References

I'm stunned how much feedback I got about "Killers of the Flower Moon." If I'd written about a record I would have gotten a fraction of the responses. It seems more people are familiar with Scorsese's movie than the music of Taylor Swift.

Yes, Taylor Swift, our national icon, America's girlfriend/sweetheart. I'm sure you're sick of seeing her, but never has an act so big been so small. I keep asking people to sing two Taylor Swift songs. Even name two Taylor Swift songs. And they can't. But they all seem to know and have seen and have an opinion on "Killers of the Flower Moon."

Of course there are fewer movies than records. What do they say at Spotify, 100,000 tracks are uploaded a day? It's impossible to make sense of it. And did you see that Universal is going to lay people off? Growth has slowed, they can't figure out how to grow the business. But the answer is simple, extremely simple, it's the music.

We can all rally around a superstar. The right superstar. One who crosses age groups. But we haven't had that spirit here for a very long time. Someone who writes and plays songs we all can sing along to who impacts the culture. Someone not combing the surface, but excavating deep.

In addition, music is a mature business. Even social media is not mature, although it seems to be getting there, the game of musical chairs has slowed down, there are few players left, and they're all powerful, willing to imitate or purchase any upstarts.

The modern music business is based on two things: the Beatles and MTV. The Beatles were a cultural revolution. MTV showed that you could reach people around the world, and make more money than ever doing it.

But we've seen the trick. Now it's about the music itself.

If there is a breakthrough, something phenomenal, it will spread. But that is not the Weeknd or Drake or the rest of the acts touting their streaming numbers. They are not cultural revolutions.

So we're watching this show "Loudermilk," from Canada, it's now on Netflix. It's a sitcom, and at some points it's a bit formula and cheesy, but at others it rings bells, loudly. Especially with the references.

The main character, Loudermilk himself, is in a record store spouting off and he mentions Saul Zaentz. SAUL ZAENTZ? Fantasy Records? John Fogerty's nemesis?

We all know the story, how Fogerty lost control of his songs and refused to play them live. Well, at least us boomers and Gen-X'ers, who remember hearing "Proud Mary" on AM radio.

And then later in the series, a deadbeat dad goes to see his seventeen year old daughter in her volunteer job at a homeless shelter and Loudermilk talks about phoning home, like E.T., and the girl looks at him blankly. She has no idea what he's talking about.

That's what I love most about "Loudermilk," the references, they bind us. But even SNL has to play broad these days, otherwise no one knows what they're talking about.

I can't say we all saw the same movies, listened to the same records, watched the same TV programs, but there was enough cross-pollination that a great percentage of the populace was aware of a great number of things. Not only could you make references, have inside jokes, but you could have a deep discussion about these topics too.

No longer. We're all into different things, commonality is out the window. Look at politics, where we can't even agree on the facts!

Something has been lost. And I don't want to be like the wankers lamenting the past, we're never going back, but where are we going in the future?

We're looking for commonality, shared experiences.

Used to be there was an entire business based on reacting to the mainstream, by hip, alienated outsiders. Now there is no mainstream, and there's nothing to rebel against. You might brag that you know so much about one vertical, but then someone comes along and proves how little you know about something else.

It's a full time job keeping up on new music. And if you think the young 'uns are better at it, comprehensive, you are totally wrong. They are just influenced by their friend groups. Sure, there are all these acts selling out stadiums, but they're reaching a fraction of the number of people who did this in the past.

Meanwhile, the usual suspects continue to drift somnambulantly into the future. Instead of signing TikTok stars, record labels could sign and develop artists from scratch, but that's too heavy a lift.

And then there's Taylor Tomlinson, who has come off the road for a late night talk show. Looks good on paper, it's a joke in truth. There is no appointment television amongst her peers, her audience. They want a visceral live experience, they don't want to tune in late at night for some talkfest. If anything good happens they can catch it later on YouTube. Assuming they've got the time, that they care, and they don't.

Yes, TV no longer reaches the numbers it used to. If your goal is to host a TV talk show the twentieth century is calling, that's the last time it mattered.

But Taylor and her agents are too entranced by the money to make the correct career decision. James Corden punted. Sure, he was on TV, but it was hurting his overall career, he wanted to do so much more.

So artist development, career development? That is not mature. It's a wide open field wherein you make it up yourself. And too many lament it's not the way it used to be, but once again, we're never going back.

So, instead of playing to the last row, play to the front row. With your own culture, your own inside jokes, your own references. And if you're willing to play for the long haul, and you're innovative, different, you might impact the culture, you might engender some mass references.

The audience is hungry for this, the audience wants to be involved, wants to know others are on the same page. Everybody does not want to go on their own hejira into the internet wilderness.

It comes first and foremost from the talent. You've got to go back to the garden. And the garden in art is always the same, inspiration and innovation. We're looking for breakthroughs, that speak to us and unite us.

Sure, K-pop is a thing. Only for those paying attention. The rest of us don't care and never will.

There's money in the niches, but we're looking for more. Something we all want to pay attention to, something we can all believe in.

But that challenges societal norms. Makes fun of the mainstream. Points out truth. And too many are sold out to the machine to do this anymore.

I want to feel connected, and so do you. That's what we're looking for, and that's what too few provide.


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