Songs with "Friend" in the title.
Tune in Saturday May 20th, to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.
Phone #: 844-686-5863
Twitter: @lefsetz
If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz
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Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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Friday 19 May 2023
Two Important Articles
"The Unexpected Reason Apple Is Dominating the U.S. Smartphone Market - It's not just lavish marketing and the threat of green bubbles—Apple's commitment to supporting old phones has allowed it to capture a part of the market once cornered by inexpensive Android devices": https://on.wsj.com/43b0Q0J
I can't get this article out of my head.
Last night I wrote about the "New York Times"'s new Audio app. And I promptly received e-mail from "Times" subscribers complaining that it doesn't work on Android, at least not yet.
You recall the memo. Apple lost the market share race in smartphones, although it won the profitability game. Steve Jobs threatened to sue Google for Android, calling it a copycat. So Apple kept raising prices and the world went Android. Or did it?
Apple's market share is climbing around the world, and it's primarily due to used phones. You see they have a shelf life, value, that Androids do not. And they tend to look the same to boot. So you can buy an old iPhone for a couple of hundred bucks and be a member of the club.
And those club members get hooked on the Apple ecosystem and buy not only further Apple products, but Apple subscriptions.
To the point that Apple's U.S. smartphone market share was 50% in June, and 52.5% in December. And one of the great drivers of this increased market share is the youth. If your messages appear in a green bubble, you're ostracized, it must be blue. The youth start trends, you lose them at your peril, they form brand relationships at a young age, so this is a good sign for Apple.
And overseas, you can get a high status iPhone for a couple of hundred bucks used. So market share is climbing there too.
So, wait long enough and the iPhone might dominate around the world.
And why is this happening? Primarily because Apple controls the operating system and supports old iPhones with new software for years.
So it appears conventional wisdom is wrong. The iPhone is not a niche product solely supported by the wealthy.
You can keep your Android phone. You can tell me how it's more customizable, but there will come a point, much earlier than with an iPhone, that you'll have to replace it, because it's no longer supported by software upgrades, if it ever was, and on a smartphone security is key.
Also, you can shoot the messenger, but when adults see the dreaded green bubble in their iMessage thread, they wince and wonder who is using an Android phone. Furthermore, when they send a message to an Android phone they don't get a message that it's been delivered.
This is what's happening. Make your own choices. But be aware of everybody else's.
"Office Brainstorms Are a Waste of Time - Giving workers alone time could yield more innovation than getting everyone in a room, research": https://on.wsj.com/3MGcPya
I hate collaboration. My best ideas come when I'm alone. And they come to me when I'm doing something else, standing in the shower, hiking... It's when I'm relaxed, not under pressure, focusing elsewhere that inspiration arrives. Oftentimes in the evening, late at night, when everybody else is decompressing and incoming trickles down.
As for having everybody in the office... If they're there to come up with ideas, this article says that's not the way to do it. Sure, there are other advantages to being in the office, but coming up with new ideas in a group is not one of them.
Also, this speaks to music creation. You can write a song by committee, but the best stuff is written alone. Even the Beatles...turns out John and Paul didn't write those songs together, especially as the group aged. Do it alone and it's more personal. You work when you want to.
Furthermore, I'm a big believer in inspiration. Sure, if you have to deliver you can't wait for inspiration, but the best stuff always comes from inspiration, you're elated, it's like you're channeling the work.
Elton and Bernie worked in two rooms.
I know, in Nashville they have appointments to write songs, but that's why Nashville popular country music has such a bad reputation, it sounds like the songs were written by committee, appealing to the lowest common denominator. Then again, dig deeper and you find that so many of the great songs written by committee really weren't. One writer comes in with an idea, and the others inspire him and help him to finish it.
Read the article, food for thought.
P.S. You have to pay for news like this. Both stories are based on fact. This is not what you find on social media. Meaning there end up being two tiers of people, the informed and the uninformed, those in the know and those who are not. If you read the WSJ and the NYT cover to cover every day...you'll find you can hold your own with any CEO on the planet.
P.P.S. Those are free links, a perk I get from being a WSJ subscriber.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
I can't get this article out of my head.
Last night I wrote about the "New York Times"'s new Audio app. And I promptly received e-mail from "Times" subscribers complaining that it doesn't work on Android, at least not yet.
You recall the memo. Apple lost the market share race in smartphones, although it won the profitability game. Steve Jobs threatened to sue Google for Android, calling it a copycat. So Apple kept raising prices and the world went Android. Or did it?
Apple's market share is climbing around the world, and it's primarily due to used phones. You see they have a shelf life, value, that Androids do not. And they tend to look the same to boot. So you can buy an old iPhone for a couple of hundred bucks and be a member of the club.
And those club members get hooked on the Apple ecosystem and buy not only further Apple products, but Apple subscriptions.
To the point that Apple's U.S. smartphone market share was 50% in June, and 52.5% in December. And one of the great drivers of this increased market share is the youth. If your messages appear in a green bubble, you're ostracized, it must be blue. The youth start trends, you lose them at your peril, they form brand relationships at a young age, so this is a good sign for Apple.
And overseas, you can get a high status iPhone for a couple of hundred bucks used. So market share is climbing there too.
So, wait long enough and the iPhone might dominate around the world.
And why is this happening? Primarily because Apple controls the operating system and supports old iPhones with new software for years.
So it appears conventional wisdom is wrong. The iPhone is not a niche product solely supported by the wealthy.
You can keep your Android phone. You can tell me how it's more customizable, but there will come a point, much earlier than with an iPhone, that you'll have to replace it, because it's no longer supported by software upgrades, if it ever was, and on a smartphone security is key.
Also, you can shoot the messenger, but when adults see the dreaded green bubble in their iMessage thread, they wince and wonder who is using an Android phone. Furthermore, when they send a message to an Android phone they don't get a message that it's been delivered.
This is what's happening. Make your own choices. But be aware of everybody else's.
"Office Brainstorms Are a Waste of Time - Giving workers alone time could yield more innovation than getting everyone in a room, research": https://on.wsj.com/3MGcPya
I hate collaboration. My best ideas come when I'm alone. And they come to me when I'm doing something else, standing in the shower, hiking... It's when I'm relaxed, not under pressure, focusing elsewhere that inspiration arrives. Oftentimes in the evening, late at night, when everybody else is decompressing and incoming trickles down.
As for having everybody in the office... If they're there to come up with ideas, this article says that's not the way to do it. Sure, there are other advantages to being in the office, but coming up with new ideas in a group is not one of them.
Also, this speaks to music creation. You can write a song by committee, but the best stuff is written alone. Even the Beatles...turns out John and Paul didn't write those songs together, especially as the group aged. Do it alone and it's more personal. You work when you want to.
Furthermore, I'm a big believer in inspiration. Sure, if you have to deliver you can't wait for inspiration, but the best stuff always comes from inspiration, you're elated, it's like you're channeling the work.
Elton and Bernie worked in two rooms.
I know, in Nashville they have appointments to write songs, but that's why Nashville popular country music has such a bad reputation, it sounds like the songs were written by committee, appealing to the lowest common denominator. Then again, dig deeper and you find that so many of the great songs written by committee really weren't. One writer comes in with an idea, and the others inspire him and help him to finish it.
Read the article, food for thought.
P.S. You have to pay for news like this. Both stories are based on fact. This is not what you find on social media. Meaning there end up being two tiers of people, the informed and the uninformed, those in the know and those who are not. If you read the WSJ and the NYT cover to cover every day...you'll find you can hold your own with any CEO on the planet.
P.P.S. Those are free links, a perk I get from being a WSJ subscriber.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
Thursday 18 May 2023
New York Times Audio App
"Introducing a New Audio App for Our Journalism and Storytelling -New York Times Audio provides news, depth and serendipity.": https://nyti.ms/41OCMzN
This was not supposed to happen. New players were supposed to come along, disrupt the the staid Grey Lady and leave it in the dust. But just the opposite is happening. Vice and BuzzFeed news failed. And in a world of too many messages, too many unresearched and false, the "Times" has more impact than it ever has. You may hate it, but it's affecting your life even if you avoid it, because the "Times" sets the agenda for the whole world, the right needs something to rebel against, there's not an equivalent right wing newsgathering source, mostly there's opinion, and at the end of the day people want facts.
And they want to be informed.
Sure, many people don't care about the news, but if you're hungry for it, the "Times" is the place to go. It has more reporters in more places than competitors and a bigger newshole and...
You've got to pay for it.
Oh, you can read ten articles a month for free.
But that's not enough.
Assuming you're into the news.
So you subscribe. It's cheap. Assuming you're willing to pay.
That's the hurdle, getting people to pay. But once you're unconcerned with reaching everybody, knowing that your power is so great that you reach everybody anyway, via outside forces, you can charge.
Even worse for competitors, although there are news junkies like myself who will subscribe to multiple papers, most people will only pay for one. Or maybe two. The local, and the "New York Times." I mean if you're paying, why not get the best?
I'm not saying the "Washington Post" and the "Wall Street Journal" are bad, I pay for them, but they're a noticeable step behind the "Times." After Trump left office, WaPo subscriptions stalled. But the "Times"'s did not.
And then the "Times" started to diversify, build upon its empire. All the news is about Elon Musk and Twitter, but the real story is the "Times."
There's the "Wirecutter," the "Athletic," "Cooking" and "Games," with the "Crossword." You can pay for them individually, but the bundle is so much more appealing. Apple's bundle? Not a deal. The "Times"'s? A no-brainer.
So there was just a stealth introduction of the Audio app. I read about it yesterday and downloaded it, today the "Times" pushed me a notice in its app (as for notifications...the only ones I allow are from Libby, for library books, I don't need an endless scroll...then again, I'm checking my phone constantly during the day...oh, I can put it down for dinner, but if I'm alone...except at night, bugs me when people tell me not to text them late, don't they turn off the sound...but too many are Luddites...especially in this 24/7 world where people are waking up when you're going to bed).
All the podcast apps...put up everything, like Spotify. And most of it is junk. Poorly recorded people speaking inanities. You have to separate the wheat from the chaff. But even worse, it's hard to find great stuff under the morass. But on the "Times" Audio app...
It's a walled garden. For subscribers only.
And it's got breaking news. Know how the podcast you're listening to from this morning is already out of date? Well, the "Times" is now publishing news/podcasts later in the day, after events have transpired.
So you've got a cornucopia of "Times" content. Some brand new.
But you also have curated content from other outlets. But a very limited number. In terms of publishers, there's the "Atavist," "Foreign Policy," "Mother Jones," the "New Republic," "New York," "Outside" and "Rolling Stone." I.e. there is CURATION!
This is what has been promised in music for more than a decade which has not arrived. Playlists never lived up to the hype, because there are too many tune-outs and not enough people are listening to any one to create mass. For a minute there we had Tuma Basa's Rap Caviar, but then he left Spotify for YouTube and he's now nearly irrelevant. The imprimatur of the organization means something, and most people don't follow you to your new home (remember this Tucker Carlson), and Rap Caviar has lost its luster on Spotify because personalities matter, and now there's no longer a recognizable face.
What we're looking for is a very few tracks that most of us listen to. But all the record companies and independent creators don't want to be left out, so we've got zillions of trash tracks on the streaming outlets. But if someone only put up the best...we could have a more cohesive music business.
But no one has the power of the "Times" in music.
So now if you're looking for a podcast...
Well, first the "Times" is timely. And that makes a difference in news. But also, the choices are limited, so you can comprehend the landscape.
The "Times" also has "This American Life," but overall it's got little, in an overwhelming world of too much.
So what's your first stop? Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon, Stitcher, individual publishers' sites or...the "Times"?
The "Times" sits above. It's not for everybody, but somebodies. It's a club, and if you don't belong...
This is not Facebook, the great unwashed intimidating each other with falsehoods.
This is authorized, curated, appealing to the intelligentsia, who drive this world. And so many people want to consider themselves members of the intelligentsia.
The "Times"'s the "Daily" is already the number one podcast on so many platforms. That's what people want. So it's a no-brainer to start at the "Times" Audio app, assuming you're a subscriber. And if you're not, the "Times" just made it more enticing.
And I was listening to Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway talk about the twentysomething who bought "Forbes" for $800 million...insane! But what was mentioned is that the "Times" is not a great business. What they meant was it's not a tech company minting billionaires.
But that's something the public has forgotten in this income inequality world wherein the rich have been venerated. It's not about money, it's about power. And sure, sometimes money yields power, but if you can speak truth to power, if you're perceived as not being beholden to the almighty dollar, then you're more powerful than all of the richies, assuming you have mass.
The "Times" has mass.
Forget the locals already, we need local news but the model is broken. To the point that papers have slimmed down to maintain profits and there's nothing left. Everybody in L.A. used to read the "Los Angeles Times," now almost everybody I know has given up their subscription. You can feel good if your album is hyped in the "Los Angeles Times," but it means next to nothing, because no one sees it, or those who do are those who don't matter!
Is this the future? A walled garden with fewer offerings?
I mean Amazon cocked up its site with ads and inferior products from China. The Everything Store really shouldn't have absolutely everything.
But really, when it comes to intellectual as opposed to physical objects...you can't read everything, you want someone to clarify the scene.
The "Times" is the first major to do so successfully.
We'll see if anybody else can replicate their model.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
This was not supposed to happen. New players were supposed to come along, disrupt the the staid Grey Lady and leave it in the dust. But just the opposite is happening. Vice and BuzzFeed news failed. And in a world of too many messages, too many unresearched and false, the "Times" has more impact than it ever has. You may hate it, but it's affecting your life even if you avoid it, because the "Times" sets the agenda for the whole world, the right needs something to rebel against, there's not an equivalent right wing newsgathering source, mostly there's opinion, and at the end of the day people want facts.
And they want to be informed.
Sure, many people don't care about the news, but if you're hungry for it, the "Times" is the place to go. It has more reporters in more places than competitors and a bigger newshole and...
You've got to pay for it.
Oh, you can read ten articles a month for free.
But that's not enough.
Assuming you're into the news.
So you subscribe. It's cheap. Assuming you're willing to pay.
That's the hurdle, getting people to pay. But once you're unconcerned with reaching everybody, knowing that your power is so great that you reach everybody anyway, via outside forces, you can charge.
Even worse for competitors, although there are news junkies like myself who will subscribe to multiple papers, most people will only pay for one. Or maybe two. The local, and the "New York Times." I mean if you're paying, why not get the best?
I'm not saying the "Washington Post" and the "Wall Street Journal" are bad, I pay for them, but they're a noticeable step behind the "Times." After Trump left office, WaPo subscriptions stalled. But the "Times"'s did not.
And then the "Times" started to diversify, build upon its empire. All the news is about Elon Musk and Twitter, but the real story is the "Times."
There's the "Wirecutter," the "Athletic," "Cooking" and "Games," with the "Crossword." You can pay for them individually, but the bundle is so much more appealing. Apple's bundle? Not a deal. The "Times"'s? A no-brainer.
So there was just a stealth introduction of the Audio app. I read about it yesterday and downloaded it, today the "Times" pushed me a notice in its app (as for notifications...the only ones I allow are from Libby, for library books, I don't need an endless scroll...then again, I'm checking my phone constantly during the day...oh, I can put it down for dinner, but if I'm alone...except at night, bugs me when people tell me not to text them late, don't they turn off the sound...but too many are Luddites...especially in this 24/7 world where people are waking up when you're going to bed).
All the podcast apps...put up everything, like Spotify. And most of it is junk. Poorly recorded people speaking inanities. You have to separate the wheat from the chaff. But even worse, it's hard to find great stuff under the morass. But on the "Times" Audio app...
It's a walled garden. For subscribers only.
And it's got breaking news. Know how the podcast you're listening to from this morning is already out of date? Well, the "Times" is now publishing news/podcasts later in the day, after events have transpired.
So you've got a cornucopia of "Times" content. Some brand new.
But you also have curated content from other outlets. But a very limited number. In terms of publishers, there's the "Atavist," "Foreign Policy," "Mother Jones," the "New Republic," "New York," "Outside" and "Rolling Stone." I.e. there is CURATION!
This is what has been promised in music for more than a decade which has not arrived. Playlists never lived up to the hype, because there are too many tune-outs and not enough people are listening to any one to create mass. For a minute there we had Tuma Basa's Rap Caviar, but then he left Spotify for YouTube and he's now nearly irrelevant. The imprimatur of the organization means something, and most people don't follow you to your new home (remember this Tucker Carlson), and Rap Caviar has lost its luster on Spotify because personalities matter, and now there's no longer a recognizable face.
What we're looking for is a very few tracks that most of us listen to. But all the record companies and independent creators don't want to be left out, so we've got zillions of trash tracks on the streaming outlets. But if someone only put up the best...we could have a more cohesive music business.
But no one has the power of the "Times" in music.
So now if you're looking for a podcast...
Well, first the "Times" is timely. And that makes a difference in news. But also, the choices are limited, so you can comprehend the landscape.
The "Times" also has "This American Life," but overall it's got little, in an overwhelming world of too much.
So what's your first stop? Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon, Stitcher, individual publishers' sites or...the "Times"?
The "Times" sits above. It's not for everybody, but somebodies. It's a club, and if you don't belong...
This is not Facebook, the great unwashed intimidating each other with falsehoods.
This is authorized, curated, appealing to the intelligentsia, who drive this world. And so many people want to consider themselves members of the intelligentsia.
The "Times"'s the "Daily" is already the number one podcast on so many platforms. That's what people want. So it's a no-brainer to start at the "Times" Audio app, assuming you're a subscriber. And if you're not, the "Times" just made it more enticing.
And I was listening to Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway talk about the twentysomething who bought "Forbes" for $800 million...insane! But what was mentioned is that the "Times" is not a great business. What they meant was it's not a tech company minting billionaires.
But that's something the public has forgotten in this income inequality world wherein the rich have been venerated. It's not about money, it's about power. And sure, sometimes money yields power, but if you can speak truth to power, if you're perceived as not being beholden to the almighty dollar, then you're more powerful than all of the richies, assuming you have mass.
The "Times" has mass.
Forget the locals already, we need local news but the model is broken. To the point that papers have slimmed down to maintain profits and there's nothing left. Everybody in L.A. used to read the "Los Angeles Times," now almost everybody I know has given up their subscription. You can feel good if your album is hyped in the "Los Angeles Times," but it means next to nothing, because no one sees it, or those who do are those who don't matter!
Is this the future? A walled garden with fewer offerings?
I mean Amazon cocked up its site with ads and inferior products from China. The Everything Store really shouldn't have absolutely everything.
But really, when it comes to intellectual as opposed to physical objects...you can't read everything, you want someone to clarify the scene.
The "Times" is the first major to do so successfully.
We'll see if anybody else can replicate their model.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
Jewish Matchmaking
Netflix trailer: https://bit.ly/3pWVF6A
Are you watching this? People are so out of touch with themselves!
We were watching "Rough Diamonds," but then it became too predictable, so we switched to the movie "Hunger," a Thai film, which a reader recommended. Don't. Because it too is predictable. The ride was okay, albeit slow, but then you knew exactly where it was going, at least Felice did, she watches a lot of TV, she's an expert.
So...
We dug into "Jewish Matchmaking." I wanted a bit of reality. Something visceral. "Indian Matchmaking" was great, so maybe this would be too.
However, Felice is not Jewish, so I was anxious about watching it together, however her previous husband was Jewish, but... I'm not saying there's a problem with mixed marriages/relationships, just that Jews have their own identities. As I said when I was at Middlebury... A Jewish girl always has something to say, you may not want to hear it, but they're very verbal. Having said that, I haven't gone out with a Jewish girl since high school. Maybe because it's too overwhelming. There ends up being little room for me. And Jewish girls want attention/focus. And I can't deliver 24/7, I guess I'm just too into my job.
And speaking of jobs, Jewish girls want someone rich who comes home at a decent hour, doesn't work on the weekends, will accompany them to parties... But the kind of person who is rich/makes money is not the kind of person that is anywhere near that available. They made the cash by working very hard, it's a jungle out there I tell you, you can't have it both ways.
So if you get to the point where you're hiring a matchmaker...
There are so many options before this. Like the setup. Whatever you do guys, don't let a woman set you up. All their friends are beautiful, a catch. Listen to the guys, they'll give you a much better assessment. Or, you can drill the women...and then you find the cracks in their recommendation.
Also, I saw a TikTok video that said the number one thing a woman was looking for in a man was the desire to get married. That's scary to me. But maybe there are men who feel that way.
Then it made me wonder if I ever had the desire to get married.
So the matchmaker, Aleeza, is from Philadelphia, but she now lives in Israel with the husband she met at a singles weekend. This used to be a thing before dating apps. You'd see them advertised by hotels like the Concord. But the only thing you had in common with everybody else was that you were single, which is just not enough.
But Aleeza, who has become more observant over the years, meaning she follows more Jewish traditions, is pretty reasonable. But her clients!
So, Tinder is if you want to get laid. The Jewish equivalent is JSwipe. Rumor is you can't form a real relationship with someone you meet on one of these two apps, but my nephew did, so there's the exception, there are exceptions to every rule.
And then there are the dating apps.
The number one thing is your profile. Don't be generic, say you love sunsets and long walks on the beach. And don't include anybody else in your pictures, even pets. It's about you. Your profile is about showing your personality, and it's got to have hooks, that make people want to know more. The number one expert on this is Logan Ury, I did a podcast with her. You can read her book, "How to Not Die Alone": https://amzn.to/3BEEoS7 I highly recommend it, it's an easy read, and there is so much wisdom. Like there are people you date and people you marry, you've got to know this.
Of course that sounds obvious, but Harmonie, who lives in L.A., is forty four years old and unmarried. And delusional. She's convinced she can still have a baby. Odds are long. Don't kill the messenger, look at the statistics. And...if you're focusing on your career, if you're taking your time finding a partner, freeze your eggs. That's a perk working at Google, where Logan's husband is employed. The point is you don't want to feel the pressure, you don't want to make a mistake in marriage, which is the number one choice you will make in your life. I learned that from David Brooks, who then got divorced himself, proving that ultimately you should listen to nobody but yourself.
So Aleeza has a number of rules. Keep dating until you reach a firm no.
And Harmonie is dating this guy who looks unappealing, but the longer he talks...
But Harmonie wants a flashy bad boy, no wonder she's not married.
Then there's thirty year old Ori... He's got a list of requirements an arm long, but he still lives with his parents. Imagine going on a date with him, if I heard this I'd say no immediately. I mean come on.
And everybody is so convinced that they're a winner, that they deserve love, their heart's desire. Even when they have miles on them, experience.
And I found it shocking.
First and foremost, it made me never want to be single again, certainly not at that age. These are the people in the dating field? No wonder it's so difficult to find someone. And you have to know yourself before you can know anybody else. And both Logan and the news say it's now a badge of honor in the dating world to be in therapy. I mean who wants to date someone who's done no work on themselves? And if you don't think you need therapy, it proves the point.
And you don't have to be Jewish to love "Jewish Matchmaking," just like Levy's rye bread. But you have to be a boomer from the east cost to get that reference. Which is why I don't understand how old guys can date young women, they don't get the references, and connection is everything. But the truth is most men who date young women...want to control them. Or show them off, not realizing nobody cares, that ultimately everybody just cares about themselves.
And if I'm listing one marriage requirement, it's commitment. It's key. Far beyond sex, even money. Because relationships, never mind marriage, is hard. And if someone is not willing to put in the work, to stay in the relationship when things are difficult, it's not going to last.
Oh, you're gonna argue, if you're not that just means someone isn't revealing their truth, hopefully they will before they exit.
You're not going to agree on everything. You won't necessarily like the same things. Furthermore, I come from the Paula Abdul school of relationships, as in opposites attract. How many even get that reference? You think you want someone just like you, but you don't.
And there are people who are attractive in certain ways, but fall down completely in others. Like they can't manage their money. Don't live up to commitments. It's the little things that make a relationship work, not the big ones.
Not that the big ones are not important.
Of course reality TV is not complete reality. It's edited. But in this case, all the daters look right at the camera and say exactly what they want. I don't think they can complain that they are not portrayed accurately, in three dimensions, then again, some are two-dimensional.
Also, watching I realized what these people want I don't. I never dreamed of having a 9-5 job and a house in the suburbs with a bunch of kids. Never ever. Not my priority. Sounds like death to me. I guess I'm too busy trying to put a dent in the universe, I've got to be with someone who understands that, how it's primary.
And don't get the wrong idea since the show has "Jewish" in the title. Don't think black clothing, fur hats... These people look just like you and me.
We've only watched two episodes. But I'm not sure anybody could ruin this show for me. Because like most of these productions it's about the process, because the participants can't reach the goal. Which is why they're on these shows in the first place, because they can't get what they want.
If you try you get what you need, but to these people needs are subsidiary to wants, and that's where they've got it wrong. Focus on needs. And needs are different from what you think they are. You don't need someone beautiful, you don't need someone rich, but you do need someone who gets you, who'll be there for you, who will stand by you, and also call you on your sh*t.
This is life. This is most people.
And it's horrifying.
At least it was for me!
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Are you watching this? People are so out of touch with themselves!
We were watching "Rough Diamonds," but then it became too predictable, so we switched to the movie "Hunger," a Thai film, which a reader recommended. Don't. Because it too is predictable. The ride was okay, albeit slow, but then you knew exactly where it was going, at least Felice did, she watches a lot of TV, she's an expert.
So...
We dug into "Jewish Matchmaking." I wanted a bit of reality. Something visceral. "Indian Matchmaking" was great, so maybe this would be too.
However, Felice is not Jewish, so I was anxious about watching it together, however her previous husband was Jewish, but... I'm not saying there's a problem with mixed marriages/relationships, just that Jews have their own identities. As I said when I was at Middlebury... A Jewish girl always has something to say, you may not want to hear it, but they're very verbal. Having said that, I haven't gone out with a Jewish girl since high school. Maybe because it's too overwhelming. There ends up being little room for me. And Jewish girls want attention/focus. And I can't deliver 24/7, I guess I'm just too into my job.
And speaking of jobs, Jewish girls want someone rich who comes home at a decent hour, doesn't work on the weekends, will accompany them to parties... But the kind of person who is rich/makes money is not the kind of person that is anywhere near that available. They made the cash by working very hard, it's a jungle out there I tell you, you can't have it both ways.
So if you get to the point where you're hiring a matchmaker...
There are so many options before this. Like the setup. Whatever you do guys, don't let a woman set you up. All their friends are beautiful, a catch. Listen to the guys, they'll give you a much better assessment. Or, you can drill the women...and then you find the cracks in their recommendation.
Also, I saw a TikTok video that said the number one thing a woman was looking for in a man was the desire to get married. That's scary to me. But maybe there are men who feel that way.
Then it made me wonder if I ever had the desire to get married.
So the matchmaker, Aleeza, is from Philadelphia, but she now lives in Israel with the husband she met at a singles weekend. This used to be a thing before dating apps. You'd see them advertised by hotels like the Concord. But the only thing you had in common with everybody else was that you were single, which is just not enough.
But Aleeza, who has become more observant over the years, meaning she follows more Jewish traditions, is pretty reasonable. But her clients!
So, Tinder is if you want to get laid. The Jewish equivalent is JSwipe. Rumor is you can't form a real relationship with someone you meet on one of these two apps, but my nephew did, so there's the exception, there are exceptions to every rule.
And then there are the dating apps.
The number one thing is your profile. Don't be generic, say you love sunsets and long walks on the beach. And don't include anybody else in your pictures, even pets. It's about you. Your profile is about showing your personality, and it's got to have hooks, that make people want to know more. The number one expert on this is Logan Ury, I did a podcast with her. You can read her book, "How to Not Die Alone": https://amzn.to/3BEEoS7 I highly recommend it, it's an easy read, and there is so much wisdom. Like there are people you date and people you marry, you've got to know this.
Of course that sounds obvious, but Harmonie, who lives in L.A., is forty four years old and unmarried. And delusional. She's convinced she can still have a baby. Odds are long. Don't kill the messenger, look at the statistics. And...if you're focusing on your career, if you're taking your time finding a partner, freeze your eggs. That's a perk working at Google, where Logan's husband is employed. The point is you don't want to feel the pressure, you don't want to make a mistake in marriage, which is the number one choice you will make in your life. I learned that from David Brooks, who then got divorced himself, proving that ultimately you should listen to nobody but yourself.
So Aleeza has a number of rules. Keep dating until you reach a firm no.
And Harmonie is dating this guy who looks unappealing, but the longer he talks...
But Harmonie wants a flashy bad boy, no wonder she's not married.
Then there's thirty year old Ori... He's got a list of requirements an arm long, but he still lives with his parents. Imagine going on a date with him, if I heard this I'd say no immediately. I mean come on.
And everybody is so convinced that they're a winner, that they deserve love, their heart's desire. Even when they have miles on them, experience.
And I found it shocking.
First and foremost, it made me never want to be single again, certainly not at that age. These are the people in the dating field? No wonder it's so difficult to find someone. And you have to know yourself before you can know anybody else. And both Logan and the news say it's now a badge of honor in the dating world to be in therapy. I mean who wants to date someone who's done no work on themselves? And if you don't think you need therapy, it proves the point.
And you don't have to be Jewish to love "Jewish Matchmaking," just like Levy's rye bread. But you have to be a boomer from the east cost to get that reference. Which is why I don't understand how old guys can date young women, they don't get the references, and connection is everything. But the truth is most men who date young women...want to control them. Or show them off, not realizing nobody cares, that ultimately everybody just cares about themselves.
And if I'm listing one marriage requirement, it's commitment. It's key. Far beyond sex, even money. Because relationships, never mind marriage, is hard. And if someone is not willing to put in the work, to stay in the relationship when things are difficult, it's not going to last.
Oh, you're gonna argue, if you're not that just means someone isn't revealing their truth, hopefully they will before they exit.
You're not going to agree on everything. You won't necessarily like the same things. Furthermore, I come from the Paula Abdul school of relationships, as in opposites attract. How many even get that reference? You think you want someone just like you, but you don't.
And there are people who are attractive in certain ways, but fall down completely in others. Like they can't manage their money. Don't live up to commitments. It's the little things that make a relationship work, not the big ones.
Not that the big ones are not important.
Of course reality TV is not complete reality. It's edited. But in this case, all the daters look right at the camera and say exactly what they want. I don't think they can complain that they are not portrayed accurately, in three dimensions, then again, some are two-dimensional.
Also, watching I realized what these people want I don't. I never dreamed of having a 9-5 job and a house in the suburbs with a bunch of kids. Never ever. Not my priority. Sounds like death to me. I guess I'm too busy trying to put a dent in the universe, I've got to be with someone who understands that, how it's primary.
And don't get the wrong idea since the show has "Jewish" in the title. Don't think black clothing, fur hats... These people look just like you and me.
We've only watched two episodes. But I'm not sure anybody could ruin this show for me. Because like most of these productions it's about the process, because the participants can't reach the goal. Which is why they're on these shows in the first place, because they can't get what they want.
If you try you get what you need, but to these people needs are subsidiary to wants, and that's where they've got it wrong. Focus on needs. And needs are different from what you think they are. You don't need someone beautiful, you don't need someone rich, but you do need someone who gets you, who'll be there for you, who will stand by you, and also call you on your sh*t.
This is life. This is most people.
And it's horrifying.
At least it was for me!
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Ivan Neville-This Week's Podcast
Ivan Neville has a really good new album, "Touch My Soul." We talk about everything from his early years in New Orleans to working with the Neville Brothers, Bonnie Raitt and Keith Richards...as well as his drug addiction and so much more. Ivan is a great guy, you'll understand why he's buddies with all the players!
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/ivan-neville-115379582/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ivan-neville/id1316200737?i=1000613504678
https://open.spotify.com/episode/08mDw8uA6rjF9Swu1JCQY0?si=wx7T3U5nRUm3duU-9waUhA
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/b00ce416-7a31-4f6e-9ac1-2d55daeb23ae/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-ivan-neville
https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/episode/ivan-neville-303391940
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https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/ivan-neville-115379582/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ivan-neville/id1316200737?i=1000613504678
https://open.spotify.com/episode/08mDw8uA6rjF9Swu1JCQY0?si=wx7T3U5nRUm3duU-9waUhA
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/b00ce416-7a31-4f6e-9ac1-2d55daeb23ae/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-ivan-neville
https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/episode/ivan-neville-303391940
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Wednesday 17 May 2023
Mailbag
Subject: Re: Ed Sheeran
He's playing all stadiums - no arenas - theatres shows for the new record for super fans
Marc Gentilella
______________________________
Subject: Re: Ed Sheeran
I first heard about Ed Sheeran from your article about him and "Lego House" . . . loved it and have been playing his music when i perform for years.
I teach Music to young students and when Ed Sheeran first came out I had multiple students want to learn many of his songs
I haven't had a student ask to learn one of his songs in at least 1 1/2 years
I didn't even know he had a new album out and I am someone who listens to new music more than old and goes to concerts regularly like last nights M83 in Oakland
… maybe we're all just saturated with Ed and not looking for more
Same exact thing happening with Taylor
Alec Fuhrman
PS -student DO want to learn Morgan songs
______________________________
Subject: Re: Hey Kids
At least 2 of the 3 majors have these sped up accounts (probably all 3 do). They are just compiling alternative versions of songs (ie remixes). We're 45+ years into remixes since disco/extended mixes started and even further into compilations.
As far as the plays on "Hey Kids" goes, songs have always had purpose. Generations have always used music to express their feelings, soundtrack their experiences, and become attached to moments. When you see a song in socials or UGC used to help express a feeling, and you relate to it, it's contagious and you want to participate. If the song is great, it sticks around beyond that. Songs/artists that would have never gotten video play, nor retail shelf space, are being discovered every day. We should celebrate this.
This has been a fundamental change in music. It's a shift from idolization in official music videos (though they will always be important to superfans), and to a more personal, sometimes narcissistic, but often earnest way to communicate something. We're not going back and we'll even likely go further into personalization. Whether by official release, crowd sourced edits, or AI, there will be endless versions of every great song and even more visuals that accompany them. And like always, incumbents will push back against change but the public will demand it. Eventually we will get some version of what the fans want across the line. History will tell you that the sooner this is accepted and friction is removed, the better for all.
Mike Caren
www.Artistpg.com
______________________________
From: Jim Guerinot
Subject: Fred Rosen
I had a good fortune of coming out of college and working directly with Steve Rennie, Brian Murphy, Terry Bassett, and Bob Geddes. I was hired for $250 a week to be available to help during the four Springsteen Coliseum shows. I was able to witness firsthand Ticketmaster versus Ticketron battle and trust me, everything Fred stated is 100% true. TM crushed Ticketron
When I began managing the Offspring in 1994 they did a $10 ticket across the board and of course service fees were an issue. What Fred said about him working with him if they called him is also true... I believe we got service fees as low as a dollar in some instances it was never more than two dollars. Fred understood that we were building something and that we would both benefit in the long run if this band could grow their live business.
A lot was said during that time about Fred Rosen, but I never counted to be anything other than a straight shooter, completely blunt, and funnier than sh*t. Personally, this rates as my favorite Bob Lefsetz podcast of all time!
______________________________
From: Tony Hawk
Subject: Re: This Will Make You Miss Eddie Van Halen
Bob!
Thanks for highlighting Eddie's effortless genius, and for pointing me towards Luke Combs via his brilliant "Fast Car" rendition. I had that exact visceral reaction when I heard it; I wasn't paying attention and suddenly I was enthralled. Tracy Chapman deserves all the newfound attention and accolades, akin to Kate Bush with her resurgence from Stranger Things.
Fun fact: I had the honor of shooting photos with Herb Ritts the day after he shot Tracy for her album Crossroads in 1989. The first prints from their shoot were laying on his studio floor as I was trying to skate his cyclorama (curved wall) in an attempt to get warmed up. My board got away from me on the first go and rolled across the TC prints on the other side of the room, leaving wheel marks on two of them. His assistant (manager?) was very upset that I had damaged the studio wall AND defaced the Chapman pictures only minutes after arriving. He laughed it off and told me to pay no mind, then shot pictures of me skating (aka vandalizing) his studio walls shortly after. The pictures never got used - it was supposed to be for a GAP campaign but I guess I didn't make the cut - but it's one of my favorite memories from that era (even though I never saw the pics).
"And I-I had a feeling that I belonged, I-I had a feeling I could be someone." Indeed.
-Tony
______________________________
Subject: RE: This Will Make You Miss Eddie Van Halen
Hey Bob,
Thanks for turning us on to that! And yes, there will be guitar heroes again - in fact, I think John Mayer may even be one. But Eddie Van Halen was definitely sui generis.
First of all, as a technician, Eddie had few equals. As an innovator, he was ground-breaking. But the main thing for me was that he was all three things you rarely find together: technical skill, innovation, and a recognizable style. If you go back to the the beginning of the electric guitar, you find stylists: Les Paul was a stylist, as were Duane Eddy and Link Wray. Eddie definitely had a style all his own. If you listen, for example, to "Panama" and "Finish What Ya Started" back-to-back, you hear that although they are quite different songs, the guitar style is unmistakably the same. Part of Eddie's style was to build an all-encompassing guitar part that covered rhythm and lead at the same time. Pete Townsend had that, too, but I think he'd admit that he isn't as technically proficient as Eddie.
You're right - listening to him play both the synth and guitar parts on that Who classic definitely made me miss him.
Best,
John Boylan
______________________________
Subject: Re: Fast Car
Kudos to Combs for covering Tracy
His story is almost accurate. The James Gang did play a show on the night of the lunar landing in suburban Cleveland.
They opened for Led Zeppelin at a venue called Music Carnival…a tent with a rotating stage!
I saw several shows there back in the day including that one!
Alan Santos
Kapahi, HI
______________________________
From: Meredith Rutledge-Borger
Subject: Re: Fast Car
hey bob, I'm sure jim fox will check in with you on this, but the james gang was playing w/ led zeppelin the night we landed on the moon- jimmy tells a wonderful story of sitting with page watching the landing on a neighbor of musicarnival's portable TV. thanks for all you do! best,
meredith
______________________________
Subject: Re: Fast Car
I had an opportunity to get the Byrds publishing back for them back in the early 90's I think. They passed, and 2 months later Tom Petty cut and had a hit with one of their songs. Anything can happen….
Bill Siddons
______________________________
Subject: Re: Sleep Songs Addendum
You say everyone should own a certain Jackson Browne album.
Well, here's a further endorsement for it...
I was working in a record store and Bruce Springsteen came in to hang out for a while.
He said he was looking for a cassette to play in the car while he was driving around late at night.
He bought "Late for the Sky"
Marty Bender
______________________________
Subject: Re: Fox News Scandal
Hi Bob,
What you say about artists not recieving royalties from their record labels is a story I've been told many times over the years from the artists themselves. Two examples from long tenured major stars and labels come to mind When Merle Haggard moved from Capitol to Epic records, he rerecorded many of his hits. We did a network radio special together as a retrospective of his career. I was surprised when he told me in the interview that he had never received any royalties from Capitol.
Some years later I volunteered to.work in the production staff of a PBS radio taping. Talking with Roger McGuinn, I brought up the Byrds retrospective box set of their Columbia recordings which had just been released. Roger said that he didn't expect to see any money, as the label is still recouping expenses.
When friends who had a hit or two on small labels tell me the same story, I relate these examples. If iconic artists on major labels don't get paid, what chance did a little guy have?
Ed Salamon
Nashville, TN
______________________________
Subject: Re: Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot was extremely popular in Detroit and Michigan in the 70s. He received a huge amount of airplay on Canadian Top 40 powerhouse CKLW, which was required by law to play a certain percentage of Canadian artists. CKLW, of course, was located in Windsor, directly across the river/border from Detroit. So, when I ran the Michigan State University concert program back then, I had no hesitancy to book him in 1972 as a solo headliner in the MSU Auditorium—3800 seats. Of course he sold out. Day of the show, he pulled up to the stage door at the Auditorium in his station wagon by himself. After the perfunctory greetings, he grabbed his guitar and amp from the back of the car, carried them inside to a stool sitting on the stage and ran through his soundcheck. That was it. Just Gordon. Gotta say, we didn't really need much of a stage crew that night. Really good guy, a fabulous artist and a true gentleman.
Hugh Surratt
______________________________
From: Zachary Goode
Subject: Re: Don't Call It Love
You forgot to mention that Kim Carnes didn't write Bette Davis Eyes either.
Original version here:
https://youtu.be/FAQsOJbs-yo
______________________________
Subject: Re: Americanafest Pre-Grammy Salute to Lucinda Williams at the Troubadour
Hi Bob,
I met Lucinda Williams at a Tex-Mex place on Austin's main drag (Guerro's?) during SXSW maybe 25 years ago while eating breakfast. Either got down on my knees or kissed her hand or both. No one else like her. Pure poetry. Lou Reed once told me if you want to hide poetry put it in a rock 'n roll song because no one will look for it there. But I found it in Lucinda…
From Paris,
Elliott Murphy
______________________________
From: Perry Resnick
Subject: RE: The Diplomat
Funny you should mention it. Just last night my wife said "I want to watch The Diplomat". I said "but we finished it already". She said "I know, but I want another one". (We finished it several weeks ago.)
______________________________
From: John Brodey
Subject: Re: The Diplomat
Agreed, but in reality firefighting is also very slow. 80% boredom but the other 20% is a full on rush.
Like you I view these shows (if they are a drama, not Veep) and wonder how accurate they are in terms of the flow and the realities of the job. I was excited to have my sister Lisa check in on the show. She just retired from the State Dept. after 30 years (if you're a diplomat, the DoS requires you to retire at 65) she hung up her cleats after her final post in London as top tier level 3 rank (Ambassadors are 1, Ass't Amb are 2) She was in charge of environmental affairs with a staff of 50. I knew I'd get a reality check from her on the show.
She loved it. I said: really? Some of it seems like a stretch or off the mark. Not unlike the way we look at shows about the music biz with a yawn and 'this is not how it works'.
She said that it captures the high you get when you are busting moves and trying to get a coalition of countries to jump on board with your initiative. It's an adrenalin rush, you're going 100 mph. My sister is also a bit like our hero, more casual in a disarming way, which probably is her secret sauce outside of being really smart.
So I will be back in a year for sure. Meantime, what is the deal with sex scenes these days? Why is everyone f*cking standing up? When is the last time you could support the weight of a woman while being able to concentrate on the physics of sex. I love Felicity, she's not much on foreplay but then is true to her character in many ways.
Keri is so damn good, I'd watch her in anything.
______________________________
From: Ryan Brown
Subject: Re: Fast Car
it's also the second-most streamed song on the record eh! (relatively) neck and neck with #1.
anyway, Jerry Granelli played drums on the "Charlie Brown Christmas" soundtrack and got no royalties for years.
he was a (broke) free jazz guy and distanced himself from it. in the last decade of his life, he got it sorted out, got paid and re-embraced that music.
he put a trio together and toured it every November/December from 2016-2020 or something. i saw it. it was beautiful. i cried.
during the show, he told a story about how every year he'd hear the songs in restaurants, or the mall, and it would drive him nuts.
one December he was at the Halifax airport on a connecting flight from Berlin to Seattle, waiting at the baggage carousel. they were playing Christmas music.
"i heard it come on the speakers and i said to myself 'oh you've got to be f**king kidding me.'
and then i noticed this woman looking at me and how upset i was and she asked 'what's WRONG with you?'
and all i could do was stare at her and say:
'I'M NOT GETTING PAID!!!!!!'"
______________________________
From: Rich Madow
Subject: Re: Steve Martin Audiobook
Bob-
My daughter Michelle is a writer of young adult fantasy novels. She has sold close to three million books and she's just 36 years old. How? Well, besides being a fantastic writer, she fired her agent, got out of her publishing contract, went exclusive with Amazon, and took complete control of her marketing. That's the way to do it these days, but there's no way a superstar like Steve Martin would ever put that much effort in after the book is written or recorded.
______________________________
Subject: Re: Willie's 90th-Night Two
Hi Bob,
I was lucky enough to be at Willie's party on Sunday night and your review captures it perfectly.
This is not Pop Music.
This is the transcendental stuff that dreams are made of.
I am blessed to have worked with two of the artists on the show, Willie and Keith Richards.
I put together the band and played guitar on Willie's Countryman reggae album and helped to produce Keith's Wingless Angels Jamaican album.
If we are all 50% spirit and 50% dust, Willie and Keith are 80% spirit and 20% dust!!
They are not like us. They are ethereal figures.
On Countryman we did Johnny Cash's Worried Man which Johnny was very excited about when I saw him in Jamaica (where he spent a lot of time)
Probably the best part of spending a week with Willie recording in the studio was the killer stories.
My favorite was when he told me that he had to sell his private plane.
So I asked if he had sold it when he declared bankruptcy.
He said that he never sold it then, but had to sell it when every one of his pilots tested positive for THC (marijuana) from Willies second hand smoke!! The FAA banned all pilots from flying Willie, so he had to sell his plane!! What the FAA didnt realize is that Willie is always flying no matter where he is !! He is the personification of an Angel Flying Close to the Ground.
So to witness Willie and Keith together onstage was an iconic moment for me.
100 years from now when they look back at the geniuses of our time they will be talking about Willie the Godfather of Country Music, and Keith the King of Rock and Human Riff.
Long live Willie and Keith, they both helped us to see the world a little more clearly.
Native Wayne Jobson
Los Angeles
______________________________
Subject: Michael Leon
I wish I had told him but then it's too late. I'm not even sure he remembered who I was, but he was actually responsible for my career and my good fortune. Without him, I most likely would have ended up working in a hardware store in Cleveland. He lived across the street from my girlfriend at the time who became my wife (40 years now!). His mother was her grandmother's best friend. Michael was the older brother she never had. My girlfriend asked him to interview me for an internship at A&M. They didn't have any, but he never said no to her. He not only welcomed me into the coolest office I had ever been in overlooking the corner of 57th and Madison, but he offered to introduce me to his boss, Gil Friesen (who was also robbed from this earth way too early), who happened to be in NY from LA, to see if there were any internships available in LA. Gil invited me to visit the lot in LA. Behind those gates was the most magical musical fantasy land that only the lucky few new existed. Gil introduced me to Milt Olin, who became a lifelong friend, and another one ripped away too early. Gil wrote me the first check for a business he didn't understand or care about (a sports cable channel) because he thought I needed to pursue my passion and I had just had a baby and couldn't afford to leave my job. There was something special behind those gates and I was one of the lucky ones who got welcomed in thanks to Michael. I wish I had the opportunity to properly thank him. Now they are reunited behind some different gates, but can only imagine the music they are making.
Brian Bedol
PS: I never got an internship
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Subject: Re: Hysteria
The first time my band toured arenas was opening for Def Leppard. One night I had an amazing chat with Joe Elliott before playing a sold out Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
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Mostly we talked about Ian Hunter whom we both love. And the band Sweet. And of course Bowie. But then we talked about playing hits versus deep cuts and he said something that I've oft repeated since:
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"You have to play your hits. All of them. Every night. Those songs don't belong to you anymore, they belong to the fans. If you can't handle the responsibility of writing a hit song, then don't f**ing write one."
?
That ten minute conversation has stuck with me for years. A little bit of that magical mysteria up close.
?
Kurt Dahl
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From: Amanda Palmer
Subject: Re: Hannah Gadsby-Something Special
I got to see Hannah do "Nanette" in London at the tiny soho theater before it went stratospheric. I went in knowing nothing, zero.
You always talk about how Rock Is Dead, how politics and chefs and sports and whatever have taken over what rock Used to Be. This was that. It was punk f*cking rock in the truest sense. She stood there and dared you to laugh, to clap. It was GG Allin, it was Diamanda Galas, it was I AM DOING THIS AND GIVE NO F*CKS level sh*t. And it was well rehearsed. It was ART. And there was a collective sense from the stunned people leaving that theater feeling like we had just all been a part of something historic. I cannot tell you the last time I felt that watching someone playing music. Maybe then seeing Antony and the Johnsons back in 2003, and thinking: this is world-changing. Maybe seeing The Dirty Three in 2001. But I cannot think of a single music gig - ever - that left me with that sense of awe, and that feeling of holy I WAS THERE WHEN THAT HAPPENED.
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Subject: Disney/DeSantis
I'm a 55 year old gay man and in a little over a week I'm getting married to my partner of 11 years.
When I was in high school, I couldn't have dreamed at the idea of marrying another man. I wasn't even out of the closet until my 20s.
Yet here I am, writing my vows, working with a wedding planner, paying a caterer, a DJ, checking floor plans, the whole shebang. Our family, friends, neighbors and all will attend and it will be a celebration. If DeSantis had his way, not only would same sex marriage be illegal, he doesn't even want kids to be their authentic selves in school if they are gay or trans. In 2023 I find it fantastic that so many young kids know who they are, and are coming out of the closet at earlier ages. On the other hand in Florida people like DeSantis want them to go back and hide in the closet.
Good riddance to him.
Russ Turk
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From: Jed Davis
Subject: Re: Seymour Stein
Hi Bob -
Long-time reader (via your web archive), recent subscriber, sporadic replier. I worked with the Ramones for a while and lived with their Creative Director, Arturo Vega, in the loft on E 2nd Street that he had shared with Joey and Dee Dee Ramone in the '70s and '80s. It was known as the Ramones Loft - the band rehearsed there and printed t-shirts there to sell on their early tours (you probably knew that already). Arturo was one of the building's first tenants after it was converted from a plastic flower factory around 1970. I have no doubt that toxic residue from the plastic manufacturing had completely permeated that building. Arturo, Joey, Johnny and Tommy Ramone all succumbed to cancer at a way-too-early age; I lived in that apartment for five years and was ill the entire time. I'm now approaching the age those guys were when they got sick, and that is on my mind often. I'm quite certain that it wasn't the air in the van that poisoned them - it was the loft they came home to.
I hope that is illuminating in some way. Thank you for all your insight and these great daily reads -
Jed
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Subject: Re: Bud Light
I certainly think / hope this will pass but boy did A/B f*ck themselves hard on this saga.
I don't know which is worse, the idiots who thought it was a good idea, or the idiots who've boycotted Bud. Or the idiots who drink it in the first place and think it's actually good beer.
My venue / restaurant is hands down the number one seller of Bud Light and Bud in our distribution territory (aside from sports arenas) and has been since we opened. We plow through 150-200 cases a week of each brand on average. We sell so much of it that on the rare occasions when we run out, they will send a truck out specifically for us on a moment's notice.
For the first time ever we have no bud or bud light order this week, and there are over 50 cases of each in our walk-in. We cater to a very conservative demo so while it's disappointing, it's not surprising.
That being said, my business partners also own ten other stores, three of which are very high volume fun nightclubs, no Bud / Bud Light orders across their other stores either. We're in the burbs, but most of their other stores are all over downtown in one of the most liberal cities in one of the most liberal states, and cater to very politically diverse crowds.
Reminds me of one of my favorite Stern sound-drops from John Wayne "it's gettin' to be re-God Damned Diculous!"
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Subject: Re: Re-Max
The thing that a lot of people are forgetting is that when the head of a label or network gets fired a lot of the bands/brands that person championed get ignored by the new regime. Why? They are much more interested in being able to take credit for the success of a band- or brand- that they were responsible for than working to make the person they replaced look good.
When Don Ienner was let go by Sony in the late 00's Rob Stringer came in and ignored a bunch of bands who had done well with previous releases including one I managed called Crossfade. The lead single from our first record set a record for the longest time in the Top 20 at two radio formats- 65 weeks at Active Rock and 42 weeks at Alternative- yet when our second record came out radio stations were calling me saying that they couldn't get a copy of the new record from the label.
When I started to send out cd's to the stations myself I got called to NY for a meeting and was read the riot act for not knowing my place.
When I asked why the label wasn't doing their job I was told " the band is not a part of our vision for the future." I explained that all the hard work Stu Bergen, Ron Cerrito, and Joe Guzik (who also were no longer at Columbia) did promoting the first album gave this one a great chance of success but was given the hand and told that if I didn't like it I could ask to be released from our contract- which we did.
Rob Stringer didn't even get upset that Charlie Walk-without the bands permission- spent a ton of time and money between cycles with some 18 year old rapper friend of Paris Hilton's (seriously) to do a HIp Hop version of the biggest single from the record. He even got it on the air on an urban station in Philadelphia- where she lived- and billed the band for the recording sessions, which cost more than we spent making the entire debut album.
Tomorrow - April 13th- is the 19th anniversary of the release of that album and as of tonight the band has 1,627,930 monthly listeners on Spotify. The lead single Cold has close to a half billion streams/views on all the streaming platforms and youtube and streaming didn't start until several years after that album was released.
So - to me anyway- it's never a surprise when I hear of "new regimes" making bonehead moves like "rebranding" one of the most credible and valuable names in content creation. It's just what some insecure people do when given the keys to the kingdom.
Chris Long
Los Angeles
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From: Roberto Lovenheim
Subject: Re: It's Snowing
I'll be 80 in June. I still work as a PSIA ski instructor every winter. Age distills knowledge. It is all about the turn. If you can master that you can ski any slope in control and without fear of fall line.
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Subject: After Skiing the World, Vail Remains the Most Special
Dear Bob:
I have skied 180 mountains on all seven continents, including Antarctica, Kashmir, the Chugach, the Arctic in Norway and Sweden, the Dolomites, La Grave, Cham, Zermatt, Stanton, the Tasman on Mount Cook, Hokkaido, Portillo, Toubkal, Rendezvous at Jackson, Revy, and pretty much anywhere else you'd care to mention. And when people ask me where I love it best, they laugh when I tell them Vail.
But Pete and his 10th Mountain Division buddies found the best ski mountain in the world half way between Camp Hale and Aspen, and to a lot of us it will always be home. That's just the way it is. I'm partial to Gandy Dancer and Riva on the front, Bolshhoi on the back and Earl's in Blue Sky, but anywhere on that mountain is just fine with me. I've skied with some of the greats, I've skied with the 10th Mountain boys past and current, I've skied with the ghosts, and I've skied a thousand days with friends and family over sixty years at so many wonderful places.
I will still take Vail mountain, alone or not, over all the rest. I'll forget my own name before I forget the Vail trail map. And I'm not ashamed to say it.
Now I know you understand.
Charlie Sanders
Vice-chair - US Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame
Chair - National Music Council of the United States
P.S. You don't stop skiing because you get older. You get older because you stop skiing. Happy B'day.
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From: Hugo Burnham
Subject: Re: Taylor Swift Tickets Available!
We will play a matinee for Jamie Lee Curtis. No problem...
He's playing all stadiums - no arenas - theatres shows for the new record for super fans
Marc Gentilella
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Subject: Re: Ed Sheeran
I first heard about Ed Sheeran from your article about him and "Lego House" . . . loved it and have been playing his music when i perform for years.
I teach Music to young students and when Ed Sheeran first came out I had multiple students want to learn many of his songs
I haven't had a student ask to learn one of his songs in at least 1 1/2 years
I didn't even know he had a new album out and I am someone who listens to new music more than old and goes to concerts regularly like last nights M83 in Oakland
… maybe we're all just saturated with Ed and not looking for more
Same exact thing happening with Taylor
Alec Fuhrman
PS -student DO want to learn Morgan songs
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Subject: Re: Hey Kids
At least 2 of the 3 majors have these sped up accounts (probably all 3 do). They are just compiling alternative versions of songs (ie remixes). We're 45+ years into remixes since disco/extended mixes started and even further into compilations.
As far as the plays on "Hey Kids" goes, songs have always had purpose. Generations have always used music to express their feelings, soundtrack their experiences, and become attached to moments. When you see a song in socials or UGC used to help express a feeling, and you relate to it, it's contagious and you want to participate. If the song is great, it sticks around beyond that. Songs/artists that would have never gotten video play, nor retail shelf space, are being discovered every day. We should celebrate this.
This has been a fundamental change in music. It's a shift from idolization in official music videos (though they will always be important to superfans), and to a more personal, sometimes narcissistic, but often earnest way to communicate something. We're not going back and we'll even likely go further into personalization. Whether by official release, crowd sourced edits, or AI, there will be endless versions of every great song and even more visuals that accompany them. And like always, incumbents will push back against change but the public will demand it. Eventually we will get some version of what the fans want across the line. History will tell you that the sooner this is accepted and friction is removed, the better for all.
Mike Caren
www.Artistpg.com
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From: Jim Guerinot
Subject: Fred Rosen
I had a good fortune of coming out of college and working directly with Steve Rennie, Brian Murphy, Terry Bassett, and Bob Geddes. I was hired for $250 a week to be available to help during the four Springsteen Coliseum shows. I was able to witness firsthand Ticketmaster versus Ticketron battle and trust me, everything Fred stated is 100% true. TM crushed Ticketron
When I began managing the Offspring in 1994 they did a $10 ticket across the board and of course service fees were an issue. What Fred said about him working with him if they called him is also true... I believe we got service fees as low as a dollar in some instances it was never more than two dollars. Fred understood that we were building something and that we would both benefit in the long run if this band could grow their live business.
A lot was said during that time about Fred Rosen, but I never counted to be anything other than a straight shooter, completely blunt, and funnier than sh*t. Personally, this rates as my favorite Bob Lefsetz podcast of all time!
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From: Tony Hawk
Subject: Re: This Will Make You Miss Eddie Van Halen
Bob!
Thanks for highlighting Eddie's effortless genius, and for pointing me towards Luke Combs via his brilliant "Fast Car" rendition. I had that exact visceral reaction when I heard it; I wasn't paying attention and suddenly I was enthralled. Tracy Chapman deserves all the newfound attention and accolades, akin to Kate Bush with her resurgence from Stranger Things.
Fun fact: I had the honor of shooting photos with Herb Ritts the day after he shot Tracy for her album Crossroads in 1989. The first prints from their shoot were laying on his studio floor as I was trying to skate his cyclorama (curved wall) in an attempt to get warmed up. My board got away from me on the first go and rolled across the TC prints on the other side of the room, leaving wheel marks on two of them. His assistant (manager?) was very upset that I had damaged the studio wall AND defaced the Chapman pictures only minutes after arriving. He laughed it off and told me to pay no mind, then shot pictures of me skating (aka vandalizing) his studio walls shortly after. The pictures never got used - it was supposed to be for a GAP campaign but I guess I didn't make the cut - but it's one of my favorite memories from that era (even though I never saw the pics).
"And I-I had a feeling that I belonged, I-I had a feeling I could be someone." Indeed.
-Tony
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Subject: RE: This Will Make You Miss Eddie Van Halen
Hey Bob,
Thanks for turning us on to that! And yes, there will be guitar heroes again - in fact, I think John Mayer may even be one. But Eddie Van Halen was definitely sui generis.
First of all, as a technician, Eddie had few equals. As an innovator, he was ground-breaking. But the main thing for me was that he was all three things you rarely find together: technical skill, innovation, and a recognizable style. If you go back to the the beginning of the electric guitar, you find stylists: Les Paul was a stylist, as were Duane Eddy and Link Wray. Eddie definitely had a style all his own. If you listen, for example, to "Panama" and "Finish What Ya Started" back-to-back, you hear that although they are quite different songs, the guitar style is unmistakably the same. Part of Eddie's style was to build an all-encompassing guitar part that covered rhythm and lead at the same time. Pete Townsend had that, too, but I think he'd admit that he isn't as technically proficient as Eddie.
You're right - listening to him play both the synth and guitar parts on that Who classic definitely made me miss him.
Best,
John Boylan
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Subject: Re: Fast Car
Kudos to Combs for covering Tracy
His story is almost accurate. The James Gang did play a show on the night of the lunar landing in suburban Cleveland.
They opened for Led Zeppelin at a venue called Music Carnival…a tent with a rotating stage!
I saw several shows there back in the day including that one!
Alan Santos
Kapahi, HI
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From: Meredith Rutledge-Borger
Subject: Re: Fast Car
hey bob, I'm sure jim fox will check in with you on this, but the james gang was playing w/ led zeppelin the night we landed on the moon- jimmy tells a wonderful story of sitting with page watching the landing on a neighbor of musicarnival's portable TV. thanks for all you do! best,
meredith
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Subject: Re: Fast Car
I had an opportunity to get the Byrds publishing back for them back in the early 90's I think. They passed, and 2 months later Tom Petty cut and had a hit with one of their songs. Anything can happen….
Bill Siddons
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Subject: Re: Sleep Songs Addendum
You say everyone should own a certain Jackson Browne album.
Well, here's a further endorsement for it...
I was working in a record store and Bruce Springsteen came in to hang out for a while.
He said he was looking for a cassette to play in the car while he was driving around late at night.
He bought "Late for the Sky"
Marty Bender
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Subject: Re: Fox News Scandal
Hi Bob,
What you say about artists not recieving royalties from their record labels is a story I've been told many times over the years from the artists themselves. Two examples from long tenured major stars and labels come to mind When Merle Haggard moved from Capitol to Epic records, he rerecorded many of his hits. We did a network radio special together as a retrospective of his career. I was surprised when he told me in the interview that he had never received any royalties from Capitol.
Some years later I volunteered to.work in the production staff of a PBS radio taping. Talking with Roger McGuinn, I brought up the Byrds retrospective box set of their Columbia recordings which had just been released. Roger said that he didn't expect to see any money, as the label is still recouping expenses.
When friends who had a hit or two on small labels tell me the same story, I relate these examples. If iconic artists on major labels don't get paid, what chance did a little guy have?
Ed Salamon
Nashville, TN
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Subject: Re: Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot was extremely popular in Detroit and Michigan in the 70s. He received a huge amount of airplay on Canadian Top 40 powerhouse CKLW, which was required by law to play a certain percentage of Canadian artists. CKLW, of course, was located in Windsor, directly across the river/border from Detroit. So, when I ran the Michigan State University concert program back then, I had no hesitancy to book him in 1972 as a solo headliner in the MSU Auditorium—3800 seats. Of course he sold out. Day of the show, he pulled up to the stage door at the Auditorium in his station wagon by himself. After the perfunctory greetings, he grabbed his guitar and amp from the back of the car, carried them inside to a stool sitting on the stage and ran through his soundcheck. That was it. Just Gordon. Gotta say, we didn't really need much of a stage crew that night. Really good guy, a fabulous artist and a true gentleman.
Hugh Surratt
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From: Zachary Goode
Subject: Re: Don't Call It Love
You forgot to mention that Kim Carnes didn't write Bette Davis Eyes either.
Original version here:
https://youtu.be/FAQsOJbs-yo
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Subject: Re: Americanafest Pre-Grammy Salute to Lucinda Williams at the Troubadour
Hi Bob,
I met Lucinda Williams at a Tex-Mex place on Austin's main drag (Guerro's?) during SXSW maybe 25 years ago while eating breakfast. Either got down on my knees or kissed her hand or both. No one else like her. Pure poetry. Lou Reed once told me if you want to hide poetry put it in a rock 'n roll song because no one will look for it there. But I found it in Lucinda…
From Paris,
Elliott Murphy
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From: Perry Resnick
Subject: RE: The Diplomat
Funny you should mention it. Just last night my wife said "I want to watch The Diplomat". I said "but we finished it already". She said "I know, but I want another one". (We finished it several weeks ago.)
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From: John Brodey
Subject: Re: The Diplomat
Agreed, but in reality firefighting is also very slow. 80% boredom but the other 20% is a full on rush.
Like you I view these shows (if they are a drama, not Veep) and wonder how accurate they are in terms of the flow and the realities of the job. I was excited to have my sister Lisa check in on the show. She just retired from the State Dept. after 30 years (if you're a diplomat, the DoS requires you to retire at 65) she hung up her cleats after her final post in London as top tier level 3 rank (Ambassadors are 1, Ass't Amb are 2) She was in charge of environmental affairs with a staff of 50. I knew I'd get a reality check from her on the show.
She loved it. I said: really? Some of it seems like a stretch or off the mark. Not unlike the way we look at shows about the music biz with a yawn and 'this is not how it works'.
She said that it captures the high you get when you are busting moves and trying to get a coalition of countries to jump on board with your initiative. It's an adrenalin rush, you're going 100 mph. My sister is also a bit like our hero, more casual in a disarming way, which probably is her secret sauce outside of being really smart.
So I will be back in a year for sure. Meantime, what is the deal with sex scenes these days? Why is everyone f*cking standing up? When is the last time you could support the weight of a woman while being able to concentrate on the physics of sex. I love Felicity, she's not much on foreplay but then is true to her character in many ways.
Keri is so damn good, I'd watch her in anything.
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From: Ryan Brown
Subject: Re: Fast Car
it's also the second-most streamed song on the record eh! (relatively) neck and neck with #1.
anyway, Jerry Granelli played drums on the "Charlie Brown Christmas" soundtrack and got no royalties for years.
he was a (broke) free jazz guy and distanced himself from it. in the last decade of his life, he got it sorted out, got paid and re-embraced that music.
he put a trio together and toured it every November/December from 2016-2020 or something. i saw it. it was beautiful. i cried.
during the show, he told a story about how every year he'd hear the songs in restaurants, or the mall, and it would drive him nuts.
one December he was at the Halifax airport on a connecting flight from Berlin to Seattle, waiting at the baggage carousel. they were playing Christmas music.
"i heard it come on the speakers and i said to myself 'oh you've got to be f**king kidding me.'
and then i noticed this woman looking at me and how upset i was and she asked 'what's WRONG with you?'
and all i could do was stare at her and say:
'I'M NOT GETTING PAID!!!!!!'"
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From: Rich Madow
Subject: Re: Steve Martin Audiobook
Bob-
My daughter Michelle is a writer of young adult fantasy novels. She has sold close to three million books and she's just 36 years old. How? Well, besides being a fantastic writer, she fired her agent, got out of her publishing contract, went exclusive with Amazon, and took complete control of her marketing. That's the way to do it these days, but there's no way a superstar like Steve Martin would ever put that much effort in after the book is written or recorded.
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Subject: Re: Willie's 90th-Night Two
Hi Bob,
I was lucky enough to be at Willie's party on Sunday night and your review captures it perfectly.
This is not Pop Music.
This is the transcendental stuff that dreams are made of.
I am blessed to have worked with two of the artists on the show, Willie and Keith Richards.
I put together the band and played guitar on Willie's Countryman reggae album and helped to produce Keith's Wingless Angels Jamaican album.
If we are all 50% spirit and 50% dust, Willie and Keith are 80% spirit and 20% dust!!
They are not like us. They are ethereal figures.
On Countryman we did Johnny Cash's Worried Man which Johnny was very excited about when I saw him in Jamaica (where he spent a lot of time)
Probably the best part of spending a week with Willie recording in the studio was the killer stories.
My favorite was when he told me that he had to sell his private plane.
So I asked if he had sold it when he declared bankruptcy.
He said that he never sold it then, but had to sell it when every one of his pilots tested positive for THC (marijuana) from Willies second hand smoke!! The FAA banned all pilots from flying Willie, so he had to sell his plane!! What the FAA didnt realize is that Willie is always flying no matter where he is !! He is the personification of an Angel Flying Close to the Ground.
So to witness Willie and Keith together onstage was an iconic moment for me.
100 years from now when they look back at the geniuses of our time they will be talking about Willie the Godfather of Country Music, and Keith the King of Rock and Human Riff.
Long live Willie and Keith, they both helped us to see the world a little more clearly.
Native Wayne Jobson
Los Angeles
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Subject: Michael Leon
I wish I had told him but then it's too late. I'm not even sure he remembered who I was, but he was actually responsible for my career and my good fortune. Without him, I most likely would have ended up working in a hardware store in Cleveland. He lived across the street from my girlfriend at the time who became my wife (40 years now!). His mother was her grandmother's best friend. Michael was the older brother she never had. My girlfriend asked him to interview me for an internship at A&M. They didn't have any, but he never said no to her. He not only welcomed me into the coolest office I had ever been in overlooking the corner of 57th and Madison, but he offered to introduce me to his boss, Gil Friesen (who was also robbed from this earth way too early), who happened to be in NY from LA, to see if there were any internships available in LA. Gil invited me to visit the lot in LA. Behind those gates was the most magical musical fantasy land that only the lucky few new existed. Gil introduced me to Milt Olin, who became a lifelong friend, and another one ripped away too early. Gil wrote me the first check for a business he didn't understand or care about (a sports cable channel) because he thought I needed to pursue my passion and I had just had a baby and couldn't afford to leave my job. There was something special behind those gates and I was one of the lucky ones who got welcomed in thanks to Michael. I wish I had the opportunity to properly thank him. Now they are reunited behind some different gates, but can only imagine the music they are making.
Brian Bedol
PS: I never got an internship
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Subject: Re: Hysteria
The first time my band toured arenas was opening for Def Leppard. One night I had an amazing chat with Joe Elliott before playing a sold out Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
?
Mostly we talked about Ian Hunter whom we both love. And the band Sweet. And of course Bowie. But then we talked about playing hits versus deep cuts and he said something that I've oft repeated since:
?
"You have to play your hits. All of them. Every night. Those songs don't belong to you anymore, they belong to the fans. If you can't handle the responsibility of writing a hit song, then don't f**ing write one."
?
That ten minute conversation has stuck with me for years. A little bit of that magical mysteria up close.
?
Kurt Dahl
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From: Amanda Palmer
Subject: Re: Hannah Gadsby-Something Special
I got to see Hannah do "Nanette" in London at the tiny soho theater before it went stratospheric. I went in knowing nothing, zero.
You always talk about how Rock Is Dead, how politics and chefs and sports and whatever have taken over what rock Used to Be. This was that. It was punk f*cking rock in the truest sense. She stood there and dared you to laugh, to clap. It was GG Allin, it was Diamanda Galas, it was I AM DOING THIS AND GIVE NO F*CKS level sh*t. And it was well rehearsed. It was ART. And there was a collective sense from the stunned people leaving that theater feeling like we had just all been a part of something historic. I cannot tell you the last time I felt that watching someone playing music. Maybe then seeing Antony and the Johnsons back in 2003, and thinking: this is world-changing. Maybe seeing The Dirty Three in 2001. But I cannot think of a single music gig - ever - that left me with that sense of awe, and that feeling of holy I WAS THERE WHEN THAT HAPPENED.
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Subject: Disney/DeSantis
I'm a 55 year old gay man and in a little over a week I'm getting married to my partner of 11 years.
When I was in high school, I couldn't have dreamed at the idea of marrying another man. I wasn't even out of the closet until my 20s.
Yet here I am, writing my vows, working with a wedding planner, paying a caterer, a DJ, checking floor plans, the whole shebang. Our family, friends, neighbors and all will attend and it will be a celebration. If DeSantis had his way, not only would same sex marriage be illegal, he doesn't even want kids to be their authentic selves in school if they are gay or trans. In 2023 I find it fantastic that so many young kids know who they are, and are coming out of the closet at earlier ages. On the other hand in Florida people like DeSantis want them to go back and hide in the closet.
Good riddance to him.
Russ Turk
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From: Jed Davis
Subject: Re: Seymour Stein
Hi Bob -
Long-time reader (via your web archive), recent subscriber, sporadic replier. I worked with the Ramones for a while and lived with their Creative Director, Arturo Vega, in the loft on E 2nd Street that he had shared with Joey and Dee Dee Ramone in the '70s and '80s. It was known as the Ramones Loft - the band rehearsed there and printed t-shirts there to sell on their early tours (you probably knew that already). Arturo was one of the building's first tenants after it was converted from a plastic flower factory around 1970. I have no doubt that toxic residue from the plastic manufacturing had completely permeated that building. Arturo, Joey, Johnny and Tommy Ramone all succumbed to cancer at a way-too-early age; I lived in that apartment for five years and was ill the entire time. I'm now approaching the age those guys were when they got sick, and that is on my mind often. I'm quite certain that it wasn't the air in the van that poisoned them - it was the loft they came home to.
I hope that is illuminating in some way. Thank you for all your insight and these great daily reads -
Jed
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Subject: Re: Bud Light
I certainly think / hope this will pass but boy did A/B f*ck themselves hard on this saga.
I don't know which is worse, the idiots who thought it was a good idea, or the idiots who've boycotted Bud. Or the idiots who drink it in the first place and think it's actually good beer.
My venue / restaurant is hands down the number one seller of Bud Light and Bud in our distribution territory (aside from sports arenas) and has been since we opened. We plow through 150-200 cases a week of each brand on average. We sell so much of it that on the rare occasions when we run out, they will send a truck out specifically for us on a moment's notice.
For the first time ever we have no bud or bud light order this week, and there are over 50 cases of each in our walk-in. We cater to a very conservative demo so while it's disappointing, it's not surprising.
That being said, my business partners also own ten other stores, three of which are very high volume fun nightclubs, no Bud / Bud Light orders across their other stores either. We're in the burbs, but most of their other stores are all over downtown in one of the most liberal cities in one of the most liberal states, and cater to very politically diverse crowds.
Reminds me of one of my favorite Stern sound-drops from John Wayne "it's gettin' to be re-God Damned Diculous!"
______________________________
Subject: Re: Re-Max
The thing that a lot of people are forgetting is that when the head of a label or network gets fired a lot of the bands/brands that person championed get ignored by the new regime. Why? They are much more interested in being able to take credit for the success of a band- or brand- that they were responsible for than working to make the person they replaced look good.
When Don Ienner was let go by Sony in the late 00's Rob Stringer came in and ignored a bunch of bands who had done well with previous releases including one I managed called Crossfade. The lead single from our first record set a record for the longest time in the Top 20 at two radio formats- 65 weeks at Active Rock and 42 weeks at Alternative- yet when our second record came out radio stations were calling me saying that they couldn't get a copy of the new record from the label.
When I started to send out cd's to the stations myself I got called to NY for a meeting and was read the riot act for not knowing my place.
When I asked why the label wasn't doing their job I was told " the band is not a part of our vision for the future." I explained that all the hard work Stu Bergen, Ron Cerrito, and Joe Guzik (who also were no longer at Columbia) did promoting the first album gave this one a great chance of success but was given the hand and told that if I didn't like it I could ask to be released from our contract- which we did.
Rob Stringer didn't even get upset that Charlie Walk-without the bands permission- spent a ton of time and money between cycles with some 18 year old rapper friend of Paris Hilton's (seriously) to do a HIp Hop version of the biggest single from the record. He even got it on the air on an urban station in Philadelphia- where she lived- and billed the band for the recording sessions, which cost more than we spent making the entire debut album.
Tomorrow - April 13th- is the 19th anniversary of the release of that album and as of tonight the band has 1,627,930 monthly listeners on Spotify. The lead single Cold has close to a half billion streams/views on all the streaming platforms and youtube and streaming didn't start until several years after that album was released.
So - to me anyway- it's never a surprise when I hear of "new regimes" making bonehead moves like "rebranding" one of the most credible and valuable names in content creation. It's just what some insecure people do when given the keys to the kingdom.
Chris Long
Los Angeles
______________________________
From: Roberto Lovenheim
Subject: Re: It's Snowing
I'll be 80 in June. I still work as a PSIA ski instructor every winter. Age distills knowledge. It is all about the turn. If you can master that you can ski any slope in control and without fear of fall line.
______________________________
Subject: After Skiing the World, Vail Remains the Most Special
Dear Bob:
I have skied 180 mountains on all seven continents, including Antarctica, Kashmir, the Chugach, the Arctic in Norway and Sweden, the Dolomites, La Grave, Cham, Zermatt, Stanton, the Tasman on Mount Cook, Hokkaido, Portillo, Toubkal, Rendezvous at Jackson, Revy, and pretty much anywhere else you'd care to mention. And when people ask me where I love it best, they laugh when I tell them Vail.
But Pete and his 10th Mountain Division buddies found the best ski mountain in the world half way between Camp Hale and Aspen, and to a lot of us it will always be home. That's just the way it is. I'm partial to Gandy Dancer and Riva on the front, Bolshhoi on the back and Earl's in Blue Sky, but anywhere on that mountain is just fine with me. I've skied with some of the greats, I've skied with the 10th Mountain boys past and current, I've skied with the ghosts, and I've skied a thousand days with friends and family over sixty years at so many wonderful places.
I will still take Vail mountain, alone or not, over all the rest. I'll forget my own name before I forget the Vail trail map. And I'm not ashamed to say it.
Now I know you understand.
Charlie Sanders
Vice-chair - US Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame
Chair - National Music Council of the United States
P.S. You don't stop skiing because you get older. You get older because you stop skiing. Happy B'day.
______________________________
From: Hugo Burnham
Subject: Re: Taylor Swift Tickets Available!
We will play a matinee for Jamie Lee Curtis. No problem...
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Ed Sheeran
What kind of crazy, f*cked up world do we live in where Morgan Wallen outstreams Ed Sheeran?
One in which Latin and country eclipse the traditionally narrow hip-hop/pop music perceived to be dominant in America.
"'To a large degree, the charts you mention are engineered by whoever has the biggest financial resources anyway; it massively matters how much money you put behind a track to reach or stay at No.1. Why is that not changing? Why are shareholders not becoming more nervous about this narrative?
"The fact is, even if nobody spent money on marketing new music you would still have charts, because consumers drive those charts, and consumers would still discover new music.'"
That's Hartwig Masuch, departing head of BMG.
You can read what he says here: https://bit.ly/4397m8x Bottom line, he can't understand why the majors keep investing in profitless hit product when the money is in catalog:
"If you look at the body of work the majors have, if they'd have focused much earlier on maximizing the relevance of their catalogs versus building zero-EBITDA-producing, huge-revenue labels, their numbers would look great from a dynamic perspective. I think that's now dawning on them."
Of course the devil is in the details. As in what is considered to be catalog, and you've got to make new music to generate catalog revenue. Also, hit music is not a world BMG plays in. But...
Is the era of the hit single history?
Of course it's not, but never has a hit meant less. And never in the modern era has recorded music been less of a percentage of an act's overall revenues.
So, if you're building your act from the top down, you're experiencing headwinds, you might make a splash, but also make no money. But if you come from the ground up...
Well, Ed Sheeran came from the ground up. And he has the second most streamed track extant, i.e. "Shape of You." Why is the public not mesmerized, not enticed, not streaming his new album?
It's not like you can fault the hype. Sheeran bared his soul on Howard Stern, and unlike many "artists," despite lacking education Sheeran is intelligent and articulate.
And there was that streaming special on Disney+. I mean we can't sit here and say the public is unaware...
But maybe that's not true. Because the traditional ways of reaching the active audience punch way below their historical weight. It's actually hard to reach anybody. And the younger you are, the more you live online, where centralized hype reaching everybody...doesn't.
It's not like Ed Sheeran will stop selling tickets.
The dirty little secret is not that many people go to the show.
Let's say you play thirty stadiums. That's 1,500,000 tickets. Give or take. Some stadiums don't even hold 50,000, and this is assuming you sell out. But the bottom line is a million and a half people is an almost insignificant portion of the population of the United States. Sure, traditional media outlets might be bowing at your feet, you may even get the key to the city, but does all that matter anymore?
Furthermore, Sheeran is taking no chances, he's doing arenas this time around.
But why is "-" streaming so poorly? The album has been out almost two weeks, but most tracks have been streamed in the single digit millions on Spotify, and not high single digit millions.
Then again, the initial single, released towards the end of March, "Eyes Closed," did not burn up the chart. As a matter of fact, it's presently #70 on the daily Spotify chart, going down.
Going back to the manipulated chart...
Sheeran sold 81,000 copies of his new album last week. You know, the physical mania driven by vinyl, which ends not long after an album's release. That should have put him at #1 instead of #2, right? Especially against an album as "old" as Morgan Wallen's "One Thing at a Time," which sold only 5,000 copies in its tenth week of release.
But Wallen's album had 179 million streams, whereas Sheeran's had 38 million.
But wasn't Sheeran just everywhere, winning that copyright suit, being perceived as standing up for the integrity of artists, beating down the troll? I mean who wasn't aware of that?
But it didn't drive streams.
In addition the paradigm of yore doesn't exist today. Yesterday, in the physical era, the goal was to sell as much product as fast as you could, before people were even aware of whether the album was good or bad. Longevity was great, but it wasn't necessary. Today longevity is everything.
And Morgan Wallen's "One Thing at a Time" is number one for the tenth week. Eclipsing not only Ed Sheeran, but Metallica.
Somehow people are resonating with Wallen. He's perceived to be authentic. There's no jet-setting, he isn't seen everywhere, he somehow still seems attached to his roots, unlike Sheeran and so many.
And maybe screwing up made Wallen even more relatable. If you haven't committed any faux pas, you're drawing way too far inside the lines. How can people relate to someone who is airbrushed physically and when it comes to identity?
But Sheeran is scruffy...
Maybe people are just sick of the movie. Sheeran never leaves their consciousness.
You could say Sheeran's new album is an artistic disappointment, but the reviews are quite good. But today reviews are meaningless, more important is what your friends have to say.
And I'm not saying that "-" won't be resuscitated. But for a superstar, this is a poor debut.
And I'm not saying everybody is going to like Morgan Wallen. Or even Bad Bunny. There are many titans today, in many genres. It's hard to cover all the bases, and this is what the major labels do so poorly. Today you have to play in all musical verticals, because if you hit enough singles and doubles, they add up to even more than one home run.
So what we've got here is a media industrial network acting like it's still the twentieth century when nothing could be further from the truth. We no longer live in a monoculture, MTV is deep in the rearview mirror. Today most acts are unique, operating as an enterprise of one. It's not about the competition, it's about you and your audience. And your audience wants to own you, believe that you're playing to them, not those who don't care, who you're desperately trying to add to your flock. And instead of asking where you are on the chart, you should be asking how many people are diehards, in it for the long haul. Sure, if you need awards, this philosophy might not get you any, but awards are b.s. anyway. Who cares what members of the Academy who are unknown by the public have to say, most with minimal musical careers to begin with. You don't need an award to make yourself feel good. The adulation of your fans is enough.
The game in days of yore was to reach every last person on the planet and try to get them to buy your record, this would be a multi-year attack, as you dribbled out singles.
But today you want to put out product more frequently. Satiate your fans, not a broken down system. And casual fans don't pay dividends, they don't come to the show, at least not every tour.
What you're selling is belief.
People want to see Ed Sheeran, but do they believe in him?
People believe in Morgan Wallen.
And it's not like Sheeran didn't try to buy insurance, he cowrote "Eyes Closed" with Max Martin, Shellback and Fred Again, and four producers are credited, those three and Aaron Dessner. Maybe in the process of trying to create a hit truth was excised, the track was polished to the point that people couldn't relate to it. This is the major label paradigm, redo and remix until you get it perfect. But that's not art, art is about inspiration.
Not that Morgan Wallen didn't have contributors, many in fact. But the end result sounded more personal.
And Wallen did originally get a boost from TV.
But the bottom line is there's room for everybody today, even you.
Well, that's not true. You can post your music to Spotify and literally no one can listen. But if you have a spark, that touches people, you can have a career. You don't need the major label, you just need you. It's all about you, don't let anybody tell you otherwise.
--
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--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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One in which Latin and country eclipse the traditionally narrow hip-hop/pop music perceived to be dominant in America.
"'To a large degree, the charts you mention are engineered by whoever has the biggest financial resources anyway; it massively matters how much money you put behind a track to reach or stay at No.1. Why is that not changing? Why are shareholders not becoming more nervous about this narrative?
"The fact is, even if nobody spent money on marketing new music you would still have charts, because consumers drive those charts, and consumers would still discover new music.'"
That's Hartwig Masuch, departing head of BMG.
You can read what he says here: https://bit.ly/4397m8x Bottom line, he can't understand why the majors keep investing in profitless hit product when the money is in catalog:
"If you look at the body of work the majors have, if they'd have focused much earlier on maximizing the relevance of their catalogs versus building zero-EBITDA-producing, huge-revenue labels, their numbers would look great from a dynamic perspective. I think that's now dawning on them."
Of course the devil is in the details. As in what is considered to be catalog, and you've got to make new music to generate catalog revenue. Also, hit music is not a world BMG plays in. But...
Is the era of the hit single history?
Of course it's not, but never has a hit meant less. And never in the modern era has recorded music been less of a percentage of an act's overall revenues.
So, if you're building your act from the top down, you're experiencing headwinds, you might make a splash, but also make no money. But if you come from the ground up...
Well, Ed Sheeran came from the ground up. And he has the second most streamed track extant, i.e. "Shape of You." Why is the public not mesmerized, not enticed, not streaming his new album?
It's not like you can fault the hype. Sheeran bared his soul on Howard Stern, and unlike many "artists," despite lacking education Sheeran is intelligent and articulate.
And there was that streaming special on Disney+. I mean we can't sit here and say the public is unaware...
But maybe that's not true. Because the traditional ways of reaching the active audience punch way below their historical weight. It's actually hard to reach anybody. And the younger you are, the more you live online, where centralized hype reaching everybody...doesn't.
It's not like Ed Sheeran will stop selling tickets.
The dirty little secret is not that many people go to the show.
Let's say you play thirty stadiums. That's 1,500,000 tickets. Give or take. Some stadiums don't even hold 50,000, and this is assuming you sell out. But the bottom line is a million and a half people is an almost insignificant portion of the population of the United States. Sure, traditional media outlets might be bowing at your feet, you may even get the key to the city, but does all that matter anymore?
Furthermore, Sheeran is taking no chances, he's doing arenas this time around.
But why is "-" streaming so poorly? The album has been out almost two weeks, but most tracks have been streamed in the single digit millions on Spotify, and not high single digit millions.
Then again, the initial single, released towards the end of March, "Eyes Closed," did not burn up the chart. As a matter of fact, it's presently #70 on the daily Spotify chart, going down.
Going back to the manipulated chart...
Sheeran sold 81,000 copies of his new album last week. You know, the physical mania driven by vinyl, which ends not long after an album's release. That should have put him at #1 instead of #2, right? Especially against an album as "old" as Morgan Wallen's "One Thing at a Time," which sold only 5,000 copies in its tenth week of release.
But Wallen's album had 179 million streams, whereas Sheeran's had 38 million.
But wasn't Sheeran just everywhere, winning that copyright suit, being perceived as standing up for the integrity of artists, beating down the troll? I mean who wasn't aware of that?
But it didn't drive streams.
In addition the paradigm of yore doesn't exist today. Yesterday, in the physical era, the goal was to sell as much product as fast as you could, before people were even aware of whether the album was good or bad. Longevity was great, but it wasn't necessary. Today longevity is everything.
And Morgan Wallen's "One Thing at a Time" is number one for the tenth week. Eclipsing not only Ed Sheeran, but Metallica.
Somehow people are resonating with Wallen. He's perceived to be authentic. There's no jet-setting, he isn't seen everywhere, he somehow still seems attached to his roots, unlike Sheeran and so many.
And maybe screwing up made Wallen even more relatable. If you haven't committed any faux pas, you're drawing way too far inside the lines. How can people relate to someone who is airbrushed physically and when it comes to identity?
But Sheeran is scruffy...
Maybe people are just sick of the movie. Sheeran never leaves their consciousness.
You could say Sheeran's new album is an artistic disappointment, but the reviews are quite good. But today reviews are meaningless, more important is what your friends have to say.
And I'm not saying that "-" won't be resuscitated. But for a superstar, this is a poor debut.
And I'm not saying everybody is going to like Morgan Wallen. Or even Bad Bunny. There are many titans today, in many genres. It's hard to cover all the bases, and this is what the major labels do so poorly. Today you have to play in all musical verticals, because if you hit enough singles and doubles, they add up to even more than one home run.
So what we've got here is a media industrial network acting like it's still the twentieth century when nothing could be further from the truth. We no longer live in a monoculture, MTV is deep in the rearview mirror. Today most acts are unique, operating as an enterprise of one. It's not about the competition, it's about you and your audience. And your audience wants to own you, believe that you're playing to them, not those who don't care, who you're desperately trying to add to your flock. And instead of asking where you are on the chart, you should be asking how many people are diehards, in it for the long haul. Sure, if you need awards, this philosophy might not get you any, but awards are b.s. anyway. Who cares what members of the Academy who are unknown by the public have to say, most with minimal musical careers to begin with. You don't need an award to make yourself feel good. The adulation of your fans is enough.
The game in days of yore was to reach every last person on the planet and try to get them to buy your record, this would be a multi-year attack, as you dribbled out singles.
But today you want to put out product more frequently. Satiate your fans, not a broken down system. And casual fans don't pay dividends, they don't come to the show, at least not every tour.
What you're selling is belief.
People want to see Ed Sheeran, but do they believe in him?
People believe in Morgan Wallen.
And it's not like Sheeran didn't try to buy insurance, he cowrote "Eyes Closed" with Max Martin, Shellback and Fred Again, and four producers are credited, those three and Aaron Dessner. Maybe in the process of trying to create a hit truth was excised, the track was polished to the point that people couldn't relate to it. This is the major label paradigm, redo and remix until you get it perfect. But that's not art, art is about inspiration.
Not that Morgan Wallen didn't have contributors, many in fact. But the end result sounded more personal.
And Wallen did originally get a boost from TV.
But the bottom line is there's room for everybody today, even you.
Well, that's not true. You can post your music to Spotify and literally no one can listen. But if you have a spark, that touches people, you can have a career. You don't need the major label, you just need you. It's all about you, don't let anybody tell you otherwise.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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Tuesday 16 May 2023
War Sailor
Netflix trailer: https://bit.ly/42Yob5O
This starts off slow.
"War Sailor" is a three episode series on Netflix. It's Norwegian. I've actually been to Norway twice, it's different from Sweden. First and foremost not everybody speaks English. And, the country used to be backward economically but as a result of finding oil decades back, it's now incredibly wealthy. And despite oil throwing off all that money, 80% of the new cars in the country are electric, you can read about it here: https://nyti.ms/3IhH4sr
But this is about long ago. Before WW II. And then...
Germany invaded Norway. Took over the country, but...
So what we've got here is a war story. But it's not a battle story. This is not those in helmets loading up their bazookas, rather this is about merchant marines, who can't come back to their homeland because it's been possessed.
So...
The first half hour or so is set-up, you're not exactly sure what is happening.
And then the war begins...
The horrors of war. The tensions of war. When so many ships are sunk, what are the odds you'll survive?
And then you see friends die.
And then...
Let me just say "War Sailor" portrayed, made me feel the horrors of war more than any other movie or TV series I've ever seen. The psychological cost. You become numb, worried your number is going to come up.
Maybe you can watch in English, but it's always best to watch these shows with subtitles. You can burn through "War Sailor" in an evening. And when it is over, you'll be silent, you won't have much to say, because you will get it, the cost of war.
Highly recommended.
P.S. I'd only watch the trailer if you need convincing, it gives away too many plot points.
P.P.S. Life is slow. It takes time. Which is oftentimes boring, as in nothing significant happens. But you're thinking all the while. "War Sailor" is not "The Diplomat," it's rapid-fire in neither action nor dialogue.
P.P.P.S. I don't expect many people to watch "War Sailor." Because I keep getting e-mail from people telling me they loved "Ted Lasso" and to recommend more shows like that, that are uplifting. But there are few shows like that, because that's not how life works. You're living in your brain 24/7, contemplating, making choices, trying to forget that which you cannot. War might not be your physical experience, but you're at war in your head all the time. Inner life, it's everything, but for too many it's taboo, they can't talk about it, don't want to hear about it. They'll talk about sports long before they'll reveal how they feel. And men have just as many feelings as women, whether they articulate them or not.
P.P.P.P.S. We run on hope. And sometimes what we hope for arrives, but the end result is not what we anticipated, it's not really what we want, do we abandon our desire or stick with it?
P.P.P.P.P.S. The world runs on misinformation, misconception, most of what you hear is wrong, or not in detail enough, not comprehensive enough to render the complete picture. If you've been diagnosed with something serious, get a second opinion. Don't make life decisions based on conventional wisdom. Seek out experts. Try to get it right. It makes all the difference. You don't want to change your life based on falsehood.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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This starts off slow.
"War Sailor" is a three episode series on Netflix. It's Norwegian. I've actually been to Norway twice, it's different from Sweden. First and foremost not everybody speaks English. And, the country used to be backward economically but as a result of finding oil decades back, it's now incredibly wealthy. And despite oil throwing off all that money, 80% of the new cars in the country are electric, you can read about it here: https://nyti.ms/3IhH4sr
But this is about long ago. Before WW II. And then...
Germany invaded Norway. Took over the country, but...
So what we've got here is a war story. But it's not a battle story. This is not those in helmets loading up their bazookas, rather this is about merchant marines, who can't come back to their homeland because it's been possessed.
So...
The first half hour or so is set-up, you're not exactly sure what is happening.
And then the war begins...
The horrors of war. The tensions of war. When so many ships are sunk, what are the odds you'll survive?
And then you see friends die.
And then...
Let me just say "War Sailor" portrayed, made me feel the horrors of war more than any other movie or TV series I've ever seen. The psychological cost. You become numb, worried your number is going to come up.
Maybe you can watch in English, but it's always best to watch these shows with subtitles. You can burn through "War Sailor" in an evening. And when it is over, you'll be silent, you won't have much to say, because you will get it, the cost of war.
Highly recommended.
P.S. I'd only watch the trailer if you need convincing, it gives away too many plot points.
P.P.S. Life is slow. It takes time. Which is oftentimes boring, as in nothing significant happens. But you're thinking all the while. "War Sailor" is not "The Diplomat," it's rapid-fire in neither action nor dialogue.
P.P.P.S. I don't expect many people to watch "War Sailor." Because I keep getting e-mail from people telling me they loved "Ted Lasso" and to recommend more shows like that, that are uplifting. But there are few shows like that, because that's not how life works. You're living in your brain 24/7, contemplating, making choices, trying to forget that which you cannot. War might not be your physical experience, but you're at war in your head all the time. Inner life, it's everything, but for too many it's taboo, they can't talk about it, don't want to hear about it. They'll talk about sports long before they'll reveal how they feel. And men have just as many feelings as women, whether they articulate them or not.
P.P.P.P.S. We run on hope. And sometimes what we hope for arrives, but the end result is not what we anticipated, it's not really what we want, do we abandon our desire or stick with it?
P.P.P.P.P.S. The world runs on misinformation, misconception, most of what you hear is wrong, or not in detail enough, not comprehensive enough to render the complete picture. If you've been diagnosed with something serious, get a second opinion. Don't make life decisions based on conventional wisdom. Seek out experts. Try to get it right. It makes all the difference. You don't want to change your life based on falsehood.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
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Monday 15 May 2023
Re-Mary Turner
Thanks for this great tribute to a great woman. I met Norm and Mary when I was the Director of Operations at the Great Western Forum in 1988. There was an article in the LA Times about Norm and how Westwood One's stock was tanking, and I walked by Norm and Mary never having said a word to him and stated, "Nice Press". Since, back then I knew nothing about stocks and corporations, I was referring to the great photo of Norm as part of the story. We became best friends instantly sharing both their love of the Lakers, weekend boating on their boat "The Vixen", rain or shine, and in the early days traveling to every away Laker playoff game. We used to joke that the 3 of us could find the sun on the boat no matter how socked in it was with fog. Our Laker playoff deal was Norm would get the courtside seats and private plane and I would, through my NBA connections get us credentialed for all access. The great story, amongst many, about both is that Norm remade himself after being a pioneer in the syndication industry pivoting to becoming a pioneer in Podcasting and Mary overcoming addiction to get her PHD from UCLA and becoming the Chairwoman of the Betty Ford Center amongst other accolades. There were many a weekend boat rides where we discussed our lives and how we got to the places we were in over the 35 years we were close. I was fortunate to take Norm on his last boat ride on the "Vixen 2" in December and arrange for one last Laker game before he passed. I'll always remember us matching our storytelling skills, and trust me when I tell you we both had many a story, on the boat and the fact that I would have to listen to his same stories every week albeit with another group of "boaties" on the Vixen. And Mary for her dry sense of humor, incredible knowledge, and the stories she would tell once I coaxed them out of her as she was a very private person and most of all putting up with both Norm and my stories every time we were together. They both played a major role in my life the past 35 years and will be missed and not just by me. I can't tell how many people have reached out to me wanting details. If you are one to believe in heaven you can take solace that they are now reunited. Stay safe Bob and continue your writing and enjoying every minute we have left as our "trips around the sun" dwindle.
Lee Zeidman
President
Crypto.com Arena/Microsoft Theater/LA Live
________
Regarding my recent email to you. I stand corrected by Mary's best friend who read her obit in the LA Times. I was partially correct. She received her counseling certificate from UCLA and her MA and PhD from California Graduate Institute in 2008. I did not remember that but then again after seeing over 6500 events in my career I can't remember last night's score let alone what happened in 2008. And there you have it the power of instant fact-checking in a digital world.
Lee Zeidman
______________________________________
Mary Turner was the "real deal" as far as being a wonderful air talent. I became friends with Mary while she was at KMET.. Frequently we'd hang out after my promotion visits. She loved going to concerts and I was flattered when she would come to one of my shows….
Unlike most rock stations of that era it behooved you to promote the D.J's at KMET. Mary loved my stories and would always inquire about doing an interview with the artists that I repped … BTW. She interviewed Ritchie Blackmore from Deep Purple/Rainbow, who was known as not being the warmest guy in the world. After the session Blackmore was ecstatic and he was eating out of her hand!
Here's a delightful story…. I was working for Polygram at the time.. I was back East for national meetings…
The Scorpions were playing at a festival at Angel Stadium… some Monsters of Rock deal… Turner was to introduce the band as they walked on stage… Their manager at the time said, "I don't want no girl introducing my band"! It did not go well to say the least……
I got word while I was in NYC that there was a meltdown at the gig and KMET would no longer play The Scorpions…
My trip back to LA was miserable… I didn't know what to do….
I walk into the station attempting to do damage control… Turner had taken a Scorpions album and stuck a fork in it and hung it on the wall.. There were pieces of plastic on the floor from the albums that she smashed… Not pretty….
In time things passed by….but I'll never forget the album with a fork in it….
Jeff Laufer
______________________________________
Nice tribute sir. It's always great when somebody is really good at the gig they are into.
Mary Turner #608W Part 1 AFVN 1980
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3FJX_CHzoY
Eddie Gordon
______________________________________
Yo Bob,
I am hearing about Mary Turner's death for the first time here. I am not a social media guy, so I get my information the old fashion way, through email. I did several guest spots with Mary on KMET, and one memorable in-depth interview which ended up on an LP, and always felt like I was being heard. REO was far from a press darling, so we counted on our friends at rock radio to spread the word for us. Years later, while sitting in Irving's floor seats, I saw Mary and enjoyed a nice half-time hug. She was a true lover of music and the people who create it. Mary Turner was right up there with Jim Ladd, Bob Coburn, and JJ Jeffries…all giants of LA radio. She is gone too soon…
Kevin Cronin
P.S. Pardon me for leaving my friend Uncle Joe Benson off of my LA Rock Radio Mount Rushmore. He surely belongs up there with Ladd, Coburn, Turner, and Jeffries…
______________________________________
Bob: I remember her too. Loved her on the air and got to meet her when The Kaleidoscope presented a benefit for the disc jockeys who got kicked out of a church in Pasadena. Every major California band played for free, including the last L.A. gig for Buffalo Springfield. The Beatles sent a 35MM copy of "Magical Mystery Tour" which we played at the event. We helped keep the D.J.s alive while KMET was being formed.
Thanks for the memories.
As ever, John Hartmann
______________________________________
Turner the Burner. She and Sam Bellamy, Jim Ladd, Paraguat Kelly all did so much for the music. They lived the music like we all did.
It was an era that will never be lived again and the music they so passionately played is still being enjoyed. Their support on all levels was so important.
Mary Turner was a beautiful lady through and through.
RIP Mary Turner
Cheers
Charlie Brusco
______________________________________
Met Norm and Mary in the early 70s every year for Christmas in Hawaii. Started MAP with Mary in 1986 which became the now Musicares organization. Norm asked me to join the Westwood board which I did . We both loved boating and went with Norm almost every sat on his .They were a great couple and can't watch a lakers game without thinking about them. RIP. Jerry Greenberg
______________________________________
I can tell you one thing about Mary "The Burner" Turner. She was as nice to me when I was in the mail room at Fun productions, writing copy for radio spots, and press releases as she was when I was the President of Warner Bros. Pictures.
Bill Gerber
______________________________________
You touched my heart when talking about Mary Turner and Alison Steele. I first heard Alison on WNEW in NYC as a 17 year old student of acting at HB Studios, listening to her late at night when I got home from my waitress gig. At the time she was 2-6am. In true theatre of the mind, she made us believe she was on the radio live in the middle of the night from the jungle playing everything from Mose Allison to the Rolling Stones. She was the Nightbird.
But Mary was Turner the Burner, rocking LA from 6-10 at night. Mary was the everywoman who loved rock and roll music and we couldn't wait for her to throw the latest Creedence Clearwater Revival CCR record on the turntable. Driving down Sunset Blvd with windows down and the radio turned on full blast cruising past
Randy Thomas
______________________________________
Very sad news. I knew both Mary and Norm quite well. They were very good friends of Don Johnson who has been my dear friend since the early 70s.
I was always struck by the duality of Mary. She was extraordinary, chic and yet rock and roll through and through.
She knew every nuance of rock 'n' roll music. Utterly unique, dirty and sweet.
Both Norm and Mary were very good to me.
The rock 'n' roll flag continues to wave, even if it is somewhat tattered.
Rock in Peace…
Michael Des Barres
______________________________________
When I was in high school my alarm would wake me for school around 7am at my parents little house in Oceanside Ca. I had figured out that if I put my big clunky stereo in one certain spot in that room I could get KMET. The radio would always come on after the alarm and I would lay in a fog for a bit while listening to the most amazing music…That was the first time I heard YES Goin For The One. I mean who plays a 10 minute song with no chorus at 7:15am on radio?? That moment and song has stayed with me all these years and so has this jingle
A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN 94.7 KMET TWEEDLE DEE
May The Burner Mary Turner Rest In Power….
Stevie Salas
______________________________________
Hated to read the news of Mary's passing, but thanks for the heads-up. Mary and I began our careers in parallel. She in San Francisco at WSFX and then KSAN with \the legendary 'father of FM radio' Tom Donahue. I was working at Blue Thumb being mentored by Bob Krasnow and Tommy LiPuma. They knew Donahue and sent me to SF to meet my 'first radio' station PD. He introduced Mary and I (along with Dusty Street). Her authenticity, sense of humor, and love of music planted the seeds of a (ouch) fifty year friendship.
Mary was kind, thoughtful, talented, and now, very missable. Smiling just thinking of her...
Bruce Garfield-Executive Director
Music Columbus
______________________________________
I knew and appreciated Mary Turner. She was easy-to-know from the git and I will remember her forever. Mary The Burner was in the Royalty Of Rock and gave us good reason to listen to her show! Jerry Sharell
______________________________________
Thanks for the memories on Mary Turner. It brought back many late night shifts, starting out in radio broadcasting on Q-98FM in Fargo, ND. Mary was a natural interviewer and I devoured every artist she spoke with on "Off the Record". She had the access and I could only dream. Her voice helped me through some long 12 hour shifts and when I eventually met her in the early 90's at a Jeff Pollack convention in L.A., she couldn't have been more generous with her time. Just like every show I aired of hers, we had a conversation together- just as she had done countless times with rocks biggest names. From Jagger to McCartney, her smooth delivery had me engaged from start to finish. A true pioneering voice for the ages. They just don't make them like Mary any more…..
Jon Erdahl
3D MediaVentures/Futuri Media
______________________________________
Thanks, Bob, for revisiting LA rock radio in the 70s.
The last time I saw Mary was some time in the 80s. She had a syndicated interview show and was heralded as the most listened to DJ in the world thanks to the global reach of Westwood One. She trekked out to the Warner offices in Burbank from Culver City to spend an hour with one of our artists, can't remember which one.
While we were waiting for the previous interviewer to wrap up, she showed me her new pride and joy – an Aiwa two-track, ultra-small cassette recorder with all the bells and whistles – EQ, compression, remote stereo mic – everything one would need to record an interview (or a song) and have radio broadcast quality.
I went out and got one the next day and used it well into the 90s, recording radio ID's with all of the Warner artists on tour.
A belated thanks to Mary for that and an R.I.P.
Larry Butler
Nashville
______________________________________
? ?I was a student at UCSB, 1973 to 77…not too many of us from Northern California. My friend, David Zarider from Woodland Hills, turned me onto KMET: B. Mitchel Reed, Steven Clean and the amazing Mary Turner.
These were the days of 'sets', where are the DJs knew the music Cold and could string together a series of songs with a common theme or musicality. We learned so much from these DJs, a great counterpart to our study of the Masters in the Music Program at UCSB.
Her peers up this way included the equally talented and knowledgeable Kate Hayes and Bonnie Simmons.
I remember her, too, 50 years on. Thanks for your fitting tribute.
"A Little Bit of Heaven, Ninety-Four Point Seven - KMET - Tweedle-Dee"
Louis Roth
Rockaway Beach, Pacifica
______________________________________
"A little bit of heaven,
Ninety four point seven
KMET
Tweedle dee!"
As a kid growing up in the 70's, KMET and its DJ's were a one-stop shop for great music. Mary Turner, Jim Ladd, Paraquat Kelly, Mike Harrison...I'm still listening to the artists they introduced me to. Your letter was spot on, Bob. They loved the music as much as we did. RIP Mary, RIP KMET. Thank you for the great tunes. The influence is still felt all these years down the line.
- Dan Heenan
______________________________________
Loved to hear about Mary Turner. I remember her well from KMET. Great station in a great town full of great rockers. I was shocked and depressed when they converted to no-DJ soft pop format. But, like you, I will never forget the station.
"A little bit of heaven, 94.7. KMET. Tweedle dee!"
John Julius
______________________________________
When I was in high school my alarm would wake me for school around 7am at my parents little house in Oceanside Ca. I had figured out that if I put my big clunky stereo in one certain spot in that room I could get KMET. The radio would always come on after the alarm and I would lay in a fog for a bit while listening to the most amazing music…That was the first time I heard YES Goin For The One. I mean who plays a 10 minute song with no chorus at 7:15am on radio?? That moment and song has stayed with me all these years and so has this jingle
A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN 94.7 KMET TWEEDLE DEE
May The Burner Mary Turner Rest In Power….
Stevie Salas
______________________________________
That was a really good one, Bob.
I can hear Mary Turner's voice so clear in my head. I was only in high school then, but loved KMET, and, as you said, would tune to KLOS, when the commercials came on, unless it was one of the good commercials, or the good host-read ones. And dabbled in KNX-FM when I needed to get mellow.
Eventually KROQ became my favorite station but I'd still pop down to get my fix of "little bit of heaven, 94.7… KMET… Tweedledee!" The Burner and the Beamer (BMR) were both one of a kinds when it came to making intimate, personal connections with their listeners; as opposed to KROQ which felt like a performance (Albeit a good one).
Rusty Hodge
______________________________________
Thanks for this note, Bob.
I grew up in the Midwest in the 70's and 80's, but I still remember listening to Mary Turner (and Alison Steele, too) because my family flew frequently on TWA.
Both DJ's (as well as other famous LA DJ's) used to be the announcers on what passed for the "pop music" channel on TWA's flight. In those days, the audio was on a continuous 1 hour loop, so when you're a kid who can't sleep on a long distance flight, with only a couple of cassettes of my own to listen to, you wound up listening to them and their adult contemporary songs over and over. Partly because they were so different, so much smoother than the DJ's in my mid-sized Ohio city, but also because of the repetition, they were burned into my consciousness as what a great DJ was. It wasn't until I moved to the SF Bay Area for college that I heard anyone close to their sound.
Unfortunately, I don't think we'll ever hear anything like the radio jocks of that era again, even/especially on podcasts, because Gen Z doesn't care. My kids never listen to curated music other than what pops up in the algos of their Spotify feeds, so there's no reason for anyone to put in the time and effort to both learn about music and craft their voice the way they did. Maybe they're listening to things in their discords, but I tend to doubt it.
Greg Heibel
______________________________________
"Little bit 'o' heaven, 94.7 KMET...Tweedle-dee!"
I can still hear that station liner coming out of the console stereo in my room in Long Beach.
At twelve years old, I had no idea what Mary looked like but I was sure she was a Goddess and I was in love.
Philbillie,
San Francisco
______________________________________
Oh man. The KMET lineup, mid 70s made me fall in love with radio. B Mitchell Reed (long gone), Shadoe Stevens (the only one left), Mary Turner and Steven Clean (died last year). The origins of west coast fm radio is all tied in with that group. KMET, KLOS (before you got here Bob) and KPPC. Great radio that will never be repeated. Rock in Peace, Mary.
Bruce Greenberg
______________________________________
Wow. This just makes me sad. A name I haven't heard in a very long time. I fondly remember listening to her as a teenager on into adulthood and it seems just like yesterday when I was finished with my homework, on went the radio to 94.7 so I could listen to Mary. For a good while, I wanted to be a deejay on a rock station just like her (and Cynthia Fox). I knew I could hold my own with the boys like they did as I had learned so much about rock music in the 70's/80's, but alas life took me in a different direction. I still mourn the loss of KMET even though it's over 35 years since they went off the air. Who could forget the station ID "A Little Bit of Heaven, Ninety-Four Point Seven - KMET - Tweedle-Dee"?!? And the all-star deejays!! Mary Turner, Cynthia Fox, Rachel Donahue, Jim Ladd, Paraquat Kelley, Bob Coburn, The Gonzer, Frazer Smith and of course Dr. Demento on Sunday nights. Dear Lord, we were lucky and I am thankful I got to experience it. Truly glory days.
Thank you Mary for keeping this teenage gal company during those important years.
"I'd sit alone and watch your light
My only friend through teenage nights
And everything I had to know
I heard it on my radio"
Karen Votava
______________________________________
Thanks so much for writing a piece on Mary. We were good friends back in the day. Not since the passing of David Bowie and Tom Petty have I been so shook.
Mary was a trailblazer for sure and she was one tough cookie. I used to call her The Lauren Bacall of Rock and Roll.
I loved listening to the beginning of her air shift. Every night it was the same. In a very sincere and welcoming voice she'd say, "Hi everybody!" And then often play an up tempo ZZ Top song. All of Los Angeles knew the party was on.
When I was making a name for myself as an FM promotion man for Columbia Records and having a difficult time trying to convince programmers that Bruce Springsteen was much more than an "East Coast" artist, Mary was the first to really embrace his music. You could hear a Bruce track at least once a shift on Mary's show. Bruce wouldn't do many interviews back then but I convinced him Mary was someone special. When they met an authentic rock and roll bond took place.
One of my favorite Bruce quotes is from the first time I brought him to KMET. Mary asked him, "What does your band do while you are out doing this kind of promo work?" Bruce thought for a moment. "My band? My band is probably back at the Sunset Marquis catching all the television sets the English bands are throwing out the window!"
As I say, we were good buddies and I'll never forget one very special moment in my career that not only made me feel great inside but also kicked me up a notch in the eyes of the Columbia Records execs. Back when we had an overabundance of personnel, Columbia decided to promote one of the FM specialists to head of Artist Relations. The thought was that this fellow could relieve some of the workload by being responsible for artist promo tours. We were at a dinner one night where I was introducing him to the key KMET disc jockeys.
Mary asked, "So what is it you do again?" The reply was, "Well, I am going to be setting up a lot of interviews and bringing the artists to the radio station." Mary replied, "But Rap does that." The fellow retorted, "Well, now I'm the guy." On my behalf Mary schooled him. "Yeah… but you can't do it like Rap does it." That moment meant so much to me and I've kept it in my heart throughout my career.
In later years Mary fought drug addiction and earned a doctorate in clinical psychology. She helped many musicians and others get sober and remain healthy. I was so proud of her. But once at a lunch we were having I had to pose the question. "Look, I know everyone now refers to you as Dr. Pattiz, and I couldn't be more proud for you. But to me, you've always been Burner. I mean no disrespect, but can I please still call you Burner?"
"Yeah Rap. For you, I'll be Burner."
Pretty much says it all. What a gal.
Paul Rappaport
______________________________________
Why are music's most integral people only recognized after they are gone?
I have taken issue with this before, while trying to get Americana radio to honor Jessie Scott, the godmother of the format.
I had no idea about this format until I discovered X Country on XM.
Americana is a mystery to most but Jessie started it, yet Americana radio pays no heed to her ground breaking achievement.
KMET and its DJ lineup were made of legends, is it only Jim Ladd who still lives on radio?
But….in my not so humble opinion, there was no other station more important than WPIX in NYC.
Yes, most think of of KROQ as radio's most important, and it was.
I syndicated KROQ when I left Elektra in 82, but always said it was WPIX that matter most to me.
We had 12 major markets playing Rock of the 80's, likely sold more records than many formats, and certainly broke out bands that no-one heard of.
Yet when the Rock Hall did their Alternative salute, I called to get Rick Carroll & Co some acknowledgment, crickets.
Yet, for me it was Meg Griffin and Joe at WPIX in the 70's, that made the greatest impact on new, modern music.
Salute those still doing it, pay respect and heed those who made a difference.
Meg and Jessie are both still on air, pay heed to them. They are treasures.
Do it NOW before they (we) are all gone.
Martin Schwartz
Lee Zeidman
President
Crypto.com Arena/Microsoft Theater/LA Live
________
Regarding my recent email to you. I stand corrected by Mary's best friend who read her obit in the LA Times. I was partially correct. She received her counseling certificate from UCLA and her MA and PhD from California Graduate Institute in 2008. I did not remember that but then again after seeing over 6500 events in my career I can't remember last night's score let alone what happened in 2008. And there you have it the power of instant fact-checking in a digital world.
Lee Zeidman
______________________________________
Mary Turner was the "real deal" as far as being a wonderful air talent. I became friends with Mary while she was at KMET.. Frequently we'd hang out after my promotion visits. She loved going to concerts and I was flattered when she would come to one of my shows….
Unlike most rock stations of that era it behooved you to promote the D.J's at KMET. Mary loved my stories and would always inquire about doing an interview with the artists that I repped … BTW. She interviewed Ritchie Blackmore from Deep Purple/Rainbow, who was known as not being the warmest guy in the world. After the session Blackmore was ecstatic and he was eating out of her hand!
Here's a delightful story…. I was working for Polygram at the time.. I was back East for national meetings…
The Scorpions were playing at a festival at Angel Stadium… some Monsters of Rock deal… Turner was to introduce the band as they walked on stage… Their manager at the time said, "I don't want no girl introducing my band"! It did not go well to say the least……
I got word while I was in NYC that there was a meltdown at the gig and KMET would no longer play The Scorpions…
My trip back to LA was miserable… I didn't know what to do….
I walk into the station attempting to do damage control… Turner had taken a Scorpions album and stuck a fork in it and hung it on the wall.. There were pieces of plastic on the floor from the albums that she smashed… Not pretty….
In time things passed by….but I'll never forget the album with a fork in it….
Jeff Laufer
______________________________________
Nice tribute sir. It's always great when somebody is really good at the gig they are into.
Mary Turner #608W Part 1 AFVN 1980
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3FJX_CHzoY
Eddie Gordon
______________________________________
Yo Bob,
I am hearing about Mary Turner's death for the first time here. I am not a social media guy, so I get my information the old fashion way, through email. I did several guest spots with Mary on KMET, and one memorable in-depth interview which ended up on an LP, and always felt like I was being heard. REO was far from a press darling, so we counted on our friends at rock radio to spread the word for us. Years later, while sitting in Irving's floor seats, I saw Mary and enjoyed a nice half-time hug. She was a true lover of music and the people who create it. Mary Turner was right up there with Jim Ladd, Bob Coburn, and JJ Jeffries…all giants of LA radio. She is gone too soon…
Kevin Cronin
P.S. Pardon me for leaving my friend Uncle Joe Benson off of my LA Rock Radio Mount Rushmore. He surely belongs up there with Ladd, Coburn, Turner, and Jeffries…
______________________________________
Bob: I remember her too. Loved her on the air and got to meet her when The Kaleidoscope presented a benefit for the disc jockeys who got kicked out of a church in Pasadena. Every major California band played for free, including the last L.A. gig for Buffalo Springfield. The Beatles sent a 35MM copy of "Magical Mystery Tour" which we played at the event. We helped keep the D.J.s alive while KMET was being formed.
Thanks for the memories.
As ever, John Hartmann
______________________________________
Turner the Burner. She and Sam Bellamy, Jim Ladd, Paraguat Kelly all did so much for the music. They lived the music like we all did.
It was an era that will never be lived again and the music they so passionately played is still being enjoyed. Their support on all levels was so important.
Mary Turner was a beautiful lady through and through.
RIP Mary Turner
Cheers
Charlie Brusco
______________________________________
Met Norm and Mary in the early 70s every year for Christmas in Hawaii. Started MAP with Mary in 1986 which became the now Musicares organization. Norm asked me to join the Westwood board which I did . We both loved boating and went with Norm almost every sat on his .They were a great couple and can't watch a lakers game without thinking about them. RIP. Jerry Greenberg
______________________________________
I can tell you one thing about Mary "The Burner" Turner. She was as nice to me when I was in the mail room at Fun productions, writing copy for radio spots, and press releases as she was when I was the President of Warner Bros. Pictures.
Bill Gerber
______________________________________
You touched my heart when talking about Mary Turner and Alison Steele. I first heard Alison on WNEW in NYC as a 17 year old student of acting at HB Studios, listening to her late at night when I got home from my waitress gig. At the time she was 2-6am. In true theatre of the mind, she made us believe she was on the radio live in the middle of the night from the jungle playing everything from Mose Allison to the Rolling Stones. She was the Nightbird.
But Mary was Turner the Burner, rocking LA from 6-10 at night. Mary was the everywoman who loved rock and roll music and we couldn't wait for her to throw the latest Creedence Clearwater Revival CCR record on the turntable. Driving down Sunset Blvd with windows down and the radio turned on full blast cruising past
Randy Thomas
______________________________________
Very sad news. I knew both Mary and Norm quite well. They were very good friends of Don Johnson who has been my dear friend since the early 70s.
I was always struck by the duality of Mary. She was extraordinary, chic and yet rock and roll through and through.
She knew every nuance of rock 'n' roll music. Utterly unique, dirty and sweet.
Both Norm and Mary were very good to me.
The rock 'n' roll flag continues to wave, even if it is somewhat tattered.
Rock in Peace…
Michael Des Barres
______________________________________
When I was in high school my alarm would wake me for school around 7am at my parents little house in Oceanside Ca. I had figured out that if I put my big clunky stereo in one certain spot in that room I could get KMET. The radio would always come on after the alarm and I would lay in a fog for a bit while listening to the most amazing music…That was the first time I heard YES Goin For The One. I mean who plays a 10 minute song with no chorus at 7:15am on radio?? That moment and song has stayed with me all these years and so has this jingle
A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN 94.7 KMET TWEEDLE DEE
May The Burner Mary Turner Rest In Power….
Stevie Salas
______________________________________
Hated to read the news of Mary's passing, but thanks for the heads-up. Mary and I began our careers in parallel. She in San Francisco at WSFX and then KSAN with \the legendary 'father of FM radio' Tom Donahue. I was working at Blue Thumb being mentored by Bob Krasnow and Tommy LiPuma. They knew Donahue and sent me to SF to meet my 'first radio' station PD. He introduced Mary and I (along with Dusty Street). Her authenticity, sense of humor, and love of music planted the seeds of a (ouch) fifty year friendship.
Mary was kind, thoughtful, talented, and now, very missable. Smiling just thinking of her...
Bruce Garfield-Executive Director
Music Columbus
______________________________________
I knew and appreciated Mary Turner. She was easy-to-know from the git and I will remember her forever. Mary The Burner was in the Royalty Of Rock and gave us good reason to listen to her show! Jerry Sharell
______________________________________
Thanks for the memories on Mary Turner. It brought back many late night shifts, starting out in radio broadcasting on Q-98FM in Fargo, ND. Mary was a natural interviewer and I devoured every artist she spoke with on "Off the Record". She had the access and I could only dream. Her voice helped me through some long 12 hour shifts and when I eventually met her in the early 90's at a Jeff Pollack convention in L.A., she couldn't have been more generous with her time. Just like every show I aired of hers, we had a conversation together- just as she had done countless times with rocks biggest names. From Jagger to McCartney, her smooth delivery had me engaged from start to finish. A true pioneering voice for the ages. They just don't make them like Mary any more…..
Jon Erdahl
3D MediaVentures/Futuri Media
______________________________________
Thanks, Bob, for revisiting LA rock radio in the 70s.
The last time I saw Mary was some time in the 80s. She had a syndicated interview show and was heralded as the most listened to DJ in the world thanks to the global reach of Westwood One. She trekked out to the Warner offices in Burbank from Culver City to spend an hour with one of our artists, can't remember which one.
While we were waiting for the previous interviewer to wrap up, she showed me her new pride and joy – an Aiwa two-track, ultra-small cassette recorder with all the bells and whistles – EQ, compression, remote stereo mic – everything one would need to record an interview (or a song) and have radio broadcast quality.
I went out and got one the next day and used it well into the 90s, recording radio ID's with all of the Warner artists on tour.
A belated thanks to Mary for that and an R.I.P.
Larry Butler
Nashville
______________________________________
? ?I was a student at UCSB, 1973 to 77…not too many of us from Northern California. My friend, David Zarider from Woodland Hills, turned me onto KMET: B. Mitchel Reed, Steven Clean and the amazing Mary Turner.
These were the days of 'sets', where are the DJs knew the music Cold and could string together a series of songs with a common theme or musicality. We learned so much from these DJs, a great counterpart to our study of the Masters in the Music Program at UCSB.
Her peers up this way included the equally talented and knowledgeable Kate Hayes and Bonnie Simmons.
I remember her, too, 50 years on. Thanks for your fitting tribute.
"A Little Bit of Heaven, Ninety-Four Point Seven - KMET - Tweedle-Dee"
Louis Roth
Rockaway Beach, Pacifica
______________________________________
"A little bit of heaven,
Ninety four point seven
KMET
Tweedle dee!"
As a kid growing up in the 70's, KMET and its DJ's were a one-stop shop for great music. Mary Turner, Jim Ladd, Paraquat Kelly, Mike Harrison...I'm still listening to the artists they introduced me to. Your letter was spot on, Bob. They loved the music as much as we did. RIP Mary, RIP KMET. Thank you for the great tunes. The influence is still felt all these years down the line.
- Dan Heenan
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Loved to hear about Mary Turner. I remember her well from KMET. Great station in a great town full of great rockers. I was shocked and depressed when they converted to no-DJ soft pop format. But, like you, I will never forget the station.
"A little bit of heaven, 94.7. KMET. Tweedle dee!"
John Julius
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When I was in high school my alarm would wake me for school around 7am at my parents little house in Oceanside Ca. I had figured out that if I put my big clunky stereo in one certain spot in that room I could get KMET. The radio would always come on after the alarm and I would lay in a fog for a bit while listening to the most amazing music…That was the first time I heard YES Goin For The One. I mean who plays a 10 minute song with no chorus at 7:15am on radio?? That moment and song has stayed with me all these years and so has this jingle
A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN 94.7 KMET TWEEDLE DEE
May The Burner Mary Turner Rest In Power….
Stevie Salas
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That was a really good one, Bob.
I can hear Mary Turner's voice so clear in my head. I was only in high school then, but loved KMET, and, as you said, would tune to KLOS, when the commercials came on, unless it was one of the good commercials, or the good host-read ones. And dabbled in KNX-FM when I needed to get mellow.
Eventually KROQ became my favorite station but I'd still pop down to get my fix of "little bit of heaven, 94.7… KMET… Tweedledee!" The Burner and the Beamer (BMR) were both one of a kinds when it came to making intimate, personal connections with their listeners; as opposed to KROQ which felt like a performance (Albeit a good one).
Rusty Hodge
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Thanks for this note, Bob.
I grew up in the Midwest in the 70's and 80's, but I still remember listening to Mary Turner (and Alison Steele, too) because my family flew frequently on TWA.
Both DJ's (as well as other famous LA DJ's) used to be the announcers on what passed for the "pop music" channel on TWA's flight. In those days, the audio was on a continuous 1 hour loop, so when you're a kid who can't sleep on a long distance flight, with only a couple of cassettes of my own to listen to, you wound up listening to them and their adult contemporary songs over and over. Partly because they were so different, so much smoother than the DJ's in my mid-sized Ohio city, but also because of the repetition, they were burned into my consciousness as what a great DJ was. It wasn't until I moved to the SF Bay Area for college that I heard anyone close to their sound.
Unfortunately, I don't think we'll ever hear anything like the radio jocks of that era again, even/especially on podcasts, because Gen Z doesn't care. My kids never listen to curated music other than what pops up in the algos of their Spotify feeds, so there's no reason for anyone to put in the time and effort to both learn about music and craft their voice the way they did. Maybe they're listening to things in their discords, but I tend to doubt it.
Greg Heibel
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"Little bit 'o' heaven, 94.7 KMET...Tweedle-dee!"
I can still hear that station liner coming out of the console stereo in my room in Long Beach.
At twelve years old, I had no idea what Mary looked like but I was sure she was a Goddess and I was in love.
Philbillie,
San Francisco
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Oh man. The KMET lineup, mid 70s made me fall in love with radio. B Mitchell Reed (long gone), Shadoe Stevens (the only one left), Mary Turner and Steven Clean (died last year). The origins of west coast fm radio is all tied in with that group. KMET, KLOS (before you got here Bob) and KPPC. Great radio that will never be repeated. Rock in Peace, Mary.
Bruce Greenberg
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Wow. This just makes me sad. A name I haven't heard in a very long time. I fondly remember listening to her as a teenager on into adulthood and it seems just like yesterday when I was finished with my homework, on went the radio to 94.7 so I could listen to Mary. For a good while, I wanted to be a deejay on a rock station just like her (and Cynthia Fox). I knew I could hold my own with the boys like they did as I had learned so much about rock music in the 70's/80's, but alas life took me in a different direction. I still mourn the loss of KMET even though it's over 35 years since they went off the air. Who could forget the station ID "A Little Bit of Heaven, Ninety-Four Point Seven - KMET - Tweedle-Dee"?!? And the all-star deejays!! Mary Turner, Cynthia Fox, Rachel Donahue, Jim Ladd, Paraquat Kelley, Bob Coburn, The Gonzer, Frazer Smith and of course Dr. Demento on Sunday nights. Dear Lord, we were lucky and I am thankful I got to experience it. Truly glory days.
Thank you Mary for keeping this teenage gal company during those important years.
"I'd sit alone and watch your light
My only friend through teenage nights
And everything I had to know
I heard it on my radio"
Karen Votava
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Thanks so much for writing a piece on Mary. We were good friends back in the day. Not since the passing of David Bowie and Tom Petty have I been so shook.
Mary was a trailblazer for sure and she was one tough cookie. I used to call her The Lauren Bacall of Rock and Roll.
I loved listening to the beginning of her air shift. Every night it was the same. In a very sincere and welcoming voice she'd say, "Hi everybody!" And then often play an up tempo ZZ Top song. All of Los Angeles knew the party was on.
When I was making a name for myself as an FM promotion man for Columbia Records and having a difficult time trying to convince programmers that Bruce Springsteen was much more than an "East Coast" artist, Mary was the first to really embrace his music. You could hear a Bruce track at least once a shift on Mary's show. Bruce wouldn't do many interviews back then but I convinced him Mary was someone special. When they met an authentic rock and roll bond took place.
One of my favorite Bruce quotes is from the first time I brought him to KMET. Mary asked him, "What does your band do while you are out doing this kind of promo work?" Bruce thought for a moment. "My band? My band is probably back at the Sunset Marquis catching all the television sets the English bands are throwing out the window!"
As I say, we were good buddies and I'll never forget one very special moment in my career that not only made me feel great inside but also kicked me up a notch in the eyes of the Columbia Records execs. Back when we had an overabundance of personnel, Columbia decided to promote one of the FM specialists to head of Artist Relations. The thought was that this fellow could relieve some of the workload by being responsible for artist promo tours. We were at a dinner one night where I was introducing him to the key KMET disc jockeys.
Mary asked, "So what is it you do again?" The reply was, "Well, I am going to be setting up a lot of interviews and bringing the artists to the radio station." Mary replied, "But Rap does that." The fellow retorted, "Well, now I'm the guy." On my behalf Mary schooled him. "Yeah… but you can't do it like Rap does it." That moment meant so much to me and I've kept it in my heart throughout my career.
In later years Mary fought drug addiction and earned a doctorate in clinical psychology. She helped many musicians and others get sober and remain healthy. I was so proud of her. But once at a lunch we were having I had to pose the question. "Look, I know everyone now refers to you as Dr. Pattiz, and I couldn't be more proud for you. But to me, you've always been Burner. I mean no disrespect, but can I please still call you Burner?"
"Yeah Rap. For you, I'll be Burner."
Pretty much says it all. What a gal.
Paul Rappaport
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Why are music's most integral people only recognized after they are gone?
I have taken issue with this before, while trying to get Americana radio to honor Jessie Scott, the godmother of the format.
I had no idea about this format until I discovered X Country on XM.
Americana is a mystery to most but Jessie started it, yet Americana radio pays no heed to her ground breaking achievement.
KMET and its DJ lineup were made of legends, is it only Jim Ladd who still lives on radio?
But….in my not so humble opinion, there was no other station more important than WPIX in NYC.
Yes, most think of of KROQ as radio's most important, and it was.
I syndicated KROQ when I left Elektra in 82, but always said it was WPIX that matter most to me.
We had 12 major markets playing Rock of the 80's, likely sold more records than many formats, and certainly broke out bands that no-one heard of.
Yet when the Rock Hall did their Alternative salute, I called to get Rick Carroll & Co some acknowledgment, crickets.
Yet, for me it was Meg Griffin and Joe at WPIX in the 70's, that made the greatest impact on new, modern music.
Salute those still doing it, pay respect and heed those who made a difference.
Meg and Jessie are both still on air, pay heed to them. They are treasures.
Do it NOW before they (we) are all gone.
Martin Schwartz
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