Trailer: https://bit.ly/3uPZOXi
This movie starts off lame and then becomes FANTASTIC! When it ends you'll be smiling, telling yourself how great it was, and lamenting that there is not more.
"Undercover." I wrote about it. I got a lot of feedback from people who said they watched it and loved it. Certainly the first season, with Anna Drijver as Kim.
But the star of the show is Frank Lammers as Ferry, a big time ecstasy dealer who is not greedy, but is not wary of using force to keep order. Most criminals in filmed entertainment are one dimensional. Or bad with a heart of gold. They're never people you know, who you could see growing up with, being friends with. Ferry breaks that mold. Ferry is VERY serious about business, but he loves to hang with his friends, watch football, drink, have a good time. I mean what sense does it make to be a criminal if you can't relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor?
And it all takes place in a trailer park. Not exclusively, but that's where the main action is. But Ferry has the best domicile, and they judge you based on how improved your trailer is. Cops Bob & Kim rent a trailer as part of their plan to entrap Ferry...but Ferry is streetwise, and hard to get on the record. So, they keep proffering more and more riches, unsuccessfully.
But Ferry has a much younger wife, played by Elise Schaap, Danielle. Who talks too much, alienating the rest of the residents, and is constantly complaining of aches and pains and relying on wackadoodle health treatments that Ferry doesn't believe in, but...
Danielle is completely different in "Ferry."
"Ferry" is the prequel to "Undercover." We find out where Ferry came from. Amsterdam. But he was originally from "Down South," which is said with a sneer, in the trailer park area. You see income inequality, upward mobility is not just an issue in the States. Danielle dreams of going to Amsterdam, meanwhile she's cleaning trailers and manning a carnival stand to make ends meet. Life is hard. In America you dream of becoming a rapper or an influencer, but the truth is few make it, and then you find out without an education your options are limited, you end up working with your hands for very low wages, trying to eke out a living. The only difference is on this side of the pond we have the American Dream, we believe we can move up the economic ladder, whereas in Europe and the U.K., the class system is much more rigid, you're born to your station and you end up there. Sure, people move up, but it's not embedded in the national mind-set.
So Ferry has a job to do, and in the process of tracking down offenders...
He goes to the trailer of his sister. They don't get along. They haven't spoken in years. Ferry won't apologize. And it's not until deep into the movie that you find out what the problem is...it's always family squabbles, they mean something to those related by blood, the rest of us just shrug.
But then Ferry moves on with the hunt and he encounters Danielle. She's cleaning a trailer.
Now Danielle is wearing a very visible thong. And when she bends over...
And Danielle has an hourglass body, she has hips unlike the mannequin models. And when she starts to dance, slinking to the music on the radio...FERRY CAN'T RESIST IT!
This is an easy concept to grasp, but a hard concept to depict accurately. What gets someone's loins burning...
So, Ferry and Danielle start doing the dance, but she's not the depressed person of "Undercover," she hasn't lost her optimism, she smiles and she and Ferry connect and...
IT'S LOVE!
Oh, we see this every day in movies and on TV, but it rarely resonates. Here you can literally see the magic grow between the two. And then... When they wake up together and it's new and Danielle starts talking about her breath and... There are so many hurdles to intimacy. You see someone from afar and have a crush. Rarely does anything happen. Most of the time you're off the gridiron, just waiting to hit the playing field. And hip-hop records tell you the guys are irresistible and the women are sassy, and the pop records are fairy tales, but in truth, love begins in fits and starts. And it doesn't always bloom. But the key element is when you realize...you're both interested. Are you? When it stops becoming a pursuit and is more about being together.
And when you wake up in bed the next day... You've swapped spit, and more, but you don't really know this person, but if it's a real relationship, you let down your guard, you lower the boundaries and you reveal your truth. Your anxieties, your desires, you reference what happened between the two of you...
And then there's one moment when Ferry leaves Danielle's trailer and she asks...ARE WE OKAY?
God, you know it, they're leaving and it's not completely lovey-dovey and you're wondering, did what happen mean anything, will you ever see them again? Danielle is asking for reassurance, so she doesn't torture herself in the ensuing hours/days.
And later in the show, when Ferry is inscrutable, inaccessible, Danielle says "I thought we clicked." Whew! The honesty. She's saying how she feels, she's putting it all out there, willing to be hurt, just to get to the truth.
You see human connection is powerful. We're all just animals, even if we're potty-trained and can think and speak.
I'm not giving much away, because the truth is you know Ferry ends up with Danielle. Only in "Undercover," he says he was married when he met her and there's no hint of a previous wife here. But everything else lines up, the characters and the action, but we always wondered...how did Ferry get from there to here? We didn't even know where "there" was!
To tell you the truth, "Ferry" made me mad. Because it ended. As I was watching I realized if this was a series instead of a movie, there'd be so much more detail, the story would be so much richer. Here, a glance suffices to move the action forward. But in a series, you're privy to the inner thoughts, the motivation.
I'm always wary of these tack-on productions. They're rarely up to the quality of the original. Kinda like the "Breaking Bad" movie... Okay, they wrapped it up, but it wasn't visceral like the series. But "Ferry"? It takes a while to get going, but then you can see the arc, you can see Ferry developing his strategy and executing it.
And ultimately you find out his life story, well, at least more than you knew, but what makes it so great is the love story between Ferry and Danielle. Danielle is cute, but in "Undercover" she's often not attractive. She's not drop-dead gorgeous, and her attitude at times is not endearing. But here, she's shined up, she smiles, she's up for it, she's wary of engagement but then she's all-in. And when Ferry is all-in too... This is what we live for, this is the development of a relationship, the essence, and I can't remember the last time it was depicted so well.
So, if you're interested, watch "Undercover" first, both seasons, so the prequel makes sense.
If you've already watched "Undercover," watch "Ferry" IMMEDIATELY!
Of course I've now overhyped you, then again I was disappointed at first. It was a bit too paint-by-numbers. But then the movie evolves and by time you hit the end, you're thrilled, that someone has gotten it so right, satiated you, like I said, you only want more.
"Ferry" made me swear off movies. Literally, I told Felice that. They're too disappointing. They're too short, not fleshed-out enough. I could have watched ten episodes bringing me up to speed on Ferry. My only hope is there will be more, a third season.
We live in a b.s. world where we ultimately feel powerless. But when you watch "Undercover" and "Ferry" you focus on little lives, you go down the rabbit hole and you realize we all live little lives, "Ferry" gives us a sense of perspective. I LOVED IT!
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Saturday 15 May 2021
Friday 14 May 2021
Keeping Faith-Season 3
I wasn't expecting much, I didn't absolutely love the first two seasons, but unlike conventional wisdom I loved the third iteration, maybe because it was only six episodes instead of eight, the story wasn't drawn out.
The story?
"Big Little Lies" in Wales. At least that's what critics said, but I can't vouch for that because I never saw "Big Little Lies." I go for more highbrow fare. Or much more lowbrow. But having said all that I'm recommending "Keeping Faith" because of EVE MYLES!
I haven't seen a picture where I don't see Nicole Kidman in every role she plays. She's pretty good, but her acting is visible, kind of like Meryl Streep, she's showing off, in an understated way, trying to win an Oscar.
That's not Eve Myles.
Eve Myles runs the gamut of emotions, goes from zero to a hundred and back again with no governor, just like a real person. Kinda like Joni Mitchell said, "laughing and crying, you know it's the same release."
So when the series starts, Eve's husband Evan has disappeared, and she's forced not only to carry the law firm, but the show. Sure, there are peripheral characters, but it all revolves around Eve/Faith. Without Faith, there is no show!
Unlike Nicole Kidman, Eve Myles has not gone under the knife to try and excise her unique qualities to look just like every other Hollywood star. She has what my mother used to call "air-conditioned teeth," which could be fixed, certainly by an L.A. dentist/orthodontist, but she's owning what God gave her. As for her hair... Felice remarked how many colors there were in it. You see Faith is a mother and an attorney, and there's just not enough time in the day to get everything perfect. This is not June Cleaver, put-together with her pearls... Faith is always running around, dropping documents, wearing her heels but kicking them off at the first opportunity... You see Faith is real.
As are the emotions.
Do you trust your spouse? Do you believe what they say? How much evidence does it take for you to question their statements?
And Faith is a bleeding heart to boot. She goes to the wall for her clients. Not only in the courtroom, but personally, when it's not win or lose.
So in the original two seasons the story revolves around this criminal family. And the police investigation. But the third season...
It revolves around Faith and...
Someone we haven't seen before. Who has caused Faith to be who she is. The backstory, it's uber-important. Find out where someone came from and it will explain their behavior in the present day.
Also, Faith gets involved in the legal case of a dying boy and...
Yes, there are some hokey elements, especially at the end. And I'm not really giving anything away, it's just...just when the show is approaching highbrow, it goes lowbrow.
But everybody looks to Faith, she's the strong one, she has to be there for everybody, her no-good, wandering eye husband, her family, her best friend alcoholic Lisa... That's a lot of pressure. And sometimes Faith reaches her limit, but she always puts on her coat and exits the front door and addresses the issue.
Sometimes an actor is so talented that not only do they supersede the material, they make the whole show worth watching. You can't take your eyes off Faith, her behavior isn't always predictable, she's principled but not a goody-goody either. She is the opposite of the ice queens in Hollywood blockbusters, the eye candy who look good, but are wooden and two-dimensional. In the U.S. we think it's solely about looks (and money!), whereas in the rest of the world, looks are not everything. I'm not saying Eve/Faith is unattractive, but she's not the drop dead gorgeous star of an American production, she wouldn't instantly turn your head.
You see Eve/Faith has a personality, an identity, and that's what we're drawn to. Sure, you might be attracted by looks, but they don't go that far. You know the cliché, show me a beautiful woman...
I'm not sure you can say that anymore. You can't say so much anymore. And some shouldn't be said, but if thoughts just go underground is that a good result?
So, everybody ends up in love with Faith.
And the truth is it's hard to be an attractive, dynamic woman in society. Men can't stop propositioning you, you're what they want!
I just cannot say enough about Eve Myles, how great she is. The six episodes of the new season breezed along.
And I loved how things fell through the cracks, when you're trying to service everybody yet complete your obligations, some people are going to be slighted, and there could be significant effects as a result. We're all imperfect, but some of us enter the fray nonetheless, willing to make mistakes in the furtherance of good.
"Keeping Faith" is on Acorn. Which costs $5.99 a month. The easiest way to get it is via the Amazon Prime app. Search for "Keeping Faith" and just before it plays you'll be asked if you want to pay. But you do get seven days free, so if you watch fast and cancel in time... And if you sign up and then come back on again...you don't get another free seven days, just so you know. And the good thing about buying through Amazon is it's on your Amazon bill and Amazon has the best customer service of any online entity.
I wouldn't put "Keeping Faith" at the top of my list, insist you watch it right now, but I'd put Eve Myles there. It's your decision.
P.S. "Ferry," a prequel to "Undercover," started on Netflix yesterday, unfortunately it's only a movie, I'd prefer a series, but Frank Lammers is in the league of Eve Myles, he's a modern day Tony Soprano. I can't wait!
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The story?
"Big Little Lies" in Wales. At least that's what critics said, but I can't vouch for that because I never saw "Big Little Lies." I go for more highbrow fare. Or much more lowbrow. But having said all that I'm recommending "Keeping Faith" because of EVE MYLES!
I haven't seen a picture where I don't see Nicole Kidman in every role she plays. She's pretty good, but her acting is visible, kind of like Meryl Streep, she's showing off, in an understated way, trying to win an Oscar.
That's not Eve Myles.
Eve Myles runs the gamut of emotions, goes from zero to a hundred and back again with no governor, just like a real person. Kinda like Joni Mitchell said, "laughing and crying, you know it's the same release."
So when the series starts, Eve's husband Evan has disappeared, and she's forced not only to carry the law firm, but the show. Sure, there are peripheral characters, but it all revolves around Eve/Faith. Without Faith, there is no show!
Unlike Nicole Kidman, Eve Myles has not gone under the knife to try and excise her unique qualities to look just like every other Hollywood star. She has what my mother used to call "air-conditioned teeth," which could be fixed, certainly by an L.A. dentist/orthodontist, but she's owning what God gave her. As for her hair... Felice remarked how many colors there were in it. You see Faith is a mother and an attorney, and there's just not enough time in the day to get everything perfect. This is not June Cleaver, put-together with her pearls... Faith is always running around, dropping documents, wearing her heels but kicking them off at the first opportunity... You see Faith is real.
As are the emotions.
Do you trust your spouse? Do you believe what they say? How much evidence does it take for you to question their statements?
And Faith is a bleeding heart to boot. She goes to the wall for her clients. Not only in the courtroom, but personally, when it's not win or lose.
So in the original two seasons the story revolves around this criminal family. And the police investigation. But the third season...
It revolves around Faith and...
Someone we haven't seen before. Who has caused Faith to be who she is. The backstory, it's uber-important. Find out where someone came from and it will explain their behavior in the present day.
Also, Faith gets involved in the legal case of a dying boy and...
Yes, there are some hokey elements, especially at the end. And I'm not really giving anything away, it's just...just when the show is approaching highbrow, it goes lowbrow.
But everybody looks to Faith, she's the strong one, she has to be there for everybody, her no-good, wandering eye husband, her family, her best friend alcoholic Lisa... That's a lot of pressure. And sometimes Faith reaches her limit, but she always puts on her coat and exits the front door and addresses the issue.
Sometimes an actor is so talented that not only do they supersede the material, they make the whole show worth watching. You can't take your eyes off Faith, her behavior isn't always predictable, she's principled but not a goody-goody either. She is the opposite of the ice queens in Hollywood blockbusters, the eye candy who look good, but are wooden and two-dimensional. In the U.S. we think it's solely about looks (and money!), whereas in the rest of the world, looks are not everything. I'm not saying Eve/Faith is unattractive, but she's not the drop dead gorgeous star of an American production, she wouldn't instantly turn your head.
You see Eve/Faith has a personality, an identity, and that's what we're drawn to. Sure, you might be attracted by looks, but they don't go that far. You know the cliché, show me a beautiful woman...
I'm not sure you can say that anymore. You can't say so much anymore. And some shouldn't be said, but if thoughts just go underground is that a good result?
So, everybody ends up in love with Faith.
And the truth is it's hard to be an attractive, dynamic woman in society. Men can't stop propositioning you, you're what they want!
I just cannot say enough about Eve Myles, how great she is. The six episodes of the new season breezed along.
And I loved how things fell through the cracks, when you're trying to service everybody yet complete your obligations, some people are going to be slighted, and there could be significant effects as a result. We're all imperfect, but some of us enter the fray nonetheless, willing to make mistakes in the furtherance of good.
"Keeping Faith" is on Acorn. Which costs $5.99 a month. The easiest way to get it is via the Amazon Prime app. Search for "Keeping Faith" and just before it plays you'll be asked if you want to pay. But you do get seven days free, so if you watch fast and cancel in time... And if you sign up and then come back on again...you don't get another free seven days, just so you know. And the good thing about buying through Amazon is it's on your Amazon bill and Amazon has the best customer service of any online entity.
I wouldn't put "Keeping Faith" at the top of my list, insist you watch it right now, but I'd put Eve Myles there. It's your decision.
P.S. "Ferry," a prequel to "Undercover," started on Netflix yesterday, unfortunately it's only a movie, I'd prefer a series, but Frank Lammers is in the league of Eve Myles, he's a modern day Tony Soprano. I can't wait!
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Harvey Mason, Jr. Gets The Gig
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss!
This reminds me of Dick Cheney being charged with finding a VP for Bush II and then recommending himself. Huh?
The Grammy Organization is now no different from the Golden Globes. A cabal of self-serving individuals living off the largesse of CBS. Strike the TV show and you've got little left. But times change, and if CBS were smart it would look for a loophole to cancel the show of this travesty of an organization.
It's a boys club, plain and simple.
A woman comes in with experience in the nonprofit world, with her own vision and...they can't take it, they've got to return to the norm, of opacity, of manipulation, of no credibility. Hell, they hire Tina Tchen, Michelle Obama's chief of staff, to find the perfect candidate, but they know better. As for Mr. Mason, he's a person of color, so he checks that box, but where is his background in running a nonprofit? He seems to have been hired to herd cats and quelch dissension, and that does not move an organization forward.
And if you want to truly be horrified, check out Mr. Mason's new salary...
They hire Heidrick & Struggles to look for a new CEO...it was just a diversion, why don't the members of the Recording Academy claw back that payment from Mr. Mason's salary, what a waste of money!
So let's see, you've got an out of touch organization running a failing TV show with so many awards voted by old nincompoops that they're irrelevant. The voters are so out of touch that they vote in the leading categories based on publicity, not quality. Really, did Billie Eilish deserve another Grammy this year? It seems like she didn't even think so. As for a Grammy's impact on a career... There's no longer a meaningful sales/stream bump, the industry has changed, but the Academy has not. Turns out everybody who is truly interested already checked it out. And n with the streaming model you don't have the threshold you did in the physical world, where you've got to convince people to pull themselves over the transom by having multiple hit singles and awards...no, you can check anything out for free, when it's happening, and it turns out those who weren't interested before are not interested again when an award is given.
And who wants to listen to all these wankers thank God when everybody knows God had nothing to do with it.
And if you're not white, good luck. Tell me again how the Weeknd is excluded? Oh, the secret committees! So now they're gone and the truth is...all those Recording Academy insiders who passed Grammy nominations around, gave each other undeserved statuettes, are SOL. No, they didn't want change, they liked it the way it was, where they controlled the Grammys and now...
Well, the Grammy organization was started back in the fifties. And what has changed...NOTHING! When the whole world has changed! Records start on TikTok, but you don't hear about it on the show. How about a segment on a TikTok star instead of one of those retread duets that no one likes?
I mean you've got to change with the times, or you're history!
Come on, want to buy a Compaq computer? Or how about investing in Sun? Even better, Digital Equipment, the ruler of the minicomputer world that never believed it would be usurped by microcomputers, never mind the smartphone. Change or die, but in the Recording Academy world...
So, Apple excommunicates Steve Jobs and is then run by...
A guy who sold flavored water. And a salesman. And...eventually the company is on the verge of going under. So Jobs comes back and what does he do? PLAN FOR THE FUTURE! A stable OS based on Unix, a slimming of the product line, a focus on consumers and creators... And speaking of tech, everybody in the music world relies on it, how about an explanation of Ableton or Logic or Pro Tools on the show!
And even the Rock Hall has a fan vote, but Grammys are sacrosanct! Hogwash!
Which is why anybody with a real career doesn't bother to display their Grammys, at best they're in the bathroom, whereas those on the undercard have got them right up front and center, they keep telling you they won, it's like a student council member bragging of their achievement at the retirement home. The joke is on THEM!
The Recording Academy doesn't need a placeholder, someone to make the trains run on time, they already did that, with Neil Portnow. And the end result is the organization took ten years, when our country was changing nearly daily via technology, to make sure it stayed back in 1999.
What the Recording Academy needs is someone to shake it up, move it into the future, question all of its principles and activities, but this might mean...someone will lose their job or influence, and that just can't happen. That's what's wrong with America at large, business and society change but no one can lose out, everybody's got to keep their job, meanwhile youngsters come along with no investment in the past and disrupt the entire enterprise and everybody loses their job.
Where are the skills Harvey Mason, Jr. brings? Does he have an MBA? Musicians can't run Fortune 500 companies and the CEOs of the big public companies can't make a hit record...but they know how to run an organization, they know not only how to manage people, but to keep the stock price up. And there's no stock traded in the Recording Academy, but there are issues of credibility and relevance and Mr. Mason and his male cronies are doing a good job of running this vehicle straight off the cliff, they're nearly equivalent to Van Morrison and his right wing ravings, wait long enough and the truth comes out, which is that there's a cancer at the heart of the Recording Academy and the only way to treat it is to rip it out!
I don't really care on a musical level. I never respected a Grammy win, never ever. But as a business lesson... When an organization keeps doing the same damn thing expecting a different result... When women are out of the equation, with no real power, never mind the interests of rappers... What you end up with is an out of touch edifice that can crumble with just one push.
It's bad enough to see a world where almost half of the public believes the election was bogus, where elected officials are cowering, afraid of alienating them. But now we've got the Recording Academy doing the same damn thing.
Ridiculous!
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This reminds me of Dick Cheney being charged with finding a VP for Bush II and then recommending himself. Huh?
The Grammy Organization is now no different from the Golden Globes. A cabal of self-serving individuals living off the largesse of CBS. Strike the TV show and you've got little left. But times change, and if CBS were smart it would look for a loophole to cancel the show of this travesty of an organization.
It's a boys club, plain and simple.
A woman comes in with experience in the nonprofit world, with her own vision and...they can't take it, they've got to return to the norm, of opacity, of manipulation, of no credibility. Hell, they hire Tina Tchen, Michelle Obama's chief of staff, to find the perfect candidate, but they know better. As for Mr. Mason, he's a person of color, so he checks that box, but where is his background in running a nonprofit? He seems to have been hired to herd cats and quelch dissension, and that does not move an organization forward.
And if you want to truly be horrified, check out Mr. Mason's new salary...
They hire Heidrick & Struggles to look for a new CEO...it was just a diversion, why don't the members of the Recording Academy claw back that payment from Mr. Mason's salary, what a waste of money!
So let's see, you've got an out of touch organization running a failing TV show with so many awards voted by old nincompoops that they're irrelevant. The voters are so out of touch that they vote in the leading categories based on publicity, not quality. Really, did Billie Eilish deserve another Grammy this year? It seems like she didn't even think so. As for a Grammy's impact on a career... There's no longer a meaningful sales/stream bump, the industry has changed, but the Academy has not. Turns out everybody who is truly interested already checked it out. And n with the streaming model you don't have the threshold you did in the physical world, where you've got to convince people to pull themselves over the transom by having multiple hit singles and awards...no, you can check anything out for free, when it's happening, and it turns out those who weren't interested before are not interested again when an award is given.
And who wants to listen to all these wankers thank God when everybody knows God had nothing to do with it.
And if you're not white, good luck. Tell me again how the Weeknd is excluded? Oh, the secret committees! So now they're gone and the truth is...all those Recording Academy insiders who passed Grammy nominations around, gave each other undeserved statuettes, are SOL. No, they didn't want change, they liked it the way it was, where they controlled the Grammys and now...
Well, the Grammy organization was started back in the fifties. And what has changed...NOTHING! When the whole world has changed! Records start on TikTok, but you don't hear about it on the show. How about a segment on a TikTok star instead of one of those retread duets that no one likes?
I mean you've got to change with the times, or you're history!
Come on, want to buy a Compaq computer? Or how about investing in Sun? Even better, Digital Equipment, the ruler of the minicomputer world that never believed it would be usurped by microcomputers, never mind the smartphone. Change or die, but in the Recording Academy world...
So, Apple excommunicates Steve Jobs and is then run by...
A guy who sold flavored water. And a salesman. And...eventually the company is on the verge of going under. So Jobs comes back and what does he do? PLAN FOR THE FUTURE! A stable OS based on Unix, a slimming of the product line, a focus on consumers and creators... And speaking of tech, everybody in the music world relies on it, how about an explanation of Ableton or Logic or Pro Tools on the show!
And even the Rock Hall has a fan vote, but Grammys are sacrosanct! Hogwash!
Which is why anybody with a real career doesn't bother to display their Grammys, at best they're in the bathroom, whereas those on the undercard have got them right up front and center, they keep telling you they won, it's like a student council member bragging of their achievement at the retirement home. The joke is on THEM!
The Recording Academy doesn't need a placeholder, someone to make the trains run on time, they already did that, with Neil Portnow. And the end result is the organization took ten years, when our country was changing nearly daily via technology, to make sure it stayed back in 1999.
What the Recording Academy needs is someone to shake it up, move it into the future, question all of its principles and activities, but this might mean...someone will lose their job or influence, and that just can't happen. That's what's wrong with America at large, business and society change but no one can lose out, everybody's got to keep their job, meanwhile youngsters come along with no investment in the past and disrupt the entire enterprise and everybody loses their job.
Where are the skills Harvey Mason, Jr. brings? Does he have an MBA? Musicians can't run Fortune 500 companies and the CEOs of the big public companies can't make a hit record...but they know how to run an organization, they know not only how to manage people, but to keep the stock price up. And there's no stock traded in the Recording Academy, but there are issues of credibility and relevance and Mr. Mason and his male cronies are doing a good job of running this vehicle straight off the cliff, they're nearly equivalent to Van Morrison and his right wing ravings, wait long enough and the truth comes out, which is that there's a cancer at the heart of the Recording Academy and the only way to treat it is to rip it out!
I don't really care on a musical level. I never respected a Grammy win, never ever. But as a business lesson... When an organization keeps doing the same damn thing expecting a different result... When women are out of the equation, with no real power, never mind the interests of rappers... What you end up with is an out of touch edifice that can crumble with just one push.
It's bad enough to see a world where almost half of the public believes the election was bogus, where elected officials are cowering, afraid of alienating them. But now we've got the Recording Academy doing the same damn thing.
Ridiculous!
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Thursday 13 May 2021
The Final Revival Of Opal & Nev
https://amzn.to/3ffx2ZM
It's hard to write a rock and roll novel. First and foremost because most fans don't read. Second, if they do, they want nonfiction, they want to dig deeper into the histories of the stars. Most of those books are awfully written. To the point where you wonder if they were even edited at all. Out of sequence, grammar and spelling mistakes...yes, even when a major publisher is involved!
As for the independently published books... It's too cheap to do that. So it's just like Spotify, there are the hits and then...every boomer who can no longer work in the music industry has written a book, and then you've got the youngsters writing a guidebook to try and get ahead, but they all share one thing in common...THEY SUCK! Because writing is a skill. You can have such an incredible story that the writing is secondary, like "Educated," but Tara Westover is a better writer than everybody referenced above! As for rock writers... Like the critic in this book, they focus on taking notes, getting down the facts, leaving the feel absent, and the feel is what it's all about. The book must be so well written, so inviting, that the subject is secondary. Having said all that, you should read Rob Sheffield's "Love Is a Mix Tape"... The story is engrossing and the writing is intimate and more than adequate...unfortunately, sans such a great story, Sheffield has not been able to reach this peak again.
So...
Not a single person in the music industry has reached out to me about this book. NOT ONE! I reach six figures of people and there's absolutely no buzz. Then again, is that the modern era, is there only buzz in your own, maybe tiny, niche, and then almost everything stops there, to grow is nearly impossible?
Yet, "Opal & Nev" has gotten stellar reviews, and Curtis Sittenfeld, whose work I admire, has said it's one of the two best books of the year, but...you just can't feel it. Then again, unless they've got famous names attached, books tend to take a while to percolate in the marketplace, so maybe "Opal & Nev" still might reach a wider audience.
So is this the best rock novel ever written? Well, that's not a very high bar... Yes, you've got Nick Hornby's "High Fidelity," but that's a story set in a record shop, the music is secondary, but it's not in "Opal & Nev."
Now if it were a couple more decades down the line, youngsters would read "Opal & Nev" and mistake it for truth. As a matter of fact, the only elements untrue in this book are those attached to Opal & Nev, everything else is rock and roll fact. So, if you lived through the era, you'll live through it again. All those events, all those references that you think only you know, they're in this book.
So Opal & Nev make music in the early seventies.
Let's be clear, this is after the Beatles, the entire British Invasion, FM rock radio was already established. These are the big money years.
Nev comes from the U.K., and his history is well told.
Opal is African-American and she comes from Chicago, and her background is put forth too.
And then Nev rescues Opal from obscurity and...
Nothing happens.
But then it does.
What today's wankers who think they're entitled to get paid beaucoup bucks on Spotify don't realize is back in the so-called "golden years," most acts did not make it. They soon went back to civilian life. As for signing cash? It went into the production of the record, living expenses at the time and...you probably didn't even net enough to buy a car. And if the record didn't start to fly, they dropped you. Sure, Warner Brothers was famous for giving you multiple chances, but most acts did not get one and were not successful.
But then comes the Rivington Showcase... One event can change the course of history, both public and personal.
So the music business was built by individuals on a lark. Those with rough edges, nearly criminals, who were forces of nature who got things done. Now it's mostly corporate, but back then...there were colorful characters.
As is Howie Kelly, the head of Rivington Records.
And Rosemary Salducci is his secretary/receptionist, back when you could still use the s-word, but she's so much more than that. Entrepreneurs have gatekeepers, usually of long tenure, you may think they're secretaries, but they're powerful people.
Bob Hize is the guy who ankles his major label gig to work for Rivington, so he has a chance to produce. You've got to believe in yourself. But that's not enough to make you successful. Even back then... Opal & Nev's album is released, and they have trouble getting gigs. Now it's the reverse, you prove you can get the gigs and then you might get a record deal.
So, the book is a fake oral history. But unlike too many oral histories, which are unreadable, it's not one sentence at a time, the interview statements are lengthy, so it reads like a book.
So, Sunny is writing a book about Opal & Nev. She's got history through her father...I'll leave it at that.
Sunny is also the first African-American editor of "Aural," which represents "Rolling Stone," even though "Rolling Stone" is a competitor in this book.
So, Sunny does her interviews and then adds her editor's notes and...
At first it's like one of those rock bios, only much better written. You're getting the backstory. But then, about halfway through, you realize "Opal & Nev" is a real book with a real story, themes bigger than rock stardom. And throughout there is wisdom, like:
"But my personal definition of success is that you don't do a goddamn thing you don't want to. If you ain't feeling it, you ain't doing it."
This is uttered by a musician. OF COURSE! Musicians, not necessarily stars, are different from the rank and file, it's a secret society, with different mores. You see it's about playing and getting high and inside jokes and late nights and friends... You think you'll be privy to this if you get backstage, but you won't. You've got to be on the bus. First and foremost they've got to trust you, and they know better than to trust anyone, but... Forget running a corporation, imagine doing work that you love, and only doing work you love...doesn't that sound great? As long as you've got enough money to get along?
So ultimately, there emerges a dichotomy... Do you do what's expedient or do you do what you feel.
Now the truth is everybody in America has short-term thinking. Not only the reality TV stars, but the corporate executives and the elected officials. People will do whatever they're told for fame and money. But later..? All those Republican congresspeople believing in the Big Lie... Funny, now Liz Cheney is a household name, her sins of the past have been wiped away, solely because she stood up for what's right. She's the new Colin Kaepernick! (No, don't take that too far, but you get the point, suddenly everybody knows their names because they stood up for their beliefs.)
So the book is littered with real companies, real situations, like Opal signing a deal with Sire.
But really "Opal & Nev" is about the people. The record business is secondary to the story, even though the story is told through the record business, it never wavers.
So, should you read "Opal & Nev"?
Well, I didn't absolutely love it. But I enjoyed reading it.
But I loved how the author, Dawnie Walton, wove truth into fiction, getting the past right. And also wasn't worried about angering anybody. That's another point about artists. They do what they feel inside, employ their inner tuning fork. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, and sometimes your best work is ignored and then is exalted decades later. So, you've got references to Trump, and you've got the issues of Black people but you definitely don't feel you're lectured to, these points are integral, hell, talk to Black people, they're Black 24/7!
As you can tell from the above, this ain't your regular music book.
But I try to only recommend slam dunk stuff.
This isn't quite a Steph Curry three-pointer from half-court, then again you need five players to win a basketball game. And all of those players are in this book. Hell, forget reading all the passing b.s. from people who can't write, the rock news, and read "Opal & Nev," you'll learn much more about the essence of the music business. And you'll start to wonder about your path, your choices. Novels are supposed to inspire, you're not supposed to just be able to read 'em and instantly forget 'em. You won't forget "Opal & Nev." As a matter of fact, you'll be mad that it doesn't continue, you want to know more of what happens to these people. And you also want to know more about their history and motivation, even though so much is delineated. That's the essence of a great rock musician, they leave the fan wanting more. I want more of what "Opal & Nev" is selling instead of today's two-dimensional music business where cash is the only consideration.
So, I think you now know enough to know whether "Opal & Nev" is for you.
But if you do read it, you'll be a member of a club. Right now, relatively secret, although it could become bigger, and that's what we're looking for most, a place that resonates with us, where we belong. Good books deliver this. "Opal & Nev" does.
It's hard to write a rock and roll novel. First and foremost because most fans don't read. Second, if they do, they want nonfiction, they want to dig deeper into the histories of the stars. Most of those books are awfully written. To the point where you wonder if they were even edited at all. Out of sequence, grammar and spelling mistakes...yes, even when a major publisher is involved!
As for the independently published books... It's too cheap to do that. So it's just like Spotify, there are the hits and then...every boomer who can no longer work in the music industry has written a book, and then you've got the youngsters writing a guidebook to try and get ahead, but they all share one thing in common...THEY SUCK! Because writing is a skill. You can have such an incredible story that the writing is secondary, like "Educated," but Tara Westover is a better writer than everybody referenced above! As for rock writers... Like the critic in this book, they focus on taking notes, getting down the facts, leaving the feel absent, and the feel is what it's all about. The book must be so well written, so inviting, that the subject is secondary. Having said all that, you should read Rob Sheffield's "Love Is a Mix Tape"... The story is engrossing and the writing is intimate and more than adequate...unfortunately, sans such a great story, Sheffield has not been able to reach this peak again.
So...
Not a single person in the music industry has reached out to me about this book. NOT ONE! I reach six figures of people and there's absolutely no buzz. Then again, is that the modern era, is there only buzz in your own, maybe tiny, niche, and then almost everything stops there, to grow is nearly impossible?
Yet, "Opal & Nev" has gotten stellar reviews, and Curtis Sittenfeld, whose work I admire, has said it's one of the two best books of the year, but...you just can't feel it. Then again, unless they've got famous names attached, books tend to take a while to percolate in the marketplace, so maybe "Opal & Nev" still might reach a wider audience.
So is this the best rock novel ever written? Well, that's not a very high bar... Yes, you've got Nick Hornby's "High Fidelity," but that's a story set in a record shop, the music is secondary, but it's not in "Opal & Nev."
Now if it were a couple more decades down the line, youngsters would read "Opal & Nev" and mistake it for truth. As a matter of fact, the only elements untrue in this book are those attached to Opal & Nev, everything else is rock and roll fact. So, if you lived through the era, you'll live through it again. All those events, all those references that you think only you know, they're in this book.
So Opal & Nev make music in the early seventies.
Let's be clear, this is after the Beatles, the entire British Invasion, FM rock radio was already established. These are the big money years.
Nev comes from the U.K., and his history is well told.
Opal is African-American and she comes from Chicago, and her background is put forth too.
And then Nev rescues Opal from obscurity and...
Nothing happens.
But then it does.
What today's wankers who think they're entitled to get paid beaucoup bucks on Spotify don't realize is back in the so-called "golden years," most acts did not make it. They soon went back to civilian life. As for signing cash? It went into the production of the record, living expenses at the time and...you probably didn't even net enough to buy a car. And if the record didn't start to fly, they dropped you. Sure, Warner Brothers was famous for giving you multiple chances, but most acts did not get one and were not successful.
But then comes the Rivington Showcase... One event can change the course of history, both public and personal.
So the music business was built by individuals on a lark. Those with rough edges, nearly criminals, who were forces of nature who got things done. Now it's mostly corporate, but back then...there were colorful characters.
As is Howie Kelly, the head of Rivington Records.
And Rosemary Salducci is his secretary/receptionist, back when you could still use the s-word, but she's so much more than that. Entrepreneurs have gatekeepers, usually of long tenure, you may think they're secretaries, but they're powerful people.
Bob Hize is the guy who ankles his major label gig to work for Rivington, so he has a chance to produce. You've got to believe in yourself. But that's not enough to make you successful. Even back then... Opal & Nev's album is released, and they have trouble getting gigs. Now it's the reverse, you prove you can get the gigs and then you might get a record deal.
So, the book is a fake oral history. But unlike too many oral histories, which are unreadable, it's not one sentence at a time, the interview statements are lengthy, so it reads like a book.
So, Sunny is writing a book about Opal & Nev. She's got history through her father...I'll leave it at that.
Sunny is also the first African-American editor of "Aural," which represents "Rolling Stone," even though "Rolling Stone" is a competitor in this book.
So, Sunny does her interviews and then adds her editor's notes and...
At first it's like one of those rock bios, only much better written. You're getting the backstory. But then, about halfway through, you realize "Opal & Nev" is a real book with a real story, themes bigger than rock stardom. And throughout there is wisdom, like:
"But my personal definition of success is that you don't do a goddamn thing you don't want to. If you ain't feeling it, you ain't doing it."
This is uttered by a musician. OF COURSE! Musicians, not necessarily stars, are different from the rank and file, it's a secret society, with different mores. You see it's about playing and getting high and inside jokes and late nights and friends... You think you'll be privy to this if you get backstage, but you won't. You've got to be on the bus. First and foremost they've got to trust you, and they know better than to trust anyone, but... Forget running a corporation, imagine doing work that you love, and only doing work you love...doesn't that sound great? As long as you've got enough money to get along?
So ultimately, there emerges a dichotomy... Do you do what's expedient or do you do what you feel.
Now the truth is everybody in America has short-term thinking. Not only the reality TV stars, but the corporate executives and the elected officials. People will do whatever they're told for fame and money. But later..? All those Republican congresspeople believing in the Big Lie... Funny, now Liz Cheney is a household name, her sins of the past have been wiped away, solely because she stood up for what's right. She's the new Colin Kaepernick! (No, don't take that too far, but you get the point, suddenly everybody knows their names because they stood up for their beliefs.)
So the book is littered with real companies, real situations, like Opal signing a deal with Sire.
But really "Opal & Nev" is about the people. The record business is secondary to the story, even though the story is told through the record business, it never wavers.
So, should you read "Opal & Nev"?
Well, I didn't absolutely love it. But I enjoyed reading it.
But I loved how the author, Dawnie Walton, wove truth into fiction, getting the past right. And also wasn't worried about angering anybody. That's another point about artists. They do what they feel inside, employ their inner tuning fork. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, and sometimes your best work is ignored and then is exalted decades later. So, you've got references to Trump, and you've got the issues of Black people but you definitely don't feel you're lectured to, these points are integral, hell, talk to Black people, they're Black 24/7!
As you can tell from the above, this ain't your regular music book.
But I try to only recommend slam dunk stuff.
This isn't quite a Steph Curry three-pointer from half-court, then again you need five players to win a basketball game. And all of those players are in this book. Hell, forget reading all the passing b.s. from people who can't write, the rock news, and read "Opal & Nev," you'll learn much more about the essence of the music business. And you'll start to wonder about your path, your choices. Novels are supposed to inspire, you're not supposed to just be able to read 'em and instantly forget 'em. You won't forget "Opal & Nev." As a matter of fact, you'll be mad that it doesn't continue, you want to know more of what happens to these people. And you also want to know more about their history and motivation, even though so much is delineated. That's the essence of a great rock musician, they leave the fan wanting more. I want more of what "Opal & Nev" is selling instead of today's two-dimensional music business where cash is the only consideration.
So, I think you now know enough to know whether "Opal & Nev" is for you.
But if you do read it, you'll be a member of a club. Right now, relatively secret, although it could become bigger, and that's what we're looking for most, a place that resonates with us, where we belong. Good books deliver this. "Opal & Nev" does.
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Dexter Holland-This Week's Podcast
Dexter Holland is the lead singer and songwriter for the Offspring. We discuss his upbringing in Orange County, the formation of the band, his education, his Ph.D., his reaction to the band's "overnight" success with "Come Out and Play," label deals, his hot sauce, his plane and...
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/id1316200737
https://www.amazon.com/The-Bob-Lefsetz-Podcast/dp/B08JJV3D1Q/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=bob+lefsetz+podcast&qid=1620930343&s=audible&sr=1-1
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7iss72bI7THSDbX0c0E7aW?si=QYKwV3qVR8u2smc4v7UsLA
https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast
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https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/id1316200737
https://www.amazon.com/The-Bob-Lefsetz-Podcast/dp/B08JJV3D1Q/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=bob+lefsetz+podcast&qid=1620930343&s=audible&sr=1-1
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7iss72bI7THSDbX0c0E7aW?si=QYKwV3qVR8u2smc4v7UsLA
https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast
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Tuesday 11 May 2021
Personality
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/33xYSLe
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3ojVVYt
Some songs you just know.
And I don't know how I know this one. But I've never forgotten its chorus. That's a hook!
It's hard to believe, but prior to the consolidation of the Warner, Elektra and Atlantic labels, music was a free-for-all. As in there were a zillion labels, you'd buy a single and discover a new one, you knew them by their logos, you'd watch them spinning around on your record player.
Actually, after the Beatles, when the British Invasion began, and then free-form FM radio in '67, with album rock, the consolidation started, but before that...
My mother got a Falcon in the early sixties, a '60. My dad bought it used, only after he brought it home did he learn that it had been a Hertz rental car, which was a no-no, this was back when turning back the odometer was de rigueur, never mind having a zillion people drive the automobile.
Before that...
My mother drove this monstrous green Chevy, I think it was a '52. I can picture it in my mind, but this was before I became car addicted in the late sixties, when I turned the pages of car magazines and memorized the images and facts. Did your car have a Hurst shifter? And what exactly where headers anyway? But the image...you could tell all the cars apart, back when they used to redo them every year and every one looked different.
My father drove Chrysler, Plymouth and Dodge station wagons. I remember one orange and white, another blue. Word was that Chrysler products were the best engineered, and my father was trained as an engineer, but all those cars were dogs, one caught fire on the way home from the dealership.
But where I heard "Personality" I cannot tell you.
That Falcon? It had a radio without push buttons. And it would stay on even if the car was off. You had to make sure to turn it off or the battery would die.
That old Chevy? I don't even remember it having a radio, although I do remember standing up in the front seat for the drive to Penfield Beach. My mother loved the beach, we used to go every day during the summer. You had a sticker on the car, you could get one if you lived in town, if you didn't...you got one per car, and someone would always scrounge one up for friends in Trumbull, other towns without seashore.
And the Chrysler products? The radio push buttons were long thin slivers. Took me years until I realized you pulled them out to set them, and did and made my father go berserk, which was not that hard, but this was before then.
As for radio at home... We almost never listened to it. We had a slew of transistors, if there was a big news event my mom might turn it on, otherwise we just listened to the radio in the car. That's where I must have heard "Personality."
Or maybe it was at the pavilion, where we bought our hot dogs and french fries at the beach. Or maybe from someone's transistor on a blanket on the sand. It was a hit back in '59, I was only 6 years old, I don't remember much from that era, but I do remember "Personality."
Lloyd Price just died. And his hits were so long ago, most of the world just shrugged. Yes, the younger generations are notorious for not caring about the past. And to tell you the truth, I knew the name but I couldn't place the songs either, until I read the obits.
Turns out Price was from New Orleans, labels went down there to capture the sound. "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" came out on Specialty, and became a rock staple. Scratch an English rocker, and not only do they know the song, they've covered it! Joe Cocker most famously in my mind.
And then there was Price's version of "Stagger Lee"...
"Lawdy Miss Clawdy" was released in '52, before I was born!
"Stagger Lee" in '58, but that's not when I cottoned to it, I think it was a later version a decade or so later.
As for "Personality"...
There were so many covers... I just listened to contemporaneous ones.
Maybe my mother played the Anthony Newley one, she was a big fan of musical theatre. But no, that wasn't the one.
Pat Boone? Well, his wasn't really a hit.
Patti Page? Definitely not.
No, the one I remembered was the Lloyd Price original.
"Over and over
I tried to prove my love to you
Over and over
What more can I do"
These lines are not that memorable, nor are those that follow them:
"Over and over
My friend says I'm a fool
But over and over
I'll be a fool for you"
It's a swinging band, even with a splashy horn, the groove is clear, it's almost something Billy Crystal would make fun of. But THEN!
"Cause you got personality
Walk (with personality)
Talk (with personality)
Smile (with personality)
Charm (with personality)
Love (with personality)
And plus you've got
A great big heart"
Personality...that's what mothers said was important to their not so good-looking kids. Yes, sometime, usually starts in junior high, looks become important. And you look into the mirror and you ain't got 'em. And in the back of your mind you try to amplify your mom's voice.
Now the truth is today's men want to get rich to get some eye candy on their arm, they think it's the most important thing. But do you really want to marry an uneducated model? What are you gonna talk about?
But the girls...they know personality is important, that it trumps looks, at least once they reach their twenties, if not before.
Personality, in this looks-based world, you never hear any discussion of this. Why did this happen? Was it MTV, requiring everybody to be good-looking to get traction? Is it today's social media?
But...
There are certain people who just glow, that you want to be around, because of their personality, you smile when you think about hanging with them.
And the truth is personality shines. Irrelevant of looks. With the right personality it doesn't matter what you look like, not that those with said personality realize this, but personality is what we truly desire. Someone to get the conversation started, to lead us where we're afraid to go, to enrich our lives.
As a matter of fact the only musical artists with personality today are the rappers. The statements, the shenanigans, that's half of the attraction, the music is just part of the package. Rockers used to fill this role, before they all became focused on their outfits and stage presentation. We're interested in your identity, we're even more interested in what's under the skin, how you think, how you talk, how you act, how you light up a room...PERSONALITY!
Lloyd Price was just not the face of the song, he co-wrote "Personality." And this one song would be enough to retire on if...he retained ownership. I don't know if he did, he was a serial entrepreneur, did he need the cash, or did he just like coming up with ideas and executing them? And the truth is back then musicians were entrepreneurs, you couldn't survive on record royalties, the records were just a key to fame, leading to gigs and sponsorships and...it was nearly cottage industry. That's when all the excitement comes, when a business is new, full of renegades pushing the envelope, before consolidation. When it's got personality.
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YouTube: https://bit.ly/3ojVVYt
Some songs you just know.
And I don't know how I know this one. But I've never forgotten its chorus. That's a hook!
It's hard to believe, but prior to the consolidation of the Warner, Elektra and Atlantic labels, music was a free-for-all. As in there were a zillion labels, you'd buy a single and discover a new one, you knew them by their logos, you'd watch them spinning around on your record player.
Actually, after the Beatles, when the British Invasion began, and then free-form FM radio in '67, with album rock, the consolidation started, but before that...
My mother got a Falcon in the early sixties, a '60. My dad bought it used, only after he brought it home did he learn that it had been a Hertz rental car, which was a no-no, this was back when turning back the odometer was de rigueur, never mind having a zillion people drive the automobile.
Before that...
My mother drove this monstrous green Chevy, I think it was a '52. I can picture it in my mind, but this was before I became car addicted in the late sixties, when I turned the pages of car magazines and memorized the images and facts. Did your car have a Hurst shifter? And what exactly where headers anyway? But the image...you could tell all the cars apart, back when they used to redo them every year and every one looked different.
My father drove Chrysler, Plymouth and Dodge station wagons. I remember one orange and white, another blue. Word was that Chrysler products were the best engineered, and my father was trained as an engineer, but all those cars were dogs, one caught fire on the way home from the dealership.
But where I heard "Personality" I cannot tell you.
That Falcon? It had a radio without push buttons. And it would stay on even if the car was off. You had to make sure to turn it off or the battery would die.
That old Chevy? I don't even remember it having a radio, although I do remember standing up in the front seat for the drive to Penfield Beach. My mother loved the beach, we used to go every day during the summer. You had a sticker on the car, you could get one if you lived in town, if you didn't...you got one per car, and someone would always scrounge one up for friends in Trumbull, other towns without seashore.
And the Chrysler products? The radio push buttons were long thin slivers. Took me years until I realized you pulled them out to set them, and did and made my father go berserk, which was not that hard, but this was before then.
As for radio at home... We almost never listened to it. We had a slew of transistors, if there was a big news event my mom might turn it on, otherwise we just listened to the radio in the car. That's where I must have heard "Personality."
Or maybe it was at the pavilion, where we bought our hot dogs and french fries at the beach. Or maybe from someone's transistor on a blanket on the sand. It was a hit back in '59, I was only 6 years old, I don't remember much from that era, but I do remember "Personality."
Lloyd Price just died. And his hits were so long ago, most of the world just shrugged. Yes, the younger generations are notorious for not caring about the past. And to tell you the truth, I knew the name but I couldn't place the songs either, until I read the obits.
Turns out Price was from New Orleans, labels went down there to capture the sound. "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" came out on Specialty, and became a rock staple. Scratch an English rocker, and not only do they know the song, they've covered it! Joe Cocker most famously in my mind.
And then there was Price's version of "Stagger Lee"...
"Lawdy Miss Clawdy" was released in '52, before I was born!
"Stagger Lee" in '58, but that's not when I cottoned to it, I think it was a later version a decade or so later.
As for "Personality"...
There were so many covers... I just listened to contemporaneous ones.
Maybe my mother played the Anthony Newley one, she was a big fan of musical theatre. But no, that wasn't the one.
Pat Boone? Well, his wasn't really a hit.
Patti Page? Definitely not.
No, the one I remembered was the Lloyd Price original.
"Over and over
I tried to prove my love to you
Over and over
What more can I do"
These lines are not that memorable, nor are those that follow them:
"Over and over
My friend says I'm a fool
But over and over
I'll be a fool for you"
It's a swinging band, even with a splashy horn, the groove is clear, it's almost something Billy Crystal would make fun of. But THEN!
"Cause you got personality
Walk (with personality)
Talk (with personality)
Smile (with personality)
Charm (with personality)
Love (with personality)
And plus you've got
A great big heart"
Personality...that's what mothers said was important to their not so good-looking kids. Yes, sometime, usually starts in junior high, looks become important. And you look into the mirror and you ain't got 'em. And in the back of your mind you try to amplify your mom's voice.
Now the truth is today's men want to get rich to get some eye candy on their arm, they think it's the most important thing. But do you really want to marry an uneducated model? What are you gonna talk about?
But the girls...they know personality is important, that it trumps looks, at least once they reach their twenties, if not before.
Personality, in this looks-based world, you never hear any discussion of this. Why did this happen? Was it MTV, requiring everybody to be good-looking to get traction? Is it today's social media?
But...
There are certain people who just glow, that you want to be around, because of their personality, you smile when you think about hanging with them.
And the truth is personality shines. Irrelevant of looks. With the right personality it doesn't matter what you look like, not that those with said personality realize this, but personality is what we truly desire. Someone to get the conversation started, to lead us where we're afraid to go, to enrich our lives.
As a matter of fact the only musical artists with personality today are the rappers. The statements, the shenanigans, that's half of the attraction, the music is just part of the package. Rockers used to fill this role, before they all became focused on their outfits and stage presentation. We're interested in your identity, we're even more interested in what's under the skin, how you think, how you talk, how you act, how you light up a room...PERSONALITY!
Lloyd Price was just not the face of the song, he co-wrote "Personality." And this one song would be enough to retire on if...he retained ownership. I don't know if he did, he was a serial entrepreneur, did he need the cash, or did he just like coming up with ideas and executing them? And the truth is back then musicians were entrepreneurs, you couldn't survive on record royalties, the records were just a key to fame, leading to gigs and sponsorships and...it was nearly cottage industry. That's when all the excitement comes, when a business is new, full of renegades pushing the envelope, before consolidation. When it's got personality.
--
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--
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-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Monday 10 May 2021
Get Together
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3tJVvf3
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3eyGqbC
This is a HIT!
"It's 12:45
Got your body on my mind
And in fifteen minutes
You might be the one
For the night"
You can see it, you can feel it!
Come on, you're in the club, you're sweating, maybe taking a breather at the bar and you see her across the room...
"When we get, when we get, get, get together"
Isn't that what it's all about? Getting together? After all, we're just animals, driven by sex, just ask Jeff Bezos.
Baby boomers might not realize that the mores of the sixties and seventies are history, women can and do make the first move now, they feel empowered, they know what they want and nothing is going to prevent them from getting it!
I can't say I check out every new David Guetta tune. But it was atop this playlist a guy sends me every week and usually it takes me just a matter of minutes to listen to the twenty-odd tracks, I'm skipping through the dreck, some of it even famous, but I let "Get Together" slip, and suddenly I realized that my body was moving, I WAS INTO IT!
You can like AC/DC. You can like Joni Mitchell. You can even like Social Distortion. AND YOU CAN STILL LIKE THIS!
That's one of the breakthroughs of Madonna, she taught us that pop wasn't always anathema.
Then again, today's pop? When Justin Bieber's inane "Peaches" is number one it's hard not to lose faith in the music business and today's youth. But "Get Together"?
"Peaches" is number two worldwide, but it is slipping in the U.S., and "Get Together" is...NOWHERE!
Well, not completely, it does have a million and a half streams on Spotify in only four days, YouTube is pulling up the rear, it's got 224,546 views, proving once again that YouTube has been superseded as the world's primary music site, and it skews young, for the prepubescent, those still in school, those whose parents are afraid they might run up charges and want them nowhere near their credit cards.
So, maybe "Get Together" will stall, won't become a worldwide hit, then again in Ibiza, in clubs...assuming they open this summer, this is not molly mindlessness, anybody can get and appreciate it.
Have you been to Ibiza, have you been to a dance club, one thing is for sure, you'll realize there's something happening there, you can either reject it outright, afraid of stretching to experience the new and different, too invested in who you are to open your horizons, or you could stay and survey the landscape...you'll desire nothing so much as to be involved. You might think yourself too old, you might not be able to take the leap, but there's no denying this group of people is having FUN! You remember fun, don't you? And this ain't a concert, with all that pushing needing security to keep order, everybody's friendly and nice.
"There's only one thing you can't forget
You've got only one life
This is one night
And you'll never see her again"
God, we've been dead, this virus has killed us emotionally if not physically, we've been so focused on politics, we've forgotten what it's like to let our senses lead us, which is what music specializes in, it puts intellect in the back seat and you flow with the sound, lifting your mood.
As for not seeing her ever again... That may not be true, this could be a one night affair, but the reason you go out is because...you never know who you'll run into, tonight could truly be the first night of the rest of your life, just ask the aforementioned boomers, who were in the marketplace before the internet, when you just couldn't dial up a date.
And the truth is "Get Together" is reminiscent of C+C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)," which is now a sports staple, it's how you rev up the room, just like "Get Together" does, it raises the energy in the room instantly. And sure, it's derivative, but not completely...
I needed to check myself. I listened to a bunch of similar tracks. I was surprised how good many of them were, Saweetie's "Fast (Motion)" was very listenable, Cheat Codes' "Lean on Me" even more, but they still came up shy to "Get Together," because of the HOOK!
Oh, like most of today's numbers, "Get Together" is laden with hooks, but there's this one hook that grabs you, that appeals to your heart as opposed to your body and draws you right in. It's undeniable:
"It's 12:45
Got your body on my mind
And in fifteen minutes
You might be the one
For the night
But my number you can call
And the writing's on the wall
Yeah, yeah
When we get, when we get, get, get together"
It's the twist after the big hill of the roller coaster, it's the invitation, the green light, it's so sensual, without being completely mindless, you hear it and you've got to hear it again, because it feels so good!
That's one of the things missing from today's music. It's one chord, without changes, but this twist in "Get Together"...and then the explosion...
"When we get, when we get, get, get together"
You've seen her, she's more than a body, she's got a personality, she's inviting you, she wants you to...GET TOGETHER!
"It's time I close my eyes
I see your skin on mine
When we get, get, get together
Yeah
When we get, get, GET TOGETHER!"
--
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--
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-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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YouTube: https://bit.ly/3eyGqbC
This is a HIT!
"It's 12:45
Got your body on my mind
And in fifteen minutes
You might be the one
For the night"
You can see it, you can feel it!
Come on, you're in the club, you're sweating, maybe taking a breather at the bar and you see her across the room...
"When we get, when we get, get, get together"
Isn't that what it's all about? Getting together? After all, we're just animals, driven by sex, just ask Jeff Bezos.
Baby boomers might not realize that the mores of the sixties and seventies are history, women can and do make the first move now, they feel empowered, they know what they want and nothing is going to prevent them from getting it!
I can't say I check out every new David Guetta tune. But it was atop this playlist a guy sends me every week and usually it takes me just a matter of minutes to listen to the twenty-odd tracks, I'm skipping through the dreck, some of it even famous, but I let "Get Together" slip, and suddenly I realized that my body was moving, I WAS INTO IT!
You can like AC/DC. You can like Joni Mitchell. You can even like Social Distortion. AND YOU CAN STILL LIKE THIS!
That's one of the breakthroughs of Madonna, she taught us that pop wasn't always anathema.
Then again, today's pop? When Justin Bieber's inane "Peaches" is number one it's hard not to lose faith in the music business and today's youth. But "Get Together"?
"Peaches" is number two worldwide, but it is slipping in the U.S., and "Get Together" is...NOWHERE!
Well, not completely, it does have a million and a half streams on Spotify in only four days, YouTube is pulling up the rear, it's got 224,546 views, proving once again that YouTube has been superseded as the world's primary music site, and it skews young, for the prepubescent, those still in school, those whose parents are afraid they might run up charges and want them nowhere near their credit cards.
So, maybe "Get Together" will stall, won't become a worldwide hit, then again in Ibiza, in clubs...assuming they open this summer, this is not molly mindlessness, anybody can get and appreciate it.
Have you been to Ibiza, have you been to a dance club, one thing is for sure, you'll realize there's something happening there, you can either reject it outright, afraid of stretching to experience the new and different, too invested in who you are to open your horizons, or you could stay and survey the landscape...you'll desire nothing so much as to be involved. You might think yourself too old, you might not be able to take the leap, but there's no denying this group of people is having FUN! You remember fun, don't you? And this ain't a concert, with all that pushing needing security to keep order, everybody's friendly and nice.
"There's only one thing you can't forget
You've got only one life
This is one night
And you'll never see her again"
God, we've been dead, this virus has killed us emotionally if not physically, we've been so focused on politics, we've forgotten what it's like to let our senses lead us, which is what music specializes in, it puts intellect in the back seat and you flow with the sound, lifting your mood.
As for not seeing her ever again... That may not be true, this could be a one night affair, but the reason you go out is because...you never know who you'll run into, tonight could truly be the first night of the rest of your life, just ask the aforementioned boomers, who were in the marketplace before the internet, when you just couldn't dial up a date.
And the truth is "Get Together" is reminiscent of C+C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)," which is now a sports staple, it's how you rev up the room, just like "Get Together" does, it raises the energy in the room instantly. And sure, it's derivative, but not completely...
I needed to check myself. I listened to a bunch of similar tracks. I was surprised how good many of them were, Saweetie's "Fast (Motion)" was very listenable, Cheat Codes' "Lean on Me" even more, but they still came up shy to "Get Together," because of the HOOK!
Oh, like most of today's numbers, "Get Together" is laden with hooks, but there's this one hook that grabs you, that appeals to your heart as opposed to your body and draws you right in. It's undeniable:
"It's 12:45
Got your body on my mind
And in fifteen minutes
You might be the one
For the night
But my number you can call
And the writing's on the wall
Yeah, yeah
When we get, when we get, get, get together"
It's the twist after the big hill of the roller coaster, it's the invitation, the green light, it's so sensual, without being completely mindless, you hear it and you've got to hear it again, because it feels so good!
That's one of the things missing from today's music. It's one chord, without changes, but this twist in "Get Together"...and then the explosion...
"When we get, when we get, get, get together"
You've seen her, she's more than a body, she's got a personality, she's inviting you, she wants you to...GET TOGETHER!
"It's time I close my eyes
I see your skin on mine
When we get, get, get together
Yeah
When we get, get, GET TOGETHER!"
--
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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Mailbag
From: John Brodey
Subject: Re: Re-The Frank Zappa Movie
I can't wait to see it. He was the only artist I ever interviewed who truly intimated me and I was very anxious about it. He was going to come to the station on my show (6-10 pm) and I had no idea what would happen. He was obviously was a deep thinker and didn't suffer fools period. He might stay or five minutes or not at all. How not to screw it up?.
He got there about 8 and all I could think of was to try something different. He said he might stay for a few minutes and I just wondered how I could change his mind, so I said; How about if you do my job. You be the DJ. You can play any of the 10,000 records in our library and we'll just talk. He went to look at the records and seeing the array of genres including classical, he then asked me if he could play anything and I said, of course (He couldn't believe we had a Moon Dog album). The he asked if I liked real wine, I said; I've never tried it. He gave his tour manager $300 (more than my weekly salary) to go out and locate three very specific classic Bordeaux's.
And we got cracking, drinking, talking and playing music for 3 hours. I didn't worry about the time because it was Frank Fucking Zappa and I wasn't about to say that we were out of time. We went over into the next guy's show for an hour.
He softened up a bit and it just clicked. Then he was done. But I got to see exactly how Frank Zappa would have done radio and it wasn't like anything else.
__________________________________________
Subject: Re: More TikTok
A great listen and lesson. I saw the power of these TikTok stars first hand at the 2020 Grammys. I brought my son (12 at the time) and niece (13) thinking they'd have a blast and it was my last year as a Trustee, so a nice way to go out. They had fun and got to meet a number of artists, but what blew their minds had nothing to do with the Grammys. In our hotel, they ran into Charlie D' Amelio and both just freaked out. All the music artists I'd introduced them to and they didn't ask for one pic. With Charli, it was all about getting pics with her and posting away. Mind you, at this point I had no idea who she was. I chatted it up with her dad for a bit and got the scoop. She couldn't have been nicer. The only "rule" was that the kids couldn't post where they were, because it would create a frenzy and the hotel would turn into a sea of screaming fans.
Richard Stumpf
CEO
Hawkeye Music Group
__________________________________________
From: Wade Mosher
Subject: Re: Brad Stone's New Amazon Book
The billionaire class, especially the likes of Bezos, need to be stopped. It's incomprehensible that this not only has been allowed to happen globally, but that it continues to happen and grow. People would rather follow the Divide and Conquer doctrine, Left vs. Right. Bezos and his kind are almost always absent from those online conversations.
I haven't ordered a single thing from Amazon in years; I'm not wealthy by any stretch, but I'll pay a little more and wait a little longer just to avoid using Amazon. Of course, I realize I'm still lining the pockets of other billionaires by doing that.
Here's a story about the last thing I did order from Amazon...
I was looking for a niche 'part', found it on Amazon and I accidentally ordered the wrong size. So, when it arrived, I realized that and sent a quick email to the 3rd party seller asking if there was a way to retro fit what I stupidly bought or if I could do a swap of some kind, admitting fully my dumb mistake. I'm in Canada, and the owner of the company called me within FIVE minutes in a panic. I explained again that it was my dumb mistake, no worries if he couldn't do anything about it.
He was in a panic. Once he realized I was the one apologizing, he went on to tell me the fear he goes through as a 3rd party seller on Amazon. That one tiny slipup or bad review could get him booted and that's where all of his money comes from. (It's a very small company that only makes these 'parts'.) We had a lengthy chat, and I really felt worse of an A-Hole by the end of it and told him that I'd just eat the cost. Instead, he insisted that he could send a replacement part that would work for me, free of charge. And he did just that, and I'm still using that product. Needless to say, I gave him a glowing 5 star review. He did ask me not to mention the favor he'd done in the review, which I complied with.
Big Brother is here. Let's stop pretending it's the government. Big Corp IS the government.
__________________________________________
Subject: RE: Gone Away
Hey Bob,
I feel similar to you about The Offspring, I respect what they do and am a casual fan at best. However, having grown up in Huntington Beach and have lived in Cypress for the past 20 years where most of the local taco and breakfast joints in town serve Dexter's Gringo Bandito hot sauce, it's hard not to feel The Offspring's influence and legacy in the community. West Garden Grove and Cypress are ground zero for the band and it's common to see stickers on cars, bus benches, gas stations, random walls and lots of people rocking the bands black t-shirts. I was still surprised to see you write about "Gone Away" and ironically I have been playing it non-stop for the past few weeks and really can't explain why. Maybe it's the strings? Who knows? I just know the song is resonating with me. I have taken it one step further. I announce the basketball games and play in-game music at Oxford Academy in Cypress, which means I play pop songs from MGK, Glass Animals, Polo G, Post Malone, Dua Lipa, The Kid Laroi, and 24kGolden. But I have been motivated to add "Gone Away" into the mix by starting off halftime with it, I guess I just want to share good music with people. In hindsight, I think it must be the strings.
Bill Gagnon
__________________________________________
From: Alan Johnson
Subject: Re: Extreme
I was mixing the live broadcast the day Extreme , along with Hootie and the Blowfish, Blues Traveler, Great White and a few other acts were a guests on the nationally syndicated Bob and Tom radio show.
Extreme's song "More Than Words" was climbing the charts and they refused to play it. Everyone in the room was stunned.
It's something I've given a lot of thought to over the years … good decision, bad decision, why even put it on the record if you're going to refuse to perform it?
__________________________________________
From: Phil Brown
Subject: Re: Vaccinations
My sister and I were talking about polio today. I'm 74 and she's 72 and people born after the late 40s have no idea about polio. Think you're afraid of COVID? Multiply that by one hundred and you've got polio. And multiply again by X because pretty much every school class had a kid in braces who'd sort of recovered from polio so you had a daily reminder of the horror. Every summer the disease returned in force. People born after the vaccine have no idea of the fear. Swimming pools seemed to spread it so no swimming. Anything could spread it. COVID may put you in the hospital for a while but polio put you in the hospital FOREVER. COVID long haulers? I have a friend my age who recovered from it in childhood and then in her 50s the symptoms returned.
I will never understand the anti vaxers at all. If they had lived through the polio epidemics they would get down on their knees and thank God for the vaccines. I do.
Phil Brown
__________________________________________
From: Shari Ulrich
Subject: Re: Vaccine Passports
Travellers to certain countries have been required for eons to be vaccinated for certain diseases, and if the traveller elects not to, they don't get to travel there. Pretty simple. People are being asked to get vaccinated against Covid for their own protection, their friends, their families, and strangers they may come in contact with.The exponential economic impact alone on the medical system should they become ill thanks to their determination that it's "they body" and "the man" can't tell them what to do, is staggering. Business owners, venue owners - they all have the right to create a safe space for their clients, and those clients or audience members have a right to feel safe entering. Period. As a society we have allowed personal "rights" to override any consideration for our fellow man or even our very survival. You don't get to hold this up as a "Human Rights" issue. Your right to refuse to give a crap about anyone but yourself does not get to prevail and put countless other people at risk.
__________________________________________
From: Toby Mamis
Subject: Re: Vaccine Passports
Good piece. I think even "Vaccine Verifications" is too strong. I'd go with "Vaccine ID." Like a driver's license. You are not required to have a driver's license, it's strictly voluntary. But if you want to drive, you have to have one.
It's not just Rapino and/or AEG (which reminds me, when LN launched Crew Nation providing millions of $ for out-of-work tour personnel, and the Grammy gang offered millions more $ from MusiCares to crew and musicians, what did AEG do?). It's SPORTS. The Buffalo Bills have already announced that all fans during the upcoming 2021 season will be required to show proof of vaccination to attend their games. Other teams are likely to follow suit, though teams in Florida and Texas (and possibly elsewhere) may have problems due to their state governments. And the NFL is requiring higher level employees, who interact with the teams, to be vaccinated. And the NFL is big business, with a lot of fans who may be in the non-vax camp. I think we need to watch, and maybe pressure, NASCAR, to do the same. Basketball and hockey are nearly in their playoffs, but they play indoors and might follow suit in the fall. Major League Baseball, outside of Texas, are still not at full capacity, but they all want to be. So they've got incentive as well. And thanks to the Buffalo Bills, nobody else has to be first.
__________________________________________
From: Corey Bearak
Subject: Re: Vaccine Passports
Interesting.
If you follow what's going on in NYS, Yankee Stadium and Citfield have Vaccine sections and non Vax sections. So as of May 19, 75% capacity but if no vax very limited seating options.
__________________________________________
From: Dave Conklin
Subject: Re: Vaccine Passports
Yep. Fuck 'em. Bring on the MAGA-free shows. Can't wait to hear how ticketed events have anything to do with their constitutional rights.
Because of the seasonal timing, we're going to see events open up in the outdoor venues first, where the atmosphere is inherently safer. Later this month, the two NY baseball stadiums are opening 100% capacity in designated "vaccinated" sections. If you're unvaccinated, you're in pod seating, 33% capacity. You think these teams want to sell 33% capacity sections instead of 100%? Prices have been low thus far because all the seating was pod style. Moving forward, I expect the unvaxxed seats to cost more. At Citi Field, they're offering on-site single shot J&J on the way into the games! Ok, fine, push push push. But at a certain point, soon, we're going to max out on converting hearts and minds. All we'll have left is making it inconvenient. Live events, cruise lines and air travel. I'm already over the bribes, the freebies and the bonuses. If you don't want the shot, we get it - we heard your solopsistic decree of indepedence, now fuck off. The rest of us have some living to do.
__________________________________________
Subject: Re: Vaccine Passports
Venues should install glass walls and have that 25% portion of the venue be available for 'socially distanced unvaccinated tickets'
The genera population vaccinated pays $50 and the behind the glass wall 'tradesman entrance' ticket costs $250. I would bet my bottom dollar that the 'not me' contingent would all rush out and get the 'free shot' all of a sudden.
If it's financial and not political, we would be at herd in two seconds haha!
Loved this letter - best yet.
Paul Clegg
__________________________________________
From: lizzz kritzer
Subject: Re: Vaccine Passports
Bob, I live in the Hamptons and my friends sister died today from Covid, she lived up island, around Hampton Bays, still Suffolk county. Anti Vaxer/Trumpsters. This isn't over. She was in her 50's.
__________________________________________
Subject: Re: Vaccine Passports
I got my first shot today.
Thank you for helping me make my decision and my heart goes out to you this day
Your first one without your Mom . . .
My prayers are with you towards your continued good health.
Mark Flores
Guitar
Subject: Re: Re-The Frank Zappa Movie
I can't wait to see it. He was the only artist I ever interviewed who truly intimated me and I was very anxious about it. He was going to come to the station on my show (6-10 pm) and I had no idea what would happen. He was obviously was a deep thinker and didn't suffer fools period. He might stay or five minutes or not at all. How not to screw it up?.
He got there about 8 and all I could think of was to try something different. He said he might stay for a few minutes and I just wondered how I could change his mind, so I said; How about if you do my job. You be the DJ. You can play any of the 10,000 records in our library and we'll just talk. He went to look at the records and seeing the array of genres including classical, he then asked me if he could play anything and I said, of course (He couldn't believe we had a Moon Dog album). The he asked if I liked real wine, I said; I've never tried it. He gave his tour manager $300 (more than my weekly salary) to go out and locate three very specific classic Bordeaux's.
And we got cracking, drinking, talking and playing music for 3 hours. I didn't worry about the time because it was Frank Fucking Zappa and I wasn't about to say that we were out of time. We went over into the next guy's show for an hour.
He softened up a bit and it just clicked. Then he was done. But I got to see exactly how Frank Zappa would have done radio and it wasn't like anything else.
__________________________________________
Subject: Re: More TikTok
A great listen and lesson. I saw the power of these TikTok stars first hand at the 2020 Grammys. I brought my son (12 at the time) and niece (13) thinking they'd have a blast and it was my last year as a Trustee, so a nice way to go out. They had fun and got to meet a number of artists, but what blew their minds had nothing to do with the Grammys. In our hotel, they ran into Charlie D' Amelio and both just freaked out. All the music artists I'd introduced them to and they didn't ask for one pic. With Charli, it was all about getting pics with her and posting away. Mind you, at this point I had no idea who she was. I chatted it up with her dad for a bit and got the scoop. She couldn't have been nicer. The only "rule" was that the kids couldn't post where they were, because it would create a frenzy and the hotel would turn into a sea of screaming fans.
Richard Stumpf
CEO
Hawkeye Music Group
__________________________________________
From: Wade Mosher
Subject: Re: Brad Stone's New Amazon Book
The billionaire class, especially the likes of Bezos, need to be stopped. It's incomprehensible that this not only has been allowed to happen globally, but that it continues to happen and grow. People would rather follow the Divide and Conquer doctrine, Left vs. Right. Bezos and his kind are almost always absent from those online conversations.
I haven't ordered a single thing from Amazon in years; I'm not wealthy by any stretch, but I'll pay a little more and wait a little longer just to avoid using Amazon. Of course, I realize I'm still lining the pockets of other billionaires by doing that.
Here's a story about the last thing I did order from Amazon...
I was looking for a niche 'part', found it on Amazon and I accidentally ordered the wrong size. So, when it arrived, I realized that and sent a quick email to the 3rd party seller asking if there was a way to retro fit what I stupidly bought or if I could do a swap of some kind, admitting fully my dumb mistake. I'm in Canada, and the owner of the company called me within FIVE minutes in a panic. I explained again that it was my dumb mistake, no worries if he couldn't do anything about it.
He was in a panic. Once he realized I was the one apologizing, he went on to tell me the fear he goes through as a 3rd party seller on Amazon. That one tiny slipup or bad review could get him booted and that's where all of his money comes from. (It's a very small company that only makes these 'parts'.) We had a lengthy chat, and I really felt worse of an A-Hole by the end of it and told him that I'd just eat the cost. Instead, he insisted that he could send a replacement part that would work for me, free of charge. And he did just that, and I'm still using that product. Needless to say, I gave him a glowing 5 star review. He did ask me not to mention the favor he'd done in the review, which I complied with.
Big Brother is here. Let's stop pretending it's the government. Big Corp IS the government.
__________________________________________
Subject: RE: Gone Away
Hey Bob,
I feel similar to you about The Offspring, I respect what they do and am a casual fan at best. However, having grown up in Huntington Beach and have lived in Cypress for the past 20 years where most of the local taco and breakfast joints in town serve Dexter's Gringo Bandito hot sauce, it's hard not to feel The Offspring's influence and legacy in the community. West Garden Grove and Cypress are ground zero for the band and it's common to see stickers on cars, bus benches, gas stations, random walls and lots of people rocking the bands black t-shirts. I was still surprised to see you write about "Gone Away" and ironically I have been playing it non-stop for the past few weeks and really can't explain why. Maybe it's the strings? Who knows? I just know the song is resonating with me. I have taken it one step further. I announce the basketball games and play in-game music at Oxford Academy in Cypress, which means I play pop songs from MGK, Glass Animals, Polo G, Post Malone, Dua Lipa, The Kid Laroi, and 24kGolden. But I have been motivated to add "Gone Away" into the mix by starting off halftime with it, I guess I just want to share good music with people. In hindsight, I think it must be the strings.
Bill Gagnon
__________________________________________
From: Alan Johnson
Subject: Re: Extreme
I was mixing the live broadcast the day Extreme , along with Hootie and the Blowfish, Blues Traveler, Great White and a few other acts were a guests on the nationally syndicated Bob and Tom radio show.
Extreme's song "More Than Words" was climbing the charts and they refused to play it. Everyone in the room was stunned.
It's something I've given a lot of thought to over the years … good decision, bad decision, why even put it on the record if you're going to refuse to perform it?
__________________________________________
From: Phil Brown
Subject: Re: Vaccinations
My sister and I were talking about polio today. I'm 74 and she's 72 and people born after the late 40s have no idea about polio. Think you're afraid of COVID? Multiply that by one hundred and you've got polio. And multiply again by X because pretty much every school class had a kid in braces who'd sort of recovered from polio so you had a daily reminder of the horror. Every summer the disease returned in force. People born after the vaccine have no idea of the fear. Swimming pools seemed to spread it so no swimming. Anything could spread it. COVID may put you in the hospital for a while but polio put you in the hospital FOREVER. COVID long haulers? I have a friend my age who recovered from it in childhood and then in her 50s the symptoms returned.
I will never understand the anti vaxers at all. If they had lived through the polio epidemics they would get down on their knees and thank God for the vaccines. I do.
Phil Brown
__________________________________________
From: Shari Ulrich
Subject: Re: Vaccine Passports
Travellers to certain countries have been required for eons to be vaccinated for certain diseases, and if the traveller elects not to, they don't get to travel there. Pretty simple. People are being asked to get vaccinated against Covid for their own protection, their friends, their families, and strangers they may come in contact with.The exponential economic impact alone on the medical system should they become ill thanks to their determination that it's "they body" and "the man" can't tell them what to do, is staggering. Business owners, venue owners - they all have the right to create a safe space for their clients, and those clients or audience members have a right to feel safe entering. Period. As a society we have allowed personal "rights" to override any consideration for our fellow man or even our very survival. You don't get to hold this up as a "Human Rights" issue. Your right to refuse to give a crap about anyone but yourself does not get to prevail and put countless other people at risk.
__________________________________________
From: Toby Mamis
Subject: Re: Vaccine Passports
Good piece. I think even "Vaccine Verifications" is too strong. I'd go with "Vaccine ID." Like a driver's license. You are not required to have a driver's license, it's strictly voluntary. But if you want to drive, you have to have one.
It's not just Rapino and/or AEG (which reminds me, when LN launched Crew Nation providing millions of $ for out-of-work tour personnel, and the Grammy gang offered millions more $ from MusiCares to crew and musicians, what did AEG do?). It's SPORTS. The Buffalo Bills have already announced that all fans during the upcoming 2021 season will be required to show proof of vaccination to attend their games. Other teams are likely to follow suit, though teams in Florida and Texas (and possibly elsewhere) may have problems due to their state governments. And the NFL is requiring higher level employees, who interact with the teams, to be vaccinated. And the NFL is big business, with a lot of fans who may be in the non-vax camp. I think we need to watch, and maybe pressure, NASCAR, to do the same. Basketball and hockey are nearly in their playoffs, but they play indoors and might follow suit in the fall. Major League Baseball, outside of Texas, are still not at full capacity, but they all want to be. So they've got incentive as well. And thanks to the Buffalo Bills, nobody else has to be first.
__________________________________________
From: Corey Bearak
Subject: Re: Vaccine Passports
Interesting.
If you follow what's going on in NYS, Yankee Stadium and Citfield have Vaccine sections and non Vax sections. So as of May 19, 75% capacity but if no vax very limited seating options.
__________________________________________
From: Dave Conklin
Subject: Re: Vaccine Passports
Yep. Fuck 'em. Bring on the MAGA-free shows. Can't wait to hear how ticketed events have anything to do with their constitutional rights.
Because of the seasonal timing, we're going to see events open up in the outdoor venues first, where the atmosphere is inherently safer. Later this month, the two NY baseball stadiums are opening 100% capacity in designated "vaccinated" sections. If you're unvaccinated, you're in pod seating, 33% capacity. You think these teams want to sell 33% capacity sections instead of 100%? Prices have been low thus far because all the seating was pod style. Moving forward, I expect the unvaxxed seats to cost more. At Citi Field, they're offering on-site single shot J&J on the way into the games! Ok, fine, push push push. But at a certain point, soon, we're going to max out on converting hearts and minds. All we'll have left is making it inconvenient. Live events, cruise lines and air travel. I'm already over the bribes, the freebies and the bonuses. If you don't want the shot, we get it - we heard your solopsistic decree of indepedence, now fuck off. The rest of us have some living to do.
__________________________________________
Subject: Re: Vaccine Passports
Venues should install glass walls and have that 25% portion of the venue be available for 'socially distanced unvaccinated tickets'
The genera population vaccinated pays $50 and the behind the glass wall 'tradesman entrance' ticket costs $250. I would bet my bottom dollar that the 'not me' contingent would all rush out and get the 'free shot' all of a sudden.
If it's financial and not political, we would be at herd in two seconds haha!
Loved this letter - best yet.
Paul Clegg
__________________________________________
From: lizzz kritzer
Subject: Re: Vaccine Passports
Bob, I live in the Hamptons and my friends sister died today from Covid, she lived up island, around Hampton Bays, still Suffolk county. Anti Vaxer/Trumpsters. This isn't over. She was in her 50's.
__________________________________________
Subject: Re: Vaccine Passports
I got my first shot today.
Thank you for helping me make my decision and my heart goes out to you this day
Your first one without your Mom . . .
My prayers are with you towards your continued good health.
Mark Flores
Guitar
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Hair Band Ballads-SiriusXM This Week
Tune in tomorrow, May 11th, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.
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Sunday 9 May 2021
Vaccine Passports
This is where business and law intersect, and not peacefully.
If you're following the news, and most people are not, at best they're hung up on opinions, which are a dime a dozen and often removed from the facts, you know that Norwegian Cruise Line is in a kerfuffle with the state of Florida. Ron DeSantis, the governor of the Sunshine State, who recently signed a "voting rights" law that he only allowed Fox News to cover, has also banned vaccine passports. But Norwegian wants them, because of the liability, because it doesn't want to sacrifice its business. Norwegian is threatening to pull all its ships from Florida, which 60% of all U.S. cruises embark from, and the resulting economic devastation and blowback from hoteliers and restaurants...will be loud and proud, just like it was from these same outlets, especially restaurants, when governors insisted they close.
Now if you want to be really depressed, you should listen to Friday's "The Daily" podcast:
"Why Herd Immunity Is Slipping Away": https://bit.ly/33snFjE
As a result of covid variants, we now need 90% of the population inoculated to achieve herd immunity. The variants are more aggressive, spreading faster and further, and therefore the old figure of a year ago, of 50-60%, no longer applies. But a huge swath of the American population refuses to get the shot, most basing their decision on inaccurate fears, but there will be consequences. Not only in the lack of herd immunity, but the inability of these same people to live their lives as they want to.
If you listen to Frank Luntz on Kara Swisher's "Sway" podcast, you'll learn that he believes it's just a matter of terminology. And one must listen to the pollster who changed estate taxes to "death taxes" and so much more. Luntz says we must stop calling them vaccine PASSPORTS, because the word "passport" has such a negative connotation, most people don't have passports and don't go anywhere, and call them vaccine VERIFICATIONS!
Hmm... On the surface it sounds good. But in truth would this really change the thoughts of the reluctant?
I don't think so. But it would be worth trying.
Now the last time I checked, they called it the music BUSINESS. And even nonprofits have cash running through them. And Live Nation is a public company, and just like Norwegian Cruise Line, Live Nation cannot put its entire business in jeopardy. Bottom line, if you want to go to the show, you're gonna have to show proof of vaccination. Definitely.
You've probably noticed that concert companies have yet to address this issue, because they're fearful of pissing off potential customers, becoming the "enemy." But the day is going to soon arrive, where these promoters are going to want to shove anywhere from 75 to 60,000 people in a venue, and if even one person attending is infected with covid, even if they are showing no symptoms, what you've got on your hands is a superspreader event. You can't social distance at a show. At least not profitably. In order for the concert business to work everybody needs to be up close and personal. SO THEN WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE 30+ PERCENT WHO REFUSE TO BE VACCINATED!
We're about to experience a two-tiered society. And it won't be driven by woke liberals, but businesses, who refuse to put their enterprise on the line. Also, if a business is not woke to a degree, it's castigated and a large segment of the population protests against it, sometimes just with their voices, but sometimes with their feet too. This is why corporations are standing up against restrictive voting laws in Georgia and Texas, they're fearful of pissing off the majority of the population, the same majority which voted Biden into office, despite the delusional beliefs otherwise.
So now you've got the corporations on the side of the woke and vaccinated. Let me see...who is on the other side? In the past it was said corporations, afraid to take a side on anything, wary of even one phone call or e-mail from an outraged parent, but now it's just Rupert Murdoch and his apparatchiks, most vocally Tucker Carlson, who is driving his minions into the river under the banner of "freedom."
So what we're heading towards is another January 6th upheaval/uprising/protest/conflagration, when the "free" people find out that their viewpoint has closed doors to them. Yes, this is going to happen. Arguments about masks at retail establishments? That'll be nothing compared to concerts and cruises and other mass events, a battle is brewing. Only in this case, the battle is not with the government, not even the "libtards," just corporations.
Have you ever worked for the corporation? They've got legal staff, either in-house or outside counsel, always on call, ready to deal with lawsuits. Operate a business, and you're gonna get sued. Many are nuisance suits, insane trolls looking for money, and unfortunately sometimes it's cheaper to settle than to fight, but a good number of these lawsuits are genuine. This is the tort world that the right keeps denigrating. But these lawsuits are what keep the rest of us safe. In cars...all over our country. I was in Colombia and I tripped on a jagged upraised curb. The truth is unsafe curbs are in the minority in America, because the city or building owner is wary of getting sued.
But you have insurance!
No carrier is going to write insurance against lawsuits from concertgoers saying they got covid. How do you even calculate the risk?
So this is what is going to happen... More people are going to get vaccinated. Because your principles are secondary to your desires. I'll take it to the zenith, I've got more than one Catholic friend who was anti-abortion until their sister got pregnant. So, you can rail against vaccine passports/verifications all you want, but when you want to go on the cruise, when you want to go to the concert, you're gonna get one.
This is going to come into focus when the country truly reopens. Right now with so many places still shut down, with people afraid to go to even open places, the issue has not come clear, but it soon will. And then?
We've heard from the outraged public, not wanting their bodies "violated," but we have not heard yet from most businesses where people are packed tight. Concerts were amongst the first businesses to shut down, and will be amongst the last to open back up. Because of the RISK!
We live in a society where everybody believes in strict liability. If I lose, it must be someone's fault, and they must pay, this is the mind-set, not only of the liberals but the conservatives. You sue your neighbor when you slip in their house, you assume they have insurance for this sort of thing. And many people do, but not all. And the truth is the system is not one of strict liability, you don't always recover, so you have personal responsibility, however...
You can be drunk and drive your car off a cliff, but GM can't make an unsafe car that inherently puts you at risk.
Live Nation can have security at the show but it can't ensure that you don't take a drug at home and O.D. at the concert.
In other words, at some point it truly does become an issue of personal responsibility. You want to do what makes you safest. And the enterprise wants to do that which absolves it of liability, because it doesn't want to take the financial hit, never mind the bad publicity.
And the government has a responsibility to keep its citizens safe too. Look at that Chainsmokers show last year on Long Island, the organizers were fined! Don't enforce strict covid rules and the government is gonna keep you in line. Even Florida. Never underestimate the duplicity of governments, they're just run by people. Sure, Florida can say no vaccine passports are required, but as soon as people get infected at a show...they're not going to say it's their own damn fault, politicians are afraid to say this.
So, ultimately the decision whether to get vaccinated is a personal one. And what I mean by that is the tribe won't save you if you get infected and die.
As for death... Even the experts said deaths would hover in the neighborhood of 1%. So sure, you got covid and didn't die. But half a million people did. As for the long term consequences of infection...every day there are articles talking about the hidden effects, now it's diabetes.
It could be the most powerful person in the battle for covid vaccinations is Michael Rapino. And Rapino has historically been willing to hang it out there alone, to say and do the right thing. Will all the smaller promoters let him take the risk? Unfortunately, probably. But if the concert business were smart, it would form a coalition today, insisting that all concertgoers be vaccinated. In this way they would be spreading the risk/attention of said declaration. You might hate Live Nation or AEG or whomever, but can you hate ALL CONCERT COMPANIES??
Just like you can hate all cruise companies?
Bookings are way up for 2022, people are "dying" to go on a cruise. And cruises can be very cheap vacations. Which is one of the reasons why they've boomed in the past two decades, they're not only for the rich, as a matter of fact their inclusive nature at rock bottom prices appeals to...many of those who refuse to be vaccinated.
Let the games begin.
"Cruise Line Threatens to Skip Florida Ports Over Proof-of-Vaccination Ban - Norwegian Cruise Line plans to require Covid-19 vaccine documentation from its crew members and customers, but Florida recently enacted a law that bars businesses from doing so.": https://nyti.ms/3hdFXNZ
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If you're following the news, and most people are not, at best they're hung up on opinions, which are a dime a dozen and often removed from the facts, you know that Norwegian Cruise Line is in a kerfuffle with the state of Florida. Ron DeSantis, the governor of the Sunshine State, who recently signed a "voting rights" law that he only allowed Fox News to cover, has also banned vaccine passports. But Norwegian wants them, because of the liability, because it doesn't want to sacrifice its business. Norwegian is threatening to pull all its ships from Florida, which 60% of all U.S. cruises embark from, and the resulting economic devastation and blowback from hoteliers and restaurants...will be loud and proud, just like it was from these same outlets, especially restaurants, when governors insisted they close.
Now if you want to be really depressed, you should listen to Friday's "The Daily" podcast:
"Why Herd Immunity Is Slipping Away": https://bit.ly/33snFjE
As a result of covid variants, we now need 90% of the population inoculated to achieve herd immunity. The variants are more aggressive, spreading faster and further, and therefore the old figure of a year ago, of 50-60%, no longer applies. But a huge swath of the American population refuses to get the shot, most basing their decision on inaccurate fears, but there will be consequences. Not only in the lack of herd immunity, but the inability of these same people to live their lives as they want to.
If you listen to Frank Luntz on Kara Swisher's "Sway" podcast, you'll learn that he believes it's just a matter of terminology. And one must listen to the pollster who changed estate taxes to "death taxes" and so much more. Luntz says we must stop calling them vaccine PASSPORTS, because the word "passport" has such a negative connotation, most people don't have passports and don't go anywhere, and call them vaccine VERIFICATIONS!
Hmm... On the surface it sounds good. But in truth would this really change the thoughts of the reluctant?
I don't think so. But it would be worth trying.
Now the last time I checked, they called it the music BUSINESS. And even nonprofits have cash running through them. And Live Nation is a public company, and just like Norwegian Cruise Line, Live Nation cannot put its entire business in jeopardy. Bottom line, if you want to go to the show, you're gonna have to show proof of vaccination. Definitely.
You've probably noticed that concert companies have yet to address this issue, because they're fearful of pissing off potential customers, becoming the "enemy." But the day is going to soon arrive, where these promoters are going to want to shove anywhere from 75 to 60,000 people in a venue, and if even one person attending is infected with covid, even if they are showing no symptoms, what you've got on your hands is a superspreader event. You can't social distance at a show. At least not profitably. In order for the concert business to work everybody needs to be up close and personal. SO THEN WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE 30+ PERCENT WHO REFUSE TO BE VACCINATED!
We're about to experience a two-tiered society. And it won't be driven by woke liberals, but businesses, who refuse to put their enterprise on the line. Also, if a business is not woke to a degree, it's castigated and a large segment of the population protests against it, sometimes just with their voices, but sometimes with their feet too. This is why corporations are standing up against restrictive voting laws in Georgia and Texas, they're fearful of pissing off the majority of the population, the same majority which voted Biden into office, despite the delusional beliefs otherwise.
So now you've got the corporations on the side of the woke and vaccinated. Let me see...who is on the other side? In the past it was said corporations, afraid to take a side on anything, wary of even one phone call or e-mail from an outraged parent, but now it's just Rupert Murdoch and his apparatchiks, most vocally Tucker Carlson, who is driving his minions into the river under the banner of "freedom."
So what we're heading towards is another January 6th upheaval/uprising/protest/conflagration, when the "free" people find out that their viewpoint has closed doors to them. Yes, this is going to happen. Arguments about masks at retail establishments? That'll be nothing compared to concerts and cruises and other mass events, a battle is brewing. Only in this case, the battle is not with the government, not even the "libtards," just corporations.
Have you ever worked for the corporation? They've got legal staff, either in-house or outside counsel, always on call, ready to deal with lawsuits. Operate a business, and you're gonna get sued. Many are nuisance suits, insane trolls looking for money, and unfortunately sometimes it's cheaper to settle than to fight, but a good number of these lawsuits are genuine. This is the tort world that the right keeps denigrating. But these lawsuits are what keep the rest of us safe. In cars...all over our country. I was in Colombia and I tripped on a jagged upraised curb. The truth is unsafe curbs are in the minority in America, because the city or building owner is wary of getting sued.
But you have insurance!
No carrier is going to write insurance against lawsuits from concertgoers saying they got covid. How do you even calculate the risk?
So this is what is going to happen... More people are going to get vaccinated. Because your principles are secondary to your desires. I'll take it to the zenith, I've got more than one Catholic friend who was anti-abortion until their sister got pregnant. So, you can rail against vaccine passports/verifications all you want, but when you want to go on the cruise, when you want to go to the concert, you're gonna get one.
This is going to come into focus when the country truly reopens. Right now with so many places still shut down, with people afraid to go to even open places, the issue has not come clear, but it soon will. And then?
We've heard from the outraged public, not wanting their bodies "violated," but we have not heard yet from most businesses where people are packed tight. Concerts were amongst the first businesses to shut down, and will be amongst the last to open back up. Because of the RISK!
We live in a society where everybody believes in strict liability. If I lose, it must be someone's fault, and they must pay, this is the mind-set, not only of the liberals but the conservatives. You sue your neighbor when you slip in their house, you assume they have insurance for this sort of thing. And many people do, but not all. And the truth is the system is not one of strict liability, you don't always recover, so you have personal responsibility, however...
You can be drunk and drive your car off a cliff, but GM can't make an unsafe car that inherently puts you at risk.
Live Nation can have security at the show but it can't ensure that you don't take a drug at home and O.D. at the concert.
In other words, at some point it truly does become an issue of personal responsibility. You want to do what makes you safest. And the enterprise wants to do that which absolves it of liability, because it doesn't want to take the financial hit, never mind the bad publicity.
And the government has a responsibility to keep its citizens safe too. Look at that Chainsmokers show last year on Long Island, the organizers were fined! Don't enforce strict covid rules and the government is gonna keep you in line. Even Florida. Never underestimate the duplicity of governments, they're just run by people. Sure, Florida can say no vaccine passports are required, but as soon as people get infected at a show...they're not going to say it's their own damn fault, politicians are afraid to say this.
So, ultimately the decision whether to get vaccinated is a personal one. And what I mean by that is the tribe won't save you if you get infected and die.
As for death... Even the experts said deaths would hover in the neighborhood of 1%. So sure, you got covid and didn't die. But half a million people did. As for the long term consequences of infection...every day there are articles talking about the hidden effects, now it's diabetes.
It could be the most powerful person in the battle for covid vaccinations is Michael Rapino. And Rapino has historically been willing to hang it out there alone, to say and do the right thing. Will all the smaller promoters let him take the risk? Unfortunately, probably. But if the concert business were smart, it would form a coalition today, insisting that all concertgoers be vaccinated. In this way they would be spreading the risk/attention of said declaration. You might hate Live Nation or AEG or whomever, but can you hate ALL CONCERT COMPANIES??
Just like you can hate all cruise companies?
Bookings are way up for 2022, people are "dying" to go on a cruise. And cruises can be very cheap vacations. Which is one of the reasons why they've boomed in the past two decades, they're not only for the rich, as a matter of fact their inclusive nature at rock bottom prices appeals to...many of those who refuse to be vaccinated.
Let the games begin.
"Cruise Line Threatens to Skip Florida Ports Over Proof-of-Vaccination Ban - Norwegian Cruise Line plans to require Covid-19 vaccine documentation from its crew members and customers, but Florida recently enacted a law that bars businesses from doing so.": https://nyti.ms/3hdFXNZ
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