It's fantastic.
Too bad it's on Apple TV+. Like I always tell you, distribution is king, and if you want someone to experience your art, you want it to have the widest distribution possible. Sure, you can be the Wu-Tang Clan, and sell your album for millions to Martin Shkreli, but that's not about art, but money. And ultimately the Beastie Boys were about art.
I know, I know, sounds ridiculous, especially if you know them from their "Fight For Your Right" days, but this flick shows the full oeuvre, without trying to be self-aggrandizing it ends up making the band look pretty damn good. You see they ended up hating themselves and the audience they brought. They didn't want to be those "Fight For Your Right" guys anymore. So, they broke up with their label and management (the dirty details are glossed over here), and reunited in Los Angeles to make the legendary "Paul's Boutique" which was released to crickets. And they felt the impact. Not only did no one care, not only were they not on MTV, when they finally went back on the road they had to play clubs, not Madison Square Garden, whose boards they'd plied in the wake of "Licensed to Ill."
So there's an arc. They were bratty kids. And now they're grown-up men, well, at least the two who've survived.
They're city kids. And if you're lucky enough to know some, you know they're different. They grow up fast in Manhattan. And you might be afraid to ride the subway, but they aren't. And the world is at their fingertips, this is not the suburbs where you can only dream, you can take action, assuming you've got the motivation. And they all wanted to play, but it was Adam Yauch who pushed them, you can see what a huge role he played, why the band could never continue without him.
Most people heard about the trio when they opened for Madonna. To a terrible reception. Well, the truth is they weren't that big at the time, Freddy DeMann wanted Run-DMC, but that was 20k, and the Beastie Boys did it for $500, a show that is. And when they come back, they're nowhere. Oh, they've got Russell Simmons as a manager, and Rick Rubin as a producer, but they can't sell any tickets, their twelve inches get club play, but if you think club play translates to huge fandom and riches, you've probably never been to a club.
So, these kids are unsupervised, skipping school, having fun.
That's one-half of the paradigm. They're doing it to hang with their friends and have fun. And they continue to have fun, but they don't really get serious until after the failure of "Paul's Boutique."
Most people are not willing to reinvent themselves, they want to play with a net, they want a guarantee, which is why you went to college and the Beastie Boys did not. Why you want to be behind the scenes instead of on stage. You want an income and a family, you don't want to put it all on the line.
But that's what an artist does.
So, they're experimenting. Their talent is their brains, not their musical chops. How can they push the envelope. And after having no control with "Licensed to Ill," then they want all the control, down to imaging and videos, never mind the recording process. They're growing.
And when a reporter calls Yauch a hypocrite, for supporting women after his partying days, he says he'd rather be called a hypocrite than to be stuck in the same beliefs, being the same person ad infinitum.
Now that's funny, because in politics you've got to be the same person, you can't change your mind, it's gotcha all the time. And music journalism is either fawning or gotcha, and usually those giving answers can barely speak and spell, but Adam had thought about it, he'd grown. Isn't that what life is about?
Now they just want you to repeat yourself, to make that money. Maybe you just want to repeat yourself to make that money.
And "Paul's Boutique" is just before the Tommy Mottola era, when everything changed. Capitol gave the Beasties money, then they waited for the album. This was the seventies ethos, the label made its bet and the artist was in control. But starting with Mottola...the whole business became Clive Davis 24/7. The exec was king. The exec told you what to record. The exec decided whether to put out your album. And the execs know something, but they're not artists, and if I want to bet on something resonating with the public, I'll put my money on artists all day long. And to make a point, much of the dreck that Tommy and Clive released was commerce, not art.
So maybe you hate the Beastie Boys' music. Maybe you hate the Beastie Boys. Maybe you know next to nothing about the Beastie Boys. But you should still watch this film. Because the music is secondary. Oh, they tell how they created it, but the driving force is creativity and life in the creative land. Turns out you've got to be different to create. Which is why if you're working at the law firm, or as a doctor or an accountant, chances are you're never going to make it in music. The Beasties were living on nothing, hanging out on the street, in Rick's dorm room, in Russell's office, the clubs. It was a 24/7 job getting inspired. And some of their greatest ideas came when they weren't trying, when they were just walking down the street and spontaneous combustion created a song.
Like the riff of "Sabotage." Adam Yauch was just jamming. You've got to be living the life for happy accidents to happen.
And you have to be willing to put it all on the line, you have to be willing to go broke, you have to be willing to tumble down the ladder, something professionals are loath to do. Yes, professionals use their years to get more bucks, a bigger office and more status. It's a game. The truth is art is not a game, but a life. Which is why artists run through the money, they're not thinking about it.
But don't think everybody with a hit record is an artist.
And, once again, pop music is about inspiration, not skill. Who cares if you went to Berklee, does the lightning strike and can you bottle it, can you lay it down on wax?
The Beasties are in their fifties now. "Licensed to Ill" was thirty four years ago. There's history here. Watching the footage of MTV you'll remember how famous the VJs were. How important getting your video played was. And if you were on the team, if you'd made it, they'd fly you down for spring break and...
All those people, all that on screen infrastructure of MTV, is history. Because they only had one note, that's all they could do. They could go back to radio, but no one is crushing on Martha Quinn anymore, hanging on the words of Kurt Loder. These people are stuck in the past.
Curiously, the Beastie Boys were not. They laid it all on the line, they risked, they changed, they followed their muse, they got inspired, they played without a net.
It doesn't always work. It's hard to make it and stay there, there are always ups and downs.
But who thought the best film to learn these lessons would be one about the Beastie Boys?
Certainly not me.
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Thursday 30 April 2020
Now The Green Blade Riseth
https://vimeo.com/412716771
I spent an hour today watching a recording of last night's Public Theatre play on YouTube:
"What Do We Need To Talk About": https://bit.ly/3d0YBTK
This is the latest chapter of the Apple Family. Previous stories have been performed over the past ten years.
But this is the first one to make its debut live on YouTube.
Broadway is now seen as a place for the out-of-towners to experience an overblown musical that has been running for years. And some of them are good, but most are not that different from the blockbusters shown on the big screen, all effects, a spectacular with little protein.
A play is something different. It's the ultimate presentation of a story. And if you go to the theatre...
It's so weird, everybody's really on stage, it's alive, and it's being done just for the few people in the room. This is why Springsteen's show on the Great White Way was such a hit, and the recorded version for Netflix was not. You see, you had to be there.
But when it's done for the first time live online, without a net...
"What Do We Need To Talk About" is not a ten. But it captures a lot about life in these United States today. Especially the family Zoom calls. What is covered, people leaving the conversation... If you're a fan of theatre, you should check this out. If not, know that the Public Theatre is pushing the envelope when music, the most immediate medium, is not. In music, we get live renditions of oldies, in fact, everyone's holding back new stuff for fear of losing money. Meanwhile, that's one of the great things about legitimate theatre, you can't make that much money, so it's first and foremost about the art.
But then I was just e-mailed this Steve Winwood video.
Winwood tried pushing the limits back in 2003. When most of his contemporaries had given up on releasing new music, Winwood released the LP "About Time" that was not only new, it was different from what came before, it was jazzy. But it started out on an independent label and it's hard to get traction on radio if you're old and it didn't quite fit the rock format and...
Winwood toured the LP for years, it was astounding if you went to the shows.
And then he signed with Epic and made an album like he used to. The envelope was no longer being pushed.
This happens all the time. You see artists live in the eye of the hurricane. They get feedback from sycophantic friends and business associates, and they read the reviews, but they've got no idea how the public really feels, so they change directions when they should stay the course, they don't know people are behind them and the only change necessary is the amplification of the story.
Now Winwood does oldies shows. But the strange thing is he hasn't lost a step. He's usually better than everybody he plays with. He blew Eric Clapton off the stage on their joint tour. You see Winwood still has the pipes, and he's a vastly underrated player.
So yesterday, Winwood put out a new live video. You probably don't know, even if you're a Winwood fan, because it's nearly impossible to get the message out, but a reader e-mailed me and...
I was enthralled.
Winwood is so good, you'll think this is prerecorded, but it's not. I went through that with Steve when he posted a version of "Can't Find My Way Home" recorded in front of his crackling fire.
Now through the magic of the internet, you're transported to a field in the U.K., your mind is immediately set free.
And then Steve starts to pick.
This is not fake, this is not treated, this is just acoustic music, no different from how it's been for eons.
And then Steve starts to sing, and so does your heart. It reminds me of seeing him perform "John Barleycorn" at the Fillmore East, back in 1970.
It's an old hymn, and being Jewish, I don't know it. And I'm waiting for the chorus, for Steve to bust out with that vibrant emotion he's famous for.
But that's not the song.
But in this world of duplicity, humanity can still reign, even if it's conveyed by digits.
You'll feel like you're sitting in that field alone, right in front of Steve, taking it all in. You'll be transported in a way only music can do.
Plays can show you life.
When done right, music is life itself.
"Green Blade" will touch your soul, and isn't that what you're looking for?
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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I spent an hour today watching a recording of last night's Public Theatre play on YouTube:
"What Do We Need To Talk About": https://bit.ly/3d0YBTK
This is the latest chapter of the Apple Family. Previous stories have been performed over the past ten years.
But this is the first one to make its debut live on YouTube.
Broadway is now seen as a place for the out-of-towners to experience an overblown musical that has been running for years. And some of them are good, but most are not that different from the blockbusters shown on the big screen, all effects, a spectacular with little protein.
A play is something different. It's the ultimate presentation of a story. And if you go to the theatre...
It's so weird, everybody's really on stage, it's alive, and it's being done just for the few people in the room. This is why Springsteen's show on the Great White Way was such a hit, and the recorded version for Netflix was not. You see, you had to be there.
But when it's done for the first time live online, without a net...
"What Do We Need To Talk About" is not a ten. But it captures a lot about life in these United States today. Especially the family Zoom calls. What is covered, people leaving the conversation... If you're a fan of theatre, you should check this out. If not, know that the Public Theatre is pushing the envelope when music, the most immediate medium, is not. In music, we get live renditions of oldies, in fact, everyone's holding back new stuff for fear of losing money. Meanwhile, that's one of the great things about legitimate theatre, you can't make that much money, so it's first and foremost about the art.
But then I was just e-mailed this Steve Winwood video.
Winwood tried pushing the limits back in 2003. When most of his contemporaries had given up on releasing new music, Winwood released the LP "About Time" that was not only new, it was different from what came before, it was jazzy. But it started out on an independent label and it's hard to get traction on radio if you're old and it didn't quite fit the rock format and...
Winwood toured the LP for years, it was astounding if you went to the shows.
And then he signed with Epic and made an album like he used to. The envelope was no longer being pushed.
This happens all the time. You see artists live in the eye of the hurricane. They get feedback from sycophantic friends and business associates, and they read the reviews, but they've got no idea how the public really feels, so they change directions when they should stay the course, they don't know people are behind them and the only change necessary is the amplification of the story.
Now Winwood does oldies shows. But the strange thing is he hasn't lost a step. He's usually better than everybody he plays with. He blew Eric Clapton off the stage on their joint tour. You see Winwood still has the pipes, and he's a vastly underrated player.
So yesterday, Winwood put out a new live video. You probably don't know, even if you're a Winwood fan, because it's nearly impossible to get the message out, but a reader e-mailed me and...
I was enthralled.
Winwood is so good, you'll think this is prerecorded, but it's not. I went through that with Steve when he posted a version of "Can't Find My Way Home" recorded in front of his crackling fire.
Now through the magic of the internet, you're transported to a field in the U.K., your mind is immediately set free.
And then Steve starts to pick.
This is not fake, this is not treated, this is just acoustic music, no different from how it's been for eons.
And then Steve starts to sing, and so does your heart. It reminds me of seeing him perform "John Barleycorn" at the Fillmore East, back in 1970.
It's an old hymn, and being Jewish, I don't know it. And I'm waiting for the chorus, for Steve to bust out with that vibrant emotion he's famous for.
But that's not the song.
But in this world of duplicity, humanity can still reign, even if it's conveyed by digits.
You'll feel like you're sitting in that field alone, right in front of Steve, taking it all in. You'll be transported in a way only music can do.
Plays can show you life.
When done right, music is life itself.
"Green Blade" will touch your soul, and isn't that what you're looking for?
--
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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Broken
https://amzn.to/2xnUF09
This is Don Winslow's best book.
Winslow is most famous for his drug cartel trilogy. You should check it out. "The Power of the Dog" is excellent, "The Cartel" is even better, however last year's finale, "The Border," is a disappointment.
You see Winslow has a couple of writing styles. One dense, another minimalist. To read something in the latter style, check out "Savages," or "The Gentlemen's Hour." They're easily read, and the former was made into a substandard Oliver Stone movie, but watcha gonna do.
And although I liked Winslow's 2017 book, "The Force," about New York City cops, in retrospect it was not completely satisfying, it was almost like an abstract expressionist novel, not everything was clear, not everything was comprehensible, and ultimately you got the final story, but I do not want to recommend it.
But, once again, I want to recommend the drug cartel series.
You see Winslow seems to know more about the dope scene than any other writer. Sure, there might be some people in the government, some students of the game who know more, but they don't write, certainly not in a readable way. If you want to understand all about the Sinaloans, the distribution of heroin today, just read the trilogy.
Not that it's didactic. There's a story, involving people, it's not dry, it's not only facts and figures, like "Midnight in Chernobyl," which I finished recently.
I needed more about Russia and the nuclear disaster. "Midnight in Chernobyl" has a five star rating on Amazon, it was one of the "New York Times" best books of the year, but it's not as good as the HBO series, it's dry, the people don't come alive, it's a tome, good luck getting through it. I did, as I've said previously, if I buy it I finish it. It's less about getting my money's worth, and more about completion. Because if I don't complete this book, what else won't I finish? It's kinda like listening to playlists. You're into it, and then then it flows into a track you'd rather not hear, but if you skip that one, you end up skipping a bunch thereafter, and your good mood is broken. So I try to endure what I'm not dying to hear, at least in my self-created playlists, as for those curated by others, all bets are off.
If you're interested in getting a taste of Don Winslow's drug knowledge, I point you to these two magazine articles. Even if you're not going to read the trilogy, check these out, you'll learn so much.
"El Chapo and the Secret History of the Heroin Crisis": https://bit.ly/35kLvxU
"The Dirty Little Secret of El Chapo's Downfall": https://bit.ly/2WhGqm7
So, Winslow's new book, "Broken," is comprised of short stories.
These books are almost always unsatisfying, you get into a story and then it ends, I was reluctant. But Steve Martin bought me a copy and I had to check it out.
I'm glad I did.
The first story was a bit dense and then...
I got hooked.
Yes, this is crime fiction. People get murdered. So, if you can't handle that, maybe this book isn't for you.
But Winslow has an amazing way of detailing characters, they come alive, you know them, especially if you live in Southern California, where most of these stories take place. We resonate when a writer lays down what we see, when they encapsulate and add to our vision, and Winslow has got a skill for this, raising him above too much two-dimensional crime fare.
And living in internet, celebrity culture, we lose track with daily life, ordinary people, who may not be broke, but may not be famous, who are just doing their job. Normally, these people are not three-dimensional in either the news or on television, but in writing...that's where you can do it, which is one of the reasons the written word will never be supplanted by video.
And Winslow has incredible skill when it comes to love. That warm feeling you have that you wonder if someone else has. And how do you respond? Do you say something or not, do you double-down, do you ask for a date. Two people have feelings for each other, but that does not mean the other one knows, nor does it mean they're going to end up together, nor does it mean they know how to follow those feelings into a sustained relationship.
And laws have consequences. Change 'em, and you might be out of business.
Enforce them and you might end up with a result you do not want.
I've got to admit, I didn't really feel the sin of the incarceration of those illegally crossing the border until I read the final story in this collection. You've got a right wing Fox viewer, confronted with reality. And it's not black and white, nothing ever is. And that's why the story is so good.
And the silent suffering.
And the struggle of life. We think everybody is paid attention to, everybody's got their place, but the truth is many fall through the cracks. You can be damn smart and end up nowhere. Is anybody looking out for you? Do you have the wherewithal to make good choices and stick with them?
This is not difficult reading. "Broken" is the kind of book you will enjoy even if you only crack one book a year. Not to say that it's lowbrow, but that it nails the essence of life with a lot of plot, it makes you think and you reach a point where...
You cannot put it down.
Is this the number one diversion for Covid-19?
I'm not sure.
But it's definitely one I recommend. It'll make you think about more than what is in the news today without being a total fantasy. It'll root you in life, making you feel like an outsider at the same time you feel connected.
That's right. Few care about you. Maybe your family, maybe a couple of friends. The media doesn't care. So how do you navigate life?
The characters in "Broken" are trying and not always succeeding. These are real people. You'll dig this.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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--
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This is Don Winslow's best book.
Winslow is most famous for his drug cartel trilogy. You should check it out. "The Power of the Dog" is excellent, "The Cartel" is even better, however last year's finale, "The Border," is a disappointment.
You see Winslow has a couple of writing styles. One dense, another minimalist. To read something in the latter style, check out "Savages," or "The Gentlemen's Hour." They're easily read, and the former was made into a substandard Oliver Stone movie, but watcha gonna do.
And although I liked Winslow's 2017 book, "The Force," about New York City cops, in retrospect it was not completely satisfying, it was almost like an abstract expressionist novel, not everything was clear, not everything was comprehensible, and ultimately you got the final story, but I do not want to recommend it.
But, once again, I want to recommend the drug cartel series.
You see Winslow seems to know more about the dope scene than any other writer. Sure, there might be some people in the government, some students of the game who know more, but they don't write, certainly not in a readable way. If you want to understand all about the Sinaloans, the distribution of heroin today, just read the trilogy.
Not that it's didactic. There's a story, involving people, it's not dry, it's not only facts and figures, like "Midnight in Chernobyl," which I finished recently.
I needed more about Russia and the nuclear disaster. "Midnight in Chernobyl" has a five star rating on Amazon, it was one of the "New York Times" best books of the year, but it's not as good as the HBO series, it's dry, the people don't come alive, it's a tome, good luck getting through it. I did, as I've said previously, if I buy it I finish it. It's less about getting my money's worth, and more about completion. Because if I don't complete this book, what else won't I finish? It's kinda like listening to playlists. You're into it, and then then it flows into a track you'd rather not hear, but if you skip that one, you end up skipping a bunch thereafter, and your good mood is broken. So I try to endure what I'm not dying to hear, at least in my self-created playlists, as for those curated by others, all bets are off.
If you're interested in getting a taste of Don Winslow's drug knowledge, I point you to these two magazine articles. Even if you're not going to read the trilogy, check these out, you'll learn so much.
"El Chapo and the Secret History of the Heroin Crisis": https://bit.ly/35kLvxU
"The Dirty Little Secret of El Chapo's Downfall": https://bit.ly/2WhGqm7
So, Winslow's new book, "Broken," is comprised of short stories.
These books are almost always unsatisfying, you get into a story and then it ends, I was reluctant. But Steve Martin bought me a copy and I had to check it out.
I'm glad I did.
The first story was a bit dense and then...
I got hooked.
Yes, this is crime fiction. People get murdered. So, if you can't handle that, maybe this book isn't for you.
But Winslow has an amazing way of detailing characters, they come alive, you know them, especially if you live in Southern California, where most of these stories take place. We resonate when a writer lays down what we see, when they encapsulate and add to our vision, and Winslow has got a skill for this, raising him above too much two-dimensional crime fare.
And living in internet, celebrity culture, we lose track with daily life, ordinary people, who may not be broke, but may not be famous, who are just doing their job. Normally, these people are not three-dimensional in either the news or on television, but in writing...that's where you can do it, which is one of the reasons the written word will never be supplanted by video.
And Winslow has incredible skill when it comes to love. That warm feeling you have that you wonder if someone else has. And how do you respond? Do you say something or not, do you double-down, do you ask for a date. Two people have feelings for each other, but that does not mean the other one knows, nor does it mean they're going to end up together, nor does it mean they know how to follow those feelings into a sustained relationship.
And laws have consequences. Change 'em, and you might be out of business.
Enforce them and you might end up with a result you do not want.
I've got to admit, I didn't really feel the sin of the incarceration of those illegally crossing the border until I read the final story in this collection. You've got a right wing Fox viewer, confronted with reality. And it's not black and white, nothing ever is. And that's why the story is so good.
And the silent suffering.
And the struggle of life. We think everybody is paid attention to, everybody's got their place, but the truth is many fall through the cracks. You can be damn smart and end up nowhere. Is anybody looking out for you? Do you have the wherewithal to make good choices and stick with them?
This is not difficult reading. "Broken" is the kind of book you will enjoy even if you only crack one book a year. Not to say that it's lowbrow, but that it nails the essence of life with a lot of plot, it makes you think and you reach a point where...
You cannot put it down.
Is this the number one diversion for Covid-19?
I'm not sure.
But it's definitely one I recommend. It'll make you think about more than what is in the news today without being a total fantasy. It'll root you in life, making you feel like an outsider at the same time you feel connected.
That's right. Few care about you. Maybe your family, maybe a couple of friends. The media doesn't care. So how do you navigate life?
The characters in "Broken" are trying and not always succeeding. These are real people. You'll dig this.
--
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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Kathy Valentine-This Week's Podcast
Bassist for the Go-Go's, Kathy Valentine recently published a memoir, "All I Ever Wanted," that is a must-read. Listen as she tells tales of growing up without limits as the daughter of a single parent, venturing to Los Angeles to make it and becoming a member of the Go-Go's. Valentine is articulate and quite the raconteur, you'll dig this.
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2wtHxFwAr61FWlwa8QJJlb
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kathy-valentine/id1316200737?i=1000473129120
https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=69250377
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Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2wtHxFwAr61FWlwa8QJJlb
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kathy-valentine/id1316200737?i=1000473129120
https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=69250377
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Wednesday 29 April 2020
Fauda-Season Three
There's never gonna be peace in the Middle East.
Unless the Arabs succeed in eliminating the Jews.
The "R" word the Israelis are up against isn't rationality, but religion. Everybody in Gaza, everybody south of Hebron, greets each other in a religious way. Religion is baked-in to everyday life. To a limit even the Evangelicals don't push. But both believe they're going to be saved in the afterlife.
And life in Gaza ain't so good to begin with.
The power goes out. There are few opportunities for work. Best to dedicate your efforts to a cause.
Now, in these days of political correctness, you can't call a spade a spade, you certainly cannot use that word to describe a black person, oops, an African-American. And somehow, you're unenlightened if you don't see the plight of the Palestinians and blame Israel.
Israel is not blameless. Netanyahu is not a saint and the settlements in the West Bank are just asking for retaliation.
But once again, the Palestinians won't be satisfied until Israel no longer exists. Would you fight for your very existence?
I'm sure you would.
Right now, you're at home worried about a deadly virus. But you also know if you stay home, you most assuredly will stay safe. Whereas in Israel nowhere is safe. Your life is constantly on the line. It's palpable, you can feel it in the air.
But "Fauda" is not about the big issues, a theoretical two-state solution that the Arabs have refused to ever agree to, the Israeli government, no it's about the ongoing war between the two sides, and neither emerges a winner, it just goes on and on and on.
Now season three is different from seasons one and two.
Usually, these series that are a surprise hit falter after their initial success. The producers/actors/directors wing it the first time around, they're not self-conscious, they'll try anything, after all no one is paying attention. But when everybody is...
We laud the basketball players. They're incredible under pressure. But they're not reinventing the game. That's the essence of creative work, you start with a blank slate. Sure, you might have some parameters, the characters from the season before, but you've got to make it up out of thin air.
But "Fauda" delivered, season two was just as good as season one.
But the first two seasons were about the nuts and bolts. How the Israeli and Arab bosses speak to each other, how there are constant skirmishes.
Season three is about the action.
Hebron is part of Israel, but it's never been safe for Jews. You enter uptight and you do not close an eye, assuming you enter at all.
As for Gaza...
That's what frightens all the Israelis, going into Gaza.
So, at first you've got no idea what is going on, Doron seems to be hanging with Arabs, or..? It's confusing. But then it comes clear.
And it seems contrived, seems like a typical cops and robbers Hollywood thriller but it just doesn't work out that way. Of course Doron can't die, he's the star, but everybody else is fair game.
So what we've got here is a group of adrenaline junkies. They're willing to face fear, put their lives on the line all the time for the good of the country.
Not that they're automatons.
Sure, their home lives suffer, but they have emotions. That's one of the best parts of this season, seeing how the team deals, or doesn't deal, with loss.
But just when you've got it figured out, when you wince because you're sure you know what is gonna happen, it doesn't go down that way.
And once again, victory is only temporary. And the worst offenders can be returned in a prisoner swap. It's a game, but it involves life and death.
Now there are all these canards about TV watching. That you've got to have someone to care about, that you must be invested in a character, there must be an uplifting ending.
Well, you root for Doron, but you're not sure you want to be friends with him. You're not sure he can be friends with anybody, but he's loyal.
As for Lior Raz, who plays Doron, he used to be a bodyguard for Arnold Schwarzenegger. So, he's not only tough on the show, he's tough in real life.
And he doesn't have a Hollywood look. He's not cute or precious, this is not Brad Pitt, this is the guy down the street on a mission, and that's who we're drawn to, just like we're drawn to the doctors and nurses and hospital workers during this coronavirus crisis. Surface only goes so far. Especially when your truth is exposed in this internet age and we oftentimes find out you're a soulless dummy, an empty vessel.
So, there's action, it's gripping, but it's also real.
There's an inside joke in the middle, when in Gaza someone talks about Kentucky Fried Chicken. That was a thing, it was in the news a few years back, the Arabs tunneled to Israel to bring back KFC.
The tunnels. They're here too. These are not the tunnels of the Sinaloans, these look like they were built by the military, you can argue they were. With finished walls and...
You can't quite divorce yourself from the show. With most movies and TV shows they ask you to suspend disbelief. But the truth is the Israelis and the Arabs are fighting against each other as I write this.
And it's not the low-tech war of yore, but highly digitized.
And if you only like happy shows, with no bullets and no deaths, you should watch this anyway. Because this truly is real life, these people put their lives on the line for you. And despite all the hosannas, the adulation comes and goes nearly instantly, everybody goes back to their regular life and those on the front line, stay on the front line.
Duplicity, family, honor, credibility, all the characteristics of humanity are evidenced in "Fauda." And for those of us surrounded by our gadgets, surfing the internet, the Arab/Israeli crisis is almost appealing. These people have something to live for, a cause. It's not about money, it's not about your place on the totem pole, all the markers we judge each other by in the U.S. are nearly irrelevant.
And that's one of the things too often missing from American life today, meaning.
Without meaning life is empty.
You think you want to retire, to do what?
And you work all those years at a job you far from like just so you can earn a pile of money so you can stop doing it?
Once again, these people in the show are not robots. They've got feelings, but that does not conflict with their mission.
Not that "Fauda" needs to be on the top of your streaming list, but it needs to be there somewhere.
For far too long television meant mindless. And although there's still a lot of bogus entertainment on the flat screen, there's a plethora of meaning there too, even more than you see in theatres, good riddance.
You see life is about story.
That's what propels hip-hop.
But the best stories on television embody truth. And somehow, in music, we've left truth out of the equation, we equate success with chart position and dollars and making it is so difficult you'll compromise all your values in an effort to succeed.
But the characters in "Fauda" won't.
That's the difference.
You should experience it.
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--
Listen to the podcast:
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-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Unless the Arabs succeed in eliminating the Jews.
The "R" word the Israelis are up against isn't rationality, but religion. Everybody in Gaza, everybody south of Hebron, greets each other in a religious way. Religion is baked-in to everyday life. To a limit even the Evangelicals don't push. But both believe they're going to be saved in the afterlife.
And life in Gaza ain't so good to begin with.
The power goes out. There are few opportunities for work. Best to dedicate your efforts to a cause.
Now, in these days of political correctness, you can't call a spade a spade, you certainly cannot use that word to describe a black person, oops, an African-American. And somehow, you're unenlightened if you don't see the plight of the Palestinians and blame Israel.
Israel is not blameless. Netanyahu is not a saint and the settlements in the West Bank are just asking for retaliation.
But once again, the Palestinians won't be satisfied until Israel no longer exists. Would you fight for your very existence?
I'm sure you would.
Right now, you're at home worried about a deadly virus. But you also know if you stay home, you most assuredly will stay safe. Whereas in Israel nowhere is safe. Your life is constantly on the line. It's palpable, you can feel it in the air.
But "Fauda" is not about the big issues, a theoretical two-state solution that the Arabs have refused to ever agree to, the Israeli government, no it's about the ongoing war between the two sides, and neither emerges a winner, it just goes on and on and on.
Now season three is different from seasons one and two.
Usually, these series that are a surprise hit falter after their initial success. The producers/actors/directors wing it the first time around, they're not self-conscious, they'll try anything, after all no one is paying attention. But when everybody is...
We laud the basketball players. They're incredible under pressure. But they're not reinventing the game. That's the essence of creative work, you start with a blank slate. Sure, you might have some parameters, the characters from the season before, but you've got to make it up out of thin air.
But "Fauda" delivered, season two was just as good as season one.
But the first two seasons were about the nuts and bolts. How the Israeli and Arab bosses speak to each other, how there are constant skirmishes.
Season three is about the action.
Hebron is part of Israel, but it's never been safe for Jews. You enter uptight and you do not close an eye, assuming you enter at all.
As for Gaza...
That's what frightens all the Israelis, going into Gaza.
So, at first you've got no idea what is going on, Doron seems to be hanging with Arabs, or..? It's confusing. But then it comes clear.
And it seems contrived, seems like a typical cops and robbers Hollywood thriller but it just doesn't work out that way. Of course Doron can't die, he's the star, but everybody else is fair game.
So what we've got here is a group of adrenaline junkies. They're willing to face fear, put their lives on the line all the time for the good of the country.
Not that they're automatons.
Sure, their home lives suffer, but they have emotions. That's one of the best parts of this season, seeing how the team deals, or doesn't deal, with loss.
But just when you've got it figured out, when you wince because you're sure you know what is gonna happen, it doesn't go down that way.
And once again, victory is only temporary. And the worst offenders can be returned in a prisoner swap. It's a game, but it involves life and death.
Now there are all these canards about TV watching. That you've got to have someone to care about, that you must be invested in a character, there must be an uplifting ending.
Well, you root for Doron, but you're not sure you want to be friends with him. You're not sure he can be friends with anybody, but he's loyal.
As for Lior Raz, who plays Doron, he used to be a bodyguard for Arnold Schwarzenegger. So, he's not only tough on the show, he's tough in real life.
And he doesn't have a Hollywood look. He's not cute or precious, this is not Brad Pitt, this is the guy down the street on a mission, and that's who we're drawn to, just like we're drawn to the doctors and nurses and hospital workers during this coronavirus crisis. Surface only goes so far. Especially when your truth is exposed in this internet age and we oftentimes find out you're a soulless dummy, an empty vessel.
So, there's action, it's gripping, but it's also real.
There's an inside joke in the middle, when in Gaza someone talks about Kentucky Fried Chicken. That was a thing, it was in the news a few years back, the Arabs tunneled to Israel to bring back KFC.
The tunnels. They're here too. These are not the tunnels of the Sinaloans, these look like they were built by the military, you can argue they were. With finished walls and...
You can't quite divorce yourself from the show. With most movies and TV shows they ask you to suspend disbelief. But the truth is the Israelis and the Arabs are fighting against each other as I write this.
And it's not the low-tech war of yore, but highly digitized.
And if you only like happy shows, with no bullets and no deaths, you should watch this anyway. Because this truly is real life, these people put their lives on the line for you. And despite all the hosannas, the adulation comes and goes nearly instantly, everybody goes back to their regular life and those on the front line, stay on the front line.
Duplicity, family, honor, credibility, all the characteristics of humanity are evidenced in "Fauda." And for those of us surrounded by our gadgets, surfing the internet, the Arab/Israeli crisis is almost appealing. These people have something to live for, a cause. It's not about money, it's not about your place on the totem pole, all the markers we judge each other by in the U.S. are nearly irrelevant.
And that's one of the things too often missing from American life today, meaning.
Without meaning life is empty.
You think you want to retire, to do what?
And you work all those years at a job you far from like just so you can earn a pile of money so you can stop doing it?
Once again, these people in the show are not robots. They've got feelings, but that does not conflict with their mission.
Not that "Fauda" needs to be on the top of your streaming list, but it needs to be there somewhere.
For far too long television meant mindless. And although there's still a lot of bogus entertainment on the flat screen, there's a plethora of meaning there too, even more than you see in theatres, good riddance.
You see life is about story.
That's what propels hip-hop.
But the best stories on television embody truth. And somehow, in music, we've left truth out of the equation, we equate success with chart position and dollars and making it is so difficult you'll compromise all your values in an effort to succeed.
But the characters in "Fauda" won't.
That's the difference.
You should experience it.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
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News Update
STREAMING
"On Spotify, the largest streaming service by subscriptions, cumulative streams of the top 200 U.S. songs have fallen in recent weeks tumbling 28% from the week ending March 12 to the week ending April 16 to the low point for the year so far. The drop-off is especially pronounced, given that those weeks saw new album releases from major streaming artists including J Balvin, the Weeknd, Childish Gambino and Dua Lipa. Meanwhile, catalog music - songs more than 18 months old - has been on the rise and hit a high for the year in the week ended April 9, accounting for 63% of total audio streams, up from 60% the week ended March 12, according to Nielsen/MRC."
"Classic Rock Gives Comfort to Music Fans During Coronavirus Lockdown - Stressed-out listeners and families stuck at home tune out pop hits and turn up 'comfort music': https://on.wsj.com/3d0C7T0
For six weeks we've been hearing a non-story, about the decline in music streams. Forget that they're going back up, who cares! The paradigm has shifted, it's no longer about sales, it's about subscriptions. Meanwhile, they keep going up, up, up, look at today's Spotify numbers.
In other words, there's a pot of money. It all gets divided whether there are ten streams or ten billion streams! So, it comes down to what percentage of total streams you've got.
And as you can read above, current music is down, despite household name releases. What does this mean?
Don't read the rest of this article, it's complete hogwash, about people wanting to listen to "comfort" music. Come on, now that you're at home has it really affected the KIND of music you listen to, significantly?
No, you like your music.
And it turns out people like catalog much better than the new stuff.
And for the first time ever, the labels get paid prodigiously when this catalog is consumed. Used to be most catalog titles were cut out and unavailable for purchase, and it didn't matter how many times a record was spun at home, the label didn't get paid for this!
So, is it possible that today's music is just not quite as good? That it doesn't mean as much to people? That it's not as sticky? That it's overhyped and underconsumed?
Appears so.
As the labels and the media have driven headlong into a niche, the customers are abandoning them. Turns out we do not live totally in a hip-hop, vapid pop consumption world. Oh, there's a lot of chatter about those verticals, but that's all it is.
Seems like if a label wanted to prepare itself for the future, it would make and promote more genres of music, and if it wanted insurance, it would be best off imitating what once was, that's been the road to success for country music, as Tom Petty said at the Fonda, today's country music IS THE ROCK MUSIC OF THE SEVENTIES!
POST MALONE NIRVANA TRIBUTE
https://bit.ly/2Sha21x
Speaking of rock...
If you were ever a Nirvana fan, you'll dig this. Post Malone pivoted from rock to make it in today's hip-hop world. Here, he returns to his roots with a vengeance, and demonstrates that he truly is talented. Talk about a glorious noise...
Turns out three guitars and drums can still tell the truth. This performance encapsulates attitude and anger, the essence, along with hooky songs, that drove Kurt Cobain and his bandmates to ubiquity.
No story reaches everybody these days, everybody watches nothing, furthermore we have livestream fatigue. So, this was a story, but most people don't know it. As of this date, nearly nine million people have watched and over $4.3 million dollars have been raised and now Post Malone is asking the PUBLIC how to distribute a million. So, it turns out Post gets it when all the aged do not. You involve the public, you don't talk down to people, certainly not during this Covid-19 era.
AMERICA
The article e-mailed to me most this past week was from the "Irish Times":
"Donald Trump has destroyed the country he promised to make great again - The world has loved, hated and envied the US, Now, for the first time we pity it": https://bit.ly/3d3gjpR
Suddenly, everything is up for grabs. You know this is true when the "Wall Street Journal" says the sun has set on the Reagan philosophy that government is the enemy:
"Coronavirus Means the Era of Big Government Is...Back - History shows that national shocks - the Depression, World War II, the financial crisis - have a way of expanding the role of government in lasting ways. This one is looking like no exception.": https://on.wsj.com/35fqMf0
But of all these articles, the one you've got to read is this:
"Trump's Response to Virus Reflects a Long Disregard for Science - The President's Covid-19 response has extended the administration's practice of undermining scientific expertise for political purposes": https://nyti.ms/2SjOT6V
Let's pull the lens back, let's not talk about being tribal, let's try to get some perspective.
The truth is, the rest of the world, especially Europe, is shaking its head at us. We pulled out of the Paris Agreement, we've pulled back from globalization, we're pulling funding from the World Health Organization...our nation is becoming a second-class citizen, with less power, while we stay home quarantined.
Not that going out would make much difference.
You see, while we fiddled for forty years, the rest of the world modernized, and caught up to the U.S. and in many ways superseded it. Yes, we've been arguing about social issues, gay marriage, abortion, everything but the real thing. There's been no vision. If for no other reason than almost everybody isn't getting paid for the future, but today. The government is paid to look at the future, but government has been denigrated and hobbled.
So now what?
If you want to go deeper, I recommend George Packer's piece in "The Atlantic":
"We Are Living in a Failed State - The coronavirus didn't break America. It revealed what was already broken.": https://bit.ly/3bVoRis
You're probably not going to click on any of the above links, so I'll just say the bill has now come due for all these years of dicking around. We've got no plan for the future. Income inequality is rampant, those with money on both the left and right don't want to sacrifice it and if the news isn't about nitwits doing nothing in Hollywood or online, it's all political team sports, all the time.
Meanwhile, no one has the time to become a student of the game, so they're influenced by their environment, they don't question their beliefs, they may not have the education to question their beliefs.
But the big wheel keeps on turning.
The coronavirus just revealed our lack of planning, the U.S. is just like its residents who are a paycheck or two away from being broke. We were humming along, corporations were buying back their stock, there was no preparation for a rainy day, and then it came. And the funny thing is everybody expects to be made whole, no one can lose out. I'm not paying my rent, screw the landlord, the landlord doesn't pay his mortgage to the bank and the bank gets the money from the government which the people pay for. There's no free lunch. This epidemic is affecting everybody. No one is immune to injury, whether it be physical or emotional or financial. But we now live in a country where that cannot be the case, someone's got to pay and one thing for sure is that entity is the enemy, because for damn sure it can't be MY FAULT!
AMC/UNIVERSAL
"AMC Theater Chain Blasts Universal's Plans to Release More Movies Digitally - Open letter accuses 'Trolls' studio of showing 'zero concern' for theater operators": https://on.wsj.com/2yWgPqC
And now Regal is on AMC's side.
This is what happens when you deny the future.
No company is forever. Can you say GE?
Of course, GE still exists, but it's a shadow of what it once was. GE lived in the past. You have to innovate every damn day. It's not like the theater chains couldn't see VOD coming, just like the government and the public at large, it can't accept reality, wants relief while the trend is against them.
People like VOD. And the dirty little secret is Universal makes more this way, the split is less. The studios get 80% of VOD but only 50% of ticket sales at the theater. And compared to the previous "Trolls" movie, Universal netted more!
Now, just like people enjoy vinyl, people like to go to the theater.
Then there are people who are sick of the theater experience for so many reasons, the drive, the parking hassle, the cost, the texting and talking, never mind the scheduled screening time. The public voted years ago, it wants on demand. And now, Covid-19 has delivered it for first run movies. Do AMC and Regal really think they can put the genie back in the bottle?
Of course not!
Meanwhile, AMC and Regal are public companies, meaning the execs get paid handsomely but stockholders pay the price. And many own stock and don't even realize it, with their pension plan, so the loser in all this mismanagement is YOU!
COVID-19
I ask you, what's the truth?
Is that company in Oxford really that close to a vaccine?
"In Race for a Coronavirus Vaccine, an Oxford Group Leaps Ahead - As scientists at the Jenner Institute prepare for mass clinical trials, new tests show their vaccine to be effective in monkeys.": https://nyti.ms/2SihDwW
And, do we need to be quarantined or do we need to rush to open the schools? Forget red state/blue state, California's governor Newsom has appeared to say both!:
"California could begin new school year as early as July, Gov. Newsom says": https://lat.ms/35fzWbz
Meanwhile, it's getting warm and people FEEL like the Covid-19 threat is past:
"'Quarantine Fatigue' Has More People Going Outside -New research shows that people are venturing out more frequently, and traveling farther from home.": https://nyti.ms/2Yjo3Qs
But feel is no match for science, as we saw in the article above.
Yes, Trump has no better scientific feel than the rest of us, and ours is not to be trusted.
Meanwhile, Biden won't come out of his bunker and address the Tara Reade situation and now the left is on him:
"Biden himself should address the Tara Reade allegations and release relevant records": https://wapo.st/2YiyraQ
Rebecca Traister had the most insightful analysis in "New York" magazine's "Cut":
"The Biden Trap - As the candidate faces credible assault allegations, his progressive female colleagues are being offered a poisoned chalice.": https://bit.ly/3aSzNvI
Meanwhile, Reade herself looks worse every day:
"Biden Accuser, Tara Reade, Allegedly Stole from Non-Profit Organization": https://bit.ly/2YgZV0B
This is what we're fighting over. A he-said/she-said sexual case from decades ago while our economy is burning and we've got no national leadership. This is how far we've come. It's gotcha politics on both sides, and it's we, the public, who suffer. Meanwhile, all these people in the government and those pontificating on TV all have jobs that pay handsomely and come with great health insurance.
That's the America we now live in.
Facts are irrelevant.
Science and expertise are not to be trusted.
And no one is steering the ship.
So, everybody's forced to look out for themselves.
But the last I checked, we live in a society, amongst other people whom we interact with and depend upon.
So tell me how this is gonna work?
--
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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"On Spotify, the largest streaming service by subscriptions, cumulative streams of the top 200 U.S. songs have fallen in recent weeks tumbling 28% from the week ending March 12 to the week ending April 16 to the low point for the year so far. The drop-off is especially pronounced, given that those weeks saw new album releases from major streaming artists including J Balvin, the Weeknd, Childish Gambino and Dua Lipa. Meanwhile, catalog music - songs more than 18 months old - has been on the rise and hit a high for the year in the week ended April 9, accounting for 63% of total audio streams, up from 60% the week ended March 12, according to Nielsen/MRC."
"Classic Rock Gives Comfort to Music Fans During Coronavirus Lockdown - Stressed-out listeners and families stuck at home tune out pop hits and turn up 'comfort music': https://on.wsj.com/3d0C7T0
For six weeks we've been hearing a non-story, about the decline in music streams. Forget that they're going back up, who cares! The paradigm has shifted, it's no longer about sales, it's about subscriptions. Meanwhile, they keep going up, up, up, look at today's Spotify numbers.
In other words, there's a pot of money. It all gets divided whether there are ten streams or ten billion streams! So, it comes down to what percentage of total streams you've got.
And as you can read above, current music is down, despite household name releases. What does this mean?
Don't read the rest of this article, it's complete hogwash, about people wanting to listen to "comfort" music. Come on, now that you're at home has it really affected the KIND of music you listen to, significantly?
No, you like your music.
And it turns out people like catalog much better than the new stuff.
And for the first time ever, the labels get paid prodigiously when this catalog is consumed. Used to be most catalog titles were cut out and unavailable for purchase, and it didn't matter how many times a record was spun at home, the label didn't get paid for this!
So, is it possible that today's music is just not quite as good? That it doesn't mean as much to people? That it's not as sticky? That it's overhyped and underconsumed?
Appears so.
As the labels and the media have driven headlong into a niche, the customers are abandoning them. Turns out we do not live totally in a hip-hop, vapid pop consumption world. Oh, there's a lot of chatter about those verticals, but that's all it is.
Seems like if a label wanted to prepare itself for the future, it would make and promote more genres of music, and if it wanted insurance, it would be best off imitating what once was, that's been the road to success for country music, as Tom Petty said at the Fonda, today's country music IS THE ROCK MUSIC OF THE SEVENTIES!
POST MALONE NIRVANA TRIBUTE
https://bit.ly/2Sha21x
Speaking of rock...
If you were ever a Nirvana fan, you'll dig this. Post Malone pivoted from rock to make it in today's hip-hop world. Here, he returns to his roots with a vengeance, and demonstrates that he truly is talented. Talk about a glorious noise...
Turns out three guitars and drums can still tell the truth. This performance encapsulates attitude and anger, the essence, along with hooky songs, that drove Kurt Cobain and his bandmates to ubiquity.
No story reaches everybody these days, everybody watches nothing, furthermore we have livestream fatigue. So, this was a story, but most people don't know it. As of this date, nearly nine million people have watched and over $4.3 million dollars have been raised and now Post Malone is asking the PUBLIC how to distribute a million. So, it turns out Post gets it when all the aged do not. You involve the public, you don't talk down to people, certainly not during this Covid-19 era.
AMERICA
The article e-mailed to me most this past week was from the "Irish Times":
"Donald Trump has destroyed the country he promised to make great again - The world has loved, hated and envied the US, Now, for the first time we pity it": https://bit.ly/3d3gjpR
Suddenly, everything is up for grabs. You know this is true when the "Wall Street Journal" says the sun has set on the Reagan philosophy that government is the enemy:
"Coronavirus Means the Era of Big Government Is...Back - History shows that national shocks - the Depression, World War II, the financial crisis - have a way of expanding the role of government in lasting ways. This one is looking like no exception.": https://on.wsj.com/35fqMf0
But of all these articles, the one you've got to read is this:
"Trump's Response to Virus Reflects a Long Disregard for Science - The President's Covid-19 response has extended the administration's practice of undermining scientific expertise for political purposes": https://nyti.ms/2SjOT6V
Let's pull the lens back, let's not talk about being tribal, let's try to get some perspective.
The truth is, the rest of the world, especially Europe, is shaking its head at us. We pulled out of the Paris Agreement, we've pulled back from globalization, we're pulling funding from the World Health Organization...our nation is becoming a second-class citizen, with less power, while we stay home quarantined.
Not that going out would make much difference.
You see, while we fiddled for forty years, the rest of the world modernized, and caught up to the U.S. and in many ways superseded it. Yes, we've been arguing about social issues, gay marriage, abortion, everything but the real thing. There's been no vision. If for no other reason than almost everybody isn't getting paid for the future, but today. The government is paid to look at the future, but government has been denigrated and hobbled.
So now what?
If you want to go deeper, I recommend George Packer's piece in "The Atlantic":
"We Are Living in a Failed State - The coronavirus didn't break America. It revealed what was already broken.": https://bit.ly/3bVoRis
You're probably not going to click on any of the above links, so I'll just say the bill has now come due for all these years of dicking around. We've got no plan for the future. Income inequality is rampant, those with money on both the left and right don't want to sacrifice it and if the news isn't about nitwits doing nothing in Hollywood or online, it's all political team sports, all the time.
Meanwhile, no one has the time to become a student of the game, so they're influenced by their environment, they don't question their beliefs, they may not have the education to question their beliefs.
But the big wheel keeps on turning.
The coronavirus just revealed our lack of planning, the U.S. is just like its residents who are a paycheck or two away from being broke. We were humming along, corporations were buying back their stock, there was no preparation for a rainy day, and then it came. And the funny thing is everybody expects to be made whole, no one can lose out. I'm not paying my rent, screw the landlord, the landlord doesn't pay his mortgage to the bank and the bank gets the money from the government which the people pay for. There's no free lunch. This epidemic is affecting everybody. No one is immune to injury, whether it be physical or emotional or financial. But we now live in a country where that cannot be the case, someone's got to pay and one thing for sure is that entity is the enemy, because for damn sure it can't be MY FAULT!
AMC/UNIVERSAL
"AMC Theater Chain Blasts Universal's Plans to Release More Movies Digitally - Open letter accuses 'Trolls' studio of showing 'zero concern' for theater operators": https://on.wsj.com/2yWgPqC
And now Regal is on AMC's side.
This is what happens when you deny the future.
No company is forever. Can you say GE?
Of course, GE still exists, but it's a shadow of what it once was. GE lived in the past. You have to innovate every damn day. It's not like the theater chains couldn't see VOD coming, just like the government and the public at large, it can't accept reality, wants relief while the trend is against them.
People like VOD. And the dirty little secret is Universal makes more this way, the split is less. The studios get 80% of VOD but only 50% of ticket sales at the theater. And compared to the previous "Trolls" movie, Universal netted more!
Now, just like people enjoy vinyl, people like to go to the theater.
Then there are people who are sick of the theater experience for so many reasons, the drive, the parking hassle, the cost, the texting and talking, never mind the scheduled screening time. The public voted years ago, it wants on demand. And now, Covid-19 has delivered it for first run movies. Do AMC and Regal really think they can put the genie back in the bottle?
Of course not!
Meanwhile, AMC and Regal are public companies, meaning the execs get paid handsomely but stockholders pay the price. And many own stock and don't even realize it, with their pension plan, so the loser in all this mismanagement is YOU!
COVID-19
I ask you, what's the truth?
Is that company in Oxford really that close to a vaccine?
"In Race for a Coronavirus Vaccine, an Oxford Group Leaps Ahead - As scientists at the Jenner Institute prepare for mass clinical trials, new tests show their vaccine to be effective in monkeys.": https://nyti.ms/2SihDwW
And, do we need to be quarantined or do we need to rush to open the schools? Forget red state/blue state, California's governor Newsom has appeared to say both!:
"California could begin new school year as early as July, Gov. Newsom says": https://lat.ms/35fzWbz
Meanwhile, it's getting warm and people FEEL like the Covid-19 threat is past:
"'Quarantine Fatigue' Has More People Going Outside -New research shows that people are venturing out more frequently, and traveling farther from home.": https://nyti.ms/2Yjo3Qs
But feel is no match for science, as we saw in the article above.
Yes, Trump has no better scientific feel than the rest of us, and ours is not to be trusted.
Meanwhile, Biden won't come out of his bunker and address the Tara Reade situation and now the left is on him:
"Biden himself should address the Tara Reade allegations and release relevant records": https://wapo.st/2YiyraQ
Rebecca Traister had the most insightful analysis in "New York" magazine's "Cut":
"The Biden Trap - As the candidate faces credible assault allegations, his progressive female colleagues are being offered a poisoned chalice.": https://bit.ly/3aSzNvI
Meanwhile, Reade herself looks worse every day:
"Biden Accuser, Tara Reade, Allegedly Stole from Non-Profit Organization": https://bit.ly/2YgZV0B
This is what we're fighting over. A he-said/she-said sexual case from decades ago while our economy is burning and we've got no national leadership. This is how far we've come. It's gotcha politics on both sides, and it's we, the public, who suffer. Meanwhile, all these people in the government and those pontificating on TV all have jobs that pay handsomely and come with great health insurance.
That's the America we now live in.
Facts are irrelevant.
Science and expertise are not to be trusted.
And no one is steering the ship.
So, everybody's forced to look out for themselves.
But the last I checked, we live in a society, amongst other people whom we interact with and depend upon.
So tell me how this is gonna work?
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Monday 27 April 2020
WABC All American Survey-This Week In 1967-SiriusXM This Week
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Tara Reade
Are you following this?
Last night the "New York Times" posted a story about all the big corporations that got money from the government:
"Large Troubled Companies Got Bailout Money in Small-Business Loan Program - Companies with accounting problems or in trouble with the government received millions in federal loans": https://nyti.ms/3aJRj58
Read this story and you will become completely disillusioned. The small guy is screwed, the corporations rule. The money was distributed by the banks, and who do you think has the best relationships with the institutions? And sure, Shake Shack gave the money back, and Ruth's Chris too, but today's news is that three publicly traded hotel companies won't give the cash back.
And now comes the Tara Reade story.
In case you haven't been paying attention, Fox News and its cronies have pivoted, from Covid-19 to Biden. For weeks now, they've been talking up the difference between Kavanaugh and the presumptive Democratic Party nominee, how the left is soft-pedaling the accusation of Biden when they went for it in extremis on Kavanaugh.
Okay, the left dodged that bullet, they said that Reade just wasn't believable.
But three days ago the "Intercept" dropped a bombshell:
"New Evidence Supporting Credibility Of Tara Reade's Allegation Against Joe Biden Emerges": https://bit.ly/2yJkc4h
Now the "Intercept" is not Fox News, as a matter of fact, Glenn Greenwald and Jeremy Scahill may not be loved by the DNC, but a lot of left wing Democrats give them and their news outlet respect.
So, there's CNN video/audio of Tara Reade's mother calling in to Larry King complaining about what happened to her daughter and...
I know, I know, your first reaction is to say LOOK AT TRUMP'S BEHAVIOR!
But I'm not sure that will win.
Biden already has the black mark of the Ukraine investigation. No, he did nothing wrong, but the optics are terrible, Hunter Biden traded on his dad's position.
Once again, don't counter with the Trump kids, that's the Republicans, they fight in a different way. But the Democrats are all about the appearance of fairness, a big tent that accepts all thinkers. It's not a coalition of corporations, evangelicals and the xenophobic. So...
My first reaction is Biden is so over-the-hill, so intellectually compromised, that he truly believes nothing happened with Tara Reade, BECAUSE HE'S FORGOTTEN!
But this issue is not going away. And the longer it's hammered, the worse it looks.
Now one thing's for sure, in the past six weeks we've seen the need for Medicare for All, if for no other reason than the indigent should not have to think twice about going to the hospital to be tested.
And now, with these corporate giveaways... It looks like these entities are the enemy, and need to be reined in.
Which makes Bernie Sanders look prescient.
But today they canceled the New York primary, the DNC believes the nomination process has been settled.
Now if you're old enough, you remember the story of Thomas Eagleton. Picked to be McGovern's vice president, he had to step down after it was revealed he had shock treatment. Tony Soprano can see a therapist and still rule, but not a politician. And that holds to this day. You can inhale, but you can't take antidepressants, you can't have talked out your problems with a professional.
So, Biden can continue to deny, but he's not on the winning side of this. You can vote for Biden because you believe in what he stands for, if nothing other than he's the anti-Trump, just like people voted for Trump as the anti-Hillary, but if you're in between, if you were a Sanders or Warren supporter, WHY BOTHER?
The Democrats will win this election if they get out the vote. Can Biden get out the vote?
This has been a wild and wooly, unpredictable primary season. But now that it looks settled, maybe it isn't.
Maybe it's not Sanders, but it's looking like it's got to be somebody else.
Forget my personal feelings, put yourself in the shoes of the voters. Biden has been a bumbler who has inspired no one. But he's believed to be the safe candidate who can take down the Orange Menace. But what if he's not safe?
This is the America we now live in. We could call it gotcha politics, but really it's something different, the rank and file feel passed over. On both the right and the left.
That's another reason people supported Bernie, HE DIDN'T TAKE CORPORATE MONEY!
Meanwhile, Biden is from the ultimate corporate state and despite having all the fat cats and companies behind him, he's almost $200 million behind in fundraising.
This story is not going away.
As for fighting it... Biden did a bad job of fighting Ukraine, he sat on his hands for days when an emphatic denial and pushback was necessary.
Meanwhile, the out of touch Biden is notoriously handsy with women.
This is what happens when you play with your brain, not your heart. The DNC got what it wanted. Someone safe, who would not upset the base. And now he's upsetting the base!
On the left it's all about character. You've got to appear squeaky-clean. That was one of Obama's virtues.
Joe Biden is no Barack Obama.
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Last night the "New York Times" posted a story about all the big corporations that got money from the government:
"Large Troubled Companies Got Bailout Money in Small-Business Loan Program - Companies with accounting problems or in trouble with the government received millions in federal loans": https://nyti.ms/3aJRj58
Read this story and you will become completely disillusioned. The small guy is screwed, the corporations rule. The money was distributed by the banks, and who do you think has the best relationships with the institutions? And sure, Shake Shack gave the money back, and Ruth's Chris too, but today's news is that three publicly traded hotel companies won't give the cash back.
And now comes the Tara Reade story.
In case you haven't been paying attention, Fox News and its cronies have pivoted, from Covid-19 to Biden. For weeks now, they've been talking up the difference between Kavanaugh and the presumptive Democratic Party nominee, how the left is soft-pedaling the accusation of Biden when they went for it in extremis on Kavanaugh.
Okay, the left dodged that bullet, they said that Reade just wasn't believable.
But three days ago the "Intercept" dropped a bombshell:
"New Evidence Supporting Credibility Of Tara Reade's Allegation Against Joe Biden Emerges": https://bit.ly/2yJkc4h
Now the "Intercept" is not Fox News, as a matter of fact, Glenn Greenwald and Jeremy Scahill may not be loved by the DNC, but a lot of left wing Democrats give them and their news outlet respect.
So, there's CNN video/audio of Tara Reade's mother calling in to Larry King complaining about what happened to her daughter and...
I know, I know, your first reaction is to say LOOK AT TRUMP'S BEHAVIOR!
But I'm not sure that will win.
Biden already has the black mark of the Ukraine investigation. No, he did nothing wrong, but the optics are terrible, Hunter Biden traded on his dad's position.
Once again, don't counter with the Trump kids, that's the Republicans, they fight in a different way. But the Democrats are all about the appearance of fairness, a big tent that accepts all thinkers. It's not a coalition of corporations, evangelicals and the xenophobic. So...
My first reaction is Biden is so over-the-hill, so intellectually compromised, that he truly believes nothing happened with Tara Reade, BECAUSE HE'S FORGOTTEN!
But this issue is not going away. And the longer it's hammered, the worse it looks.
Now one thing's for sure, in the past six weeks we've seen the need for Medicare for All, if for no other reason than the indigent should not have to think twice about going to the hospital to be tested.
And now, with these corporate giveaways... It looks like these entities are the enemy, and need to be reined in.
Which makes Bernie Sanders look prescient.
But today they canceled the New York primary, the DNC believes the nomination process has been settled.
Now if you're old enough, you remember the story of Thomas Eagleton. Picked to be McGovern's vice president, he had to step down after it was revealed he had shock treatment. Tony Soprano can see a therapist and still rule, but not a politician. And that holds to this day. You can inhale, but you can't take antidepressants, you can't have talked out your problems with a professional.
So, Biden can continue to deny, but he's not on the winning side of this. You can vote for Biden because you believe in what he stands for, if nothing other than he's the anti-Trump, just like people voted for Trump as the anti-Hillary, but if you're in between, if you were a Sanders or Warren supporter, WHY BOTHER?
The Democrats will win this election if they get out the vote. Can Biden get out the vote?
This has been a wild and wooly, unpredictable primary season. But now that it looks settled, maybe it isn't.
Maybe it's not Sanders, but it's looking like it's got to be somebody else.
Forget my personal feelings, put yourself in the shoes of the voters. Biden has been a bumbler who has inspired no one. But he's believed to be the safe candidate who can take down the Orange Menace. But what if he's not safe?
This is the America we now live in. We could call it gotcha politics, but really it's something different, the rank and file feel passed over. On both the right and the left.
That's another reason people supported Bernie, HE DIDN'T TAKE CORPORATE MONEY!
Meanwhile, Biden is from the ultimate corporate state and despite having all the fat cats and companies behind him, he's almost $200 million behind in fundraising.
This story is not going away.
As for fighting it... Biden did a bad job of fighting Ukraine, he sat on his hands for days when an emphatic denial and pushback was necessary.
Meanwhile, the out of touch Biden is notoriously handsy with women.
This is what happens when you play with your brain, not your heart. The DNC got what it wanted. Someone safe, who would not upset the base. And now he's upsetting the base!
On the left it's all about character. You've got to appear squeaky-clean. That was one of Obama's virtues.
Joe Biden is no Barack Obama.
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Sunday 26 April 2020
Happy Song Playlist
https://spoti.fi/2zsFFic
"Big Barn Bed"
Paul McCartney and Wings
The fourth time is the charm.
"McCartney" was underrated, primarily because it signified the breakup of the Beatles, but it's unjustifiably forgotten. Sure, it's slight, but that's part of its charm, it feels like something you'd cut at home.
"Ram" was inferior.
"Wild Life" was nearly unlistenable.
The came "Red Rose Speedway."
I didn't like "My Love" then and I don't like it now, I don't think I've listened to it all the way through since the days of AM radio. And once I bought the album, in the eighties as a cutout, I got into "Medley: Hold Me Tight/Lazy Dynamite/Hands of Love/Power Cut."
But I loved "Big Barn Bed" from the first time I heard it, and can still remember times I did hear it, like on the drive to Watkins Glen, but after a couple of bummers I did not buy "Red Rose Speedway" when it came out and in that era if you didn't own it, you were reliant on the radio and that meant "Big Barn Bed" was always special to me, just like Argent's "Liar." But in the internet era, everything is available for all to hear.
Truthfully, it's the fifth album, "Band on the Run," that broke the curse, that demonstrated not only that McCartney was fully back, but he was the equal of George Harrison and John Lennon in the solo era. And I love "Venus and Mars," but after that it was up and down, unfortunately mostly down, despite the positive reviews, although I do love the title track of "London Town."
So, "Big Barn Bed" is all about the background vocals, and the a cappella denouement at the end.
You cannot listen to "Big Barn Bed" and stay in a bad mood. I've never burned out on it and still feel as joyous as ever as I listen to it on the big rig right now. And I feel like I'm 20, instead of 67.
"She's a Rainbow"
The Rolling Stones
This is not the best song on "Their Satanic Majesties' Request" (did you ever find the four Beatles in the 3-D cover?), that would be "2000 Light Years From Home." And the album might contain Bill Wyman's best cut with the Stones, "In Another Land," and there's incredible energy in "Citadel," but this is upbeat in a way the other cuts are not.
"Mexico"
James Taylor
"Gorilla" came out in May and played the entire summer of '75. The entire record was more upbeat than what preceded it, the LP was light, like the summer.
This was from back before any northerners went anywhere but Acapulco. Of course, Southern Californians went to Tijuana, maybe even Ensenada, but Cabo was just a fishing town, never mind Zihuatanejo or Tulum. This was in the pre-internet era, when what happened south of the border absolutely stayed south of the border, back when Mexico was seen as exotic as opposed to dangerous.
"Mellow Yellow"
Donovan
This is not Donovan's best cut, that's "Sunshine Superman," or maybe "Catch the Wind," but this was a gigantic hit just when America was waking up to recreational drugs. Was it about smoking electric bananas? I'll leave that to you.
"Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me"
Keith Urban
"And I got the one I love beside me
My troubles behind me
I'm alive and I'm free
Who wouldn't wanna be me"
Powerful, with more than a little bass, the song is electric, just like the guitar, this is the kind of cut you put on loud to inspire you, not metal to squeeze out all the bad feelings, but to lift you above the earth, where nothing can impinge on your mood.
"Easy to Slip"
Little Feat
Now this is a conundrum, the lyrics disqualify this cut from this list, but the sound is a bullseye. This is the song I sang in my head when I skied the bumps in Utah.
This is from the second Little Feat album, "Sailin' Shoes." No one bought the first, which is maybe why they put "Willin'" on both LPs. And it wasn't until the fourth LP that the masses caught on to Little Feat, and it took a long time for people to go back to the second, but this is the one with "A Apolitical Blues," which Van Halen covered, amazing how other people listen to the same album cuts as you.
"'Til I Die"
The Beach Boys
Possibly the last transcendent Brian Wilson track.
"Sunflower" got great reviews, but was unjustly ignored by the public. "Surf's Up" was not as good, but it got ink and acceptance and suddenly the Beach Boys were rejuvenated and started their endless tour, which they're still on, albeit in two camps. This is primarily dreamy, when you're already in a good mood, lying on an inner tube, floating down the river, in your pool, or just in your mind.
"Modern Music"
Be Bop Deluxe
If the band is remembered, and it's really not, it's for two cuts on the previous LP, "Sunburst Finish," "Fair Exchange" and "Ships in the Night." But I always preferred the follow-up, "Modern Music."
The title cut is the best, but "Down on Terminal Street" and "Honeymoon on Mars" are also excellent.
The double album follow-up, "Live! In The Air Age," was excellent (did you have the original, with the white vinyl?) And "Drastic Plastic" then pushed the envelope, but was still listenable and good. Then Bill Nelson broke up the band and slipped into marginality. At the advent of the century there were all these stories how he was broke, how his lack of cash had broken up his marriage, how he did work for EMI in promise of payment and didn't get it and...I have no idea how he's doing today.
"The Finer Things"
Steve Winwood
Yes, Keith Urban covered "Higher Love" on that Covid-19 telecast, and that is certainly an upbeat song, but at this point I prefer the second side of the unjustly reviled "Back in the High Life." Winwood pointed the way to the future, gave up the roots for the modern sound, sold incredibly and was accepted by everybody, but now in today's only stripped-down roots have credibility somehow the viewpoint on this album is different.
"While there is time
Let's go out and feel everything
If you hold me
I will let you into my dreams"
My ex had moved out the year before. To quote another cut from this LP, "Here am I, where are you?" It's very difficult when they leave, they were here and then they're gone. And this was before the internet, never mind Zoom. But a year later I had a new girlfriend, I played this cassette as we drove up Pacific Coast Highway with my hand between her thighs.
"Highway to Hell"
AC/DC
From the Bon Scott era. "Highway to Hell" incorporates the ethos of yesteryear, when music was us versus them, when you listened to your tracks as a badge of identity. You were proud you were on the highway to hell, you could make it on a minimum wage job, the music was enough to get you through.
"Living easy, living free"
"Boogie Motel"
Foghat
There are bands you hate and then you love.
Like Foghat.
What seemed like mindless boogie back then is genius today, if only we had rock bands with this kind of energy these days.
I heard these songs all the time on KMET and KLOS and didn't realize I missed them until KMET changed formats.
"Between heaven and hell, check into the Boogie Motel"
Yup, there's that same metaphor, when hell was a regular feature in rock music.
"Flying High Again"
Ozzy Osbourne
This was from when he was still seen as the Prince of Darkness, before we found out on MTV he was a lovable Beatles fan. Like Foghat, I hated Ozzy, except for this one track I could not get enough of on KMET and KLOS, and then I went to see him on the "No More Tears" tour and it was all over.
"I'm a Believer"
Giant
At this point, Dann Huff is seen mostly as a producer, but before that he was a studio gunslinger and then formed his own band with his brother and tried to make it and...
Didn't.
For a long time this was unavailable online. If you know it, you love it, if you don't, get ready to have your head explode.
"A Place in the Sun"
Pablo Cruise
At this point, Pablo Cruise is reviled, maybe because after having success they moved to the middle of the road, but if you can't get happy listening to this, if you can't enjoy the guitar work, if you can't get behind the energetic uplifting chorus...
You're probably at home in all black listening to punk records, waiting for everybody to notice and pay attention to you, not realizing that era is over, nobody cares.
"Play on Love"
Jefferson Starship
From the humongous "Red Octopus" with Mary Balin's exquisite "Miracles.' This song opens the second side, this is when the Starship was celebrated, before the Mickey Thomas era.
"Playing in the Band"
Bob Weir
Everybody bought Jerry Garcia's initial solo LP, which opened with "Deal," but this is the solo track that is remembered and still played all these years later.
"Dance to the Music"
Sly & the Family Stone
Talk about exploding out of the gate...
This was the act's initial single, heralding their arrival, who knew what would follow would be even better.
"Jet Airliner"
The Steve Miller Band
He didn't write it, but he killed it.
Steve faded out, then he came back with the previous year's "Fly Like an Eagle" and then doubled-down with "Book of Dreams," this was the initial single, with the s-word intact on FM, but not AM.
"Meadows"
Joe Walsh
The second side opener from his breakthrough "The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get."
Which I didn't own for years, but I did buy the live album, "Don't Argue With A Sick Mind" and drove from Salt Lake to Connecticut listening to the live take. By this point, I-70 was four-lane over Vail Pass. And at the top there are meadows, I listened to this over and over and over again as I drove through.
"Let it Rain"
Eric Clapton
Seen as a disappointment back then, "After Midnight" and "Blues Power" have become standards. The best cut is "Easy Now," but this is close.
"Only You Know and I Know"
Dave Mason
Speaking of Clapton...
"Alone Together" came out the same time as Clapton's debut...
For a long time the known take was the live one done by Delaney & Bonnie, with Clapton (and Mason!), and it's more energetic, but this studio version is more soul-fulfilling.
"I'm Into Something Good"
Herman's Hermits
"Mrs. Brown" was bigger, but this initial track is just so magical it's undeniable.
"Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming To The Canyon)"
The Mamas & the Papas
Yes, I could have used "Words of Love," or "I Saw Her Again Last Night," but this is now my favorite track by this act. This contributed to the legend of Laurel Canyon...we dreamed of setting ourselves free and moving there, but we didn't have the balls, to jump the track and go for it.
"Deadbeat Club"
B-52's
"Huh, get a job?
What for?"
Yes, from "Cosmic Thing," with "Love Shack." From a curio, stars of the underground, the band lost a member and then went to the top of the chart. This is my favorite cut from the album, there was a great video on MTV of the band just hanging out, like in the clubhouse of the "He-Man Woman Haters Club"...you could envision Spanky and Alfalfa grooving with them.
"Live for the Music"
Bad Company
The opening cut of "Run With the Pack," this is the essence of being a rock fan. If Paul Rodgers had died in a plane crash, or O.D.'ed at the height of his career, this band would be enshrined in the Rock Hall and revered, but his crime is staying alive and still delivering.
"Hand in My Pocket"
Alanis Morissette
She could never follow up "Jagged Little Pill," but we all wanted to hear what we she did next, now we don't care. Sure she did "Uninvited" subsequently, but that's all. She got back together with Glen Ballard, but it's hard to recreate the magic, but it's hard to live through this instant fame. Will Billie Eilish suffer the same fate? Then again, "When We All Fall Asleep..." won all those awards, but has only a smidgen of the talent and greatness of "Jagged Little Pill."
"Baby Seat"
The Barenaked Ladies
The band played the 2002 Olympics and that inspired me to download as many of their tracks as I could from Limewire, and this is the one that stood out. And, the lyric is kinda critical, but the chorus and the bridge are so magical, you can only listen and smile. Then again, the words are inspirational:
"You can't live your life in the baby seat
You've got to stand on your own, don't admit defeat"
"Ah! Leah!"
Donnie Iris
Was the problem he was on MCA?
He had his moment, then he went into the mortgage business, but he was more than a one hit wonder.
"Uptown"
Prince
Now people know "Dirty Mind," but for a long time they didn't.
It's a masterpiece.
This song about the hip part of Minneapolis is sure magic.
The album is only 30 minutes long, but that shows it doesn't have to be long to be good. In the CD era there was too much filler. In the internet era it seems all we get is filler.
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
Queen
People seem to forget that this was the initial single, the breakthrough on "The Game." Which is significant for many reasons, not the least of which is the band switched producers, from Roy Thomas Baker to Mack, and still had success. This stripped-down rockabilly cut is so infectious, I had to run out and buy the album immediately upon release.
"Sailing Shoes/Hey Julia/Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley"
Robert Palmer
I bought the following LP first, with the amazing "Give Me an Inch," and then went back to this, to this day people don't know this medley, they should.
"Joyride"
Roxette
A harbinger of the Swedish hitmakers to come.
Sure, this was a giant track on MTV and radio, but then the label was in flux and the act no longer got a push in America. Divorce yourself from the era, just listen. Those edgy guitars, this is what Max Martin has built his reputation on, not an unnecessary note, just magic. He followed in Per Gessle's footsteps.
"Larger Than Life"
Backstreet Boys
Speaking of Max Martin...
To think our biggest complaint at the turn of the century was boy bands...before "Idol" and the "Voice" and...makes you yearn for what once was.
I actually bought "Millennium." I had to hear "I Want It That Way." I was stunned how good the LP was, this was the opening cut, it was more rock than most of what was on the rock charts. Backstreet Boys had something to prove, and they did.
"Gimme All Your Lovin'"
ZZ Top
I was tempted to include "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide," but I'm using this because it was the breakthrough. Sideshow Texas band changes its sound just a tiny bit and via the equivalent of what was then a viral video becomes part of the firmament, loved by everybody.
"Can't Get Enough"
Winger
I know, one of the "W" bands, but...
This is heavy, magical and mind-blowing, this is the power of rock and roll. Turn it up and squeeze the coronavirus right out of your brain.
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"Big Barn Bed"
Paul McCartney and Wings
The fourth time is the charm.
"McCartney" was underrated, primarily because it signified the breakup of the Beatles, but it's unjustifiably forgotten. Sure, it's slight, but that's part of its charm, it feels like something you'd cut at home.
"Ram" was inferior.
"Wild Life" was nearly unlistenable.
The came "Red Rose Speedway."
I didn't like "My Love" then and I don't like it now, I don't think I've listened to it all the way through since the days of AM radio. And once I bought the album, in the eighties as a cutout, I got into "Medley: Hold Me Tight/Lazy Dynamite/Hands of Love/Power Cut."
But I loved "Big Barn Bed" from the first time I heard it, and can still remember times I did hear it, like on the drive to Watkins Glen, but after a couple of bummers I did not buy "Red Rose Speedway" when it came out and in that era if you didn't own it, you were reliant on the radio and that meant "Big Barn Bed" was always special to me, just like Argent's "Liar." But in the internet era, everything is available for all to hear.
Truthfully, it's the fifth album, "Band on the Run," that broke the curse, that demonstrated not only that McCartney was fully back, but he was the equal of George Harrison and John Lennon in the solo era. And I love "Venus and Mars," but after that it was up and down, unfortunately mostly down, despite the positive reviews, although I do love the title track of "London Town."
So, "Big Barn Bed" is all about the background vocals, and the a cappella denouement at the end.
You cannot listen to "Big Barn Bed" and stay in a bad mood. I've never burned out on it and still feel as joyous as ever as I listen to it on the big rig right now. And I feel like I'm 20, instead of 67.
"She's a Rainbow"
The Rolling Stones
This is not the best song on "Their Satanic Majesties' Request" (did you ever find the four Beatles in the 3-D cover?), that would be "2000 Light Years From Home." And the album might contain Bill Wyman's best cut with the Stones, "In Another Land," and there's incredible energy in "Citadel," but this is upbeat in a way the other cuts are not.
"Mexico"
James Taylor
"Gorilla" came out in May and played the entire summer of '75. The entire record was more upbeat than what preceded it, the LP was light, like the summer.
This was from back before any northerners went anywhere but Acapulco. Of course, Southern Californians went to Tijuana, maybe even Ensenada, but Cabo was just a fishing town, never mind Zihuatanejo or Tulum. This was in the pre-internet era, when what happened south of the border absolutely stayed south of the border, back when Mexico was seen as exotic as opposed to dangerous.
"Mellow Yellow"
Donovan
This is not Donovan's best cut, that's "Sunshine Superman," or maybe "Catch the Wind," but this was a gigantic hit just when America was waking up to recreational drugs. Was it about smoking electric bananas? I'll leave that to you.
"Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me"
Keith Urban
"And I got the one I love beside me
My troubles behind me
I'm alive and I'm free
Who wouldn't wanna be me"
Powerful, with more than a little bass, the song is electric, just like the guitar, this is the kind of cut you put on loud to inspire you, not metal to squeeze out all the bad feelings, but to lift you above the earth, where nothing can impinge on your mood.
"Easy to Slip"
Little Feat
Now this is a conundrum, the lyrics disqualify this cut from this list, but the sound is a bullseye. This is the song I sang in my head when I skied the bumps in Utah.
This is from the second Little Feat album, "Sailin' Shoes." No one bought the first, which is maybe why they put "Willin'" on both LPs. And it wasn't until the fourth LP that the masses caught on to Little Feat, and it took a long time for people to go back to the second, but this is the one with "A Apolitical Blues," which Van Halen covered, amazing how other people listen to the same album cuts as you.
"'Til I Die"
The Beach Boys
Possibly the last transcendent Brian Wilson track.
"Sunflower" got great reviews, but was unjustly ignored by the public. "Surf's Up" was not as good, but it got ink and acceptance and suddenly the Beach Boys were rejuvenated and started their endless tour, which they're still on, albeit in two camps. This is primarily dreamy, when you're already in a good mood, lying on an inner tube, floating down the river, in your pool, or just in your mind.
"Modern Music"
Be Bop Deluxe
If the band is remembered, and it's really not, it's for two cuts on the previous LP, "Sunburst Finish," "Fair Exchange" and "Ships in the Night." But I always preferred the follow-up, "Modern Music."
The title cut is the best, but "Down on Terminal Street" and "Honeymoon on Mars" are also excellent.
The double album follow-up, "Live! In The Air Age," was excellent (did you have the original, with the white vinyl?) And "Drastic Plastic" then pushed the envelope, but was still listenable and good. Then Bill Nelson broke up the band and slipped into marginality. At the advent of the century there were all these stories how he was broke, how his lack of cash had broken up his marriage, how he did work for EMI in promise of payment and didn't get it and...I have no idea how he's doing today.
"The Finer Things"
Steve Winwood
Yes, Keith Urban covered "Higher Love" on that Covid-19 telecast, and that is certainly an upbeat song, but at this point I prefer the second side of the unjustly reviled "Back in the High Life." Winwood pointed the way to the future, gave up the roots for the modern sound, sold incredibly and was accepted by everybody, but now in today's only stripped-down roots have credibility somehow the viewpoint on this album is different.
"While there is time
Let's go out and feel everything
If you hold me
I will let you into my dreams"
My ex had moved out the year before. To quote another cut from this LP, "Here am I, where are you?" It's very difficult when they leave, they were here and then they're gone. And this was before the internet, never mind Zoom. But a year later I had a new girlfriend, I played this cassette as we drove up Pacific Coast Highway with my hand between her thighs.
"Highway to Hell"
AC/DC
From the Bon Scott era. "Highway to Hell" incorporates the ethos of yesteryear, when music was us versus them, when you listened to your tracks as a badge of identity. You were proud you were on the highway to hell, you could make it on a minimum wage job, the music was enough to get you through.
"Living easy, living free"
"Boogie Motel"
Foghat
There are bands you hate and then you love.
Like Foghat.
What seemed like mindless boogie back then is genius today, if only we had rock bands with this kind of energy these days.
I heard these songs all the time on KMET and KLOS and didn't realize I missed them until KMET changed formats.
"Between heaven and hell, check into the Boogie Motel"
Yup, there's that same metaphor, when hell was a regular feature in rock music.
"Flying High Again"
Ozzy Osbourne
This was from when he was still seen as the Prince of Darkness, before we found out on MTV he was a lovable Beatles fan. Like Foghat, I hated Ozzy, except for this one track I could not get enough of on KMET and KLOS, and then I went to see him on the "No More Tears" tour and it was all over.
"I'm a Believer"
Giant
At this point, Dann Huff is seen mostly as a producer, but before that he was a studio gunslinger and then formed his own band with his brother and tried to make it and...
Didn't.
For a long time this was unavailable online. If you know it, you love it, if you don't, get ready to have your head explode.
"A Place in the Sun"
Pablo Cruise
At this point, Pablo Cruise is reviled, maybe because after having success they moved to the middle of the road, but if you can't get happy listening to this, if you can't enjoy the guitar work, if you can't get behind the energetic uplifting chorus...
You're probably at home in all black listening to punk records, waiting for everybody to notice and pay attention to you, not realizing that era is over, nobody cares.
"Play on Love"
Jefferson Starship
From the humongous "Red Octopus" with Mary Balin's exquisite "Miracles.' This song opens the second side, this is when the Starship was celebrated, before the Mickey Thomas era.
"Playing in the Band"
Bob Weir
Everybody bought Jerry Garcia's initial solo LP, which opened with "Deal," but this is the solo track that is remembered and still played all these years later.
"Dance to the Music"
Sly & the Family Stone
Talk about exploding out of the gate...
This was the act's initial single, heralding their arrival, who knew what would follow would be even better.
"Jet Airliner"
The Steve Miller Band
He didn't write it, but he killed it.
Steve faded out, then he came back with the previous year's "Fly Like an Eagle" and then doubled-down with "Book of Dreams," this was the initial single, with the s-word intact on FM, but not AM.
"Meadows"
Joe Walsh
The second side opener from his breakthrough "The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get."
Which I didn't own for years, but I did buy the live album, "Don't Argue With A Sick Mind" and drove from Salt Lake to Connecticut listening to the live take. By this point, I-70 was four-lane over Vail Pass. And at the top there are meadows, I listened to this over and over and over again as I drove through.
"Let it Rain"
Eric Clapton
Seen as a disappointment back then, "After Midnight" and "Blues Power" have become standards. The best cut is "Easy Now," but this is close.
"Only You Know and I Know"
Dave Mason
Speaking of Clapton...
"Alone Together" came out the same time as Clapton's debut...
For a long time the known take was the live one done by Delaney & Bonnie, with Clapton (and Mason!), and it's more energetic, but this studio version is more soul-fulfilling.
"I'm Into Something Good"
Herman's Hermits
"Mrs. Brown" was bigger, but this initial track is just so magical it's undeniable.
"Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming To The Canyon)"
The Mamas & the Papas
Yes, I could have used "Words of Love," or "I Saw Her Again Last Night," but this is now my favorite track by this act. This contributed to the legend of Laurel Canyon...we dreamed of setting ourselves free and moving there, but we didn't have the balls, to jump the track and go for it.
"Deadbeat Club"
B-52's
"Huh, get a job?
What for?"
Yes, from "Cosmic Thing," with "Love Shack." From a curio, stars of the underground, the band lost a member and then went to the top of the chart. This is my favorite cut from the album, there was a great video on MTV of the band just hanging out, like in the clubhouse of the "He-Man Woman Haters Club"...you could envision Spanky and Alfalfa grooving with them.
"Live for the Music"
Bad Company
The opening cut of "Run With the Pack," this is the essence of being a rock fan. If Paul Rodgers had died in a plane crash, or O.D.'ed at the height of his career, this band would be enshrined in the Rock Hall and revered, but his crime is staying alive and still delivering.
"Hand in My Pocket"
Alanis Morissette
She could never follow up "Jagged Little Pill," but we all wanted to hear what we she did next, now we don't care. Sure she did "Uninvited" subsequently, but that's all. She got back together with Glen Ballard, but it's hard to recreate the magic, but it's hard to live through this instant fame. Will Billie Eilish suffer the same fate? Then again, "When We All Fall Asleep..." won all those awards, but has only a smidgen of the talent and greatness of "Jagged Little Pill."
"Baby Seat"
The Barenaked Ladies
The band played the 2002 Olympics and that inspired me to download as many of their tracks as I could from Limewire, and this is the one that stood out. And, the lyric is kinda critical, but the chorus and the bridge are so magical, you can only listen and smile. Then again, the words are inspirational:
"You can't live your life in the baby seat
You've got to stand on your own, don't admit defeat"
"Ah! Leah!"
Donnie Iris
Was the problem he was on MCA?
He had his moment, then he went into the mortgage business, but he was more than a one hit wonder.
"Uptown"
Prince
Now people know "Dirty Mind," but for a long time they didn't.
It's a masterpiece.
This song about the hip part of Minneapolis is sure magic.
The album is only 30 minutes long, but that shows it doesn't have to be long to be good. In the CD era there was too much filler. In the internet era it seems all we get is filler.
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
Queen
People seem to forget that this was the initial single, the breakthrough on "The Game." Which is significant for many reasons, not the least of which is the band switched producers, from Roy Thomas Baker to Mack, and still had success. This stripped-down rockabilly cut is so infectious, I had to run out and buy the album immediately upon release.
"Sailing Shoes/Hey Julia/Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley"
Robert Palmer
I bought the following LP first, with the amazing "Give Me an Inch," and then went back to this, to this day people don't know this medley, they should.
"Joyride"
Roxette
A harbinger of the Swedish hitmakers to come.
Sure, this was a giant track on MTV and radio, but then the label was in flux and the act no longer got a push in America. Divorce yourself from the era, just listen. Those edgy guitars, this is what Max Martin has built his reputation on, not an unnecessary note, just magic. He followed in Per Gessle's footsteps.
"Larger Than Life"
Backstreet Boys
Speaking of Max Martin...
To think our biggest complaint at the turn of the century was boy bands...before "Idol" and the "Voice" and...makes you yearn for what once was.
I actually bought "Millennium." I had to hear "I Want It That Way." I was stunned how good the LP was, this was the opening cut, it was more rock than most of what was on the rock charts. Backstreet Boys had something to prove, and they did.
"Gimme All Your Lovin'"
ZZ Top
I was tempted to include "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide," but I'm using this because it was the breakthrough. Sideshow Texas band changes its sound just a tiny bit and via the equivalent of what was then a viral video becomes part of the firmament, loved by everybody.
"Can't Get Enough"
Winger
I know, one of the "W" bands, but...
This is heavy, magical and mind-blowing, this is the power of rock and roll. Turn it up and squeeze the coronavirus right out of your brain.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
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