"Elon Musk Reinstates Trump's Twitter Account - Mr. Musk, who had run a poll on Twitter about whether to bring back the former president to the service, said, 'The people have spoken.'": https://nyti.ms/3Gu1A9e
That was then and this is now. Donald Trump was a disrupter. He said the unsayable. He broke norms. He rallied people who were sick of stuffed-shirts who believed they were above them, who had forgotten about them, especially when it came to globalization.
Now let's not get hung up in reality, in truth. Turned out once in office Trump was the corporate shill the Republicans truly are, lowering taxes on the rich and...
But this is not about truth, it was never about truth. It's about emotion, having something to live for, ATTENTION!
I mean what is there to live for anymore? You'll never be rich, unless you win the lottery. Everybody in entertainment and sports is a whore, sold out to the highest bidder, just like the naming rights of the arenas and stadiums they play in. In order to move forward in life, you need hope. And let's be clear, this is not what Hillary Clinton was delivering, in essence she was promising more of the same. Furthermore, she was anything but believable, we still don't know who the real Hillary is.
But we damn sure know who Donald Trump is. A not-so-bright guy born with a silver spoon in his mouth who will do anything for attention, who never admits he's wrong, who believes that Roy Cohn wrote the moral handbook.
"I can see by your eyes you must be lying
When you think I don't have a clue
Baby, you're crazy
If you think that you can fool me
Because I've seen that movie too"
Or should I have quoted Ian Hunter's "Once Bitten, Twice Shy"?
Yes, Elton John's "I've Seen That Movie Too" was on "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," not "Caribou," but it applies here just as much as "The Bitch Is Back."
"I'm a bitch, I'm a bitch, oh, the bitch is back
Stone cold sober as a matter of fact
I can bitch, I can bitch, 'cause I'm better than you
It's the way that I move, the things that I do"
That's right, Trump doesn't drink. And from day one he's thought he's better than the rest of us. That was what "The Apprentice" was all about: I'm rich, I'm omniscient and I have the power to hire and fire, you report to ME!
Yes, Donald Trump felt justified when he was five. And he skated until he became president, because with the office comes attention, and it turned out that Trump was a lying, cheating, scumbag. How dare I talk about the Donald this way! But that's just the point, this is exactly how Trump talks!
And the media couldn't get enough of it.
Back in 2016, we believed that facts still mattered, that significant swaths of the public were not completely looney-tunes. This was before QAnon not only gained huge traction, but back when Democrats laughed when told people believed Hillary was running a child-sex ring out of a pizza parlor.
No one is laughing anymore, neither Democrats nor Republicans. It's a fight for the soul of our country, it's a fight for democracy, it's a fight for an ABORTION, and Trump is on the losing side of all these issues, which is why the Republicans got creamed in this year's elections. Turns out most American citizens are frightened, turns out they'd rather live in a land of enforced laws that apply to everyone, they're scared of creeping autocracy, and they know if elections are not sacred, you've got no democracy.
And now Trump pulls out the same playbook.
Homies might be buying it, but not Rupert Murdoch. Rupert has put out the word to his papers and his TV news channels, Trump is toast, bury him. The "New York Times" did not put this lift of the ban at the top of its homepage. Everybody's seen this movie and they're not going to fall for the deception again, they don't want to relive the plot.
So you've got Elon Musk. Part of a triumvirate, along with Kanye West and Trump, who are attention whores, who need to be in the headlines every damn day. Usually while they destroy their careers. People tire of the story and it goes on long enough for reporters to uncover the truth and the old saw remains, if you're rich, SHUT UP! Because as Balzac said, "behind every great fortune there is a crime." And this is true. You don't want the spotlight upon you.
So Trump comes back to Twitter, he will, no matter what he's said in the past. And I don't care about the follower count, boosted by bots, who is going to see what he posts?
Elon's Twitter saga has revealed the truth to everybody, that most people are not on Twitter, it's really just the media intelligentsia who are addicted to it. And this same media reported everything Trump said before his ban. They justified this by saying he was president. They used false equivalencies when Trump was lying outright, they'd get a quote from the other side saying that Trump was speaking the truth. And there was infrastructure, like Fox News, defending Trump, spewing disinformation 24/7. But Fox has gotten in trouble for this, the voting machine lawsuits are nothing to laugh at. Turns out supporting Trump is bad for business, they want to downplay the Donald if they say anything about him at all.
And one thing about America's corporations, they guard their image, their business, very closely. They're fearful their companies will turn into Tesla, a great product that more and more people won't buy based on the image of the man who runs it, Elon Musk. Meaning, when Trump comes back, even if he never comes back, advertisers will continue to stay away from Twitter. Who wants to be attached to this stink? It's too big a risk. Furthermore, the guy running the operation is off his rocker.
Taking a vote? On a site that he wanted to weasel out of buying because of the plethora of bots? A Twitter vote is about as accurate as a political poll, as in NOT VERY! It's a self-selecting group that replies, it is not an accurate sampling of the public, and to make decisions based on this information is a route to hell. Yes, the right wing media and the polls said there was going to be a red wave, but Michael Moore knew there would not be one because he actually went out and touched America, which is anathema to those in D.C. and the news. Oh, they pay lip service, but they'd rather hang with their insider buddies, and they all pay fealty to the rich.
But it turns out Trump is not that rich!
So what are you getting with Trump?
Well, there are diehard fans of perennially last place sports teams. But their dedication and vocal cries don't mean the team wins. I get it, those on the right hate the left. But do they need Trump to lead the charge? What's so special about Trump? A know-nothing who shoots from the hip, doesn't think the law applies to him, and wants to stay in power forever, just like Xi, never mind Putin.
So what is Musk gaining by allowing Trump back on? He gets the kudos of the bros, the right wing fanatics, those who think he can do no wrong, who believe you have a right to say whatever you want whenever you want wherever you want.
But that's not what free speech is.
But rather than get into a discussion of free speech, as a practical matter Musk is throwing in with a gang, many of whom are uninformed and uneducated, he's making Twitter positively toxic, who wants to be involved? Once again, not advertisers! At least not those with deep pockets who make these sites run.
By allowing Trump back on Elon is inherently marginalizing Twitter.
And we love to watch the movie, just like with Charlie Sheen. But the movie ultimately ends. It's a train-wreck. Truth outs, the actor/politician/business person crashes, and the public moves on. So Elon takes Twitter to bankruptcy, and even if he doesn't, it ends up a second class platform. There ends up being nothing to report. The show is over. People have seen it, they move on.
Come on, the most interesting thing about Twitter is not the content, but Musk's shenanigans. As for those who think his moves are genius, Charlie Sheen even went on the road where people paid to see him, how many people would pay now? Never mind Charlie losing his big paying TV gig and fading into obscurity.
And people are rooting for Musk to lose. They're loving his decimation of Twitter. Finally, this guy is gonna get his comeuppance!
Allowing Trump back on is not going to solve his problems, it's only going to create new ones!
So Trump can tweet away, but we know almost all of what he says is worthless. Hell, if even Fox News wouldn't broadcast all of his announcement speech, what are the odds all these reporters are going to give air to what he claims on Twitter? VERY LOW!
This is a sideshow. You may tell me 1/6 had no effect on people's thinking, but you're completely wrong. And they're not coming out of the woodwork to claim fraud in elections. Turns out 1/6 was a blip on the radar screen, in terms of its effect on the trustworthiness of elections. That ship has sailed. Yes, as a result of 1/6, heinous voter repression laws were passed, but it turns out the public wants to believe in elections, which is why Trump supported Big Lie secretary of state candidates lost.
Elon Musk is so self-centered, so deep in his bubble, that he doesn't even know he's losing, he keeps thinking he's winning when the truth is just the opposite. So Musk says Trump can come back. It's news today, but not tomorrow, just like Trump's ultimate bloviations on the short message site. People love the crash, not the content. It's hubris on parade, both Elon and the Donald, and that's one procession most people don't care to see. Twitter is becoming more of a backwater each and every day. And who pays attention to that? Very few! Allowing Trump back on Twitter is akin to Arista saying it will put out a new Milli Vanilli record. The announcement will be everywhere, but the music will be nowhere.
I rest my case.
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Saturday 19 November 2022
Friday 18 November 2022
Ticket Buying Experiences-SiriusXM This Week
Tune in tomorrow, Saturday November 19th, to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.
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The Elizabeth Holmes Sentence
Am I the only one thrilled that she got eleven and a quarter years (135 months)?
I feel defeated. I was brought up in a world where you were told to jump through the hoops, work hard and you'll end up with a modicum of accoutrements, more than satisfied. As for the rich, they were people who did something extraordinary, like entertainers. And rich was relative. It's one thing to be a millionaire, quite another to be a BILLIONAIRE! How is the average person supposed to earn a billion dollars? Rob a bank?
Well, that's one way, you can work on Wall Street, employing financial shenanigans that the average person cannot comprehend, that paid-off elected officials keep trying to remove the guardrails from. Yes, we've been told to let the market be free, that it will police itself. HUH? It colludes with itself!
Kind of like CEO salaries. I mean if you started the company, if you own the company, you're entitled to untold riches. But Michael Eisner didn't even start at Disney, and by time he retired he was the company's largest shareholder. How does that happen?
In a way that that the average person going to Disneyland has no understanding of.
So right now we're seeing Elon Musk self-immolate, light a match to $44 billion. I'm loving it. As for the loss of Twitter... It won't happen, and even if it did, if people really need to communicate in short bursts of words another platform will arise. Then again, never underestimate the power of the individual. Donald Trump single-handedly put a dent in democracy. Everybody believed in the sanctity of elections, now nearly half of the population does not. And yes, Musk did a good job at Tesla, then...
For a top-notch automobile he could never improve the interior, the appointments, Teslas are upscale vehicles, and upscale customers expect more. And Musk kept telling us his self-driving technology worked, when it turns out he put the kibosh on lidar and went solely with cameras. All evidence says Tesla's system doesn't work, that it's not roadworthy. So, Musk is leaving the door open for the usual suspect car manufacturers to catch up and supersede him.
And yes, SpaceX appears to be a phenomenon.
But why are we all convinced that if you succeed in one vertical, you're an expert in another?
You want to work for yourself, you want to put in 120 hours burning the midnight oil... Fine, but just don't expect others to. They don't care that much, there's not enough of an upside. And one thing about the market crash of the past year... All these techies, a bunch who are now getting laid off, have stock options that are underwater, i.e. WORTHLESS! Yes, that's the dream. You get paid in stock and you too become rich. Well, they'll adjust the strike point for the CEO, but not the rank and file.
Once again, there are two different worlds.
There's a club, and you ain't in it.
Not only do you have to be rich, you have to know people.
Cory Booker and the Stanfordites filing letters of recommendation to the court? God, these same people would write letters in support of Jeffrey Epstein! You defend your friends, irrelevant of what they do. And most people just don't have friends like that. They've got nothing to trade, so they're left out. Get arrested and you're going to JAIL!
Then again, there's a good chance there's footage. If you watch streaming TV crime shows you know there's a camera almost everywhere these days, your crime has been recorded. But if a CEO tells his CFO to do something, or if the CFO acts based on prior instructions, there's plausible deniability. Yes, it's damn hard to convict people. Even if you've got a ton of evidence.
And these criminals hire David Boies, who was doing Harvey Weinstein's dirty work, to intimidate truth-tellers. That's the key element in John Carreyrou's Theranos book. Boies and team, yes there's intimidation in numbers, came into the "Wall Street Journal" offices to try and get the story told their way, if at all, which was totally false. I'm going to let you in on something, most people can't handle the pressure. That old axiom "You'll never work in this town again."? That's much more true than untrue. Sure, we hear about the people who bucked the system, but most people were silenced and squeezed out, or now owe fealty to bad actors.
Yes, I spent four years in college. I've got a diploma. When did it become a badge of honor to drop out? And when did the arts and humanities get such a bad rap? When I went to college it was never about getting a job, never ever, it was about LEARNING! But now college is seen as a glorified trade school. As for the cost... Word is finally getting out, it's NEGOTIABLE! Almost nobody pays list price. Yes, college is run like a business, whereas it used to be seen as separate, with its ivy-covered walls.
Everything is a business, everybody wants to get rich. Check out how much a firefighter makes. It's the overtime that bumps their salary. And I'm not saying we don't need firefighters, but I will say teachers don't get overtime. And as a matter of fact, the private schools that keep being promoted as part of school choice usually pay their teachers even LESS!
I could go on and on, but I won't. I'm just saying it's every person for themselves in America today. You feel like nobody is on your side, everybody's expendable. And if you play by the rules, you're a chump. It's one thing to break through archaic rules as you disrupt an industry into the future, but that's not what I'm talking about here. What I'm talking about is people who take shortcuts, who think the rules don't apply to them.
That "Wall Street Journal" article about Elizabeth Holmes was printed back in 2015, over seven years ago. And what has happened since then? Holmes has been living the life of Riley. Yes, click on this link, it's free: https://on.wsj.com/3gnm6xx Scroll down to see the pictures Holmes's significant other sent to the court to show what a good person she is, that she deserves leniency. You see Holmes in Park City... It looks like nobody in these pictures works, they're gallivanting all over the country, willy-nilly, as if Holmes was a perfect specimen of society, bedrock. I mean only a rich prick like Billy Evans could be so tone-deaf as to not realize these pictures make Holmes look anything but remorseful.
And Holmes never expressed a speck of remorse until sentencing. She doesn't care about those she ripped-off, she just wants a lighter sentence, she and her lawyers will say anything to try and achieve this.
But this time it didn't work.
Oh, she's going to appeal and the wheels of justice move so slowly that her kids may be out of college before she goes behind bars, laughing all the while. Holmes is making a mockery of the system. If only she were like Jimmy McGill, aka Saul Goodman, who ultimately owned up to his bad behavior and paid the price. Holmes could have pled guilty, she could stop all these high-priced appeals, she could ask to be put in prison right now!
And I don't care if she only serves a year. As long as she thinks she's going to serve eleven plus. Holmes has got to pay the price.
As for it being sexist... Come on, look at the top of the same "Wall Street Journal" article posted above, can you say ENRON? Men have gone to jail for fraud for over a decade!
And fraud it was. What kind of person acts like this, FOR YEARS! You wouldn't, I wouldn't, but Holmes believed she was above it all, as she famously said, "I'm too pretty to go to jail."
No one is too pretty to go to jail.
And it's not only Holmes, Trump has to be convicted too. And spend some time in jail, if even only a day. Because you can't poke our eyes with your illegal b.s. and get away with it. If Holmes doesn't go to jail, and if Trump isn't convicted, why should anybody do the right thing?
I'm here to tell you, they're not. Let's start with phishing schemes, it's not all Russians. Unless people pay consequences behavior is legitimized. Which is why we're still feeling the aftereffects of Wall Street skating after destroying the economy back in 2008.
And whenever we catch someone, shine the light upon them, they always blow back, tell us we don't know, when in truth we do, because we were brought up right, we know the difference between right and wrong.
But if you can't put food on the table, or if you keep being exposed to the lifestyles of the rich and bogus, you too are going to get frustrated, you too are going to want your piece of the pie.
I want to see Elizabeth Holmes wipe that s..t-eating grin off her face. I want to see her scared to the bone. I want to see her begging for mercy. I want her to see that she did a bad bad thing, which she most certainly did. Come on, incorrect medical test results, knowingly? I can barely think of anything worse than that, it's truly life and death.
And we live and we die and nothing seems to change. Money talks, and the rest of us walk. And just because you have money that does not make you a good person, oftentimes just the opposite. But in our world, money is everything. The goal isn't to become an artist, but someone with a musical profile who can turn themselves into a brand.
Let's even talk about the Kardashians... I don't care how much money they have, if I was washed up on a desert island with them I'd kill myself. Because what would there be to say? That's why you go to college, to hear other opinions in the dorm, to learn not only facts, but how to analyze. There is very little black and white in this world, almost everything merits discussion, but if you're uneducated and ignorant this cannot be done. Even worse, those in charge want their constituents ignorant, they're more easily molded.
No, Elizabeth Holmes, you're not better than the rest of us, YOU'RE WORSE! In the interim you could have volunteered, given back, but NO! as John Belushi famously said, that's below you.
I hope to see you cleaning toilets soon.
Even better, I hope to stop reading about you in the press.
But I don't want you to be forgotten, I want you to be a lesson to both the citizens of today and those of tomorrow, teaching us that there are rules in society, and you break them at your peril. Furthermore, life is not solely about lifestyle, it's what's inside that truly counts. And Elizabeth Holmes, you're rotten to the core. Call me Crabby Appleton, I don't mind being the voice of reason in this era of groupthink, where no one ever blows the whistle on anybody else. That's right Holmes, the judge blew the whistle on you, get off the court, go straight to the locker room, jail, YOUR ROOM and don't come out until you've thought long and hard about what you've done and how you're going to repay society. Theoretically you can rehabilitate yourself, even Chuck Colson did. Best to start NOW!
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I feel defeated. I was brought up in a world where you were told to jump through the hoops, work hard and you'll end up with a modicum of accoutrements, more than satisfied. As for the rich, they were people who did something extraordinary, like entertainers. And rich was relative. It's one thing to be a millionaire, quite another to be a BILLIONAIRE! How is the average person supposed to earn a billion dollars? Rob a bank?
Well, that's one way, you can work on Wall Street, employing financial shenanigans that the average person cannot comprehend, that paid-off elected officials keep trying to remove the guardrails from. Yes, we've been told to let the market be free, that it will police itself. HUH? It colludes with itself!
Kind of like CEO salaries. I mean if you started the company, if you own the company, you're entitled to untold riches. But Michael Eisner didn't even start at Disney, and by time he retired he was the company's largest shareholder. How does that happen?
In a way that that the average person going to Disneyland has no understanding of.
So right now we're seeing Elon Musk self-immolate, light a match to $44 billion. I'm loving it. As for the loss of Twitter... It won't happen, and even if it did, if people really need to communicate in short bursts of words another platform will arise. Then again, never underestimate the power of the individual. Donald Trump single-handedly put a dent in democracy. Everybody believed in the sanctity of elections, now nearly half of the population does not. And yes, Musk did a good job at Tesla, then...
For a top-notch automobile he could never improve the interior, the appointments, Teslas are upscale vehicles, and upscale customers expect more. And Musk kept telling us his self-driving technology worked, when it turns out he put the kibosh on lidar and went solely with cameras. All evidence says Tesla's system doesn't work, that it's not roadworthy. So, Musk is leaving the door open for the usual suspect car manufacturers to catch up and supersede him.
And yes, SpaceX appears to be a phenomenon.
But why are we all convinced that if you succeed in one vertical, you're an expert in another?
You want to work for yourself, you want to put in 120 hours burning the midnight oil... Fine, but just don't expect others to. They don't care that much, there's not enough of an upside. And one thing about the market crash of the past year... All these techies, a bunch who are now getting laid off, have stock options that are underwater, i.e. WORTHLESS! Yes, that's the dream. You get paid in stock and you too become rich. Well, they'll adjust the strike point for the CEO, but not the rank and file.
Once again, there are two different worlds.
There's a club, and you ain't in it.
Not only do you have to be rich, you have to know people.
Cory Booker and the Stanfordites filing letters of recommendation to the court? God, these same people would write letters in support of Jeffrey Epstein! You defend your friends, irrelevant of what they do. And most people just don't have friends like that. They've got nothing to trade, so they're left out. Get arrested and you're going to JAIL!
Then again, there's a good chance there's footage. If you watch streaming TV crime shows you know there's a camera almost everywhere these days, your crime has been recorded. But if a CEO tells his CFO to do something, or if the CFO acts based on prior instructions, there's plausible deniability. Yes, it's damn hard to convict people. Even if you've got a ton of evidence.
And these criminals hire David Boies, who was doing Harvey Weinstein's dirty work, to intimidate truth-tellers. That's the key element in John Carreyrou's Theranos book. Boies and team, yes there's intimidation in numbers, came into the "Wall Street Journal" offices to try and get the story told their way, if at all, which was totally false. I'm going to let you in on something, most people can't handle the pressure. That old axiom "You'll never work in this town again."? That's much more true than untrue. Sure, we hear about the people who bucked the system, but most people were silenced and squeezed out, or now owe fealty to bad actors.
Yes, I spent four years in college. I've got a diploma. When did it become a badge of honor to drop out? And when did the arts and humanities get such a bad rap? When I went to college it was never about getting a job, never ever, it was about LEARNING! But now college is seen as a glorified trade school. As for the cost... Word is finally getting out, it's NEGOTIABLE! Almost nobody pays list price. Yes, college is run like a business, whereas it used to be seen as separate, with its ivy-covered walls.
Everything is a business, everybody wants to get rich. Check out how much a firefighter makes. It's the overtime that bumps their salary. And I'm not saying we don't need firefighters, but I will say teachers don't get overtime. And as a matter of fact, the private schools that keep being promoted as part of school choice usually pay their teachers even LESS!
I could go on and on, but I won't. I'm just saying it's every person for themselves in America today. You feel like nobody is on your side, everybody's expendable. And if you play by the rules, you're a chump. It's one thing to break through archaic rules as you disrupt an industry into the future, but that's not what I'm talking about here. What I'm talking about is people who take shortcuts, who think the rules don't apply to them.
That "Wall Street Journal" article about Elizabeth Holmes was printed back in 2015, over seven years ago. And what has happened since then? Holmes has been living the life of Riley. Yes, click on this link, it's free: https://on.wsj.com/3gnm6xx Scroll down to see the pictures Holmes's significant other sent to the court to show what a good person she is, that she deserves leniency. You see Holmes in Park City... It looks like nobody in these pictures works, they're gallivanting all over the country, willy-nilly, as if Holmes was a perfect specimen of society, bedrock. I mean only a rich prick like Billy Evans could be so tone-deaf as to not realize these pictures make Holmes look anything but remorseful.
And Holmes never expressed a speck of remorse until sentencing. She doesn't care about those she ripped-off, she just wants a lighter sentence, she and her lawyers will say anything to try and achieve this.
But this time it didn't work.
Oh, she's going to appeal and the wheels of justice move so slowly that her kids may be out of college before she goes behind bars, laughing all the while. Holmes is making a mockery of the system. If only she were like Jimmy McGill, aka Saul Goodman, who ultimately owned up to his bad behavior and paid the price. Holmes could have pled guilty, she could stop all these high-priced appeals, she could ask to be put in prison right now!
And I don't care if she only serves a year. As long as she thinks she's going to serve eleven plus. Holmes has got to pay the price.
As for it being sexist... Come on, look at the top of the same "Wall Street Journal" article posted above, can you say ENRON? Men have gone to jail for fraud for over a decade!
And fraud it was. What kind of person acts like this, FOR YEARS! You wouldn't, I wouldn't, but Holmes believed she was above it all, as she famously said, "I'm too pretty to go to jail."
No one is too pretty to go to jail.
And it's not only Holmes, Trump has to be convicted too. And spend some time in jail, if even only a day. Because you can't poke our eyes with your illegal b.s. and get away with it. If Holmes doesn't go to jail, and if Trump isn't convicted, why should anybody do the right thing?
I'm here to tell you, they're not. Let's start with phishing schemes, it's not all Russians. Unless people pay consequences behavior is legitimized. Which is why we're still feeling the aftereffects of Wall Street skating after destroying the economy back in 2008.
And whenever we catch someone, shine the light upon them, they always blow back, tell us we don't know, when in truth we do, because we were brought up right, we know the difference between right and wrong.
But if you can't put food on the table, or if you keep being exposed to the lifestyles of the rich and bogus, you too are going to get frustrated, you too are going to want your piece of the pie.
I want to see Elizabeth Holmes wipe that s..t-eating grin off her face. I want to see her scared to the bone. I want to see her begging for mercy. I want her to see that she did a bad bad thing, which she most certainly did. Come on, incorrect medical test results, knowingly? I can barely think of anything worse than that, it's truly life and death.
And we live and we die and nothing seems to change. Money talks, and the rest of us walk. And just because you have money that does not make you a good person, oftentimes just the opposite. But in our world, money is everything. The goal isn't to become an artist, but someone with a musical profile who can turn themselves into a brand.
Let's even talk about the Kardashians... I don't care how much money they have, if I was washed up on a desert island with them I'd kill myself. Because what would there be to say? That's why you go to college, to hear other opinions in the dorm, to learn not only facts, but how to analyze. There is very little black and white in this world, almost everything merits discussion, but if you're uneducated and ignorant this cannot be done. Even worse, those in charge want their constituents ignorant, they're more easily molded.
No, Elizabeth Holmes, you're not better than the rest of us, YOU'RE WORSE! In the interim you could have volunteered, given back, but NO! as John Belushi famously said, that's below you.
I hope to see you cleaning toilets soon.
Even better, I hope to stop reading about you in the press.
But I don't want you to be forgotten, I want you to be a lesson to both the citizens of today and those of tomorrow, teaching us that there are rules in society, and you break them at your peril. Furthermore, life is not solely about lifestyle, it's what's inside that truly counts. And Elizabeth Holmes, you're rotten to the core. Call me Crabby Appleton, I don't mind being the voice of reason in this era of groupthink, where no one ever blows the whistle on anybody else. That's right Holmes, the judge blew the whistle on you, get off the court, go straight to the locker room, jail, YOUR ROOM and don't come out until you've thought long and hard about what you've done and how you're going to repay society. Theoretically you can rehabilitate yourself, even Chuck Colson did. Best to start NOW!
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Thursday 17 November 2022
Mailbag
From: Dan Millen
Subject: Re: Ticketmaster Swift Snafu
Date: November 17, 2022 at 2:37:01 PM PST
Great time to load up on LYV stock!
I call it the TM hate trade.
Every time some kerfuffle happens with LYV and ticketmaster people dump the stock, it drops $5-10 and I grab some more, it always creeps back up, and I sell it when they report blowout quarters.
LYV could not exist without Ticketmaster, at least not with the spending that they are known for as far as talent guarantees.
Ticketmaster IS the profit center.
In their latest quarter some basic math: 5.87% net margins. Including TM.
Without ticketmaster that margin would be significantly negative, leading to a wholesale reevaluation of their business model.
Great for indies but not so great for touring artists.
______________________________________
From: Robert Merlis
Subject: Felice's rule
Date: October 21, 2022 at 12:48:40 PM PDT
Amen to her "no Tesla" edict. Why reward a self-aggrandizing twerp with you money even if his product has merit? We don't, as a rule, knowingly buy anything that has to do with the Koch Brothers (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2014/04/01/1288957/-Sign-the-pledge-Don-t-buy-these-Koch-products). Same goes for Uline shipping materials (the family behind this company makes the Koch Brothers seem left-leaning: https://refuseuline.com/). Not saying it has any impact but why spend your own money to stoke the fires that could consume you?
Another point about Tesla and apologies to any and all of my friends who own and drive them: Tesla drivers have supplanted BMW drivers as the douchiest, most entitled on the road. Not a scientific survey but it's axiomatic that when you're in a crosswalk and a car enters ignoring the pedestrian's right of way, it'll mostly likely be a Tesla. Besides, Tesla fit and finish/quality control/panel fit is typically worse than that found on competing vehicles. https://www.dmarge.com/tesla-build-quality.
I could go on but will stop here.
Bob Merlis
______________________________________
From: Tim Hanseroth
Subject: Re: The Grammy Nominations
Date: November 15, 2022 at 3:23:29 PM PST
The Grammys can seem ridiculous when you have no skin in the game, but theres no such thing as a small or minor award for an anrtist. All awards are important. I think one could even argue that the smaller the award, the more important it is.
It triggered me a few years ago and again today when you said no one cares about the smaller category awards except those nominated and their families. Our peers and community are watching. For a queer female fronted band in a straight sausage fest of an industry the doors opened by the small category nominations and trophies have been unimaginable. Not in the hardware, but in real life compensation like securing good festival slots and better guarantees. Things that propel a career forward outside of awards. They are small steppingstones to much greater heights.
Small awards matter
Tim H
______________________________________
From: Daniel Stein
Subject: Re: More Grammys/TikTok
Date: November 15, 2022 at 8:29:01 PM PST
I once heard a music marketing lecturer open his talk with the joke 'Where's the best place to hide a body? Second page of google…'
It's easier to find the nominations list on the NYT and the WAPO than the Grammy website. And I'm taking as a member of the academy who watches out for these things!
I guess I'm going to go read about the the fries now. Food indeed took over (with the big held of Shep Gordon's vision and wisdom as we know…).
D.
______________________________________
From: Craig Anderton
Subject: Re: The John Waite Documentary
Date: October 24, 2022 at 8:29:46 PM PDT
Some people get a glimpse of serious fame, don't like what they see, and do a u-turn. My turning point was returning to my home in the countryside, and finding several people camped out on my doorstep. They weren't nut cases, they were friendly. But at that moment I realized fame had unintended consequences against which very few people had immunity. Playing music was why I was doing this. Fame, which led to making money, was a fringe benefit with a significant cost.
In retrospect, do I wish I could have been an international superstar? No. It's a trap. Somehow, I saw that at the time. The irony is that I've made far more money from music after deciding making money wasn't the priority :)
Maybe the dream is over for some...but maybe they just had the wrong dream. I live, eat, and sleep music. Play and record almost every day. Have the kind of "gentle fame" that gets me invited to do seminars and workshops, compose soundtracks for videos, and master/mix music for musicians I respect.
Bought myself a beautiful black Tele for my birthday. I wouldn't trade this life for anything.
Craig
______________________________________
From: Dave Conklin
Subject: Re: Revolver Super Deluxe
Date: October 26, 2022 at 8:54:57 PM PDT
They didn't include a Blu-ray Disc with the hi res mixes. Who's going to spend the money for a bunch of… CDs? I'm sure the packaging is nice, but the physical release is pointless when it comes down to the sound. Neil Young pulled the same s..t with Archives Vol 2, which was even more surprising (I guess he's trying to steer people towards NYA subscriptions).
Pink Floyd released Animals as a $25 blu ray audio disc this year.
Why do I mention this?
Atmos on streaming is b.s. unless you've got Apple Music with an Apple TV connected to a home theater setup. Why Amazon hasn't activated the Atmos/360 tracks on their fire tv devices (the same ones that put thru 24/192 on the Amazon Music App!) probably has something to do with what one of your readers mentioned - that their engineers don't care. (Please grill Steve Boom on this s..t.) Hearing the surround mixes in actual discrete channel surround is incredible. Is it true to the artists original intention? Probably not. But is it an interesting alternative? Absolutely. Revelatory in some cases. I played the Giles Martin mix of Abbey Road on blu ray, Paul came out of the center channel singing Golden Slumbers so clearly, with such presence, it was like he was in the room directly in front of me. I teared up.
All of The Beatles previous Super Deluxe releases (Abbey Road, Sgt Pepper, White Album, Let It Be) included the blu ray disc. What they're charging for CDs in 2022 is, as you said, a cash grab.
______________________________________
From: Reed Turner
Subject: Re: Zach Bryan At The Wiltern
Date: October 25, 2022 at 1:30:40 PM PDT
Hi Bob,
Reed Turner here, I'm Charles Wesley Godwin's manager and a follower of your newsletter and podcast.
Glad you were able to catch the show. Zach and his team are wonderful people with a strong vision, and he's leading a movement in country music reminiscent of Laurel Canyon, Nashville '72, or Seattle in the 90's. We were thrilled when he asked Charles to sing on his song "Jamie" from the Summertime Blues EP and being part of the American Heartbreak Tour has been nothing short of fantastic.
Thank you for the kind words about Charles' music. We're very proud of the work he's put in to carve out a space for himself in the evolving landscape of country and he has a big year ahead of him. Sorry that you weren't able to catch more of his set this time. If you're interested in attending a show in the future, please don't hesitate to reach out. We'd love to have you.
Reed Turner
True Grit Management
______________________________________
From: Katy Cooper
Subject: Zach Bryan
Hi Bob,
Loved your write up on the Wiltern show! Huge fan of Zach with zero affiliation.
However I wish you had pointed that it wasn't "offenders" in the pit it was a woman in distress who had passed out and he was thoughtful enough to pause and call for help. It would have also been worth noting how many times he thanked the audience for being there, he truly shows how humble, genuine and happy he was to be playing for all the fans.
Glad you enjoyed it after all!! It was a stellar evening.
Katy
______________________________________
From: Fred Goldring
Subject: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Date: November 7, 2022 at 7:44:18 AM PST
Hey Bob -
Back in the Spring of 1983 when I was just starting out as the youngest lawyer at Allen Grubman's firm, I of course got to do all of the "fun" work. One day early on, Allen called me into his office and said, "I need you to do something for me and it will probably be the last time I ever ask you to do this as long as you work here - go to the law library"!" After a hearty laugh, Allen explained that he had just had lunch with Ahmet and he wanted me to go meet a young lawyer (she might have actually still been in law school) who was interning for Ahmet named Suzan Evans at a law library where the two of us were tasked with researching non-profit corporations and then filing the papers to form something called The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc. which we did in April 1983. Suzan was later named the first Executive Director of the Foundation which turned out to be a long and very cool gig for her.
Usually the handful of us young associates at the Grubman firm weren't invited by the partners to the cool industry functions, but in this case maybe because I had been involved with the formation (or more likely because Allen had bought two tables and had to fill them:) we were all invited to attend the first Inductions ceremonies at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel with a guest. I invited a girl I had just started to date to the 2nd Induction Ceremony (literally for our second date) because I wanted to impress her. I guess I must have because she went out with me again on a third date where I took her to my friend Joel Peresman's 30th birthday party at his apartment (and ironically Joel later took over for Suzan as RRHoF Exec Director). I've been married to that girl Gale for 34 years now.
Those early events were incredible because the artists inducted were the best of the best and there were no tapings or recordings for anyone else to see later, no cell phone cameras, no internet; you were either there or you weren't. The impromptu jam sessions at the end were legendary. I still remember standing next to George Harrison who was wearing a tux, open collared shirt and black and white checked Vans slip-on sneakers. It was like when I went to the first days of the TED Conference in the mid-90's where you couldn't even find the words to describe what you had seen and experienced and the people who didn't attend had zero access or context even when you did try to explain it. Sadly, there's something lost when you see so many folks today constantly videotaping or taking photos of an event they are at and not just "being there", taking it all in and being in the moment. Sounds like you had that kind of experience so I'm happy for you and jealous that I wasn't (but you did a fantastic job of describing your experience so we all got to live it vicariously so thanks for that:)
Best,
Fred G
______________________________________
From: John Gorman
Subject: More Than A Feeling
Date: October 27, 2022 at 1:44:23 PM PDT
Bob,
When I was the Operations Manager of WMMS, I talked to Steve Popovich regularly. Steve was from Cleveland, knew where the bodies were buried, and was somebody I could turn to for a truthful Cleveland history answer. Pops always sent me cassettes and tapes of artists he wanted sign and artists he had signed and wasn't sure what to do with. In turn, I gave him the WMMS listen line (a feed of our broadcast on the phone) and asked for his critique. My version of "How we doin'."
Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes was one such example on an audition tape he sent me.. It was a copy of Southside Johnny's version of Bruce Springsteen's "The Fever," a unreleased at that time song that Springsteen historian Ed Sciaky from WYSP/Philadelphia sent to us – and were playing in heavy rotation in expectation of the release of Bruce's "Born to Run" album. We played it. Our audience took to it immediately.
We set up an on-air battle with our morning talent, Jeff Kinzbach, who preferred the Southside version of "The Fever" and Kid Leo, on afternoon drive, who preferred the Boss'. It was the kind of good clean cross-promotional fun that got us the big ratings. When Southside's album was released – everyone was already aware of the band, and it was in the top ten in regional sales in its first release week. If it sold as well in the rest of the country as well as it did in Greater Cleveland, Johnny would have awarded a platinum album. But that is how Steve Popovich worked in Cleveland. It was a breakout market in the fifties and sixties – and Pops felt we could do it again. And we did.
In one of Pop's calls, he said to me, "You're from Boston, right? I want to send you a tape of this band from where you come from, I want the label to sign. They (meaning the label) have some reluctance to it – but I think it's great, man." Pops added that it was a one-man-band – but that the artist (Tom Scholtz) was putting together a band – and the vocalist on the demo (Brad Delp) agreed to be part of it. Friends in the business I knew from Boston were telling me in advance about Scholtz – as a tall lanky loner kid who they called a rock and roll scientist (because he worked at Polaroid during the day) that was "conjuring up some interesting music." The tape Pops sent was the result.
Pops sent it overnight and I listened. It was Tom Scholz's demo tape for Boston. It blew me away. I called everyone into my office to hear it. My staff felt the same way. I had to think in radio terms. It was the content we needed on-the-air for our fledging album rock format. The demo was slightly different from the first album. "More than A Feeling" was over 7 minutes long – with a flaming guitar solo at the end of the song. "Hitch A Ride" was "San Francisco Day" with slightly different lyrics. It also had a track that wasn't on the first album, but closed their second album, Don't Look Back, "A Man I'll Never Be."
I called Pops raving about the tape. He thanked me for listening and thanked me even more for loving it. I told him it was what album rock needed to reach a mass audience. I felt "More than A Feeling" was a future rock and roll anthem. He stopped me there, "I like that one, too, for the single, man. But I want the kid (Scholtz) to get rid of that guitar solo – end it with the song. Have 'em wanting more. He can do that extended stuff when he gets his band together and plays out live." He also wanted them to change "San Francisco Day." He liked the song, hated the title. "The band is called Boston and they have a song called "San Francisco Day?" I want him to change it." When the album was released, the song remained the same but the lyrics were different and it became the hooky "Hitch A Ride" track.
I asked him more about the band and he said, "Did you ever hear of a guy named Paul Ahern, he's their manager." I told him I knew Ahern well when I lived in Boston. He was a star at Warner-Reprise. He got Reprise to add the "A Horse with No Name" track (and put it out as a single) on the debut America album the same way Buffalo Springfield got "For What It's Worth" on their debut album. Ahern was already a legend. He had golden ears, and he knew how to promote and to whom.
Months later the Boston album was released –we were ready for it. We already had the slots and rotations ready. "More than A Feeling" was the lead track – but we also rotated most of the tracks in packet – and for weeks you couldn't go two hours without hearing "More Than A Feeling" and other tracks from the album. We played it day ahead of its official radio release so we could call it a "world premiere exclusive." It shot to number one immediately.
Cleveland was one of the early dates on their first tour and played one of the legendary "WMMS Monday Nights Out" at the Agora. Tickets sold out immediately. Paul Ahern allowed us to run the show live – a gamble because it was one of their early live shows and they were still trying to replicate the album sound live – but the show was a winner – and a few months later a half a dozen bootlegs of the show were on the market. I believe that was the only live show they did on that tour.
The first Boston album remains one of my all-time favorites for many reasons including its content. As far as I'm concerned, that Boston album got our stations ratings. No one ever punched the button to another station when a Boston track was playing. And that's probably true to this day if anyone is still listening to terrestrial radio.
Best,
G-Man (John Gorman)
______________________________________
From: Mike Lawson
Subject: Re: Musk
Date: November 5, 2022 at 2:37:28 PM PDT
I was in the market for an Electric Vehicle last spring. I am tired of giving record profits to oil companies gouging consumers with no consequences. I shopped for a Tesla.
Then came the announcement about Twitter and letting Trump back in.
It was a hard no after that. That was a bridge too far. January 6th and the s..t that man and his cult have done to democracy is real, and I can't set that aside with my wallet.
I bought a Chevy Bolt EUV LT. I adore it. It's stylish, roomy, super fast, has wireless Apple CarPlay, gets a max range of about 335 miles on a charge. GM installed an outlet for free (that would have cost $900). I bought it just before the end of May. The rebate was $500, and a week later they raised it to $6300! GM sent me a check for $5800!
MPG equivalent is about 122 compared to my 2020 Prius Prime Plugin at 95mpg and I traded in for top dollar.
I "was" Elon's target audience. I'm just one guy so it won't hurt him. But previous customers are your best future customer prospects. I was on my third Prius and if Toyota had an EV last spring I would have been tempted.
I have friends who have Teslas from the long long ago before time when Musk wasn't showing disdain for the buying public who actually like EVs.
They hate driving them now because of the stink Musk has attached to the brand and everything else he is touching. I have fielded many questions about my Chevy Bolt EUV from Tesla owners, including strangers chatting at charging stations.
I have never met a hard core right winger in Tennessee who drives an EV let alone a Tesla, who think they are some sign of emasculation or something. They complain about gas prices while driving giant trucks that cost as much as a Tesla and hundreds a month to fuel.
I am very happy with my Chevy Bolt EUV. The price, the product, and I'm ready to look at the new lineup coming next year for my wife.
I'm also very happy that Musk showed me who he was before I bought one, because I believed him.
______________________________________
From: harry stinson
Subject: Re: Musk
Date: November 5, 2022 at 3:08:10 PM PDT
Count me in as another Tesla owner who loves the car, but will now look with more interest at the options from other (even traditional) manufacturers, given Musk's recent 'performance'.
How ironic that a man whose (on paper) wealth was based on the optics of being a modern thinking genius .... and now has regressed into the role of a narcissistic redneck.
______________________________________
From: John Allen
Subject: Re: Musk
Date: November 5, 2022 at 7:56:31 PM PDT
Bob!
We just received our Model 3 in May and I too cannot stop talking about how much I love the car but I will never buy another Tesla. It seems to me the "bros" from the right would never purchase a Tesla or an EV ever yet those are the people he is trying to apeal to… like you said BAD Business - and that is all the way around. Bad for his 44 Billion for Twitter and bad for Tesla. We, his customers I think by and large do not want hate speech and anti-semitism to take over Twitter. HUGE mistake… we are now looking at RIVIAN EVs…
Bye Elon. Bye Tesla.
Sincerely,
John
______________________________________
From: John Brodey
Subject: Re: Musk
Date: November 6, 2022 at 8:48:47 AM PST
Good one! The truly smart guys know when they don't know something. Musk is also nuts. That's where ego and power lead to the fall. We've seen it many times before. These days no one person can dictate the terms of the game despite their air of infallibility.
We are selling the Tesla (which has a lousy ride and chintzy interior) and buying a Lucid. Screw Elon
______________________________________
From: Thomas Sladek
Subject: Re: A Side Of Fries
Date: November 17, 2022 at 5:29:03 AM PST
Thanks for reminding me of Kuhn's in Fairfield. I worked at the A&P just down the hill from there as a high school / college student, and made the mistake of eating one of their chili dogs during my lunch break. That chili was so spicy, I don't think my colon has ever fully recovered.
Tom Sladek
Westport, CT
______________________________________
From: Rick Ciferno
Subject: Re: A Side Of Fries
Date: November 17, 2022 at 3:52:02 AM PST
I do not know how people end up emailing you on certain topics, but, I'll try. There is no doubt the best fries at a restaurant, bar none, were those made at the world famous Hot Dog Shoppe in Warren, Ohio. These fries were made from the potatoes grown proprietor's farm in Ohio. They were fresh and fried in the basket by teenagers, including me, who worked there. Choosing wether to smother them in vinegar or homemade chili was EXTREMELY difficult.
Rick Ciferno
______________________________________
From: Michael Alex
Subject: Re: A Side Of Fries
Date: November 17, 2022 at 12:46:45 AM PST
I can confirm Jimmy Wachtel's fish market fries under the subway tracks! We would go there during lunch break in grade school.
______________________________________
From: Ralph Torres
Subject: Re: A Side Of Fries
Date: November 16, 2022 at 10:27:41 PM PST
Nobody is hip to getting "well done" krinkles at Del Taco? Now you know. Fast, ubiquitous (in So Cal) and cheap.
- Ralph from Riverside
______________________________________
From: Funkright
Subject: Re: A Side Of Fries
Date: November 16, 2022 at 7:05:45 PM PST
Double fried French fries in Amsterdam. Best. In. The. World.
https://bigseventravel.com/fries-in-amsterdam/
______________________________________
From: Dan Navarro
Subject: Re: A Side Of Fries
My dad was owner of a Foster's Freeze when I was growing up, 1957-1975. Think Dairy Queen, in California only. So I learned this s..t first hand.
Krinkle Kut (or "crinkle cut") fries provide more surface area, therefore a crispier exterior texture while still allowing a tender interior. Steak fries do the same, but only with a much bigger fry. Regular fries get crispy throughout when they are crisp on the outside. So, for some, the krinkle fry is best of both worlds. The also sag a little less than regular fries.
Until about 1965, we made our own fries by first putting potatoes in a powered drum with an abrasive spinning disc inside, to automatically peel them, then we put them lengthwise into a device that, when a lever was pulled, forced the potatoes out one end and cut the potatoes into French fry strips. That was my job from the age of 10. Really good, really fresh, really time consuming. So we eventually went frozen crinkle, and that was all she wrote.
Fries are a matter of taste, so I favor Fatburger, where you can get both skinny fries and fat fries. And I do. Best, freshest, burger in town too.
cheers,
dn
Subject: Re: Ticketmaster Swift Snafu
Date: November 17, 2022 at 2:37:01 PM PST
Great time to load up on LYV stock!
I call it the TM hate trade.
Every time some kerfuffle happens with LYV and ticketmaster people dump the stock, it drops $5-10 and I grab some more, it always creeps back up, and I sell it when they report blowout quarters.
LYV could not exist without Ticketmaster, at least not with the spending that they are known for as far as talent guarantees.
Ticketmaster IS the profit center.
In their latest quarter some basic math: 5.87% net margins. Including TM.
Without ticketmaster that margin would be significantly negative, leading to a wholesale reevaluation of their business model.
Great for indies but not so great for touring artists.
______________________________________
From: Robert Merlis
Subject: Felice's rule
Date: October 21, 2022 at 12:48:40 PM PDT
Amen to her "no Tesla" edict. Why reward a self-aggrandizing twerp with you money even if his product has merit? We don't, as a rule, knowingly buy anything that has to do with the Koch Brothers (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2014/04/01/1288957/-Sign-the-pledge-Don-t-buy-these-Koch-products). Same goes for Uline shipping materials (the family behind this company makes the Koch Brothers seem left-leaning: https://refuseuline.com/). Not saying it has any impact but why spend your own money to stoke the fires that could consume you?
Another point about Tesla and apologies to any and all of my friends who own and drive them: Tesla drivers have supplanted BMW drivers as the douchiest, most entitled on the road. Not a scientific survey but it's axiomatic that when you're in a crosswalk and a car enters ignoring the pedestrian's right of way, it'll mostly likely be a Tesla. Besides, Tesla fit and finish/quality control/panel fit is typically worse than that found on competing vehicles. https://www.dmarge.com/tesla-build-quality.
I could go on but will stop here.
Bob Merlis
______________________________________
From: Tim Hanseroth
Subject: Re: The Grammy Nominations
Date: November 15, 2022 at 3:23:29 PM PST
The Grammys can seem ridiculous when you have no skin in the game, but theres no such thing as a small or minor award for an anrtist. All awards are important. I think one could even argue that the smaller the award, the more important it is.
It triggered me a few years ago and again today when you said no one cares about the smaller category awards except those nominated and their families. Our peers and community are watching. For a queer female fronted band in a straight sausage fest of an industry the doors opened by the small category nominations and trophies have been unimaginable. Not in the hardware, but in real life compensation like securing good festival slots and better guarantees. Things that propel a career forward outside of awards. They are small steppingstones to much greater heights.
Small awards matter
Tim H
______________________________________
From: Daniel Stein
Subject: Re: More Grammys/TikTok
Date: November 15, 2022 at 8:29:01 PM PST
I once heard a music marketing lecturer open his talk with the joke 'Where's the best place to hide a body? Second page of google…'
It's easier to find the nominations list on the NYT and the WAPO than the Grammy website. And I'm taking as a member of the academy who watches out for these things!
I guess I'm going to go read about the the fries now. Food indeed took over (with the big held of Shep Gordon's vision and wisdom as we know…).
D.
______________________________________
From: Craig Anderton
Subject: Re: The John Waite Documentary
Date: October 24, 2022 at 8:29:46 PM PDT
Some people get a glimpse of serious fame, don't like what they see, and do a u-turn. My turning point was returning to my home in the countryside, and finding several people camped out on my doorstep. They weren't nut cases, they were friendly. But at that moment I realized fame had unintended consequences against which very few people had immunity. Playing music was why I was doing this. Fame, which led to making money, was a fringe benefit with a significant cost.
In retrospect, do I wish I could have been an international superstar? No. It's a trap. Somehow, I saw that at the time. The irony is that I've made far more money from music after deciding making money wasn't the priority :)
Maybe the dream is over for some...but maybe they just had the wrong dream. I live, eat, and sleep music. Play and record almost every day. Have the kind of "gentle fame" that gets me invited to do seminars and workshops, compose soundtracks for videos, and master/mix music for musicians I respect.
Bought myself a beautiful black Tele for my birthday. I wouldn't trade this life for anything.
Craig
______________________________________
From: Dave Conklin
Subject: Re: Revolver Super Deluxe
Date: October 26, 2022 at 8:54:57 PM PDT
They didn't include a Blu-ray Disc with the hi res mixes. Who's going to spend the money for a bunch of… CDs? I'm sure the packaging is nice, but the physical release is pointless when it comes down to the sound. Neil Young pulled the same s..t with Archives Vol 2, which was even more surprising (I guess he's trying to steer people towards NYA subscriptions).
Pink Floyd released Animals as a $25 blu ray audio disc this year.
Why do I mention this?
Atmos on streaming is b.s. unless you've got Apple Music with an Apple TV connected to a home theater setup. Why Amazon hasn't activated the Atmos/360 tracks on their fire tv devices (the same ones that put thru 24/192 on the Amazon Music App!) probably has something to do with what one of your readers mentioned - that their engineers don't care. (Please grill Steve Boom on this s..t.) Hearing the surround mixes in actual discrete channel surround is incredible. Is it true to the artists original intention? Probably not. But is it an interesting alternative? Absolutely. Revelatory in some cases. I played the Giles Martin mix of Abbey Road on blu ray, Paul came out of the center channel singing Golden Slumbers so clearly, with such presence, it was like he was in the room directly in front of me. I teared up.
All of The Beatles previous Super Deluxe releases (Abbey Road, Sgt Pepper, White Album, Let It Be) included the blu ray disc. What they're charging for CDs in 2022 is, as you said, a cash grab.
______________________________________
From: Reed Turner
Subject: Re: Zach Bryan At The Wiltern
Date: October 25, 2022 at 1:30:40 PM PDT
Hi Bob,
Reed Turner here, I'm Charles Wesley Godwin's manager and a follower of your newsletter and podcast.
Glad you were able to catch the show. Zach and his team are wonderful people with a strong vision, and he's leading a movement in country music reminiscent of Laurel Canyon, Nashville '72, or Seattle in the 90's. We were thrilled when he asked Charles to sing on his song "Jamie" from the Summertime Blues EP and being part of the American Heartbreak Tour has been nothing short of fantastic.
Thank you for the kind words about Charles' music. We're very proud of the work he's put in to carve out a space for himself in the evolving landscape of country and he has a big year ahead of him. Sorry that you weren't able to catch more of his set this time. If you're interested in attending a show in the future, please don't hesitate to reach out. We'd love to have you.
Reed Turner
True Grit Management
______________________________________
From: Katy Cooper
Subject: Zach Bryan
Hi Bob,
Loved your write up on the Wiltern show! Huge fan of Zach with zero affiliation.
However I wish you had pointed that it wasn't "offenders" in the pit it was a woman in distress who had passed out and he was thoughtful enough to pause and call for help. It would have also been worth noting how many times he thanked the audience for being there, he truly shows how humble, genuine and happy he was to be playing for all the fans.
Glad you enjoyed it after all!! It was a stellar evening.
Katy
______________________________________
From: Fred Goldring
Subject: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Date: November 7, 2022 at 7:44:18 AM PST
Hey Bob -
Back in the Spring of 1983 when I was just starting out as the youngest lawyer at Allen Grubman's firm, I of course got to do all of the "fun" work. One day early on, Allen called me into his office and said, "I need you to do something for me and it will probably be the last time I ever ask you to do this as long as you work here - go to the law library"!" After a hearty laugh, Allen explained that he had just had lunch with Ahmet and he wanted me to go meet a young lawyer (she might have actually still been in law school) who was interning for Ahmet named Suzan Evans at a law library where the two of us were tasked with researching non-profit corporations and then filing the papers to form something called The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc. which we did in April 1983. Suzan was later named the first Executive Director of the Foundation which turned out to be a long and very cool gig for her.
Usually the handful of us young associates at the Grubman firm weren't invited by the partners to the cool industry functions, but in this case maybe because I had been involved with the formation (or more likely because Allen had bought two tables and had to fill them:) we were all invited to attend the first Inductions ceremonies at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel with a guest. I invited a girl I had just started to date to the 2nd Induction Ceremony (literally for our second date) because I wanted to impress her. I guess I must have because she went out with me again on a third date where I took her to my friend Joel Peresman's 30th birthday party at his apartment (and ironically Joel later took over for Suzan as RRHoF Exec Director). I've been married to that girl Gale for 34 years now.
Those early events were incredible because the artists inducted were the best of the best and there were no tapings or recordings for anyone else to see later, no cell phone cameras, no internet; you were either there or you weren't. The impromptu jam sessions at the end were legendary. I still remember standing next to George Harrison who was wearing a tux, open collared shirt and black and white checked Vans slip-on sneakers. It was like when I went to the first days of the TED Conference in the mid-90's where you couldn't even find the words to describe what you had seen and experienced and the people who didn't attend had zero access or context even when you did try to explain it. Sadly, there's something lost when you see so many folks today constantly videotaping or taking photos of an event they are at and not just "being there", taking it all in and being in the moment. Sounds like you had that kind of experience so I'm happy for you and jealous that I wasn't (but you did a fantastic job of describing your experience so we all got to live it vicariously so thanks for that:)
Best,
Fred G
______________________________________
From: John Gorman
Subject: More Than A Feeling
Date: October 27, 2022 at 1:44:23 PM PDT
Bob,
When I was the Operations Manager of WMMS, I talked to Steve Popovich regularly. Steve was from Cleveland, knew where the bodies were buried, and was somebody I could turn to for a truthful Cleveland history answer. Pops always sent me cassettes and tapes of artists he wanted sign and artists he had signed and wasn't sure what to do with. In turn, I gave him the WMMS listen line (a feed of our broadcast on the phone) and asked for his critique. My version of "How we doin'."
Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes was one such example on an audition tape he sent me.. It was a copy of Southside Johnny's version of Bruce Springsteen's "The Fever," a unreleased at that time song that Springsteen historian Ed Sciaky from WYSP/Philadelphia sent to us – and were playing in heavy rotation in expectation of the release of Bruce's "Born to Run" album. We played it. Our audience took to it immediately.
We set up an on-air battle with our morning talent, Jeff Kinzbach, who preferred the Southside version of "The Fever" and Kid Leo, on afternoon drive, who preferred the Boss'. It was the kind of good clean cross-promotional fun that got us the big ratings. When Southside's album was released – everyone was already aware of the band, and it was in the top ten in regional sales in its first release week. If it sold as well in the rest of the country as well as it did in Greater Cleveland, Johnny would have awarded a platinum album. But that is how Steve Popovich worked in Cleveland. It was a breakout market in the fifties and sixties – and Pops felt we could do it again. And we did.
In one of Pop's calls, he said to me, "You're from Boston, right? I want to send you a tape of this band from where you come from, I want the label to sign. They (meaning the label) have some reluctance to it – but I think it's great, man." Pops added that it was a one-man-band – but that the artist (Tom Scholtz) was putting together a band – and the vocalist on the demo (Brad Delp) agreed to be part of it. Friends in the business I knew from Boston were telling me in advance about Scholtz – as a tall lanky loner kid who they called a rock and roll scientist (because he worked at Polaroid during the day) that was "conjuring up some interesting music." The tape Pops sent was the result.
Pops sent it overnight and I listened. It was Tom Scholz's demo tape for Boston. It blew me away. I called everyone into my office to hear it. My staff felt the same way. I had to think in radio terms. It was the content we needed on-the-air for our fledging album rock format. The demo was slightly different from the first album. "More than A Feeling" was over 7 minutes long – with a flaming guitar solo at the end of the song. "Hitch A Ride" was "San Francisco Day" with slightly different lyrics. It also had a track that wasn't on the first album, but closed their second album, Don't Look Back, "A Man I'll Never Be."
I called Pops raving about the tape. He thanked me for listening and thanked me even more for loving it. I told him it was what album rock needed to reach a mass audience. I felt "More than A Feeling" was a future rock and roll anthem. He stopped me there, "I like that one, too, for the single, man. But I want the kid (Scholtz) to get rid of that guitar solo – end it with the song. Have 'em wanting more. He can do that extended stuff when he gets his band together and plays out live." He also wanted them to change "San Francisco Day." He liked the song, hated the title. "The band is called Boston and they have a song called "San Francisco Day?" I want him to change it." When the album was released, the song remained the same but the lyrics were different and it became the hooky "Hitch A Ride" track.
I asked him more about the band and he said, "Did you ever hear of a guy named Paul Ahern, he's their manager." I told him I knew Ahern well when I lived in Boston. He was a star at Warner-Reprise. He got Reprise to add the "A Horse with No Name" track (and put it out as a single) on the debut America album the same way Buffalo Springfield got "For What It's Worth" on their debut album. Ahern was already a legend. He had golden ears, and he knew how to promote and to whom.
Months later the Boston album was released –we were ready for it. We already had the slots and rotations ready. "More than A Feeling" was the lead track – but we also rotated most of the tracks in packet – and for weeks you couldn't go two hours without hearing "More Than A Feeling" and other tracks from the album. We played it day ahead of its official radio release so we could call it a "world premiere exclusive." It shot to number one immediately.
Cleveland was one of the early dates on their first tour and played one of the legendary "WMMS Monday Nights Out" at the Agora. Tickets sold out immediately. Paul Ahern allowed us to run the show live – a gamble because it was one of their early live shows and they were still trying to replicate the album sound live – but the show was a winner – and a few months later a half a dozen bootlegs of the show were on the market. I believe that was the only live show they did on that tour.
The first Boston album remains one of my all-time favorites for many reasons including its content. As far as I'm concerned, that Boston album got our stations ratings. No one ever punched the button to another station when a Boston track was playing. And that's probably true to this day if anyone is still listening to terrestrial radio.
Best,
G-Man (John Gorman)
______________________________________
From: Mike Lawson
Subject: Re: Musk
Date: November 5, 2022 at 2:37:28 PM PDT
I was in the market for an Electric Vehicle last spring. I am tired of giving record profits to oil companies gouging consumers with no consequences. I shopped for a Tesla.
Then came the announcement about Twitter and letting Trump back in.
It was a hard no after that. That was a bridge too far. January 6th and the s..t that man and his cult have done to democracy is real, and I can't set that aside with my wallet.
I bought a Chevy Bolt EUV LT. I adore it. It's stylish, roomy, super fast, has wireless Apple CarPlay, gets a max range of about 335 miles on a charge. GM installed an outlet for free (that would have cost $900). I bought it just before the end of May. The rebate was $500, and a week later they raised it to $6300! GM sent me a check for $5800!
MPG equivalent is about 122 compared to my 2020 Prius Prime Plugin at 95mpg and I traded in for top dollar.
I "was" Elon's target audience. I'm just one guy so it won't hurt him. But previous customers are your best future customer prospects. I was on my third Prius and if Toyota had an EV last spring I would have been tempted.
I have friends who have Teslas from the long long ago before time when Musk wasn't showing disdain for the buying public who actually like EVs.
They hate driving them now because of the stink Musk has attached to the brand and everything else he is touching. I have fielded many questions about my Chevy Bolt EUV from Tesla owners, including strangers chatting at charging stations.
I have never met a hard core right winger in Tennessee who drives an EV let alone a Tesla, who think they are some sign of emasculation or something. They complain about gas prices while driving giant trucks that cost as much as a Tesla and hundreds a month to fuel.
I am very happy with my Chevy Bolt EUV. The price, the product, and I'm ready to look at the new lineup coming next year for my wife.
I'm also very happy that Musk showed me who he was before I bought one, because I believed him.
______________________________________
From: harry stinson
Subject: Re: Musk
Date: November 5, 2022 at 3:08:10 PM PDT
Count me in as another Tesla owner who loves the car, but will now look with more interest at the options from other (even traditional) manufacturers, given Musk's recent 'performance'.
How ironic that a man whose (on paper) wealth was based on the optics of being a modern thinking genius .... and now has regressed into the role of a narcissistic redneck.
______________________________________
From: John Allen
Subject: Re: Musk
Date: November 5, 2022 at 7:56:31 PM PDT
Bob!
We just received our Model 3 in May and I too cannot stop talking about how much I love the car but I will never buy another Tesla. It seems to me the "bros" from the right would never purchase a Tesla or an EV ever yet those are the people he is trying to apeal to… like you said BAD Business - and that is all the way around. Bad for his 44 Billion for Twitter and bad for Tesla. We, his customers I think by and large do not want hate speech and anti-semitism to take over Twitter. HUGE mistake… we are now looking at RIVIAN EVs…
Bye Elon. Bye Tesla.
Sincerely,
John
______________________________________
From: John Brodey
Subject: Re: Musk
Date: November 6, 2022 at 8:48:47 AM PST
Good one! The truly smart guys know when they don't know something. Musk is also nuts. That's where ego and power lead to the fall. We've seen it many times before. These days no one person can dictate the terms of the game despite their air of infallibility.
We are selling the Tesla (which has a lousy ride and chintzy interior) and buying a Lucid. Screw Elon
______________________________________
From: Thomas Sladek
Subject: Re: A Side Of Fries
Date: November 17, 2022 at 5:29:03 AM PST
Thanks for reminding me of Kuhn's in Fairfield. I worked at the A&P just down the hill from there as a high school / college student, and made the mistake of eating one of their chili dogs during my lunch break. That chili was so spicy, I don't think my colon has ever fully recovered.
Tom Sladek
Westport, CT
______________________________________
From: Rick Ciferno
Subject: Re: A Side Of Fries
Date: November 17, 2022 at 3:52:02 AM PST
I do not know how people end up emailing you on certain topics, but, I'll try. There is no doubt the best fries at a restaurant, bar none, were those made at the world famous Hot Dog Shoppe in Warren, Ohio. These fries were made from the potatoes grown proprietor's farm in Ohio. They were fresh and fried in the basket by teenagers, including me, who worked there. Choosing wether to smother them in vinegar or homemade chili was EXTREMELY difficult.
Rick Ciferno
______________________________________
From: Michael Alex
Subject: Re: A Side Of Fries
Date: November 17, 2022 at 12:46:45 AM PST
I can confirm Jimmy Wachtel's fish market fries under the subway tracks! We would go there during lunch break in grade school.
______________________________________
From: Ralph Torres
Subject: Re: A Side Of Fries
Date: November 16, 2022 at 10:27:41 PM PST
Nobody is hip to getting "well done" krinkles at Del Taco? Now you know. Fast, ubiquitous (in So Cal) and cheap.
- Ralph from Riverside
______________________________________
From: Funkright
Subject: Re: A Side Of Fries
Date: November 16, 2022 at 7:05:45 PM PST
Double fried French fries in Amsterdam. Best. In. The. World.
https://bigseventravel.com/fries-in-amsterdam/
______________________________________
From: Dan Navarro
Subject: Re: A Side Of Fries
My dad was owner of a Foster's Freeze when I was growing up, 1957-1975. Think Dairy Queen, in California only. So I learned this s..t first hand.
Krinkle Kut (or "crinkle cut") fries provide more surface area, therefore a crispier exterior texture while still allowing a tender interior. Steak fries do the same, but only with a much bigger fry. Regular fries get crispy throughout when they are crisp on the outside. So, for some, the krinkle fry is best of both worlds. The also sag a little less than regular fries.
Until about 1965, we made our own fries by first putting potatoes in a powered drum with an abrasive spinning disc inside, to automatically peel them, then we put them lengthwise into a device that, when a lever was pulled, forced the potatoes out one end and cut the potatoes into French fry strips. That was my job from the age of 10. Really good, really fresh, really time consuming. So we eventually went frozen crinkle, and that was all she wrote.
Fries are a matter of taste, so I favor Fatburger, where you can get both skinny fries and fat fries. And I do. Best, freshest, burger in town too.
cheers,
dn
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Linda Ronstadt-This Week's Podcast
Linda Ronstadt has a new book, "Feels Like Home," about the Sonoran Borderlands where she grew up. We talk about her youth, Lucy's El Adobe, meeting musicians and making records, politics...
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/linda-ronstadt-104751975/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/linda-ronstadt/id1316200737?i=1000586557423
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2MCzyXONl7M7l2MKmKoQFH?si=ubYcQ9ilRLmfy9gSnWr9Og
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/877f57ad-3a82-49f3-9fde-9f2edac615a1/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-linda-ronstadt
https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/episode/linda-ronstadt-208623453
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https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/linda-ronstadt-104751975/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/linda-ronstadt/id1316200737?i=1000586557423
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2MCzyXONl7M7l2MKmKoQFH?si=ubYcQ9ilRLmfy9gSnWr9Og
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/877f57ad-3a82-49f3-9fde-9f2edac615a1/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-linda-ronstadt
https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/episode/linda-ronstadt-208623453
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Ticketmaster Swift Snafu
Oh, come on. What next, everybody should be entitled to a new iPhone the day it comes out? Every automobile in the lineup at sticker price with no wait?
Oh, it takes time to make physical product. And it takes time to update software too!
Yes, this was a learning experience for Ticketmaster. They will have to upgrade their underlying software in order to make sure this does not happen again. Maybe it's a matter of employing additional servers too. This is unheard of? Even Spotify has outages once and again. Oops, that's another monopoly, in this case hurting all the artists, right?
So you couldn't get front row seats to Taylor Swift at face value. You can't even buy a Rolex at face value anymore, what's out there has been peeled off by independent distributors. They call it the market. And demand exceeded supply, that's it.
And you never see spam in your inbox anymore? Let's be clear, the spam filters are much better than they used to be, but spam still makes it to your inbox. Even Google can't tell exactly what is spam and what is not, and Gmail is the personal e-mail standard!
Have we really evolved into a society where nothing can break anymore, where everything works 24/7, where all situations are foreseen and addressed? Do you really think Nostradamus works at Ticketmaster?
But my inbox is filling up with requests to weigh in on radio programs, they're going to do an hour on it! What's there to talk about?
This is a story about the status of Taylor Swift, not the status of Ticketmaster.
But we've got Amy Klobuchar and other elected officials saying they're going to crack down. Who else are they going to crack down on, every site that goes down, not even for a full day? Come on, it happens on a regular basis.
But no response will satisfy these ignorant people grandstanding. Yes, they want to be seen as serving their constituents. If they're so wrong about this, what else are they wrong about? This brings into question how they're running the country, I mean if you can't even accept the facts, Republicans AND Democrats!
And where are these same people when ticket sales are soft. I don't see them testifying, telling the assembled multitude to go to a show to keep Ticketmaster alive.
As for the damn fees... It can be said again and again that they all don't go to Ticketmaster, but it never gets through. And everybody inside knows the fees were established to get a pot of money outside the commissionable gross, so the promoter could make a profit, so the acts didn't take it all.
And how about clamping down on the buildings who get part of the fees? And the indie promoters as well as the behemoths. Talk about a low margin business... Apple makes in the neighborhood of 30% margin and concert promoters are way down in the single digits. It's amazing anyone is even in the concert promotion business.
And you can't have concerts without tickets. And for all the b.s. about the old days, when you lined up... First and foremost, the first person in line didn't even get front row seats. And then, to create order, they'd shuffle the order of those in line, via movie theatre ticket numbers. I remember lining up, getting my number, going to breakfast and coming back over two hours later to buy my tickets for Springsteen's "River" tour forty years ago. And believe me, not only did I not sit in the front row, I wasn't even on the floor! And I'd gotten to Tower Records just after sunrise!
But now I can buy tickets anywhere, with my smartphone. And physical is history, and I can transfer the ducats via this same smartphone. As for going back to the good old days...THEY WEREN'T THAT GOOD!
God, is this the country we've devolved to? Where truth is irrelevant, where you can say whatever you want irrelevant of the facts? Yes, the blowback on Ticketmaster is akin to the claims that elections are rigged, all the other b.s. eating up news space.
I get it, it's a sexy story because it involves Taylor Swift. Kudos to Tay-Tay, she broke the system. She's not the first celebrity to do this and she won't be the last. It's testimony to how big Swift is, not to an underlying conspiracy. God, what exactly would Ticketmaster's motivation even be here? The goal is to sell when demand is there, everybody who doesn't get what they want immediately may ultimately never buy. Which is why companies build extra product, they want to be ready. And then you've got the shmatah business, all these companies like Old Navy and so many more who bought too much clothing and had to write it off since it was unsellable. Yes, when it goes the other way, where are these voices rising from the government and the blowhards trying to capture ratings on the backs of the sexy Swift and the hated Ticketmaster?
The acts are responsible for all of it. They set the ticket prices. They created the large fees. Ticketmaster is paid to take the heat. Because the acts don't want their fans to hate them. Even worse, the fans don't hate them even when they're told the acts are at fault, they just don't believe it!
We live in a computerized world of 1's and 0's. There is no little man inside the Ticketmaster software making decisions just like there's no little man inside your smartphone or computer. And software is imperfect. And people make mistakes. And you can't run a country based on emotion, you must base it on fact. This is how we got into this whole stolen election b.s. People said it didn't feel right that Trump lost. Well, it didn't feel like he won the first time around, but the facts said otherwise.
There's nothing to debate here, nothing to talk about, everyone inside knows Ticketmaster is the best way to sell tickets, they're the only company that can come anywhere near being able to handle this demand.
I wish everybody would STFU! There is no villain here. Just an incredibly successful pop star and a company that was caught off guard by demand.
But nobody wants to believe this. There must be a villain behind it all. Someone is out to get them. But, NO!
Really, it's utterly amazing. We've been talking about ticketing for over two decades now and the truth never matters.
But it must be stated again and again, just to be put on the record.
And there you have it.
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Oh, it takes time to make physical product. And it takes time to update software too!
Yes, this was a learning experience for Ticketmaster. They will have to upgrade their underlying software in order to make sure this does not happen again. Maybe it's a matter of employing additional servers too. This is unheard of? Even Spotify has outages once and again. Oops, that's another monopoly, in this case hurting all the artists, right?
So you couldn't get front row seats to Taylor Swift at face value. You can't even buy a Rolex at face value anymore, what's out there has been peeled off by independent distributors. They call it the market. And demand exceeded supply, that's it.
And you never see spam in your inbox anymore? Let's be clear, the spam filters are much better than they used to be, but spam still makes it to your inbox. Even Google can't tell exactly what is spam and what is not, and Gmail is the personal e-mail standard!
Have we really evolved into a society where nothing can break anymore, where everything works 24/7, where all situations are foreseen and addressed? Do you really think Nostradamus works at Ticketmaster?
But my inbox is filling up with requests to weigh in on radio programs, they're going to do an hour on it! What's there to talk about?
This is a story about the status of Taylor Swift, not the status of Ticketmaster.
But we've got Amy Klobuchar and other elected officials saying they're going to crack down. Who else are they going to crack down on, every site that goes down, not even for a full day? Come on, it happens on a regular basis.
But no response will satisfy these ignorant people grandstanding. Yes, they want to be seen as serving their constituents. If they're so wrong about this, what else are they wrong about? This brings into question how they're running the country, I mean if you can't even accept the facts, Republicans AND Democrats!
And where are these same people when ticket sales are soft. I don't see them testifying, telling the assembled multitude to go to a show to keep Ticketmaster alive.
As for the damn fees... It can be said again and again that they all don't go to Ticketmaster, but it never gets through. And everybody inside knows the fees were established to get a pot of money outside the commissionable gross, so the promoter could make a profit, so the acts didn't take it all.
And how about clamping down on the buildings who get part of the fees? And the indie promoters as well as the behemoths. Talk about a low margin business... Apple makes in the neighborhood of 30% margin and concert promoters are way down in the single digits. It's amazing anyone is even in the concert promotion business.
And you can't have concerts without tickets. And for all the b.s. about the old days, when you lined up... First and foremost, the first person in line didn't even get front row seats. And then, to create order, they'd shuffle the order of those in line, via movie theatre ticket numbers. I remember lining up, getting my number, going to breakfast and coming back over two hours later to buy my tickets for Springsteen's "River" tour forty years ago. And believe me, not only did I not sit in the front row, I wasn't even on the floor! And I'd gotten to Tower Records just after sunrise!
But now I can buy tickets anywhere, with my smartphone. And physical is history, and I can transfer the ducats via this same smartphone. As for going back to the good old days...THEY WEREN'T THAT GOOD!
God, is this the country we've devolved to? Where truth is irrelevant, where you can say whatever you want irrelevant of the facts? Yes, the blowback on Ticketmaster is akin to the claims that elections are rigged, all the other b.s. eating up news space.
I get it, it's a sexy story because it involves Taylor Swift. Kudos to Tay-Tay, she broke the system. She's not the first celebrity to do this and she won't be the last. It's testimony to how big Swift is, not to an underlying conspiracy. God, what exactly would Ticketmaster's motivation even be here? The goal is to sell when demand is there, everybody who doesn't get what they want immediately may ultimately never buy. Which is why companies build extra product, they want to be ready. And then you've got the shmatah business, all these companies like Old Navy and so many more who bought too much clothing and had to write it off since it was unsellable. Yes, when it goes the other way, where are these voices rising from the government and the blowhards trying to capture ratings on the backs of the sexy Swift and the hated Ticketmaster?
The acts are responsible for all of it. They set the ticket prices. They created the large fees. Ticketmaster is paid to take the heat. Because the acts don't want their fans to hate them. Even worse, the fans don't hate them even when they're told the acts are at fault, they just don't believe it!
We live in a computerized world of 1's and 0's. There is no little man inside the Ticketmaster software making decisions just like there's no little man inside your smartphone or computer. And software is imperfect. And people make mistakes. And you can't run a country based on emotion, you must base it on fact. This is how we got into this whole stolen election b.s. People said it didn't feel right that Trump lost. Well, it didn't feel like he won the first time around, but the facts said otherwise.
There's nothing to debate here, nothing to talk about, everyone inside knows Ticketmaster is the best way to sell tickets, they're the only company that can come anywhere near being able to handle this demand.
I wish everybody would STFU! There is no villain here. Just an incredibly successful pop star and a company that was caught off guard by demand.
But nobody wants to believe this. There must be a villain behind it all. Someone is out to get them. But, NO!
Really, it's utterly amazing. We've been talking about ticketing for over two decades now and the truth never matters.
But it must be stated again and again, just to be put on the record.
And there you have it.
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Wednesday 16 November 2022
A Side Of Fries
Yup, Shake Shack fries are damn good. The main reason is that they travel! Very few other fries travel even a short distance, around the corner, to your car.. In N Out for instance. They're soggy when fresh at the In N Out…they don't even make it to the car. However, when I was a kid in Jackson Heights (I'm older than you) the world's best, the Champagne of french fries, the Oscar of fries was a fish market under the elevated subway tracks that made fries, I think, only in the winter. Anyway that's when we would get them in a brown paper bag that was so warm it warmed your hands so you could eat your fries them without gloves on (January, February in NYC). They were doused with a salt that was one step less coarse than the salt you would out to melt the ice in winter (Bob, you know). Of course, like a great slice of pizza, you could not wait to get one into your mouth and invariably scorched your upper palate…but they were well worth it…at least as I remember them today.
Thanks for memories as the other Bob used to say.
Jimmy Wachtel
PS The mini burgers were thanks to the ultimate mini burger, White Castle with grilled onions, a squeeze of ketchup and a slice dill pickle…heaven for 12 cents.
___________________________________
Here's the pro move:
1. Go to IN 'N' OUT and buy a Double Double, Animal Style.
2. Then drive to the nearest Shake Shack and buy a large order of krinkle-cut fries.
3. Die happy.
Trey Callaway
___________________________________
Re Fries - I think in New York we are more free to fry than in Los Angeles. It's understood by many - if not most - that the ideal combination is a Shake Shack burger with 5 Guys Fries. This is totally doable in my Brooklyn nook where they are within a couple blocks of each other.
1000% agree: Steak Fry - why??
I too grew up on frozen crinkle cuts and most restaurants - including name brand fine dining - use frozen french fries still (also frozen peas) which is why Balthazar's frites are exceptional, made from scratch every day (great fries are labor intensive and must be cooked twice - double-blanched - as invented by the Belgians (p171 The Balthazar Cookbook.)
best,
Barbara Barna Abel
___________________________________
shake shack and their fries rule. best eaten outside in Madison Square Park, but good at all other locations.
but my favorite: add malt to the cookies and cream shake! (I mean, if you like malted stuff, aka Whoppers for the heathens.)
Now I'm hungry. Wear a Santa Hat and give out their fries: Kris Krinkle.
Thanks, Katherine Turman
___________________________________
"Oh, with the green light I partook. They were a bit soggy after the almost half hour drive."
Pro tip: Throw them in your air fryer for 5 minutes next time! THE BEST. And I love crisper fries.
PeaceAndLove!
Another Bob (Mori) in Los Angeles.
___________________________________
I grew up in Massachusetts with clam shacks and roast beef sandwiches and none of their fries compared to McDonalds.
Pamela Harris
___________________________________
Krinkle Fries Rule!
I'm glad they've come back per your history of 'the krinkle'
From Mama's oven in the 70's to now Arby's (we have the meats) & Omaha's own Runza Hut.
McDonald's fries are great too! And Steak Fries are awesome with a Steak. That's why they're called...
Curly Fries & Waffle Fries - No Thanks.
Funny Topic Bob - but I certainly relate.
Terry Anzaldo
___________________________________
My fun uncle Ian surprised us five Brit kids with a visit to the new McDonalds restaurant in Lakeland, Florida on a rate visit.
We'd never seen fries like that, used to the vinegar soaked newspaper wrapped soggy thick potato slices that simultaneously managed to be both horribly slimily greasy and yet with zero skin or crisp. Lard slathered on half cooked potatoes. So we did what every kid in the world would have done - we ate until we were truly sick and still didn't get up from the jolly bright round little plinth seats even then. And uncle Ian joked that we were only full up to 'about here' (indicating our belly buttons) and had more to go surely. We ordered a second round. We knew (correctly) we'd never eat like that again.
For those that experienced the magic back the nostalgia that made you believe it could happen again and the excitement upon glimpsing the Golden Arches from the road was hard to put down.
jemail
___________________________________
This was quite the trip down memory lane.
I remember my first trip to McDonald's. We piled into the 1964 Pontiac Catalina Safari wagon. No seat belts. Dad, Mom and five kids. The closest McD's was on Route 9 in Natick.
I can't remember if they had a drive thru. We ate in the car. What I remember most was not the fries or burgers, but the spitball fight! Straws!
Cheers,
Thomas Quinn
___________________________________
All fries are good, Bob! Krinkle fries are really good. Reminds me of being a kid and eating frozen fries.
Jim Lewi
___________________________________
Oh Bob. Crinkle-cut fries are THE BEST kind of fry. :)
Sarah Martin
___________________________________
Tater tots
Waffle fries
Krinkle cut
Steak fries
Regular fries
Shoe string fries
In-N-Out fries
Those are ranked from best to worst. Anyone who disagrees is mistaken. You are correct that well done is an important aspect.
Jason Bernstein
P.S. bonus fries at the bottom of the bag top all of the above.
___________________________________
The best Krinkly fries are at Langers. Always cooked to perfection, though it's hard to choose those over their home fries.
If you haven't indulged already, Taco Bell's nacho fries, which are available now and are not a permanent fixture on their menu, are crazy good. Yes, Taco Bell. Good luck only having one portion.
Richard Young
___________________________________
Steak & Brews - all the salad & bread you could eat and all the wine & beer you could drink. They didn't last long.
Richard King
___________________________________
Aloha Bob,
Today's email had me thinking about all the fries I've eaten over the decades. When I was a kid, McDonald's had the best. I've told this story to my adult children more times than they want to hear it. Let me tell you about the family:
My father's side - My father refused to eat McDonald's hamburgers because one time his burger had cheese on it (verboten). He never ate meat and dairy at the same meal. Since the cheese had touched the meat, he had to throw the whole burger away.
My mother's side - My mother loved McDonald's French fries not just because they were extra salty. They were thin, but not too thin and had their own unique taste. Delicious.
"Have it Your Way" was Burger King's slogan, so we started going to BK as soon as they opened up in our suburban neighborhood in Cleveland. Not frequently, but often enough that I knew the drill when my mother announced she wanted some fries. In the early 70's, neither place had a drive thru. You parked and walked inside to order. While our mother waited in the car, my brother and I were assigned the task to go into BK to order the burgers - specifically without cheese. Then we walked over to the Golden Arches to pick up the fries. We hopped in the car and drove home immediately with the food. I can still hear my mother saying, "Let's get home before the fries get cold."
Now I live on Oahu. When I walk by Burger King and McDonald's in Waikiki, I cannot imagine ever going inside to buy food. In fact, I feel kind of nauseous from the smell that lingers around the sidewalk. Yet the memory of the BK - Mickey D run is so powerful. I have to smile.
Deb Seibert
The Contractor
___________________________________
Born in VT in 1950 we had 19 cent burgers just south of Burlington I think at "the Lure" circa 1968 and an early McDonalds in Mass at that price was an event!
Point #2 I recall cutting my mouse cap ears from Disney to look more like the show!
Jim Eaton
___________________________________
NATHAN'S! Not the frozen supermarket bag, but rather the ones you get at the local Nathan's concession, or better still at the original Coney Island spot. Something in the mixture they fry them in. Nothing else comes close. Paul Lanning
___________________________________
Nathan's fries ! Nothing beats 'em and they must be ingested AT Nathan's Coney Island!
Bob Kranes
___________________________________
I've never been a big fry guy, but as a Northeasterner, Nathan's, the hot dog folks from Brooklyn, have always made crinkle-cut fries that knocked me out. There used to be a Nathan's on Pico, and one on Post Road in Norwalk, CT, but those are both long gone. I've only seen Nathan's in the food court at the MGM Grand in Vegas. If you get a chance, try their fries. I think that you'll be happy you did.
Michael Rexford
___________________________________
One cannot discuss fries without mentioning Nathan's. Nathan's has been in Coney Island since 1916. Their hotdogs, hamburgers and fries have been a Brooklyn staple forever. Cooked in oil, that seemingly is never changed, served hot, well done and in a cone cup. There is not a French fry better than Nathan's krinkle cut.
rjlsat
___________________________________
Best French fries I ever had was at Nathan's in coney island. We went there all through my youth in Brooklyn. Served in a paper cone. My Dad always said they were the best fries because he figured they hadn't changed the oil they fried them in since the place opened. Throughout the fifties and early sixties they would have fireworks every Tuesday night on the boardwalk. Another thing you would get at the beach were hot knishes. Doesn't make that much sense, but I guess the salt and fat tasted good in the hot weather. Hot dogs were everywhere in Brooklyn cause where I group up there was a kosher deli every 5 blocks. And a hot dog and a pizza were always priced the same. Someone even did the math once and found a correlation between the price of pizza and a subway token.
Jeff Rosen
___________________________________
The hand cut, twice fried fries at HiHo Cheeseburger in Santa Monica are delicious!
Best,
Karyn Ulman
___________________________________
Im with you on Krinkly fries but…Hattie B's hot chicken in Nashville (and now others) have krinkly fries that are so good they defy logic. I stopped eating meat 5/6 years ago but ill still go just to get the fries..You have to try them..
Joe Greenwald
___________________________________
McDonald's...hamburger, fries and a soda and change back from your one dollar bill.
Matthew Grandi
___________________________________
Fries are a matter of personal taste, just like music. I won't judge you for having a taste in fries which is anathema to mine. There's room for all kinds of preferences. I like great musicians, great songwriters, tight bands and have gravitated to the best for fifty years.
I like thick fries (Wendy's are better than McDonalds), Shake Shack fries are okay by me. Krinkly fries are a gimmick, although Chik-Fil-A fries are pretty good. Thin or matchstick fries do not have enough taste.
And if you get around to burgers another day, the thicker the better. The problem with hamburger joints is that we don't trust them enough to serve our burgers medium rare, which is the way they should be served, the way you can grill them at home.
Best regards, Bahnson Stanley
___________________________________
I never liked Crinkly fries. I don't even know why. You are 3 years older than me but we still have a fair amount in common.
I bought The Twist by Chubby Checker the first time it came out, and I was a big fan of Etta James at that age for some reason.
We had Dairy Queen, A&W as well. Loved A&W Root Beer.
Corn dogs were a big deal when I was a kid in Grand Forks North Dakota too.
Thanks for sharing.
Bill live from MN.
___________________________________
I hate to admit it, but I do agree with you about McDonald's having great fries, even though I haven't been there in decades. Best fries though? The ones in the south of France that come with moules frites. Still hot and even a bit crispy after soaking in the garlicky mussel sauce - that's fry ecstasy, especially when eaten on an outdoor communal table smashed in next to some smoking Europeans.
Second place? Could be the skin-on peanut oil fries that are served at the Atlantic beaches. Vinegar on top, not ketchup! The famous brand here in Maryland is Thrasher's. Best to stay away though!
Rich Madow
___________________________________
I still think McDonalds has the best fast food fries. I remember my first fries from Macs when I was 8 years old in 1963 in Atlanta. Awesome
Randy Schaaf
___________________________________
Well. At our local swimming lake in North Bennington, I always bought a 10¢ fudgsicle. But we did have burgers, not hot dogs. There was an old-fashioned A&W with burgers and great root beer. And Paul's Fish Fry (I hate fish, so I would get their burger), with GREAT thick shakes. After moving to NYC, it was all pizzerias by the slice on every other block (pretty much all gone now) for 20¢, or a Sabrett hot dog from the street vendor's cart. No more burgers, really. Driving back from an anti-war demonstration in DC with my mother, 2 friends, and one's mother, we spied a McDonalds and since NONE of us had every had one, we stopped. The burger was so-so, but the fries! Wow! A revelation. Over the years people have said that they put sugar in the mix when deep-frying them, and that's the difference. I don't really care. I don't eat them anymore, but that day was memorable. And then a coupla years later, the (I think) first-ever McDonald's opened near me, on 92nd and Broadway, and my cousin Tony Pinck and I walked there, stopping to collect Lenny Kaye, who lived along the way, and we went to the opening day. Because, it was there. I'd still rather have a NY slice though. Five Guys is pretty good, and, yes, their fries are excellent. I was disappointed in Shake Shack the two times a tried it. Not sure what's so special. And now everyone's talking about Smashburger, not sure why. Oh, and, Bob, I've never though krinkly fries were special, but I do like big thick steak fries from time to time. But I'd much rather have a baked potato with BBQ sauce as the only topping.
Toby Mamis
___________________________________
I agree with you -- today's crinkle fries are too thick.
When I was a kid, there was a restaurant here in my town that had thinner krinkle fries, maybe 1/4" thick or possibly a bit thicker, but definitely thicker than you can find today. They were perfect. You can't find them anymore, believe me I've looked. Even the frozen ones in the supermarket are too thick. Hard to believe that 1/8" of potato can make that much difference but it does.
To me the biggest casualty of restaurant food these days is the hamburger. YOU CAN'T GET A GOOD ONE ANYMORE.
Which sounds like an odd thing to say, considering there are more hamburger options anymore than there have ever been. But they have all lost sight of what makes a hamburger great.
All you need for a hamburger is a bun and a patty. But restaurants are so intent on charging $15 or so for a hamburger, that they want to load it up with toppings, fancy buns, sauces and other crap that isn't necessary.
And the patties are invariably too big. A half pound is TOO MUCH. A quarter pound is not enough. A third pound is perfect, but hardly anyone does that. And they squeeze the patties so hard to flatten them that they eliminate all the air space, which eliminates all the juices. And then they freeze them to complete the ruination of them.
And the bun should be toasted. Too many places brag about all their toppings and handcrafted pretzel/brioche/whatever buns but then they don't toast the buns!
In general, "comfort food" is becoming a thing of the past, which is sad. Go try to find a plate of fried chicken or roast beef or just a plain ol' steak. It's nearly impossible, everything is fancied up and loaded with extras, all in the name of charging more money.
There's a restaurant in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho called Hudson's Hamburgers. It's been in the same location for about 100 years. There is only one thing on the menu: Hamburgers. They make the patty right there in plain sight, out of a pile of ground beef on the counter. The burgers come hot off the grill, with a patty and a white-bread bun, and optional cheese. The rest is up to you. AND THEY HAVE A LINE OUT THE DOOR ALL DAY LONG. Why don't other restaurants figure out that food doesn't need to be fancy or "ethnic" to be good?
Mike Blakesley
___________________________________
Glad you told me Bob till I started remembering those horrible straws with the felt thing about 3/4 of the way up that was soaked in some kind of chocolate or strawberry concoction that made white milk into another flavor, which was truly horrible even before we knew better. But then it made me recall a time at Jones Beach when Victor Daddario and I stuck our skinny arms up the soda machines, the ones that the cup came down with the ice, the seltzer, and the flavored Coke syrup and we would pull some of the cups out and so when someone put a dime in to get their soda everything would come down except the cup and we would fall on our faces laughing at them using their palms as a substitute cup — great shenanigans for a 10-year-old. Hey, did you ever read "formerly cool" my book that I sent you? Try one chapter.
Tmusca3
___________________________________
The Jennings Beach concession stand in Fairfield sells frozen Charleston Chews. It's the only time I ever have one. The outside slightly melty in the summer sun yet frozen and snappy on the inside. Can't beat it! I'll treat you next summer!
Mat O.
___________________________________
In-N-Out Please!
Jim Crawford
___________________________________
You need to try waffle fries at chick Fil A. The best
Tim Madigan
___________________________________
The ONLY way to eat Shake Shack fries is with the cheese sauce!
Try it next time!
amiedodd
___________________________________
Always, always, always order your fries well done! Jeez. They should be crispy brown!
Greg Prestopino
___________________________________
I ate this one up, Bob.
Rob Getzschmam
Thanks for memories as the other Bob used to say.
Jimmy Wachtel
PS The mini burgers were thanks to the ultimate mini burger, White Castle with grilled onions, a squeeze of ketchup and a slice dill pickle…heaven for 12 cents.
___________________________________
Here's the pro move:
1. Go to IN 'N' OUT and buy a Double Double, Animal Style.
2. Then drive to the nearest Shake Shack and buy a large order of krinkle-cut fries.
3. Die happy.
Trey Callaway
___________________________________
Re Fries - I think in New York we are more free to fry than in Los Angeles. It's understood by many - if not most - that the ideal combination is a Shake Shack burger with 5 Guys Fries. This is totally doable in my Brooklyn nook where they are within a couple blocks of each other.
1000% agree: Steak Fry - why??
I too grew up on frozen crinkle cuts and most restaurants - including name brand fine dining - use frozen french fries still (also frozen peas) which is why Balthazar's frites are exceptional, made from scratch every day (great fries are labor intensive and must be cooked twice - double-blanched - as invented by the Belgians (p171 The Balthazar Cookbook.)
best,
Barbara Barna Abel
___________________________________
shake shack and their fries rule. best eaten outside in Madison Square Park, but good at all other locations.
but my favorite: add malt to the cookies and cream shake! (I mean, if you like malted stuff, aka Whoppers for the heathens.)
Now I'm hungry. Wear a Santa Hat and give out their fries: Kris Krinkle.
Thanks, Katherine Turman
___________________________________
"Oh, with the green light I partook. They were a bit soggy after the almost half hour drive."
Pro tip: Throw them in your air fryer for 5 minutes next time! THE BEST. And I love crisper fries.
PeaceAndLove!
Another Bob (Mori) in Los Angeles.
___________________________________
I grew up in Massachusetts with clam shacks and roast beef sandwiches and none of their fries compared to McDonalds.
Pamela Harris
___________________________________
Krinkle Fries Rule!
I'm glad they've come back per your history of 'the krinkle'
From Mama's oven in the 70's to now Arby's (we have the meats) & Omaha's own Runza Hut.
McDonald's fries are great too! And Steak Fries are awesome with a Steak. That's why they're called...
Curly Fries & Waffle Fries - No Thanks.
Funny Topic Bob - but I certainly relate.
Terry Anzaldo
___________________________________
My fun uncle Ian surprised us five Brit kids with a visit to the new McDonalds restaurant in Lakeland, Florida on a rate visit.
We'd never seen fries like that, used to the vinegar soaked newspaper wrapped soggy thick potato slices that simultaneously managed to be both horribly slimily greasy and yet with zero skin or crisp. Lard slathered on half cooked potatoes. So we did what every kid in the world would have done - we ate until we were truly sick and still didn't get up from the jolly bright round little plinth seats even then. And uncle Ian joked that we were only full up to 'about here' (indicating our belly buttons) and had more to go surely. We ordered a second round. We knew (correctly) we'd never eat like that again.
For those that experienced the magic back the nostalgia that made you believe it could happen again and the excitement upon glimpsing the Golden Arches from the road was hard to put down.
jemail
___________________________________
This was quite the trip down memory lane.
I remember my first trip to McDonald's. We piled into the 1964 Pontiac Catalina Safari wagon. No seat belts. Dad, Mom and five kids. The closest McD's was on Route 9 in Natick.
I can't remember if they had a drive thru. We ate in the car. What I remember most was not the fries or burgers, but the spitball fight! Straws!
Cheers,
Thomas Quinn
___________________________________
All fries are good, Bob! Krinkle fries are really good. Reminds me of being a kid and eating frozen fries.
Jim Lewi
___________________________________
Oh Bob. Crinkle-cut fries are THE BEST kind of fry. :)
Sarah Martin
___________________________________
Tater tots
Waffle fries
Krinkle cut
Steak fries
Regular fries
Shoe string fries
In-N-Out fries
Those are ranked from best to worst. Anyone who disagrees is mistaken. You are correct that well done is an important aspect.
Jason Bernstein
P.S. bonus fries at the bottom of the bag top all of the above.
___________________________________
The best Krinkly fries are at Langers. Always cooked to perfection, though it's hard to choose those over their home fries.
If you haven't indulged already, Taco Bell's nacho fries, which are available now and are not a permanent fixture on their menu, are crazy good. Yes, Taco Bell. Good luck only having one portion.
Richard Young
___________________________________
Steak & Brews - all the salad & bread you could eat and all the wine & beer you could drink. They didn't last long.
Richard King
___________________________________
Aloha Bob,
Today's email had me thinking about all the fries I've eaten over the decades. When I was a kid, McDonald's had the best. I've told this story to my adult children more times than they want to hear it. Let me tell you about the family:
My father's side - My father refused to eat McDonald's hamburgers because one time his burger had cheese on it (verboten). He never ate meat and dairy at the same meal. Since the cheese had touched the meat, he had to throw the whole burger away.
My mother's side - My mother loved McDonald's French fries not just because they were extra salty. They were thin, but not too thin and had their own unique taste. Delicious.
"Have it Your Way" was Burger King's slogan, so we started going to BK as soon as they opened up in our suburban neighborhood in Cleveland. Not frequently, but often enough that I knew the drill when my mother announced she wanted some fries. In the early 70's, neither place had a drive thru. You parked and walked inside to order. While our mother waited in the car, my brother and I were assigned the task to go into BK to order the burgers - specifically without cheese. Then we walked over to the Golden Arches to pick up the fries. We hopped in the car and drove home immediately with the food. I can still hear my mother saying, "Let's get home before the fries get cold."
Now I live on Oahu. When I walk by Burger King and McDonald's in Waikiki, I cannot imagine ever going inside to buy food. In fact, I feel kind of nauseous from the smell that lingers around the sidewalk. Yet the memory of the BK - Mickey D run is so powerful. I have to smile.
Deb Seibert
The Contractor
___________________________________
Born in VT in 1950 we had 19 cent burgers just south of Burlington I think at "the Lure" circa 1968 and an early McDonalds in Mass at that price was an event!
Point #2 I recall cutting my mouse cap ears from Disney to look more like the show!
Jim Eaton
___________________________________
NATHAN'S! Not the frozen supermarket bag, but rather the ones you get at the local Nathan's concession, or better still at the original Coney Island spot. Something in the mixture they fry them in. Nothing else comes close. Paul Lanning
___________________________________
Nathan's fries ! Nothing beats 'em and they must be ingested AT Nathan's Coney Island!
Bob Kranes
___________________________________
I've never been a big fry guy, but as a Northeasterner, Nathan's, the hot dog folks from Brooklyn, have always made crinkle-cut fries that knocked me out. There used to be a Nathan's on Pico, and one on Post Road in Norwalk, CT, but those are both long gone. I've only seen Nathan's in the food court at the MGM Grand in Vegas. If you get a chance, try their fries. I think that you'll be happy you did.
Michael Rexford
___________________________________
One cannot discuss fries without mentioning Nathan's. Nathan's has been in Coney Island since 1916. Their hotdogs, hamburgers and fries have been a Brooklyn staple forever. Cooked in oil, that seemingly is never changed, served hot, well done and in a cone cup. There is not a French fry better than Nathan's krinkle cut.
rjlsat
___________________________________
Best French fries I ever had was at Nathan's in coney island. We went there all through my youth in Brooklyn. Served in a paper cone. My Dad always said they were the best fries because he figured they hadn't changed the oil they fried them in since the place opened. Throughout the fifties and early sixties they would have fireworks every Tuesday night on the boardwalk. Another thing you would get at the beach were hot knishes. Doesn't make that much sense, but I guess the salt and fat tasted good in the hot weather. Hot dogs were everywhere in Brooklyn cause where I group up there was a kosher deli every 5 blocks. And a hot dog and a pizza were always priced the same. Someone even did the math once and found a correlation between the price of pizza and a subway token.
Jeff Rosen
___________________________________
The hand cut, twice fried fries at HiHo Cheeseburger in Santa Monica are delicious!
Best,
Karyn Ulman
___________________________________
Im with you on Krinkly fries but…Hattie B's hot chicken in Nashville (and now others) have krinkly fries that are so good they defy logic. I stopped eating meat 5/6 years ago but ill still go just to get the fries..You have to try them..
Joe Greenwald
___________________________________
McDonald's...hamburger, fries and a soda and change back from your one dollar bill.
Matthew Grandi
___________________________________
Fries are a matter of personal taste, just like music. I won't judge you for having a taste in fries which is anathema to mine. There's room for all kinds of preferences. I like great musicians, great songwriters, tight bands and have gravitated to the best for fifty years.
I like thick fries (Wendy's are better than McDonalds), Shake Shack fries are okay by me. Krinkly fries are a gimmick, although Chik-Fil-A fries are pretty good. Thin or matchstick fries do not have enough taste.
And if you get around to burgers another day, the thicker the better. The problem with hamburger joints is that we don't trust them enough to serve our burgers medium rare, which is the way they should be served, the way you can grill them at home.
Best regards, Bahnson Stanley
___________________________________
I never liked Crinkly fries. I don't even know why. You are 3 years older than me but we still have a fair amount in common.
I bought The Twist by Chubby Checker the first time it came out, and I was a big fan of Etta James at that age for some reason.
We had Dairy Queen, A&W as well. Loved A&W Root Beer.
Corn dogs were a big deal when I was a kid in Grand Forks North Dakota too.
Thanks for sharing.
Bill live from MN.
___________________________________
I hate to admit it, but I do agree with you about McDonald's having great fries, even though I haven't been there in decades. Best fries though? The ones in the south of France that come with moules frites. Still hot and even a bit crispy after soaking in the garlicky mussel sauce - that's fry ecstasy, especially when eaten on an outdoor communal table smashed in next to some smoking Europeans.
Second place? Could be the skin-on peanut oil fries that are served at the Atlantic beaches. Vinegar on top, not ketchup! The famous brand here in Maryland is Thrasher's. Best to stay away though!
Rich Madow
___________________________________
I still think McDonalds has the best fast food fries. I remember my first fries from Macs when I was 8 years old in 1963 in Atlanta. Awesome
Randy Schaaf
___________________________________
Well. At our local swimming lake in North Bennington, I always bought a 10¢ fudgsicle. But we did have burgers, not hot dogs. There was an old-fashioned A&W with burgers and great root beer. And Paul's Fish Fry (I hate fish, so I would get their burger), with GREAT thick shakes. After moving to NYC, it was all pizzerias by the slice on every other block (pretty much all gone now) for 20¢, or a Sabrett hot dog from the street vendor's cart. No more burgers, really. Driving back from an anti-war demonstration in DC with my mother, 2 friends, and one's mother, we spied a McDonalds and since NONE of us had every had one, we stopped. The burger was so-so, but the fries! Wow! A revelation. Over the years people have said that they put sugar in the mix when deep-frying them, and that's the difference. I don't really care. I don't eat them anymore, but that day was memorable. And then a coupla years later, the (I think) first-ever McDonald's opened near me, on 92nd and Broadway, and my cousin Tony Pinck and I walked there, stopping to collect Lenny Kaye, who lived along the way, and we went to the opening day. Because, it was there. I'd still rather have a NY slice though. Five Guys is pretty good, and, yes, their fries are excellent. I was disappointed in Shake Shack the two times a tried it. Not sure what's so special. And now everyone's talking about Smashburger, not sure why. Oh, and, Bob, I've never though krinkly fries were special, but I do like big thick steak fries from time to time. But I'd much rather have a baked potato with BBQ sauce as the only topping.
Toby Mamis
___________________________________
I agree with you -- today's crinkle fries are too thick.
When I was a kid, there was a restaurant here in my town that had thinner krinkle fries, maybe 1/4" thick or possibly a bit thicker, but definitely thicker than you can find today. They were perfect. You can't find them anymore, believe me I've looked. Even the frozen ones in the supermarket are too thick. Hard to believe that 1/8" of potato can make that much difference but it does.
To me the biggest casualty of restaurant food these days is the hamburger. YOU CAN'T GET A GOOD ONE ANYMORE.
Which sounds like an odd thing to say, considering there are more hamburger options anymore than there have ever been. But they have all lost sight of what makes a hamburger great.
All you need for a hamburger is a bun and a patty. But restaurants are so intent on charging $15 or so for a hamburger, that they want to load it up with toppings, fancy buns, sauces and other crap that isn't necessary.
And the patties are invariably too big. A half pound is TOO MUCH. A quarter pound is not enough. A third pound is perfect, but hardly anyone does that. And they squeeze the patties so hard to flatten them that they eliminate all the air space, which eliminates all the juices. And then they freeze them to complete the ruination of them.
And the bun should be toasted. Too many places brag about all their toppings and handcrafted pretzel/brioche/whatever buns but then they don't toast the buns!
In general, "comfort food" is becoming a thing of the past, which is sad. Go try to find a plate of fried chicken or roast beef or just a plain ol' steak. It's nearly impossible, everything is fancied up and loaded with extras, all in the name of charging more money.
There's a restaurant in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho called Hudson's Hamburgers. It's been in the same location for about 100 years. There is only one thing on the menu: Hamburgers. They make the patty right there in plain sight, out of a pile of ground beef on the counter. The burgers come hot off the grill, with a patty and a white-bread bun, and optional cheese. The rest is up to you. AND THEY HAVE A LINE OUT THE DOOR ALL DAY LONG. Why don't other restaurants figure out that food doesn't need to be fancy or "ethnic" to be good?
Mike Blakesley
___________________________________
Glad you told me Bob till I started remembering those horrible straws with the felt thing about 3/4 of the way up that was soaked in some kind of chocolate or strawberry concoction that made white milk into another flavor, which was truly horrible even before we knew better. But then it made me recall a time at Jones Beach when Victor Daddario and I stuck our skinny arms up the soda machines, the ones that the cup came down with the ice, the seltzer, and the flavored Coke syrup and we would pull some of the cups out and so when someone put a dime in to get their soda everything would come down except the cup and we would fall on our faces laughing at them using their palms as a substitute cup — great shenanigans for a 10-year-old. Hey, did you ever read "formerly cool" my book that I sent you? Try one chapter.
Tmusca3
___________________________________
The Jennings Beach concession stand in Fairfield sells frozen Charleston Chews. It's the only time I ever have one. The outside slightly melty in the summer sun yet frozen and snappy on the inside. Can't beat it! I'll treat you next summer!
Mat O.
___________________________________
In-N-Out Please!
Jim Crawford
___________________________________
You need to try waffle fries at chick Fil A. The best
Tim Madigan
___________________________________
The ONLY way to eat Shake Shack fries is with the cheese sauce!
Try it next time!
amiedodd
___________________________________
Always, always, always order your fries well done! Jeez. They should be crispy brown!
Greg Prestopino
___________________________________
I ate this one up, Bob.
Rob Getzschmam
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Tuesday 15 November 2022
More Grammys/TikTok
"Apparently Bob Lefsetz doesn't have a TikTok or he'd see we *did* livestream Grammy Noms on the platform this morning. His other screed today was about 'krinkly fries' so dude clearly has a lock on the priorities of youth culture."
John Loken @kidmedium
Followers: 859
Job according to LinkedIn: Marketer at the Recording Academy
Now if I was smart, I would not respond to this tweet, because it has absolutely no impact, just like the Grammy stream on TikTok...
Now what I said was:
"Yes, you might see a reference to TikTok on the show, but those in the know know that the nominations should have been on TikTok, think of the buzz!"
So, technically I was wrong. Because if you Google, and it is not easy to find, you will learn:
"The live stream of the 65th annual ceremony can be viewed on the Grammys' official website and the Academy's Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok social media channels. The full list of nominees will be posted after the event.": https://bit.ly/3ExdGgu
Once again, I was wrong. John Loken wins. And by responding at all, I lose. But there's something to learn here...YOU MUST CREATE UNIQUE CONTENT FOR TIKTOK!
Just broadcasting no longer works. This is the shotgun approach the entertainment industry has been employing for decades, despite the internet era completely changing the landscape.
One thing is for sure, the news that the Grammys would stream the nomination process on TikTok never reached me, and I'm devouring news 24/7. That's testimony to how hard it is to reach ANYBODY these days. Furthermore, Mr. Loken is the only person who has alerted me to my mistake, and normally when I get it wrong, I hear from many people, they love to pile on. So if a tree drops in a forest...
If you're trying to reach everybody, you're reaching nobody. First and foremost attack the target demo, those who care.
And believe me, they're not on Facebook, that's all alta kachers.
As for Twitter... Even before Musk took over the numbers were staggering, as in the miniscule number of young people active on the service. Instagram has a stink upon it, just like Facebook, that's where people who never got the memo still are.
Then there's TikTok.
If you listen to the service itself, it tells advertisers not to employ their usual spots, to make content unique to TikTok, to have it fit in seamlessly with the other content on the channel. Which is usually user-generated.
Yes, anybody with a brain would know the way to reach TikTokkers is to employ TikTokkers, unleash their creativity, not just do a standard broadcast that is a waste of time knowing you can get the complete list of nominees shortly thereafter. Talk about being creative... So the nominations were on TikTok, BFD!
Yes, you might say I'm down in the weeds. But everything is in the weeds today, that's where truth lies. That's how the mainstream media missed the election, it was not in the weeds, it was the usual suspect echo chamber.
And we've got the knee-jerk reaction of an employee, my having questioned his efforts.
First and foremost I've got no idea who John Loken is, but I'm criticized every damn day online and I know not to respond. It goes with the territory. And by weighing in, Mr. Loken got me to amplify my point, add data, delineating how piss-poor the Grammys' thinking was here.
Isn't this the difference between the U.S. and China? In China (and Japan), they teach to the test, it's rote, no creativity is involved. But it's American creativity, its ingenuity, that keeps the country a fount of innovation, ahead of other nations. And it's almost never the people who got straight A's who change the world, but those who rebelled against the institutions, did it their way, looking at the problem through a different lens, not having even gone to college in many cases, never mind graduate.
And our entire nation is being hobbled by the lack of arts and music education in schools. The biggest person in popular music, the most successful, is Max Martin. He was educated in a Swedish music school. We don't have anything resembling that in America. But we're number one!
Yeah, the Grammys are number one in music awards. But what does that mean? To quote Edwin Starr, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Well, a bit more than that, but not much. Music evolves, but not the organization. I mean who would want to work at such a brain-dead enterprise, where change has to happen slowly, where you're beholden to musicians who've got enough time to participate, whereas those who are changing the world are far too busy to sit on the fakokta boards and argue about minutiae.
Yes, I'm calling a spade a spade.
Yes, just by weighing in I take a hit to my image. Better to let it slide.
But just because something is technically right, that does not mean it's emotionally right, that does not mean it's right at all. That's like the Chinese student who aced the math test. What does that mean in the real world? Not much. Maybe that you can rise up the ladder of the like-minded thinkers and be a cog in the machine. The arts are all about rejecting the machine, moving past the machine, questioning everything, everything is up for grabs.
But not the Grammy organization. They hire a woman and they fire her, she wanted change too fast. And to get paid off, Deborah Dugan had to stay silent. This is akin to the corporations who pay off the Me Too offenders in their ranks. Keep it quiet. Move on. But eventually the truth outs.
Take the temperature of the nation re the Grammys. The truth is almost no one cares. How do you make someone care?
Not by showing the same dead video on multiple social outlets, that's for sure.
And in truth, I am on TikTok, every single day, sometimes for more than an hour, sometimes for less. You see it's that addictive. But I don't post, I have my own avenues to reach people. So Mr. Loken got it completely wrong. I don't care, but in truth MOST people are lurkers.
So here's the bottom line: TikTok is where it's happening, it's the only social medium that truly moves the needle. And it's about user-generated content. Let me quote an email and leave it at that:
From: Nima Nasseri (at Universal Music)
Subject: Re: The Grammy Nominations
Date: November 15, 2022 at 11:40:48 AM PST
To: Bob Lefsetz
Not to mention how the glass animals 'slowed' UGC version on TikTok that we eventually took to DSP (and is the 2nd most popular song on their Spotify page) really helped drive it to #1 finally after all those weeks on the charts
The power of TikTok is real
P.S. I got a ton more responses about krinkly fries than I did about the Grammy nominations, that's just how much people care about food, food is hipper than music.
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John Loken @kidmedium
Followers: 859
Job according to LinkedIn: Marketer at the Recording Academy
Now if I was smart, I would not respond to this tweet, because it has absolutely no impact, just like the Grammy stream on TikTok...
Now what I said was:
"Yes, you might see a reference to TikTok on the show, but those in the know know that the nominations should have been on TikTok, think of the buzz!"
So, technically I was wrong. Because if you Google, and it is not easy to find, you will learn:
"The live stream of the 65th annual ceremony can be viewed on the Grammys' official website and the Academy's Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok social media channels. The full list of nominees will be posted after the event.": https://bit.ly/3ExdGgu
Once again, I was wrong. John Loken wins. And by responding at all, I lose. But there's something to learn here...YOU MUST CREATE UNIQUE CONTENT FOR TIKTOK!
Just broadcasting no longer works. This is the shotgun approach the entertainment industry has been employing for decades, despite the internet era completely changing the landscape.
One thing is for sure, the news that the Grammys would stream the nomination process on TikTok never reached me, and I'm devouring news 24/7. That's testimony to how hard it is to reach ANYBODY these days. Furthermore, Mr. Loken is the only person who has alerted me to my mistake, and normally when I get it wrong, I hear from many people, they love to pile on. So if a tree drops in a forest...
If you're trying to reach everybody, you're reaching nobody. First and foremost attack the target demo, those who care.
And believe me, they're not on Facebook, that's all alta kachers.
As for Twitter... Even before Musk took over the numbers were staggering, as in the miniscule number of young people active on the service. Instagram has a stink upon it, just like Facebook, that's where people who never got the memo still are.
Then there's TikTok.
If you listen to the service itself, it tells advertisers not to employ their usual spots, to make content unique to TikTok, to have it fit in seamlessly with the other content on the channel. Which is usually user-generated.
Yes, anybody with a brain would know the way to reach TikTokkers is to employ TikTokkers, unleash their creativity, not just do a standard broadcast that is a waste of time knowing you can get the complete list of nominees shortly thereafter. Talk about being creative... So the nominations were on TikTok, BFD!
Yes, you might say I'm down in the weeds. But everything is in the weeds today, that's where truth lies. That's how the mainstream media missed the election, it was not in the weeds, it was the usual suspect echo chamber.
And we've got the knee-jerk reaction of an employee, my having questioned his efforts.
First and foremost I've got no idea who John Loken is, but I'm criticized every damn day online and I know not to respond. It goes with the territory. And by weighing in, Mr. Loken got me to amplify my point, add data, delineating how piss-poor the Grammys' thinking was here.
Isn't this the difference between the U.S. and China? In China (and Japan), they teach to the test, it's rote, no creativity is involved. But it's American creativity, its ingenuity, that keeps the country a fount of innovation, ahead of other nations. And it's almost never the people who got straight A's who change the world, but those who rebelled against the institutions, did it their way, looking at the problem through a different lens, not having even gone to college in many cases, never mind graduate.
And our entire nation is being hobbled by the lack of arts and music education in schools. The biggest person in popular music, the most successful, is Max Martin. He was educated in a Swedish music school. We don't have anything resembling that in America. But we're number one!
Yeah, the Grammys are number one in music awards. But what does that mean? To quote Edwin Starr, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Well, a bit more than that, but not much. Music evolves, but not the organization. I mean who would want to work at such a brain-dead enterprise, where change has to happen slowly, where you're beholden to musicians who've got enough time to participate, whereas those who are changing the world are far too busy to sit on the fakokta boards and argue about minutiae.
Yes, I'm calling a spade a spade.
Yes, just by weighing in I take a hit to my image. Better to let it slide.
But just because something is technically right, that does not mean it's emotionally right, that does not mean it's right at all. That's like the Chinese student who aced the math test. What does that mean in the real world? Not much. Maybe that you can rise up the ladder of the like-minded thinkers and be a cog in the machine. The arts are all about rejecting the machine, moving past the machine, questioning everything, everything is up for grabs.
But not the Grammy organization. They hire a woman and they fire her, she wanted change too fast. And to get paid off, Deborah Dugan had to stay silent. This is akin to the corporations who pay off the Me Too offenders in their ranks. Keep it quiet. Move on. But eventually the truth outs.
Take the temperature of the nation re the Grammys. The truth is almost no one cares. How do you make someone care?
Not by showing the same dead video on multiple social outlets, that's for sure.
And in truth, I am on TikTok, every single day, sometimes for more than an hour, sometimes for less. You see it's that addictive. But I don't post, I have my own avenues to reach people. So Mr. Loken got it completely wrong. I don't care, but in truth MOST people are lurkers.
So here's the bottom line: TikTok is where it's happening, it's the only social medium that truly moves the needle. And it's about user-generated content. Let me quote an email and leave it at that:
From: Nima Nasseri (at Universal Music)
Subject: Re: The Grammy Nominations
Date: November 15, 2022 at 11:40:48 AM PST
To: Bob Lefsetz
Not to mention how the glass animals 'slowed' UGC version on TikTok that we eventually took to DSP (and is the 2nd most popular song on their Spotify page) really helped drive it to #1 finally after all those weeks on the charts
The power of TikTok is real
P.S. I got a ton more responses about krinkly fries than I did about the Grammy nominations, that's just how much people care about food, food is hipper than music.
--
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Krinkly Fries
The dentist told Felice to eat ice cream. He'd just completed the replacement of her implant and when Felice strolled up Camden to her car she encountered the new Shake Shack, and purchased a shake, and french fries.
Shake Shack started off with krinkly fries. I'm not a fan. Too much potato inside. Even worse are steak fries. I'm not saying I won't eat them, it's just that they're less satisfying. Shake Shack ultimately switched to a narrower fry, but then they switched back, I'm not exactly sure why. Are there really any fans of krinkly french fries? Or do I say "krinkle"? I don't know, I always call them "krinkly."
Which is the only thing we had way back when. You know the fifties, a decade that is fading into the rearview mirror. We hear about the conservatism, the birth of rock and roll, but the actual life...that's grown dim. Not that I remember much, after all I was born in 1953. But I do remember the "Mickey Mouse Club." I don't remember "Your Show of Shows" and all the early TV breakthroughs, but what came after, like "Sky King," and "Crusader Rabbit," those are embedded in my brain.
It was completely different when we were young. Our parents weren't worried about "screen time," at least before we were old enough to have homework, which for me was in the third grade. The TV would go on sometime around five, and we three kids ate downstairs in the playroom, in front of the black and white TV. There was only black and white, it was all we knew. The breakthrough of color really didn't come until the sixties. And TV screens were no longer tiny, they were right-sized, as in rectangular and about twenty-odd inches diagonally.
And at five we might watch Zacherle. And when I was in junior high, years later, "Soupy Sales" was a thing, we all imitated White Fang, but after he had his hit with "The Mouse" the fascination faded away. You see Soupy was underground, and when everybody knew him it was not the same.
And dinner was at six. By time we went to school we all ate dinner together, but before that, the kids ate before my dad came home. And my mother, who never wanted to dedicate the time to cook, she didn't deem it important, served us spaghetti or shells, long before it was labeled "pasta," and krinkly fries baked in the oven.
This was long before home fryers, never mind air fryers. The french fries we had at home were facsimiles of the real thing, which you could only get out. And I always ate mine cold, because I saved them for last. Well, lukewarm.
As for out...
At the time it was all about hot dogs. The stand we went to put bacon at the bottom of the roll, they even sold chow mein sandwiches. But in the early sixties the Rocket Drive-In was built down the street, it was fancy and new, and not only did it serve hot dogs, but hamburgers too, and fries. Yes, Kuhn's, the old standard, served no fries, although it did have burgers, which nobody ordered. Can you believe that burgers didn't dominate until the breakthrough of McDonald's?
It was kind of like baseball and football. Hot dogs were king, like baseball, until they were eclipsed by hamburgers, which were football.
Anyway, during the summer we went to the beach. And my mother would give us money to buy goodies at the stand. It was part of the experience. It's not like we didn't come with food, cookies and drinks, it's just that we kids loved trudging along the sand, waiting in line and ordering, and oftentimes what we purchased was extinguished before we got back to the blanket.
So what were our choices?
The fudgsicle, at ten cents. Hot dogs were a quarter. And fries were fifteen cents. Or you could get a frozen candy bar. The best was the Charleston Chew, but they didn't sell that at the beach, it was rare, eventually we made them at home, like root beer ice cubes, remember when that was a thing? Probably not.
The french fries at the beach were crinkly. This was long before I realized that they were best consumed well-done. And sometimes they were more cooked than other times, and more satisfying, but if you want that taste, that feeling, the only place you can get it is in a fry.
And then McDonald's broke through. Hamburgers, miniature, this was years before the Big Mac, never mind the Quarter Pounder, were fifteen cents, and fries were ten cents. There was no supersize. The fries were a treat, the piece-de-resistance. They were the reason you bought a hamburger, why you went to McDonald's to begin with. As far as the burgers went...they were so small you could always taste the pickle. The fries? They were shoestring, and that was a brand new thing. And this meant that there was almost no potatoey inside, it was all crisp skin. And McDonald's salted them more than your average establishment, and even when they were limp they were a delicacy, but you knew, you had to eat them right away, they were best hot.
And then fries became a thing. McDonald's gained respect. Oh yeah, prior to the late sixties the rumor was it was horse meat, McDonald's was a joke. And then there were the imitators, like Burger King, never mind Wetson's and Hardee's. As for the independent stands of the sixties, they remained, and they served exotica like fried clams, but they could never get the fries right, if you wanted good fries you really needed to go to McDonald's.
And ultimately, the shoestring fry won out, they were everywhere. Sure, there were curly fries, and spicy fries, but they were a delicacy. You went to places specifically to get them, and there were very few establishments that served them.
The seventies were the heyday of the aforementioned steak fry. It made no sense, you might as well have a baked potato, which you could dress to excellence. All the toppings, sour cream, never mind butter, scallions, bacon bits... That was the era of the steak and salad bar restaurant. They were somewhat upscale. There were some low-down chains, that sold steaks for a couple of bucks, like Sizzler and Ponderosa and Bonanza, but they were pooh-poohed, they were for those with no taste. A good steak had to cost six or seven bucks. And the salad bar? The ultimate price point was higher, ten to fifteen dollars.
And then the steak and salad places disappeared. Even chains like the Chart House closed restaurants. And we saw the advent of the upscale steak chain, like Ruth's Chris, and fries had no place on the menu, they were low-class, they did not deserve to sit next to the steaks that were proffered.
The shoestring fry was king.
Oh, I never really mentioned the traditional french fry. Which was like a krinkly one but without the krinkles. They predated the krinkly fries. Then they died out. But they've been resuscitated, as a greasy potato-type thing, which is what Five Guys specializes in. They're not the dry fries of yore, more of a slippery thing that make you feel like you're slumming.
We love to slum.
We know we shouldn't be eating fries at all, never mind fried foods. And not only is it the aged who know this, but some of the cooking show stars have gotten in personal trouble with their fried concoctions, as in their own health. That used to be a regular feature at the grocery store, the magazine featuring a picture of a chef who ate clean and lost weight and was suddenly healthy.
But then you've got the food industry, trying to make bad food, not only fried, but processed, addictive. It's a constant battle to eat healthy. Furthermore, it costs more to eat healthy. In a perfect world vegetables would be cheap and fried goods expensive, but that's not the way it is. And ultimately this cheap food kills, another reason why the poor have shorter life spans. They become ill from the bad food, and then they don't get appropriate medical treatment because it's so damn expensive, and then they pass away.
But if you're educated and have some cash... Fries are taboo. Like drugs. You want to take them but you know you shouldn't.
So Felice texted me about that Shake Shack shake, but when she got home and opened the bag, she also had some fries. Krinkly. Can't say that I was intrigued, I could do without.
But then Felice said to have some.
Oh, with the green light I partook. They were a bit soggy after the almost half hour drive. But the edges were crisp. And the packets of Heinz ketchup added a coating that was reminiscent of my youth, I mean how often do I even eat ketchup anymore, that's kid food. They have upscale mustard, but what am I even going to put an upscale ketchup on?
And the krinkly fries were not undercooked, which is so often the case. And at the bottom of the paper boat there were the remnants, you know, the little pieces of fry that have broken off, that are a bit over-fried, that are so satisfying.
And I can't say I'm wolfing the fries down. I'm fearful of eating too many, after all they're for Felice. But I ask her if I can eat some more and she gives me permission and as I'm biting into the fry my whole life flashes before my eyes, all the fries I've eaten over the years, decades, more than half a century. I suddenly had the urge to tell you.
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Shake Shack started off with krinkly fries. I'm not a fan. Too much potato inside. Even worse are steak fries. I'm not saying I won't eat them, it's just that they're less satisfying. Shake Shack ultimately switched to a narrower fry, but then they switched back, I'm not exactly sure why. Are there really any fans of krinkly french fries? Or do I say "krinkle"? I don't know, I always call them "krinkly."
Which is the only thing we had way back when. You know the fifties, a decade that is fading into the rearview mirror. We hear about the conservatism, the birth of rock and roll, but the actual life...that's grown dim. Not that I remember much, after all I was born in 1953. But I do remember the "Mickey Mouse Club." I don't remember "Your Show of Shows" and all the early TV breakthroughs, but what came after, like "Sky King," and "Crusader Rabbit," those are embedded in my brain.
It was completely different when we were young. Our parents weren't worried about "screen time," at least before we were old enough to have homework, which for me was in the third grade. The TV would go on sometime around five, and we three kids ate downstairs in the playroom, in front of the black and white TV. There was only black and white, it was all we knew. The breakthrough of color really didn't come until the sixties. And TV screens were no longer tiny, they were right-sized, as in rectangular and about twenty-odd inches diagonally.
And at five we might watch Zacherle. And when I was in junior high, years later, "Soupy Sales" was a thing, we all imitated White Fang, but after he had his hit with "The Mouse" the fascination faded away. You see Soupy was underground, and when everybody knew him it was not the same.
And dinner was at six. By time we went to school we all ate dinner together, but before that, the kids ate before my dad came home. And my mother, who never wanted to dedicate the time to cook, she didn't deem it important, served us spaghetti or shells, long before it was labeled "pasta," and krinkly fries baked in the oven.
This was long before home fryers, never mind air fryers. The french fries we had at home were facsimiles of the real thing, which you could only get out. And I always ate mine cold, because I saved them for last. Well, lukewarm.
As for out...
At the time it was all about hot dogs. The stand we went to put bacon at the bottom of the roll, they even sold chow mein sandwiches. But in the early sixties the Rocket Drive-In was built down the street, it was fancy and new, and not only did it serve hot dogs, but hamburgers too, and fries. Yes, Kuhn's, the old standard, served no fries, although it did have burgers, which nobody ordered. Can you believe that burgers didn't dominate until the breakthrough of McDonald's?
It was kind of like baseball and football. Hot dogs were king, like baseball, until they were eclipsed by hamburgers, which were football.
Anyway, during the summer we went to the beach. And my mother would give us money to buy goodies at the stand. It was part of the experience. It's not like we didn't come with food, cookies and drinks, it's just that we kids loved trudging along the sand, waiting in line and ordering, and oftentimes what we purchased was extinguished before we got back to the blanket.
So what were our choices?
The fudgsicle, at ten cents. Hot dogs were a quarter. And fries were fifteen cents. Or you could get a frozen candy bar. The best was the Charleston Chew, but they didn't sell that at the beach, it was rare, eventually we made them at home, like root beer ice cubes, remember when that was a thing? Probably not.
The french fries at the beach were crinkly. This was long before I realized that they were best consumed well-done. And sometimes they were more cooked than other times, and more satisfying, but if you want that taste, that feeling, the only place you can get it is in a fry.
And then McDonald's broke through. Hamburgers, miniature, this was years before the Big Mac, never mind the Quarter Pounder, were fifteen cents, and fries were ten cents. There was no supersize. The fries were a treat, the piece-de-resistance. They were the reason you bought a hamburger, why you went to McDonald's to begin with. As far as the burgers went...they were so small you could always taste the pickle. The fries? They were shoestring, and that was a brand new thing. And this meant that there was almost no potatoey inside, it was all crisp skin. And McDonald's salted them more than your average establishment, and even when they were limp they were a delicacy, but you knew, you had to eat them right away, they were best hot.
And then fries became a thing. McDonald's gained respect. Oh yeah, prior to the late sixties the rumor was it was horse meat, McDonald's was a joke. And then there were the imitators, like Burger King, never mind Wetson's and Hardee's. As for the independent stands of the sixties, they remained, and they served exotica like fried clams, but they could never get the fries right, if you wanted good fries you really needed to go to McDonald's.
And ultimately, the shoestring fry won out, they were everywhere. Sure, there were curly fries, and spicy fries, but they were a delicacy. You went to places specifically to get them, and there were very few establishments that served them.
The seventies were the heyday of the aforementioned steak fry. It made no sense, you might as well have a baked potato, which you could dress to excellence. All the toppings, sour cream, never mind butter, scallions, bacon bits... That was the era of the steak and salad bar restaurant. They were somewhat upscale. There were some low-down chains, that sold steaks for a couple of bucks, like Sizzler and Ponderosa and Bonanza, but they were pooh-poohed, they were for those with no taste. A good steak had to cost six or seven bucks. And the salad bar? The ultimate price point was higher, ten to fifteen dollars.
And then the steak and salad places disappeared. Even chains like the Chart House closed restaurants. And we saw the advent of the upscale steak chain, like Ruth's Chris, and fries had no place on the menu, they were low-class, they did not deserve to sit next to the steaks that were proffered.
The shoestring fry was king.
Oh, I never really mentioned the traditional french fry. Which was like a krinkly one but without the krinkles. They predated the krinkly fries. Then they died out. But they've been resuscitated, as a greasy potato-type thing, which is what Five Guys specializes in. They're not the dry fries of yore, more of a slippery thing that make you feel like you're slumming.
We love to slum.
We know we shouldn't be eating fries at all, never mind fried foods. And not only is it the aged who know this, but some of the cooking show stars have gotten in personal trouble with their fried concoctions, as in their own health. That used to be a regular feature at the grocery store, the magazine featuring a picture of a chef who ate clean and lost weight and was suddenly healthy.
But then you've got the food industry, trying to make bad food, not only fried, but processed, addictive. It's a constant battle to eat healthy. Furthermore, it costs more to eat healthy. In a perfect world vegetables would be cheap and fried goods expensive, but that's not the way it is. And ultimately this cheap food kills, another reason why the poor have shorter life spans. They become ill from the bad food, and then they don't get appropriate medical treatment because it's so damn expensive, and then they pass away.
But if you're educated and have some cash... Fries are taboo. Like drugs. You want to take them but you know you shouldn't.
So Felice texted me about that Shake Shack shake, but when she got home and opened the bag, she also had some fries. Krinkly. Can't say that I was intrigued, I could do without.
But then Felice said to have some.
Oh, with the green light I partook. They were a bit soggy after the almost half hour drive. But the edges were crisp. And the packets of Heinz ketchup added a coating that was reminiscent of my youth, I mean how often do I even eat ketchup anymore, that's kid food. They have upscale mustard, but what am I even going to put an upscale ketchup on?
And the krinkly fries were not undercooked, which is so often the case. And at the bottom of the paper boat there were the remnants, you know, the little pieces of fry that have broken off, that are a bit over-fried, that are so satisfying.
And I can't say I'm wolfing the fries down. I'm fearful of eating too many, after all they're for Felice. But I ask her if I can eat some more and she gives me permission and as I'm biting into the fry my whole life flashes before my eyes, all the fries I've eaten over the years, decades, more than half a century. I suddenly had the urge to tell you.
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