https://bit.ly/2HJtVZI
First they came for the unions. Reagan fired the air traffic controllers and ever since, "union" has been a dirty word, "Norma Rae" was released in 1979, during the Carter administration.
Then they lowered the taxes, telling us the wealth of those at the top would trickle down to the rest of us.
Then they told us since we had flat screens we didn't need welfare.
Now it's the politics of fear, all the time. And it's not only coming from the right, but the left.
You should watch this documentary. It won the Oscar, it's now on Netflix. If you think America can bring back manufacturing, you're delusional. The Chinese are willing to work twelve hours a day, six days a week, with few safety precautions, while seeing their families once or twice a year. The unions established a shorter work week, the government instituted safety regulations, but now all we hear is regulations are hobbling business, and if we just relaxed them the jobs would come back and the economy would roar, even though robots do the work in the new plants, not people.
As for wages...
When GM was in Dayton, a worker made $29 an hour. The same work at Fuyao, its Chinese replacement, pays $12 and cents. Talk about changing your standard of living.
The Chinese billionaire tells Ohio he is helping the state's economy, as he plots to replace the slow Americans with robotic arms. And, in a language almost all Americans can't speak, the Chinese laugh that the Americans are inferior.
But it gets worse. The Chinese are trim and fit. The Americans are lumpy and out of shape. We can argue the causes all day long, but one that's been established is the substitution of fructose for sugar. That's right, corn syrup is cheap, sugar is not. And you've got to keep those farmers happy, even though despite all the hoopla about family farms, most of the growing is done by multinational conglomerates.
So, the workers at Fuyao want a union. Those who agitate for it get fired. Fuyao brings in a team that specializes in scaring employees not to organize. It's all about fear. If you get a union, we'll close the plant. That's what the Chinese billionaire says. And people were out of work for years, they want to keep their jobs, even though they're declining in number and turnover is humongous, because the work is so repetitive and back-breaking.
The politics of fear. It certainly has killed the union, but so much more.
It killed the raising of the minimum wage.
It killed Medicaid in states where the nation would pay for it. You see you cannot enable the takers, everybody must pull themselves up by the bootstraps, even though the elite in Varsity Blues are scamming their kids into college and Trump pardons his cronies. If you don't think the system is stacked against you, you must be one of the winners.
And now it comes down to Bernie Sanders. Now it's not only the right that is employing the politics of fear, but the left. Disgraced banker Steven Rattner is apoplectic, even though he already got his. All the opinion columnists in the "Times" are talking about how Bernie will lose and the country will continue to go in the wrong direction and if he wins, the Democrats will lose the Senate. And you wonder why Trump got elected.
The Democratic elite have seceded from the party. They stole the name, ran flawed candidate Hillary Clinton and changed the rules so Michael Bloomberg could debate. But they didn't foresee what a bomb he would turn out to be.
Today Bernie Sanders wins handily in Nevada and the lead story in the "Times" is how his road forward is fraught with difficulties. That's like focusing on LeBron's theoretical injuries in the future as opposed to how well he is playing for the Lakers today. You see the "Times" is trying to mold your opinion, but the "Times" has lost touch with the public.
I hear from the public every day, all day long. That I'm a sh__head, that I'm on the right path. The idea of reporting for the "Times" and the rest of the print media is to go out and ask people on the street, they don't live the life 24/7. As for TV...its focus groups are bogus.
So Bernie wins amongst people of color when they said he could not.
The great centrist hope Klobuchar barely registered, Buttigieg was an also-ran too. And Nevada is important, because it's the first state that looks like the nation at large.
Either the above resonates or it does not. Either you want change or you do not.
The right doesn't want change, it just wants a world where it's every person for themselves and you cannot get an abortion.
But we thought the left was on the side of the people, lifting up those from the bottom, democratizing society. But no one can lose in the process of lifting others up. And the truth is the elites have contempt for the rank and file, don't care for them, and this is one of the reasons Trump got elected.
But it is not 2016 anymore. We've seen the Trump movie. And most people don't like it.
But the elites tell us unless we nominate an anointed centrist who will try and make America great like it was in 2016, the Democrats will lose the election. That's right, these same outlets and pundits who called 2016 for Hillary.
I'm not trying to convince you if you don't agree. Hell, there's thirty-odd percent of the electorate that will vote for Trump even if he shoots someone in the street, as he said and certainly believes.
But there's this idea on the left that we must look at traditional metrics to figure out the election. When the truth is they failed in 2016 and don't apply today. It'd be like focusing on the manufacturing of cassettes in an era of streaming.
There's something happening here. And it's becoming ever more clear. Most Americans don't like where the country is going, and are fearful of their future not only economically, but environmentally. Gradual change is history.
I'm enlightening you. The same people who said that MP3s would never replace CDs. The same people who decry screen time. The same people enamored of physical books. While you were doing your best to protect the past, which you decided was better, most people adopted new technologies and employed them to spread the word how things weren't working out for them. Isn't it funny that it's the youth that are in the bag for Bernie.
So, don't be afraid. The people are on your side. They're gonna make change. And it might be wrenching, but it's been a long time coming.
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Saturday 22 February 2020
Credibility
It killed Elizabeth Warren's run for the nomination.
Warren was depicted as a true believer. Someone who knew who she was and stuck to it. Was anti-big business. Was on the little guy's side. Even stood up for Medicare for all because it was the right thing to do.
And then she waffled.
And then she changed her opinion.
She was asked directly how she was going to pay for Medicare for all, multiple times, live on television, in a debate, and she evaded the question. This is exactly why we hate those in power...speak directly to us, give us a straight answer. And then, based on media blowback, she decided to delay the implementation of Medicare for all.
And now Senator Warren has put a stake in her heart by agreeing to take PAC support.
Now why should we believe her? She changed her take, didn't stick to her guns, and is now taking fat cat money? WE'RE DONE!
This is a gross miscalculation. You speak to your base, you embolden your base, not the professional class. This is how news outlets and pundits make money...creating mountains out of molehills, creating controversies where there are none, being out of touch with the public.
Which is why Bernie Sanders is so successful. He doesn't take the corporate money while railing at the rich, and his hoi polloi supporters generate more cash in contributions than the fat cats.
For twenty years we've been told to go for the money, that credibility doesn't matter, that it's fine to sell out, no one cares anymore. Maybe we had to see it played out on the main stage to reveal the fallacy in this message.
When you do a sponsorship deal, when you appear in ads, even when you start selling your own branded tchotchkes, you're hurting your career.
Don't confuse this with Kylie Jenner. The Kardashian/Jenner brand is business acumen, that is not the brand of a musician, an artist.
In other words, if you can't say no, you're rarely going to get to yes.
And the professional infrastructure of the music business is no different from the professional infrastructure of the media/pundit world. The infrastructure remains, the acts, the politicians, the players, come and go. Believe me, your agent will be in business long after you're done, as will your label and quite possibly your manager too. They don't need you, they just need somebody...to hype, to skim money off of. And they only get paid when you take the bait, if you say no, the agent does not get their 10%, the manager doesn't get paid, nor does the label. They're all telling you to do it, and the unsophisticated, those who don't know themselves, do what they say.
They've been criticizing Elizabeth Warren from the get-go, she's too harsh, she's a schoolmarm. But with straight talk and a plan for everything she gained traction.
But she couldn't handle being on top. This is what Bob Dylan always does best, he does not bend to how the wind blows. He confounds expectations, with cover records, he refuses to do his songs in faithful arrangements on stage, he realizes his reputation, his credibility, is all about pushing the envelope. Same deal with David Bowie. If he'd just stopped at Ziggy Stardust, he would not be a legend. But Bowie kept reinventing himself, and if he failed, he just kept on going, and then his aura, his credibility, supported him wherever he wanted to go.
Bernie Sanders has never changed his spots. This is what the media/pundit world hates most about him. You've got to play the game, but he hasn't. Which is why Hillary Clinton put Bernie down. She made sausage, he should too.
And then you've got people like AOC. She doesn't care that she's excoriated, she just doubles down.
This is what those in power don't understand.
I'm not a huge fan of Peggy Noonan, but unlike the rest of those in the "Wall Street Journal" editorial/opinion pages, she can sometimes be reasonable.
Regarding Mike Bloomberg, today Noonan said:
"Through Mr. Bloomberg's longtime targeted philanthropy, through his relationships, quiet alliances, generosities and personal loyalties, he has a lot of leaders - mayors, other local politicians, people who run museums and civic organizations, who speak for ethnic, racial and professional groups - who support him. But those leaders don't fully control their own followers and constituencies. Everyone who's a leader of any kind now is in crisis: They don't have a complete hold on their people and wind up following them as often as leading them."
https://on.wsj.com/38QJE4R
Bingo. Bernie Sanders is the first internet candidate. He speaks directly to his constituency, he bypasses the middleman. The other candidates don't get it, constantly trumpeting their URLS. Your website is not a vehicle, it's your essence, your base, your home, where your acolytes rally around you, excluding the media/pundit middlemen. Your website is a middle finger to the establishment.
And, as Noonan says, the tail wags the dog. That was the essence of Trump and now it's the essence of Sanders.
And the media/pundit class doesn't even get the anti-Trump furor correct. They think it's a horse race, about statistics, when really it's about emotions, feelings.
And we keep getting more statistics, more tea leaves read, about turnout, all the old metrics that don't foretell the future in the new world. If you're gonna vote for anybody but Trump, do you really have to run out to the caucus or just wait for the candidate to be decided upon and pull the lever?
And speaking of credibility, Michael Bloomberg's Democratic bona fides dropped dramatically in the past twenty four hours as a result of his endorsement by Clint Eastwood. You remember, the loony-tune Republican who spoke to an empty chair at the convention. I mean if Bloomberg were really a Democrat, would he have gained Dirty Harry's support?
Of course not.
Bloomberg believes if he's got money he can pull the wool over our eyes. This is another thing the media/pundit class doesn't understand. It no longer dictates, it can try and spin but frequently it doesn't work, because the public can communicate online, peer to peer, generating a feeling that overwhelms the initial prognosis.
So Elizabeth Warren had a good debate. She should have doubled down on who she was. She should have mea culpaed her previous faux pas. Owned them and moved on. Instead, she dug a deeper hole for herself, all in the name of expediency, putting the end goal ahead of the process.
Everything today is a process, taking a long time. That's why Bernie is where he is, he started long ago, and people became familiar with him in 2016.
So, the media/pundit class believes it's business as usual. These are the same people who missed Trump, the internet, the same people who rail against technology, the same people who believe we live in a broadcast television world with advertisements as opposed to a streaming world sans commercials. Sure, Bloomberg's millions got him name recognition, but when we finally saw the act, we wanted nothing to do with it. In the internet world, you follow the people, you don't lead them, unless you start way ahead of them and wait for them to catch up, which was Steve Jobs's paradigm. Jobs famously did no consumer research, he created what he wanted, what he thought people should have, and waited for them to catch up with him! As a result, Apple is the world's most valuable company. And never forget, when Jobs came back to Apple the company was moribund. It wasn't the iMac, that was only a start (which had no legacy ports if you remember). It was the iPod. Now Jobs was on a streak, people were listening to him. To the point where the iPhone killed BlackBerry and Palm, despite only working on a second-rate network, i.e. AT&T, and only working at EDGE speed and consuming tons of bandwidth.
You throw the long ball and you stick to your guns.
Bloomberg is a latecomer, an interloper, and that does not resonate in internet world. The media/pundit class needs an interloper to make the story more enticing, the public feels trampled and ignored.
It is not business as usual. Whether Bernie wins or not, whether a Democrat wins or not. Once the system begins to crack, it's inevitable that change ensues. This is the story of Napster, this is the story of income inequality, this is the story of now.
Warren was depicted as a true believer. Someone who knew who she was and stuck to it. Was anti-big business. Was on the little guy's side. Even stood up for Medicare for all because it was the right thing to do.
And then she waffled.
And then she changed her opinion.
She was asked directly how she was going to pay for Medicare for all, multiple times, live on television, in a debate, and she evaded the question. This is exactly why we hate those in power...speak directly to us, give us a straight answer. And then, based on media blowback, she decided to delay the implementation of Medicare for all.
And now Senator Warren has put a stake in her heart by agreeing to take PAC support.
Now why should we believe her? She changed her take, didn't stick to her guns, and is now taking fat cat money? WE'RE DONE!
This is a gross miscalculation. You speak to your base, you embolden your base, not the professional class. This is how news outlets and pundits make money...creating mountains out of molehills, creating controversies where there are none, being out of touch with the public.
Which is why Bernie Sanders is so successful. He doesn't take the corporate money while railing at the rich, and his hoi polloi supporters generate more cash in contributions than the fat cats.
For twenty years we've been told to go for the money, that credibility doesn't matter, that it's fine to sell out, no one cares anymore. Maybe we had to see it played out on the main stage to reveal the fallacy in this message.
When you do a sponsorship deal, when you appear in ads, even when you start selling your own branded tchotchkes, you're hurting your career.
Don't confuse this with Kylie Jenner. The Kardashian/Jenner brand is business acumen, that is not the brand of a musician, an artist.
In other words, if you can't say no, you're rarely going to get to yes.
And the professional infrastructure of the music business is no different from the professional infrastructure of the media/pundit world. The infrastructure remains, the acts, the politicians, the players, come and go. Believe me, your agent will be in business long after you're done, as will your label and quite possibly your manager too. They don't need you, they just need somebody...to hype, to skim money off of. And they only get paid when you take the bait, if you say no, the agent does not get their 10%, the manager doesn't get paid, nor does the label. They're all telling you to do it, and the unsophisticated, those who don't know themselves, do what they say.
They've been criticizing Elizabeth Warren from the get-go, she's too harsh, she's a schoolmarm. But with straight talk and a plan for everything she gained traction.
But she couldn't handle being on top. This is what Bob Dylan always does best, he does not bend to how the wind blows. He confounds expectations, with cover records, he refuses to do his songs in faithful arrangements on stage, he realizes his reputation, his credibility, is all about pushing the envelope. Same deal with David Bowie. If he'd just stopped at Ziggy Stardust, he would not be a legend. But Bowie kept reinventing himself, and if he failed, he just kept on going, and then his aura, his credibility, supported him wherever he wanted to go.
Bernie Sanders has never changed his spots. This is what the media/pundit world hates most about him. You've got to play the game, but he hasn't. Which is why Hillary Clinton put Bernie down. She made sausage, he should too.
And then you've got people like AOC. She doesn't care that she's excoriated, she just doubles down.
This is what those in power don't understand.
I'm not a huge fan of Peggy Noonan, but unlike the rest of those in the "Wall Street Journal" editorial/opinion pages, she can sometimes be reasonable.
Regarding Mike Bloomberg, today Noonan said:
"Through Mr. Bloomberg's longtime targeted philanthropy, through his relationships, quiet alliances, generosities and personal loyalties, he has a lot of leaders - mayors, other local politicians, people who run museums and civic organizations, who speak for ethnic, racial and professional groups - who support him. But those leaders don't fully control their own followers and constituencies. Everyone who's a leader of any kind now is in crisis: They don't have a complete hold on their people and wind up following them as often as leading them."
https://on.wsj.com/38QJE4R
Bingo. Bernie Sanders is the first internet candidate. He speaks directly to his constituency, he bypasses the middleman. The other candidates don't get it, constantly trumpeting their URLS. Your website is not a vehicle, it's your essence, your base, your home, where your acolytes rally around you, excluding the media/pundit middlemen. Your website is a middle finger to the establishment.
And, as Noonan says, the tail wags the dog. That was the essence of Trump and now it's the essence of Sanders.
And the media/pundit class doesn't even get the anti-Trump furor correct. They think it's a horse race, about statistics, when really it's about emotions, feelings.
And we keep getting more statistics, more tea leaves read, about turnout, all the old metrics that don't foretell the future in the new world. If you're gonna vote for anybody but Trump, do you really have to run out to the caucus or just wait for the candidate to be decided upon and pull the lever?
And speaking of credibility, Michael Bloomberg's Democratic bona fides dropped dramatically in the past twenty four hours as a result of his endorsement by Clint Eastwood. You remember, the loony-tune Republican who spoke to an empty chair at the convention. I mean if Bloomberg were really a Democrat, would he have gained Dirty Harry's support?
Of course not.
Bloomberg believes if he's got money he can pull the wool over our eyes. This is another thing the media/pundit class doesn't understand. It no longer dictates, it can try and spin but frequently it doesn't work, because the public can communicate online, peer to peer, generating a feeling that overwhelms the initial prognosis.
So Elizabeth Warren had a good debate. She should have doubled down on who she was. She should have mea culpaed her previous faux pas. Owned them and moved on. Instead, she dug a deeper hole for herself, all in the name of expediency, putting the end goal ahead of the process.
Everything today is a process, taking a long time. That's why Bernie is where he is, he started long ago, and people became familiar with him in 2016.
So, the media/pundit class believes it's business as usual. These are the same people who missed Trump, the internet, the same people who rail against technology, the same people who believe we live in a broadcast television world with advertisements as opposed to a streaming world sans commercials. Sure, Bloomberg's millions got him name recognition, but when we finally saw the act, we wanted nothing to do with it. In the internet world, you follow the people, you don't lead them, unless you start way ahead of them and wait for them to catch up, which was Steve Jobs's paradigm. Jobs famously did no consumer research, he created what he wanted, what he thought people should have, and waited for them to catch up with him! As a result, Apple is the world's most valuable company. And never forget, when Jobs came back to Apple the company was moribund. It wasn't the iMac, that was only a start (which had no legacy ports if you remember). It was the iPod. Now Jobs was on a streak, people were listening to him. To the point where the iPhone killed BlackBerry and Palm, despite only working on a second-rate network, i.e. AT&T, and only working at EDGE speed and consuming tons of bandwidth.
You throw the long ball and you stick to your guns.
Bloomberg is a latecomer, an interloper, and that does not resonate in internet world. The media/pundit class needs an interloper to make the story more enticing, the public feels trampled and ignored.
It is not business as usual. Whether Bernie wins or not, whether a Democrat wins or not. Once the system begins to crack, it's inevitable that change ensues. This is the story of Napster, this is the story of income inequality, this is the story of now.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
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Thursday 20 February 2020
The Glorious Sons-This Week's Podcast
The Glorious Sons are a rock band from Canada, where they have scored ten Top 5 rock tracks and have won two Junos (Canada's Grammys) for Rock Album of the Year. They're presently on tour north and south of the border, lighting up audiences at every stop. Listen as I talk to the band's guitarist and lead singer, as well as their manager and label rep. They don't believe rock is dead. After listening, you might not either!
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3uAf6ZhFEZj58SB0MviJ59
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-glorious-sons/id1316200737?i=1000466167354
https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=67477258
You might want to fast-forward to 29:30.
The night before we did this podcast, I went to see the Glorious Sons at the El Rey.
It was like the seventies. This was a rock crowd. And half the attendees were women. And when the frontman, Brett Emmons, hit the stage, he played an acoustic number, solo. And then the rest of the band emerged and were instantly firing on all cylinders and Brett became a frontman. You remember rock and roll frontmen, don't you? Unique individuals who come alive when they're on stage and the spotlight shines upon them. Brett was animated, exhorting the audience to sing along...and they did, RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SHOW!
So...
Is rock dead? Certainly seems like it. But if you listen to this podcast you might be swayed otherwise.
Unfortunately, Brett and his brother Jay could not do a good job of articulating their history and success. Jay barely speaks. Brett is fully alive, but to a degree he bounces off the walls.
And the night before, when the house lights came back on, I told the manager Jason Murray and BMG representative Nick Attaway I did not want to do a post mortem right then, why don't they both come on the podcast to explain what's going on.
I don't think we ever got to the bottom of the previous night's show, but we certainly got to the bottom of Jason Murray and Nick Attaway's perspectives on the Glorious Sons and their own personal histories.
This is not rare. Oftentimes musicians are not articulate off stage. Which is why they need business people to plot and push the buttons. They're two different sides of the coin. And if you want to be in the music business, you'll listen to Jason and Nick tell their stories. And they're all the same, struggling, working hard, refusing to give up, waiting for that one big break.
Jason starts at the aforementioned 29:30.
--
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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https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3uAf6ZhFEZj58SB0MviJ59
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-glorious-sons/id1316200737?i=1000466167354
https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=67477258
You might want to fast-forward to 29:30.
The night before we did this podcast, I went to see the Glorious Sons at the El Rey.
It was like the seventies. This was a rock crowd. And half the attendees were women. And when the frontman, Brett Emmons, hit the stage, he played an acoustic number, solo. And then the rest of the band emerged and were instantly firing on all cylinders and Brett became a frontman. You remember rock and roll frontmen, don't you? Unique individuals who come alive when they're on stage and the spotlight shines upon them. Brett was animated, exhorting the audience to sing along...and they did, RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SHOW!
So...
Is rock dead? Certainly seems like it. But if you listen to this podcast you might be swayed otherwise.
Unfortunately, Brett and his brother Jay could not do a good job of articulating their history and success. Jay barely speaks. Brett is fully alive, but to a degree he bounces off the walls.
And the night before, when the house lights came back on, I told the manager Jason Murray and BMG representative Nick Attaway I did not want to do a post mortem right then, why don't they both come on the podcast to explain what's going on.
I don't think we ever got to the bottom of the previous night's show, but we certainly got to the bottom of Jason Murray and Nick Attaway's perspectives on the Glorious Sons and their own personal histories.
This is not rare. Oftentimes musicians are not articulate off stage. Which is why they need business people to plot and push the buttons. They're two different sides of the coin. And if you want to be in the music business, you'll listen to Jason and Nick tell their stories. And they're all the same, struggling, working hard, refusing to give up, waiting for that one big break.
Jason starts at the aforementioned 29:30.
--
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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The Debate
It's show business folks. And talent is secondary to performance, and Bloomberg performed horribly.
Now what?
Biden and Bloomberg are toast. Biden just doesn't know it yet, Bloomberg knows it now.
Biden is so out of time, he doesn't even appear to be at the same debate. He's like Grandpa Simpson, yelling loudly that he was there, back in the day. Meanwhile, few remember those days and those who do see things differently and when they attack Joe he's flummoxed. Sure, experience counts, but it's not everything.
So anybody who knows Bloomberg knows that he's not a dynamic speaker. Everybody who watched tonight knows Trump would cream Mike in a debate. Mike just can't get it out. This was a rough and tumble fight, and the person who came out fighting was...
Elizabeth Warren?
Didn't know she still had it in her. It might be too late for her, but this is the Elizabeth who dominated over the summer who so many got behind, a leader as opposed to a follower. But then she blinked, shut up, adjusted, and fell right out of the spotlight, leaving Bernie Sanders to hoover up her supporters.
Pete Buttigieg? Just plain mean and snarky. Like the kid who is too smart for the class. Furthermore, his campaign seems to be about running out the clock. Trying not to say anything of importance before the nomination process is over.
So... Just like in the music business, you've got to grab the audience by the throat right away, make your impression while the public is still watching.
Come on, the debates are silly. Can we stop debating health care? Everybody on stage wants more people covered whereas the Republicans want to take coverage away. Can we put this issue to rest? But no! Being show business, MSNBC and the rest of the TV outlets are looking for headlines, faux pas, anything that can garner eyeballs, sell advertising.
So what tonight was all about was making a good first impression. This is the first debate that meant anything in a long while. And Bloomberg came totally unprepared. It's not like he was unaware of the lines of attack. Billions don't buy you a personality, don't make you a star.
That's another thing about show business, the talent is different. The string-pullers have contempt for the performers. Oftentimes they're unreliable, dumb, but when they get on stage they deliver. And the music business is peopled by those who tried to make it, got on stage and could not deliver.
Warren and Sanders delivered.
So now what? When is the DNC gonna capitulate, like the RNC did back in 2016? When is everybody gonna get behind Bernie?
Maybe Elizabeth Warren can come back after this performance, but I doubt it. Bernie owns the youth, he's winning in all the polls, it looks like he's gonna be the candidate, and everybody in the media hates this! They've been excoriating Bernie ever since Iowa, saying he can't be the candidate, but it looks like he's gonna be the one!
When will the DNC own democratic socialism. When will it own Bernie's platform.
The rank and file got screwed and Bernie wants to right the table. But those who tilted it are gonna suffer, at least a little bit, and they don't want to.
And they hate Bernie for who he is. They compromised, Bernie has been singing the same damn song for decades.
So what is the Democratic party today? One for the elites, or for those less fortunate?
The only way to win is to focus on the less fortunate, the masses, sometimes unwashed and sometimes uneducated but they've got a vote, and there are more of them than there are elites.
This is why you play the game. I knew Bloomberg was bad, but not this bad. Give Donald Trump credit, at least he's a good performer, no matter how evil or full of crap he might be. You wonder if Mike was ever in a school play, or even the Halloween parade. He made billions of bucks, but he's got the personality of a plant, how can anybody get excited about him? Who'd even want to invite him to a party?
And he can't have a personality change, that just does not happen.
Warren got fired up and came out charging. But she's demonstrated this ability before.
So, Bloomberg is stained with stop and frisk and sexism and he's too meek to even fight back!
He was the Great Centrist Hope of the intelligentsia. If this is what they believe, they're clueless, and that's just the point, they're out of touch, completely! Biden was a paper tiger and Bloomberg is a slug. They couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag.
We can argue all day whether a centrist can win, but one thing's for sure, no reasonable centrist candidate has shown up.
So we've got Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
Really, just Bernie.
The DNC's worst nightmare, the "New York Times"' worst nightmare. The rich's worst nightmare.
Tonight we learned that money might change everything, but it doesn't mean you emerge victorious.
Bloomberg bought his way on stage and got mic fright, was totally startled, like a billionaire at the Robin Hood ball who pays to play with the household name performers.
Politics is a job. And at least half of it is entertainment. You've got to convince people based on your personality, and Bloomberg has none.
I don't have an agenda here, just speak to anybody who watched this conflagration, Bloomberg got torched and could not recover.
The DNC rigged it last time so Bernie couldn't win. What are they gonna do this time?
But one thing's for sure, the two best candidates to debate Donald Trump are Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. That's now been proven. Let them have at it.
P.S. I didn't mention Amy Klobuchar, but she was like a Little League starter showing up to compete with the Yankees. She used her folksy b.s., the same stuff that she employed before, the Minnesota Nice, the laying out of her C.V., but homey don't play that no more. You had to jump into the pit and go for the jugular. She just got into it with Pete, which was like fighting with the third base coach.
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Now what?
Biden and Bloomberg are toast. Biden just doesn't know it yet, Bloomberg knows it now.
Biden is so out of time, he doesn't even appear to be at the same debate. He's like Grandpa Simpson, yelling loudly that he was there, back in the day. Meanwhile, few remember those days and those who do see things differently and when they attack Joe he's flummoxed. Sure, experience counts, but it's not everything.
So anybody who knows Bloomberg knows that he's not a dynamic speaker. Everybody who watched tonight knows Trump would cream Mike in a debate. Mike just can't get it out. This was a rough and tumble fight, and the person who came out fighting was...
Elizabeth Warren?
Didn't know she still had it in her. It might be too late for her, but this is the Elizabeth who dominated over the summer who so many got behind, a leader as opposed to a follower. But then she blinked, shut up, adjusted, and fell right out of the spotlight, leaving Bernie Sanders to hoover up her supporters.
Pete Buttigieg? Just plain mean and snarky. Like the kid who is too smart for the class. Furthermore, his campaign seems to be about running out the clock. Trying not to say anything of importance before the nomination process is over.
So... Just like in the music business, you've got to grab the audience by the throat right away, make your impression while the public is still watching.
Come on, the debates are silly. Can we stop debating health care? Everybody on stage wants more people covered whereas the Republicans want to take coverage away. Can we put this issue to rest? But no! Being show business, MSNBC and the rest of the TV outlets are looking for headlines, faux pas, anything that can garner eyeballs, sell advertising.
So what tonight was all about was making a good first impression. This is the first debate that meant anything in a long while. And Bloomberg came totally unprepared. It's not like he was unaware of the lines of attack. Billions don't buy you a personality, don't make you a star.
That's another thing about show business, the talent is different. The string-pullers have contempt for the performers. Oftentimes they're unreliable, dumb, but when they get on stage they deliver. And the music business is peopled by those who tried to make it, got on stage and could not deliver.
Warren and Sanders delivered.
So now what? When is the DNC gonna capitulate, like the RNC did back in 2016? When is everybody gonna get behind Bernie?
Maybe Elizabeth Warren can come back after this performance, but I doubt it. Bernie owns the youth, he's winning in all the polls, it looks like he's gonna be the candidate, and everybody in the media hates this! They've been excoriating Bernie ever since Iowa, saying he can't be the candidate, but it looks like he's gonna be the one!
When will the DNC own democratic socialism. When will it own Bernie's platform.
The rank and file got screwed and Bernie wants to right the table. But those who tilted it are gonna suffer, at least a little bit, and they don't want to.
And they hate Bernie for who he is. They compromised, Bernie has been singing the same damn song for decades.
So what is the Democratic party today? One for the elites, or for those less fortunate?
The only way to win is to focus on the less fortunate, the masses, sometimes unwashed and sometimes uneducated but they've got a vote, and there are more of them than there are elites.
This is why you play the game. I knew Bloomberg was bad, but not this bad. Give Donald Trump credit, at least he's a good performer, no matter how evil or full of crap he might be. You wonder if Mike was ever in a school play, or even the Halloween parade. He made billions of bucks, but he's got the personality of a plant, how can anybody get excited about him? Who'd even want to invite him to a party?
And he can't have a personality change, that just does not happen.
Warren got fired up and came out charging. But she's demonstrated this ability before.
So, Bloomberg is stained with stop and frisk and sexism and he's too meek to even fight back!
He was the Great Centrist Hope of the intelligentsia. If this is what they believe, they're clueless, and that's just the point, they're out of touch, completely! Biden was a paper tiger and Bloomberg is a slug. They couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag.
We can argue all day whether a centrist can win, but one thing's for sure, no reasonable centrist candidate has shown up.
So we've got Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
Really, just Bernie.
The DNC's worst nightmare, the "New York Times"' worst nightmare. The rich's worst nightmare.
Tonight we learned that money might change everything, but it doesn't mean you emerge victorious.
Bloomberg bought his way on stage and got mic fright, was totally startled, like a billionaire at the Robin Hood ball who pays to play with the household name performers.
Politics is a job. And at least half of it is entertainment. You've got to convince people based on your personality, and Bloomberg has none.
I don't have an agenda here, just speak to anybody who watched this conflagration, Bloomberg got torched and could not recover.
The DNC rigged it last time so Bernie couldn't win. What are they gonna do this time?
But one thing's for sure, the two best candidates to debate Donald Trump are Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. That's now been proven. Let them have at it.
P.S. I didn't mention Amy Klobuchar, but she was like a Little League starter showing up to compete with the Yankees. She used her folksy b.s., the same stuff that she employed before, the Minnesota Nice, the laying out of her C.V., but homey don't play that no more. You had to jump into the pit and go for the jugular. She just got into it with Pete, which was like fighting with the third base coach.
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-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Wednesday 19 February 2020
The Little Stuff Doesn't Work
I used to eat a lot at McDonald's. Right now I can taste a quarter pounder if I think about it. The fries became less satisfying over time, but the food was always consistent, and back before the chainification of America this was important. I remember eating roast beef outside of Yellowstone back in '74. Tasted like that shoe Charlie Chaplin consumed in "The Gold Rush." And when you're alone, in the middle of nowhere, in the pre-cellphone era, that's pretty depressing.
Now the reason I bring this up is because I ate at Mickey D's so much that I knew more about ordering than the people who worked there. I always wanted to jump over the counter and key my own order in. Even when they went to pictures, the clerks couldn't do it. Even more depressing were the should-be retireds not only taking your order, but sweeping up. You looked at them and wondered if that could be you. I know a number of people who are living on social security, still in their sixties, what are they gonna make it on in their nineties? Life is long, wait until you're seventy to take social security. Because if you live past your mid-eighties, the crossover point, and you probably will, the extra cash will make a difference.
So yesterday I had a flat tire.
Now in the old days, you'd have a full-sized spare. I changed the tire on my BMWs numerous times. But now you've got a donut if you're lucky. Some new cars come without a spare at all, just an inflation kit, to get you to the next stop. As for BMWs, they've got run-flats, which cost a ton to replace, but you can still drive on them. I no longer drive a BMW, I've got a donut, but I didn't think I'd need it.
Monday I parked on a hill. You know, with the car leaning sideways. I saw the rear tire looked low. But today, tires are so low-profile that you're not always sure they're flat. And these low-profile tires give a worse ride, but they look cool!
Now I would have taken the dirt road into the trailhead, but there were potholes and I was worried because of these low-profile tires that I'd bend a rim, never mind puncture a tire.
But I have OCD, I'm always looking for problems.
So the next day, yesterday, I'm driving on the freeway and when I drive over the Botts Dots, I hear a thump, louder than usual, I chalk it up to my radio being turned down low.
I made a stop.
And then an hour later I went to my next appointment, parked, and the tire still looked flat, I realized I had to take action.
That's another facet of the modern world, you've got no time, everything's squeezed together, one problem screws up your whole day.
But at least we have Uber and Lyft. Used to be you were stuck completely. Now I was worried whether I'd have to use one of these two ride-hailing apps to get to Hollywood for my Sirius XM show.
I had an hour, wherein I planned to read the papers. I wanted to go to lunch, but there wasn't quite enough time. I had it all figured out. I'd finish this appointment, drive to Hollywood to beat the traffic, eat lunch and then do my radio show. But the older you get, the more you realize plans are worthless. You can lay it out, but it rarely goes down that way. Our smartphones are seamless, but the world they exist in is not.
So I figured I'd drive to the Pep Boys nearby. Maybe they could fix the tire in the interim.
They said it would take an hour and a half. That would work, assuming it was true.
And so I called a Lyft, since they were proffering a discount, and engaged in a conversation with the driver. Which I enjoy, but sometimes I don't want to do, but I feel guilty if I don't. And then I start thinking about the tip. Travis Kalanick had it right, the price should be the price. Raise it, I'll pay it, I don't know any better, there's no comparison shopping. But now, from the time I get into a car I'm worried about it. Danny Meyer gets rid of tipping in his restaurants but Uber succumbs to the blowback and institutes tipping. Everybody blinks in response to public pressure when they should not.
And there's a new law in California, having to do with independent contactors. To avoid its drivers being classified as employees, Uber no longer gives a final price, but a range. I could explain the legalities, but that's not my point. Uber used to be seamless, the price was the price. But now? As for those complaining about the gig economy, you have to realize most Uber and Lyft drivers are now professionals, doing it full-time, making fifty plus grand a year. I know, because I quizzed them. They like doing it, even though they're working twelve hours a day, six days a week. And they like it because their previous jobs were so heinous or disappeared. This does not mean there's not a problem with the gig economy, but let's stop talking about bringing manufacturing back and give well-paying service jobs to the populace. That's today, the focus is always taken off the main issues. People want to work. And they want to be able to pay their bills.
So while I'm at my next appointment, the phone rings, I've ruined the tire.
I'm always paranoid about that. Even more the rim. In the old days, tires would go completely flat, you'd know. But today?
I was driving to Pep Boys and I was worrying about this. Should I stop and inflate the tire half a mile away or keep rolling? Last time I stopped and saved the tire, this time I did not. Then again, last time they said the tire needed to be replaced, the tread was too low, so maybe I didn't really save it.
And now you get into the warranty... "Consumer Reports," everybody tells you not to buy the warranty, because no one gets a flat. But I just did. And since the tire needs to be replaced, it'll be pro-rated.
But they don't have the tire in stock, Rodrigo said it would come this morning.
But Rodrigo did not tell me he was not working today.
So I called and got Gus, he said my car was ready.
So I called a Lyft.
But the problem is, Lyft drivers are trying to save money, so they all have T-Mobile, maybe Sprint, and as a result their phones don't work in the hills. So, once they get near my neighborhood, signal drops out, you don't know if they're near or far, and you don't want to keep them waiting, you might get a bad rating.
And my driver was Mary, usually they're men, almost always foreigners. (Once again, who else is gonna do this job? But immigrants are the enemy!)
Mary eventually showed up.
But her phone had no signal, so I gave her directions.
But she wouldn't believe me.
And then it turned out she was Russian and really didn't speak English.
I told her I knew the route, and when she got to the freeway, her phone would come back to life.
She didn't believe me, she turned her phone off and on twice as she crawled along.
End result? She lost the ride.
So I'm giving her directions. Meanwhile I'm on the phone. And then she pulls over in the middle of Sepulveda.
She starts talking but I don't get it. This is before I recognize the language problem. I tell her to turn down the radio, but she doesn't understand what I'm saying. Finally, I get it. I tell her not to worry, I'm in the car, I'll pay cash.
Meanwhile, the Lyft system is sending another car to my home. But that guy Cody also has a cheap cellphone provider and I can't reach him to cancel. I keep calling and calling. I text and text. Now I hear from Lyft that he's gonna be outside and I should be waiting. Finally I get Cody on the phone and cancel the ride.
Meanwhile, Mary hands me her phone, because she can't understand me. She wants me to enter the Pep Boys address. WAZE is in Russian.
Now she's on the wrong side of the freeway. We've got to switch to the 10, but she's in the number one lane of the 405. I have to throw off my phone call for the second time, I tell her to get to the right, she eventually makes it. We arrive at Pep Boys, thank god I've got correct change.
So I go in to pick up my car. The guy is not wearing a uniform. Which makes me suspicious. Actually, it takes five minutes for me to find him, the desk is unmanned. He's got a haircut like the Weeknd, flopping almost down to his eyes, he's got a neck tattoo, he's nice, but he's clueless.
Before I pay the bill I want to know how they arrived at the number. I got sixty percent off on the new tire, but they charged me almost fifty bucks to install it. Watcha gonna do?
But after I pay, and they print out the paperwork, I ask this guy to go line by line, I want to make sure I've still got a warranty on this new tire.
And I see a line that says ninety day balance. Well, I've got lifetime balance, rotation and alignment, I don't want to get stuck further down the road.
He keeps saying I'm wrong until he realizes I'm right, uttering acronyms I don't understand along the way. He says he's got to call his boss, the aforementioned Gus.
Gus tells him the bill is wrong, to give me a free oil change to make up for it.
I don't want a free oil change.
Mr. Weeknd doesn't have the password, so I've got to wait for Gus to come back from lunch, it's supposed to be fifteen minutes, could be an hour. And I start wondering if it's worth it, to wait, for the money. But I could envision the future, driving up with a flat in that same tire, them charging me to repair it and balance it, and I did not want to be ripped-off when it wasn't my fault.
So I go in the waiting room.
The TV is on. Everywhere the TV is on. It's like no one can read, we all have to watch inane television while we're waiting.
There's only one other guy there, he's not watching, I figure I'll take control, turn the volume down. I go up to the set, but it has no buttons, few do anymore.
So now I need the remote control. Usually establishments hide it, they don't want you messing with the volume, stealing the remote.
But I found it and turned down the TV and got back on my call for the third time.
Gus arrived early actually.
Then he started blaming it on me.
Didn't Rodrigo tell you how much it would cost?
No.
Didn't this new guy go through every line before you paid?
No.
But you definitely want the oil change, it's a better deal.
No.
So I owe you $18, $16.99 plus $2.50, right?
Well, no. First, explain what you're refunding on the paperwork.
He can't do that.
So we're back to the eighteen bucks. And I tell him that $16.99 plus $2.50 is actually $19.49. Is he ripping me off or can he not add? Both!
So he tells me to put my card into the reader for a refund and...
Then he needs to change the cash register tape. Only he does not know how to do it.
So he calls over the young 'un, who eventually has to peel away stuck tape for the better part of five minutes.
But after installing a new wheel of tape, it doesn't print.
And this is just about the time I realize the young 'un didn't give me a receipt the first time around.
So Gus tells me he can't print a receipt.
Okay, I'll live with that, even though I don't want to. But can he print out another work order to keep in my glove box, the other one going into the file in my office?
Sure.
Only he can't.
He can't make the printer work. He tries over and over again. Then he just hands me Pep Boys' work order.
Do I think Pep Boys was intentionally screwing me?
No. I think it was just ineptitude. But one reason I did not want the oil change is I knew they'd try and upsell me. That's how these outfits make their money, go in for a minor repair and they'll scare you into more work you don't need, and I'm a paranoid guy, I fall for it.
So, what we've got is a legion of undertrained, inefficient workers. How could the bosses let them do the job?
Because it's a corporation and those at the top need to get rich, and turnover is so heavy they don't care about the employees anyway.
And the employees don't care about the job, because they don't make enough money.
Talk about the American worker.
And our best laid plans fall by the wayside, this happens every week, you've got to build in time to deal with the system. The products are better than the people, which is why I'm always wary of a person touching my stuff, they usually screw it up.
So, in an ever more automated world, we're dealing with the same damn problems.
People, you can't live with 'em, you can't live without 'em.
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Now the reason I bring this up is because I ate at Mickey D's so much that I knew more about ordering than the people who worked there. I always wanted to jump over the counter and key my own order in. Even when they went to pictures, the clerks couldn't do it. Even more depressing were the should-be retireds not only taking your order, but sweeping up. You looked at them and wondered if that could be you. I know a number of people who are living on social security, still in their sixties, what are they gonna make it on in their nineties? Life is long, wait until you're seventy to take social security. Because if you live past your mid-eighties, the crossover point, and you probably will, the extra cash will make a difference.
So yesterday I had a flat tire.
Now in the old days, you'd have a full-sized spare. I changed the tire on my BMWs numerous times. But now you've got a donut if you're lucky. Some new cars come without a spare at all, just an inflation kit, to get you to the next stop. As for BMWs, they've got run-flats, which cost a ton to replace, but you can still drive on them. I no longer drive a BMW, I've got a donut, but I didn't think I'd need it.
Monday I parked on a hill. You know, with the car leaning sideways. I saw the rear tire looked low. But today, tires are so low-profile that you're not always sure they're flat. And these low-profile tires give a worse ride, but they look cool!
Now I would have taken the dirt road into the trailhead, but there were potholes and I was worried because of these low-profile tires that I'd bend a rim, never mind puncture a tire.
But I have OCD, I'm always looking for problems.
So the next day, yesterday, I'm driving on the freeway and when I drive over the Botts Dots, I hear a thump, louder than usual, I chalk it up to my radio being turned down low.
I made a stop.
And then an hour later I went to my next appointment, parked, and the tire still looked flat, I realized I had to take action.
That's another facet of the modern world, you've got no time, everything's squeezed together, one problem screws up your whole day.
But at least we have Uber and Lyft. Used to be you were stuck completely. Now I was worried whether I'd have to use one of these two ride-hailing apps to get to Hollywood for my Sirius XM show.
I had an hour, wherein I planned to read the papers. I wanted to go to lunch, but there wasn't quite enough time. I had it all figured out. I'd finish this appointment, drive to Hollywood to beat the traffic, eat lunch and then do my radio show. But the older you get, the more you realize plans are worthless. You can lay it out, but it rarely goes down that way. Our smartphones are seamless, but the world they exist in is not.
So I figured I'd drive to the Pep Boys nearby. Maybe they could fix the tire in the interim.
They said it would take an hour and a half. That would work, assuming it was true.
And so I called a Lyft, since they were proffering a discount, and engaged in a conversation with the driver. Which I enjoy, but sometimes I don't want to do, but I feel guilty if I don't. And then I start thinking about the tip. Travis Kalanick had it right, the price should be the price. Raise it, I'll pay it, I don't know any better, there's no comparison shopping. But now, from the time I get into a car I'm worried about it. Danny Meyer gets rid of tipping in his restaurants but Uber succumbs to the blowback and institutes tipping. Everybody blinks in response to public pressure when they should not.
And there's a new law in California, having to do with independent contactors. To avoid its drivers being classified as employees, Uber no longer gives a final price, but a range. I could explain the legalities, but that's not my point. Uber used to be seamless, the price was the price. But now? As for those complaining about the gig economy, you have to realize most Uber and Lyft drivers are now professionals, doing it full-time, making fifty plus grand a year. I know, because I quizzed them. They like doing it, even though they're working twelve hours a day, six days a week. And they like it because their previous jobs were so heinous or disappeared. This does not mean there's not a problem with the gig economy, but let's stop talking about bringing manufacturing back and give well-paying service jobs to the populace. That's today, the focus is always taken off the main issues. People want to work. And they want to be able to pay their bills.
So while I'm at my next appointment, the phone rings, I've ruined the tire.
I'm always paranoid about that. Even more the rim. In the old days, tires would go completely flat, you'd know. But today?
I was driving to Pep Boys and I was worrying about this. Should I stop and inflate the tire half a mile away or keep rolling? Last time I stopped and saved the tire, this time I did not. Then again, last time they said the tire needed to be replaced, the tread was too low, so maybe I didn't really save it.
And now you get into the warranty... "Consumer Reports," everybody tells you not to buy the warranty, because no one gets a flat. But I just did. And since the tire needs to be replaced, it'll be pro-rated.
But they don't have the tire in stock, Rodrigo said it would come this morning.
But Rodrigo did not tell me he was not working today.
So I called and got Gus, he said my car was ready.
So I called a Lyft.
But the problem is, Lyft drivers are trying to save money, so they all have T-Mobile, maybe Sprint, and as a result their phones don't work in the hills. So, once they get near my neighborhood, signal drops out, you don't know if they're near or far, and you don't want to keep them waiting, you might get a bad rating.
And my driver was Mary, usually they're men, almost always foreigners. (Once again, who else is gonna do this job? But immigrants are the enemy!)
Mary eventually showed up.
But her phone had no signal, so I gave her directions.
But she wouldn't believe me.
And then it turned out she was Russian and really didn't speak English.
I told her I knew the route, and when she got to the freeway, her phone would come back to life.
She didn't believe me, she turned her phone off and on twice as she crawled along.
End result? She lost the ride.
So I'm giving her directions. Meanwhile I'm on the phone. And then she pulls over in the middle of Sepulveda.
She starts talking but I don't get it. This is before I recognize the language problem. I tell her to turn down the radio, but she doesn't understand what I'm saying. Finally, I get it. I tell her not to worry, I'm in the car, I'll pay cash.
Meanwhile, the Lyft system is sending another car to my home. But that guy Cody also has a cheap cellphone provider and I can't reach him to cancel. I keep calling and calling. I text and text. Now I hear from Lyft that he's gonna be outside and I should be waiting. Finally I get Cody on the phone and cancel the ride.
Meanwhile, Mary hands me her phone, because she can't understand me. She wants me to enter the Pep Boys address. WAZE is in Russian.
Now she's on the wrong side of the freeway. We've got to switch to the 10, but she's in the number one lane of the 405. I have to throw off my phone call for the second time, I tell her to get to the right, she eventually makes it. We arrive at Pep Boys, thank god I've got correct change.
So I go in to pick up my car. The guy is not wearing a uniform. Which makes me suspicious. Actually, it takes five minutes for me to find him, the desk is unmanned. He's got a haircut like the Weeknd, flopping almost down to his eyes, he's got a neck tattoo, he's nice, but he's clueless.
Before I pay the bill I want to know how they arrived at the number. I got sixty percent off on the new tire, but they charged me almost fifty bucks to install it. Watcha gonna do?
But after I pay, and they print out the paperwork, I ask this guy to go line by line, I want to make sure I've still got a warranty on this new tire.
And I see a line that says ninety day balance. Well, I've got lifetime balance, rotation and alignment, I don't want to get stuck further down the road.
He keeps saying I'm wrong until he realizes I'm right, uttering acronyms I don't understand along the way. He says he's got to call his boss, the aforementioned Gus.
Gus tells him the bill is wrong, to give me a free oil change to make up for it.
I don't want a free oil change.
Mr. Weeknd doesn't have the password, so I've got to wait for Gus to come back from lunch, it's supposed to be fifteen minutes, could be an hour. And I start wondering if it's worth it, to wait, for the money. But I could envision the future, driving up with a flat in that same tire, them charging me to repair it and balance it, and I did not want to be ripped-off when it wasn't my fault.
So I go in the waiting room.
The TV is on. Everywhere the TV is on. It's like no one can read, we all have to watch inane television while we're waiting.
There's only one other guy there, he's not watching, I figure I'll take control, turn the volume down. I go up to the set, but it has no buttons, few do anymore.
So now I need the remote control. Usually establishments hide it, they don't want you messing with the volume, stealing the remote.
But I found it and turned down the TV and got back on my call for the third time.
Gus arrived early actually.
Then he started blaming it on me.
Didn't Rodrigo tell you how much it would cost?
No.
Didn't this new guy go through every line before you paid?
No.
But you definitely want the oil change, it's a better deal.
No.
So I owe you $18, $16.99 plus $2.50, right?
Well, no. First, explain what you're refunding on the paperwork.
He can't do that.
So we're back to the eighteen bucks. And I tell him that $16.99 plus $2.50 is actually $19.49. Is he ripping me off or can he not add? Both!
So he tells me to put my card into the reader for a refund and...
Then he needs to change the cash register tape. Only he does not know how to do it.
So he calls over the young 'un, who eventually has to peel away stuck tape for the better part of five minutes.
But after installing a new wheel of tape, it doesn't print.
And this is just about the time I realize the young 'un didn't give me a receipt the first time around.
So Gus tells me he can't print a receipt.
Okay, I'll live with that, even though I don't want to. But can he print out another work order to keep in my glove box, the other one going into the file in my office?
Sure.
Only he can't.
He can't make the printer work. He tries over and over again. Then he just hands me Pep Boys' work order.
Do I think Pep Boys was intentionally screwing me?
No. I think it was just ineptitude. But one reason I did not want the oil change is I knew they'd try and upsell me. That's how these outfits make their money, go in for a minor repair and they'll scare you into more work you don't need, and I'm a paranoid guy, I fall for it.
So, what we've got is a legion of undertrained, inefficient workers. How could the bosses let them do the job?
Because it's a corporation and those at the top need to get rich, and turnover is so heavy they don't care about the employees anyway.
And the employees don't care about the job, because they don't make enough money.
Talk about the American worker.
And our best laid plans fall by the wayside, this happens every week, you've got to build in time to deal with the system. The products are better than the people, which is why I'm always wary of a person touching my stuff, they usually screw it up.
So, in an ever more automated world, we're dealing with the same damn problems.
People, you can't live with 'em, you can't live without 'em.
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Modern Marketing
It's a feeling.
The aughts are over. You remember, the viral era. When something got started online and passed amongst your peers until you found out about it. There are just too many messages today. So how do you get your point across these days? MONEY!
This is the lesson of Michael Bloomberg, how he could go from mostly unknown to a fait accompli in the minds of many. He created a feeling. You saw his ads and heard about him everywhere, sprinkle in a bit of pundit prognosticating and suddenly he went from nowhere to double digit polls.
This is what major labels do today.
Used to be, even in the aforementioned aughts, if you did something great, people would find out about it. Those days are now history. Sure, every once in a while a new fad comes out of nowhere, like TikTok, but then those with money pounce on it. You cannot have a marketing meeting today without a discussion of TikTok, the major labels are all over it.
So what this means is what the majors market you become aware of, you get a feeling that it's happening and you check it out. And that's the hardest part, getting someone to indulge, spend some time checking out your item.
And one vertical, one appearance, no longer matters. Unless maybe it's on the Super Bowl. Trump's appeal to African-American voters got traction, then again, Bloomberg's spot was only a speck in his overall advertising campaign. In other words, if you believe an appearance on late night TV is gonna move the needle, you're sorely mistaken. And Bloomberg has proven not only do you have to invade television, but the internet, and you have to employ the latest internet techniques to further your campaign, like the creation of memes. Sure, Bloomberg's effort may be ham-fisted, but the Republicans have been employing meme-makers for years. And the great thing about online traction is it spreads faster than marketing in old media, i.e. print and television. If it catches fire, it can be spread instantly, at no cost, with no friction.
But it costs a lot to get started.
Hell, look at Lil Nas X. He seemed to be well-known before he made his Sony deal. But it was Sony who made him a household name, who raised his profile to the point he was in a Super Bowl commercial.
But it didn't cost Lil Nas X much to get started!
That's true. He's the outlier. But big money created the specious campaign about country radio rejecting "Old Town Road," previous to that most people had never heard of the track, never mind heard it.
But most products, most songs, are not that unique, not that ground-breaking. Furthermore, "Old Town Road" was the first TikTok success.
Remember when Radiohead put out "In Rainbows"? Just a post was enough. Now, if you're lucky, a post reaches your diehard fans.
As for social media marketing?
It only reaches a subsection of your diehard fans. There is no virality.
But if you look at Harry's, you know, the razor blade/shaving company, you'll remember that online ads were everywhere, to the point you became aware, and then when it became a business story...
Sure, you can get all this notoriety, create a feeling and end up with a turntable hit, something that people are aware of that generates no money, but one thing is for sure, today's marketing is inefficient, there are no slam-dunks.
So established companies promote what is obvious, they don't want to waste time creating the new and trying to convince people, it's just too difficult. Which is why major labels promote rap and hip-hop. And, of course the market gets skewed, only rap and hip-hop get that feeling around them, everything that does not fit in those categories just floats in the backwater, when you hear about it you reject it as something niche, for true believers, who may have their heads up their tushies.
But, it gets even worse, with no filter, with no standard of excellence, a lot of what is created and promoted in the niches is crap, further pushing that genre down, creating the feeling that it is not happening.
And since it is not happening, those people interested in money, the professionals, abandon it or don't even start. Sure, the Beatles drove the culture, got girls, but they also made money. Which wasn't so easy to do if you were a youngster sans education. Prior to this you became a professional, a doctor or a lawyer, the same way you became a banker or a tech entrepreneur, both of which professions are now long in the tooth.
Yes, marketers believe their product is forever, until suddenly it isn't.
And the public knows it's over before the marketers, but it takes a long time for people to get the feeling. And oftentimes it is a feeling, not facts. Especially in a world where facts are fungible.
Attention is not enough. People just can't see it, although that's better than being ignored. At some point the synapses of the public must fire, they must feel that they're missing out, that they've got to check something out. Which is why today acts are nowhere for years and then suddenly everywhere, like Lizzo.
So, if there's no money in an endeavor, chances are there will continue to be none unless someone spends money marketing it everywhere, with a sustained campaign. And this really only works, the monied really only invest, when what is outside is so different, so great, so irresistible, that if people only experienced it, they'd love it.
Which is why marketing is not enough. Which is why everything has to connect instantly. No one's got the time to go deep, not unless they've been convinced previously, are already a fan.
But it's not always a hook. Sometimes the sound is so different, so intriguing, that that is what draws people to it. But you've got to be willing to push the envelope.
And Billie Eilish is certainly different. But all insiders, and many outsiders, know it was about the cash, that Interscope nurtured the act for years.
But this is the exception, in a world where no one has ownership, everybody wants their bonus, everybody can't wait while something percolates in the market, they want it now.
But the consumer is different. The consumer has all the time in the world for what intrigues them. Which is what TV bingeing is all about, never mind podcasts and videogaming. If you strike a vein, if you really connect, people will dedicate themselves more than they ever did, spending more time and money. But too many focus on reaching new customers as opposed to satiating the old. First and foremost, you must feed your base, they are your evangelists, they help spread the word, they're marketing 24/7 because they believe. So put out new material, fans want new. But don't give up on the penumbra, the world at large, but it's gonna take money. And only the big cats have it.
--
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The aughts are over. You remember, the viral era. When something got started online and passed amongst your peers until you found out about it. There are just too many messages today. So how do you get your point across these days? MONEY!
This is the lesson of Michael Bloomberg, how he could go from mostly unknown to a fait accompli in the minds of many. He created a feeling. You saw his ads and heard about him everywhere, sprinkle in a bit of pundit prognosticating and suddenly he went from nowhere to double digit polls.
This is what major labels do today.
Used to be, even in the aforementioned aughts, if you did something great, people would find out about it. Those days are now history. Sure, every once in a while a new fad comes out of nowhere, like TikTok, but then those with money pounce on it. You cannot have a marketing meeting today without a discussion of TikTok, the major labels are all over it.
So what this means is what the majors market you become aware of, you get a feeling that it's happening and you check it out. And that's the hardest part, getting someone to indulge, spend some time checking out your item.
And one vertical, one appearance, no longer matters. Unless maybe it's on the Super Bowl. Trump's appeal to African-American voters got traction, then again, Bloomberg's spot was only a speck in his overall advertising campaign. In other words, if you believe an appearance on late night TV is gonna move the needle, you're sorely mistaken. And Bloomberg has proven not only do you have to invade television, but the internet, and you have to employ the latest internet techniques to further your campaign, like the creation of memes. Sure, Bloomberg's effort may be ham-fisted, but the Republicans have been employing meme-makers for years. And the great thing about online traction is it spreads faster than marketing in old media, i.e. print and television. If it catches fire, it can be spread instantly, at no cost, with no friction.
But it costs a lot to get started.
Hell, look at Lil Nas X. He seemed to be well-known before he made his Sony deal. But it was Sony who made him a household name, who raised his profile to the point he was in a Super Bowl commercial.
But it didn't cost Lil Nas X much to get started!
That's true. He's the outlier. But big money created the specious campaign about country radio rejecting "Old Town Road," previous to that most people had never heard of the track, never mind heard it.
But most products, most songs, are not that unique, not that ground-breaking. Furthermore, "Old Town Road" was the first TikTok success.
Remember when Radiohead put out "In Rainbows"? Just a post was enough. Now, if you're lucky, a post reaches your diehard fans.
As for social media marketing?
It only reaches a subsection of your diehard fans. There is no virality.
But if you look at Harry's, you know, the razor blade/shaving company, you'll remember that online ads were everywhere, to the point you became aware, and then when it became a business story...
Sure, you can get all this notoriety, create a feeling and end up with a turntable hit, something that people are aware of that generates no money, but one thing is for sure, today's marketing is inefficient, there are no slam-dunks.
So established companies promote what is obvious, they don't want to waste time creating the new and trying to convince people, it's just too difficult. Which is why major labels promote rap and hip-hop. And, of course the market gets skewed, only rap and hip-hop get that feeling around them, everything that does not fit in those categories just floats in the backwater, when you hear about it you reject it as something niche, for true believers, who may have their heads up their tushies.
But, it gets even worse, with no filter, with no standard of excellence, a lot of what is created and promoted in the niches is crap, further pushing that genre down, creating the feeling that it is not happening.
And since it is not happening, those people interested in money, the professionals, abandon it or don't even start. Sure, the Beatles drove the culture, got girls, but they also made money. Which wasn't so easy to do if you were a youngster sans education. Prior to this you became a professional, a doctor or a lawyer, the same way you became a banker or a tech entrepreneur, both of which professions are now long in the tooth.
Yes, marketers believe their product is forever, until suddenly it isn't.
And the public knows it's over before the marketers, but it takes a long time for people to get the feeling. And oftentimes it is a feeling, not facts. Especially in a world where facts are fungible.
Attention is not enough. People just can't see it, although that's better than being ignored. At some point the synapses of the public must fire, they must feel that they're missing out, that they've got to check something out. Which is why today acts are nowhere for years and then suddenly everywhere, like Lizzo.
So, if there's no money in an endeavor, chances are there will continue to be none unless someone spends money marketing it everywhere, with a sustained campaign. And this really only works, the monied really only invest, when what is outside is so different, so great, so irresistible, that if people only experienced it, they'd love it.
Which is why marketing is not enough. Which is why everything has to connect instantly. No one's got the time to go deep, not unless they've been convinced previously, are already a fan.
But it's not always a hook. Sometimes the sound is so different, so intriguing, that that is what draws people to it. But you've got to be willing to push the envelope.
And Billie Eilish is certainly different. But all insiders, and many outsiders, know it was about the cash, that Interscope nurtured the act for years.
But this is the exception, in a world where no one has ownership, everybody wants their bonus, everybody can't wait while something percolates in the market, they want it now.
But the consumer is different. The consumer has all the time in the world for what intrigues them. Which is what TV bingeing is all about, never mind podcasts and videogaming. If you strike a vein, if you really connect, people will dedicate themselves more than they ever did, spending more time and money. But too many focus on reaching new customers as opposed to satiating the old. First and foremost, you must feed your base, they are your evangelists, they help spread the word, they're marketing 24/7 because they believe. So put out new material, fans want new. But don't give up on the penumbra, the world at large, but it's gonna take money. And only the big cats have it.
--
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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Tuesday 18 February 2020
Today's Trump
You've got to be rich.
And it always comes down to who you know.
No one is willing to sacrifice anymore. Latest example? The Nevada Culinary Union. They bargained for a blue chip health care plan. Screw those who have inferior plans, or no plan at all. I've got mine, AND SCREW YOU!
How did it come to this? How is it that Americans drive gas-guzzling SUVs, which handle worse than cars, and are less safe than cars, and will kill those not driving SUVs, while the media excoriates electric cars, which even the auto industry admits are coming. Yes, if you follow the car business, you know that Volkswagen has doubled-down on electric vehicles. BMW cut back, and now they're behind. And Tesla is winning not only because it's cool, but it has the best technology, the best battery packs, the longest range! But we need to believe in the usual suspects, like GM, Ford and Chrysler, all of which have a long history of crashing after lining their pockets "giving the people what they want."
It all comes down to marketing.
Which is how Michael Bloomberg went from zero to hero.
Because anybody with something does not want to sacrifice. Doesn't want to be at risk of losing whatsoever.
And the media, the talking heads, the pundits, the opinion columnists, who are upper middle class if not outright rich, lobby for the status quo themselves. Because it works for them. They don't want a renegade, they might lose their position.
But Donald Trump won by being a renegade. By talking about how the government does not work and the game is rigged.
The government has issues, but one thing's for sure, the game is rigged.
Let's see, all the people Trump pardoned/commuted today... It's not like they had public defenders, it's not like they didn't have the right to appeal, they were convicted, fair and square, there's a system, based on laws, and if you sacrifice the law...you've got chaos.
Which is what we've got today.
The automakers don't want to lower fuel economy standards because they're fearful of California. Sure, they'd like them to be brought down, but what if a Democrat wins and they're pushed back up!
No one knows what's gonna happen.
It is not business as usual.
But one thing is for certain, if you're not rich, you don't count, you have no voice.
Because they don't want to let you have one.
Oh, they'll let you call in to talk shows, they'll get you fighting about secondary issues, but they won't let you challenge the system, which is imperfect but works just fine for them.
You should watch Hasan Minhaj on obesity: https://bit.ly/2SDXOk9 Americans are not fat because they're lazy, unable to make good choices...no, they're fat because big food wants them that way. First and foremost by the use of corn syrup, i.e. fructose, as opposed to the more expensive sugar. Got to keep those farmers voting Republican!
And as you will see in the Minhaj show, these big companies are not only fattening Americans, but Mexicans and Samoans... They get the law changed to their advantage, and they blame the consequences on YOU!
That's today's America, it's your fault you're not rich, it's your fault you've got cancer.
Which brings me to last night's John Oliver show, wherein he makes the case for Medicare for all: https://bit.ly/39M7sHe
Oliver goes through all the negative talking points, blows them away, and if you're not for Medicare for all after you watch this, you're greedy or, like members of the Culinary Union, have a blue chip policy.
But there can be no change.
But change happens. The last twenty years have been all about change. Digital disruption. It's always outsiders with a creaky new way that is cheap and pooh-poohed that ultimately triumphs and kills what came before. Why can't this happen in politics?
BECAUSE THOSE IN POWER DON'T WANT IT TO!
I'll vote for any Democrat against Trump. But I must say, the DNC and the media are bending over backward to hand it to Michael Bloomberg. Today the polls came out and the stories were all about Bloomberg's surge, when Sanders surged way ahead of the field.
Selective reporting.
It used to be different. There was the Fairness Doctrine, making sure the limited news outlets presented both sides.
And if you owned a megaphone, a newspaper, TV or radio station, you were powerful.
You're less powerful today.
Those in power, the elite, hate technology, even though they selectively use it. I listened to NPR tonight wherein they sang the virtues of the independent bookstore, saying the digital book was neutered. But the sycophantic host even admitted he showroomed the Ron Chernow book on Ulysses S. Grant and bought the digital copy, because the physical book was just too heavy.
This is the establishment, they like it how it was, even though it's no longer this way.
I get it if you're a member of the Republican elite. The money and perks have always flowed upward. But the Democratic elite? They have contempt for those below them, believe they know better, spread their own disinformation in pursuit of their goals. There can be change, just as long as they don't lose out.
And you wonder why the rank and file voted for Trump.
So it all comes down to hope. If Bloomberg is elected, we'll get rid of the orange menace. But will the fundamental problems of this country be addressed? Of course not, because Bloomberg doesn't even know how the hoi polloi live.
So Blagojevich broke the law. We don't want our elected officials selling Senate seats. But we live in a country where our President can lean on Ukraine to neuter the campaign of Joe Biden, which he successfully did!
Mitt Romney did the right thing, and he was excoriated by the right, but...they still love him in Utah, because their society is built on the family and helping one another, morality.
Bernard Kerik was caught red-handed, as was Eddie DeBartolo, Jr. Commit a blue collar crime and you're screwed, there's a camera everywhere, you're going up the river. But white collar crime is seen as less bad, these are good people, we don't want to ruin their lives, like the judge said in the Stanford rape case. SO WHY DID THEY DO THIS?
That's what you've got to ask. These people thought they were invulnerable, they'd been getting away with bending the rules for years, it's just that this time they got caught. Whereas you're lucky if you can get probation on the first offense.
So there's a different legal system for the rich and poor. And unlike in the old days, the rich no longer worry about the optics. Trump doesn't care how it looks, Kerik working with the Donald's henchman Giuliani, Blagojevich appearing on "The Apprentice," he just does what he feels like, with a vengeance, vindictively.
Susan Collins told us Trump learned a lesson...yeah, that he can do whatever he wants!
As for those who support him, it's less about him than the tribe on the other side. They hate Democrats so much, they'll endorse the behavior of any Republican, just ask the evangelicals.
So if you live online, you see contrary opinions.
But big media has told us it's all cranks and their opinions don't count. Meanwhile, Breitbart and the Daily Caller got Trump elected. Who cares about veracity, that demonstrates power.
And although the right decries authoritarianism in China, it refuses to publicize any story it doesn't agree with, that doesn't reinforce its position.
So, you can be an outsider, you can have the illusion of power, because you vote.
But for the first time in my life I'm starting to wonder if it matters. If we organize and come up with a contrary candidate, our own opinion, they shut us right down. Bernie Sanders is a socialist who loves Russia and will ruin the economy, after eliminating Democratic coattails.
Meanwhile, Trump is a guy who really loves Putin, and endorses/enables socialism for the rich, with low taxes, the carried interest rule, government handouts, but somehow that's different.
It isn't about Bernie Sanders the man, it's about what he's saying, telling the truth in a world where that is abhorred. The everyday person got screwed, and the playing field must be leveled, while everybody is taken care of while they get back on their feet.
But those on both the right and left say this can't be so. Change must be gradual, and you know there can't be change because the government is gridlocked, and you're asking the impossible anyway.
Meanwhile, let's hand the nomination to a billionaire who just recently was a Republican, who changed the law so he could serve a third term as mayor, who made the elites feel safe while his police force threw those less privileged up against the wall.
But that's overlooked. Even the sexism. Because this is the guy the elites want, because he'll just be the anti-Trump, who cares if he gets anything done.
And their plan is working. I was with three twentysomethings just now, all were Bernie fans, now they're behind Bloomberg, the media has convinced them, they're defeated. Even though it's their future at risk.
So what we've found is despite our numbers, we ain't got much power. Even if Bernie Sanders wins a primary, he loses. The owners of this country want it this way.
As for Michael Milken... Wasn't he the first guy to make so much money on Wall Street? Isn't he evidence of the basic problem? By pardoning him aren't we endorsing this kind of behavior, especially if you employ your riches that remain for good causes?
It's depressing. And everybody is telling us we know nothing and should do what they say. And however it plays out, they're not gonna lose, but we are.
Meanwhile, we're fighting each other for scraps and most have no idea how the game is really played anyway. Everybody believes they're gonna be a successful entrepreneur, become a billionaire. Someone else did it, so why can't they?
Because that other person had wealthy parents who gave them the best education at institutions where you can make relationships that pay dividends down the road. You never had a chance. And today, both parties are doing their best to snuff whatever light, whatever hope remains, out.
And you wonder why there's a rash of suicides.
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And it always comes down to who you know.
No one is willing to sacrifice anymore. Latest example? The Nevada Culinary Union. They bargained for a blue chip health care plan. Screw those who have inferior plans, or no plan at all. I've got mine, AND SCREW YOU!
How did it come to this? How is it that Americans drive gas-guzzling SUVs, which handle worse than cars, and are less safe than cars, and will kill those not driving SUVs, while the media excoriates electric cars, which even the auto industry admits are coming. Yes, if you follow the car business, you know that Volkswagen has doubled-down on electric vehicles. BMW cut back, and now they're behind. And Tesla is winning not only because it's cool, but it has the best technology, the best battery packs, the longest range! But we need to believe in the usual suspects, like GM, Ford and Chrysler, all of which have a long history of crashing after lining their pockets "giving the people what they want."
It all comes down to marketing.
Which is how Michael Bloomberg went from zero to hero.
Because anybody with something does not want to sacrifice. Doesn't want to be at risk of losing whatsoever.
And the media, the talking heads, the pundits, the opinion columnists, who are upper middle class if not outright rich, lobby for the status quo themselves. Because it works for them. They don't want a renegade, they might lose their position.
But Donald Trump won by being a renegade. By talking about how the government does not work and the game is rigged.
The government has issues, but one thing's for sure, the game is rigged.
Let's see, all the people Trump pardoned/commuted today... It's not like they had public defenders, it's not like they didn't have the right to appeal, they were convicted, fair and square, there's a system, based on laws, and if you sacrifice the law...you've got chaos.
Which is what we've got today.
The automakers don't want to lower fuel economy standards because they're fearful of California. Sure, they'd like them to be brought down, but what if a Democrat wins and they're pushed back up!
No one knows what's gonna happen.
It is not business as usual.
But one thing is for certain, if you're not rich, you don't count, you have no voice.
Because they don't want to let you have one.
Oh, they'll let you call in to talk shows, they'll get you fighting about secondary issues, but they won't let you challenge the system, which is imperfect but works just fine for them.
You should watch Hasan Minhaj on obesity: https://bit.ly/2SDXOk9 Americans are not fat because they're lazy, unable to make good choices...no, they're fat because big food wants them that way. First and foremost by the use of corn syrup, i.e. fructose, as opposed to the more expensive sugar. Got to keep those farmers voting Republican!
And as you will see in the Minhaj show, these big companies are not only fattening Americans, but Mexicans and Samoans... They get the law changed to their advantage, and they blame the consequences on YOU!
That's today's America, it's your fault you're not rich, it's your fault you've got cancer.
Which brings me to last night's John Oliver show, wherein he makes the case for Medicare for all: https://bit.ly/39M7sHe
Oliver goes through all the negative talking points, blows them away, and if you're not for Medicare for all after you watch this, you're greedy or, like members of the Culinary Union, have a blue chip policy.
But there can be no change.
But change happens. The last twenty years have been all about change. Digital disruption. It's always outsiders with a creaky new way that is cheap and pooh-poohed that ultimately triumphs and kills what came before. Why can't this happen in politics?
BECAUSE THOSE IN POWER DON'T WANT IT TO!
I'll vote for any Democrat against Trump. But I must say, the DNC and the media are bending over backward to hand it to Michael Bloomberg. Today the polls came out and the stories were all about Bloomberg's surge, when Sanders surged way ahead of the field.
Selective reporting.
It used to be different. There was the Fairness Doctrine, making sure the limited news outlets presented both sides.
And if you owned a megaphone, a newspaper, TV or radio station, you were powerful.
You're less powerful today.
Those in power, the elite, hate technology, even though they selectively use it. I listened to NPR tonight wherein they sang the virtues of the independent bookstore, saying the digital book was neutered. But the sycophantic host even admitted he showroomed the Ron Chernow book on Ulysses S. Grant and bought the digital copy, because the physical book was just too heavy.
This is the establishment, they like it how it was, even though it's no longer this way.
I get it if you're a member of the Republican elite. The money and perks have always flowed upward. But the Democratic elite? They have contempt for those below them, believe they know better, spread their own disinformation in pursuit of their goals. There can be change, just as long as they don't lose out.
And you wonder why the rank and file voted for Trump.
So it all comes down to hope. If Bloomberg is elected, we'll get rid of the orange menace. But will the fundamental problems of this country be addressed? Of course not, because Bloomberg doesn't even know how the hoi polloi live.
So Blagojevich broke the law. We don't want our elected officials selling Senate seats. But we live in a country where our President can lean on Ukraine to neuter the campaign of Joe Biden, which he successfully did!
Mitt Romney did the right thing, and he was excoriated by the right, but...they still love him in Utah, because their society is built on the family and helping one another, morality.
Bernard Kerik was caught red-handed, as was Eddie DeBartolo, Jr. Commit a blue collar crime and you're screwed, there's a camera everywhere, you're going up the river. But white collar crime is seen as less bad, these are good people, we don't want to ruin their lives, like the judge said in the Stanford rape case. SO WHY DID THEY DO THIS?
That's what you've got to ask. These people thought they were invulnerable, they'd been getting away with bending the rules for years, it's just that this time they got caught. Whereas you're lucky if you can get probation on the first offense.
So there's a different legal system for the rich and poor. And unlike in the old days, the rich no longer worry about the optics. Trump doesn't care how it looks, Kerik working with the Donald's henchman Giuliani, Blagojevich appearing on "The Apprentice," he just does what he feels like, with a vengeance, vindictively.
Susan Collins told us Trump learned a lesson...yeah, that he can do whatever he wants!
As for those who support him, it's less about him than the tribe on the other side. They hate Democrats so much, they'll endorse the behavior of any Republican, just ask the evangelicals.
So if you live online, you see contrary opinions.
But big media has told us it's all cranks and their opinions don't count. Meanwhile, Breitbart and the Daily Caller got Trump elected. Who cares about veracity, that demonstrates power.
And although the right decries authoritarianism in China, it refuses to publicize any story it doesn't agree with, that doesn't reinforce its position.
So, you can be an outsider, you can have the illusion of power, because you vote.
But for the first time in my life I'm starting to wonder if it matters. If we organize and come up with a contrary candidate, our own opinion, they shut us right down. Bernie Sanders is a socialist who loves Russia and will ruin the economy, after eliminating Democratic coattails.
Meanwhile, Trump is a guy who really loves Putin, and endorses/enables socialism for the rich, with low taxes, the carried interest rule, government handouts, but somehow that's different.
It isn't about Bernie Sanders the man, it's about what he's saying, telling the truth in a world where that is abhorred. The everyday person got screwed, and the playing field must be leveled, while everybody is taken care of while they get back on their feet.
But those on both the right and left say this can't be so. Change must be gradual, and you know there can't be change because the government is gridlocked, and you're asking the impossible anyway.
Meanwhile, let's hand the nomination to a billionaire who just recently was a Republican, who changed the law so he could serve a third term as mayor, who made the elites feel safe while his police force threw those less privileged up against the wall.
But that's overlooked. Even the sexism. Because this is the guy the elites want, because he'll just be the anti-Trump, who cares if he gets anything done.
And their plan is working. I was with three twentysomethings just now, all were Bernie fans, now they're behind Bloomberg, the media has convinced them, they're defeated. Even though it's their future at risk.
So what we've found is despite our numbers, we ain't got much power. Even if Bernie Sanders wins a primary, he loses. The owners of this country want it this way.
As for Michael Milken... Wasn't he the first guy to make so much money on Wall Street? Isn't he evidence of the basic problem? By pardoning him aren't we endorsing this kind of behavior, especially if you employ your riches that remain for good causes?
It's depressing. And everybody is telling us we know nothing and should do what they say. And however it plays out, they're not gonna lose, but we are.
Meanwhile, we're fighting each other for scraps and most have no idea how the game is really played anyway. Everybody believes they're gonna be a successful entrepreneur, become a billionaire. Someone else did it, so why can't they?
Because that other person had wealthy parents who gave them the best education at institutions where you can make relationships that pay dividends down the road. You never had a chance. And today, both parties are doing their best to snuff whatever light, whatever hope remains, out.
And you wonder why there's a rash of suicides.
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Monday 17 February 2020
Road Songs-SiriusXM This Week
Tune in tomorrow, Tuesday February 18th, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.
Phone #: 844-6-VOLUME, 844-686-5863
Twitter: @lefsetz or @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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Phone #: 844-6-VOLUME, 844-686-5863
Twitter: @lefsetz or @siriusxmvolume/#lefsetzlive
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Ask Again, Yes
https://amzn.to/2V00LgM
I could not put this book down.
I'm wary of recommending something you might not like. I recently finished Liz Moore's "Long Bright River," one of today's hot books. It's about sisters, one's a cop and one's a drug addict. And to tell you the truth, I had a hard time putting that one down too, but it just didn't resonate the same way.
"Ask Again, Yes" is a story. Of people.
Guys don't read this kind of book. They want non-fiction, business, they want their reading to get them ahead, to pay a dividend for their investment. And they also read genre books, you know, mysteries, thrillers, and a few are highbrow, but many are just filling the time, until you get to an unforeseen twist.
But women will read a story with no supernatural characters, no aliens, no superheroes, no tie-in to world events. You see women feel, and men have a problem with that.
OF COURSE I'M GENERALIZING! There are women who are hard-asses and men who are sensitive. But what I'm saying here is many men won't dive into a book like this and they should, because we're all living life, we're all making choices, life is an endless river with twists and turns and you never know when the water will rush, or run out, or you'll enter rapids unprepared.
The husbands are cops.
But this is not a cop story.
And there's an incident, but the entire book does not hang on that.
Do you fall into a career, or do you choose it?
Do you buy a house and have kids before you're truly ready?
Does your betrothed stand up for you?
Is love forever?
Are you principled, or do you have a wandering eye?
Are you a good person, but flawed?
All these questions are asked and more.
Do you have expectations for your kids? What if they don't take the road you want them to? And how important is money? And as life goes by do you realize how much you're missing and will never experience, and do you care?
The characters could be more developed.
But you don't have the endless scene-setting and description of the highbrow "literature." First and foremost a book must be readable, and too many highfalutin' writers break this rule, so their work is immediately compromised, but not Mary Beth Keane.
And you may not see yourself in the book, but maybe you will. Especially if you grew up in the suburbs.
And life happens and stuff gets thrown at you that you had nothing to do with, and you've got no choice but to soldier on.
Reading is a private endeavor. Antithetical to today's internet, show-off environment. It's just you and the book. You delve into a world. You may be walking around the neighborhood, at work, but part of you is still in the headspace of the novel, and you can't wait to get back there.
There's no big lesson when the book ends. There's not even a slam-bang, unexpected ending.
In a world where everyone lauds comic books, as if guys should get credit for reading them...
In a world where everybody goes lowbrow and bristles if you say their behavior is in the gutter...
Where you're wary of acting like you're better than someone else (I'm not talking about the wannabe bozos online, just the people you come in contact with each and every day)...
The truth is we're all just trying to figure it out, we're all the same, despite the totems. At heart we're animals, with feelings. Sometimes we bury them, we're afraid of being judged. But when you read a good book your life opens up, you feel free, connected, inspired...you know that you are not alone. And isn't that the purpose of art?
P.S. This is not a rare book. It was a hit over the spring and summer. But I just picked it up.
P.P.S. I read a physical copy, boy is that a pain in the ass. I've got to turn on the lights, which ruins the nighttime mood. Yes, I read in the dark, it enhances the experience. And the typeface was too small. On a Kindle, you can adjust it. But the antiquities who run the book business like it this way, they love that they killed the Kindle book. Come on, click on the link above, the hardcover is a dollar and sixty cents cheaper than the digital edition, which required no printing, no shipping and no return. The book business should have learned the lessons of the record business...everybody thinks their business is different, but it's not.
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I could not put this book down.
I'm wary of recommending something you might not like. I recently finished Liz Moore's "Long Bright River," one of today's hot books. It's about sisters, one's a cop and one's a drug addict. And to tell you the truth, I had a hard time putting that one down too, but it just didn't resonate the same way.
"Ask Again, Yes" is a story. Of people.
Guys don't read this kind of book. They want non-fiction, business, they want their reading to get them ahead, to pay a dividend for their investment. And they also read genre books, you know, mysteries, thrillers, and a few are highbrow, but many are just filling the time, until you get to an unforeseen twist.
But women will read a story with no supernatural characters, no aliens, no superheroes, no tie-in to world events. You see women feel, and men have a problem with that.
OF COURSE I'M GENERALIZING! There are women who are hard-asses and men who are sensitive. But what I'm saying here is many men won't dive into a book like this and they should, because we're all living life, we're all making choices, life is an endless river with twists and turns and you never know when the water will rush, or run out, or you'll enter rapids unprepared.
The husbands are cops.
But this is not a cop story.
And there's an incident, but the entire book does not hang on that.
Do you fall into a career, or do you choose it?
Do you buy a house and have kids before you're truly ready?
Does your betrothed stand up for you?
Is love forever?
Are you principled, or do you have a wandering eye?
Are you a good person, but flawed?
All these questions are asked and more.
Do you have expectations for your kids? What if they don't take the road you want them to? And how important is money? And as life goes by do you realize how much you're missing and will never experience, and do you care?
The characters could be more developed.
But you don't have the endless scene-setting and description of the highbrow "literature." First and foremost a book must be readable, and too many highfalutin' writers break this rule, so their work is immediately compromised, but not Mary Beth Keane.
And you may not see yourself in the book, but maybe you will. Especially if you grew up in the suburbs.
And life happens and stuff gets thrown at you that you had nothing to do with, and you've got no choice but to soldier on.
Reading is a private endeavor. Antithetical to today's internet, show-off environment. It's just you and the book. You delve into a world. You may be walking around the neighborhood, at work, but part of you is still in the headspace of the novel, and you can't wait to get back there.
There's no big lesson when the book ends. There's not even a slam-bang, unexpected ending.
In a world where everyone lauds comic books, as if guys should get credit for reading them...
In a world where everybody goes lowbrow and bristles if you say their behavior is in the gutter...
Where you're wary of acting like you're better than someone else (I'm not talking about the wannabe bozos online, just the people you come in contact with each and every day)...
The truth is we're all just trying to figure it out, we're all the same, despite the totems. At heart we're animals, with feelings. Sometimes we bury them, we're afraid of being judged. But when you read a good book your life opens up, you feel free, connected, inspired...you know that you are not alone. And isn't that the purpose of art?
P.S. This is not a rare book. It was a hit over the spring and summer. But I just picked it up.
P.P.S. I read a physical copy, boy is that a pain in the ass. I've got to turn on the lights, which ruins the nighttime mood. Yes, I read in the dark, it enhances the experience. And the typeface was too small. On a Kindle, you can adjust it. But the antiquities who run the book business like it this way, they love that they killed the Kindle book. Come on, click on the link above, the hardcover is a dollar and sixty cents cheaper than the digital edition, which required no printing, no shipping and no return. The book business should have learned the lessons of the record business...everybody thinks their business is different, but it's not.
--
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--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Sunday 16 February 2020
The James Taylor Audiobook
https://amzn.to/2uU1OUC
It's free.
The fifties and sixties are already fading into the rearview mirror. Kinda like the radio days, before TV, Woody Allen made a movie, but they're disappearing along with the Greatest Generation.
And it won't be long before the baby boomers are history and no one will really know what it was like to grow up before the internet, before you could reach everybody instantly from the palm of your hand, when no one got lost, when you stayed in touch and knew what was going on with every person you ever met.
It was boring.
Our parents lived through the Great Depression. And the war. They knew what it was like to lose everything, so they paid cash and did not live large. Seemingly everybody in the suburbs lived in a newly-constructed house, where a mom who didn't work didn't drive an SUV but a station wagon, and the emphasis was on integrating yourself into the group. Almost no one was famous, there was almost no way to become famous, we all lived in our own little burgs. And if we were just a bit off-kilter, just a little bit different, we were lost outsiders, there was no online group to make us feel at home.
And most music came from the radio. People owned few records, which they knew by heart, and then the Beatles came along and created a whole new paradigm, one heretofore unknown, wherein you could become internationally famous and rich seemingly overnight, and not just release pabulum written by others, never forget the Beatles wrote their own songs, and this was important.
So James Taylor's dad was a doctor. The family started in Massachusetts and then moved to North Carolina. Where did this leave James?
These were not today's dads. Friends to the kids, doing the diaper-changing and the dishes. No, our dads were locked up, not emotional, and they went to work and brought home the bacon and you did not want to be ungrateful.
And sure, there were poor people. But there was a strong middle class. The bills were paid, and suddenly the progeny could be thinking about distant horizons, developing themselves, getting lost, becoming all they wanted to be.
JT's mother took him to Broadway plays.
You see our parents wanted to educate us in the arts. They exposed us to so much. And we all listened to the Original Cast Recordings. They played "Oklahoma" in James's house, they played it in mine.
And then James got lost.
His dad went to Antarctica for two years and came back a changed man. James was shipped off to boarding school.
And then he sank.
And he credits this sinking and his subsequent institutionalization with removing the pressure to fulfill his parents' desires, become a doctor or a lawyer, live the save life, at least in terms of work.
That's what we heard from day one. That we were going to college and becoming a doctor or a lawyer. You had to become a professional. To give yourself a leg up. I did not grow up with any lapsed lawyers, but almost all of the attorneys I know in California no longer practice, they're members of the bar, but sitting behind a desk cleaning up and annotating others' lives, going to court, that's anathema.
Today you become an entrepreneur, work on Wall Street.
No one I knew started a business. As for working on Wall Street...it wasn't that lucrative back then, and it was seen as selling out.
But you could become a musician.
Everybody was a musician, everybody took piano and guitar lessons. People formed bands, whipped out their guitars at parties for singalongs. It was the equivalent of Instagram or TikTok, but it was up close and personal, there was no digital creation, it was all analog.
This is the best part of "Break Shot." It brings you back to those days, it sets your mind a-wanderin', remembering when, recalling feelings and events you haven't thought of in years. The audiobook creates a mood. Outside the regular world. You cannot multitask, cannot watch TV and listen, although I guess you could surf the web. But that would detract from the exquisite experience, of being up close and personal with the creator, the man who wrote those songs you know by heart.
And this isn't about hero worship.
And James admits he grew up in an upper middle class environment, even went to Europe in high school, but the more you listen you realize he's really no different from you and me. Shuffling along with more questions than answers.
And like my dad, his dad Ike was good in a crisis. You didn't want to bother them with your everyday emotions, but when Ike heard the desperation and loss in his son's voice, he told him to stay put and he'd be there soon. Ike drove to NYC and took James back to North Carolina to kick heroin.
You see those people who fit in don't need drugs.
But the dirty little secret is very few of us fit in. And stunningly, we feel most connected when we hear a musician sing our lives in their songs.
Now there isn't much that isn't public knowledge in this book. And I don't want to reveal what you may not know.
And at first you'll be thrown off guard, because James is quite definitely reading, he's a bit stilted.
But when he stops and picks up his guitar...
And to tell you the truth, I could listen to this book all over again, but in a much deeper edition. I want to hear more of the story of Suzanne. The woman who inspired "Carolina In My Mind."
More about James's love affairs, more about rattling around in Martha's Vineyard.
But most musical biographies are written at a distance, with attitude, you read the story, but you don't feel it, you don't get the sense you know the author.
But you definitely get the sense you know James Taylor as you listen to this.
So is this a new art form?
I never listen to audiobooks.
I certainly hate the abridged editions, and I like to create the pictures, the voices in my head. I remember when the Peanuts characters appeared on TV, their voices were completely different from the ones I had in my mind. To a degree, it ruined it for me.
But you cannot hear music in a book, even if it includes a playlist. When James tells the story of being at the first Rock in Rio, playing to 300,000, revealing it took ten hours to get back to the hotel, and then you hear "Only A Dream In Rio," you too are wowed.
This is the studio version, but a lot of the material is cut just for the book.
And you realize songs are inspired by life. Every song has a story. They do not come out of thin air. Some were written in mental hospitals. It's a need to express yourself more than a need to become rich and famous. Although James does say it only truly works if you connect with the listener, evoke feelings and thoughts in their brains.
Now I played "Carolina In My Mind" every morning in the spring of my senior year of high school. The world was coming alive, and the song inspired me, even though at the time I hadn't been to Carolina, that would take decades.
And "Something In The Way She Moves" was so personal, you could see through James's eyes, but also your own.
And both of those were on the original Apple album "James Taylor," which has been lost to history. Oh, you can now stream it, it resurfaced in the CD era, it's just that the original versions of these songs are not the ones you know now, but the remakes, from the Warner Brothers "Greatest Hits" album.
And then came "Sweet Baby James"...
I went to see James at the Capitol Theatre and there were only about a hundred and fifty people there.
A few months later you couldn't get a ticket.
And it wasn't hype, it was a need to get closer to humanity.
And this was an era where you could own James Taylor and Led Zeppelin, our tastes were not so narrow.
And James tells the story of "Suite For 20 G" and then it's over. "Break Shot" stops at this point.
But James carried on.
Many did not, they were bitten by the drugs, they didn't fit into the era of greed which started in the eighties. Surviving is the hardest part. You can die and become a legend, but you won't even know that!
So if you've ever run that road from Stockbridge to Boston, if you've ever seen the snow on the Berkshires, if you've ever driven on a gray day with the heat on and a cassette in the dashboard radio...
You'll know what James Taylor is talking about. It will resonate. You'll feel warm and connected. You'll know what has been buried is still there. The victories and the losses. It's the music that carries us through.
And James Taylor wrote a lot of that music.
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It's free.
The fifties and sixties are already fading into the rearview mirror. Kinda like the radio days, before TV, Woody Allen made a movie, but they're disappearing along with the Greatest Generation.
And it won't be long before the baby boomers are history and no one will really know what it was like to grow up before the internet, before you could reach everybody instantly from the palm of your hand, when no one got lost, when you stayed in touch and knew what was going on with every person you ever met.
It was boring.
Our parents lived through the Great Depression. And the war. They knew what it was like to lose everything, so they paid cash and did not live large. Seemingly everybody in the suburbs lived in a newly-constructed house, where a mom who didn't work didn't drive an SUV but a station wagon, and the emphasis was on integrating yourself into the group. Almost no one was famous, there was almost no way to become famous, we all lived in our own little burgs. And if we were just a bit off-kilter, just a little bit different, we were lost outsiders, there was no online group to make us feel at home.
And most music came from the radio. People owned few records, which they knew by heart, and then the Beatles came along and created a whole new paradigm, one heretofore unknown, wherein you could become internationally famous and rich seemingly overnight, and not just release pabulum written by others, never forget the Beatles wrote their own songs, and this was important.
So James Taylor's dad was a doctor. The family started in Massachusetts and then moved to North Carolina. Where did this leave James?
These were not today's dads. Friends to the kids, doing the diaper-changing and the dishes. No, our dads were locked up, not emotional, and they went to work and brought home the bacon and you did not want to be ungrateful.
And sure, there were poor people. But there was a strong middle class. The bills were paid, and suddenly the progeny could be thinking about distant horizons, developing themselves, getting lost, becoming all they wanted to be.
JT's mother took him to Broadway plays.
You see our parents wanted to educate us in the arts. They exposed us to so much. And we all listened to the Original Cast Recordings. They played "Oklahoma" in James's house, they played it in mine.
And then James got lost.
His dad went to Antarctica for two years and came back a changed man. James was shipped off to boarding school.
And then he sank.
And he credits this sinking and his subsequent institutionalization with removing the pressure to fulfill his parents' desires, become a doctor or a lawyer, live the save life, at least in terms of work.
That's what we heard from day one. That we were going to college and becoming a doctor or a lawyer. You had to become a professional. To give yourself a leg up. I did not grow up with any lapsed lawyers, but almost all of the attorneys I know in California no longer practice, they're members of the bar, but sitting behind a desk cleaning up and annotating others' lives, going to court, that's anathema.
Today you become an entrepreneur, work on Wall Street.
No one I knew started a business. As for working on Wall Street...it wasn't that lucrative back then, and it was seen as selling out.
But you could become a musician.
Everybody was a musician, everybody took piano and guitar lessons. People formed bands, whipped out their guitars at parties for singalongs. It was the equivalent of Instagram or TikTok, but it was up close and personal, there was no digital creation, it was all analog.
This is the best part of "Break Shot." It brings you back to those days, it sets your mind a-wanderin', remembering when, recalling feelings and events you haven't thought of in years. The audiobook creates a mood. Outside the regular world. You cannot multitask, cannot watch TV and listen, although I guess you could surf the web. But that would detract from the exquisite experience, of being up close and personal with the creator, the man who wrote those songs you know by heart.
And this isn't about hero worship.
And James admits he grew up in an upper middle class environment, even went to Europe in high school, but the more you listen you realize he's really no different from you and me. Shuffling along with more questions than answers.
And like my dad, his dad Ike was good in a crisis. You didn't want to bother them with your everyday emotions, but when Ike heard the desperation and loss in his son's voice, he told him to stay put and he'd be there soon. Ike drove to NYC and took James back to North Carolina to kick heroin.
You see those people who fit in don't need drugs.
But the dirty little secret is very few of us fit in. And stunningly, we feel most connected when we hear a musician sing our lives in their songs.
Now there isn't much that isn't public knowledge in this book. And I don't want to reveal what you may not know.
And at first you'll be thrown off guard, because James is quite definitely reading, he's a bit stilted.
But when he stops and picks up his guitar...
And to tell you the truth, I could listen to this book all over again, but in a much deeper edition. I want to hear more of the story of Suzanne. The woman who inspired "Carolina In My Mind."
More about James's love affairs, more about rattling around in Martha's Vineyard.
But most musical biographies are written at a distance, with attitude, you read the story, but you don't feel it, you don't get the sense you know the author.
But you definitely get the sense you know James Taylor as you listen to this.
So is this a new art form?
I never listen to audiobooks.
I certainly hate the abridged editions, and I like to create the pictures, the voices in my head. I remember when the Peanuts characters appeared on TV, their voices were completely different from the ones I had in my mind. To a degree, it ruined it for me.
But you cannot hear music in a book, even if it includes a playlist. When James tells the story of being at the first Rock in Rio, playing to 300,000, revealing it took ten hours to get back to the hotel, and then you hear "Only A Dream In Rio," you too are wowed.
This is the studio version, but a lot of the material is cut just for the book.
And you realize songs are inspired by life. Every song has a story. They do not come out of thin air. Some were written in mental hospitals. It's a need to express yourself more than a need to become rich and famous. Although James does say it only truly works if you connect with the listener, evoke feelings and thoughts in their brains.
Now I played "Carolina In My Mind" every morning in the spring of my senior year of high school. The world was coming alive, and the song inspired me, even though at the time I hadn't been to Carolina, that would take decades.
And "Something In The Way She Moves" was so personal, you could see through James's eyes, but also your own.
And both of those were on the original Apple album "James Taylor," which has been lost to history. Oh, you can now stream it, it resurfaced in the CD era, it's just that the original versions of these songs are not the ones you know now, but the remakes, from the Warner Brothers "Greatest Hits" album.
And then came "Sweet Baby James"...
I went to see James at the Capitol Theatre and there were only about a hundred and fifty people there.
A few months later you couldn't get a ticket.
And it wasn't hype, it was a need to get closer to humanity.
And this was an era where you could own James Taylor and Led Zeppelin, our tastes were not so narrow.
And James tells the story of "Suite For 20 G" and then it's over. "Break Shot" stops at this point.
But James carried on.
Many did not, they were bitten by the drugs, they didn't fit into the era of greed which started in the eighties. Surviving is the hardest part. You can die and become a legend, but you won't even know that!
So if you've ever run that road from Stockbridge to Boston, if you've ever seen the snow on the Berkshires, if you've ever driven on a gray day with the heat on and a cassette in the dashboard radio...
You'll know what James Taylor is talking about. It will resonate. You'll feel warm and connected. You'll know what has been buried is still there. The victories and the losses. It's the music that carries us through.
And James Taylor wrote a lot of that music.
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