It's not 2005 anymore, certainly not 2010, virality is dead, bubbling up from the bottom doesn't exist, and the big get bigger.
For a while there it looked like Madison Avenue was faltering. And if you follow the ad biz, you'll see that the agencies are challenged, fearful of being cut out by the middlemen, i.e. Facebook and Google, but the truth is advertising power is having a resurgence.
In a sea of cacophony he who yells loudest wins.
I know this sounds contrary, I know word of mouth is king, I know Google and Yelp and RottenTomatoes are just a click away, just a click away, but sometimes you just want to belong, you don't want to miss the event. In a Tower of Babel society we yearn to belong, and it's those who saturate us with advertising who win, at least temporarily.
That's another thing, nothing has legs, not even music. It hits and then it's done. Except for that which builds slowly, and the funny thing is outsiders can take a long time to bubble up from streaming to terrestrial radio, but if you're a star, you get a look and are either listened to or ignored and then the audience moves on, unless they go to see you live. I know this is contrary to everything you learned in the past, but the world changes, consolidation is not only happening in tech. So, you feed your fan base and hope to get lucky and reach more people or...
You're the beneficiary of a huge advertising campaign that gets everybody to partake immediately.
Like with last week's "Mission Impossible" movie.
Sure, the reviews were good, But no one reads the reviews you say, and that's true, but they SEE THEM! It's the presence of the reviews that counts so much, when tied in with the billboards and the TV and web ads, if you've got something good, you can hook people.
Because they don't know where to turn, they're lost.
For every self-styled expert, there are a zillion who are completely flummoxed and are looking to be led from the wilderness.
And they follow the trends. The big get bigger and the rest...
Are lost.
Which is why streaming services are fighting to provide saturation ads for new releases, like Spotify with Drake, they want to keep superstars happy, and it's a virtuous circle, with all the views, with all the hype, outsiders look in and check it out.
How do you get the word out?
Well, start with your little circle. Don't fall prey to the hypesters that don't deliver. A lone review in the paper, one feature on TV, they mean nothing. Unless you have a whole campaign, with tons of mentions/views, you're wasting your money and your time. But you want to do something, you want to feel powerful, you want to get ahead.
Well, that's why you sign with tastemakers. Sure, streaming may undercut the majors, but then the streaming companies will be the powerful advertisers. And for now, the labels have relationships that they utilize to get the word out if they believe in your project. That's another thing, if they don't think you can hit, they don't want to spend another cent, they're willing to walk away from sunk costs.
So I'm in the airport and see endless ads for "Beautiful," the Carole King musical. Now it too got good reviews, but it's been playing forever. But now the show is partnered with American Airlines...
Used to be these partnerships were hogwash, brand burnishing that didn't matter. But that was when there were a limited number of options, when you could fathom the world. Now if you're big you want to leverage your brand everywhere.
Online it's about seeing something everywhere. Especially on Facebook and other social networks. And it doesn't work for everything, but it does for an impulse buy, if the perception is what's being sold is a hit, worth paying attention to.
The days of promoting and selling a stiff are done.
But the days of a hit making it by its lonesome are also done.
You've got to match quality with saturation advertising.
On some level we're back to the seventies, when bands had billboards on the Sunset Strip, it gave the impression that they were BIG! As well as the ubiquitous congratulation ads for selling out you saw in Sunday sections.
You can sway public perception. Lady Gaga hasn't had a hit in eons, but she's constantly in the news such that people believe she's happening and they need to see her.
You can't go away anymore. If anything, you've got to be in play constantly.
And failure is instantly forgotten.
But if you've got something big, something great, you've got to TELL people in order for it to succeed.
But there are very few things this good and very few people with the money, time and commitment to spread the word.
Think about this.
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Friday 3 August 2018
New York City
I just came back from lunch with Steve.
L.A. is a giant suburb, that's why I'm comfortable there, I grew up in the suburbs! You can own a house, have a yard and drive your car. Although I must admit as the years have gone by the traffic has gotten even worse. I'm now one of those people who will say no to things based on the traffic. But most modern business is done via computer/phone, you only leave the office to go to lunch or the occasional meeting. Hell, I can work anywhere, I could be anywhere, oftentimes I am and you don't know it!
But there's nothing like New York City.
I grew up in the dark ages, when New York was still dangerous. Even my mother had a chain ripped right off her neck. There were certain places you didn't go. It was dirty, and Times Square was filled with arcades. That's right, when you turned fourteen you took the train into the city and went to guitar shops and pinball palaces, that's what freedom looked like in the old days.
But now, New York City is a theme park.
To the tourist.
But if you live here...
There's a vibrancy, as soon as you walk outside your building. Just like there are cars on L.A.'s freeways all night there are people walking the streets at all hours, and 24 hour shops, everything just a block or two away. I wonder what it would be like to live here. Oh, I know it would get oppressive, I'd need to get out, but to be able to walk to the store, to have everything at your fingertips, to be able to take the train across town, that would be a revelation.
That's city living.
And the rain! Although it poured for five minutes three weeks ago in Los Angeles, it normally doesn't rain from April until October, which is great, you can make plans, nothing's ever canceled for weather, but the rain quiets the city down, makes you realize you're not in control, Mother Nature is, it washes our sins away. Oh, not really, I don't believe in sin, but the truth is it washes away the oil from the highway, in L.A. when it finally rains the water mixes with the oil and it's like driving in the snow, truly, the first time it happened I was stunned. And since it rains so rarely the city comes to a crawl, people are overwhelmed, they stay home, drive 20 MPH on the highway, whereas it's weird for it to be coming down and be zipping along at 60 on the Merritt as we were the other day.
When I went to see "Dear Evan Hansen."
Now in this era of experiences, live theatre is the ultimate. There's something so personal, something so human, something so exquisitely TOUCHING that it's palpable. But too many musical are oldies, but "Evan Hansen" is an original.
It's about a nerd with no friends who accidentally becomes popular.
And funny how all the cast albums are now on Atlantic, while everybody else is chasing hip-hop, Atlantic has the "Greatest Showman" and this, along, of course, with "Hamilton." "Evan Hansen" is not yet a phenomenon, but maybe when it tours the country it will become one. People, especially young ones, need something that speaks to them.
And I was supposed to meet Steve for lunch before "Evan Hansen" but we were running late and I had to make do with a Sabrett before the show. But now since my departure was delayed we decided to go to lunch today, at Nusr-Et.
Huh?
I didn't know either. You see restaurants are localized, but if you live in New York!
"You still eating meat?"
That's what Steve iMessaged me last night, and I still am, I need the protein, my hemoglobin is low as a result of the Gleevec.
And he said we had to go to Nusr-Et, that the sides were nothing to speak of but the meat was and the whole thing was theatre, THEATRE OF MEAT!
So I did a little research.
It's run by Salt Bae, who'll even come slice your steak at your table.
It's a Turkish steakhouse, who even knew there was such a thing!
And it's uber-expensive and famous for upselling you.
And the servers wear rubber gloves and...
Of course I said yes!
It's all meat, all the time, if you order a cheeseburger, YOU wear the gloves!
We ordered too much, they pushed us into a steak we ultimately canceled.
But after our salad, after eating something green and healthy, the server prepared our steak tartare tableside.
WHAT A PRODUCTION! Took about ten minutes. He sliced the steak, over and over again. And mixed in ingredients, and then bammed some salt on the whole concoction like Emeril and then gassed, i.e. dry-iced, some herbs which added mood and nose candy but had nothing to do with the meat.
Which was great. My little sister always loved steak tartare, especially when she was in her single digits, she thought it made her look sophisticated. She'd eat raw hamburger from the butcher, before everything was prepackaged, and I learned to too.
And the tomahawk was a ten too.
And the sides were nothing to write home about.
But the tomahawk was juicy and the whole experience was such a crackup...
But that's life in New York City.
So at four, MOMA is free, and it's across the street from Ginny's apartment, so I'll probably amble over before my flight.
Yes, I am leaving tonight, God willing.
I'VE GOT TO GET BACK TO WORK!
Salt Bae: https://nyp.st/2G9ykmD
http://www.nusr-et.com.tr/en/home.aspx
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L.A. is a giant suburb, that's why I'm comfortable there, I grew up in the suburbs! You can own a house, have a yard and drive your car. Although I must admit as the years have gone by the traffic has gotten even worse. I'm now one of those people who will say no to things based on the traffic. But most modern business is done via computer/phone, you only leave the office to go to lunch or the occasional meeting. Hell, I can work anywhere, I could be anywhere, oftentimes I am and you don't know it!
But there's nothing like New York City.
I grew up in the dark ages, when New York was still dangerous. Even my mother had a chain ripped right off her neck. There were certain places you didn't go. It was dirty, and Times Square was filled with arcades. That's right, when you turned fourteen you took the train into the city and went to guitar shops and pinball palaces, that's what freedom looked like in the old days.
But now, New York City is a theme park.
To the tourist.
But if you live here...
There's a vibrancy, as soon as you walk outside your building. Just like there are cars on L.A.'s freeways all night there are people walking the streets at all hours, and 24 hour shops, everything just a block or two away. I wonder what it would be like to live here. Oh, I know it would get oppressive, I'd need to get out, but to be able to walk to the store, to have everything at your fingertips, to be able to take the train across town, that would be a revelation.
That's city living.
And the rain! Although it poured for five minutes three weeks ago in Los Angeles, it normally doesn't rain from April until October, which is great, you can make plans, nothing's ever canceled for weather, but the rain quiets the city down, makes you realize you're not in control, Mother Nature is, it washes our sins away. Oh, not really, I don't believe in sin, but the truth is it washes away the oil from the highway, in L.A. when it finally rains the water mixes with the oil and it's like driving in the snow, truly, the first time it happened I was stunned. And since it rains so rarely the city comes to a crawl, people are overwhelmed, they stay home, drive 20 MPH on the highway, whereas it's weird for it to be coming down and be zipping along at 60 on the Merritt as we were the other day.
When I went to see "Dear Evan Hansen."
Now in this era of experiences, live theatre is the ultimate. There's something so personal, something so human, something so exquisitely TOUCHING that it's palpable. But too many musical are oldies, but "Evan Hansen" is an original.
It's about a nerd with no friends who accidentally becomes popular.
And funny how all the cast albums are now on Atlantic, while everybody else is chasing hip-hop, Atlantic has the "Greatest Showman" and this, along, of course, with "Hamilton." "Evan Hansen" is not yet a phenomenon, but maybe when it tours the country it will become one. People, especially young ones, need something that speaks to them.
And I was supposed to meet Steve for lunch before "Evan Hansen" but we were running late and I had to make do with a Sabrett before the show. But now since my departure was delayed we decided to go to lunch today, at Nusr-Et.
Huh?
I didn't know either. You see restaurants are localized, but if you live in New York!
"You still eating meat?"
That's what Steve iMessaged me last night, and I still am, I need the protein, my hemoglobin is low as a result of the Gleevec.
And he said we had to go to Nusr-Et, that the sides were nothing to speak of but the meat was and the whole thing was theatre, THEATRE OF MEAT!
So I did a little research.
It's run by Salt Bae, who'll even come slice your steak at your table.
It's a Turkish steakhouse, who even knew there was such a thing!
And it's uber-expensive and famous for upselling you.
And the servers wear rubber gloves and...
Of course I said yes!
It's all meat, all the time, if you order a cheeseburger, YOU wear the gloves!
We ordered too much, they pushed us into a steak we ultimately canceled.
But after our salad, after eating something green and healthy, the server prepared our steak tartare tableside.
WHAT A PRODUCTION! Took about ten minutes. He sliced the steak, over and over again. And mixed in ingredients, and then bammed some salt on the whole concoction like Emeril and then gassed, i.e. dry-iced, some herbs which added mood and nose candy but had nothing to do with the meat.
Which was great. My little sister always loved steak tartare, especially when she was in her single digits, she thought it made her look sophisticated. She'd eat raw hamburger from the butcher, before everything was prepackaged, and I learned to too.
And the tomahawk was a ten too.
And the sides were nothing to write home about.
But the tomahawk was juicy and the whole experience was such a crackup...
But that's life in New York City.
So at four, MOMA is free, and it's across the street from Ginny's apartment, so I'll probably amble over before my flight.
Yes, I am leaving tonight, God willing.
I'VE GOT TO GET BACK TO WORK!
Salt Bae: https://nyp.st/2G9ykmD
http://www.nusr-et.com.tr/en/home.aspx
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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-TuneIn: http://tunein.com/lefsetz
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
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Thursday 2 August 2018
Uber
New York City, JUST LIKE I PICTURED IT!
I made it back to Fun City babe, and I'm gonna be up all night.
Remember when Stevie Wonder was on his hot streak, when he could do no wrong? I still think "Talking Book" is the best, and I seem to be one of the few people who still love "Fulfillingness' First Finale," come on, "Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away"? If a young 'un heard that it would not compute, because they'd have no frame of reference, no stereo to hear the sublime sound, and "They Won't Go When I Go," WHEW! No one even works with this quietude and subtlety anymore, and this is the album that contains "Boogie On Reggae Woman," although it's not one of my favorites, but all the accolades go to "Songs In The Key Of Life," the finale, the double album with bonus that I think is very good, but overrated, and then there's...
INNERVISIONS!
For a long time my favorite on the LP was the closer, "He's Misstra Know-It-All," but there's no denying the power, the build, of LIVING IN THE CITY!
"A boy is born in hard times Mississippi"
Can't you just hear that intro in your head?
And in the middle, of the long version, the album version, with the dearly-departed Johanan Vigoda playing the judge, the arrested says the above line...NEW YORK CITY, JUST LIKE I PICTURED IT! And the great thing about music is the references, how you can quote a line to a friend and they know exactly what you're talking about, it's a secret society.
And Stevie Wonder started this streak opening for the Stones in '72, touring "Music Of My Life" as the exiles from the U.K. promoted their masterpiece which went straight to number one and then fell of the charts when the tour was done. Come on, what band on Active Rock is gonna record "I Just Wanna See His Face" today? All subtlety, all nuance, is out the window.
And there wasn't as much nuance and subtlety on the follow-up to "Exile On Main Street," "Goats Head Soup." "Dancing With Mr. D" is serviceable, but not the best Stones opener. And I always loved "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)," for Mick's enunciation of "POlice" if nothing else, and at this point Johnny Winter's version of "Silver Train" is more famous than the original and "Hide Your Love" has grown on me, but the song we read about for months before the album came out came at the very end, but when it hit the streets they had to change the name...
It was called "Star Star" instead of "Starf***er," that's right, I can't use the F-word in an e-mail, not because I'm afraid of offending you, but because spam filters will make it so you will never even see this e-mail.
"Baby, baby, I've been so sad since you've been gone
Way back to New York City
Where you do belong"
Back when this kind of person was still allowed to live and roam the streets in Manhattan, before all the leather-clad late to the party financial fakes bought all the good seats on the aftermarket.
So maybe you caught the reference...
"If I ever get back to Fun City, girl
I'm gonna make you scream all night"
That's what they called it, when it was still dangerous, FUN CITY!
And I ain't gonna make anybody scream tonight, I'm here in Ginny's apartment alone.
That's Felice's mother, they've always called her by her first name, SHE LIKES IT THAT WAY!
I was supposed to go back to CT, but my driver pooped-out and then the substitute pooped-out, saying he could not even replace himself, and I decided to take Felice up on her offer.
And...to be honest, I wasn't looking at the skyline as we drove in, and it takes almost as much time as it does to get to CT, but, when you hit the island the Indians sold for twenty four bucks...
You can feel the vibe, the excitement, not like L.A., not like any other city in the world, IT'S ALIVE!
And I'm gonna go out to Halal Guys momentarily, like I told you, I'm a man of tradition, but...
I wanted to talk about my Uber ride here.
Why does Uber get such a bad rap, IT JUST WORKS!
That's right, forget Lyft, it won't show up at the house in time. Lyft delivered my Sunsoaked tickets to the wrong address, miles away, one that isn't even on the map, I know, I went by after midnight and it didn't exist!
And the Uber drivers, who also drive for Lyft, everybody does now, tell me that Uber has better promotions.
Yes, there was that sexual harassment thingy.
But the truth is, we're all caught up in the penumbra in America, I'm not saying policy should not be fixed, that it's all right to run a company the way Travis Kalanick did, but the fact is UBER JUST WORKS!
It's magic. A great combo of tech and life.
You pull up the app. It's all there. You know the price in advance.
And everybody treats each other nice.
Is a society where we rate each other a good one?
Ultimately no, but for now it's a great improvement.
Imagine if we rated the airlines.
Then again, we've got no choice, they don't care, they've divvied-up the country and you put up and shut up.
But I'm afraid to get a bad rating, I'm always polite to the Uber driver, always where I say I'm gonna be and on time. And the driver calls me by my name and helps me out with my luggage and the car is clean and oftentimes brand new and...
I feel like a human being.
And did I tell you it was cheaper than a cab?
So after being just a number at American Airlines it was great to be soothed by my Uber ride.
And now that I'm in New York, I wonder...
Should I just stay here all weekend?
Playlist: https://spoti.fi/2Kmip5p
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I made it back to Fun City babe, and I'm gonna be up all night.
Remember when Stevie Wonder was on his hot streak, when he could do no wrong? I still think "Talking Book" is the best, and I seem to be one of the few people who still love "Fulfillingness' First Finale," come on, "Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away"? If a young 'un heard that it would not compute, because they'd have no frame of reference, no stereo to hear the sublime sound, and "They Won't Go When I Go," WHEW! No one even works with this quietude and subtlety anymore, and this is the album that contains "Boogie On Reggae Woman," although it's not one of my favorites, but all the accolades go to "Songs In The Key Of Life," the finale, the double album with bonus that I think is very good, but overrated, and then there's...
INNERVISIONS!
For a long time my favorite on the LP was the closer, "He's Misstra Know-It-All," but there's no denying the power, the build, of LIVING IN THE CITY!
"A boy is born in hard times Mississippi"
Can't you just hear that intro in your head?
And in the middle, of the long version, the album version, with the dearly-departed Johanan Vigoda playing the judge, the arrested says the above line...NEW YORK CITY, JUST LIKE I PICTURED IT! And the great thing about music is the references, how you can quote a line to a friend and they know exactly what you're talking about, it's a secret society.
And Stevie Wonder started this streak opening for the Stones in '72, touring "Music Of My Life" as the exiles from the U.K. promoted their masterpiece which went straight to number one and then fell of the charts when the tour was done. Come on, what band on Active Rock is gonna record "I Just Wanna See His Face" today? All subtlety, all nuance, is out the window.
And there wasn't as much nuance and subtlety on the follow-up to "Exile On Main Street," "Goats Head Soup." "Dancing With Mr. D" is serviceable, but not the best Stones opener. And I always loved "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)," for Mick's enunciation of "POlice" if nothing else, and at this point Johnny Winter's version of "Silver Train" is more famous than the original and "Hide Your Love" has grown on me, but the song we read about for months before the album came out came at the very end, but when it hit the streets they had to change the name...
It was called "Star Star" instead of "Starf***er," that's right, I can't use the F-word in an e-mail, not because I'm afraid of offending you, but because spam filters will make it so you will never even see this e-mail.
"Baby, baby, I've been so sad since you've been gone
Way back to New York City
Where you do belong"
Back when this kind of person was still allowed to live and roam the streets in Manhattan, before all the leather-clad late to the party financial fakes bought all the good seats on the aftermarket.
So maybe you caught the reference...
"If I ever get back to Fun City, girl
I'm gonna make you scream all night"
That's what they called it, when it was still dangerous, FUN CITY!
And I ain't gonna make anybody scream tonight, I'm here in Ginny's apartment alone.
That's Felice's mother, they've always called her by her first name, SHE LIKES IT THAT WAY!
I was supposed to go back to CT, but my driver pooped-out and then the substitute pooped-out, saying he could not even replace himself, and I decided to take Felice up on her offer.
And...to be honest, I wasn't looking at the skyline as we drove in, and it takes almost as much time as it does to get to CT, but, when you hit the island the Indians sold for twenty four bucks...
You can feel the vibe, the excitement, not like L.A., not like any other city in the world, IT'S ALIVE!
And I'm gonna go out to Halal Guys momentarily, like I told you, I'm a man of tradition, but...
I wanted to talk about my Uber ride here.
Why does Uber get such a bad rap, IT JUST WORKS!
That's right, forget Lyft, it won't show up at the house in time. Lyft delivered my Sunsoaked tickets to the wrong address, miles away, one that isn't even on the map, I know, I went by after midnight and it didn't exist!
And the Uber drivers, who also drive for Lyft, everybody does now, tell me that Uber has better promotions.
Yes, there was that sexual harassment thingy.
But the truth is, we're all caught up in the penumbra in America, I'm not saying policy should not be fixed, that it's all right to run a company the way Travis Kalanick did, but the fact is UBER JUST WORKS!
It's magic. A great combo of tech and life.
You pull up the app. It's all there. You know the price in advance.
And everybody treats each other nice.
Is a society where we rate each other a good one?
Ultimately no, but for now it's a great improvement.
Imagine if we rated the airlines.
Then again, we've got no choice, they don't care, they've divvied-up the country and you put up and shut up.
But I'm afraid to get a bad rating, I'm always polite to the Uber driver, always where I say I'm gonna be and on time. And the driver calls me by my name and helps me out with my luggage and the car is clean and oftentimes brand new and...
I feel like a human being.
And did I tell you it was cheaper than a cab?
So after being just a number at American Airlines it was great to be soothed by my Uber ride.
And now that I'm in New York, I wonder...
Should I just stay here all weekend?
Playlist: https://spoti.fi/2Kmip5p
--
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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Airport Hell
The problem is you can't get out!
Now if you're following your airline history, you know it's a legendarily bad business. The runway is littered with bankrupted airlines, Pan Am, Braniff, Eastern...the list is endless.
But now, but NOW, airlines are incredibly profitable, because they've figured out YIELD!
Bottom line? Flights fly full.
So I'm inured to the procedure. The endless wait at security, at the gate, the reason executives (AND DEEJAYS!) fly private is TIME, they're not making any more of it and if yours is precious the two plus hours you waste before your flight is now productive time. Then again, the have-nots will keep telling anybody with a life that we have it good, that they were born in a field and crapped in an outhouse and the rest of us are abusing them and therefore Trump got elected. There you have it folks!
And the truth is my non-flight experience is everybody's experience. Our infrastructure has gone to hell, because no one wants to pay anymore, taxes are bad, you're entitled to your income without deductions, and the truth is we live in a society and what affects one of us affects us all...when a butterfly flaps his wings in Japan...
So I'm on the plane. Sans upgrade. Yup, that's another scam, they tie you to an airline so you have status, so you don't have to pay for baggage, so maybe you can get an upgrade. And the hoi polloi take their entire belongings with them on the plane, so there's no luggage space, because they don't want to pay and nobody wants to wait for their baggage, but...
I can't travel that light. I'm willing to wait. But for how long?
And the girl next to me is skinny, but she's got B.O. Really? Isn't this part of the social contract, that you shower before you go into public?
But that depends upon parents. That's where we learn this stuff. And too many of today's parents are dingbats. It's the basics that count, table manners, cleanliness... But these are the same parents who go blast the principal when their kid is sent home with a note.
But I grew up in a different era, where your parents weren't your best friends, you were AFRAID OF THEM! And sure, my dad hit me with a belt and a brush and I'm probably traumatized forever but I knew if I screwed up in school I wouldn't get into a good college and my future would be sacrificed... Life is all about delayed gratification, and I'm aiming this at you baby boomers, taking social security early. Do you really want to make that bet? What if you outlive your money? Happened to some friends of mine, they had to get a reverse mortgage to get by, but at least they owned real property. As for me dying before I hit the crossover point, I'm willing to make that bet, the government can have my money, I just don't want to be without when I need it. As for working in your late eighties... GOOD LUCK! No one wants to hire you, you're too old, and probably too infirm to boot.
So we sat on the tarmac for three hours. Even though there was bright sunshine outside. The pilot said there was weather somewhere. But at the three hour mark you've got to go back to the gate where we sat for another hour before they canceled the flight.
But this is the kicker, since they book the flights so full, I CAN'T GET OUT UNTIL TOMORROW NIGHT!
That's right, despite flights on the hour, there are no seats. You'd think they'd build this potential problem into the system, but NO! Capitalism rules, stockholders must get their due, screw the customers!
I'm on the phone with my travel agent, you probably don't have one. They took away the full-serve gas stations, there's no help anywhere in America unless you're willing to pay for it, and most people aren't, so there is no option, but since I paid $65 extra for my ticket I got through immediately to find out I could fly business on Jet Blue for $1499.
I didn't want to pay that.
As for getting out on the Jet Blue 10:50...I'd need approval from American, and they wouldn't give it.
So, the FIRST flight I can get out on is 9:30 TOMORROW NIGHT!
I've got to go back to Connecticut, and come back here, and I didn't realize I was so pissed off about it until I started writing this.
No one knows what's going on. The pilot, who has been with American for 23 years, after 7 in the Air Force, said it was air traffic control, the system is too antiquated, it couldn't handle the rerouting after the weather dissipated. Furthermore, there was the issue of him timing out. BLAME THE UNIONS!
No. I'd rather have an alert pilot behind the wheel.
Are you catching this? This isn't about my personal disappointment, I'll live, but our whole screwed-up country, where money rules and people are irrelevant to the point where we're no longer humans, just numbers on a spreadsheet.
But you want to be able to fly cheap.
Then again, smartphones are ruining the world.
Thank god I had my iPhone, so I could see that Jet Blue flight was delayed three hours and probably won't get out tonight either.
But no, I've got to shut it down, stare into space, because some wanker parents and intellectuals think technology is bad and we must be protected. Huh? Technology is what is gonna get me to Los Angeles in the first place!
And this screed won't make a bit of difference. Tweet the airline, think you're special!
But none of us is special, the joke is on us. While we're busy fighting amongst ourselves the corporations are divvying up this world and they don't care about us, but without customers they're HISTORY!
But you're too busy e-mailing fake news to prove you're right. That's right, my inbox is filled up with people who refuse to go to Google or Snopes to see what they're saying is false. Don't you get it, we're all on the same side!
The immigrants are doing jobs you don't want to.
The addicted are scarfing opioids so Purdue Pharma can get rich.
But the problem is the TAKERS!
How many takers are there?
I'm not a taker, you're not a taker, we fight amongst ourselves when we are the problem.
We've got to pay folks.
For better infrastructure, for a better society. We all can't live behind gates, we all can't fly private. Just because your wheel wasn't broken in a pothole that does not mean the next person's won't be.
And if you think you can get the attention of the CEO, if you think he's gonna see my tweet, take my phone call, solve my problem, you're dreaming.
I pay for AppleCare so my computers and phones are protected.
I pay for insurance so if I get sick I won't have to pay for my ski pass. Yup, that's another story today, someone got cancer and wants their money back but they didn't buy the INSURANCE! Is Vail supposed to give them their money back so the world at large can feel good?
Protect yourself. Know that we're all brothers and sisters, in this together.
And now I just got a text that my driver can't pick me up.
There you have it!
--
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--
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-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Now if you're following your airline history, you know it's a legendarily bad business. The runway is littered with bankrupted airlines, Pan Am, Braniff, Eastern...the list is endless.
But now, but NOW, airlines are incredibly profitable, because they've figured out YIELD!
Bottom line? Flights fly full.
So I'm inured to the procedure. The endless wait at security, at the gate, the reason executives (AND DEEJAYS!) fly private is TIME, they're not making any more of it and if yours is precious the two plus hours you waste before your flight is now productive time. Then again, the have-nots will keep telling anybody with a life that we have it good, that they were born in a field and crapped in an outhouse and the rest of us are abusing them and therefore Trump got elected. There you have it folks!
And the truth is my non-flight experience is everybody's experience. Our infrastructure has gone to hell, because no one wants to pay anymore, taxes are bad, you're entitled to your income without deductions, and the truth is we live in a society and what affects one of us affects us all...when a butterfly flaps his wings in Japan...
So I'm on the plane. Sans upgrade. Yup, that's another scam, they tie you to an airline so you have status, so you don't have to pay for baggage, so maybe you can get an upgrade. And the hoi polloi take their entire belongings with them on the plane, so there's no luggage space, because they don't want to pay and nobody wants to wait for their baggage, but...
I can't travel that light. I'm willing to wait. But for how long?
And the girl next to me is skinny, but she's got B.O. Really? Isn't this part of the social contract, that you shower before you go into public?
But that depends upon parents. That's where we learn this stuff. And too many of today's parents are dingbats. It's the basics that count, table manners, cleanliness... But these are the same parents who go blast the principal when their kid is sent home with a note.
But I grew up in a different era, where your parents weren't your best friends, you were AFRAID OF THEM! And sure, my dad hit me with a belt and a brush and I'm probably traumatized forever but I knew if I screwed up in school I wouldn't get into a good college and my future would be sacrificed... Life is all about delayed gratification, and I'm aiming this at you baby boomers, taking social security early. Do you really want to make that bet? What if you outlive your money? Happened to some friends of mine, they had to get a reverse mortgage to get by, but at least they owned real property. As for me dying before I hit the crossover point, I'm willing to make that bet, the government can have my money, I just don't want to be without when I need it. As for working in your late eighties... GOOD LUCK! No one wants to hire you, you're too old, and probably too infirm to boot.
So we sat on the tarmac for three hours. Even though there was bright sunshine outside. The pilot said there was weather somewhere. But at the three hour mark you've got to go back to the gate where we sat for another hour before they canceled the flight.
But this is the kicker, since they book the flights so full, I CAN'T GET OUT UNTIL TOMORROW NIGHT!
That's right, despite flights on the hour, there are no seats. You'd think they'd build this potential problem into the system, but NO! Capitalism rules, stockholders must get their due, screw the customers!
I'm on the phone with my travel agent, you probably don't have one. They took away the full-serve gas stations, there's no help anywhere in America unless you're willing to pay for it, and most people aren't, so there is no option, but since I paid $65 extra for my ticket I got through immediately to find out I could fly business on Jet Blue for $1499.
I didn't want to pay that.
As for getting out on the Jet Blue 10:50...I'd need approval from American, and they wouldn't give it.
So, the FIRST flight I can get out on is 9:30 TOMORROW NIGHT!
I've got to go back to Connecticut, and come back here, and I didn't realize I was so pissed off about it until I started writing this.
No one knows what's going on. The pilot, who has been with American for 23 years, after 7 in the Air Force, said it was air traffic control, the system is too antiquated, it couldn't handle the rerouting after the weather dissipated. Furthermore, there was the issue of him timing out. BLAME THE UNIONS!
No. I'd rather have an alert pilot behind the wheel.
Are you catching this? This isn't about my personal disappointment, I'll live, but our whole screwed-up country, where money rules and people are irrelevant to the point where we're no longer humans, just numbers on a spreadsheet.
But you want to be able to fly cheap.
Then again, smartphones are ruining the world.
Thank god I had my iPhone, so I could see that Jet Blue flight was delayed three hours and probably won't get out tonight either.
But no, I've got to shut it down, stare into space, because some wanker parents and intellectuals think technology is bad and we must be protected. Huh? Technology is what is gonna get me to Los Angeles in the first place!
And this screed won't make a bit of difference. Tweet the airline, think you're special!
But none of us is special, the joke is on us. While we're busy fighting amongst ourselves the corporations are divvying up this world and they don't care about us, but without customers they're HISTORY!
But you're too busy e-mailing fake news to prove you're right. That's right, my inbox is filled up with people who refuse to go to Google or Snopes to see what they're saying is false. Don't you get it, we're all on the same side!
The immigrants are doing jobs you don't want to.
The addicted are scarfing opioids so Purdue Pharma can get rich.
But the problem is the TAKERS!
How many takers are there?
I'm not a taker, you're not a taker, we fight amongst ourselves when we are the problem.
We've got to pay folks.
For better infrastructure, for a better society. We all can't live behind gates, we all can't fly private. Just because your wheel wasn't broken in a pothole that does not mean the next person's won't be.
And if you think you can get the attention of the CEO, if you think he's gonna see my tweet, take my phone call, solve my problem, you're dreaming.
I pay for AppleCare so my computers and phones are protected.
I pay for insurance so if I get sick I won't have to pay for my ski pass. Yup, that's another story today, someone got cancer and wants their money back but they didn't buy the INSURANCE! Is Vail supposed to give them their money back so the world at large can feel good?
Protect yourself. Know that we're all brothers and sisters, in this together.
And now I just got a text that my driver can't pick me up.
There you have 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
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Tuesday 31 July 2018
Human Touch
I know this is the third missive today, I know this is too much, I know I'm going to have a net loss of subscribers, but...
You have no idea how stressful and weird it is here. My mother is not good. Her mobility is extremely limited, her mind... I had to lift her up the stairs to Franki's house on Saturday night, she can't put one foot in front of another when she's not on a level surface, do you know how weird it is to lift your mother, not as weird as going into the bathroom with her, not that I watched, but I've got to make sure she doesn't fall, that would be a disaster, one more fall would kill her, and she's got no problem with going, but it just can't happen on my watch. You've got no idea what aging is like, to have all your friends predecease you, to be unable to do what you did previously, what you want to.
And my mother lives on the sixth floor of her building. In a two bedroom condo. And during the day you can see Long Island past the Sound and at night if you open the windows the air flows through and it reminds you of summers past, not the arid hot ones of California, but the humid evanescent ones of New England.
And I have to gear myself up to do my back exercises, after I've read all the e-mail, written a missive or two, but when I do...I fire up the tunes and they take me away.
Yesterday I played Shawn Colvin's "Steady On," of which I had an advance cassette, I played it that week in Minnesota after my ex-wife left, she said she'd call when I landed, but she never did. And when we finally connected I told her not to pick me up at the airport, I just could not be disappointed once more.
And the years after that...
I remember the first Christmas. The woman I kept trying to get the attention of turned out to be gay. I've never felt so low.
And then the nineties got worse. The one time my ex wanted to come back I had a girlfriend and said no. Then I ran out of money and had an horrific operation and hit rock bottom, if my father hadn't died and left me a bit of cash so I could go to the psychiatrist I wouldn't be here right now.
And then my life was saved by AOL. That's right. Don't listen to the anti-tech Luddites, our phones bring us together, make it all personalized, I don't want to go back to looking at the four walls, needing to go to Borders and the library for stimulation, staying home was death.
And then...
A reader wanted to connect via e-mail. She went to college in Michigan, I had a free AOL account via Warner Brothers Records. So I fired the application up with the 1200 baud modem I'd purchased and rarely used and in 1995 my life took a complete turn.
And not needing to pay when they were charging by the hour I checked out every nook and cranny on that service, from Love@AOL to...
Chat rooms.
They got a bad name. I understand it. Who can make sense of the cacophony?
I certainly couldn't. But fourteen people were allowed in a room at once, and everybody had a profile and you'd click and find a person who was appealing and hopefully...
Start a conversation.
Bruce Springsteen hit a wall. He'd played to the masses and no longer wanted to do this. He was an international superstar as a result of "Born In The U.S.A." but now he wanted to be a bit more personal, which is why he recorded...
"Tunnel Of Love."
That's what I listened to just now, to accompany my stretches, my exercises.
"Ought to be easy, ought to be simple enough
Man meets woman and they fall in love"
But it's not.
"But the house is haunted and the ride gets rough"
That's certainly true. My ex calling me that spring killed my new relationship, after spending years with someone you can't cut the bond that quickly, no matter what anybody says, I checked out of the new relationship mentally and it never recovered.
And then a year later I had a new potential love. But I just couldn't get close. We could go for a ride, I could go to her house, but we could only get so close. I thought it was me, but two weeks ago the shrink said sometimes it's them, and it made me think back to summer camp, my second relationship ever, from which I never recovered my confidence, I felt so self-conscious with Jill, unlike with Betsy the summer before, now, at this late date, I know it was her.
And "Tunnel Of Love" was the first LP where the E Street Band was not featured other than "Nebraska."
And then Bruce went further into the wilderness. He released two albums at once, and as a result both failed, "Human Touch" and "Lucky Town." It took recording "Human Touch" for the Boss to find his feet, and so he quickly recorded "Lucky Town," I understand the phenomenon, sometimes you've got to get the juices flowing, sometimes you hit the groove.
And sometimes you don't, sometimes it's all about being fresh and even though you think your latter work is better, it's not.
But "Lucky Town" is an improvement, it delivers.
But, like I said, it was too much for the audience, kind of like this missive itself.
But the first LP of the simultaneous release, I quoted the title track to my chat room paramours all the time.
And it never worked.
I told them I just needed someone to talk to.
And a little of that human touch.
That's right, that's the worst part of breaking up, the worst part of divorce, as Sting sang, the bed's too big without them. They were here and now they're gone, we're just animals, we bond and the breakup is painful and hangs on, it persists.
That's what I was looking for, the human touch.
You could say the same thing to two different women and get opposite reactions. You could say something sexual and one would be offended and another would dump you for moving too slow. Truly.
But it helped me get my mojo working again. You see everybody searching for love online back then was damaged, going down the rabbit hole looking for connection. That's what's great about the internet, it serves those who haven't won, who aren't top of mind, who didn't get every advantage, those whose lives didn't work out.
I thought they'd get the Springsteen reference. At this late date I don't think a single one did.
But I kept using it. I knew they were looking for the human touch too. When something doesn't work, you need to change it, it probably won't work in the future. But sometimes you don't want to axe that part of your personality, giving up represents a bigger setback than rejection.
And I thought of all this as I was doing band exercises behind my mother's laundry room door as she slept. "Tunnel Of Love" ended and Springsteen was resonating and I thought of "Spirit In The Night" but it wasn't the right groove and "Sandy" but the first side of the second album was too maudlin, I needed something with more energy.
Like "Human Touch."
"You might need somethin' to hold on to
When all the answers, they don't amount to much"
My problem with the Boss is his audience, I've got no problem with the man himself. But needing something to hold on to, they want to keep Bruce in a box, require he go on tour with the E Street Band, give them what they want. And if you're an artist it's a struggle, to go down your own path or the well-trodden one, especially after you've walked miles and miles and are not sure of your direction home.
"Human Touch": https://spoti.fi/2Awsmxu
--
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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--
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You have no idea how stressful and weird it is here. My mother is not good. Her mobility is extremely limited, her mind... I had to lift her up the stairs to Franki's house on Saturday night, she can't put one foot in front of another when she's not on a level surface, do you know how weird it is to lift your mother, not as weird as going into the bathroom with her, not that I watched, but I've got to make sure she doesn't fall, that would be a disaster, one more fall would kill her, and she's got no problem with going, but it just can't happen on my watch. You've got no idea what aging is like, to have all your friends predecease you, to be unable to do what you did previously, what you want to.
And my mother lives on the sixth floor of her building. In a two bedroom condo. And during the day you can see Long Island past the Sound and at night if you open the windows the air flows through and it reminds you of summers past, not the arid hot ones of California, but the humid evanescent ones of New England.
And I have to gear myself up to do my back exercises, after I've read all the e-mail, written a missive or two, but when I do...I fire up the tunes and they take me away.
Yesterday I played Shawn Colvin's "Steady On," of which I had an advance cassette, I played it that week in Minnesota after my ex-wife left, she said she'd call when I landed, but she never did. And when we finally connected I told her not to pick me up at the airport, I just could not be disappointed once more.
And the years after that...
I remember the first Christmas. The woman I kept trying to get the attention of turned out to be gay. I've never felt so low.
And then the nineties got worse. The one time my ex wanted to come back I had a girlfriend and said no. Then I ran out of money and had an horrific operation and hit rock bottom, if my father hadn't died and left me a bit of cash so I could go to the psychiatrist I wouldn't be here right now.
And then my life was saved by AOL. That's right. Don't listen to the anti-tech Luddites, our phones bring us together, make it all personalized, I don't want to go back to looking at the four walls, needing to go to Borders and the library for stimulation, staying home was death.
And then...
A reader wanted to connect via e-mail. She went to college in Michigan, I had a free AOL account via Warner Brothers Records. So I fired the application up with the 1200 baud modem I'd purchased and rarely used and in 1995 my life took a complete turn.
And not needing to pay when they were charging by the hour I checked out every nook and cranny on that service, from Love@AOL to...
Chat rooms.
They got a bad name. I understand it. Who can make sense of the cacophony?
I certainly couldn't. But fourteen people were allowed in a room at once, and everybody had a profile and you'd click and find a person who was appealing and hopefully...
Start a conversation.
Bruce Springsteen hit a wall. He'd played to the masses and no longer wanted to do this. He was an international superstar as a result of "Born In The U.S.A." but now he wanted to be a bit more personal, which is why he recorded...
"Tunnel Of Love."
That's what I listened to just now, to accompany my stretches, my exercises.
"Ought to be easy, ought to be simple enough
Man meets woman and they fall in love"
But it's not.
"But the house is haunted and the ride gets rough"
That's certainly true. My ex calling me that spring killed my new relationship, after spending years with someone you can't cut the bond that quickly, no matter what anybody says, I checked out of the new relationship mentally and it never recovered.
And then a year later I had a new potential love. But I just couldn't get close. We could go for a ride, I could go to her house, but we could only get so close. I thought it was me, but two weeks ago the shrink said sometimes it's them, and it made me think back to summer camp, my second relationship ever, from which I never recovered my confidence, I felt so self-conscious with Jill, unlike with Betsy the summer before, now, at this late date, I know it was her.
And "Tunnel Of Love" was the first LP where the E Street Band was not featured other than "Nebraska."
And then Bruce went further into the wilderness. He released two albums at once, and as a result both failed, "Human Touch" and "Lucky Town." It took recording "Human Touch" for the Boss to find his feet, and so he quickly recorded "Lucky Town," I understand the phenomenon, sometimes you've got to get the juices flowing, sometimes you hit the groove.
And sometimes you don't, sometimes it's all about being fresh and even though you think your latter work is better, it's not.
But "Lucky Town" is an improvement, it delivers.
But, like I said, it was too much for the audience, kind of like this missive itself.
But the first LP of the simultaneous release, I quoted the title track to my chat room paramours all the time.
And it never worked.
I told them I just needed someone to talk to.
And a little of that human touch.
That's right, that's the worst part of breaking up, the worst part of divorce, as Sting sang, the bed's too big without them. They were here and now they're gone, we're just animals, we bond and the breakup is painful and hangs on, it persists.
That's what I was looking for, the human touch.
You could say the same thing to two different women and get opposite reactions. You could say something sexual and one would be offended and another would dump you for moving too slow. Truly.
But it helped me get my mojo working again. You see everybody searching for love online back then was damaged, going down the rabbit hole looking for connection. That's what's great about the internet, it serves those who haven't won, who aren't top of mind, who didn't get every advantage, those whose lives didn't work out.
I thought they'd get the Springsteen reference. At this late date I don't think a single one did.
But I kept using it. I knew they were looking for the human touch too. When something doesn't work, you need to change it, it probably won't work in the future. But sometimes you don't want to axe that part of your personality, giving up represents a bigger setback than rejection.
And I thought of all this as I was doing band exercises behind my mother's laundry room door as she slept. "Tunnel Of Love" ended and Springsteen was resonating and I thought of "Spirit In The Night" but it wasn't the right groove and "Sandy" but the first side of the second album was too maudlin, I needed something with more energy.
Like "Human Touch."
"You might need somethin' to hold on to
When all the answers, they don't amount to much"
My problem with the Boss is his audience, I've got no problem with the man himself. But needing something to hold on to, they want to keep Bruce in a box, require he go on tour with the E Street Band, give them what they want. And if you're an artist it's a struggle, to go down your own path or the well-trodden one, especially after you've walked miles and miles and are not sure of your direction home.
"Human Touch": https://spoti.fi/2Awsmxu
--
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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Carvel
The woman in front of me ordered a Banana Barge.
I used to be anxious around black people, we all were. There were no African-Americans in my elementary school and our cleaning woman Jean was black and essentially a member of the family and my dad made his leaving selling liquor to African-Americans but I was on guard, we all were.
The blacks lived in Bridgeport. We lived in Fairfield. Bridgeport was the land of crime. They broke into Jean's apartment on a regular basis, she couldn't have nice things, never mind a record player, which they took too, kids on drugs supposedly. And my father sent two black guys to pick me up from day camp in a forties car and I could lie and tell you it used to be all kumbaya, but it wasn't. Civil rights and black power opened our eyes. And America is more integrated than ever, for that I credit MTV and the NBA. MTV showed a rainbow of colors, the NBA stars were aspirational, they set trends, along with the musicians, especially now, when hip-hop rules, but there is still racism, African-Americans are still penalized by the color of their skin, but I had no problem talking to this woman ordering the Banana Barge, progress has been made, at least by me.
You see we're all in it together and we all matter and we all don't, we're all just people.
I went with my mother today to the Yale Center for British Art. I'm stunned what they have inside, but even more impressive is the building, whose architect is Louis Kahn. Have you seen the documentary "My Architect"? You should, it was made by his son, you see in addition to being a bleeding edge architect, Kahn had multiple children with multiple women while remaining married to his original wife, it's quite a story.
And as I wheeled my mother through the galleries I gained perspective.
We're gonna be superseded, a few hundred years from now they're gonna marvel that we lived this way, we'll be seen as backward, even though we think we're so forward, that's the story of history, that's the story of life.
Back in the 1600s people dressed up for paintings, they wanted to show off their wealth, they thought they counted, but almost all have been forgotten. Seems the rat race is always the same, and it's always futile. In other words, have a good time while you're alive, because when you're gone, you're gone.
That's why you go to museums, that's why you experience art. To understand humanity, to learn what it's all about, if you just inhabit your own bubble and don't take a moment to breathe, to adjust your frame of reference, the joke is on you.
And my mother is making plans for tomorrow. It's funny, her generation still talks on the phone whereas my generation even texts, and the younger generation only speaks in Instagram stories. And she punches her finger at the iPhone, no matter how much I tell her touch it, she continues to poke, and gets angry when she lacks success.
And we went to dinner and the handicapped space was occupied. And the restaurant we went to was nearly empty. My mother uses a walker, every step is a struggle, I surveyed the establishment and saw who the offenders were, a white-haired couple celebrating something, how did they get their handicapped placard, they were fully ambulatory! But that's our society, we think our behavior does not matter, everybody thinks they can get away with it.
And we had a shore dinner, I've got certain traditions on the east coast, I've got to have Pepe's pizza, I've got to have seafood, clams,/oysters/lobster, fried or maybe not, and Carvel.
And I hated clams and oysters until I had them lightly-battered and fried on Cape Cod, now I'm addicted, to the real thing, not just the Howard Johnson tails but the whole bellies. And believe me, I don't eat fried food on a regular basis, but I am taking Crestor, there can be exceptions.
Same deal with the Carvel. I didn't even know if I was still hungry.
There are so few Carvel shops left, and they're all dingy. If I ran the operation I'd institutionalize them, clean them up, give them order.
But how much money can someone make dipping cones anyway these days? Used to be an honest day's work resulted in an honest day's pay. But you can't make it on a worker's salary anymore, even though unions are evil and everybody should just buck up and be an entrepreneur. I mean where would you get your ice cream if it weren't for these people?
And speaking of those people, and I know I'm being offensive, the first step is enlightenment, then comes change, while I was waiting for my new sundae in a glass concoction to be made I saw the beginnings of a Banana Barge, a rectangular plastic tray with a sliced yellow fruit at the bottom, the clerk was pouring on the chocolate ice cream, you don't want vanilla soft serve, it's all about the chocolate. And I wondered who was ordering this, the most expensive, lavish item on the Carvel menu.
There was only one other person in the shop.
A fiftysomething black woman.
I can't remember what I said to her, it was innocuous but it started a conversation. I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable, like I was judging her for what she was putting in her mouth. And I didn't want any white on black discomfort either. The clerks were Korean, they were lost in their own world, trying to replenish the machine that squirts out the ice cream.
She started to apologize, I said she probably earned it after a hard day.
And I marveled at the state of race relations. I didn't want anybody to be scared, I was bending over backward to act naturally, to make up for the past behavior of myself and my brethren, after all, we're all just trying to get along.
And I thought of the denizens in New Haven, walking in the heat with their children.
And the Latinos purchasing lunch from the food trucks in Long Wharf, where I had a fajita quesadilla and my mother had a hot dog. Did I ever tell you I knew who the Flying Burrito Brothers were but had no idea what a burrito was, even though it was parked there right on the front cover, emblazoned with sequins?
We all start off ignorant, then we learn.
But some of us don't.
Banana Barge: https://bit.ly/2M9fP4e
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I used to be anxious around black people, we all were. There were no African-Americans in my elementary school and our cleaning woman Jean was black and essentially a member of the family and my dad made his leaving selling liquor to African-Americans but I was on guard, we all were.
The blacks lived in Bridgeport. We lived in Fairfield. Bridgeport was the land of crime. They broke into Jean's apartment on a regular basis, she couldn't have nice things, never mind a record player, which they took too, kids on drugs supposedly. And my father sent two black guys to pick me up from day camp in a forties car and I could lie and tell you it used to be all kumbaya, but it wasn't. Civil rights and black power opened our eyes. And America is more integrated than ever, for that I credit MTV and the NBA. MTV showed a rainbow of colors, the NBA stars were aspirational, they set trends, along with the musicians, especially now, when hip-hop rules, but there is still racism, African-Americans are still penalized by the color of their skin, but I had no problem talking to this woman ordering the Banana Barge, progress has been made, at least by me.
You see we're all in it together and we all matter and we all don't, we're all just people.
I went with my mother today to the Yale Center for British Art. I'm stunned what they have inside, but even more impressive is the building, whose architect is Louis Kahn. Have you seen the documentary "My Architect"? You should, it was made by his son, you see in addition to being a bleeding edge architect, Kahn had multiple children with multiple women while remaining married to his original wife, it's quite a story.
And as I wheeled my mother through the galleries I gained perspective.
We're gonna be superseded, a few hundred years from now they're gonna marvel that we lived this way, we'll be seen as backward, even though we think we're so forward, that's the story of history, that's the story of life.
Back in the 1600s people dressed up for paintings, they wanted to show off their wealth, they thought they counted, but almost all have been forgotten. Seems the rat race is always the same, and it's always futile. In other words, have a good time while you're alive, because when you're gone, you're gone.
That's why you go to museums, that's why you experience art. To understand humanity, to learn what it's all about, if you just inhabit your own bubble and don't take a moment to breathe, to adjust your frame of reference, the joke is on you.
And my mother is making plans for tomorrow. It's funny, her generation still talks on the phone whereas my generation even texts, and the younger generation only speaks in Instagram stories. And she punches her finger at the iPhone, no matter how much I tell her touch it, she continues to poke, and gets angry when she lacks success.
And we went to dinner and the handicapped space was occupied. And the restaurant we went to was nearly empty. My mother uses a walker, every step is a struggle, I surveyed the establishment and saw who the offenders were, a white-haired couple celebrating something, how did they get their handicapped placard, they were fully ambulatory! But that's our society, we think our behavior does not matter, everybody thinks they can get away with it.
And we had a shore dinner, I've got certain traditions on the east coast, I've got to have Pepe's pizza, I've got to have seafood, clams,/oysters/lobster, fried or maybe not, and Carvel.
And I hated clams and oysters until I had them lightly-battered and fried on Cape Cod, now I'm addicted, to the real thing, not just the Howard Johnson tails but the whole bellies. And believe me, I don't eat fried food on a regular basis, but I am taking Crestor, there can be exceptions.
Same deal with the Carvel. I didn't even know if I was still hungry.
There are so few Carvel shops left, and they're all dingy. If I ran the operation I'd institutionalize them, clean them up, give them order.
But how much money can someone make dipping cones anyway these days? Used to be an honest day's work resulted in an honest day's pay. But you can't make it on a worker's salary anymore, even though unions are evil and everybody should just buck up and be an entrepreneur. I mean where would you get your ice cream if it weren't for these people?
And speaking of those people, and I know I'm being offensive, the first step is enlightenment, then comes change, while I was waiting for my new sundae in a glass concoction to be made I saw the beginnings of a Banana Barge, a rectangular plastic tray with a sliced yellow fruit at the bottom, the clerk was pouring on the chocolate ice cream, you don't want vanilla soft serve, it's all about the chocolate. And I wondered who was ordering this, the most expensive, lavish item on the Carvel menu.
There was only one other person in the shop.
A fiftysomething black woman.
I can't remember what I said to her, it was innocuous but it started a conversation. I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable, like I was judging her for what she was putting in her mouth. And I didn't want any white on black discomfort either. The clerks were Korean, they were lost in their own world, trying to replenish the machine that squirts out the ice cream.
She started to apologize, I said she probably earned it after a hard day.
And I marveled at the state of race relations. I didn't want anybody to be scared, I was bending over backward to act naturally, to make up for the past behavior of myself and my brethren, after all, we're all just trying to get along.
And I thought of the denizens in New Haven, walking in the heat with their children.
And the Latinos purchasing lunch from the food trucks in Long Wharf, where I had a fajita quesadilla and my mother had a hot dog. Did I ever tell you I knew who the Flying Burrito Brothers were but had no idea what a burrito was, even though it was parked there right on the front cover, emblazoned with sequins?
We all start off ignorant, then we learn.
But some of us don't.
Banana Barge: https://bit.ly/2M9fP4e
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-TuneIn: http://tunein.com/lefsetz
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Jerry Greenberg-This Week's Podcast
President of Atlantic Records in its heyday, he signed both Genesis and Abba and stewarded the success of Zeppelin, AC/DC and so many more. Ahmet rarely came into the office, he was out signing acts like the Rolling Stones. And Jerry Wexler was busy in the studio. Greenberg was hired to be in the office, to make the trains run on time and more!
Jerry's from New Haven, started playing in bands, became a local promotion man and when he had to move on he got his father, a jewelry salesman, his old job! And the company liked his father better!
After Atlantic Jerry worked with Michael Jackson and so many more.
You're gonna enjoy these stories from the trenches!
Jerry Greenberg on playing with Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden: https://bit.ly/2mXQ9fX
Listen to Jerry Greenberg on...
TuneIn: https://listen.tunein.com/JerryGreenbergLetter
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jerry-greenberg/id1316200737?i=1000416932628&mt=2
Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/Dfjagbnko5vcnsexkoh6zkcftx4?t=Jerry_Greenberg-The_Bob_Lefsetz_Podcast
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bob-lefsetz/bob-lefsetz-jerry-greenberg
Overcast: https://overcast.fm/+LBr91A_tQ
Castbox: https://castbox.fm/episode/Jerry-Greenberg-id1099656-id86932846?country=us
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-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Jerry's from New Haven, started playing in bands, became a local promotion man and when he had to move on he got his father, a jewelry salesman, his old job! And the company liked his father better!
After Atlantic Jerry worked with Michael Jackson and so many more.
You're gonna enjoy these stories from the trenches!
Jerry Greenberg on playing with Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden: https://bit.ly/2mXQ9fX
Listen to Jerry Greenberg on...
TuneIn: https://listen.tunein.com/JerryGreenbergLetter
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jerry-greenberg/id1316200737?i=1000416932628&mt=2
Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/Dfjagbnko5vcnsexkoh6zkcftx4?t=Jerry_Greenberg-The_Bob_Lefsetz_Podcast
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bob-lefsetz/bob-lefsetz-jerry-greenberg
Overcast: https://overcast.fm/+LBr91A_tQ
Castbox: https://castbox.fm/episode/Jerry-Greenberg-id1099656-id86932846?country=us
--
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--
Listen to the podcast:
-TuneIn: http://tunein.com/lefsetz
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Monday 30 July 2018
2018 Rules
There are no rules, the infrastructure's been built, now is the time to follow your vision, don't listen to naysayers, don't listen to me, you will break through with your art if you are an artist, most people are not, they just want attention, they just want to be rich and famous, but if you know where you want go and how you want to get there, if your music is unique, not derivative, if it's ear-pleasing, if people catch on, you will have an army following you, irrelevant of the radio, irrelevant of playlists, irrelevant of press, the tools are at your fingertips, GO!
If you're not hip-hop, don't sign with a major label, they won't be able to do anything for you, but they probably don't want you anyway. This does not mean you should add a featured rapper, this does not mean you should add drum machines, this just means you should know who you are, the greatest artists are not malleable, if you don't fit into the system, don't try to mold it to yourself, it doesn't work that way, if anything you will bend, not them.
You're your own publicity machine, and probably record company too, if you're not prepared to do the hard work of selling yourself, don't even start. If you've got a mythical idea of a huge machine that you just need to plug into to get ahead you couldn't be more wrong, today it's all about grinding, you start with your friends and families, you trade opening slots with other acts, if you're not a networker you're not a successful musician today. Note, I'm not saying you're a hypester, a spammer, just that you know people who will help spread the word, and if they won't, make new music they will circulate or get new friends.
The most important person on your team is your agent. Sign with someone who can get you work, it's just that simple. You can have an agent without a manager, sometimes that's the best way to go, for if you gain traction you can get a better manager. Odds are you won't get a first tier agent at first, but despite all the hype about record companies, today's music business functions on promoters and agents, they see what reacts, they spread the buzz, if you play and people show up and love you, or even if few show up and you slay them, you're on your way.
It's about songs, it's always been about songs, if you're not a writer you're at the mercy of other writers, and they don't want to give you their best material. Your first songs will suck, everybody's do. Then you'll get better and think you've arrived at the destination but later you'll look back at this work and laugh. Start NOW!
Never underestimate melody, changes hook people, if they can sing along, if what you're doing is memorable, it's an easier route to success.
Ignore the trappings. Getting attention is much easier than having a career. The newspapers constantly review records that go straight into the dumper.
Practice, whatever you do. Play, sing, make beats, experience counts. And push yourself, remember it's 10,000 hours of HARD PRACTICE! And if you're bragging to everybody how hard you're working you're a wanker, everybody who's successful worked hard.
Never underestimate the power of free, if you're not willing to give it away, you're not willing to be successful. People will give you ALL their money, never mind their bodies, if you make it. Load people up with freebies, whether it be music or tweets or...
Don't employ social media unless it's you and you have a voice. If you see tweeting as a sentence, don't. Same deal with Instagram and Snapchat. That doesn't mean another band member or your significant other can't participate in your stead, as long as they're honest as to who they are. You've got to have an identity, you've got to be vulnerable, for every hater you'll have tons of fans hanging on every word. Everybody's lonely, everybody's looking for truth, everybody's looking for someone who can understand them, when done right this is what your music does, provide a link between you and the listener, as does your social media presence.
Mystery is history. Illusions are passe. Everybody's trackable online. Don't lie, don't employ artifice, your career will be shorter.
Play wherever anybody wants you, even if you're not being paid or being paid bupkes. You're looking to infect someone. One fan can make a huge difference, can bring people to your next gig, turn people on to your music.
Don't think of streaming as revenue, think of your presence on services as land mines, this is the greatest time for unknowns ever, used to be you had to be on the radio or have your music bought to be heard, now anybody can click and listen.
Don't complain. No one wants to hear it. You've got no leverage, no power, when you weigh in on streaming payments and other (theoretical) inadequacies people laugh, leave those battles to the big boys, hopefully you'll be a big boy (or girl) soon!
Be nice, but don't be a doormat. Be able to say no, but don't be a prick.
Know that nobody is that big anymore, nobody reaches everybody, which means the odds are not against you like they used to be, it's easier to gain an audience and sustain than ever, although it's harder than ever to move up the food chain, if you're not a lifer, don't even start, if you think you'll give it a few years and then decide whether to go to graduate school, go to graduate school right away, cut out the middleman.
Not everybody was born to be a professional musician. Some of the best payers don't have the constitution. Be self-savvy, if the other band blows you off the stage, maybe you should give up, find somewhere where you can truly shine.
The best work is done when no one is paying attention. If you're online spreading the word all the time, you're not honing your act.
Capture inspiration, a true artist is in tune with this, they know when the bell goes off, they lay it down then and don't self-edit. They look at it tomorrow and see what they've got. Oftentimes it's genius. And don't let you or anyone else cock it up. When you're channeling the gods, you're incredibly powerful. Legends yearn for these moments. Sure, some people hone songs over time, but most don't, they wait for that spark, CAPTURE IT!
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-TuneIn: http://tunein.com/lefsetz
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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If you're not hip-hop, don't sign with a major label, they won't be able to do anything for you, but they probably don't want you anyway. This does not mean you should add a featured rapper, this does not mean you should add drum machines, this just means you should know who you are, the greatest artists are not malleable, if you don't fit into the system, don't try to mold it to yourself, it doesn't work that way, if anything you will bend, not them.
You're your own publicity machine, and probably record company too, if you're not prepared to do the hard work of selling yourself, don't even start. If you've got a mythical idea of a huge machine that you just need to plug into to get ahead you couldn't be more wrong, today it's all about grinding, you start with your friends and families, you trade opening slots with other acts, if you're not a networker you're not a successful musician today. Note, I'm not saying you're a hypester, a spammer, just that you know people who will help spread the word, and if they won't, make new music they will circulate or get new friends.
The most important person on your team is your agent. Sign with someone who can get you work, it's just that simple. You can have an agent without a manager, sometimes that's the best way to go, for if you gain traction you can get a better manager. Odds are you won't get a first tier agent at first, but despite all the hype about record companies, today's music business functions on promoters and agents, they see what reacts, they spread the buzz, if you play and people show up and love you, or even if few show up and you slay them, you're on your way.
It's about songs, it's always been about songs, if you're not a writer you're at the mercy of other writers, and they don't want to give you their best material. Your first songs will suck, everybody's do. Then you'll get better and think you've arrived at the destination but later you'll look back at this work and laugh. Start NOW!
Never underestimate melody, changes hook people, if they can sing along, if what you're doing is memorable, it's an easier route to success.
Ignore the trappings. Getting attention is much easier than having a career. The newspapers constantly review records that go straight into the dumper.
Practice, whatever you do. Play, sing, make beats, experience counts. And push yourself, remember it's 10,000 hours of HARD PRACTICE! And if you're bragging to everybody how hard you're working you're a wanker, everybody who's successful worked hard.
Never underestimate the power of free, if you're not willing to give it away, you're not willing to be successful. People will give you ALL their money, never mind their bodies, if you make it. Load people up with freebies, whether it be music or tweets or...
Don't employ social media unless it's you and you have a voice. If you see tweeting as a sentence, don't. Same deal with Instagram and Snapchat. That doesn't mean another band member or your significant other can't participate in your stead, as long as they're honest as to who they are. You've got to have an identity, you've got to be vulnerable, for every hater you'll have tons of fans hanging on every word. Everybody's lonely, everybody's looking for truth, everybody's looking for someone who can understand them, when done right this is what your music does, provide a link between you and the listener, as does your social media presence.
Mystery is history. Illusions are passe. Everybody's trackable online. Don't lie, don't employ artifice, your career will be shorter.
Play wherever anybody wants you, even if you're not being paid or being paid bupkes. You're looking to infect someone. One fan can make a huge difference, can bring people to your next gig, turn people on to your music.
Don't think of streaming as revenue, think of your presence on services as land mines, this is the greatest time for unknowns ever, used to be you had to be on the radio or have your music bought to be heard, now anybody can click and listen.
Don't complain. No one wants to hear it. You've got no leverage, no power, when you weigh in on streaming payments and other (theoretical) inadequacies people laugh, leave those battles to the big boys, hopefully you'll be a big boy (or girl) soon!
Be nice, but don't be a doormat. Be able to say no, but don't be a prick.
Know that nobody is that big anymore, nobody reaches everybody, which means the odds are not against you like they used to be, it's easier to gain an audience and sustain than ever, although it's harder than ever to move up the food chain, if you're not a lifer, don't even start, if you think you'll give it a few years and then decide whether to go to graduate school, go to graduate school right away, cut out the middleman.
Not everybody was born to be a professional musician. Some of the best payers don't have the constitution. Be self-savvy, if the other band blows you off the stage, maybe you should give up, find somewhere where you can truly shine.
The best work is done when no one is paying attention. If you're online spreading the word all the time, you're not honing your act.
Capture inspiration, a true artist is in tune with this, they know when the bell goes off, they lay it down then and don't self-edit. They look at it tomorrow and see what they've got. Oftentimes it's genius. And don't let you or anyone else cock it up. When you're channeling the gods, you're incredibly powerful. Legends yearn for these moments. Sure, some people hone songs over time, but most don't, they wait for that spark, CAPTURE 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
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Fashion Nova
You can't read the story unless you're a subscriber.
The best article I read on the plane out here was about Fashion Nova clothing, a brand built on Instagram. Cheap clothing with tons of varieties sold by models both known and unknown,
You want to be a Nova girl. Big or small. This is not the highfalutin' fashion industry, not the one with runway shows, this is for real people, who buy and wear fashions, oftentimes inspired by the celebrities on Instagram, like Kylie Jenner or Cardi B.
Let me start all over again, this article was in the latest issue of "New York" magazine, the one with Elizabeth Warren on the cover. In case you haven't noticed, periodicals have changed their formula, used to be that magazines subscriptions were cheap, supported by ads, the key was to drive circulation up, for a guaranteed readership. But then ads tanked and the economics no longer worked. Now per issue price can be close to ten bucks, and a subscription is fifty or more dollars, instead of 40% of that.
So most people stopped reading, they were satiated with surfing the web, or oldsters addicted to print stuck with the newspapers and...
It's astounding what people don't know.
Me too, I don't know everything, no one can, but the key to understanding this world is to hoover up information, which is why by refusing to read his briefings the President is doing our country a disservice.
So I'd never heard of Fashion Nova, which is fine, because so many stories in the rags are publicity plants. Even in the "New York Times," every Sunday they feature a story about a book or a potion with no track record that promptly goes into the dumper.
But that is not Fashion Nova.
The owner reacted to the marketplace.
He started off selling jeans, in one store, in the San Fernando Valley, at the Panorama Mall if you live close.
And at first it was high-waisted jeans, but he listened to what his customer base wanted.
This is the flaw the music business unveiled and still hasn't owned. This is the birth of Napster. It was not about theft of music so much as overpriced CDs with only one good track. Hell, it's been proven in this almost no piracy era that people still don't want the album, even when they're paying for it on Spotify, but the artists keep making them and the labels keep distributing them, EVEN THOUGH PEOPLE DON'T WANT THEM!
But it's hard to change, right?
WRONG!
Second, Fashion Nova's products are cheap. Its proprietor, Richard Saghian, knows he's selling dope, it's about getting people addicted, which is why when you talk about price points and protection you've missed the memo. In fashion and entertainment it's all about heat, have a hot product and you can sell not only it, but...merch, fragrances, sponsorships... The track is the gateway drug, it's what gets people hooked.
And there are a lot of products, which is why if you're putting an album out every other year and touring it you're delusional.
You put it out and see what works and then double-down. Fashion Nova offers a thousand new styles A WEEK! That's right, put out a lot of music! And the products are cheap and not so well made. Today's music is not made for tomorrow, just for today, when you ask if they'll play the tracks of 2018 at weddings and bar mitzvahs twenty years from now, you're missing the point.
And you've got to let everybody play.
That's right, anybody can be a Fashion Nova model. You put up your look on Instagram and wait to get found by the company, to gain fame and discounts, this is reality television without the networks. There's no lead time, you're discovered and you're featured, and you know it's not forever, you just feel good for a moment or two and then you're on to the next thing.
And you don't have to be tall and thin. Fashion Nova sells skin-tight clothing for the curvy, and I don't mean the mildly curvy, but what the charts say is obese. Because the overweight are people too, they've got to wear clothing too, they've got money to spend too.
But for far too long we've had an elite that believes it dictates. Primarily in news media. But in music media too. It's been all about major labels and terrestrial radio, but that is changing, not that anybody wants you to know. An active user doesn't wait for radio, by time it hits the airwaves they're over it, you don't want the casual fan, but the true one, that's how you make your bucks.
And no one cares about your pedigree.
And sure, it's driven by influencers, but they come and go and savvy brands remain.
We keep hearing how Facebook is in trouble, then you read about a brand that was built on the Facebook-owned social network Instagram. And for those lamenting the future, there's no Fashion Nova without pics and video online. So you think you can stay with your old phone and slow speed but the truth is 5G is going to provide endless business opportunities, which entrepreneurs will take advantage of, not usual suspects.
This is the Clayton Christensen formula. You're gonna be disrupted by someone doing a worse job at a cheaper price utilizing new technology, so you're best off disrupting yourself. Amazon is killing physical retail. Fashion Nova is killing "aspirational" brands. Come on, who has the cash for the big brands, who wants to spend on the big brands when you can buy multiple items and look like a queen instantly!
And a king too, Fashion Nova is moving into men's fashion.
And I wouldn't have known all this if it weren't for ponying up for "New York" magazine.
And "New York" lets you read so much for free, but not this.
And I'm sure there are people reading this slapping their foreheads and laughing at me, wondering how I could be so out of it.
I AM!
But we all are.
But even more important than collecting information is seeing how it's all put together.
New platforms engender new business opportunities, they create new stars.
And today anybody can be a star, it's like the Me Decade reconstituted. You're the principal in your own movie, which is not linear, but is paraded all over social networks. And just like real movies, there are only a few superstars, but the barrier to entry is nonexistent, you can play, you could possibly be a Nova Babe.
Don't laugh, this is the story of tomorrow, the joke is on YOU!
https://www.instagram.com/fashionnova/
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The best article I read on the plane out here was about Fashion Nova clothing, a brand built on Instagram. Cheap clothing with tons of varieties sold by models both known and unknown,
You want to be a Nova girl. Big or small. This is not the highfalutin' fashion industry, not the one with runway shows, this is for real people, who buy and wear fashions, oftentimes inspired by the celebrities on Instagram, like Kylie Jenner or Cardi B.
Let me start all over again, this article was in the latest issue of "New York" magazine, the one with Elizabeth Warren on the cover. In case you haven't noticed, periodicals have changed their formula, used to be that magazines subscriptions were cheap, supported by ads, the key was to drive circulation up, for a guaranteed readership. But then ads tanked and the economics no longer worked. Now per issue price can be close to ten bucks, and a subscription is fifty or more dollars, instead of 40% of that.
So most people stopped reading, they were satiated with surfing the web, or oldsters addicted to print stuck with the newspapers and...
It's astounding what people don't know.
Me too, I don't know everything, no one can, but the key to understanding this world is to hoover up information, which is why by refusing to read his briefings the President is doing our country a disservice.
So I'd never heard of Fashion Nova, which is fine, because so many stories in the rags are publicity plants. Even in the "New York Times," every Sunday they feature a story about a book or a potion with no track record that promptly goes into the dumper.
But that is not Fashion Nova.
The owner reacted to the marketplace.
He started off selling jeans, in one store, in the San Fernando Valley, at the Panorama Mall if you live close.
And at first it was high-waisted jeans, but he listened to what his customer base wanted.
This is the flaw the music business unveiled and still hasn't owned. This is the birth of Napster. It was not about theft of music so much as overpriced CDs with only one good track. Hell, it's been proven in this almost no piracy era that people still don't want the album, even when they're paying for it on Spotify, but the artists keep making them and the labels keep distributing them, EVEN THOUGH PEOPLE DON'T WANT THEM!
But it's hard to change, right?
WRONG!
Second, Fashion Nova's products are cheap. Its proprietor, Richard Saghian, knows he's selling dope, it's about getting people addicted, which is why when you talk about price points and protection you've missed the memo. In fashion and entertainment it's all about heat, have a hot product and you can sell not only it, but...merch, fragrances, sponsorships... The track is the gateway drug, it's what gets people hooked.
And there are a lot of products, which is why if you're putting an album out every other year and touring it you're delusional.
You put it out and see what works and then double-down. Fashion Nova offers a thousand new styles A WEEK! That's right, put out a lot of music! And the products are cheap and not so well made. Today's music is not made for tomorrow, just for today, when you ask if they'll play the tracks of 2018 at weddings and bar mitzvahs twenty years from now, you're missing the point.
And you've got to let everybody play.
That's right, anybody can be a Fashion Nova model. You put up your look on Instagram and wait to get found by the company, to gain fame and discounts, this is reality television without the networks. There's no lead time, you're discovered and you're featured, and you know it's not forever, you just feel good for a moment or two and then you're on to the next thing.
And you don't have to be tall and thin. Fashion Nova sells skin-tight clothing for the curvy, and I don't mean the mildly curvy, but what the charts say is obese. Because the overweight are people too, they've got to wear clothing too, they've got money to spend too.
But for far too long we've had an elite that believes it dictates. Primarily in news media. But in music media too. It's been all about major labels and terrestrial radio, but that is changing, not that anybody wants you to know. An active user doesn't wait for radio, by time it hits the airwaves they're over it, you don't want the casual fan, but the true one, that's how you make your bucks.
And no one cares about your pedigree.
And sure, it's driven by influencers, but they come and go and savvy brands remain.
We keep hearing how Facebook is in trouble, then you read about a brand that was built on the Facebook-owned social network Instagram. And for those lamenting the future, there's no Fashion Nova without pics and video online. So you think you can stay with your old phone and slow speed but the truth is 5G is going to provide endless business opportunities, which entrepreneurs will take advantage of, not usual suspects.
This is the Clayton Christensen formula. You're gonna be disrupted by someone doing a worse job at a cheaper price utilizing new technology, so you're best off disrupting yourself. Amazon is killing physical retail. Fashion Nova is killing "aspirational" brands. Come on, who has the cash for the big brands, who wants to spend on the big brands when you can buy multiple items and look like a queen instantly!
And a king too, Fashion Nova is moving into men's fashion.
And I wouldn't have known all this if it weren't for ponying up for "New York" magazine.
And "New York" lets you read so much for free, but not this.
And I'm sure there are people reading this slapping their foreheads and laughing at me, wondering how I could be so out of it.
I AM!
But we all are.
But even more important than collecting information is seeing how it's all put together.
New platforms engender new business opportunities, they create new stars.
And today anybody can be a star, it's like the Me Decade reconstituted. You're the principal in your own movie, which is not linear, but is paraded all over social networks. And just like real movies, there are only a few superstars, but the barrier to entry is nonexistent, you can play, you could possibly be a Nova Babe.
Don't laugh, this is the story of tomorrow, the joke is on YOU!
https://www.instagram.com/fashionnova/
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My Hometown
You expect nothing to change. Your mental movie says one thing, but reality is something else.
We started the day in New Canaan. At the Philip Johnson Glass House, which I studied in college but had never been to before. I recommend the tour, in this case led by the type of woman who doesn't exist in California, at least not L.A., an upper-crust WASP with an edge, who kept telling us not to ask questions about the future while we were still in the past, i.e. don't ask about the swimming pool outside the house while we were still in it. But she implored us to quiz her, and therein lay the conundrum.
As for Philip Johnson...
He was rich. Never underestimate the power of money. He created a weekend empire where he entertained his buddies, it was an endless salon. Andy Warhol was the only friend allowed to stay over, and the Velvet Underground played, and it's hard to believe this happened just half an hour away, but that's the way it used to be, before the internet, people had privacy, you could not truly peer into their lives, they certainly weren't tweeting, and there was no TMZ to track their every move. In other words, Edie Sedgwick was yesteryear's Kim Kardashian, and you had no idea who she was until they wrote a book about her, meanwhile, she blew her money in pursuit of fame, she didn't make any.
And then we went to Pepe's Pizza. I know, I know, we should have gone to the original in New Haven, but my mother is handicapped and parking there is challenging whereas in Fairfield you can walk right in.
For the white clam pizza. Now that's something you've never had, that's something unique to the east coast. And a tomato pie with sausage, mushrooms and anchovies. We never ate plain pizza as kids, we always loaded it up. And Bridgeport/Fairfield is laden with great pizza to the point where Domino's, Pizza Hut and Papa John's are a non-factor, you can't sell dressed bread in the land of the real thing. And what separates east coast pizza from the rest is the crust, if you don't want to eat it it's not done right. It's firm, it's crunchy, it's tasty. But Pepe's is the apotheosis. The pizza is thin and you just cannot stop eating it.
And then we drove through the old neighborhood.
Someone is living in our house, even though it's got the same address. That's a head-spinner unto itself, there was a girl peering out of the living room window, but I can only guess as to what transpires where I spent my formative years, with a sticky, smelly septic tank before there were sewers.
And the truth is the houses seem closer together, although not smaller. I walked to school, every day, I can remember on two fingers the number of times my mother picked me up, not even during the hurricane when we were sent home early. And it seemed a longer trudge than it does now.
And on our street the houses look the same.
But on Barry Scott Drive, every edifice has been enlarged. I remembered everybody who lived in each domicile, the Romes, the Westons, the Gallaghers, those people with the first built-in pool. But now all those families are gone.
And you used to be able to toboggan from our house to the street three backyards away. But now neighbors have erected fences, out of wood in this case, but the new thing in this area is plastic fences. Which rarely fake you out, you know they're not wood. Whereas if you had a wall in the fifties and sixties you were ostracized, we kids roamed the neighborhood, from one yard to another, yes, there were a couple we knew to stay off of, but we ruled, back before letting your kid out of your sight was a crime.
And the cut-through from Fairfield Woods through the neighborhood was still there, that's where I went to elementary school, and junior high. I remember riding my bike home through the houses.
But where we played kickball with Mr. Conley?
It's now a parking lot.
My first grade classroom, right next to my kindergarten?
It's still there, but they've built a giant addition to a school that was pretty big to begin with.
And the hill where I first donned skis? It's gone, turned into a parking lot, and the chain-link fence that marked the boundary between the schoolyard and the houses is obscured by foliage.
That's the big surprise, along with the late model cars in the driveway. There's so much greenery, you just can't see what you used to, whereas the neighborhood was open and carefree, now it resembles an arboretum on steroids.
But that's what happens in fifty years.
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We started the day in New Canaan. At the Philip Johnson Glass House, which I studied in college but had never been to before. I recommend the tour, in this case led by the type of woman who doesn't exist in California, at least not L.A., an upper-crust WASP with an edge, who kept telling us not to ask questions about the future while we were still in the past, i.e. don't ask about the swimming pool outside the house while we were still in it. But she implored us to quiz her, and therein lay the conundrum.
As for Philip Johnson...
He was rich. Never underestimate the power of money. He created a weekend empire where he entertained his buddies, it was an endless salon. Andy Warhol was the only friend allowed to stay over, and the Velvet Underground played, and it's hard to believe this happened just half an hour away, but that's the way it used to be, before the internet, people had privacy, you could not truly peer into their lives, they certainly weren't tweeting, and there was no TMZ to track their every move. In other words, Edie Sedgwick was yesteryear's Kim Kardashian, and you had no idea who she was until they wrote a book about her, meanwhile, she blew her money in pursuit of fame, she didn't make any.
And then we went to Pepe's Pizza. I know, I know, we should have gone to the original in New Haven, but my mother is handicapped and parking there is challenging whereas in Fairfield you can walk right in.
For the white clam pizza. Now that's something you've never had, that's something unique to the east coast. And a tomato pie with sausage, mushrooms and anchovies. We never ate plain pizza as kids, we always loaded it up. And Bridgeport/Fairfield is laden with great pizza to the point where Domino's, Pizza Hut and Papa John's are a non-factor, you can't sell dressed bread in the land of the real thing. And what separates east coast pizza from the rest is the crust, if you don't want to eat it it's not done right. It's firm, it's crunchy, it's tasty. But Pepe's is the apotheosis. The pizza is thin and you just cannot stop eating it.
And then we drove through the old neighborhood.
Someone is living in our house, even though it's got the same address. That's a head-spinner unto itself, there was a girl peering out of the living room window, but I can only guess as to what transpires where I spent my formative years, with a sticky, smelly septic tank before there were sewers.
And the truth is the houses seem closer together, although not smaller. I walked to school, every day, I can remember on two fingers the number of times my mother picked me up, not even during the hurricane when we were sent home early. And it seemed a longer trudge than it does now.
And on our street the houses look the same.
But on Barry Scott Drive, every edifice has been enlarged. I remembered everybody who lived in each domicile, the Romes, the Westons, the Gallaghers, those people with the first built-in pool. But now all those families are gone.
And you used to be able to toboggan from our house to the street three backyards away. But now neighbors have erected fences, out of wood in this case, but the new thing in this area is plastic fences. Which rarely fake you out, you know they're not wood. Whereas if you had a wall in the fifties and sixties you were ostracized, we kids roamed the neighborhood, from one yard to another, yes, there were a couple we knew to stay off of, but we ruled, back before letting your kid out of your sight was a crime.
And the cut-through from Fairfield Woods through the neighborhood was still there, that's where I went to elementary school, and junior high. I remember riding my bike home through the houses.
But where we played kickball with Mr. Conley?
It's now a parking lot.
My first grade classroom, right next to my kindergarten?
It's still there, but they've built a giant addition to a school that was pretty big to begin with.
And the hill where I first donned skis? It's gone, turned into a parking lot, and the chain-link fence that marked the boundary between the schoolyard and the houses is obscured by foliage.
That's the big surprise, along with the late model cars in the driveway. There's so much greenery, you just can't see what you used to, whereas the neighborhood was open and carefree, now it resembles an arboretum on steroids.
But that's what happens in fifty years.
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Sunday 29 July 2018
East Coast Observations
There's no traffic.
I know, I know, if you go on the 95, it can be gridlocked, BUT THERE ARE ONLY THREE LANES! But my mother lives on Park Avenue, on the Bridgeport side, the main artery from Sacred Heart University to the beach, and...I never have to wait to enter traffic, I can pull a U-turn, it's positively sleepy whereas in Los Angeles traffic is so bad that everybody employs WAZE and even the backstreets, thank you Bruce, are bumper to bumper.
You don't need a jacket at night.
Oh, you might wear a fur during the SoCal winter, but the truth is my first year in California I wore my jean jacket, when that was a thing, all winter long. But during the summer? You always have to bring a wrap. Not only for the overchilled movies, but for the nip in the air, whether it be on the Westside or the Valley. I just locked the car and strode across the parking lot a half hour shy of midnight and I was revelling in the lack of a need for a jacket, this is the summer I remember.
You can be rich or be an artist, take your choice.
Today we went to the Rockefeller estate in Pocantico Hills. I never knew Tarrytown had such a long downtown, I never knew White Plains had high rises, but I do know the Rockefellers had tons of money. Did I ever tell you I went to college with Eileen Rockefeller, David's daughter? Not that we were best friends, not that she'd remember me, but we did have some conversations, I remember she had a loom in her dorm room. And as a matter of fact, in the basement of the house on the hill, where Nelson's art collection is, they have tapestries of Picassos. That's the stunning element of Kykuit, the artwork, both outside and in. Anybody rich can build an edifice, maybe even a golf course, assuming they have enough property, the Rockefellers had 4,000 acres, but do you have the taste to acquire great art? Nelson liked to think he had talent because he knew where to place sculptures, but being inspired to create the work, that's the thing. Today every artist wants to be a Roc-A-Fella, but the truth is you never can be. Dr. Dre may have reached a billion, but he cannot compete with Zuckerberg and Bezos, never mind Gates and Buffett. But money is no match for art. Steve Jobs is nearly forgotten, he won't be remembered but Picasso will, the Beatles probably too, that's the power of songwriting, that's the power of melody. So, do you want to leave your mark or accumulate cash? Those are different paths, what it takes to get rich is cunning business skills. Do you know any truly rich people? That money was not easy to earn, they had to compete, kill a few people along the way, not that they are not smart. But we understand business, we can see the path, but art is incomprehensible, and the greatest art is about testing limits. Me-too is nowhere. We're interested in those who challenge conceptions, who test limits, who take us to new heights, like the aforementioned Picasso as well as Motherwell and Calder and Warhol in Nelson's subterranean collection, never mind the Brancusi and Maillol outside...
Progress happens.
There's a carriage house, with carriages, you know, the horse-drawn kind, that's how John D. got to Kykuit. But then the automobile came along and soon no one will own a car and then at some point the car will be superseded, by what, I don't know. And I know you're in future shock, and I know you lament the loss of the past, but the truth is the future keeps on coming down the track, faster and faster, and those who adapt win, and are happy in the end. That's how you know you're too old, when the tech and the changes overwhelm you, you're done.
Everybody wants to talk about Trump.
Last night I went to a dinner party with seven women, most of the conversation was about Trump (and the death of a synagogue!) Tonight I was at a restaurant and the owner couldn't stop talking about Trump, wondering how many illegals were working at the President's clubs. The restaurateur says the truth is America runs on immigrant labor, workers who oftentimes pay taxes, even though they never collect social security.
You can see world class talent in Fairfield.
It used to be another suburb, no one commuted to New York, I won't say my hometown was a backwater, but if you wanted to see a show you had to drive to NYC, or maybe New Haven, now we have the Fairfield Theatre Company, with two rooms, one a 700+ cap and the other 200. Furthermore, it's not a dump. That's right, too many clubs are warehouses and nothing more, no amenities and dirty toilets, even backstage FTC was first class, surprised me, but not as much as...
Australian bands can PLAY!
Castlecomer, that was the band playing in the small room, to not a big audience, another rock band trying to make it. But hearing them perform through the walls, I could tell their music was good, and almost all of these unknown bands are bad. The drummer... The pounding was powerful, it drove the music forward, but when we emerged into the venue I found the frontman to be doing the act of someone performing to thousands. That's the mark of someone who's gonna make it, someone who closes the few in attendance knowing they will never forget them.
Castlecomer played 500 gigs before they were anybody. The frontman was an attorney who gave up the practice to write songs, because really you can't do both. He wrote "Fire Alarm" the night he quit his gig. It attracted attention, the band flew to SXSW and were courted by labels and are now signed to Concord. "Fire Alarm" has 6,000,000 streams on Spotify, which means the band is not making any money, but they are getting attention, building a fan base. And if you see them you'll be closed. But rock in the States is a backwater, there's little room for new stuff on commercial radio, and it never crosses over to the mainstream, yet I enjoyed sitting there listening to an unknown band perform, reminded me of the way it used to be, way back when, in the seventies, before Netflix, when being home was a drag, when you had to go out, and there was no deejay playing records, there weren't even any sports bars, you listened to bands. Now only the hard core is interested, the looky-loos, the casual fans, have moved on to other pursuits, but the hard core remains, and from this hard core emanates a rebirth. Only takes a spark to start a fire, but people, fans, communicators, are the oxygen, they make the whole thing go, they make it blow up.
More...
And the truth is although it's the same country, the east coast is very different from the west. It's beautiful, but somewhat calcified, kinda like Europe, there's a ton of tradition, but it's hard to break out of, whereas in California, the west, it's new, everything's being invented for the first time, there's more freedom. Then again, some great art comes from those reacting to the status quo.
I know, I know, if you go on the 95, it can be gridlocked, BUT THERE ARE ONLY THREE LANES! But my mother lives on Park Avenue, on the Bridgeport side, the main artery from Sacred Heart University to the beach, and...I never have to wait to enter traffic, I can pull a U-turn, it's positively sleepy whereas in Los Angeles traffic is so bad that everybody employs WAZE and even the backstreets, thank you Bruce, are bumper to bumper.
You don't need a jacket at night.
Oh, you might wear a fur during the SoCal winter, but the truth is my first year in California I wore my jean jacket, when that was a thing, all winter long. But during the summer? You always have to bring a wrap. Not only for the overchilled movies, but for the nip in the air, whether it be on the Westside or the Valley. I just locked the car and strode across the parking lot a half hour shy of midnight and I was revelling in the lack of a need for a jacket, this is the summer I remember.
You can be rich or be an artist, take your choice.
Today we went to the Rockefeller estate in Pocantico Hills. I never knew Tarrytown had such a long downtown, I never knew White Plains had high rises, but I do know the Rockefellers had tons of money. Did I ever tell you I went to college with Eileen Rockefeller, David's daughter? Not that we were best friends, not that she'd remember me, but we did have some conversations, I remember she had a loom in her dorm room. And as a matter of fact, in the basement of the house on the hill, where Nelson's art collection is, they have tapestries of Picassos. That's the stunning element of Kykuit, the artwork, both outside and in. Anybody rich can build an edifice, maybe even a golf course, assuming they have enough property, the Rockefellers had 4,000 acres, but do you have the taste to acquire great art? Nelson liked to think he had talent because he knew where to place sculptures, but being inspired to create the work, that's the thing. Today every artist wants to be a Roc-A-Fella, but the truth is you never can be. Dr. Dre may have reached a billion, but he cannot compete with Zuckerberg and Bezos, never mind Gates and Buffett. But money is no match for art. Steve Jobs is nearly forgotten, he won't be remembered but Picasso will, the Beatles probably too, that's the power of songwriting, that's the power of melody. So, do you want to leave your mark or accumulate cash? Those are different paths, what it takes to get rich is cunning business skills. Do you know any truly rich people? That money was not easy to earn, they had to compete, kill a few people along the way, not that they are not smart. But we understand business, we can see the path, but art is incomprehensible, and the greatest art is about testing limits. Me-too is nowhere. We're interested in those who challenge conceptions, who test limits, who take us to new heights, like the aforementioned Picasso as well as Motherwell and Calder and Warhol in Nelson's subterranean collection, never mind the Brancusi and Maillol outside...
Progress happens.
There's a carriage house, with carriages, you know, the horse-drawn kind, that's how John D. got to Kykuit. But then the automobile came along and soon no one will own a car and then at some point the car will be superseded, by what, I don't know. And I know you're in future shock, and I know you lament the loss of the past, but the truth is the future keeps on coming down the track, faster and faster, and those who adapt win, and are happy in the end. That's how you know you're too old, when the tech and the changes overwhelm you, you're done.
Everybody wants to talk about Trump.
Last night I went to a dinner party with seven women, most of the conversation was about Trump (and the death of a synagogue!) Tonight I was at a restaurant and the owner couldn't stop talking about Trump, wondering how many illegals were working at the President's clubs. The restaurateur says the truth is America runs on immigrant labor, workers who oftentimes pay taxes, even though they never collect social security.
You can see world class talent in Fairfield.
It used to be another suburb, no one commuted to New York, I won't say my hometown was a backwater, but if you wanted to see a show you had to drive to NYC, or maybe New Haven, now we have the Fairfield Theatre Company, with two rooms, one a 700+ cap and the other 200. Furthermore, it's not a dump. That's right, too many clubs are warehouses and nothing more, no amenities and dirty toilets, even backstage FTC was first class, surprised me, but not as much as...
Australian bands can PLAY!
Castlecomer, that was the band playing in the small room, to not a big audience, another rock band trying to make it. But hearing them perform through the walls, I could tell their music was good, and almost all of these unknown bands are bad. The drummer... The pounding was powerful, it drove the music forward, but when we emerged into the venue I found the frontman to be doing the act of someone performing to thousands. That's the mark of someone who's gonna make it, someone who closes the few in attendance knowing they will never forget them.
Castlecomer played 500 gigs before they were anybody. The frontman was an attorney who gave up the practice to write songs, because really you can't do both. He wrote "Fire Alarm" the night he quit his gig. It attracted attention, the band flew to SXSW and were courted by labels and are now signed to Concord. "Fire Alarm" has 6,000,000 streams on Spotify, which means the band is not making any money, but they are getting attention, building a fan base. And if you see them you'll be closed. But rock in the States is a backwater, there's little room for new stuff on commercial radio, and it never crosses over to the mainstream, yet I enjoyed sitting there listening to an unknown band perform, reminded me of the way it used to be, way back when, in the seventies, before Netflix, when being home was a drag, when you had to go out, and there was no deejay playing records, there weren't even any sports bars, you listened to bands. Now only the hard core is interested, the looky-loos, the casual fans, have moved on to other pursuits, but the hard core remains, and from this hard core emanates a rebirth. Only takes a spark to start a fire, but people, fans, communicators, are the oxygen, they make the whole thing go, they make it blow up.
More...
And the truth is although it's the same country, the east coast is very different from the west. It's beautiful, but somewhat calcified, kinda like Europe, there's a ton of tradition, but it's hard to break out of, whereas in California, the west, it's new, everything's being invented for the first time, there's more freedom. Then again, some great art comes from those reacting to the status quo.
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