going out, but most are staying home in front of the flat screen, watching flicks that totally elude the mainstream.
Also on IMDB "Kissing Booth" star Jacob Elordi is the #3 most popular actor/actress and Joey King is #7, and I've never heard of them! (https://imdb.to/2HFNAHm)
Furthermore, with 125 million subscribers, and about 300 million viewers, some Netflix shows have reached 40-50 million viewers. This dwarfs theatrical, this even dwarfs cable. What is going on here?
First and foremost, Netflix allows you to share your account. It's the opposite of the music business with CD copy protection and demonization of listeners.
And despite Spotify customizing playlists, nothing seems to organically grow from them. What I mean is we all have different Discover Weekly playlists, so nothing blossoms. Although Spotify does track skip and save rates and if you gain traction you can move up the playlist hierarchy and become a hit, but it seems like it's all hip-hop, nothing left field has broken through, why, is there just too much product? Or must Spotify dig in deeper and make tracks from other genres hits?
But one thing we know for sure is the public has detached from the gatekeepers. People are not doing what we expect them to, never mind what we tell them to do.
We haven't seen this paradigm since the '80s, when "Eddie and the Cruisers" was on HBO and the soundtrack went nuclear. Turns out more people saw it on cable than ever went to the theatre.
Now more people are seeing it on Netflix.
And Netflix is based on data. Not only whether you start a series, but whether you stop it, and when. Does HBO have any of this data?
No!
P.S. "The Kissing Booth" has a lousy critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes, of 17%%%! Although the audience score is 72%. Proving that critics are out of touch with the audience, the public doesn't care about critics and online ratings are less important than buzz. The Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes is higher, 72%. You might ask why not in the nineties, if the movie is so popular. That's because it's a phenomenon and everybody's aware of it, watches it and wants to weigh in. Not everyone agrees, but everyone in the demo is watching!
P.P.S. Are you about the money or the cultural impact? If it's about the latter, you're better off on television, most specifically Netflix. The small screen is no longer a second-class citizen, that's the BIG SCREEN! And never forget, it's about audience, the more people you reach, the bigger and more lucrative your career is in the long run.
--
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--
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http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
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