It's the girls who know how to have a good time.
Boys think they control the show. That they are the inheritors of the scene. That they're what makes it all go forward. But women are the grease, without them the engine doesn't turn, and the engine was humming last night!
So it's a secret.
Welcome to 2018, where we're inundated with news but no one has their finger on the pulse. You'd think Drake is the biggest act in the world, but his shows are not selling out. Sure, there are multiples, sure, prices are high, but if you want a ticket you can get one.
But not for Harry Styles.
His original band, er, act, 1D, had few hits. So how did they sell out stadiums?
Via the internet, the word was spread. And there's no internet chart, nothing that will tell you what is bubbling up, what is hot, where it's all going. Oh, there are a lot of prognosticators, usually men, who tell you they have all the answers, but the truth is in today's world no one does, it's a veritable Tower of Babel, and if you weren't in attendance last night, you'd have no idea how big Harry Styles is...
AND HE'S GIGANTIC!
Niall Horan may have more radio hits, but Harry is selling something more than music - sexiness, attraction, connection. To be at a Styles show is to fantasize he's in love with you, and the amazing thing is it's plausible, because he may be peacocking, but he's somehow human, approachable, he's the man of your dreams.
And he's a rock star.
This is a rock show.
Forget all the words you hear about dancing and production. Except for the flashy lights, this could be the seventies. There's a four piece band backing Harry up. It's all about the music. And the music hearkens back to the past, do you remember MELODY?
It's like the evolution into hip-hop nation never happened.
And the little girls understand.
But they're not so little anymore. They've grown up. These are the same girls I saw at the Rose Bowl four years ago, but now they're women, they've stuck with Harry, they not only know the old One Direction numbers, but the new ones too, they were there for a celebration.
And Harry delivered it.
First and foremost, he acted the part. Just like Rod Stewart in the early days of the Faces. They were not begging for your attention, but turning on their magnetism and drawing you to them. And Harry had some of Rod's moves, with his hands up by his head, prancing, it was thrilling to watch.
And unlike Taylor Swift, he'd grown up.
The world is riddled with teen phenom has-beens. Who could never outgrow their puppy love days and replicate them through lines in their face and heart failure. But Harry decided he would evolve, in both music and performance, and that's a revelation. He didn't just remake 1D, he went off on his own journey, based on his own taste, AND HIS AUDIENCE FOLLOWED HIM!
It was 95% women. Sure, there were some men in attendance, but whole rows were filled with females. Standing through the entire show. Singing along at the top of their lungs. Sometimes screaming. Short ones, tall ones, big ones, small ones. Not a single one self-conscious, all letting their freak flags fly. With their heads in the sky, when they weren't pointing their phone cameras at Harry.
Who ran down the middle of the arena to a second stage in the middle of the show. And the fascinating thing was he played to those in the far-back seats, he faced them, not us up front. Playing acoustically. The modern world is all about faking it, about the trappings, but Harry could play and sing and the audience swooned.
There was an Ariana Grande cover.
But there was also a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain," a forty-year old nugget. These girls wouldn't know that, WOULD THEY?
OF COURSE THEY DID!
They're aware of their rock history, they know who Stevie Nicks is.
And as the show wore on, Harry shed his distance, talked more, engaged as a regular person without becoming schmaltzy. He made a phone call to patron's mother. He had the assembled multitude sing "Happy Birthday" to three in attendance, one of whom, the guitar player, is dating the drummer...
That was the revelation. I didn't notice the ponytail at first. But she was pounding like Mick Fleetwood, with flair. She was better than the boys with tattoos, she'd been recruited from Hot Chip.
And the keyboard player was also a woman.
And unlike the rock stars of yore, Harry Styles did not come off as sexist whatsoever, he seemed positively up with the times, while channeling the past.
But if you weren't there, you wouldn't know it.
Boys are smug, think they know better, sit in judgment.
It's the girls who can let loose. Especially when there are no boys around.
But boys wouldn't know how to act around these girls/women. Boys are afraid. They can't be free. They huddle amongst their peers and make snide comments, try to get up their gumption to speak, when all the girls want is a partner, not in crime, but in joy.
And you would have observed all this last night, if you'd been in the sold-out arena, where they even sold the seats behind the stage.
But you missed the memo.
As for those in attendance?
THEY NEEDED TO BE THERE!
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Saturday 14 July 2018
Thursday 12 July 2018
Strzok
Defiant. Knowledgeable. Unrehearsed. Intense.
THAT'S A ROCK STAR!
I don't care which side of the aisle you're on, whether you're a Trumpster or not, one thing is clear, you weren't gonna mess with Peter Strzok.
For far too long the government has been demonized. Taxes. Unions too. Inept people sucking at the tit of the American economy. The right has defined the debate, the left has remained silent, or played into the right's trap. To the point where people believe government doesn't work and all politicians are bad and the best idea is to put the government in a tub and drown it.
BUT I'M GLAD PETER STRZOK IS ON OUR SIDE!
This is the guy who captured the illegals. This is the guy who inspired "The Americans." This is a patriot. This is someone who takes his job seriously. While you're posting to Instagram, he's saving your ability to do so. WHAT AN INSPIRATION!
That's right, I grew up in the sixties, when government was good and you admired the G-Men, I remember buying a book about the Secret Service from the Arrow Book Club, we went to D.C. and marveled at the institutions.
And then Kennedy was shot and hope went out the window.
It hasn't been the same since.
A worthless war, with too many innocent people killed.
Then a decade of licking our wounds.
And then, starting in the eighties, an endless dash for cash, you've got to unfetter the people, RIGHT? You've got to take the chains off the corporations, the job-creators, RIGHT? And those job-creators who just got such a big tax cut, who got to repatriate their foreign assets, did they create jobs? NO! They just gave the money back to stockholders, leaving the little man out.
The little man has been left out for far too long.
We venerate the techies, who contributed to this problem. Strzok was concerned about Russian interference in the election, geniuses like Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg didn't think it existed.
Thank god there was someone looking at the problem.
We venerate entertainers, whose goal is to become a corporation themselves, when they're not sucking at the tit of companies, looking for sponsorships. It's hard to believe in someone who flies private and gets paid by the man, ever hear of a CHILLING EFFECT?
Probably not, you didn't go to law school, but you consider yourself an expert on the Constitution, after all, you hear about it on Fox News every night, the Founding Fathers, as if they could see the future when you couldn't even see streaming when it was already HERE!
So Strzok is OFFENDED! You're not gonna mess with him, he's gonna PUSH BACK! DAMN THE CONSEQUENCES!
Two can play this game, not only Trump and his cronies.
This guy dedicates his life to the system and now they want to crap all over him?
NO WAY!
This is inspirational, he's Tom Cruise in "Risky Business."
Like every antihero in the movie business. American heroes.
Only they weren't real, Strzok is.
And this game of GOTCHA!
He doesn't deny he texted, like Trump denying stuff he says which is actually on tape. Rather he owns it. Because he's HUMAN! We're all imperfect, you and me especially. Sure, we make mistakes, we are not choirboys, toeing the line 24/7. And don't we want these nuanced people? You've got to cross the line every once in a while to uncover where it's actually located.
So this guy dedicated his life to the government. He believes in his job. Even though he can't fly private and can't sit in the front row. Even though he's faceless. The work is enough. The penumbra is irrelevant.
But in America at large it's all about the penumbra, the trappings, fame, the machine needs it, ever more so in this constant news cycle.
But then someone with character and backbone stands up after being picked upon and we experience a reset, we're reminded what life is all about.
You've got to have principles.
You've got to believe in your work.
You've got to stand up for your beliefs, you can't just be an obsequious hanger-on.
You've got to have character.
That's right, America has a crisis of character.
And no one expected an FBI agent to point this out, re-center our attention, just by being himself.
We're used to overprepared weasels who sit there like we're all friends, like we all get along, when the truth is behind your back they'll stab you.
With Strzok what you see is what you get.
And not only is that a relief, THAT'S INSPIRING!
P.S. If you're one of the right wing idiots too dumb to cogitate, who responds with politics, you're missing the point. That's like saying you hate pop music so you can't see the excellence in Adele. An educated person can distance themselves, analyze a situation, acknowledge greatness. But when it's all about us versus them, it's no different from the Hatfields and the McCoys. You laughed at them, I hope you're laughing at yourself now.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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-TuneIn: http://tunein.com/lefsetz
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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THAT'S A ROCK STAR!
I don't care which side of the aisle you're on, whether you're a Trumpster or not, one thing is clear, you weren't gonna mess with Peter Strzok.
For far too long the government has been demonized. Taxes. Unions too. Inept people sucking at the tit of the American economy. The right has defined the debate, the left has remained silent, or played into the right's trap. To the point where people believe government doesn't work and all politicians are bad and the best idea is to put the government in a tub and drown it.
BUT I'M GLAD PETER STRZOK IS ON OUR SIDE!
This is the guy who captured the illegals. This is the guy who inspired "The Americans." This is a patriot. This is someone who takes his job seriously. While you're posting to Instagram, he's saving your ability to do so. WHAT AN INSPIRATION!
That's right, I grew up in the sixties, when government was good and you admired the G-Men, I remember buying a book about the Secret Service from the Arrow Book Club, we went to D.C. and marveled at the institutions.
And then Kennedy was shot and hope went out the window.
It hasn't been the same since.
A worthless war, with too many innocent people killed.
Then a decade of licking our wounds.
And then, starting in the eighties, an endless dash for cash, you've got to unfetter the people, RIGHT? You've got to take the chains off the corporations, the job-creators, RIGHT? And those job-creators who just got such a big tax cut, who got to repatriate their foreign assets, did they create jobs? NO! They just gave the money back to stockholders, leaving the little man out.
The little man has been left out for far too long.
We venerate the techies, who contributed to this problem. Strzok was concerned about Russian interference in the election, geniuses like Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg didn't think it existed.
Thank god there was someone looking at the problem.
We venerate entertainers, whose goal is to become a corporation themselves, when they're not sucking at the tit of companies, looking for sponsorships. It's hard to believe in someone who flies private and gets paid by the man, ever hear of a CHILLING EFFECT?
Probably not, you didn't go to law school, but you consider yourself an expert on the Constitution, after all, you hear about it on Fox News every night, the Founding Fathers, as if they could see the future when you couldn't even see streaming when it was already HERE!
So Strzok is OFFENDED! You're not gonna mess with him, he's gonna PUSH BACK! DAMN THE CONSEQUENCES!
Two can play this game, not only Trump and his cronies.
This guy dedicates his life to the system and now they want to crap all over him?
NO WAY!
This is inspirational, he's Tom Cruise in "Risky Business."
Like every antihero in the movie business. American heroes.
Only they weren't real, Strzok is.
And this game of GOTCHA!
He doesn't deny he texted, like Trump denying stuff he says which is actually on tape. Rather he owns it. Because he's HUMAN! We're all imperfect, you and me especially. Sure, we make mistakes, we are not choirboys, toeing the line 24/7. And don't we want these nuanced people? You've got to cross the line every once in a while to uncover where it's actually located.
So this guy dedicated his life to the government. He believes in his job. Even though he can't fly private and can't sit in the front row. Even though he's faceless. The work is enough. The penumbra is irrelevant.
But in America at large it's all about the penumbra, the trappings, fame, the machine needs it, ever more so in this constant news cycle.
But then someone with character and backbone stands up after being picked upon and we experience a reset, we're reminded what life is all about.
You've got to have principles.
You've got to believe in your work.
You've got to stand up for your beliefs, you can't just be an obsequious hanger-on.
You've got to have character.
That's right, America has a crisis of character.
And no one expected an FBI agent to point this out, re-center our attention, just by being himself.
We're used to overprepared weasels who sit there like we're all friends, like we all get along, when the truth is behind your back they'll stab you.
With Strzok what you see is what you get.
And not only is that a relief, THAT'S INSPIRING!
P.S. If you're one of the right wing idiots too dumb to cogitate, who responds with politics, you're missing the point. That's like saying you hate pop music so you can't see the excellence in Adele. An educated person can distance themselves, analyze a situation, acknowledge greatness. But when it's all about us versus them, it's no different from the Hatfields and the McCoys. You laughed at them, I hope you're laughing at yourself now.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-TuneIn: http://tunein.com/lefsetz
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
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Wednesday 11 July 2018
Article 13 (And The So-Called Value Gap)
I'm against it.
That's right, I could say I'm with the industry and have my inbox overflow, but that's not how I feel.
You can't hold back the future.
Enough with the "value gap." The truth is songs are streamed more on Spotify than they are on YouTube these days. Furthermore, YouTube gives people a chance to sample new wares. Sure, I like to see musicians make more money, but the truth is MOST MUSICIANS DON'T DESERVE TO BE PAID!
Now I've got your attention.
We've entered a new era. Where it's all about consumption. Anyone can make music, the cost is almost negligible, post it online and dun people to listen to it, BUT THEY DON'T!
Used to be you needed a major label. It was hard to get a deal, but if you did a good chunk of change was spent on recording and promoting you, you were known, you could have a career, even if you never had a hit, even if you never got on the radio. The label kept you in business and you had fans. Now...
No one cares about those acts. With so much music available, the middle artist is getting squeezed out. Not by Google, not by Spotify, but by the CONSUMER! The consumer doesn't want to listen to your music.
The classic rock acts, the ones bitching five years ago, all their hits now have triple-digit million streams on Spotify, never mind Apple. Sure, they may have crappy legacy deals, but this is not the fault of the streaming service, they're paying out in excess of fifty percent of the income, they're cutting a better deal than the physical retailers of yore, and the label has no manufacturing and shipping costs, never mind returns. Such that if you hit, you're making a fortune. Sure, it's a winner-take-all world, but that reflects the rest of society, with everything available, people race to quality. Google and Amazon, are you gonna compete with them? It's like being a nobody and bitching you're not making the coin of Drake.
And...
The dirty little secret is the industry wants to kill the nooks and crannies, the gems. Napster surfaced all these cuts we never even knew existed. They're on YouTube now. Hell, in a recent podcast Malcolm Gladwell tells you to go online and watch Sammy Davis, Jr.'s appearance at the 1972 GOP convention. If the music industry had its way, IT WOULD NOT BE AVAILABLE!
Or you could be the inane publishing industry, which killed e-books so it could maintain its old numbers. Amazon wanted to push the industry into the future, GROW the business, with all titles under ten bucks. But NO! (Where is John Belushi when you need him?) Now e-books cost as much as, and sometimes even MORE, than physical. The book industry thinks it won, but it lost. Come on, people don't want to feel ripped-off. This is how the music industry got into this situation to begin with, with one good track on a fifteen dollar CD. They thought they were ENTITLED to this money. Were buggy-whip manufacturers entitled?
And when rappers sampled old records rightsholders demanded such onerous payments that the hip-hop world gave up on sampling, and then switched to beats. Was this a good thing? I'm not sure, to a great degree melody is gone. I'm not saying that the creators shouldn't have been paid, but when you try to shut down the present, you oftentimes cripple the future.
That's right, it could get worse. Kinda like radio after Spitzer. Fearful of indie payments the major stations ONLY played major label material, neutering the decision. Put limits on outlets/distributors and ironically you're gonna cripple the business, not sustain it.
You thought the music industry would have learned its lesson.
Everybody bitching about streaming...IT'S SAVING THE BUSINESS! Revenues are UP! Maybe not for you, but...bitching about Daniel Ek... Once again, streaming is the greatest thing for labels, FEWER COSTS!
Don't hold back progress. Otherwise you're living in France. Trying to protect your culture against globalization, when the truth is globalization is saving music. Not only is Spotify from Sweden, suddenly your music can be heard around the world at almost no cost and all profit. Spotify doesn't say give us a discounted rate so we can start up in a new country, like the labels did with CDs, they're paying the freight.
As for musicians lining up behind this bill...
Show me a musician who's good with business, and I'll show you a lousy musician.
You've got to let the river flow.
Funny how music is all about innovation, but the business is about bringing people into the past.
They said the internet would kill the incentive to make music.
Now there's more music than ever before.
They said streaming would kill the business, now it's the savior.
Files were death, now people are lamenting they're fading.
I'm not saying to trust Google, but just that Google is subject to the same forces everybody else is, without a catalog to leverage its future. In tech, you're only as good as what you've done lately. So you've got to continue to improve.
Netflix decimated television. Therefore, Rupert Murdoch is selling Fox assets. Shari Redstone wants to merge CBS with Viacom and sell the whole thing. They want to get out before it all crashes.
Luckily, in music, we've figured it out, we're on an upswing. Not to mention the concert business which is burgeoning out of control. How are people going to hear all that music if not for the internet/streaming/YouTube, they certainly won't go to a show if they can't hear it. Today more acts can tour than ever before. Maybe not to millionaire status, but they can speak to their fans...
This is a money grab, pure and simple.
And YouTube is challenged on the handset anyway. It doesn't translate. It's a bad product. Which is why Spotify and Apple and Amazon are winning.
DON'T FIGHT THE LAST WAR!
Look ahead.
Things will work out, if you let them.
The future is coming, hold it back to your detriment.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-TuneIn: http://tunein.com/lefsetz
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
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That's right, I could say I'm with the industry and have my inbox overflow, but that's not how I feel.
You can't hold back the future.
Enough with the "value gap." The truth is songs are streamed more on Spotify than they are on YouTube these days. Furthermore, YouTube gives people a chance to sample new wares. Sure, I like to see musicians make more money, but the truth is MOST MUSICIANS DON'T DESERVE TO BE PAID!
Now I've got your attention.
We've entered a new era. Where it's all about consumption. Anyone can make music, the cost is almost negligible, post it online and dun people to listen to it, BUT THEY DON'T!
Used to be you needed a major label. It was hard to get a deal, but if you did a good chunk of change was spent on recording and promoting you, you were known, you could have a career, even if you never had a hit, even if you never got on the radio. The label kept you in business and you had fans. Now...
No one cares about those acts. With so much music available, the middle artist is getting squeezed out. Not by Google, not by Spotify, but by the CONSUMER! The consumer doesn't want to listen to your music.
The classic rock acts, the ones bitching five years ago, all their hits now have triple-digit million streams on Spotify, never mind Apple. Sure, they may have crappy legacy deals, but this is not the fault of the streaming service, they're paying out in excess of fifty percent of the income, they're cutting a better deal than the physical retailers of yore, and the label has no manufacturing and shipping costs, never mind returns. Such that if you hit, you're making a fortune. Sure, it's a winner-take-all world, but that reflects the rest of society, with everything available, people race to quality. Google and Amazon, are you gonna compete with them? It's like being a nobody and bitching you're not making the coin of Drake.
And...
The dirty little secret is the industry wants to kill the nooks and crannies, the gems. Napster surfaced all these cuts we never even knew existed. They're on YouTube now. Hell, in a recent podcast Malcolm Gladwell tells you to go online and watch Sammy Davis, Jr.'s appearance at the 1972 GOP convention. If the music industry had its way, IT WOULD NOT BE AVAILABLE!
Or you could be the inane publishing industry, which killed e-books so it could maintain its old numbers. Amazon wanted to push the industry into the future, GROW the business, with all titles under ten bucks. But NO! (Where is John Belushi when you need him?) Now e-books cost as much as, and sometimes even MORE, than physical. The book industry thinks it won, but it lost. Come on, people don't want to feel ripped-off. This is how the music industry got into this situation to begin with, with one good track on a fifteen dollar CD. They thought they were ENTITLED to this money. Were buggy-whip manufacturers entitled?
And when rappers sampled old records rightsholders demanded such onerous payments that the hip-hop world gave up on sampling, and then switched to beats. Was this a good thing? I'm not sure, to a great degree melody is gone. I'm not saying that the creators shouldn't have been paid, but when you try to shut down the present, you oftentimes cripple the future.
That's right, it could get worse. Kinda like radio after Spitzer. Fearful of indie payments the major stations ONLY played major label material, neutering the decision. Put limits on outlets/distributors and ironically you're gonna cripple the business, not sustain it.
You thought the music industry would have learned its lesson.
Everybody bitching about streaming...IT'S SAVING THE BUSINESS! Revenues are UP! Maybe not for you, but...bitching about Daniel Ek... Once again, streaming is the greatest thing for labels, FEWER COSTS!
Don't hold back progress. Otherwise you're living in France. Trying to protect your culture against globalization, when the truth is globalization is saving music. Not only is Spotify from Sweden, suddenly your music can be heard around the world at almost no cost and all profit. Spotify doesn't say give us a discounted rate so we can start up in a new country, like the labels did with CDs, they're paying the freight.
As for musicians lining up behind this bill...
Show me a musician who's good with business, and I'll show you a lousy musician.
You've got to let the river flow.
Funny how music is all about innovation, but the business is about bringing people into the past.
They said the internet would kill the incentive to make music.
Now there's more music than ever before.
They said streaming would kill the business, now it's the savior.
Files were death, now people are lamenting they're fading.
I'm not saying to trust Google, but just that Google is subject to the same forces everybody else is, without a catalog to leverage its future. In tech, you're only as good as what you've done lately. So you've got to continue to improve.
Netflix decimated television. Therefore, Rupert Murdoch is selling Fox assets. Shari Redstone wants to merge CBS with Viacom and sell the whole thing. They want to get out before it all crashes.
Luckily, in music, we've figured it out, we're on an upswing. Not to mention the concert business which is burgeoning out of control. How are people going to hear all that music if not for the internet/streaming/YouTube, they certainly won't go to a show if they can't hear it. Today more acts can tour than ever before. Maybe not to millionaire status, but they can speak to their fans...
This is a money grab, pure and simple.
And YouTube is challenged on the handset anyway. It doesn't translate. It's a bad product. Which is why Spotify and Apple and Amazon are winning.
DON'T FIGHT THE LAST WAR!
Look ahead.
Things will work out, if you let them.
The future is coming, hold it back to your detriment.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-TuneIn: http://tunein.com/lefsetz
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
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To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
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Tuesday 10 July 2018
Troy Carter-This Week's Podcast
Yes, Global Head of Creator Services for Spotify.
But first, he was nobody.
You've got to listen to his story. Like reviewing a movie, I don't want to give you the plot points, I want you to uncover them on your own.
From Philadelphia to Hollywood. With a lot of ups and downs in between. Making Gaga and losing Gaga. And so much more.
You're gonna dig this. You're gonna be wowed.
It's the last podcast from the Music Media Summit in Santa Barbara.
Listen to Troy Carter on...
TuneIn: https://listen.tunein.com/troycarterletter
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/troy-carter/id1316200737?i=1000415537851&mt=2
Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/Djzl52w3dyfrxbqqlauwrceplo4?t=Troy_Carter-The_Bob_Lefsetz_Podcast
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bob-lefsetz/troy-carter-31
Overcast: https://overcast.fm/+LBr8I_pFY
Acast: https://www.acast.com/theboblefsetzpodcast/troy-carter
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But first, he was nobody.
You've got to listen to his story. Like reviewing a movie, I don't want to give you the plot points, I want you to uncover them on your own.
From Philadelphia to Hollywood. With a lot of ups and downs in between. Making Gaga and losing Gaga. And so much more.
You're gonna dig this. You're gonna be wowed.
It's the last podcast from the Music Media Summit in Santa Barbara.
Listen to Troy Carter on...
TuneIn: https://listen.tunein.com/troycarterletter
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Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bob-lefsetz/troy-carter-31
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Monday 9 July 2018
Guidance
BE AN INDIVIDUAL
Make a difference, have your own ideas, if your only goal is to get along you'll be left behind.
GET AN EDUCATION
Mostly in school, but travel and summer stuff helps too. Kids should not be allowed to stay home and graze in front of the TV or computer all summer. It's when you're not in a school situation that you learn the most, about people, about life. Summer camp could be the happiest and most productive months of my life.
READ
Only a fraction of the front page of the newspaper appears in a half hour news program. Take your choice, NYT, WSJ or WaPo. Hopefully two, with the WSJ as one. The WSJ is a far cry from what it used to be, but it still represents the right wing view. You want to know how the other half thinks. And it's not only newspapers. Magazines, blog posts... Be a generalist and a specialist. Know what's going on in the world, but also dive deep in a certain area. You want to be able to have a conversation with anyone, which will garner respect, esteem and opportunities.
EXERCISE
For your brain more than your body. Exercise clears out the detritus holding you back, it evens you out, allows the inspiration to seep in. Find something you like to do and do that. Don't think you have to go to the gym. If you don't like what you're doing, you won't do it.
FINISH
No matter what it is. Most people can't. If you do, you'll go to the head of the class, believe me. Ideas are a dime a dozen, execution is key. And it's the little things that count, don't delegate, do them.
LEARN HOW TO GET ALONG
But don't do so at the price of your identity/personality. Groupthink is your enemy. And anyone with a brain and an opinion who expresses it will have haters, they go with the territory, they're a badge of honor.
DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF
Don't respond to the haters. Know that most kerfuffles end quickly. They want to drag you down, don't let them.
KEEP LEARNING
Most people don't, but those who do get ahead. A nurse practitioner I see at UCLA learns Spanish on his hour-long commute.
NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOU
They're too wrapped up in themselves. Our society is incredibly narcissistic.
DON'T OWE MONEY TO THE CREDIT CARD COMPANY
It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap, the interest is high and there's always a day of reckoning. If you can't afford it, don't buy it. Unless it's food or shelter.
MARRY WELL
You don't want someone to show off, you want someone who is fiscally responsible, listens to you/is compassionate, and will care for you when you get sick, which you will.
DON'T HAVE KIDS IF YOU'RE NOT GONNA SPEND TIME WITH THEM
They are not possessions, they are complicated individuals, if you don't have time for them, don't have them. However, we are just animals here to reproduce and there's a lot of satisfaction in having children.
SEARCH FOR MEANING
Without it your life is worthless. Doesn't matter if it pays or not, you've got to have something to live for.
DON'T BEAT YOURSELF UP
You'll make mistakes, waste time, just dust yourself off and get back in the game.
FEEL FREE TO CRITICIZE
Despite the online bickering, too many people are afraid to have a viewpoint. Specialize in holding contrary opinions in your head simultaneously, the spoils go to those who can split the hairs, who can see the truth.
PLAY THE LONG GAME
That tattoo is gonna fade. Your body is gonna change. Do you want to ink yourself forever? If you do, go for it. But see the long term consequences. Today's rebel is tomorrow's complacent adult. If your goal is just to rebel at the system, the joke is on you.
EVERYONE FEELS INADEQUATE
Don't beat yourself up.
GO TO THE DOCTOR
We're fallible machines. You're gonna break down, it's just a matter of when. Don't be too proud to see the doctor, especially for that which is not visible. Statins could save your life.
BEWARE OF THE TOUCHY-FEELY
There are false prophets and those who will lead you into the wilderness. The government is not out to get you, science is your friend. Funny how the educated follow junk science and the poor don't. Beware of fad diets, beware of all health scams.
USE BIRTH CONTROL
To prevent pregnancy and disease. If you think it can't happen to you, you're wrong.
DON'T TAKE ILLEGAL DRUGS
Or overdo legal ones. No high is as good as real life. Self-medicating is a torturous road that can end in death, and believe me, you don't want to die. Experiment at your peril. Drugs are not cool, despite what everybody tells you.
PRAY TO GOD BUT DON'T BELIEVE IN HIM
If your religion is cultural, if it keeps you part of a tight-knit group, great. If it tells you what to do and how to behave because some guy centuries ago laid it all down, ignore it or run.
YOUR DREAM WILL DIE
Just find another one.
LOVE KILLS
Have relationships, but know that bad ones can cripple you for life, and the only people who get over them quickly are those who are lying.
HELP YOUR BROTHER
It could be you next.
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Make a difference, have your own ideas, if your only goal is to get along you'll be left behind.
GET AN EDUCATION
Mostly in school, but travel and summer stuff helps too. Kids should not be allowed to stay home and graze in front of the TV or computer all summer. It's when you're not in a school situation that you learn the most, about people, about life. Summer camp could be the happiest and most productive months of my life.
READ
Only a fraction of the front page of the newspaper appears in a half hour news program. Take your choice, NYT, WSJ or WaPo. Hopefully two, with the WSJ as one. The WSJ is a far cry from what it used to be, but it still represents the right wing view. You want to know how the other half thinks. And it's not only newspapers. Magazines, blog posts... Be a generalist and a specialist. Know what's going on in the world, but also dive deep in a certain area. You want to be able to have a conversation with anyone, which will garner respect, esteem and opportunities.
EXERCISE
For your brain more than your body. Exercise clears out the detritus holding you back, it evens you out, allows the inspiration to seep in. Find something you like to do and do that. Don't think you have to go to the gym. If you don't like what you're doing, you won't do it.
FINISH
No matter what it is. Most people can't. If you do, you'll go to the head of the class, believe me. Ideas are a dime a dozen, execution is key. And it's the little things that count, don't delegate, do them.
LEARN HOW TO GET ALONG
But don't do so at the price of your identity/personality. Groupthink is your enemy. And anyone with a brain and an opinion who expresses it will have haters, they go with the territory, they're a badge of honor.
DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF
Don't respond to the haters. Know that most kerfuffles end quickly. They want to drag you down, don't let them.
KEEP LEARNING
Most people don't, but those who do get ahead. A nurse practitioner I see at UCLA learns Spanish on his hour-long commute.
NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOU
They're too wrapped up in themselves. Our society is incredibly narcissistic.
DON'T OWE MONEY TO THE CREDIT CARD COMPANY
It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap, the interest is high and there's always a day of reckoning. If you can't afford it, don't buy it. Unless it's food or shelter.
MARRY WELL
You don't want someone to show off, you want someone who is fiscally responsible, listens to you/is compassionate, and will care for you when you get sick, which you will.
DON'T HAVE KIDS IF YOU'RE NOT GONNA SPEND TIME WITH THEM
They are not possessions, they are complicated individuals, if you don't have time for them, don't have them. However, we are just animals here to reproduce and there's a lot of satisfaction in having children.
SEARCH FOR MEANING
Without it your life is worthless. Doesn't matter if it pays or not, you've got to have something to live for.
DON'T BEAT YOURSELF UP
You'll make mistakes, waste time, just dust yourself off and get back in the game.
FEEL FREE TO CRITICIZE
Despite the online bickering, too many people are afraid to have a viewpoint. Specialize in holding contrary opinions in your head simultaneously, the spoils go to those who can split the hairs, who can see the truth.
PLAY THE LONG GAME
That tattoo is gonna fade. Your body is gonna change. Do you want to ink yourself forever? If you do, go for it. But see the long term consequences. Today's rebel is tomorrow's complacent adult. If your goal is just to rebel at the system, the joke is on you.
EVERYONE FEELS INADEQUATE
Don't beat yourself up.
GO TO THE DOCTOR
We're fallible machines. You're gonna break down, it's just a matter of when. Don't be too proud to see the doctor, especially for that which is not visible. Statins could save your life.
BEWARE OF THE TOUCHY-FEELY
There are false prophets and those who will lead you into the wilderness. The government is not out to get you, science is your friend. Funny how the educated follow junk science and the poor don't. Beware of fad diets, beware of all health scams.
USE BIRTH CONTROL
To prevent pregnancy and disease. If you think it can't happen to you, you're wrong.
DON'T TAKE ILLEGAL DRUGS
Or overdo legal ones. No high is as good as real life. Self-medicating is a torturous road that can end in death, and believe me, you don't want to die. Experiment at your peril. Drugs are not cool, despite what everybody tells you.
PRAY TO GOD BUT DON'T BELIEVE IN HIM
If your religion is cultural, if it keeps you part of a tight-knit group, great. If it tells you what to do and how to behave because some guy centuries ago laid it all down, ignore it or run.
YOUR DREAM WILL DIE
Just find another one.
LOVE KILLS
Have relationships, but know that bad ones can cripple you for life, and the only people who get over them quickly are those who are lying.
HELP YOUR BROTHER
It could be you next.
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Peace And Love
https://spoti.fi/2N0zZ0k
"Riding around in a Volkswagen van
Thinking 'bout the people upside down in Japan"
I grew up on three-quarters of an acre, not uncommon in the suburbs, and I distinctly remember lying on my back staring at the sun in the backyard contemplating if I just dug deep enough I'd end up in Japan, although I wondered if it was a direct shot, or whether I'd end up in India or Russia...
"Lying on the floor just playing my guitar
Trying to find the chords for 'Just The Way You Are'"
We all had guitars. We'd sit in front of our Dual turntables with pitch adjustment, tune our records to our instruments and try to figure out the chords, writing them down on yellow legal pads.
"Sometimes I think I might just move up to Vermont
Open a bookstore or a vegan restaurant"
And now I'm laughing.
For some reason the Apple app lists songs by artist, I know, it's confounding, but that's when I found out I had so many Fountains of Wayne songs on my phone, all from the album "Welcome Interstate Managers." You know how it is, there's an album that catches your attention that you play and end up knowing, this is the one, with "Stacy's Mom."
It was a big hit on MTV when that still mattered, before it bit the dust in the wake of video online.
Funny how songs go through your brain. And you need to hear them. That's how it was with "Peace and Love" the past few days. I'd also been singing "All Kinds Of Time" to myself too, which got some action with the NFL, but I knew it before.
And I'm doing my back exercises marveling at the sound and lyrics of these Fountains of Wayne songs thinking how it used to be different, how music television could rescue you from obscurity, how labels paid for you to get it right in the studio, how erudition used to have a place in the music business before everybody with a brain went into tech or finance.
Actually, Williams graduates Darlingside are following in their fellow alumni's footsteps, have you heard their track "Hold Your Head High," it's worth it, not that Darlingside is the exact same band, it's just that they're smart: https://spoti.fi/2KNFjb2
Maybe it started with Frank Zappa, in the rock era anyway. You cracked up when you heard the words. "You Didn't Try To Call Me"... "Status Back Baby"...
Being smart was not anathema. And unlike Gene Simmons, no one was bragging about how intelligent they were, you could just hear it in the music.
Maybe it was a different era, when we had all kinds of time. When we'd lie on our beds, on the floor, and stare at the ceiling as we listened, over and over again. Now people are overscheduled, they're getting pings on their phone, they never disengage, marinate in the experience. Maybe this is why TV is so big, you've got to pay attention, for an hour, for the series you're watching on binge.
And the funny thing is I enjoy these Fountains of Wayne songs even more now than then, sure, it's nostalgia for my own life, but they hearken back to a comprehensible era, when you could make fun of the mainstream and there was enough cohesiveness for people to get the joke, when if you could write lyrics and music with changes, imperfect vocals could be overlooked, whereas today people sing bland songs perfectly, or have thin voices and forgettable lyrics.
Maybe it takes money.
Maybe it takes education.
Maybe it takes promotion.
Maybe it takes a willingness to question.
Maybe it takes a willingness to go on your own path.
But now Adam Schlesinger paints on a much smaller canvas, in theatre and television.
We need people like this up front.
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-TuneIn: http://tunein.com/lefsetz
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"Riding around in a Volkswagen van
Thinking 'bout the people upside down in Japan"
I grew up on three-quarters of an acre, not uncommon in the suburbs, and I distinctly remember lying on my back staring at the sun in the backyard contemplating if I just dug deep enough I'd end up in Japan, although I wondered if it was a direct shot, or whether I'd end up in India or Russia...
"Lying on the floor just playing my guitar
Trying to find the chords for 'Just The Way You Are'"
We all had guitars. We'd sit in front of our Dual turntables with pitch adjustment, tune our records to our instruments and try to figure out the chords, writing them down on yellow legal pads.
"Sometimes I think I might just move up to Vermont
Open a bookstore or a vegan restaurant"
And now I'm laughing.
For some reason the Apple app lists songs by artist, I know, it's confounding, but that's when I found out I had so many Fountains of Wayne songs on my phone, all from the album "Welcome Interstate Managers." You know how it is, there's an album that catches your attention that you play and end up knowing, this is the one, with "Stacy's Mom."
It was a big hit on MTV when that still mattered, before it bit the dust in the wake of video online.
Funny how songs go through your brain. And you need to hear them. That's how it was with "Peace and Love" the past few days. I'd also been singing "All Kinds Of Time" to myself too, which got some action with the NFL, but I knew it before.
And I'm doing my back exercises marveling at the sound and lyrics of these Fountains of Wayne songs thinking how it used to be different, how music television could rescue you from obscurity, how labels paid for you to get it right in the studio, how erudition used to have a place in the music business before everybody with a brain went into tech or finance.
Actually, Williams graduates Darlingside are following in their fellow alumni's footsteps, have you heard their track "Hold Your Head High," it's worth it, not that Darlingside is the exact same band, it's just that they're smart: https://spoti.fi/2KNFjb2
Maybe it started with Frank Zappa, in the rock era anyway. You cracked up when you heard the words. "You Didn't Try To Call Me"... "Status Back Baby"...
Being smart was not anathema. And unlike Gene Simmons, no one was bragging about how intelligent they were, you could just hear it in the music.
Maybe it was a different era, when we had all kinds of time. When we'd lie on our beds, on the floor, and stare at the ceiling as we listened, over and over again. Now people are overscheduled, they're getting pings on their phone, they never disengage, marinate in the experience. Maybe this is why TV is so big, you've got to pay attention, for an hour, for the series you're watching on binge.
And the funny thing is I enjoy these Fountains of Wayne songs even more now than then, sure, it's nostalgia for my own life, but they hearken back to a comprehensible era, when you could make fun of the mainstream and there was enough cohesiveness for people to get the joke, when if you could write lyrics and music with changes, imperfect vocals could be overlooked, whereas today people sing bland songs perfectly, or have thin voices and forgettable lyrics.
Maybe it takes money.
Maybe it takes education.
Maybe it takes promotion.
Maybe it takes a willingness to question.
Maybe it takes a willingness to go on your own path.
But now Adam Schlesinger paints on a much smaller canvas, in theatre and television.
We need people like this up front.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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-TuneIn: http://tunein.com/lefsetz
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Sunday 8 July 2018
The Opiate Of The Idiots
That's fame.
The turning point was reality television, most specifically "The Real World," suddenly you could be famous for nothing. You could trump up your personality, argue, and the edgier you were, the more attention you gained, can you say PUCK?
Concomitant with this was the era of the afternoon talk show. Where the more outrageous you were, the more Jerry Springer and Jenny Jones were interested in exposing your story.
Sure, it didn't last, but you got your fifteen minutes. You could put it on your resume. Not for a job, but as a notch in your belt in this game we call life.
Then came "The Jersey Shore." Not only were they outrageous on camera, but they opened clubs, they made a few bucks before they returned back to the suburbs. This was after "Survivor" and "Big Brother." Contestants on those shows thought they had careers, but they didn't. Now players knew it was evanescent, but they didn't care.
Then we had the apotheosis, the Kardashians, who were not only famous for nothing, they became rich in the process! Telling fake stories while denying their plastic surgery. WATCHA GONNA DO?
If you've been following the news, there's a big kerfuffle re affirmative action. In NYC, do the underprivileged get to go to good schools, displacing the Asians? And are the Asians unfairly excluded from Harvard? And these are real issues, deserving debate, but they couldn't be further afield from the fame for nothing crew. That's America today, those on a trip to somewhere and those on a trip to nowhere, and the nowhere people want their moment and the somewhere people just can't understand it.
In today's "Times" there's a story on the Cash Me Outside girl. You probably know this meme. A young girl with no good path, who got breast implants at thirteen, utters a phrase in Ebonics on "Dr. Phil" and not only is she instantly famous, the entertainment whores sign her up and she gets a record deal at Atlantic. If your parents are not cracking the whip, keeping you on the straight and narrow, you say to yourself...I WANT ME SOME OF THAT!
And there's a whole internet complex ready to scoop you up. You "promote" yourself on Instagram and other social networks, hoping to gain enough followers so you can sell out to advertisers in sponsorship and ultimately cross over to TV. Meanwhile, the somnambulant press keeps trumpeting the antics of these idiots, promoting them as the new stars when the truth is almost none of them last, they get their moment and... We need news outlets, but it turns out they haven't adjusted to the modern paradigm, just reporting is not enough, you've got to have a viewpoint, which is why Fox News is so successful. Furthermore, news outlets show no vision, they have no idea of where it's all going, never mind the impact of their coverage. Meanwhile, bottom feeders like BuzzFeed take up the slack, one thing they know is their audience, they know where the culture is going, so you can't evade the clickbait, meanwhile old stalwarts like "People" and "The Enquirer" are trying to follow along.
There's endless conversation about political fake news on Facebook when that's de minimis compared to the CULTURAL fake news on the site. Hell, even the upper middle class, those with graduate degrees, are boasting online. They want to let their compatriots, their "friends," know how much better their lives are. Meanwhile, most of America sits at home pissed and depressed, feeling inadequate.
And no one likes their opportunity stolen, so they vote for Trump, believing he'll make things right, that you can have no CV and be a millionaire and no one will get in your way. Yup, you're gonna be famous, and if the immigrants get a chance, if the Chinese get a chance, if the CANADIANS get a chance, your odds will be lower.
I know it sounds idiotic, that the same people playing the new game want to jet back to the old, but that's what Making America Great Again is all about, even though it wasn't so great at the time they're reminiscing about, they certainly couldn't get famous on the internet.
They'd have to go to school, do the hard work.
But now if you graduate from college you're qualified to become a receptionist, that's right, you can't get that gig without a degree.
Meanwhile, rappers are advertising brands you cannot afford.
And those playing by the old rules have contempt for you, as they've got it for those above them on the totem pole, the financiers who create nothing and the techies providing few jobs.
So what is your option but to try and become famous. You've got a phone, posting is free! Maybe at the cost of advertising and your soul and your future, but the other route is riddled with potholes.
And if it all fails you can go on drugs. Heroin is cheaper and cleaner than ever. And hell, you can order fentanyl on the internet. And if Prince and Tom Petty O.D. that's just a path worth taking, you'll be famous in the afterlife!
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The turning point was reality television, most specifically "The Real World," suddenly you could be famous for nothing. You could trump up your personality, argue, and the edgier you were, the more attention you gained, can you say PUCK?
Concomitant with this was the era of the afternoon talk show. Where the more outrageous you were, the more Jerry Springer and Jenny Jones were interested in exposing your story.
Sure, it didn't last, but you got your fifteen minutes. You could put it on your resume. Not for a job, but as a notch in your belt in this game we call life.
Then came "The Jersey Shore." Not only were they outrageous on camera, but they opened clubs, they made a few bucks before they returned back to the suburbs. This was after "Survivor" and "Big Brother." Contestants on those shows thought they had careers, but they didn't. Now players knew it was evanescent, but they didn't care.
Then we had the apotheosis, the Kardashians, who were not only famous for nothing, they became rich in the process! Telling fake stories while denying their plastic surgery. WATCHA GONNA DO?
If you've been following the news, there's a big kerfuffle re affirmative action. In NYC, do the underprivileged get to go to good schools, displacing the Asians? And are the Asians unfairly excluded from Harvard? And these are real issues, deserving debate, but they couldn't be further afield from the fame for nothing crew. That's America today, those on a trip to somewhere and those on a trip to nowhere, and the nowhere people want their moment and the somewhere people just can't understand it.
In today's "Times" there's a story on the Cash Me Outside girl. You probably know this meme. A young girl with no good path, who got breast implants at thirteen, utters a phrase in Ebonics on "Dr. Phil" and not only is she instantly famous, the entertainment whores sign her up and she gets a record deal at Atlantic. If your parents are not cracking the whip, keeping you on the straight and narrow, you say to yourself...I WANT ME SOME OF THAT!
And there's a whole internet complex ready to scoop you up. You "promote" yourself on Instagram and other social networks, hoping to gain enough followers so you can sell out to advertisers in sponsorship and ultimately cross over to TV. Meanwhile, the somnambulant press keeps trumpeting the antics of these idiots, promoting them as the new stars when the truth is almost none of them last, they get their moment and... We need news outlets, but it turns out they haven't adjusted to the modern paradigm, just reporting is not enough, you've got to have a viewpoint, which is why Fox News is so successful. Furthermore, news outlets show no vision, they have no idea of where it's all going, never mind the impact of their coverage. Meanwhile, bottom feeders like BuzzFeed take up the slack, one thing they know is their audience, they know where the culture is going, so you can't evade the clickbait, meanwhile old stalwarts like "People" and "The Enquirer" are trying to follow along.
There's endless conversation about political fake news on Facebook when that's de minimis compared to the CULTURAL fake news on the site. Hell, even the upper middle class, those with graduate degrees, are boasting online. They want to let their compatriots, their "friends," know how much better their lives are. Meanwhile, most of America sits at home pissed and depressed, feeling inadequate.
And no one likes their opportunity stolen, so they vote for Trump, believing he'll make things right, that you can have no CV and be a millionaire and no one will get in your way. Yup, you're gonna be famous, and if the immigrants get a chance, if the Chinese get a chance, if the CANADIANS get a chance, your odds will be lower.
I know it sounds idiotic, that the same people playing the new game want to jet back to the old, but that's what Making America Great Again is all about, even though it wasn't so great at the time they're reminiscing about, they certainly couldn't get famous on the internet.
They'd have to go to school, do the hard work.
But now if you graduate from college you're qualified to become a receptionist, that's right, you can't get that gig without a degree.
Meanwhile, rappers are advertising brands you cannot afford.
And those playing by the old rules have contempt for you, as they've got it for those above them on the totem pole, the financiers who create nothing and the techies providing few jobs.
So what is your option but to try and become famous. You've got a phone, posting is free! Maybe at the cost of advertising and your soul and your future, but the other route is riddled with potholes.
And if it all fails you can go on drugs. Heroin is cheaper and cleaner than ever. And hell, you can order fentanyl on the internet. And if Prince and Tom Petty O.D. that's just a path worth taking, you'll be famous in the afterlife!
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River
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/river/s01/
Never underestimate the power of great acting.
I've got all kinds of time for great, a little time for good, and no time for the rest...whether it be TV, music, sports, food... That's the world we live in, one where time is precious and we're overloaded with options. Our entire lives are tyrannies of choice, which no one is willing to address. There's too much news, never mind too much Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Is Instagram the end of civilization or what? For a while there, I was loving that the internet brought reading back. But with broadband came video, and now with smartphones comes pictures. Maybe I'm just not a visual guy. But is anybody on Instagram doing anything but bragging? I know, I know, I'm overstating the case, there is some good information there, but two-dimensional promotional images just don't hook me.
And we all follow different tweeters and we don't listen to the same music and we don't watch the same TV either.
This week's story is Amy Adams's new HBO show. The L.A. "Times" was not enthusiastic. The other reviewers seemed to have their thumbs up but I'll be honest, I don't read any reviews through and through, at least not until I finish a series or a book, because they give away the PLOT! What I love is the surprise, getting into a boat and going down the river. If you tell me what I'm gonna see, what fun is that?
And I'm not free the same time every week, which is why I won't watch a network or cable show. Of course I can record it or watch it on demand, but my time doesn't come in one hour chunks. I either have no time, or want to stretch out. The show of the summer is "Killing Eve," Bywater and Wilson have raved, Benedek too. I pulled it up on demand, watched an episode, got hooked, and then saw it was still in process. I'm gonna wait until it's done. Because I like to rip through the episodes, I like to get in the mood, turn off the lights and the phone and get involved.
So I was searching for a new series to binge on.
And the truth is almost all of them are crime dramas. And I've got no problem with crime, just the absence of other genres. Maybe they're too hard to do. Like that Alan Ball/Tim Robbins show on HBO, what a piece of crap that was, at least they didn't renew it, and to be honest I could only make it through one and a half episodes. And I know they've got "Succession" now, but... I can watch "Ozark" in a day or two, but I've got to watch a family argue about money over months? What's so special about THAT?
And I'm a believer that foreign television is always superior. In America we try to milk it, overseas they oftentimes get it right, don't go on too long, and the actors and actresses...oftentimes look like real people, you can imagine yourself in their world, whereas I'm never gonna be accepted by the TMZ people, first and foremost I don't want to get plastic surgery, and I abhor a world where looks are everything. And the secret is if you get old enough, you come to learn looks don't matter, not that much, you have enough experiences to discover other qualities are more important, like loyalty, compassion, the ability to manage money... Meanwhile, you're prettifying yourself to get attention, who you gonna draw? As for Tinder... You've got to feel pretty good about yourself to play, or put up a doctored pic. But now we're getting back to the Instagram paradigm. It's about the one percent, only in this case it's all about looks.
And Stellan Skarsgard has a pot belly. Nicola Walker has a cute smile, but she's never gonna be in "Vogue" without airbrushing. No one is beautiful, everybody is imperfect, "River" reflects the world, which is why it hooked me.
And the darkness. The vibe. The rain. The train. If you've been to London you'll get it, if you haven't you'll want to go, if you live there, you'll nod your head.
So, the show is about dead people. And seeing dead people. Isn't it fascinating that M. Night Shyamalan could never make another great picture, some people only seem to have one in them. Or more than that, and then burn out, like Francis Ford Coppola. Spielberg gets all the attention, but it's Coppola who transcended, who is truly an icon. Come on, compare "The Godfather" to "Jaws." A mechanical shark to an Italian family? And I could go further, but you get the point.
And "The River" is not "Apocalypse Now," but it rings more true than almost any Spielberg film, because Spielberg is all about the image, whereas it's truly about story, that comes first, the look comes second.
And the story is told by actors. And Stellan Skarsgard is believable. He's tortured, yet brilliant. He doesn't believe in the expedient, only the truth. Are you willing to sacrifice victory in pursuit of truth? Seemingly no one in America is, especially in sports, everybody's looking for an edge, if they don't get caught they win, but can you sleep at night? Edgar Allan Poe had it right in "The Tell Tale Heart."
So I researched. So many sites. From the "New York Times" to the "Thrillist" to...
And my top pick you had to buy.
And my number two was on Hulu, which I refuse to subscribe to, it's my own personal protest, if Hulu launched before Netflix, maybe. But I want to stick a knife in the side of TV, which believes they're just going to recreate the old paradigm in the new world, peck me to death by ducks, have me paying a couple of hundred dollars once again.
And then I found on Rotten Tomatoes they ranked the best Netflix shows. And "River" got 100%. That's quite a number. Although I just found out there weren't that many reviews.
But I cross-checked the show after watching two episodes. Consensus is it's a winner.
And the truth is I've seen the blue chips, the ones on Amazon and Netflix anyway. And I find that too many people's recommendations don't reach me. Once again, they promote what they like, when I search online and find the numbers are bad. Yup, you can argue with statistics, but you can't argue with the fact that I have so little time.
And the truth is the seventies were a golden age of film. The late sixties too. It was an art form. The grosses were not printed in the newspaper. But after "Jaws" and "Star Wars" showed how much money could be made, and the auteurs flopped, the studios regained control and it's never been the same. Whereas on Netflix and some cable outlets they give creators complete control. Creators know best, although they might drive you over the cliff.
And I want to check out that Brazilian show "3%." And that Japanese zombie series. And all the comedies on Netflix are duds. But life is dramatic, my idea of escape is to see truth on screen. Make me feel like I'm living another life. Grip me to the point I can't think about anything else.
Right now, "River' does that.
P.S. It's from 2015 and there's only one season but we live in an era where being first no longer matters. Actually, that which explodes upon launch rarely sustains. We're looking for land mines. To blow up our paltry lives. We live for entertainment. It's our king. Never forget it.
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--
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Never underestimate the power of great acting.
I've got all kinds of time for great, a little time for good, and no time for the rest...whether it be TV, music, sports, food... That's the world we live in, one where time is precious and we're overloaded with options. Our entire lives are tyrannies of choice, which no one is willing to address. There's too much news, never mind too much Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Is Instagram the end of civilization or what? For a while there, I was loving that the internet brought reading back. But with broadband came video, and now with smartphones comes pictures. Maybe I'm just not a visual guy. But is anybody on Instagram doing anything but bragging? I know, I know, I'm overstating the case, there is some good information there, but two-dimensional promotional images just don't hook me.
And we all follow different tweeters and we don't listen to the same music and we don't watch the same TV either.
This week's story is Amy Adams's new HBO show. The L.A. "Times" was not enthusiastic. The other reviewers seemed to have their thumbs up but I'll be honest, I don't read any reviews through and through, at least not until I finish a series or a book, because they give away the PLOT! What I love is the surprise, getting into a boat and going down the river. If you tell me what I'm gonna see, what fun is that?
And I'm not free the same time every week, which is why I won't watch a network or cable show. Of course I can record it or watch it on demand, but my time doesn't come in one hour chunks. I either have no time, or want to stretch out. The show of the summer is "Killing Eve," Bywater and Wilson have raved, Benedek too. I pulled it up on demand, watched an episode, got hooked, and then saw it was still in process. I'm gonna wait until it's done. Because I like to rip through the episodes, I like to get in the mood, turn off the lights and the phone and get involved.
So I was searching for a new series to binge on.
And the truth is almost all of them are crime dramas. And I've got no problem with crime, just the absence of other genres. Maybe they're too hard to do. Like that Alan Ball/Tim Robbins show on HBO, what a piece of crap that was, at least they didn't renew it, and to be honest I could only make it through one and a half episodes. And I know they've got "Succession" now, but... I can watch "Ozark" in a day or two, but I've got to watch a family argue about money over months? What's so special about THAT?
And I'm a believer that foreign television is always superior. In America we try to milk it, overseas they oftentimes get it right, don't go on too long, and the actors and actresses...oftentimes look like real people, you can imagine yourself in their world, whereas I'm never gonna be accepted by the TMZ people, first and foremost I don't want to get plastic surgery, and I abhor a world where looks are everything. And the secret is if you get old enough, you come to learn looks don't matter, not that much, you have enough experiences to discover other qualities are more important, like loyalty, compassion, the ability to manage money... Meanwhile, you're prettifying yourself to get attention, who you gonna draw? As for Tinder... You've got to feel pretty good about yourself to play, or put up a doctored pic. But now we're getting back to the Instagram paradigm. It's about the one percent, only in this case it's all about looks.
And Stellan Skarsgard has a pot belly. Nicola Walker has a cute smile, but she's never gonna be in "Vogue" without airbrushing. No one is beautiful, everybody is imperfect, "River" reflects the world, which is why it hooked me.
And the darkness. The vibe. The rain. The train. If you've been to London you'll get it, if you haven't you'll want to go, if you live there, you'll nod your head.
So, the show is about dead people. And seeing dead people. Isn't it fascinating that M. Night Shyamalan could never make another great picture, some people only seem to have one in them. Or more than that, and then burn out, like Francis Ford Coppola. Spielberg gets all the attention, but it's Coppola who transcended, who is truly an icon. Come on, compare "The Godfather" to "Jaws." A mechanical shark to an Italian family? And I could go further, but you get the point.
And "The River" is not "Apocalypse Now," but it rings more true than almost any Spielberg film, because Spielberg is all about the image, whereas it's truly about story, that comes first, the look comes second.
And the story is told by actors. And Stellan Skarsgard is believable. He's tortured, yet brilliant. He doesn't believe in the expedient, only the truth. Are you willing to sacrifice victory in pursuit of truth? Seemingly no one in America is, especially in sports, everybody's looking for an edge, if they don't get caught they win, but can you sleep at night? Edgar Allan Poe had it right in "The Tell Tale Heart."
So I researched. So many sites. From the "New York Times" to the "Thrillist" to...
And my top pick you had to buy.
And my number two was on Hulu, which I refuse to subscribe to, it's my own personal protest, if Hulu launched before Netflix, maybe. But I want to stick a knife in the side of TV, which believes they're just going to recreate the old paradigm in the new world, peck me to death by ducks, have me paying a couple of hundred dollars once again.
And then I found on Rotten Tomatoes they ranked the best Netflix shows. And "River" got 100%. That's quite a number. Although I just found out there weren't that many reviews.
But I cross-checked the show after watching two episodes. Consensus is it's a winner.
And the truth is I've seen the blue chips, the ones on Amazon and Netflix anyway. And I find that too many people's recommendations don't reach me. Once again, they promote what they like, when I search online and find the numbers are bad. Yup, you can argue with statistics, but you can't argue with the fact that I have so little time.
And the truth is the seventies were a golden age of film. The late sixties too. It was an art form. The grosses were not printed in the newspaper. But after "Jaws" and "Star Wars" showed how much money could be made, and the auteurs flopped, the studios regained control and it's never been the same. Whereas on Netflix and some cable outlets they give creators complete control. Creators know best, although they might drive you over the cliff.
And I want to check out that Brazilian show "3%." And that Japanese zombie series. And all the comedies on Netflix are duds. But life is dramatic, my idea of escape is to see truth on screen. Make me feel like I'm living another life. Grip me to the point I can't think about anything else.
Right now, "River' does that.
P.S. It's from 2015 and there's only one season but we live in an era where being first no longer matters. Actually, that which explodes upon launch rarely sustains. We're looking for land mines. To blow up our paltry lives. We live for entertainment. It's our king. Never forget it.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-TuneIn: http://tunein.com/lefsetz
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
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