The Backseat Lovers

This video perplexed me:

"The EXACT MOMENT where the lead singer of a band saw my sign and bought me on stage: https://tinyurl.com/ypd2jjr7

I've been watching TikTok videos for the past hour and a half. I wanted to see if my feed was dominated by Trump indictment clips, like it was on Friday.

This was after seeing the headline in today's "New York Times":

"Trump Supporters' Violent Rhetoric in His Defense Disturbs Experts - The former president's allies have portrayed the indictment as an act of war and called for retribution, which political violence experts say increases the risk of action.": https://tinyurl.com/4xr97fnr

This piece made me think how the media was complicit. That it pushed the Trump agenda for so long that it came back to bite them in the ass.

But then there were the elected officials, afraid of losing their jobs, who got on the Trump train too.

And I wanted to write something, but I didn't. Because to a degree it feels like pissing in the wind, while pissing people off at the same point.

But then I reflected on how on Friday afternoon I was listening to Mark Levin rant and rave on Fox and then, when he took a breath for air, the Fox host contradicted him, told him he was wrong. Levin went apoplectic. Then again, that's his act to begin with. And it had me wondering, had Fox changed in the wake of the Dominion settlement?

And that's when I went to TikTok. And was served up this video:

"Former Trump AG Bill Barr on Trump's federal indictment": https://tinyurl.com/we6pmv65

I've got no time for Bill Barr, especially in the wake of his preemption of the Mueller report, delivering a conclusion that was not aligned with the ultimately released document. But even worse is his hairpiece, doesn't he know we can tell? I noticed it the first time he surfaced with Trump. He had a head full of hair, yet his face was lined. He's 73. I mean come on. This is just a warning to those of you losing your hair, own it, it works out far better.

So it appears that Bill Barr is the new Liz Cheney. Able to stand up for truth, justice and the American Way...after they didn't. But better late than never.

So maybe the tide is turning. Then again, this is my TikTok feed, what's in everybody else's?

And then I stumbled on these clips of Steve Harvey giving advice. And it was really good:

"He's a little scared to get back in": https://tinyurl.com/4apzjyvk

They went on a date and then she never heard from him. And when they ultimately made contact he said he wasn't ready. And she said should she strike him from her contacts and he said not to do that, and that maybe they could go to church together.

And then Steve went on to diagnose the guy, you need to watch this, both boys and girls, to see how men really think.

And Steve was so good, that I decided to click to watch more of his feed. Turns out this is a feature, of what I'm not exactly sure. I know that Steve had a sitcom, I know he hosts a game show, but until I looked him up on Wikipedia I had no idea he had an empire.

And there was the woman who had a tatted-up biker boyfriend who wouldn't... I don't want to ruin it, you should watch it:

https://tinyurl.com/3ervx5np

But even better was this segment that Bill Barr should watch:

"Going bald is not something you should try to fight": https://tinyurl.com/ypf942ka

Then Felice interrupted me and asked me what I was reading. And I told her that I was watching TikTok clips. I started telling her about Steve Harvey, she didn't know he had a talk show, all she knew was the aged sitcom. And then I started telling her about the Backseat Lovers.

In the clip there was a band on stage. Wearing street clothes. With no production. And it was a really big stage. And when the camera turned it was a pretty big venue, full of people. It looked like nothing so much as the seventies. But this was positively now.

Oh, I know. This must be Christian rock. How could something be this big and I've never heard of it?

So I Googled, and found out that although the band was from Utah, they were not a Christian act.

And then I had to hear them. So I looked the Backseat Lovers up on Spotify and found out they had a song with 237,849,712 streams. And another with 67,636,049. And another with 62,777,795. And another with 24,605,553.

Now let's be clear, the aged acts of yore, the classic rock icons, when they release new work it doesn't come anywhere near these numbers. Very few people do. Most scrape along, if they're lucky breaking a million and complaining to the government that they're not getting paid, something must be wrong. FIX THIS FOR ME!

Well, maybe it's not broken.

So I decide to play the first track on Spotify, the one with 237+ million streams.

Let's be clear, I'm doing something else at the same time. I mean I'm not going to dedicate all my focus to this. And then...

"I overheard that she was nineteen
She's got a fake I.D. and a nose ring"

I'm a fool for this stuff. I hate platitudes. And I hate boasting. But if you set the scene, if you're personal, I'm all in.

And it occurs to me, this song, "Kilby Girl," is really good.

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/yc2muzef

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/2e3as7fd

This is not Top Forty stuff, it's not overproduced. Yet it's hooky. And intimate, you don't find intimate on Top Forty anymore. But people are craving intimate.

Well, this is in the alternative lane. And it made it all the way to number 39 on the US R&A chart. What exactly is that? "Rock & Alternative"? Try Googling it, good luck finding an answer. I mean there's Active Rock and Triple-A and...number 39 means it got some regional airplay at best, most people didn't hear it on the radio, if they listen to the radio at all anyway.

And there's another track, "Growing Dying," that made it to number 18 on the AAA chart. And the funny thing is that cut only has 9,557,940 streams, whereas there are six tracks with double-digit million streams that got no radio airplay, at least not enough to make a chart.

Now I've got to go deeper.

The band is signed with Capitol. Okay, there's a major label involved. But to what effect? The band certainly wasn't helped by radio play, which the major can deliver. And as a matter of fact, "Kilby Girl" was from the first album, which was independent.

And now I have to look up the lyrics.

And then I've got to look up the meaning of the song, you can do that you know.

Songtell says:

"The song 'Kilby Girl' by The Backseat Lovers is a song that tells the story of a young couple meeting on a rainy night. The girl, who is nineteen and has a fake ID and nose ring, has a 'secret' which the protagonist is determined to figure out. As they spend the afternoon together they seem to both be 'throwing smoke into the night', revealing their secrets and deepening their connection. The song is about the thrill of young love, the mystery of the unknown other and the vulnerability and bravery required to share your secrets and yourself with someone new."

https://tinyurl.com/2z8n6tad

Well, I can relate to that, but the description almost reads like it was written by ChatGPT, it's generic, I need more, I need to go deeper. And I come across this article in the "Utah Statesman" that says:

"The lyrics to local hit song "Kilby Girl" by The Backseat Lovers paint a narrative for the lesser-known music-based subculture born within the conservative landscape of Utah.

"What does it mean to be a Kilby Girl? Mainly an Instagramable title, Utah Kilby Girls and Kilby Boys, or any genderless title to the Utah version of a hipster, refers to a sublet of indie, punk and alternative fans that have dived deeper into local music. They are not simply satisfied with the world-wide hits of The 1975 and Phoebe Bridgers. Kilby Girls also spend the majority of their energy actively supporting a surprisingly large number of local bands like Ritt Momney, Adult Prom and Cinders, all of whom are based out of Salt Lake City, Ogden, Logan and yes, even Provo.

"'Kilby' refers to Kilby Court, the iconic Utah venue located in outer Salt Lake City. The venue is owned by the local music entrepreneurs of S&S Presents and has quite the personality of its own."

https://tinyurl.com/zu55nwd6

And this truly resonates. Daniel Glass said he'd like to hire Phoebe Bridgers as his head of marketing, that's what she does best. And I agree. And did you even see the 1975 in the "New Yorker"? Make me puke. You're supposed to say no to stuff like this. Then again, how do you get traction these days?

Well, I stumbled on a Backseat Lovers performance on "Kimmel"...but is the target audience watching this?

I mean how did everybody find out about the Backseat Lovers?

TikTok, just like me.

And then I'm thinking, scrolling TikTok...it's not only more entertaining, but more real than what I see on streaming TV.

And on TikTok, women comedians are king, er, queen. I love the delivery of Esther Povitsky. You should check out her feed to get her sensibility, to get an idea: https://tinyurl.com/4kx7vyhr

But start with these:

"how to marry a billionaire": https://tinyurl.com/4cj7xf5k

And the politically incorrect one about her fiancé:

https://tinyurl.com/wh92dave

And she's not the only one.

And I'm listening to the Backseat Lovers, trying to evaluate them, seeing if the rest of their material is as good as "Kilby Girl" and...you can't even get me to click on the songs that people e-mail me, there's not enough incentive, if you're pushing it it doesn't work, people have to find it. I didn't find the Backseat Lovers on their TikTok page, but one of a fan.

And on one hand you can throw your hands in the air and say it's all overwhelming.

And on another you can put down the Backseat Lovers, but...if you listen to the soloing in "Kilby Girl" you'll find that it doesn't remind you so much of the modern alternative sound, but New York in the seventies, I thought of Television and...

So they say that TikTok is the most powerful streaming service. And I'm including Netflix here too. And damn it's entertaining.

But it's also where things are breaking.


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