https://bit.ly/2EWQ4CQ
My conclusions:
1. The major labels are screwed.
2. Rock isn't as dead as we think it is.
3. When other genres adopt streaming, hip-hop's hegemony will decline.
Tim Ingham brings to attention the fact that the top five acts on streaming platforms have lost market share.
In other words, the rich aren't getting richer.
"Overall on-demand audio streams in the United States in 2018 grew by a very healthy 42 percent year-on-year, to 534.6 billion. Yet in the same year, the top 50 streaming tracks claimed just 0.7 percent of these plays, down from 3.9 percent in 2017."
Now if you go to BuzzAngle's 2018 report of consumption: https://bit.ly/2WrIKKd you'll find that Rock is the #1 in album sales. Rock has 26.5% of that market. Pop has 26.3% and Hip-Hop/Rap only has 5.2%.
Rock also dominates digital album sales, with 25.7% to Pop's 24.9% and Hip-Hop/Rap's 7.6%. Pop wins the Physical album sales and CD sales, but by a tenth of a percentage over Rock in physical, and 3% in CD sales. Hip-Hop/Rap has over 20% less market share than Pop and Rock in these two categories.
Rock wins vinyl. Begging the question of whether Rock fans are old farts. They've got the disposable income and remember when. 41.7% of vinyl sales is Rock, 25.6% of vinyl is Pop, and Hip-Hop/Rap only has 6.6%.
However, Rock doesn't do too well in Song Sales, with 15.1% of the market, whereas Pop dominates with 25.6% and Hip-Hop/Rap has 14.7%. It seems that Rock fans want to buy whole albums, Pop and Hip-Hop/Rap fans just want the hit. Then again, are Rock fans just old farts stuck in their old ways?
Because when it comes to total streams...
Hip-Hop/Rap dominates, with 25.4%, Pop has 18.5% and Rock only has 11.4%.
So, Hip-Hop/Rap dominates streaming. Will it continue to do so?
One thing's for sure, the superstars aren't that super. This is not like the old days, where there was a limited amount of product and if you couldn't get on the radio, good luck. Everybody can play now, and it causes chaos. We want order, but we're not getting it. People want more than the hits.
But the major labels are only signing the hits. They're not exploring new genres, they're just going for a larger share of an ever shrinking pie.
Furthermore, it doesn't appear the major labels have any idea how to sell what is not pop or hip-hop, i.e. sounds you can get on the radio and get instant traction with online. Of course there are exceptions, don't e-mail me about Billie Eilish. But Billie just illustrates the audience is more powerful than the industry. Just like "Old Town Road" on TikTok. The industry keeps chasing trends instead of getting in front of them. The same way they were behind with Napster and streaming too.
More stuff sells, you've got to sell more stuff, or otherwise customers will go somewhere else.
All the levers in the major label world mean less. Radio is declining in power and the big stations, as stated above, are just Hip-Hop and Pop.
TV is nearly irrelevant.
And as far as a deep pocket... The majors won't cough up dough until you prove yourself, then why do you need them? You've put years into developing your base, and now you're going to cash out for one check?
I don't think so.
As for rock, Jason Flom could be the smartest guy in the business. Ignoring the naysayers, he's pushed Greta Van Fleet to stardom, eclipsing not only many Pop and Hip-Hop acts, but everyone in the Adult Alternative/Non-Comm/Americana world. It seems that people want something more familiar, less edgy, less far from what they know. At least in the Rock world. And, once again, Led Zeppelin's debut was fifty years ago. At what point is it okay to be inspired by them?
And, once again, Rock kills on the road. It's dominated by oldies acts, for sure. But if you go to one of these shows, it's not only oldsters in attendance, there are always youngsters there, wanting to draw from the well.
Then again, we could be seeing the last gasps of Rock. When it moves to streaming, maybe it won't make a big dent. But something is gaining ground, i.e. market share/percentage in the streaming world, other than the superstars.
In other words, everybody may have a smartphone, but that does not mean they've adopted streaming. Rock fans say they want to own. They're ignorant and don't know tracks can live on the smartphone and are playable outside of cell range as long as the device has power. In other words, they're late to the party, as they were to social networks.
Or maybe there's a subculture of young Rock fans who aren't that into streaming. Maybe because there aren't acts as good as the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac, never mind Zeppelin and Ozzy, and if someone tried to follow in their footsteps, the kids would be eager to stream them.
So Hip-Hop fans are early adopters. Hip-Hop seized the opportunities online. Rock and the rest of the genres saw the internet and streaming as the devil, to their detriment. It's like those bitching about electric cars, self-driving cars... The truth is electric cars are gonna dominate and it won't be long before you don't even own one. Then again, you'll be in the know sooner when the transition happens, because it'll appear on the streets. When it's online...many miss the message.
So it turns out the limited choices of the pre-internet era did not reflect the public's true desires, they wanted more.
And generally speaking, this more is not aligned with the majors, they don't think it will scale.
But in the aggregate, it's bigger than the hits, way bigger than the hits.
Once again, if you want to know what's going on, you're probably best off looking at concert grosses. Because that's where people pony up their bucks.
Turns out there's tons of opportunity out there for non-hit acts. It's cheaper than ever to make, distribute and promote and if you're longing for the twentieth century, before the internet, when it was all different, the truth is you probably couldn't have gotten signed by a major anyway, you'd 'a been dead in the water. And if you made money on record sales back then, you're now upside down, but in terms of ticket sales, you're making more money than you ever did from record sales, check the grosses. And if you're bitching about traveling from city to city, doing the work, you're no different from the coal miner or auto worker whose job disappeared. You've got to adapt.
Hip-Hop has.
But everybody else has not.
We might ultimately find out that when it all settles Hip-Hop still dominates, that's possible, but one thing's for sure, a plethora of acts will have traction.
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Friday 7 June 2019
Thursday 6 June 2019
Dean Torrence-This Week's Podcast
Yes, that Dean, of Jan and Dean.
Dedicated readers will know they were my first faves, before the Beach Boys. I played their album "Command Performance" until it turned grey (which is what happened when you had a heavy tonearm, before the heyday of audiophile turntables in the late sixties and seventies). I made my mother drive from store to store until I could find blue sneakers. In the days before Vans, they were a rarity. Everybody wore white, with a few holdouts still wearing black from the fifties. And I had the striped shirts too. And when we went on a family trip cross-country I insisted we go to Malibu, where I rented a board and rode the waves, even stood up. Then again, I'd had some experience in Atlantic City. And this was before the Surf Punks informed everybody that they needed to go home, because the waves were just too crowded.
Jan was an underrated genius, he has not gotten his due. He wrote and produced and recorded. With a bunch of high school buddies. Dean was one of them, and the two of them...
At first, Dean was giving short answers, believing this was the typical interview, but once I told him to go on at length, he came out with so many stories...I realized this was the definitive statement, and I let him go on as long as he needed to.
Was he a BMOC at USC? (That's "Big Man On Campus" for those unfamiliar with the acronym.) NO! He might have had number ones, but those were in pop music, and everybody on campus was into FOLK MUSIC!
And I've never heard some of these Beach Boys stories before. At least not on this nuanced level.
Now at some point this generation is gonna die. And the roots of rock and roll will be sealed in amber. And sure, Jimi Hendrix never wanted to hear surf music again, and Frank Zappa pooh-poohed it, but maybe that's because it was so endearing, because it captured the essence of SoCal life, because it was so successful. Want to know what's a hit? Listen to those Jan and Dean records, they got you in one listen, you had to hear them again. Somehow we've gotten lost, maybe as a result of the free-format album era that succeeded them. Given all the tools and all the time and space, it turns out many people have nothing to say, at least not in a way that immediately grabs you. Can you write a hit single? Can you record and release a hit single? Most people can't, but that was the essence of Jan and Dean's success.
Listen.
iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
Apple: https://apple.co/2Wqa2Re
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2Kz0aNB
Stitcher: https://bit.ly/2WXQB1H
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-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Dedicated readers will know they were my first faves, before the Beach Boys. I played their album "Command Performance" until it turned grey (which is what happened when you had a heavy tonearm, before the heyday of audiophile turntables in the late sixties and seventies). I made my mother drive from store to store until I could find blue sneakers. In the days before Vans, they were a rarity. Everybody wore white, with a few holdouts still wearing black from the fifties. And I had the striped shirts too. And when we went on a family trip cross-country I insisted we go to Malibu, where I rented a board and rode the waves, even stood up. Then again, I'd had some experience in Atlantic City. And this was before the Surf Punks informed everybody that they needed to go home, because the waves were just too crowded.
Jan was an underrated genius, he has not gotten his due. He wrote and produced and recorded. With a bunch of high school buddies. Dean was one of them, and the two of them...
At first, Dean was giving short answers, believing this was the typical interview, but once I told him to go on at length, he came out with so many stories...I realized this was the definitive statement, and I let him go on as long as he needed to.
Was he a BMOC at USC? (That's "Big Man On Campus" for those unfamiliar with the acronym.) NO! He might have had number ones, but those were in pop music, and everybody on campus was into FOLK MUSIC!
And I've never heard some of these Beach Boys stories before. At least not on this nuanced level.
Now at some point this generation is gonna die. And the roots of rock and roll will be sealed in amber. And sure, Jimi Hendrix never wanted to hear surf music again, and Frank Zappa pooh-poohed it, but maybe that's because it was so endearing, because it captured the essence of SoCal life, because it was so successful. Want to know what's a hit? Listen to those Jan and Dean records, they got you in one listen, you had to hear them again. Somehow we've gotten lost, maybe as a result of the free-format album era that succeeded them. Given all the tools and all the time and space, it turns out many people have nothing to say, at least not in a way that immediately grabs you. Can you write a hit single? Can you record and release a hit single? Most people can't, but that was the essence of Jan and Dean's success.
Listen.
iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
Apple: https://apple.co/2Wqa2Re
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2Kz0aNB
Stitcher: https://bit.ly/2WXQB1H
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
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The Michael Lewis Podcast
Can Michael Lewis change the world?
We're addicted to narrative. If you can tell a good story, there's a market for you. There's a dearth of good storytellers, despite the plethora of television shows and books, but if you nail it, we're interested.
Michael Lewis is an incredible storyteller in print.
He's not quite as good in the audio format.
But that doesn't matter here, because the points he is making, the examples he's using, kick you in the stomach, make your head spin and cry out HALLELUJAH, SOMEONE'S ON MY SIDE!
And which side is Michael Lewis on?
I don't think the average person considers him a lefty. And after you hear his story of Cambridge Analytica, you certainly won't think he's on the Democratic team. But one thing's for sure, Michael's against the inequities of the financial system, and only a few people support that rip-off world.
So the first episode is about basketball. Like I said, Lewis is not the best podcaster. You're not quite sure where he's going and his voice is neither soothing nor addictive. It's like some guy who you're not sure if you like telling you a story you're interested in, and boy are you interested. But you've got to listen a while to get hooked.
The episode details refereeing in the NBA. Talks all about this center in New Jersey where plays are reviewed, on the fly. And that's interesting, but not as interesting as the final segment, the heart of the matter.
The people who complain most are the superstars. They feel they're entitled to have things go their way. Then it's expanded to people in expensive cars, they don't obey the rules. And suddenly you realize the ultra-successful don't see the world the same way you do, you react to it, they frame it. In other words, superstars of sport and commerce believe the game should yield to them, as opposed to vice versa. And we love and hate them for it at the same time. You can read their books, take their advice, but it never works, because they're different at the core, they're ENTITLED! This is when you realize the rich get richer and really, no one's on your side, as my father used to say, "shnooks get screwed."
The second episode is all about the financial system, how it's built on screwing the rank and file. The narrative concerns a schoolteacher, who owes a ton in student loans, but the company which manages them for the government is built on obfuscation. It doesn't tell her about loan relief, doesn't inform her of the essence of forbearance. Each rep is only given seven minutes per call, and their paycheck is more important than your obligation so they throw you off. Meanwhile, the head of the company makes millions. Why?
But even better is the segment on Elizabeth Warren. It's segments like these that could get her elected. It tells her history, how she was a bankruptcy law professor who felt there should be a government agency to protect the public. No one cares until she writes an obscure journal article, which suddenly gains traction. This is years ago, in the aughts. And the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau becomes a reality after the economic crash. Its mission is to stand up for the people. But then Trump gets elected and it's neutered. Hell, they spend millions trying to rebrand it to try to diminish its impact. This is where corporate power comes in. The Bureau was not beholden to Congress. Which meant that the lobbyists, the people who own the elected officials, couldn't meddle. And the financial institutions didn't like this, so they had it stripped of power. There's not a Trump acolyte alive, at least not one that's not a zillionaire, who wouldn't listen to this and ponder their allegiance. Who is sticking up for them? Never forget, it's all about obfuscation in politics, it's about personality and social mores rather than the real issues. Hell, that's one of the reasons Warren is castigated, she's a wonk. Who cares whether she has Native American blood or not, can she help the little guy? The truth is the powers-that-be don't want the little guy helped.
The third episode is about the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Facebook throws the researcher under the bus, and his career is ruined, he can't get a job and he owes a ton of money in legal fees. The bottom line...it didn't work. That's right, Cambridge Analytica's data was worthless. The professor said he could predict personal characteristics at best with 1% accuracy. But that's not the story online, in most of the news media. In other words the crowd got it wrong, there was no wisdom in the mass. Kinda like that guy who blew the whistle on Theranos and attorneys attacked him and his parents had to mortgage their house for his legal fees and the end result was...HE WAS RIGHT!
Gets even worse. Margaret Sullivan was the Public Editor of the "New York Times." But that job no longer exists, news outlets believe the crowd online will keep them in line.
And this is where Lewis posits we need a referee, to get the story straight, to get the facts straight.
That's what we're missing...everybody's making up their own facts, to their own advantage. Good luck spreading truth, people don't want to hear it. Corporations don't want exposes and penalties and they want to keep people voting against their interests.
But think of that... What if we had an online referee?
As for Facebook, it sacrificed the professor to save itself. It couldn't be their problem, but it is! Because they're wealthier with a whole cadre of publicists and lobbyists.
That's what ties all the episodes together. The issue of refereeing. And the fact that no one is happy with what's called, even if there is a referee. The NBA refs are light years more accurate than before, listen to the first episode for explanation, but the players aren't happy, the fans aren't happy...what chance do we have with corporations and politics??
Now the thing about podcasts is they're a private experience. You can't multitask, you miss the point.
And there are all kinds of podcasts, some no different from radio shows, but many go much deeper. In a so-called era of short attention spans, listeners can't get enough.
And Lewis is working for Pushkin Industries, the new podcast company formed by Malcolm Gladwell and Jacob Weisberg.
Now at this point, I'm skeptical of Gladwell, because he skews the facts to fit his narrative. But that's not how Lewis works, he tells the facts and then analyzes them and makes a point. Gladwell's a better storyteller, but not only his elocution and over-confidence start to bug you, but if you know anything about what he's talking about, you sometimes find out he's wrong. Is Los Angeles known for its luscious private golf courses? I've never heard anybody say that. Bowdoin doesn't serve steak and lobster on a regular basis, but Gladwell neglected to contact the administration to find out the truth. And when confronted with his mistakes, Gladwell just doubled-down, isn't that what's wrong with America?
Then again, I give him credit for this elite podcast company. To extract the best prices for advertising.
But it's still the wild west.
But the narrative hooks you. It's the antidote to the in-your-face shenanigans of the influencers and entertainers. It's more serious, the Lewis podcast makes you think, you remember thinking, don't you?
Tune in, you'll be stimulated. And you'll be convinced the country can't be fixed, but it can sure be a lot better. And fairer.
https://atrpodcast.com
We're addicted to narrative. If you can tell a good story, there's a market for you. There's a dearth of good storytellers, despite the plethora of television shows and books, but if you nail it, we're interested.
Michael Lewis is an incredible storyteller in print.
He's not quite as good in the audio format.
But that doesn't matter here, because the points he is making, the examples he's using, kick you in the stomach, make your head spin and cry out HALLELUJAH, SOMEONE'S ON MY SIDE!
And which side is Michael Lewis on?
I don't think the average person considers him a lefty. And after you hear his story of Cambridge Analytica, you certainly won't think he's on the Democratic team. But one thing's for sure, Michael's against the inequities of the financial system, and only a few people support that rip-off world.
So the first episode is about basketball. Like I said, Lewis is not the best podcaster. You're not quite sure where he's going and his voice is neither soothing nor addictive. It's like some guy who you're not sure if you like telling you a story you're interested in, and boy are you interested. But you've got to listen a while to get hooked.
The episode details refereeing in the NBA. Talks all about this center in New Jersey where plays are reviewed, on the fly. And that's interesting, but not as interesting as the final segment, the heart of the matter.
The people who complain most are the superstars. They feel they're entitled to have things go their way. Then it's expanded to people in expensive cars, they don't obey the rules. And suddenly you realize the ultra-successful don't see the world the same way you do, you react to it, they frame it. In other words, superstars of sport and commerce believe the game should yield to them, as opposed to vice versa. And we love and hate them for it at the same time. You can read their books, take their advice, but it never works, because they're different at the core, they're ENTITLED! This is when you realize the rich get richer and really, no one's on your side, as my father used to say, "shnooks get screwed."
The second episode is all about the financial system, how it's built on screwing the rank and file. The narrative concerns a schoolteacher, who owes a ton in student loans, but the company which manages them for the government is built on obfuscation. It doesn't tell her about loan relief, doesn't inform her of the essence of forbearance. Each rep is only given seven minutes per call, and their paycheck is more important than your obligation so they throw you off. Meanwhile, the head of the company makes millions. Why?
But even better is the segment on Elizabeth Warren. It's segments like these that could get her elected. It tells her history, how she was a bankruptcy law professor who felt there should be a government agency to protect the public. No one cares until she writes an obscure journal article, which suddenly gains traction. This is years ago, in the aughts. And the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau becomes a reality after the economic crash. Its mission is to stand up for the people. But then Trump gets elected and it's neutered. Hell, they spend millions trying to rebrand it to try to diminish its impact. This is where corporate power comes in. The Bureau was not beholden to Congress. Which meant that the lobbyists, the people who own the elected officials, couldn't meddle. And the financial institutions didn't like this, so they had it stripped of power. There's not a Trump acolyte alive, at least not one that's not a zillionaire, who wouldn't listen to this and ponder their allegiance. Who is sticking up for them? Never forget, it's all about obfuscation in politics, it's about personality and social mores rather than the real issues. Hell, that's one of the reasons Warren is castigated, she's a wonk. Who cares whether she has Native American blood or not, can she help the little guy? The truth is the powers-that-be don't want the little guy helped.
The third episode is about the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Facebook throws the researcher under the bus, and his career is ruined, he can't get a job and he owes a ton of money in legal fees. The bottom line...it didn't work. That's right, Cambridge Analytica's data was worthless. The professor said he could predict personal characteristics at best with 1% accuracy. But that's not the story online, in most of the news media. In other words the crowd got it wrong, there was no wisdom in the mass. Kinda like that guy who blew the whistle on Theranos and attorneys attacked him and his parents had to mortgage their house for his legal fees and the end result was...HE WAS RIGHT!
Gets even worse. Margaret Sullivan was the Public Editor of the "New York Times." But that job no longer exists, news outlets believe the crowd online will keep them in line.
And this is where Lewis posits we need a referee, to get the story straight, to get the facts straight.
That's what we're missing...everybody's making up their own facts, to their own advantage. Good luck spreading truth, people don't want to hear it. Corporations don't want exposes and penalties and they want to keep people voting against their interests.
But think of that... What if we had an online referee?
As for Facebook, it sacrificed the professor to save itself. It couldn't be their problem, but it is! Because they're wealthier with a whole cadre of publicists and lobbyists.
That's what ties all the episodes together. The issue of refereeing. And the fact that no one is happy with what's called, even if there is a referee. The NBA refs are light years more accurate than before, listen to the first episode for explanation, but the players aren't happy, the fans aren't happy...what chance do we have with corporations and politics??
Now the thing about podcasts is they're a private experience. You can't multitask, you miss the point.
And there are all kinds of podcasts, some no different from radio shows, but many go much deeper. In a so-called era of short attention spans, listeners can't get enough.
And Lewis is working for Pushkin Industries, the new podcast company formed by Malcolm Gladwell and Jacob Weisberg.
Now at this point, I'm skeptical of Gladwell, because he skews the facts to fit his narrative. But that's not how Lewis works, he tells the facts and then analyzes them and makes a point. Gladwell's a better storyteller, but not only his elocution and over-confidence start to bug you, but if you know anything about what he's talking about, you sometimes find out he's wrong. Is Los Angeles known for its luscious private golf courses? I've never heard anybody say that. Bowdoin doesn't serve steak and lobster on a regular basis, but Gladwell neglected to contact the administration to find out the truth. And when confronted with his mistakes, Gladwell just doubled-down, isn't that what's wrong with America?
Then again, I give him credit for this elite podcast company. To extract the best prices for advertising.
But it's still the wild west.
But the narrative hooks you. It's the antidote to the in-your-face shenanigans of the influencers and entertainers. It's more serious, the Lewis podcast makes you think, you remember thinking, don't you?
Tune in, you'll be stimulated. And you'll be convinced the country can't be fixed, but it can sure be a lot better. And fairer.
https://atrpodcast.com
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
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Wednesday 5 June 2019
WWDC 2019
Software rules.
And geeks have inherited the Earth.
I wasn't going to watch the Apple presentation. Steve Jobs is dead and the excitement seems overblown.
But not on Monday.
You see I didn't like the news reports, they just weren't in depth enough. So I dove in, I watched the two hour and seventeen minute presentation. And I'm glad I did, because now I know what is truly going on, and I look forward to extracting the power from my devices when the software launches.
It's a hardware world in the media, run by old farts looking for metrics to make the incomprehensible sensible. Like iPhone sales. These were the same wankers who thought the gravy train would go on forever. But users knew you had to upgrade to the iPhone 5 for LTE and the 6 for the big screen. After that?
Sales started to decline, and Wall Street looked at these numbers. But they're no longer what counts.
Usability. Pushing of the envelope. Power. Those are the code words today.
It's like we're back in the seventies, at the Homebrew Computer Club. Only geeks are paying attention, and then you watch this presentation and you get excited about the possibilities.
The mainstream news is about the death of iTunes. This was on Mac sites weeks ago. AND IT'S NO BIG DEAL! All Apple is doing is exploding the app into three. Which is the way it already is on the iPhone, the device of choice. What, am I supposed to be reminiscing about Word 1.5? Or the days when a spell checker was an add on feature you purchased?
Once again, the mainstream gets the story wrong.
But the reporters were right about privacy. That's clear from the beginning of the presentation. Even better is the ability to log in with Sign In With Apple. You don't want to give all your info to Facebook, now you don't have to give up your info at all. I could explain it, but you're better off watching the presentation. Then again, you won't. But you also cough up your privacy on a regular basis and then bitch about it afterward.
They started with the Watch. I returned mine, I just couldn't see it, I'm too damn old. I don't want to put on my reading glasses every time I raise my wrist. But the demonstration was convincing, especially with the info right on the Watch, it no longer needs to be tethered to your phone. But then I also thought about the short battery life, that's the only thing holding this device back.
As for the iPhone, it's all about iOS 13. iPhone users upgrade the software on their devices, Android users don't. It's eighty five percent to ten percent.
But they tell us Android rules the world.
And Android is a pretty good product, but if you pair it with a PC... Windows has come a long way, but it's still got the look and feel of a techie-only device. The techies bitch about the lack of customization on the Mac, but that's a small fraternity, they can live on their PCs.
It's all about features, which Apple added. I know, I know, that's not sexy to the hoi polloi, but it is to those in the know. And the truth is upgrading your phone is now like upgrading your laptop or desktop computer, you only do it when the device is long in the tooth and it can't handle the new OS, or is too slow to work effectively.
As for the iPad, it now has its own OS, but it will never be a desktop replacement, but if you're a Pencil user...
I'm not, I only wish I was. But drawing is not my thing, and I don't mark up documents.
Kinda like I don't write software. But listening to the AR and Swift talk, it almost made me want to.
Like in the days when computing was a hobby, not de rigueur.
As for the new operating system Catalina, it too was about features.
That's why I blew two hours plus, I wanted to learn about the features not included in the news reports, because I want to extract as much power from my devices as I'm able to. That's right, there are the power people and the powerless. And if you're the latter, you really don't know what's going on.
Then again, we live in a world where so much is going on, no one can grasp it all.
But the mindblower was Minecraft Earth. The demonstrator put herself in the game. You'd have to see it to get it. And it made me realize the kids know what they're doing, if you want to get them out of the house you've got to build something exciting, or they won't go. Baseball has no chance against videogames. You can see why eSports is such a big deal. But most prognosticators have never been exposed to these games, they're brain dead in front of the flat screen. It's almost like music in the sixties, burgeoning, big, but the mainstream didn't get it until Woodstock. There will be a Woodstock moment in videogaming, just you wait. Could just be the money involved, but it's gonna be something that shows the oldsters they're on the wrong path.
So, the world is being pushed further by software. Sure, Apple released the halo Mac Pro, but if you're spending five figures on a computer, you already know all this, and now only pros will truly pony up for this stuff. Hell, the monitor STAND is nearly a GRAND!
But you were wowed by the features.
Emojis and Memojis are the entry points. But your devices have much more power than that. But chances are you don't know that, you probably have never even used AirDrop.
Yes, the leaders are pulling away from those who've been overloaded, who no longer care. But if you don't understand software, you don't understand the future. Like those in government trying to regulate Facebook. Believe me, limit the social media giant and something else will pop up, just like KaZaA blew up after Napster closed.
Oh, and one more thing... There were women presenters, even a handicapped presenter, to the point where you wondered if Apple was picking these people based on their identities. But, they did a good job of presenting, not only males are into computing. Or gaming for that matter.
Your devices will do more than just surf the web and send e-mail. You can now edit your photos easily, without having to be a pro. The big wheel keeps on turnin', and you'd better get on the Proud Mary or you're gonna be left behind.
https://www.apple.com/apple-events/june-2019/
And if you pull up the status bar at the bottom of the screen, you can see dots. Hover your finger or mouse over those dots and you can go directly to the part of the presentation that interests you most.
To see Minecraft Earth, go to 2:01:15, even better, navigate to a few minutes before to 1:58:45 to see the technology that makes this game possible.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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And geeks have inherited the Earth.
I wasn't going to watch the Apple presentation. Steve Jobs is dead and the excitement seems overblown.
But not on Monday.
You see I didn't like the news reports, they just weren't in depth enough. So I dove in, I watched the two hour and seventeen minute presentation. And I'm glad I did, because now I know what is truly going on, and I look forward to extracting the power from my devices when the software launches.
It's a hardware world in the media, run by old farts looking for metrics to make the incomprehensible sensible. Like iPhone sales. These were the same wankers who thought the gravy train would go on forever. But users knew you had to upgrade to the iPhone 5 for LTE and the 6 for the big screen. After that?
Sales started to decline, and Wall Street looked at these numbers. But they're no longer what counts.
Usability. Pushing of the envelope. Power. Those are the code words today.
It's like we're back in the seventies, at the Homebrew Computer Club. Only geeks are paying attention, and then you watch this presentation and you get excited about the possibilities.
The mainstream news is about the death of iTunes. This was on Mac sites weeks ago. AND IT'S NO BIG DEAL! All Apple is doing is exploding the app into three. Which is the way it already is on the iPhone, the device of choice. What, am I supposed to be reminiscing about Word 1.5? Or the days when a spell checker was an add on feature you purchased?
Once again, the mainstream gets the story wrong.
But the reporters were right about privacy. That's clear from the beginning of the presentation. Even better is the ability to log in with Sign In With Apple. You don't want to give all your info to Facebook, now you don't have to give up your info at all. I could explain it, but you're better off watching the presentation. Then again, you won't. But you also cough up your privacy on a regular basis and then bitch about it afterward.
They started with the Watch. I returned mine, I just couldn't see it, I'm too damn old. I don't want to put on my reading glasses every time I raise my wrist. But the demonstration was convincing, especially with the info right on the Watch, it no longer needs to be tethered to your phone. But then I also thought about the short battery life, that's the only thing holding this device back.
As for the iPhone, it's all about iOS 13. iPhone users upgrade the software on their devices, Android users don't. It's eighty five percent to ten percent.
But they tell us Android rules the world.
And Android is a pretty good product, but if you pair it with a PC... Windows has come a long way, but it's still got the look and feel of a techie-only device. The techies bitch about the lack of customization on the Mac, but that's a small fraternity, they can live on their PCs.
It's all about features, which Apple added. I know, I know, that's not sexy to the hoi polloi, but it is to those in the know. And the truth is upgrading your phone is now like upgrading your laptop or desktop computer, you only do it when the device is long in the tooth and it can't handle the new OS, or is too slow to work effectively.
As for the iPad, it now has its own OS, but it will never be a desktop replacement, but if you're a Pencil user...
I'm not, I only wish I was. But drawing is not my thing, and I don't mark up documents.
Kinda like I don't write software. But listening to the AR and Swift talk, it almost made me want to.
Like in the days when computing was a hobby, not de rigueur.
As for the new operating system Catalina, it too was about features.
That's why I blew two hours plus, I wanted to learn about the features not included in the news reports, because I want to extract as much power from my devices as I'm able to. That's right, there are the power people and the powerless. And if you're the latter, you really don't know what's going on.
Then again, we live in a world where so much is going on, no one can grasp it all.
But the mindblower was Minecraft Earth. The demonstrator put herself in the game. You'd have to see it to get it. And it made me realize the kids know what they're doing, if you want to get them out of the house you've got to build something exciting, or they won't go. Baseball has no chance against videogames. You can see why eSports is such a big deal. But most prognosticators have never been exposed to these games, they're brain dead in front of the flat screen. It's almost like music in the sixties, burgeoning, big, but the mainstream didn't get it until Woodstock. There will be a Woodstock moment in videogaming, just you wait. Could just be the money involved, but it's gonna be something that shows the oldsters they're on the wrong path.
So, the world is being pushed further by software. Sure, Apple released the halo Mac Pro, but if you're spending five figures on a computer, you already know all this, and now only pros will truly pony up for this stuff. Hell, the monitor STAND is nearly a GRAND!
But you were wowed by the features.
Emojis and Memojis are the entry points. But your devices have much more power than that. But chances are you don't know that, you probably have never even used AirDrop.
Yes, the leaders are pulling away from those who've been overloaded, who no longer care. But if you don't understand software, you don't understand the future. Like those in government trying to regulate Facebook. Believe me, limit the social media giant and something else will pop up, just like KaZaA blew up after Napster closed.
Oh, and one more thing... There were women presenters, even a handicapped presenter, to the point where you wondered if Apple was picking these people based on their identities. But, they did a good job of presenting, not only males are into computing. Or gaming for that matter.
Your devices will do more than just surf the web and send e-mail. You can now edit your photos easily, without having to be a pro. The big wheel keeps on turnin', and you'd better get on the Proud Mary or you're gonna be left behind.
https://www.apple.com/apple-events/june-2019/
And if you pull up the status bar at the bottom of the screen, you can see dots. Hover your finger or mouse over those dots and you can go directly to the part of the presentation that interests you most.
To see Minecraft Earth, go to 2:01:15, even better, navigate to a few minutes before to 1:58:45 to see the technology that makes this game possible.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
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http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
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Tuesday 4 June 2019
Political Lessons
Politics is show business for ugly people.
But this year, the politicians are playing the game better than the entertainers.
You've got to be able to say no. That's one thing a musician no longer is capable of. If you're willing to pay, they'll show up. They'll even sing for dictators. There's no endorsement they won't sign on to. The whole enterprise is built on cash, and everybody wants some, in fact they want more.
But Elizabeth Warren won't take corporate donations. Leaving her potentially with less cash, but a stronger bond to the rank and file.
The North Vietnamese won the war because of hearts and minds. South Vietnam and the U.S. didn't have them. America felt its firepower could conquer anybody, but this proved to be untrue, it couldn't overcome the guerilla tactics of its opponent.
You play to everybody, not just those with the cash or the supposed power. A cache of individuals can always exceed the power of the so-called "man," especially today, when the tide is turning. Everybody's dealing with the results of globalization, and there are far more losers than winners, which is how Trump got elected to begin with. Doesn't matter if you agree with the Donald's position, or Warren's, the future is up for grabs, and those who hew to their own identity and have a backbone ultimately succeed. Warren refuses to go on Fox. She gives up eyeballs for beliefs. And this bonds her core to her even tighter. She's not willing to do anything to make it, especially when it enriches an entity her adherents abhor.
And you've got to be willing to do what is unpopular. Once again, you have to stick to what you believe. Ergo, John Hickenlooper at last week's Democratic confab in California. He was booed. He said using the word "socialism" would hand the election to Trump. That he was against Medicare-for-all and the Green New Deal, at least for now.
Now we can argue all day about whether Hickenlooper is right, but the question is are you willing to say something unpopular?
The truth is, the audience was extremely left-leaning. Was it representative of the electorate at large?
But as a result of being booed, Hickenlooper got unforeseen traction. Suddenly he was all over the media, there was a lengthy article about him in the political paper of record, "The Washington Post," because he made news. Furthermore, it wasn't train-wreck news, but news that begged a lot of questions that were worth analyzing. So, Hickenlooper went from back of the pack to the front page without even contemplating it, he just said what was in his heart.
Once again, it doesn't matter if you agree with him or not, that's not the point, as with Warren above. The point is in this social media world where everything is manipulated, where the fat cats believe marketing is king, Hickenlooper succeeded in getting his message out and getting facetime/publicity by doing nothing other than hewing to his core beliefs.
Musicians are incapable of saying something unpopular, they're afraid of alienating their audience, unless it's to get in some online war with a competitor. Isn't that how Meek Mill got notice?
Turns out triangulating, trying to second-guess the public, is no longer working in politics. That's why Hillary lost, that's why AOC defeated the incumbent. Everything's up for grabs.
But not in music. We keep selling the same thing we've been selling for years. The big story this annum is Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road." Built on a controversy whether it's country or not. When the truth is its success proves that that's a non-issue, you can become mega without radio. And "Old Town Road" was built by TikTok and is ultimately meaningless. That's what we're selling in music, froth, publicity, cash...did you see that Lil Nas X bought Billy Ray Cyrus a Maserati? Any millennial, any Gen-Z'er knows you're supposed to give back, fight poverty, give opportunities, clean the air. Hell, look at Nipsey Hussle. Most people in America had never heard of him, but when he was shot dead the story was about all the good he did in his community, that's what made him a legend, not his music.
So the lessons are there. Stand your ground, be willing to do the unpopular, go with your identity, don't follow the crowd. Because conventional wisdom is no longer smart. Now is the time for you to stand out.
But you must stand out with substance. Publicity stunts don't work. Especially in an era where if you shoot someone in the morning it's no longer news in the afternoon. Hell, if you shoot a bunch of people it's off the front page in a matter of days. No, you're building your identity to last. Who you are is what's important. Entertainers can be leaders. Even though those on the other side keep telling them to stay in their own lane. And hell, that which is outside becomes mainstream overnight. The Beatles sounded like nothing else that came before them, they wiped out Perry Como and the rest of the vapid singers. Nirvana killed the hair bands.
Trump killed Hillary.
Times change. You need to be willing to change. Hew to the past at your peril.
But your core values, those are what you're judged on, those determine whether your success is lengthy or short.
Stand your ground.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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But this year, the politicians are playing the game better than the entertainers.
You've got to be able to say no. That's one thing a musician no longer is capable of. If you're willing to pay, they'll show up. They'll even sing for dictators. There's no endorsement they won't sign on to. The whole enterprise is built on cash, and everybody wants some, in fact they want more.
But Elizabeth Warren won't take corporate donations. Leaving her potentially with less cash, but a stronger bond to the rank and file.
The North Vietnamese won the war because of hearts and minds. South Vietnam and the U.S. didn't have them. America felt its firepower could conquer anybody, but this proved to be untrue, it couldn't overcome the guerilla tactics of its opponent.
You play to everybody, not just those with the cash or the supposed power. A cache of individuals can always exceed the power of the so-called "man," especially today, when the tide is turning. Everybody's dealing with the results of globalization, and there are far more losers than winners, which is how Trump got elected to begin with. Doesn't matter if you agree with the Donald's position, or Warren's, the future is up for grabs, and those who hew to their own identity and have a backbone ultimately succeed. Warren refuses to go on Fox. She gives up eyeballs for beliefs. And this bonds her core to her even tighter. She's not willing to do anything to make it, especially when it enriches an entity her adherents abhor.
And you've got to be willing to do what is unpopular. Once again, you have to stick to what you believe. Ergo, John Hickenlooper at last week's Democratic confab in California. He was booed. He said using the word "socialism" would hand the election to Trump. That he was against Medicare-for-all and the Green New Deal, at least for now.
Now we can argue all day about whether Hickenlooper is right, but the question is are you willing to say something unpopular?
The truth is, the audience was extremely left-leaning. Was it representative of the electorate at large?
But as a result of being booed, Hickenlooper got unforeseen traction. Suddenly he was all over the media, there was a lengthy article about him in the political paper of record, "The Washington Post," because he made news. Furthermore, it wasn't train-wreck news, but news that begged a lot of questions that were worth analyzing. So, Hickenlooper went from back of the pack to the front page without even contemplating it, he just said what was in his heart.
Once again, it doesn't matter if you agree with him or not, that's not the point, as with Warren above. The point is in this social media world where everything is manipulated, where the fat cats believe marketing is king, Hickenlooper succeeded in getting his message out and getting facetime/publicity by doing nothing other than hewing to his core beliefs.
Musicians are incapable of saying something unpopular, they're afraid of alienating their audience, unless it's to get in some online war with a competitor. Isn't that how Meek Mill got notice?
Turns out triangulating, trying to second-guess the public, is no longer working in politics. That's why Hillary lost, that's why AOC defeated the incumbent. Everything's up for grabs.
But not in music. We keep selling the same thing we've been selling for years. The big story this annum is Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road." Built on a controversy whether it's country or not. When the truth is its success proves that that's a non-issue, you can become mega without radio. And "Old Town Road" was built by TikTok and is ultimately meaningless. That's what we're selling in music, froth, publicity, cash...did you see that Lil Nas X bought Billy Ray Cyrus a Maserati? Any millennial, any Gen-Z'er knows you're supposed to give back, fight poverty, give opportunities, clean the air. Hell, look at Nipsey Hussle. Most people in America had never heard of him, but when he was shot dead the story was about all the good he did in his community, that's what made him a legend, not his music.
So the lessons are there. Stand your ground, be willing to do the unpopular, go with your identity, don't follow the crowd. Because conventional wisdom is no longer smart. Now is the time for you to stand out.
But you must stand out with substance. Publicity stunts don't work. Especially in an era where if you shoot someone in the morning it's no longer news in the afternoon. Hell, if you shoot a bunch of people it's off the front page in a matter of days. No, you're building your identity to last. Who you are is what's important. Entertainers can be leaders. Even though those on the other side keep telling them to stay in their own lane. And hell, that which is outside becomes mainstream overnight. The Beatles sounded like nothing else that came before them, they wiped out Perry Como and the rest of the vapid singers. Nirvana killed the hair bands.
Trump killed Hillary.
Times change. You need to be willing to change. Hew to the past at your peril.
But your core values, those are what you're judged on, those determine whether your success is lengthy or short.
Stand your ground.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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--
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Monday 3 June 2019
News/Best Eric Clapton Album-Sirius XM This Week
The news is up front, the death of iTunes and the superstar syndrome, as detailed here: https://nyti.ms/2KvyJnQ
And it's the best album Clapton plays on, which means "Delaney & Bonnie On Tour" counts, as well as John Mayall's "Blues Breakers."
My favorite is the very first solo LP, produced by Delaney Bramlett. I remember learning "Easy Now" on the guitar, the track was from the heart, a harbinger of things to come. My second favorite is the closing cut, "Let It Rain," whose five minutes and two seconds is not a second too long. And, of course, the first solo LP contains "Blues Power" and "After Midnight," and I know you're gonna say "Layla" is your favorite, the version of "Little Wing" was definitive before Sting's rendition, even though they're completely different, and I love "Anyday," it's just that "Easy Now" touches my soul in a way nothing on "Layla" does.
Then again, my favorite cut on Cream's "Goodbye" is "Badge," with the George Harrison solo, which I believe is more memorable than Eric's on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."
And am I the only one who hates Eric's version of "I Shot The Sheriff"? My favorite cuts on "461 Ocean Boulevard" are "Mainline Florida" and "Let It Grow," in that order.
Tune in tomorrow to play.
"Lefsetz Live," Tuesday June 4th, on Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.
Phone #: 844-6-VOLUME, 844-686-5863
Twitter: @siriusxmvolume/#lefsetzlive
Hear the episode live on SiriusXM VOLUME: siriusxm.us/HearLefsetzLive
If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app: siriusxm.us/LefsetzLive
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--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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And it's the best album Clapton plays on, which means "Delaney & Bonnie On Tour" counts, as well as John Mayall's "Blues Breakers."
My favorite is the very first solo LP, produced by Delaney Bramlett. I remember learning "Easy Now" on the guitar, the track was from the heart, a harbinger of things to come. My second favorite is the closing cut, "Let It Rain," whose five minutes and two seconds is not a second too long. And, of course, the first solo LP contains "Blues Power" and "After Midnight," and I know you're gonna say "Layla" is your favorite, the version of "Little Wing" was definitive before Sting's rendition, even though they're completely different, and I love "Anyday," it's just that "Easy Now" touches my soul in a way nothing on "Layla" does.
Then again, my favorite cut on Cream's "Goodbye" is "Badge," with the George Harrison solo, which I believe is more memorable than Eric's on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."
And am I the only one who hates Eric's version of "I Shot The Sheriff"? My favorite cuts on "461 Ocean Boulevard" are "Mainline Florida" and "Let It Grow," in that order.
Tune in tomorrow to play.
"Lefsetz Live," Tuesday June 4th, on Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.
Phone #: 844-6-VOLUME, 844-686-5863
Twitter: @siriusxmvolume/#lefsetzlive
Hear the episode live on SiriusXM VOLUME: siriusxm.us/HearLefsetzLive
If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app: siriusxm.us/LefsetzLive
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
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Sunday 2 June 2019
Where The Crawdads Sing
https://amzn.to/2JSrLtF
It's rare that number one delivers. It's oftentimes dumbed-down, made to appeal to the masses, when the truth is we want something that appeals to our hearts.
A book is a journey. And you don't want to find out halfway through that you don't want to get to the destination. You've figured out the plot, you know where it's going, and the rest of the ride is akin to that flat track at the end of the roller coaster, not exciting at all.
Now I read the synopsis. And it didn't appeal to me.
That's right, I check out the book reviews. Don't read 'em 'til the end, because they usually give away too much of the plot. Like Pauline Kael, I don't watch a movie twice and I don't read a book again. I love the ride.
But today's literature is often written to impress a small coterie of intellectuals, the supposed seers of literature, who feel they, and only they, should control where reading goes.
So you oftentimes get a book with good writing that goes nowhere. Oftentimes with too much description. The first rule of reading is readability, if it's not easy to read, it doesn't matter how important the text is. The second is plot. It's like a great performance of a bad song, no matter who sings and plays on it, it will never succeed, because that's not what we're looking for. What we're looking for, always, is something different, that resonates, that pierces our hearts and makes us feel warm all over. You know the feeling of hearing a hit track the very first time through. Sure, you might get tired of it down the road, as a result of too much exposure, but... I think of "Smells Like Teen Spirit," or "You Oughta Know," or "Crazy." They might be a synthesis of what came before, but with a twist. Nirvana's song was like punk, fused with the songwriting of the sixties, melodies and a magic chorus. "You Oughta Know" was so in-your-face it was hard to deny. And "Crazy" encapsulated exuberance with a beat...a melding of old soul with today's sounds.
But the only one of those songs that got me the first time through was "Crazy." But I felt the same way about Alanis's "Hand In Pocket." I'd dance around the house with the volume cranked and it made me feel good.
Most books are not hits, irrelevant of how many copies they might sell. They're formulaic, or overwritten. When you hear someone say rewriting is the essence of writing run away. That's like the modern tracks with sixteen writers, art is always about inspiration, and any true artist will tell you you don't want to mess with the original inspiration, which is why you hear the stories of the demo being the final record.
Furthermore, there are too many genre books. Which I avoid. You know, whodunits, romance. I don't need to read James Patterson, that's about commerce, not writing, you might as well sit your ass down in front of a network drama. As if that were satisfying.
But no, we'd rather watch "The Sopranos," or "House of Cards," which are too edgy for the usual suspects but end up being legendary because of the truth they contain.
It's damn hard to create a story out of thin air. But those are the ones we like best. I didn't feel like I'd read "Lake Success" before.
And almost everything worth reading is fictional. If you're reading business books to get ahead, the joke is on you. Fiction has more truth than non-fiction. But when non-fiction is well-written with a great story arc, it too can deliver, like John Carreyrou's book about Theranos, "Bad Blood." You can't put it down, even though you know the story. Don't think if you watched the documentary or listened to the podcast you know the story, there's so much more. Which is why it's rare that a movie is better than the book. Ninety minutes compared to ten hours?
Now you've got to suspend disbelief if you read "Where The Crawdads Sing." It won't be long before you'll think that can't happen, and it truly can't. But, Delia Owens depicts detachment and loneliness so well. The urge to be connected, but the inability to achieve this. Kind of like those incels, they want to get laid, but they don't know how to approach women, don't know how to go on a journey littered with anxiety, indecision and cloudiness. If you can't handle the tension, you're gonna have trouble in this life.
And forgetting the incels, the rank and file male is just as confused, which is why you end up with rape. They know what they want, they just don't know how to get it in a reasonable manner. And also don't realize you can't always get what you want, even if you're Mick Jagger.
And that's in the book too. An aggressive man.
And I don't want to give away that much more, because it will ruin the experience.
And just because it was recommended by Reese Witherspoon, that does not mean it's lowbrow crap. That's what the high and mighty always say when something becomes popular that they didn't anoint. I wish this would happen in music, not a playlist but one or two tracks a week, but no one's built up enough credibility to do this. Yes, less is more. Recommend two tracks and I'll listen, recommend ten and I won't. Which is why Witherspoon doesn't recommend a book every week.
Now this is ultimately a genre book, a murder mystery, and you keep thinking you've got it figured out when you don't. But really, it's not about the mystery at all, but the people. Some never grow up, live in their tiny town on past glories from high school. The star athlete, the prom queen.
And the truth is we're all ultimately alone, and we feel self-conscious and worried about our interactions. We yearn to be safe, when we never really are. Then there are those afraid of interaction, for fear of loss. You know, like those who have sworn off romance. But without romance, all you've got is yearning. So you must try, try and try, and not be frustrated when you keep kissing frogs, your prince is out there, but you've got to work on yourself first, know your own foibles and grow. Personality always trumps beauty. May take a while, but the truth always outs. You want someone you can read in bed with, who gets the jokes.
Now there's too much description in "Where The Crawdad Sings." And some of the characters are paper thin. But the truth is you reach a point where you can't put it down.
Not at the beginning. This is one of those books you've got to stay with until seven or ten percent of the way through to get hooked. And the more you read, the more you're hooked, I spent all afternoon finishing it, even though I was only halfway through last night.
Books are different from records. It's a personal experience. There's no party, no gig where everybody listens to a song or a performance.
And sure, there are legends whose books are hotly anticipated.
But we're always looking for something different, something new. And the funny thing is that takes a while to get attention in the marketplace. Most books, like most records, die on arrival. But some limp along until they catch fire, those are the ones we're interested in.
And if you judge life by how many likes you get, or the car you drive, you probably can't take time out of your busy day to read a book. But the dirty little secret is breaking up your schedule, ridding yourself of rituals, delivers the greatest rewards. Not only in the doing, but the cleaning out of the brain, the inspiration.
And the funny thing is women rule the book world, because they read. When most men, if they read at all, are into facts, not concepts, and it's always concepts that win in the end.
So "Where The Crawdads Sing"" is not as good as "Lake Success," then again it's totally different. And if you stick with it, it'll deliver rewards. Then again, if you doubt my credibility read the Theranos book first.
It's rare that number one delivers. It's oftentimes dumbed-down, made to appeal to the masses, when the truth is we want something that appeals to our hearts.
A book is a journey. And you don't want to find out halfway through that you don't want to get to the destination. You've figured out the plot, you know where it's going, and the rest of the ride is akin to that flat track at the end of the roller coaster, not exciting at all.
Now I read the synopsis. And it didn't appeal to me.
That's right, I check out the book reviews. Don't read 'em 'til the end, because they usually give away too much of the plot. Like Pauline Kael, I don't watch a movie twice and I don't read a book again. I love the ride.
But today's literature is often written to impress a small coterie of intellectuals, the supposed seers of literature, who feel they, and only they, should control where reading goes.
So you oftentimes get a book with good writing that goes nowhere. Oftentimes with too much description. The first rule of reading is readability, if it's not easy to read, it doesn't matter how important the text is. The second is plot. It's like a great performance of a bad song, no matter who sings and plays on it, it will never succeed, because that's not what we're looking for. What we're looking for, always, is something different, that resonates, that pierces our hearts and makes us feel warm all over. You know the feeling of hearing a hit track the very first time through. Sure, you might get tired of it down the road, as a result of too much exposure, but... I think of "Smells Like Teen Spirit," or "You Oughta Know," or "Crazy." They might be a synthesis of what came before, but with a twist. Nirvana's song was like punk, fused with the songwriting of the sixties, melodies and a magic chorus. "You Oughta Know" was so in-your-face it was hard to deny. And "Crazy" encapsulated exuberance with a beat...a melding of old soul with today's sounds.
But the only one of those songs that got me the first time through was "Crazy." But I felt the same way about Alanis's "Hand In Pocket." I'd dance around the house with the volume cranked and it made me feel good.
Most books are not hits, irrelevant of how many copies they might sell. They're formulaic, or overwritten. When you hear someone say rewriting is the essence of writing run away. That's like the modern tracks with sixteen writers, art is always about inspiration, and any true artist will tell you you don't want to mess with the original inspiration, which is why you hear the stories of the demo being the final record.
Furthermore, there are too many genre books. Which I avoid. You know, whodunits, romance. I don't need to read James Patterson, that's about commerce, not writing, you might as well sit your ass down in front of a network drama. As if that were satisfying.
But no, we'd rather watch "The Sopranos," or "House of Cards," which are too edgy for the usual suspects but end up being legendary because of the truth they contain.
It's damn hard to create a story out of thin air. But those are the ones we like best. I didn't feel like I'd read "Lake Success" before.
And almost everything worth reading is fictional. If you're reading business books to get ahead, the joke is on you. Fiction has more truth than non-fiction. But when non-fiction is well-written with a great story arc, it too can deliver, like John Carreyrou's book about Theranos, "Bad Blood." You can't put it down, even though you know the story. Don't think if you watched the documentary or listened to the podcast you know the story, there's so much more. Which is why it's rare that a movie is better than the book. Ninety minutes compared to ten hours?
Now you've got to suspend disbelief if you read "Where The Crawdads Sing." It won't be long before you'll think that can't happen, and it truly can't. But, Delia Owens depicts detachment and loneliness so well. The urge to be connected, but the inability to achieve this. Kind of like those incels, they want to get laid, but they don't know how to approach women, don't know how to go on a journey littered with anxiety, indecision and cloudiness. If you can't handle the tension, you're gonna have trouble in this life.
And forgetting the incels, the rank and file male is just as confused, which is why you end up with rape. They know what they want, they just don't know how to get it in a reasonable manner. And also don't realize you can't always get what you want, even if you're Mick Jagger.
And that's in the book too. An aggressive man.
And I don't want to give away that much more, because it will ruin the experience.
And just because it was recommended by Reese Witherspoon, that does not mean it's lowbrow crap. That's what the high and mighty always say when something becomes popular that they didn't anoint. I wish this would happen in music, not a playlist but one or two tracks a week, but no one's built up enough credibility to do this. Yes, less is more. Recommend two tracks and I'll listen, recommend ten and I won't. Which is why Witherspoon doesn't recommend a book every week.
Now this is ultimately a genre book, a murder mystery, and you keep thinking you've got it figured out when you don't. But really, it's not about the mystery at all, but the people. Some never grow up, live in their tiny town on past glories from high school. The star athlete, the prom queen.
And the truth is we're all ultimately alone, and we feel self-conscious and worried about our interactions. We yearn to be safe, when we never really are. Then there are those afraid of interaction, for fear of loss. You know, like those who have sworn off romance. But without romance, all you've got is yearning. So you must try, try and try, and not be frustrated when you keep kissing frogs, your prince is out there, but you've got to work on yourself first, know your own foibles and grow. Personality always trumps beauty. May take a while, but the truth always outs. You want someone you can read in bed with, who gets the jokes.
Now there's too much description in "Where The Crawdad Sings." And some of the characters are paper thin. But the truth is you reach a point where you can't put it down.
Not at the beginning. This is one of those books you've got to stay with until seven or ten percent of the way through to get hooked. And the more you read, the more you're hooked, I spent all afternoon finishing it, even though I was only halfway through last night.
Books are different from records. It's a personal experience. There's no party, no gig where everybody listens to a song or a performance.
And sure, there are legends whose books are hotly anticipated.
But we're always looking for something different, something new. And the funny thing is that takes a while to get attention in the marketplace. Most books, like most records, die on arrival. But some limp along until they catch fire, those are the ones we're interested in.
And if you judge life by how many likes you get, or the car you drive, you probably can't take time out of your busy day to read a book. But the dirty little secret is breaking up your schedule, ridding yourself of rituals, delivers the greatest rewards. Not only in the doing, but the cleaning out of the brain, the inspiration.
And the funny thing is women rule the book world, because they read. When most men, if they read at all, are into facts, not concepts, and it's always concepts that win in the end.
So "Where The Crawdads Sing"" is not as good as "Lake Success," then again it's totally different. And if you stick with it, it'll deliver rewards. Then again, if you doubt my credibility read the Theranos book first.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-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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Peter Noone At The Saban
This could have been lousy, but instead it was JOYOUS!
You know, ancient rocker listlessly sings his hits, would rather be anywhere but here and you can feel it, going through the motions for cash. BUT IT WASN'T THAT WAY AT ALL!
First and foremost because Peter Noone has a sense of humor about himself.
And secondly, although in reality firstly, he/Herman's Hermits HAD SO MANY HITS!
You can't imagine the sixties unless you were there. A strange combination of innocence and progressiveness. At first you were just minding your own business in the greatest country in the world, playing baseball, and then suddenly there was a crack in the system and it became all about the individual, thinking for yourself, feeling empowered.
And the grease was the music.
Malcolm Gladwell pointed out all the work the Beatles did before they hit. Hell, they were recording in the fifties! Today, you cut a song on your laptop and post it to Spotify and spam everybody to listen to it, even though it's the first thing you ever did.
But you used to have to pay dues. And you performed live without any crutches. No hard drives, no auto-tune. You lived and died on your talent.
I first saw Herman's Hermits back in '65, at Kennedy Stadium in Bridgeport, Connecticut. This was back when they were naming or renaming edifices with the moniker of the dead President. We had to go, because Herman and his Hermits topped the chart. I had the albums. When he performed "Sea Cruise" last night, I remembered, it was on the first LP. Which initially promoted "I'm Into Something Good," but then sported a sticker promoting "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter" shortly thereafter. "I'm Into Something Good" is one of those weird records that sounds even better, with more meaning, all these years later. It got a boost from its use in "The Naked Gun," but that was over thirty years ago. The song keeps getting better and better.
And Peter started the show with it last night.
"Woke up this mornin' feelin' fine"
Remember that? With the birds chirping and the sun shining, when America was about optimism and you weren't born with the inability to get ahead, but the opportunity to be all you can be.
That's what love is, optimism. It makes you feel good. It still makes you feel good. But there isn't that much to feel good about anymore in this divided country. But back then everybody under the age of thirty was on the same page, we were infatuated with music, it was buoying up society. Sure, the Beatles could be dark, but most of their music was inspirational, it rode shotgun on our adventures. We sang it. We played it. The songs seem simple today, but there's a virtue in simplicity, your inspiration and talent have to get to the essence and shine bright.
And when you have that many hits, you can start with a big one, you don't have to wait.
And you can roll right into another one.
"Don't know much about history"
We went with my mother to a discount store in Bridgeport that no longer exists. We bought 45s. This, and Sam the Sham and The Pharaohs' "Wooly Bully." Yup, the hits didn't have to all sound the same as they do today.
There was a memory in every song.
And Peter said it was a trip back to the sixties so some of the songs weren't Hermits hits, but we knew them just the same.
Like "Love Potion #9." We know the lyrics by heart, we remember taking our problems down to Madame Ruth.
And Peter was a cheerleader, doing shtick and a campy version of "Ring of Fire," which we all sang along to. That was a feature of the show, audience participation. Not because Peter was tired or uninterested, but because we were that excited, in the moment, bonded to Peter in a salute to what once was, and which forever more will live in our hearts.
That's the kind of show it was, your whole life flashed in front of your eyes. Summer camp, family vacations, it was like "Mrs. Maisel" but it was real.
And I never ever looked at my watch, or checked out my cell phone, you see I was enraptured and I DIDN'T WANT TO MISS ANYTHING!
Come on, "Dandy"? I never heard the Kinks' original until Napster, with Ray Davies's sneer. But Herman's Hermits made it a hit.
"A Must To Avoid." Better take it from me, she's poisonous!
And there was a cover of "All My Loving," done lovingly, all I could see in my brain was that first time the Beatles were on "Ed Sullivan," when they played this and the crawl beneath John Lennon said he was married.
And when the band performed "Jumpin' Jack Flash," Peter pranced around like Jagger, it was funny, we knew, we were in on the joke.
And it was a band. A drummer, two guitarists and a keyboard player. Only a backdrop, no pyrotechnics to detract from the performance, which was about the songs. And it made me remember, not only going to shows back then, but picking up the guitar and forming bands, and believe me, I never ever thought I could become famous, I just didn't have the talent, but it was a thrill to play while you were grinding it out in school.
But the hits just kept on coming.
Peter sang in his original ethereal, high-pitched voice on "Listen People," it made me want to give him a standing ovation. He wasn't faking it, the band was down low, and the gravitas was evident.
These were short songs, without long instrumental breaks, they'd come and they'd go and you'd want to hear them again. Like when I saw Gary Puckett & the Union Gap at Fordham in '68 and they started with the smash "Young Girl" and finished with a replay.
"There's A Kind Of Hush" brought me back to that bus trip to Butternut Basin. It played on the way back to Westport.
I remembered skiing at the Concord.
All those moments, they were still inside me, just ready to be awakened by the performance of these songs.
And at first, I thought I didn't need to go, after all, I'd seen Peter on the comeback tour, at the Yale Bowl. But then I realized, THAT WAS 49 YEARS AGO!
That's right, we're getting older by the day. Strange, you look at aged audience members and then you realize you look that way too.
But it would have all fallen flat if it weren't for Peter's patter. Joking about dreaming of playing the Saban back in Manchester. Saying he sometimes thought he was seventeen, but the truth was in the reversal of the numbers, he's seventy one.
Peter wasn't asking for respect, he was a tour guide, whipping you into a frenzy from note one. You were whisked away on a Magical Mystery Tour, a journey of wonder.
And when it was all over, you were ready to hear it all over again. It was a moment in time, both the performance and the memories, and you wanted to go back.
Hell, singing "I'm Henry VIII, I Am" was like participating in the Olympics at Camp Laurelwood, the height of the summer season.
You can't go back. But the truth is these songs are forever in our brains, they rekindle memories whenever they are played. And when the original performer is still so robust, with the lines in his face just like yours, you feel happy, like it was all worth it, that you lived through a special era, that you were privileged.
P.S. Rick Nowells cornered me in the lobby after the show. He said he goes to all the shows at the Saban, testified about Frankie Valli, who is eighty five years old. Said these performers were gonna be dead in ten years and that you had to see them now.
P.P.S. I asked Rick if he was still into it, still excited about the music. After saying yes, I asked him about the beat-driven hits of today. He said he was a MELODY GUY! And that's when I realized this was the essence of the British Invasion.
P.P.P.S. When it was all over, and the house lights came up, Felice turned to me, and all she could say was...THAT WAS GREAT!
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-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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You know, ancient rocker listlessly sings his hits, would rather be anywhere but here and you can feel it, going through the motions for cash. BUT IT WASN'T THAT WAY AT ALL!
First and foremost because Peter Noone has a sense of humor about himself.
And secondly, although in reality firstly, he/Herman's Hermits HAD SO MANY HITS!
You can't imagine the sixties unless you were there. A strange combination of innocence and progressiveness. At first you were just minding your own business in the greatest country in the world, playing baseball, and then suddenly there was a crack in the system and it became all about the individual, thinking for yourself, feeling empowered.
And the grease was the music.
Malcolm Gladwell pointed out all the work the Beatles did before they hit. Hell, they were recording in the fifties! Today, you cut a song on your laptop and post it to Spotify and spam everybody to listen to it, even though it's the first thing you ever did.
But you used to have to pay dues. And you performed live without any crutches. No hard drives, no auto-tune. You lived and died on your talent.
I first saw Herman's Hermits back in '65, at Kennedy Stadium in Bridgeport, Connecticut. This was back when they were naming or renaming edifices with the moniker of the dead President. We had to go, because Herman and his Hermits topped the chart. I had the albums. When he performed "Sea Cruise" last night, I remembered, it was on the first LP. Which initially promoted "I'm Into Something Good," but then sported a sticker promoting "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter" shortly thereafter. "I'm Into Something Good" is one of those weird records that sounds even better, with more meaning, all these years later. It got a boost from its use in "The Naked Gun," but that was over thirty years ago. The song keeps getting better and better.
And Peter started the show with it last night.
"Woke up this mornin' feelin' fine"
Remember that? With the birds chirping and the sun shining, when America was about optimism and you weren't born with the inability to get ahead, but the opportunity to be all you can be.
That's what love is, optimism. It makes you feel good. It still makes you feel good. But there isn't that much to feel good about anymore in this divided country. But back then everybody under the age of thirty was on the same page, we were infatuated with music, it was buoying up society. Sure, the Beatles could be dark, but most of their music was inspirational, it rode shotgun on our adventures. We sang it. We played it. The songs seem simple today, but there's a virtue in simplicity, your inspiration and talent have to get to the essence and shine bright.
And when you have that many hits, you can start with a big one, you don't have to wait.
And you can roll right into another one.
"Don't know much about history"
We went with my mother to a discount store in Bridgeport that no longer exists. We bought 45s. This, and Sam the Sham and The Pharaohs' "Wooly Bully." Yup, the hits didn't have to all sound the same as they do today.
There was a memory in every song.
And Peter said it was a trip back to the sixties so some of the songs weren't Hermits hits, but we knew them just the same.
Like "Love Potion #9." We know the lyrics by heart, we remember taking our problems down to Madame Ruth.
And Peter was a cheerleader, doing shtick and a campy version of "Ring of Fire," which we all sang along to. That was a feature of the show, audience participation. Not because Peter was tired or uninterested, but because we were that excited, in the moment, bonded to Peter in a salute to what once was, and which forever more will live in our hearts.
That's the kind of show it was, your whole life flashed in front of your eyes. Summer camp, family vacations, it was like "Mrs. Maisel" but it was real.
And I never ever looked at my watch, or checked out my cell phone, you see I was enraptured and I DIDN'T WANT TO MISS ANYTHING!
Come on, "Dandy"? I never heard the Kinks' original until Napster, with Ray Davies's sneer. But Herman's Hermits made it a hit.
"A Must To Avoid." Better take it from me, she's poisonous!
And there was a cover of "All My Loving," done lovingly, all I could see in my brain was that first time the Beatles were on "Ed Sullivan," when they played this and the crawl beneath John Lennon said he was married.
And when the band performed "Jumpin' Jack Flash," Peter pranced around like Jagger, it was funny, we knew, we were in on the joke.
And it was a band. A drummer, two guitarists and a keyboard player. Only a backdrop, no pyrotechnics to detract from the performance, which was about the songs. And it made me remember, not only going to shows back then, but picking up the guitar and forming bands, and believe me, I never ever thought I could become famous, I just didn't have the talent, but it was a thrill to play while you were grinding it out in school.
But the hits just kept on coming.
Peter sang in his original ethereal, high-pitched voice on "Listen People," it made me want to give him a standing ovation. He wasn't faking it, the band was down low, and the gravitas was evident.
These were short songs, without long instrumental breaks, they'd come and they'd go and you'd want to hear them again. Like when I saw Gary Puckett & the Union Gap at Fordham in '68 and they started with the smash "Young Girl" and finished with a replay.
"There's A Kind Of Hush" brought me back to that bus trip to Butternut Basin. It played on the way back to Westport.
I remembered skiing at the Concord.
All those moments, they were still inside me, just ready to be awakened by the performance of these songs.
And at first, I thought I didn't need to go, after all, I'd seen Peter on the comeback tour, at the Yale Bowl. But then I realized, THAT WAS 49 YEARS AGO!
That's right, we're getting older by the day. Strange, you look at aged audience members and then you realize you look that way too.
But it would have all fallen flat if it weren't for Peter's patter. Joking about dreaming of playing the Saban back in Manchester. Saying he sometimes thought he was seventeen, but the truth was in the reversal of the numbers, he's seventy one.
Peter wasn't asking for respect, he was a tour guide, whipping you into a frenzy from note one. You were whisked away on a Magical Mystery Tour, a journey of wonder.
And when it was all over, you were ready to hear it all over again. It was a moment in time, both the performance and the memories, and you wanted to go back.
Hell, singing "I'm Henry VIII, I Am" was like participating in the Olympics at Camp Laurelwood, the height of the summer season.
You can't go back. But the truth is these songs are forever in our brains, they rekindle memories whenever they are played. And when the original performer is still so robust, with the lines in his face just like yours, you feel happy, like it was all worth it, that you lived through a special era, that you were privileged.
P.S. Rick Nowells cornered me in the lobby after the show. He said he goes to all the shows at the Saban, testified about Frankie Valli, who is eighty five years old. Said these performers were gonna be dead in ten years and that you had to see them now.
P.P.S. I asked Rick if he was still into it, still excited about the music. After saying yes, I asked him about the beat-driven hits of today. He said he was a MELODY GUY! And that's when I realized this was the essence of the British Invasion.
P.P.P.S. When it was all over, and the house lights came up, Felice turned to me, and all she could say was...THAT WAS GREAT!
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-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
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
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