Vaccine Mandates

This is what America voted for. This is what America WANTS!

For far too long politicians have been afraid of their constituencies. And you can't win a battle on fear. Rather than doing what is right, they've focused on doing nothing, to the point where people dismiss D.C. as a gridlocked backwater. And then a President comes along and leads and everybody is shocked, positively shocked I tell you!

The truth is gerrymandering has helped the Republicans win elections, but it has also made them beholden to the extreme right in their own party, to the point where the party majordomos have lost control. It used to be simple, talk low taxes, government waste and trickle down economics, sprinkle in some religious and culture issues and voila, you've got a victory! But then the disenfranchised blue collar Democrats became Republicans and it was no longer about big business, but personal interests, and those in charge of the party have been flummoxed ever since. What do you do when the majority of your voters prefer national health care but you've got a vocal minority against it? You placate the minority, because otherwise you'll be primaried. Like Abbott in Texas. He reluctantly instituted a mask mandate in 2020 and now he's being run against by those further right, and we've seen time and again those further right tend to win, because they don't cotton to sausage making, they don't believe in compromise, they're all about digging in their heels and refusing to budge. And therefore we've got one party in Congress whose entire agenda is just making sure the other party passes no legislation, makes no progress, and you end up with the majority frustrated, since Republicans are a distinct minority who as a result of the aforesaid gerrymandering and the Electoral College have punched way above their weight in representation for years. You can win yet lose, just ask Hillary Clinton.

But Biden won by a significant majority of the popular vote. Which was focused foremost on getting rid of Trump.

Trump... He ruled with an iron fist, willy-nilly, and despite protesting, the Democrats ultimately acquiesced and ate it. The Democrats fight twenty first century wars with twentieth century strategies. October 2nd there will be rallies in support of women's reproductive rights. What will be the result? NOTHING! Come on, all that protesting during Trump's tenure, did he listen to it, did any of the Republican elected officials listen to it and change their behavior? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Isn't that the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result?

And one thing is for sure, Trump bungled the Coronavirus. Reacting late if at all and proffering bogus medical solutions all the while. It's one of the reasons he lost his job. And it was not only the failure to address Covid-19, but the concomitant crash of the economy.

Which worries Biden too.

I think Joe is most concerned with the citizenry, but not far behind is the economy. The more people go unvaxxed, the more the Delta variant rages, the more the economy sinks. Did you see the airlines are going back into the hole? Think about that, you bitched about all the money the government gave them and then the country opened up and they were flying profitably and now, because of people's "freedom" and the resulting fear of those who are vaxxed to go anywhere, the airlines are tanking once again. But it's not only the airlines, across the board business are faltering. But if the economy were up and running...

And the truth is despite states like Florida and Texas being open for business, they're not bastions of 100% Republicans, they have sizable Democratic populations who refuse to leave their houses, who are scared of dying. Meanwhile, the unvaxxed aren't afraid at all, despite having an eleven times more chance of passing from Covid-19 than those who've gotten the jab. Then again, fact are fungible, just ask Kellyanne Conway. If you close your eyes and pray you can make anything go away. And it doesn't really hurt until it affects you personally.

So one thing the right has done is stack the courts. All the way from the bottom to the top. So, governors and other elected officials know that if you go to the Supreme Court, you've got a good chance of winning. Look, the Court punted on the Texas abortion law, allowing it go into effect.

But that's not what Biden is banking on. It's OSHA.

The Republican governors, never mind their constituencies, have no grounding in the law, they think everything can be brought to court and everything can be appealed when this is patently untrue. Not only does Biden have the right under OSHA, you can't appeal every decision, you must have standing and a basis for that appeal. Just losing is not enough. There must have been an error in the trial court. Not that Americans know this, having watched too much prime time television, which the last time I checked was FICTION!

So Biden leads. I'd say he threw the long ball, but in truth he didn't throw that far at all, he just decided to act.

Democrats aren't supposed to do this, they're supposed to be AFRAID! Of not only the Republicans but other Democrats. Commit a sexual faux pas as a Democrat and your party executes you. Do the same as a Republican and you're still a member of the party, you still hold your office, almost no one even talks about Matt Gaetz anymore, he's still in Congress. As for Al Franken, a Harvard educated comedian? He makes jokes and is sidelined, even though we need his intelligence and voice of reason in the Senate now more than ever.

So Biden wins the nomination. Seemingly everybody was surprised. It looked like he was down and out. And then he won the election, anybody but Trump, just ask all the Republicans who defected. And the right wing canard is he's a senile old man beholden to the progressives and ultimately ineffective. But you can label someone all day long, but it comes down to what he DOES!

Biden got us out of Afghanistan. Something the majority of Americans wanted. The exit is akin to the Affordable Care Act. Fought over when it happens, embraced after it's over. As for the execution of the exit, the more that comes out the better it looks. NATO just said the U.S. did tell its partners it was leaving Afghanistan, in April, it's not like they were really surprised. But when the exit looked like a mess they wanted to disconnect from the U.S., to look good. We kept on hearing that the U.S. has lost its stature, its power, but you know the next time any of these allies are in trouble the first call is going to be to the American government. The U.S., Bush and Cheney, made a bad call. Subsequent presidents were afraid to make a bad call, so they just stayed there. And now Biden does the right thing. As for Trump...he said he was gonna do the right thing, but now that Biden executed the plan he flip-flopped, because that's the rule of Republicans, whatever a Democrats says or does, just take the opposite side.

Like with vaccines. Trump supports them, delivers them, but then Administrations flip and vaccines are anathema.

And those Republicans saying we left too many people behind in Afghanistan, not only do they not want the refugees in the U.S., after all they're immigrants, the scourge of our nation, it was just found out there's been an outbreak of measles, and the Afghanis are being quarantined, unable to land in the States. Think about that, if they only got vaccinated there would be no issue. But don't think too hard, because the logic employed by the right doesn't make sense. And it is the right. No false equivalencies.

So kids must go to school, but they must not wear masks and vaccinations must not be required. What's the end result? INFECTION! And kids are dying, teachers are infecting students. But in the name of freedom, the status quo must be maintained. Colleges in the north require vaccination, those in the south don't, end result? INFECTION! For people who keep telling us they want to protect the children they seem to be doing a lousy job of it.

And it's not like the elected officials testifying aren't vaccinated, it's not like Tucker Carlson and the rest of the bloviators are not vaccinated, as Biden stated on Thursday, a claim that has gone unchallenged, but they're afraid of those beholden to rumors and false facts and on Fox they're fanning these flames, because it's the opposite opinion of the Democrats and they're afraid of losing ground to outlets even further right, like Newsmax and OAN. To the point where Trump finally says to get the vaccine and he gets BOOED!

Yes, there were all these lines in the sand. That were going to make the reluctant get vaccinated. Frank Luntz said if Trump testified people would get the shot. Hmm...no. The media told us if the vaccine was approved by the FDA people's fears would be alleviated and they'd get the jab. Hmm...no. They're like the Democrats who believe protest can sway Abbott...NO WAY!

So what do you do when nothing soft works, you take action, you mandate. Which Biden has done.

And almost everyone is on his side. Not only the vaccinated, but the corporations, they were looking for leadership. It's just the vocal minority and those beholden to them who are complaining. And didn't we decide it was about elections, the majority as opposed to the one with the loudest voice? The Democrats have cowered previously but now Biden takes action and the right is shocked, positively shocked I tell you.

And why not get the jab?

Let's be clear, the truth is almost everybody is afraid of needles. It's just that simple. As for deleterious effects of vaccines, the intelligentsia, everybody the unvaxxed rely on, have gotten the shot. So if it's really bad, if it kills you, the unvaxxed are going to have no one to rely on, no doctors, no techies, it'll be like a "Twilight Zone" episode. God, why is everybody so afraid in America? I thought we were a can-do nation. We went to the moon, we invented the internet, never mind the smartphone, but when they tell us vaccines will save our lives, NO WAY! And it's not like most people haven't gotten a slew of vaccines already. It's just that this one has become politicized.

This is what we wanted, leadership. This is what we voted for. We didn't only want Trump gone, we wanted to be led out of the wilderness, we wanted order. And now we've got someone who's giving it to us. HALLELUJAH!

As for Biden himself... I winced when I saw him reading from the teleprompter. Then again, at least he can read, unlike Trump. And why do we hold our elected officials to such high standards, when most people at home can't read from the teleprompter. They're just people. And the goal is to gather information, via committee, we don't want isolated dictators, and make educated decisions. Biden does this but he's laughable? Isn't this what we want?

As for the attacks on Kamala Harris... Tell me again what a vice president should do? What did Pence do, other than bungle the handling of the coronavirus problem. VPs hang in the background and wait for the president to die. It's just that simple. But since Harris is a DEMOCRAT, furthermore black and a woman, she deserves attack. Credit Harris, she's seen and heard it before, she's not bothering to respond, you never take the bait.

Then again, Biden is biting back. Not only is he calling out Republican officials, he's standing his ground, like Republican John Wayne in a western. HAVE AT IT! He's calling the right wing out. He's not getting under the table and saying nothing. How come the right can call people out, taunt the left, but Democrats can't do this? Huh punk!

And the truth is you're on one side or the other. Nothing I write is going to change your mind and that's not why I'm writing this. I'm writing this to set the scene, to tell you what is going on. It's no different from the government tolerating protestors and then moving to evacuate them. Remember Occupy Wall Street? And after the protestors were gone, life went on. Which is what is going to happen here. People will get vaccinated and be happy about it. They will live, and ultimately that's what it's all about, no one wants to die for the cause, no one, especially when they don't have to.

So the tide has turned. And you don't want to go against it. Did you see that woman yelling at people wearing masks in the supermarket? The video went viral and SAP, her employer, fired her. Do you want to take that risk? And government subsidies are in most cases gone, so you don't want to lose your job, no way. You might grumble, but you'll get the shot.

And those reluctant to do so will become a member of an ever-shrinking group, they'll be pariahs. Akin to soldiers left behind in Japan who were still fighting the war years on. It's over, get in line, there's no profit in staying behind, and the truth is your brethren will sell you out in an instant, they'll tell you to go unvaxxed after they've gotten the shot, claiming their employer made them do it, or their spouse is immunocompromised. You do it, not me!

So Trump issues an edict and it stands, despite the blowback. But Biden isn't entitled to do this? Furthermore, Biden is trying to save lives!

You might think the unvaxxed are a huge force, but the truth is their governors are puppets and they live in an echo chamber akin to a cult, where they never hear contrary information and if you go against the leader you're excoriated.

America is about truth. And almost all of the information from the unvaxxed is not.

America is about justice. Majority rules. The safety of Americans is paramount.

And the American Way. Ever since World War II America has been the undisputed leader of the world. Not only in science, but the arts. America is the bleeding edge, which lifted up our entire populace. But now we're so busy squabbling China is making headway. And Britain is even worse. The yahoos voted for Brexit and now not only is it almost impossible for musicians to tour the Continent, the shelves are bare because there aren't enough truck drivers. Even worse, taxes had to be raised to fund the NHS, which was supposed to burgeon after Brexit. But too many uneducated people in the hinterlands voted on emotions, voted on FREEDOM, hating immigrants, ultimately to their detriment. Are we going to let this happen in America? HELL NO!

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9/11

1

It was a musical turning point.

I found out about the attack on the Twin Towers from Kate, she called and invited me to her house to watch TV, we needed to all be together.

And then I woke up my computer.

It was a Power Mac G4. I'd started with a Mac Plus in '86 and then went to a Performa in '95 when the software exceeded its capabilities and when that fried I'd purchased the G4, the top of the line, the state of the art. Now not only does Apple no longer use Motorola chips, it is phasing out Intel chips for those of its own construction. The end result is much faster computing, however speed hasn't been an issue for years, but hardware was king at the turn of the century.

So I fired up AOL and saw the news. I'd already switched from TV to internet. And, of course, AOL was a walled garden, with at this point access to the internet, and I already had a high speed cable connection, to download music, and AOL had purchased Time Warner a little over a year earlier and... AOL cratered shortly thereafter, most people have no idea who owns it now and that's how you know you're dealing with an oldster, they still have an AOL e-mail address when most people moved on to the far better performing Gmail years ago. As for Time Warner? It's been sold for pieces. Warner Records is an independent company, the cable system was sold to Charter Communications and stunningly, AT&T purchased HBO, the basic cable channels and the film studio, although now that's been essentially laid off too. And HBO, with its Max streaming service, is the focus, where the eyeballs and money are, the film studio isn't quite an afterthought, but it's close. A lot can happen in twenty years.

So if you're of a certain age you remember where you were when Kennedy was shot. And it seemed everybody remembered 9/11, but now there are people in the armed services who weren't even born when it happened. It's fading in the rearview mirror. Took them a long time to rebuild, but the Freedom Tower is now there. As is the museum, which is a must-see, go and dedicate some time, although they recently announced a budget cut and a reduction in new exhibits, that's how much people really care about 9/11, it always comes down to the money.

So I went to Kate's house where we talked as we watched and the most memorable thing I saw was someone jumping out of the building to their death. It was shocking, but then the news outlets decided not to show that anymore, it was almost like I hadn't seen it, I had to check myself, but if you go to the museum you'll see pictures of the jumpers. Think about how awful it must be to jump to your death to save yourself from burning up, end result is the same, but both options are horrific.

Today everything is online, even suicides. They try to take them down, but the social media networks leak like a sieve, and when the envelope is pushed the software is not ready to excise that which is offensive.

So for a while there, we were freaked out. Took about a day to figure out what had happened and then the question was...is it going to happen again? This people were not prepared for, they'd felt safe in America, but we're still not safe today, despite the news that our reservoirs and power grids are not protected from bad actors, they're still mostly unprotected, despite ransomware being ever more prevalent. Future wars will be fought by computers, and if you really want to have a say you've got to know not only how to use them, but how they work. A kid makes a PowerPoint presentation in elementary school, most boomers still have no idea how to do so. Boomers are still afraid of their computers, kids are not. Then again, boomers remember when one false move could crash your computer, and it was just a matter of time until your hard drive crashed. You had to back up! But now not only do electronic devices work so much better, and are so much heartier in their underpinnings, your work is stored in the cloud, your end device in many cases is just a dumb terminal, look at the inroads of Chromebooks.

Now Kennedy was shot on a Friday, we had all weekend, without work, to be glued to the news. 9/11 was on a Tuesday. America essentially shut down. The movers and shakers were stuck where they were, planes didn't fly, and there was a sense of community, that's what happens when you're all in a virtual foxhole. Then again, those not in New York City had no idea of what it was like to be there, and interestingly it was those in the most rural locations who were convinced the terrorists were coming to their hamlet next, so they gave the government a ton of powers, sacrificing their privacy, because they didn't want to die. Now these same people are mad the government wants to make them get a vaccine.

2

Napster was killed in the spring of 2021. KaZaA was growing, but the music business was still flourishing, CDs were still flying out the door, and MTV and VH1 were still extremely powerful. The VMAs were a cultural rite, not to be missed, today they're just a branding opportunity for performers most people don't know the name of and don't care to know the name of.

But music was still a juggernaut. In addition, it was the canary in the coal mine for digital disruption, something the film and TV businesses are still going through. The music business learned you must give the public what it wants, the visual sphere still thinks it can dictate, it's now in a fever over piracy, not knowing that if you put all the media in one location for one low price people won't bother to pirate. Then again, the film and TV businesses have always looked down on music, despite music paying so many of the bills in the twentieth century, music was a cash cow.

But in 2001 the musicians were still powerful, gods, known for their music, not their shenanigans. And the way to bring everybody together was to have a concert, on all networks, on Friday night.

Today the value of a live benefit concert is de minimis, nearly worthless. Everybody is available on demand online and during Covid-19 there were so many live streams that they're no longer special. You'll tune in to see your favorites, after that, it's a time suck. This is not 1985, this is not Live Aid, your time is precious and you don't want to waste it, and we live in an on demand world and why should you spend time on anything you don't care about? Not that the media has caught up with this. Awards show ratings have fallen through the floor, but they're still suckers for live benefits, when the truth is the last one that meant anything was Live 8, and that's mostly because of the appearance of the reunited Pink Floyd.

But Pink Floyd wouldn't motivate all viewers today. Not even Journey with Steve Perry. The acts still seem relevant to those who remember their heyday, but most of America does not, never mind the twenty first century being about hip-hop and not rock.

So you could be cynical about "America: A Tribute to Heroes," which aired ten days after the attacks, but that Friday night, I don't know a single person who did not watch the four network show. Now there are youngsters who never ever watch network television, they find a cable subscription to be a rip-off, why pay for all that stuff you don't want to watch, in many cases they don't even have TVs! They just watch streaming shows on their laptops, or their phones, even though the same boomers still nostalgic for the antiquated theatre experience can't accept this, even though the films are shot digitally, edited digitally and the standard of production is an LG OLED TV, which you can buy at home and then have the same experience. What are you missing? Paying twenty bucks to be in a room of noisy people looking at their phones?

3

So the main force behind "America: A Tribute to Heroes" was Jimmy Iovine, majordomo at Interscope Records, back when major labels still dominated the landscape. There's not a record exec that powerful anymore, no way. And despite decrying technology, i.e. "theft," Iovine kept coming up with ways to beat the system and make a fortune for himself and ultimately it was headphones, and after selling Beats to Apple Jimmy stayed on for a while, but he was out of time and out of touch, Iovine is now a billionaire art collector, leading the good life, he's gone from the scene.

As for Bruce Springsteen... He can sell out on Broadway, just not in the rest of the world. Springsteen, a second or third generation rocker after the British Invasion, depending upon how you calculate, is the last tie to credibility. He dyes his hair and is conscious of his image, but he still makes new music and the press eats it up and so do his fans, but almost nobody else. His rendition of "My City of Ruins" was very powerful. But the subsequent "The Rising" album can't hold a candle to his twentieth century work.

U2? They don't go clean everywhere either. And after selling their album to Apple via Iovine they became hated, people don't like anything forced upon them these days, we live in a pull economy. As for tech companies paying for albums... That was a nonstarter, but if you are a star, they'll pay you for exclusive video documentaries. U2, like Springsteen, still puts out new music, like Springsteen in the old manner, albums every few years as opposed to dropping tracks constantly like today's players, and they both look like dinosaurs, Springsteen playing to the boomers, U2 to the Gen-X'ers. As for everybody else? They don't seem to care.

Faith Hill. Remember when she was one of the biggest names in country music, when it was still country music, before it became a lame version of seventies rock?

Tom Petty... He's dead.

The Goo Goo Dolls...this was their peak, it was all downhill from here.

The Dixie Chicks...were soon to be exiled and despite shortening their name they've never come back, they're a period piece.

Dave Matthews? He was a creature of VH1. Remember when fans were up in arms that he shelved a Steve Lillywhite production in favor of a Glen Ballard album in search of hits? It worked, but today Dave is an outdoor summer treat for those who lived through it, kind of like James Taylor, they both do amazing business at the box office, but those who don't go are unaware and happily so.

Celine Dion? "Titanic" was in '97, her fans still want to see her in concert, but she can't get arrested with new recordings.

Paul Simon? Retired from touring.

Sheryl Crow? The queen of music television had the chutzpah to play a new song and for me it was the highlight of the night. You only had to hear "Safe and Sound" once to be moved, but the album of this concert didn't come out until December, when most no longer cared, whereas today everything is available instantly.

Willie Nelson? A man out of time. He's still as hip as he ever was, which proves if you want to last you should never follow trends. And back in 2001 if you asked us if weed could be legal, we would have said...NO WAY!

Sting? He's got a new single, but without his Police bandmates his live business is far from strong.

Eddie Vedder? He's got a new single too, and Pearl Jam does good live business, but if you're not a Gen-X'er you ignore them.

Bon Jovi? Richie Sambora is no longer even in the group!

Mariah Carey? Known for her pipes? A joke who is constantly criticized for being unable to hit the notes live.

Wyclef Jean... Who?

Enrique Iglesias... Who?

As for Neil Young, he no longer has any power, no one from his era does, he used to speak and people listened, Young called today's concerts superspreader events and it had absolutely no impact, the show must go on.

Stevie Wonder? Great, but he burned himself out in the seventies, with one of the best album runs ever.

And then there's the curious case of Billy Joel, who by this point refused to release any new music and still hasn't and is bigger than all the acts above! Billy's depending upon the songs, it all comes down to the songs.

But not today.

4

Today...

Piracy? We're thrilled you care enough to steal it! Will you please listen to my music! They said the internet would kill the incentive to make music and now we're inundated in product, it's never-ending, 60,000 tracks are uploaded to Spotify...A DAY!

No one will pay for music? Seemingly everyone is paying for music, on a monthly basis. I haven't heard a person say they stole a song in years. Sure, some people never buy, but before the internet most people never bought, or only purchased one album a year.

Distribution? You needed the major label! Now distribution is wide open and essentially free to anyone, the friction is gone.

Radio? Find someone under twenty who still listens, I can't find one.

CDs? I have three computers, none of them has a CD drive, nor does my automobile.

Meaningful songs that depict the heart and the soul of the culture? The biggest story of the past week is the beef between Kanye and Drizzy, it's no different from professional wrestling. Turns out cartoons are the lowest common denominator, so you can get people to eat up this crap and go see the superhero movies but if you're not interested...you're not interested, AND MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT INTERESTED!

Melody? It's now all beats.

Writing your own songs, making a statement from the heart? Now there can be eighteen writers on one song, songs are built brick by brick, it's not about inspiration so much as calculation.

TikTok? Too many in the creative community don't understand that the power is now in the hands of the proletariat. They decide what is a hit. You can do endless press and still reach no one other than those in your core audience, if they even get the message.

And then there are some things that never changed, that went through a few evolutions but are now back to where they once belonged, how they were in the beginning. I.e. e-mail. All the buzz is about Substack and newsletters, however only Heather Cox Richardson has seemed to garner a big audience with this model with a concomitant growth in esteem. Everybody else is writing to a tiny audience, thinking this is a good way to make a living when it's not. What did we learn back in 2001? You've got to give it away free and make money on the ancillaries. The musicians learned this, Rihanna hasn't put out new music for half a decade and she's a billionaire!

As for tech... It was the wild west, it was all we talked about, we were constantly getting new gadgets. Now, the game of musical chairs is over, there are only a few platforms extant and if you don't sell to them, you're never going to succeed, because if you have a good idea they'll compete with you and kill you.

Politics? It's the new tech. It's visceral, it's life and death. That's what those on both sides of the vaccine argument believe. The vaxxed think the unvaxxed are spreading the variant and more mutations will occur and the unvaxxed think the vaccine will kill them. As for science?

We've sold our souls to the 1's and 0's. But somehow people still won't trust them. It's astounding, you've got a computer in your hand, that almost never crashes, and it's all built on 1's and 0's. But when it comes to science...it's up for grabs, you must do your own research.

As for smartphones, they're for texting and surfing the web, a young person never wants to talk on the phone, oftentimes they don't even bother to set up their voice mail, or if they do they let it fill up and never check it.

So the big wheel keeps on turning, and we keep rollin' down the river.

There are those in the music business who'll tell you you're too old, you don't get it, that it's the same as it ever was. WRONG! It couldn't be more different!

And in an on demand world where everybody has cheap access to the same things it's all now all about experiences, and concerts are the ultimate, people clamor to go. Yet you've got a media still focused on record sales and acts bitching they're not making enough money on recordings when there are so many new avenues of compensation. So either they're not innovative enough, stuck in the past, or they're not good enough, but everybody in America, even the lowliest uneducated punk, thinks they're as wise and talented as the President.

There's no center, no common truth. People believe in their devices more than they do in any music.

And it is streams, even though "Billboard," the "Bible," turns everything into sales. CD sales are infinitesimal, unless you bundle them with t-shirts and other chozzerai in an effort to game the charts, which works, but you also make a ton of money doing it, getting more dollars from fewer people. Mass is passé, never forget it.

So the world has changed immensely from 2001. Completely different acts dominate recordings, despite the old acts still doing boffo at the b.o. But those acts triumphed in a different era, when we were all paying attention, when music could change the world.

It can't anymore.

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Paul Anka-This Week's Podcast

Paul Anka is a raconteur who tells us not only about his new album, but his writing process and 60+ years in the business, from bus tours with Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers to the Copa to Vegas to writing the theme song for "The Tonight Show" and "My Way" for Frank Sinatra. This is history come alive, with a lot of insight baked in, you'll dig this.

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1oftFCJcgJk7ZGxY84YPDS?si=TB-At_95TCmiKNTp1wRA5w&dl_branch=1

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast
https://listen.stitcher.c

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/episode/paul-anka-86672109

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/id1316200737


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Streaming TV Update

LINE OF DUTY

It's the U.K.'s most watched drama series of the century.

Now when you hear "English show," many think of PBS, period pieces, history, stuff for intellectuals with no edge. But not "Line of Duty."

But "Line of Duty" is not on PBS.

Due to a rights issue, "Line of Duty" can be streamed on two outlets in the U.S., Acorn and BritBox. But only BritBox has season six, the latest one, which premiered earlier in the year across the pond.

So what we've got here is a police show. And what it's really about is the police policing the police. AC-12 is the anti-corruption outfit, and it's run by Ted Hastings, aka "The Gaffer," i.e. Irish actor Adrian Dunbar.

You'll recognize Dunbar, from "The Crying Game" and "My Left Foot," but all the action in adult entertainment, and I don't mean XXX, is now on the flat screen. Dunbar alone is worth the price of admission, but there's so much more.

This is a dense show. And it is a labyrinth, kind of a whodunit. With twists and turns. But they don't seem artificial, "Line of Duty" is not just an amusement park ride. AC-12 keeps peeling back the layers of the onion, trying to get to the truth, in a department that keeps saying there's no corruption, think about that.

So the truth is most TV is awful, and so much is mediocre. There's a limited amount of great stuff, and like pornography, you know it when you see it. And "Line of Duty" is truly great, you'll power right through it, eating it up.

So to make it easy for you, fire up the Amazon Prime app. I know you're a subscriber, for the quick delivery if nothing else. (And the cheap hi-res music streaming too!) Search for "Line of Duty" and...

You'll find it on Acorn and BritBox, and in this case subscribe to BritBox, since it has the aforementioned sixth season.

And it's not going to cost you a penny. You get seven days free, meaning if you've already watched seasons one to five of "Line of Duty," you can sign on to BritBox and watch the sixth for free, you know you can finish it in seven days.

But if you're a newbie...give it a chance, watch a few episodes. I nearly guarantee you'll dig it, and if you don't... Just launch Amazon and go in and cancel the service. It's not easy to find, but it's not that hard. If you can't figure it out, just call Amazon, they're very helpful, that's why you shop there, for the service, for the trustworthiness. And I know some of you hate Amazon, and the company has many heinous behaviors, but when you sign off, when you stop using it, you accomplish nothing. When something is that appealing, you can't kill it, you can only supersede it, or hope to improve it. Turned out downtown couldn't be saved by boycotting Walmart, people wanted the low prices. But Amazon trumped Walmart and something could trump Amazon but it'd be damn hard and...
Y
ou can subscribe directly to Acorn and BritBox via apps on your Roku or Apple TV, and that's fine with me, but if so, you're already sophisticated enough to know how to do this, so ignore what I just said.

"Line of Duty" is not quite as good as "Spiral," but it's superior to almost all the TV out there, and it's not faux-intellectual, it's straight up the middle, I'd be stunned if you didn't like it.

BRON/THE BRIDGE

This is on Topic, but it's only five bucks a month, and you get the same seven day free trial on Amazon.

And the truth is there have been many remakes, I even watched and wrote about "The Tunnel," a British-French redo, but the original is far superior to any other iteration, as good as "The Tunnel" was.

You see it's Sofia Helin as Saga, who is on the spectrum.

Now if you tune in, you'll notice Helin has a facial scar. I'll save you the research, it's from a bicycle accident, when she was already twenty four, just before her career took off. And therefore, Helin is beautiful but flawed, and it has one questioning one's idea of beauty, we think it's all about perfection, but it's not. It's mostly about character.

Not that you'd want to have a relationship with Saga, who actually says she's incapable of having one, although she does like sex.

But it's not only Saga. The characters are all 3-D, and fully hip and alive, despite Americans thinking other countries are backwaters. You should just check the houses! And the show is about the cooperation between the Swedish and Danish police forces and...

The first season has the same plot as "The Tunnel," but watch it anyway, it's different, you'll still enjoy the ride. The remaining seasons are unique. And there are four, and then the show is done.

This is great TV, which is one reason it's been shown in over a hundred countries. You'll live to watch it, just like you will with "Line of Duty."

HIT & RUN

Everybody was excited about this new Netflix series from the creators of "Fauda," starring Lior Raz, aka "Doron" from "Fauda," as the lead.

But soon after it came out, reviews weren't good. And Israeli and Danish television are considered to be the world's best. So I waited a while to pull it up and then...

I found out the critics were right.

The plot is twisted, and that keeps you interested, but in truth "Hit & Run" is a cross between an Israeli and American series, and that's the flaw. American shows are about the look, and danger, they're oftentimes gussied-up cartoons. You're watching and at some point you see Lior Raz as just another action hero, like in those bogus movies that play in the cinema, with talented actors slumming for the paycheck.

For a minute there, I thought "Hit & Run" was better than the reviews, but it's not. Don't listen to the scuttlebutt, most people are not critics, they haven't been exposed to great television so they settle for stuff like this as opposed to "Line of Duty" and "The Bridge." And yes, unlike those two shows, "Hit & Run" is half in English, but I know you can handle subtitles, after all you watch "Money Heist"!

MONEY HEIST

What a disappointment!

So they cut the last heist in half, left us hanging in the middle, and when you dive back in you can't remember what was happening and over the five new episodes you realize...you just don't care.

I mean come on, get to the conclusion!

But this is a great advertisement for dumping all episodes at once. I would have felt better about the just dropped five episodes of "Money Heist" if I'd just finished the beginning of the season, but now I don't even care about the rest of the show. I loved the characters, laughed and cried along with them, and now it's just a money machine, Netflix employing the show to keep you subscribing, and it's not worth it.

I won't reveal any of the plot, but everybody else I know who jumped to see this last weekend feels the exact same way. I hate when producers and distributors are out of touch with the public.


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Rosh Hashanah

It's the first one since my mother died.

I've been trying to figure out why I'm not in the holiday spirit, which usually means guilt. You grow up going to temple on the High Holy Days, oftentimes it's blisteringly hot. You sit in the back, pay your dues and then go home and eat. Yom Kippur is even worse, you're supposed to fast for 24 hours and it's heavy, God is supposed to be deciding who will be written in the book of life for the following year, who will make it through.

Do I believe in God?

I wish there was a man in the sky overseeing everything, settling scores, steering his people, but the fact is there's not. No, I cannot disprove his (why do they always say "his," isn't thinking that God would be a guy sexist on its face?) existence, but the truth is religion was a way to explain phenomena that we can now explain via science.

As for the burning bush and the parting of the Red Sea...those are bubbameisers, old wives' tales passed down through generations and...the truth is Judaism is not a didactic religion, it's a questioning religion, and you can question and still be a member of the tribe. Why not, everybody else is considering you to be Jewish, even if you say you've never practiced, you can't deny your lineage.

So I was watching a streaming show and they were trying to figure out who the culprits were and they said not to bother checking the museums, because the offenders were not Jewish. I never realized that was a Jewish trait, but my mother lived for the museum. And now I do too. Everywhere I go, that's what I check out. Doesn't matter the city. I guess someone could go somewhere and soak up the flavor, but unless you know locals, I'm not exactly sure how you do that. But the museum hooks you, makes you feel plugged in, especially in the big burgs that have city museums.

But my point here is there are Jewish characteristics. Like being verbal. I've never met a silent Jew in my life. That's one thing I couldn't understand at Middlebury, all the people who had nothing to say. In our family, in Jewish families, people have so much to say that you can't get a word in edgewise, it's a scrum, you've got to fight for your position to be heard, by butting in and talking over everybody else, otherwise you become a nonentity.

And that was another thing that blew my mind, especially in college, people wouldn't speak up. There'd be ten or twenty people in the class and the teacher would ask a question and no one would volunteer an answer, and believe me the students had done the reading, otherwise they didn't show, they didn't want to be exposed.

So in some cities the High Holy Days are holidays, there's no school. Not in my town. Then again, no Jew went to school on those days, and oftentimes, after years of unproductive days, the non-Jews stopped going too, at least in the top track, populated by Jews, who may not have been inherently smarter, but whose parents pushed them to get ahead.

And there are so many other Jewish things. Like summer camp. You sat at home all summer and watched TV? Unheard of in a Jewish family! You're shipped off to camp whether you want to go or not, so your parents can travel, that's another Jewish characteristic. And despite all this talk about Jewish mothers, that generation is dead and buried, for the last fifty or sixty years Jewish mothers told their kids what to do, but they didn't spend all their time with them, guilting them. It was clear, if you didn't do what was expected, get good grades and go to college...you would die at the hands of your father. You think I'm joking...

So I'm a Jew through and through.

And I like that Sandy Koufax didn't pitch in the World Series on Yom Kippur, but...

I must admit, the last few years of high school, my family didn't go to temple on Rosh Hashanah. We never missed Yom Kippur services, but my family went to Vermont, played golf at the Equinox, called it "The Rosh Hashanah Open."

And if you want to feel really Jewish, go where there are no landsmen. That's how you get in touch with your identity, especially when the people around you, often educated and rich, make anti-Semitic comments, not realizing you're a member of the tribe. They can tell if someone is Black, or Asian, but Jews slip by and...it's clear not everybody is on your side.

So ever since the Internet I've gone to High Holy Day services online, starting in 1996. It was a more intimate experience, the Rabbi was right in front of me on the screen. And it assuaged my guilt. Yes, we have Jewish guilt baked in, because of the six million, because of the endless persecution, there's nothing worse than a denier, someone who's trying to pass for a non-Jew. But this year I had no guilt.

And I was trying to think why.

Well, first of all Rosh Hashanah was on a holiday, in this case Labor Day. That's another thing about the non-Jewish world, they can never cotton to the fact that Jewish holidays start the night before. Essentially every calendar is wrong. The one on my Mac certainly is. But at least in the internet age we can Google and find the exact date, whereas all the calendars have it the following day.

So this year Rosh Hashanah wasn't especially novel, it didn't stand out.

And then there's this damn coronavirus. It's hard to believe in God these days. And then you've got the yahoos on the other side who say God is going to save them. Believe all you want, just don't impinge on me. But no, they get vaccine exemptions from their house of worship, they're working the rules, and denying the rights of gays at the same time. That's one place the Jews were way ahead, with gay rabbis. Never mind the fact that the clergy can get married.

So I can't say I've been in a festive mood.

And then it hit me, my mother is gone.

Now I've got to tell you, last year when she called me on the High Holy Days she wasn't very with it. She knew it was Rosh Hashanah, or Yom Kippur, but her short term memory was close to obliterated. You could have a long conversation and then she wouldn't remember it. I got to the point where I just let her talk. The more out of it she got, the more she talked, not that she wasn't a talker to begin with. There was a stretch of a few months, about six months before she passed, when she didn't want to talk on the phone, and that gave me a heads-up she was on the way out, but as she got worse she got more talkative and the truth is if you said anything it was open season for judgment, even if she couldn't remember it the next day, my mother loved to question my choices, make me feel bad.

So I must say it's kind of a relief my mother is gone. I'm free.

And I'm trying to adjust to that. It's really about the passing of the generations. It's not like my mother got ripped off, she almost made it to 94, but when they're gone, you realize you're next. It changes your entire perspective, you see the way of the world, a lot becomes less important, you become somewhat distant and disconnected from the everyday, you start to realize what is really important, and when you see people your age in the same boat, sans parents, who are still playing the game, showing off their possessions, telling you how great they are, you laugh, because they got the memo, they're just denying it. That's right, there's a conveyor belt, and you're being pushed down the line all the time, even when you're asleep.

And when you're young you can't wait to be older. To drink. To drive. To leave your house.

And 21 is a breakthrough. But suddenly you're an adult, no one treats you like a child anymore. Doesn't matter how mature you are. Then again, there are family dynasties where they never let the kids grow up. But not many Jewish ones. People keep saying the Jews run the world, but if you look at who has all the money this is patently untrue, they just want a scapegoat.

So I knew that call would be coming. I'd wait for it, I'd expect it. My mother would dial and I'd pick up the phone and she'd wish me a happy new year. She'd be bright, she'd be sunny, she'd tell me where she was going for dinner, it wasn't a long conversation, it was a check-in.

But all my mother's friends died and those who remained abandoned her so she was living alone, in a silo, and she was getting depressed, and she wanted to move to California, to be with her kids, and she came here and promptly died, of sepsis that could have been avoided if the people back in Connecticut were on the ball.

Then again, she wanted to have no help but she needed it. Which made it hard to find a place to house her. The totally independent facilities are not up to the challenge, and despite deterioration, my mother kept saying she was so much better than those in the dementia ward.

And I can try and rewrite the past, think if people were on the ball in CT, but...

This is the way it plays out. Your time comes. You go. It's never pretty. It's frequently something small that grows into a conflagration.

So on some level it's a blessing that my mother passed, we didn't have to see her get worse, and in many ways she was in good health, the doctor said she could live years.

But she didn't.

But it wasn't like my father dying, at 70, the first of my parents' circle to go. You could rely on my father, he was the backstop. He was at times positively insane, truly, but down deep he had a good heart, and if things were really bad he could hear it in your voice and soothe you, send you some money for a good meal.

And when my father died I was penniless and freaked out. You can't live with no money, it's all you think about all the time, while the bill collectors leave endless messages on your phone, which you can no longer pick up. They say that after a couple of weeks people don't recover from being homeless, it's the same thing with being broke. Took me years of therapy to get back into the land of the living, but I still know where every dollar I've got is, I still think about it lasting me, I still have trouble spending frivolously.

But now I'm in a better space. But I look at my friends who have little savings and took Social Security early and have no real income...what is going to happen to them when they're 90?

Which I'll probably never make. Having cancer and pemphigus. Maybe, but I'm not counting on it. But I want to be prepared, I don't want to run out of money, if I die with a ton in the bank I've won, I'll just pass it on to my sisters.

Not that my mother understood money. She was cheap. My father was frugal, but he'd spend on what he wanted, especially for his kids.

But now I'm in control. The years went by and I continued to feel young, but then my mother passed and...

Reality set in.

I like that people are wishing me a happy new year from around the world. But I also know that religion is about community, at least Judaism, as for belief and helping you...better to go to the hospital than pray to God.

So I'm a bit off-kilter.

But I gotta say...HAPPY NEW YEAR!


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The Herman Cain Award

https://www.reddit.com/r/HermanCainAward/

Send this to anyone resisting vaccination.

We've learned from Olivia Rodrigo's photo-op with Joe Biden that musicians have no power over the populace anymore. That's what happens when you whore yourself out, you lose credibility. Furthermore, those in the know know that information now flows from the bottom up, that it's the people who have the power, more than traditional institutions. This has been going on for years, yet the mainstream media refuse to recognize this. Sure, bitch all you want about Tucker Carlson and Rachel Maddow, but they have a fraction of the reach of the nobodies on social media, spreading the word.

And one of the places they spread it is on Reddit.

Reddit is completely ignored by the mainstream, it's almost like it doesn't exist, even though it's referred to as "The Front Door of the Internet." You need to download the app on your phone right now, to catch up. That's right, if you're still posting family photos on Facebook you're ten years out of date. If you're bragging on Instagram you're even worse than the musicians, at least they have some fame, they've done something worth touting. As for Snap...can we stop saying what a big impact it has? It's about as powerful as Second Life...remember that? Of course not! Wall Street tracks the profitability of Evan Spiegel's backwater site but the truth is if you're not mass on the internet, you're minor. And it's nearly impossible to grow from minor to major. On the internet you grow, and if you stumble, you're done. Heard anybody talk about Clubhouse recently? Now that it's on Android with no exclusivity people aren't talking about the site, it was a fad. But everybody reporting in the news doesn't realize most of what happens on the internet is evanescent, very little has staying power.

So what Reddit is is the bulletin boards of yesteryear, from the 1990s, updated to now. It's like Craigslist if it morphed instead of stayed static. Got to give credit to the "New York Times," Craigslist and the internet stole the advertising from its printed product so it offered a digital product and now has many more subscribers, it's now got 7.9 million, most paying for the digital product, which is far cheaper than the print one. How is it the "Times," backward in so many ways, is hip to digital disruption yet the movie business is still fighting for overpriced exhibition in physical theatres and retro rockers keep complaining that people should pay more for music when the truth is if their music wasn't available for all to listen to on streaming services...almost no one would be listening whatsoever.

So, Reddit is not narrow. It's a cornucopia of threads. And if one catches fire, you hear about it. Meanwhile, you should search for one in your area of interest, get involved. I don't mean you've got to post, but take the temperature of the world out there, you might learn something, something too many in their foxholes do not.

Yes, the above Reddit thread, gaining stream in all media as I write this, is a compendium of the posts of anti-vaxxers who then get Covid and die. It would be hysterical if it weren't so sad. They're railing against masks and shots and beating up on those who fall for the government's "lies" and then...it happens to them, they get infected and pass away.

And death is immutable, that's the one thing you can't lie about, that we all agree on, when you're gone you're gone. There's no coming back from the dark side. And the truth is almost nobody wants to die. They say they're unafraid of death and then it knocks on their door and they kick and scream and beg and pray but nothing stops the Grim Reaper.

And it doesn't only happen with Covid. Those who smoke, those who refuse to go to the doctor, those who test limits in extreme sports, they're all happy until they're not.

So, stop arguing with the anti-vaxxers, just send them the above link. And the amazing thing is unlike so much online, the thread never dies, there's always another nincompoop anti-vaxxer passing away. Because that's how bad Covid is. Oh, they express all the tropes. It's just like the flu, it's harmless, everybody recovers, the shots don't work, and then they're on life support and die. Man, we need a 24/7 loop of this stuff on television. Streaming outlets, if you want to support the cause put a video link of this on your site. And you know the cable systems can afford to broadcast the carnage, the parade of idiots marching to their death.

That's another thing that turned the public against Vietnam, the images. Same deal with Afghanistan, if people had to read about the exit, there would be no furor, but seeing the pictures...

These wackadoodles post anti-vax stuff to high heaven, and then the joke is on them.

The joke is on all the unvaxxed, they're playing Russian Roulette with their lives, they think they're immune, but no one here gets out alive, the coronavirus is looking for you, 24/7, it's in your neighborhood, you can't see it but it never sleeps, it needs hosts. You believe in vampires, why can't you believe in the deleterious effects of Covid-19? Read this Reddit thread and you will.

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Story Songs-This Week On SiriusXM

Tune in today, September 7th, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.

Phone #: 844-6-VOLUME, 844-686-5863

Twitter: @lefsetz or @siriusxmvolume/#lefsetzlive

Hear the episode live on SiriusXM VOLUME: siriusxm.us/HearLefsetzLive

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app: siriusxm.us/LefsetzLive


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Mailbag

Subject: Re: The New James McMurtry Album

Hey Bob
Thanks so much for giving James new record Horses and the Hounds some love.
I am very proud of it.
James is more than an artist I have worked with since the beginning, he is a close friend.
For me the work is the reward particularly when working with friends.
This is why I brought in David Grissom on guitar along with Charlie Sexton and had Kenny Aronoff on percussion along with other close pals.
We all go back together and it made making this record a really special one in the midst of challenging times.

James is a wordsmith and one of America's finest songwriters.
My mission in the production was to frame James also as a fine singer/storyteller.
I feel this batch of songs holds up to the best of any,
Thanks again for shining a little light.
We appreciate it.

all the best
Ross Hogarth

______________________________________

Subject: Re: The New James McMurtry Album

Hey Bob,

I was James' TM/FOH when he toured "Where'd You Hide the Body" his last release on Columbia.

James is a heavy hitter as a lyricist, of that there is no doubt.

Touring with James was an education…

We toured in a faded green van he bought used from the INS motor pool. There was a dark green circle on each door where the immigration logo had been, before it was scraped off, and the roof occasionally leaked. James took out the two back seats and had a cage welded in so we could stack gear all the way to the ceiling in the back. When we got hotels, I roomed with James. We also crashed on a lot of couches… Couches of people like Ken Kesey and once at his Dad's place in Archer City.

There were just four of us. James on guitar, plus Ronny and Ron. Ronny on bass and Ron on drums. I handled TM, FOH, and Merch. We toured the living daylights out of that record, opening for Nancy Griffith and Joan Baez and playing headline shows at venues like the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro.

I remember the day James was dropped from Columbia records (At least my memory of it.) We had been at Sony that very day… We went up to the sky lobby, got ushered into Kid Leo's office to admire his view of Central Park, and allowed to raid the CD closet. No indication they were about to drop him - it was all smiles while we were there. We had a show at Tramps that night opening for Joe Ely. I think it was just after our set that James got word from his manager, Mark Specter, that he had been dropped.

James didn't show a ton of outward emotion. He took the news in stride and we kept touring. It was during that same run that Sugar Hill records came out to a gig to see him and they ended up signing him not long after that.

My total time with James and the road was maybe 18 months. I have an inordinate amount of road stories for being with him for such a short time… I learned a ton about the biz while touring with him, and it had an impact on me and my career that reverberates to this day.

Cheers,
Eric

Eric Frankhouser
Tour Manager
Wilco/Jeff Tweedy

______________________________________

Subject: Re: 48 vs. 192

Hi Bob,

Thank you for the great piece. Glad you could hear the difference lossless audio provides over much lower bit rate lossy streams. These lossy streams are typically 256 - 320 kB/s or approximately one fifth the data of a CD which is 1.4mb/s or 1400kb/s. The CD is 44.1/16 bit.

Leslie Ann-Jones & I co-chaired the Next Gen Audio committee for the The Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing. We worked for six years with record companies, RIAA, DEG and many engineer/producers which yielded the agreement on High Resolution Audio standards (RIAA) having a minimum of 48k/24 bits. This coincides with Apples "Made For iTunes" white paper created several years ago.

192K/24 bit is nice. However, it's important to point out that the real sweet spot for audio production is at 96K/24 bit which is more than twice the CD resolution. We still struggle to get massive adoption but it's getting there.

A lot of material available on streaming services is available at 192k with a greater amount at 96K. They both sound great.

Just wanted to share these tech details.

Phil Wagner
Solid State Logic

______________________________________

From: John Boylan
Subject: RE: 48 vs. 192

Hi Bob,

I am beyond excited that you wrote this piece - in my mind it's transformative! I sincerely hope that everyone picks up on how you clarify the problems with Bluetooth, and how you describe your experience hearing the Led Zeppelin music and being IN IT!

As you know, I have been pushing hi-res digital audio for a good many years, browbeating you and everyone who would listen about it. Many of my colleagues have also been on the forefront. Now that we have enough internet bandwidth to support streaming 24-bit/192k audio with a lossless compressions scheme, it's available to everyone who wants it. It's not beyond imagining that people will want to pay a little more to get a good Digital-To-Analog converter with a headphone amplifier in it - decent models start at around $200, with pro level models at around $500. I have a Lynx Hilo. Add a pair of great headphones and that's really all you need. If you want to add great speakers, fine, but not absolutely necessary.

The ear-opening tracks that got me hooked on 24-bit, 192k years ago were: "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon, anything from "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis, "God Only Knows" from the hi-res mix of Pet Sounds, and, lately, the hi-res re-mix of Sgt. Pepper that Giles Martin did. I urge everyone to listen to those tracks and compare.

My listening for pleasure now consists solely of either vinyl or hi-res digital. I hope everyone gets on board.

Thanks for a great piece!

Best,
JB

______________________________________

From: Jeff Lorber
Subject: 48 vs 96

i've been recording at 96K since 2005.
When I first switched I felt like all of a sudden the music was on a much
bigger canvas.. it was pretty dramatic.
JL

______________________________________

Subject: 48 vs 96

Of course it's better and you can hear it. There is the naysayer chorus and it's because they do ABX testing and can't reliably hear differences but that's not how we consume music. How you experienced it is how we listen to music and you can hear it.

Michael Fremer

______________________________________

From: Craig Anderton
Subject: Re: 48 vs. 192

Bob, there are a zillion variables, it's not just sampling rate. Some DACs have "sweet spots" and perform optimally at some sampling rates, but not others. A lot depends on the filter topology the DAC manufacturer chose. The "glue" - the components surrounding the DAC - make a difference too, as do the component tolerances.

When I upgraded to new DACs, everything in my studio sounded better, even when keeping the same sampling rate. I'm still waiting for a double-blind test where someone who listens to material recorded at 96 or 192, and played back at 48, 96, or 192, can identify consistently (more than chance) which is the higher sample rate.

Where high sample rates really make an obvious, "everyone-can-tell-100%-of-the-time" difference is with sounds of virtual instruments, amp sims, and limiters created "in the box." Inside a computer, there's no limit placed on the signals they generate, unless the software's designers factored that in (which is happening more and more). These signals can create harmonics that interfere with the clock frequency, and cause a particular type of distortion (foldover distortion). So material recorded at 96 kHz can definitely sound different, and at least to my ears, better than the same material recorded at 44.1 or 48 if certain virtual instruments are involved. Not all software exhibits this phenomenon by any means, it depends on multiple variables. It doesn't happen with acoustic or electric instruments arriving into the computer via an audio interface, which inherently limits the bandwidth anyway.

But...when I demo this difference at seminars, it's surprising how many people prefer the sound with the foldover distortion compared to the accurately reproduced sound. Go figure.

If something was mastered at 192 kHz, and in-the-box limiting was used, then the limiter might respond more accurately compared to the same material mastered at 44.1 or 48 kHz. But in theory, you could downsample the material mastered at 192 kHz, and it would sound the same, because the correct transient response would have been "baked into" the audio, which ultimately is in the audio range.

That's what I've found so far, but I'm always open to new data. I used to think 96 kHz didn't make a difference, because I engineered every classical music session at 96 kHz, and no one could tell the difference between the 96 kHz master and the CD. But that was before I found about what can happen with virtual instruments and computer-based plug-ins.

Craig

______________________________________

From: Dave Logan
Subject: Re: Donda

I met a couple from Detroit who bailed on their family vacation in Tennessee to fly here to Chicago for one night to attend Kanye's Donda event at Soldier Field.

"We're big Kanye fans," said the guy.

When I inquired about the listening party, they started by complaining it was scheduled to begin at 9pm but didn't get underway until 11:30pm. "And," he added, "there wasn't much merch either. The only thing I saw was a black t-shirt for $150… and there was line."

How was the album?

"It was OK," he answered.

The more we talked, the more he seemed intrigued by the event itself, followed by his desire to score some special swag. Kanye's music/performance didn't seem to be the most compelling part of his night, perhaps because he'd already sampled some of it online. Clearly, he and his wife were there for the event. That's Kanye selling the sizzle instead of the steak, something he's very good at.

______________________________________

From: David Fearon
Subject: Re: It's A Team Sport

Hi Bob
You are correct about record stores stock levels. I owned a store in New Zealand and as a small store I had to be selective. We are a small market and part of the problem was that the record companies catalogue was also pretty limited.
Until Spotify a lot of this music has never been seen !
Dave

______________________________________

Subject: Re: Covid-19

My cousin's 24 year old son was taken by Covid yesterday. He has a 5 year old daughter. He didn't wear a mask I'm sure he thought he had youth on his side. He fought for 10 days. At this very moment 5 friends and three relatives are being ravished by 'fake' flu. I have to take immune suppressing meds to keep my RA at bay so I have had both vaccines and a booster. Not enough is known about the disease to be certain about anything having to so with it, but if I can prevent myself and even just one other person from getting sick by wearing a mask I'm all over it. The anti vaccine and anti mask people are selfish.

Lisa Gregory

______________________________________

Subject: Re: Covid-19

How about this. Last Tuesday I went to the US open. Two days before the event, an email came in saying you need to show proof of vaccination in order to attend. On Monday, the lines were up to 2 hours long to get in to see tennis. So they made some changes for Tuesday. When we were walking towards the security checkpoint, we were asked to get out our proof of vaccination. I walk up with my ID and a copy of my vax card, and before they had a chance to read it, they said okay, good. Basically, it was all for show. If you walked up with anything looking like proof, they would just have waived you in.

Jared Polin

______________________________________

Subject: Re: Covid-19

Hello Bob.

I read your latest rant from the French Riviera where we made it right before the EU banned US passports from entering. You are spot on!
We have not been to a single museum, bakery, outdoor restaurant (only choosing restaurants we can dip our toes in the Mediterranean!), live music cafés, supermarkets, antique shops etc… without being CARDED for our Pass Sanitaire (health passport) which has been embraced by most recalcitrant French people. Populist leaders in neighboring Italy have as well(!). Who would have thought French and Italians would be FOLLOWING orders from the government… 68% vaccinated last time I checked. Don't believe the loud mouthed Yellow Vests. No one here is on their side and they are but a defunct movement.
See, Europeans value more their freedom to Culture, healthy food, , sipping espresso on a crowded café terrace, Dolce Vitta etc. than their disdain for orders.
We have been here 2 weeks, hardly noticing there is a pandemic raging, except for having to show our Covid vaccination document every time we want to go somewhere and having to wear a mask indoors only, small inconvenience.
First time EVER Europeans are watching us not with Envy, but with sadness, concern and consternation.

Respectfully.

Philippe SAISSE

______________________________________

Subject: Re: Covid-19

Bob,

Thanks for being real about this whole thing, as always. I'm tired of people who don't want to do their part bloviating about their individual freedoms while their parents and friends are dying alone in a hospital bed.

A friend I've had for over a decade passed away a couple weeks back from COVID. He was a libertarian and told me that he wouldn't be getting the vaccine (this was before it was even available/tested). He died at 44 years old, and at the funeral, one of the speakers mentioned that my friend was "not a fan of vaccines or masks, was staunchly against any translation of the Bible besides the King James, yet there are people here who disagree with him on all of those things. That's a testament to how loyal he was, even with people he had disagreements".

The fact that my buddy, who was obviously wrong about vaccines, is getting accolades for it at his own funeral (albeit in a roundabout way) was hard for me to watch.

Thanks as always,
Adam Sliger

______________________________________

Subject: Arizona #7 death rate

Hi Bob,

AZ is at 261 deaths per 100k population

California is at 168

So you are doing something right

Here the Governor ( with 18,999 deaths to his record )

Uses the public purse- Federal dollars- to reward those who care not for public health

https://www.abc15.com/news/state/arizona-interest-in-anti-mask-school-vouchers-outpaces-funds

" private school vouchers to students whose parents object to school mask requirements has seen a surge of applications."

He's also announced $60,000,000 for hospital who use certain medications post infection, to "ease pressure on staff"

yet masks are illegal in schools, universities and "publicly funded facilities" which would describe the arenas, stadiums and city arts/concert halls

Cheers, Mike K.

______________________________________

Subject: Re: Covid in the Classroom

Hi Bob,

I couldn't do it anymore…and then, the stars crossed, leaving me a lucky break; and I took it.

I had been teaching in a district protesting masks, some claiming vaccines are child abuse.

One parent called me a douchbag for teaching Elie Wiesel's Holocausts memoir last spring. "Everyone knows he made that shit up," says the parent whose kids rarely attended school during the pandemic. (I called home to offer help. They swore at me.)

Once, admin called me into the office for having students read an article about the pandemic in Greek mythology, comparing to the myth's pandemics. "Did you tell students never to leave their houses?" How does one respond to lies when there is no objectivity?

Then, the parent groups started submitting FOIAs on the teachers! Why? To find out if we are ruining the curriculum, curriculum that hasn't changed in ten years! A poem was scary?

Well, language is a virus, but I'm sure few adults at the board meetings have read the author who coined the phrase, nor the biography on Emmitt Till we taught—since it's been a required text before I was hired.

Facts won't stop opinions. Instead, they shift and get irate that the author capitalized B in Black…

I wasn't sure how to go back into a classroom this year—a classroom with no mask wearing of even the staff now, no windows, 36 butts in desks two feet apart—when my little kids at home can't get vaccinated yet. I logically know my kids have a low chance for hospitalization, but how would my wife, self employed, handle their or her sickness, ten days of quarantine, etc? It's not only health, it's the interruption, with no family help. We barely got through last year.

Plus, I have longhaulers in my family.

But then, seven days before school started, I received a job offer from that blue bubble of Ann Arbor. I took it!

I'm running the marathon at a sprint to be teaching in a new school, for we are wearing masks, holding class outside many times, breathing air from upgraded HVACs, and most of us are vaccinated. It's not perfect. I don't know what the variants hold for us.

Mike Vial

______________________________________

Subject: COVID HYPOCRISY

The ultimate in hypocrisy:

I know you're not a big sports fan, other than being a large skiing enthusiast, so you likely aren't aware that the college football season has just begun. Last night there was a 3-hr. delay to the start of the game between Boise State and the University of Central Florida from Orlando due to lightning in the area. Administrators ordered the stadium cleared, a safe and prudent precautionary measure.

When the game ultimately began there seemingly wasn't a soul in the stands wearing a mask, nor were fans socially distanced from one another.

While the chance of getting struck by lightning is probably infinitesimal, that didn't stop admin from clearing the stadium; a smart, precautionary measure. On the other hand, the chance of getting COVID in a packed and unmasked stadium, a "super spreader" if there ever was one, is probably reasonably high, though any attempt at masking or social distancing in FL is fundamentally a non-starter. Theater of the absurd.

The only thing missing from all of this is someone didn't say, "Wait a minute, isn't it my G-given right to be struck by lightning?"

Stuart K. Marvin


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Covid-19

"Covid Deaths Surge Across a Weary America as a Once-Hopeful Summer Ends - Cases are starting to fall in some hard-hit Southern states, but nearly half of Americans are not fully vaccinated, allowing the Delta variant to persist.": https://nyti.ms/3tgbiU2

So this is how it ends, utter chaos.

The same people bitching about the exit from Afghanistan are the same ones refusing to get the vaccine. Never mind that most people are lacking expertise in both areas. Then again, we all agree we're glad to be out of Afghanistan, enough with endless wars, and we want Covid-19 to be gone, to return to normal life, but that doesn't seem to be in the offing for eons.

So here's how it is folks, news is just fodder for discussion. Legitimate news outlets with boots on the ground have had their credibility eviscerated by the right, where it's all opinion all the time, where what you feel is more important than what is truth. So...

That's right, the "liberal" newspapers are the ones gathering the news, with boots on the ground, "The New York Times" and "The Washington Post." Yes, "The Wall Street Journal" can cover business, but it now does that poorly as it tries to be a more general newspaper serving the right, the articles are brief and you're better off reading the business coverage in the "Times." As for your local rag, it should go out of business. Why in the hell should I read national news in a local paper, when the true authorities are just a click away. In order to survive newspapers other than the Big Three above have to go hyper-local, but instead we can't stop hearing journalists bitch like the musicians who decried the internet, wanting to preserve the dominance of the CD when the public had moved on. If you're trying to gather the news, why are you so damn sentimental and glued to the past? Meanwhile, hedge funds own most of the local newspapers and are cutting staff to maintain margins and in a matter of years they'll throw the outfits away, or sell their names, like "Newsweek," which is a nearly worthless rag despite having the moniker of the old "Washington Post" weekly newsmagazine.

And most people don't subscribe to a newspaper anyway. They get their news online. Where it is tailored by algorithms for them, so they only see what already supports their vision and then they go into the echo chambers of social media where the platforms' sole desire is to keep you tuned in. That's what they tell advertisers, how much time people spend on their sites. It's kind of be like heroin dealers talking about the people they've addicted and kept using, social media won't kill you, but it will deaden your mind. And why are people so uneducated, lacking the power of analysis anyway? We're so busy fighting culture wars that kids can't even get a reasonable education anymore, their parents are afraid of anti-religious screeds and critical race theory and...why not pull your kids out of school completely...actually, that's what so many right wing religious people are doing, home-schooling, the worst effort ever, it separates your kids from the mainstream from the advent, you learn a lot more in school than what is contained in books, the socialization is key. Not only do you have to learn how to get along, you need to be exposed to people of different creeds, who don't look like you, who are not from the same economic class, who have different opinions. Ain't that America, where people hate those they've never even encountered! The Jews are wrecking America! But they know no Jews. Or they're afraid of people of color when they know none of them either. But these minorities are subjected to hate and scapegoating from the uninformed, on cable television, and from their peers on social media and it's more fulfilling to direct your attention to yourself than anybody else. That's one of the main laughable if it wasn't so serious characteristics of Trump's legal team, trying to spread the fiction that he won the election and hand a victory to him. They all stonewalled, none of them showed any chinks in their armor, it was a full court press, they were automatons, utterly ridiculous unless you were a diehard believer in what they were purveying. Getting to the truth is a messy proposition, and if you're not willing to be wrong, you can never really be right.

So the Delta variant is raging and now Mu has been found in America. Not that most people know about this latest variant, because they don't follow the news, too often they think Covid is a hoax and that they're inherently immune. As for all those blowhards who've said this and recently died, it makes no difference, because everybody in America thinks the rules don't apply to them until ultimately they do, like criminals they think if they haven't been caught yet they're going to get away with it. But then they get arrested. But even an arrest is better than death.

But now the medical establishment has been discredited. Yes, we are arguing about science, because a nitwit from nowhere knows more than someone who has a decade worth of training, never mind experience thereafter. Why does everybody think they know everything. Would you set somebody's broken leg? Then why do you think you're an expert on infectious diseases?

So America ain't closing down again, no way, it's not going to happen. It's only the Democrats who desire said action, as for the Republicans, they've already opened the country, there's freedom in Florida and Texas, the freedom to die, not that that's part of the promotion. But it should be. Keep telling these yahoos they've got the freedom to die and very well might and maybe they'd wake up and get vaccinated. As for the long term side effects of said vaccination... Forget what you read online, that you learned second hand, do you personally know someone who has been harmed by the vaccine, experiencing deleterious consequences beyond the side effects that might last a week? God, these same people wouldn't dive into a swimming pool, they're too afraid. Then again, so many are exhibiting inane behavior that is far riskier than a vaccine.

Like congregating in groups.

A good friend of mine got Covid-19 at the Dodger game. He's vaccinated, he'll survive, but what about the other 50,000 in attendance every night? Not that anybody's tracking the numbers, and unless you go to the hospital the government is unaware of most people who get infected. And the fact is most people have not already been infected, otherwise the infection rate wouldn't be in six digits every day.

But eventually everybody will get Covid. That's the plan. Yup, infect everybody and then we'll have herd immunity, at least until the next virus comes along. And while we're at it, let's stop vaccines for measles and shingles and everything else. Let your body fight it. So you can tell everybody you don't need to be inoculated, unless you die of course, and then your voice is not heard anyway. Then again, think of how many people still smoke. Somehow they think they're going to beat the odds. And some do, but most don't. But the younger generation has realized smoking is bad and now the only people left puffing cigarettes are the addicted boomers and the uneducated poor, with little respect for their own lives, but it took decades to come this far. We don't have decades to get people vaccinated against Covid-19.

And then there's this:

"Oracle Park Concession Workers Threaten to Strike After Many Test COVID-19 Positive - If workers vote to strike on Saturday, they could possibly walk off the job just before the Giants game against the Dodgers that evening": https://bit.ly/3DPX1SX

Work at the ballpark and get infected, because Covid restrictions are a joke, they say you need to be vaccinated or show a test but they don't check, this is the same fiction they employ in the concert business, saying they're doing the right thing when the truth is they're not doing much of anything and when confronted they point the finger at somebody else.

As for the concession workers above, they worked over the weekend, but 96.7% voted to authorize a strike.

UNIONS SUCK!

Well, without a union these workers would have no chance to stand up to bosses with spreadsheets who are only worried about the bottom line. Like the workers in Amazon warehouses, or the meatpackers who were getting infected constantly because they were forced to work, because you've got to feed your family. As for unemployment and other government benefits, many people still don't want to take lousy jobs that pay little and force you to work hard and be abused. Who wants to work at a fast food joint? People have found better ways to make a living, but the Fortune 500 still believe Americans are captive, needing to work their low rent jobs or starve. Or still starve, working at Walmart while they apply for government assistance.

So we were told to just wait, when Delta accelerated, when the vaccine was approved, the naysayers would get the jab. Well, this was said by people who didn't know the naysayers. It's not like the fifties and sixties anymore, the different classes no longer interact. If you've got any money you don't even send your kid to public school, but private. You don't vacation in the same spots, you don't even fly on the same planes, so why do you think you know what is going on in the brains of others? As for the underclass thinking they know what the elite do...knowledge has now been branded as negative, better to be ignorant, didn't Trump say he loved his uneducated voters?

And the truth is it's a war. You're either pro or anti-vaccine. It's a religion. And Covid-19 is just the latest shot. These same people have been anti-vaccine for years, crediting so many illnesses to the shots that they don't cause. And if these same people get ill, they're the first ones who run to the hospital, unless they're self-medicating with Ivermectin, which poisons them and clogs up hospitals. I mean you can't even trust the science that Ivermectin won't cure Covid? When you can get monoclonal antibodies? What planet are these people from?

The same one I live on. Where truth is out the window and there's a chorus of right wing anti-vaxxers little different from fans at a sporting event. Never mind that they can't spell, it's all about being on the team, and they can't be wrong, they can't look in the mirror and not believe they're God's golden child, who will be watched over and saved.

It's been everybody for themselves for years in America. But now it's even worse. Because now it's not just about money or privilege but life or death. If Democrats started lauding smoke alarms you've got to know Republicans would stop installing them. And if their house burned down and burned up the neighborhood, well...houses usually don't catch fire, but when they do...

Which is why in California car insurance is mandatory. Because you might cause an accident and how will the injured party be made whole? Never mind their automobile, but their health? Covid vaccines are the same thing, yet worse. But if you say everybody has to get a Covid vaccine somehow you're a Nazi, if only these people lived in Nazi Germany. Then again, they'd be the same ones pledging fealty to Hitler, being afraid to go against groupthink, saying nothing as Jews and other minorities were shipped off to camps. And when it's over they all say it wasn't their fault, they didn't pull the trigger, they didn't know what was really happening, just like with Covid when they get it.

And you need a license to drive, but we can't have vaccine passports because... Exactly why? The truth is they already know who you are, where you live, what you eat, what you buy. That's right, unless you haven't surfed the web ever, and don't use a smartphone, you've coughed up so much data that the social media outfits and the corporations know exactly who you are anyway. And you keep saying the government is bad and private industry is the way to go but the truth is you're sacrificing much more to private industry than you are to the government.

And if you go to India or even college, you've got to have shots. But so many of these idiots have never been anywhere, never mind so many have gotten vaccines before. Why stop at Covid? It's got nothing to do with it being new, which it is not, mRNA has been around for years, it's got nothing to do with approval, it's got to do with the fiction that shots invade your freedom. But I don't see you refusing to bow to the TSA at the airport, you're coughing up your freedom on a regular basis, but truth is no longer a defense.

So America is open for business. It's a game of Russian Roulette. Go out and play and see if you get infected and die. No one is looking out for you, as a matter of fact, just the opposite. If you wear a mask to protect yourself in many communities you'll be excoriated, despite it being a personal choice, a "freedom." How come "freedom" only goes in one direction? We don't get to tell you how to live, but you get to tell us all the time. Just try getting an abortion in Texas, never mind the whole south. And not only is the public pro-choice, but so are many of the Republican elected officials, they just say they're pro-life so they won't piss off part of their constituency, which in truth has nowhere else to go, who'll vote for them anyway.

So forget it. You can talk about vaccines and mandates all day long but it's never going to happen. Biden could mandate vaccines, and people would bitch to high heaven just like they did when he got us out of Afghanistan, but ultimately they'd be happy and forget about it. But Biden doesn't have the balls, we've got no leadership. And the tail is wagging the dog anyway, how can there be more Democrats yet Republicans rule the country? The Supreme Court is Republican and Biden can't get his agenda through because his own party members are afraid of blowback. The right doesn't care about blowback, I'd say it's their secret weapon, but it's right out front, everybody can see it!

And we all know Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham are evil blowhards spewing false information, but you can complain all day and nothing will change, they're just leading their lemmings over the cliff, you can bet your house that those two have been vaccinated, no way they're taking the risk. YOU should take the risk, YOU should protect your freedom, but not THEM!

Nothing anybody can do can shut down the right wing juggernaut. Biden defeats Trump handily and not only do so many Republicans still believe Trump won, they're still counting votes and bitching about Benghazi. I'm surprised they're not complaining about Walter Mondale.

It's frustrating if you have a brain.

It's frustrating if you got the vaccine. These wankers can infect you and not only can you get sick, you can die. The odds are low, but who wants the risk? Never mind the potential long term side effects of infection.

It's all about THEIR safety. They want to carry guns to shoot robbers... You'd think they live in the wild west when the truth is crime has crumbled, sure, it ticked up a bit during the Covid era, but no one is stealing your kids, you're pretty damn safe, but they keep saying cities are hellholes...so why is everybody moving to them? We're supposed to respect the rural counties, losing residents, when they've got no respect for those in the growing metropolises whatsoever. It's like they want everybody to be Gomer Pyle and live in Mayberry R.F.D. Meanwhile, as for that mail delivery...magazines come so late it's not even worth subscribing, meanwhile DeJoy still has his position, despite self-dealing and the change of the Board of Governors in the Democrats' favor. They've got the power, but they're still letting DeJoy wreak havoc. This would never happen in private business, then again, all these people in the government are getting rich on our backs, like faux principled Joe Manchin. He made millions from energy companies, even though coal, fossil fuels, are fading...and this isn't an opinion, just look at the statistics.

But you won't. Because you believe you're right. And you only read news that supports your opinion. These whackos constantly send me links supporting their inanity, and it's always from sites I've never heard of that if you just Google them they turn out to be conservative, oftentimes religious outfits. Anybody can publish online, that doesn't make what you're saying right.

I'd say it's complete gridlock, but the truth is so many are moving, out in society, living it up. Would these same people go for a hike in the snow in their underwear? Why do they respect the weather and not Covid? Oh, they don't really respect the weather either, do you expect people to care about climate change if they don't care about infecting you with the virus? But if they have the slightest loss you know they're looking to the government to make them whole, and Biden doesn't play favorites, unlike Trump, who was tight with the money for states that didn't vote for him.

And I'll sum up by saying there are flaws on the left. Yes, some of the educated left are anti-vax. But the left is nowhere near as bad as the right. All these outfits with their false equivalencies, don't they know the right has already rejected them? Why are you worried about what they have to say?

But everybody wants to be popular, they don't want to offend anybody.

Unless you're an elected official on the right. Then you get to obstruct justice not because it's right, but because you have the power. McCarthy? Don't cough up your 1/6 info to Congress. Why? Well, McCarthy's team might look bad. And if you say no, it's gonna be hard to get it from you and...

This is America.

I don't know how you ignore it and go on with your regular life. Politics are your identity, your tribe, it's the biggest sporting contest in the nation. It's a fight to the death. And there are no rules. And not really any referees either. So if you're looking for wise people to make judgments and call out bad behavior, you're dreaming. Just decide if you want to risk Covid by walking out your front door. And it is a risk, higher than being killed in a car accident, by a huge multiple. But it doesn't feel that way... Just like it feels like you might be killed in an airplane accident, but the odds are much higher on the highway. And if people can't accept that, why should they accept that the Covid vaccine will save not only them but their brethren, the country, will even boost the economy. They can't.

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