Surgery

I didn't have this on my bingo card. So Monday night I'm out hiking in the mountains. And just after turning around to go back down I start to get this ache in my lower abdomen. And I'm lamenting that I did not bring any toilet paper. It had occurred to me before I left the house, but I'd just gone number 2... And I'm wondering if I will make it home. And when I do, I sit on the pot and... Nothing. Okay... So we watch some TV, and the ache in my lower abdomen is somewhat intense, but I'm chalking it up to the fish I ate for dinner. Felice has got a new meal delivery service, and although the halibut was tasty, it smelled very fishy, and that can be an indicator of a problem. But I'd just eaten the fish, could it already be in my lower intestines? Didn't think so. But, Sunday evening I'd eaten a bunch of stuff from Gelson's poke bar. I love the squid especially. And Sunday night, I had some stomach discomfort, so this must be it, right? So I'm waiting for it to pass. Drink some Metamucil. But almost nothing comes out. So then I think about alleviating the pain, what would work. And my research really didn't come up with anything. So normally I read at night after Felice goes to bed, but I couldn't focus, I'm lying on the couch doomscrolling on my iPad, believing that I just have to wait it out. All things must pass, right? Eventually, long past 2 AM, I get in the bed. I mean I'm tired, but I'm in pain. To the point where I think I'll take some Tylenol. Which I do and then promptly vomit. Thank god I made it to the porcelain goddess. Okay, maybe it is the fish. Which started to come up in chunks. But I felt no better. I might have slept the better part of an hour, but basically, even though I spent some time in bed, I could not fully relax and chalk up some Z's. I was just in too much pain. And all my research online told me it was diverticulitis. Which I've never had, but... And now it's closing in on 9 AM the next morning and I decide to text my doctor. I hear back from his office promptly, they tell me there's nothing they can do for me and I need to go to the emergency room to get a CT scan. God, I had to work myself up to even contact my doctor, now I'm supposed to go to the ER? Normally I wouldn't. Unless you were bleeding profusely, my mother wouldn't take you to the doctor, never mind the hospital, and is there anything worse than going to the ER, where you sit forever? But my doc said to do it, and I trust him implicitly, and obviously something was going on. I told Felice to take me to UCLA in Westwood. Now I could go to a smaller joint and wait less, but if any action needed to be taken, I wanted to go where they had all the pros. And their system is pretty good there. You check in promptly, and then you sit and wait for triage, in a room so cold thank god I brought both a vest and a sweatshirt. And triage came about half an hour later, around 10:30, and this woman was compassionate, which surprised me, because usually they're punching the clock, they've seen it all (probably fakers, that's what my mother would say), and I was given a heat pad for my pain and then... Sit there long enough and they come with your very own blood pressure cuff. I don't know why these things can no longer be shared, but I was told to keep it with me and... Let me see now, all told I was in the ER FOR THIRTEEN HOURS! A personal best, or worst... First I fell asleep for 90 minutes, probably due to the anti-nausea pill the triage person gave to me. And I was worried about not hearing my name, but she told me she'd put down a description of the clothes I was wearing and they'd find me. The better part of three hours in, a doctor came out and found me, wanted an explanation. I just showed him the e-mail I sent to my internist and this guy then said he was pretty sure it was diverticulitis. Now... That CT scan didn't happen until around 6 PM. In between, I kept getting my vitals checked, I peed a bit (worried that I'd miss my name being called, which did not happen), and read this book of the person I was supposed to be doing a podcast with the following morning. And then I doomscrolled... It's like being in suspended animation. You're just killing time. You don't want to answer e-mail, get involved, you're on your own trip, you want to focus, at least to the degree you can. And I'm there so long that the pain starts to reduce. And then I go for the CT scan...after I get my blood drawn and a port installed in my arm...and then go back to sit down. And sit. And sit... Finally, around 9:15 PM, a doctor finds me. Takes me into this side room, not part of the main complex... The main complex, the inner sanctum, it's like "The Pitt" on steroids. There's a virtual town of people at desks in the process of directing traffic. And there are bodies everywhere. And it seems like we have to walk to a different time zone for the CT scan and... By time I'm talking to the doctor, I feel guilty. Obviously I'm okay and am wasting their time. But that's not what my internist thought. Turns out if you have diverticulitis you need to get antibiotics. So it was good I didn't leave, that I was playing it out. But when my internist heard I was at UCLA, he went bonkers and said THAT'S THE WORST! He thought I was at St. John's. Or a smaller joint. He was chuckling, saying you only go to UCLA if you're experiencing serious trauma, in a car accident, if you're bleeding and... I sit down with this guy who looks like a college student who tells me... It's a kidney stone. That's hard to fathom. I've had a plethora of kidney stones. And the pain has always been in my flank, not my lower left abdomen, like in this case. But he's assuring me. But then, BUT THEN! He says there's an infection and they've got to do surgery. WHAT? Oh, I have the option to go home to wait for the stone to pass, which was what I'd planned on, but if I did that and there was a blockage, I'd die within a couple of hours. Well, that scared me straight. Yup, the stone is 6mm (why they use the metric system in medicine and not the rest of America...it's so much simpler). And it was blocking urine. And if that infection got backed up by the kidney... All hell would break loose. So it was like that Dirty Harry movie. Did I feel lucky? Not that lucky. I'm all in. Forget about the cost, my health comes first, and then... This doc says he's got to call his boss. But before we break up the convo he tells me I need to be admitted, and the surgery will be the next morning, unless I started to feel bad, and if so they'd run in and do it in the middle of the night. Meaning, I couldn't drink or eat anything. Well, I hadn't eaten since 9:30 the night before. An energy bar. As for fluids, I'd had a hard time keeping them down, but I did hit the water fountain a few times on my way back from the bathroom, but I did not consume much. So how long is this gonna take? The doc won't be positive, he won't lie. And hours go by, a nurse practitioner comes by and checks me out and I think I'm good to go, but he tells me to wait and... Then a nurse needs to take a detailed inventory of my belongings. Down to my sweatshirt and my cash and credit cards. Their systems are pretty good. But really, if something is stolen are they going to admit it? Finally, just before midnight, a guy comes by...there are a slew of these people, sans CV, essentially pushers, who wheel you around. But I said I could walk. And I'm already envisioning my room, and mentally relaxing. Thinking about taking a shower. And then, they take me into this mini-ER and say THIS IS YOUR BED! You've got to be kidding me. There's a row of these. About five. These plastic mattresses surrounded by curtains. Plastic. This is going to be comfortable. And the new nurse, she has a very heavy accent and is wearing a mask and I just can't hear her. Ultimately she wants me to get into a gown. But it's too damn cold to wear a gown, I'll sleep in the clothing I'm in! Then I say I have to go to the bathroom and she says...IN THOSE SOCKS? I mean the bathroom isn't even ten feet away. And she wants me to wait while she gets me the hospital socks, with those little treads. I just push myself ahead, it was URGENT! And after returning there are two nurses, tag-teaming me, asking questions simultaneously. And this nurse with the heavy accent...she's asking question after question about whether I've thought of killing myself. Then she starts going through the inventory of my belongings again. BUT I'VE ALREADY FILLED OUT THE FORM WITH THE NURSE IN THE ER! But she's still asking the questions. Telling me they're not responsible if any of my stuff is stolen. And I've been there fourteen hours already, with nothing to eat or drink, I'm at my limit. And she backs off and tells me I'm going to be woken up at 4 AM to have my blood drawn. And then someone comes and draws my blood right then! So obviously she was confused. The other nurse... She's hooking me up to all these chest monitors. And a finger monitor. And I'm worrying about going to the bathroom and... She shows me the plastic bottle I'm supposed to pee in. After sleeping an hour I tried to use it, but it was too impractical lying in bed, so I stood up to use it and then good luck getting the blankets, which couldn’t be any thinner, back atop me. And I sleep an hour. And then after being up for a while I sleep another hour. I'm wearing one of those masks over my eyes, they give them to you, they think there's too much light to fall asleep. Meanwhile, thank god the woman next to me stopped watching her TV... And at four AM, damned if a nurse didn't wake me up to take my blood again. Exactly why, what had changed in less than four hours, I do not know. I ultimately slept another hour or two and then they wake me up and start trying to replicate the pills I take at home in the morning. I didn't know they did this, then again they didn't do it too well, and they tell me they're waiting for the doctor, but... I FEEL PRETTY GOOD! The stone must have passed. I tell the nurses this and then the doctor comes in and he is skeptical. I'm thinking he's got an investment in doing the surgery. But ultimately he agrees to do another CT, which happens relatively quickly, and I'm starting to fly high, I'll be out of here in a jiffy, I'm gonna walk across the street to In-N-Out, to reward myself. But ultimately the urologist comes back and says...THE STONE IS STILL THERE! I couldn’t believe it. It hadn't moved. Okay, I was now resigned to surgery, but then there was another wrinkle. Since there were a few emergencies, and it was a holiday, the surgery would be delayed. HOW LONG? Probably until after dinner. I can't make it that long without eating or drinking, I'm parched. But the doctor says there's an option. If I'm up for it, they can do the surgery right here, in my bed! Okay... Well, they may not be able to get the wire up inside me, or I might not be able to handle the pain, and if either scenario happens, they're still going to have to put me under at night. But I'm gonna give it a try. Sounds like a cystoscopy. Then again, in the spring I had two, and the first one was PAINFUL! How good was this relatively wet behind the ears doctor going to be? So I wait for a while, until after noon, and this doc comes in with a helper and they start setting up. They're unpacking... Forget all the people working at the hospital, the amount of equipment involved for this surgery... I can see the dollars adding up. And I see in one bag this thread and wire and I say no, no way, this is not going into my body. But when he got the stuff all laid out, he showed me the wire and tube and said THIS WAS IT! And I'm starting to freak. And when in this situation I tell myself I took the bar exam, and passed, when only twenty-odd percent did. So few people passed the bar that recently they made it much shorter and easier. People were pissed they'd gone to law school and couldn't practice, and California needs more lawyers. So if I could handle the stress of the bar exam... However... How often did this guy do this? He seems excited about it. But I'm going with the program, until he tells me the big doctor, the one who he consulted with the night before, was gonna come in and do it. That was a relief. Some alta kacher with experience! But not really. The big guy turned out to only be 42, however he was totally present, he was not punching the clock on me, so I relaxed, not fully, but a bit. And my dick is full of numbing gel. And there's this giant camera, I don't know how it's going to go up inside of me, doesn't look like it would fit. But it does. Turns out the first doc, the younger doc, is doing all the work, the big kahuna is just watching. And the pain is tolerable until... They start pushing the wire up the canal. That's right, it was about as painful as it sounds. But I did not want to blow the whistle, I did not want to have him pull out and go through this again in the evening. And normally they do full anesthesia, you're totally out of it. So I'm being tough, but in addition going completely under is always a risk, not that I was worried, but this was another reason to do it in my bed... Which was in the office. Anything but sterile. It was like the 1860s. Other than even the surgery gloves coming vacuum-sealed in plastic. Finally, they stop. They say they're nearly done, they're going to take an x-ray to check the positioning. That's right, they had a portable x-ray machine. A big Fujifilm contraption. And I've got to raise my body so they can put the imaging plate underneath me and... They shoot relatively fast and then everybody goes to look at the picture and... They're not jumping for joy. Oh boy! So everybody goes back to their position and they start fumbling with the wire again and I've got to pee so bad, and they're telling me I'm being a champ, all I know is we've come this far, but I'M AT MY LIMIT! Finally they say they're done. Compliment their own work and... Now what? Well, I'm' gonna have pain when I pee, like I just did, when I finally released. But that was PAINFUL! And I'm gonna feel the catheter inside me... But I figure how bad can this be, they're letting me go home. But first the big doc says I've got to come back in a few weeks so a kidney doctor can sandblast the stone. It ain't never gonna pass according to this guy. But maybe they'll have to wait longer. But I tell them I'm going to Colorado. But the big doc gives me his cellphone number and then says he's going to go get me a cheeseburger. Well, that strikes In-N-Out, but I can go for that. But when he comes back ten minutes later it's with a bowl of tortilla soup, he says it's their specialty. I don't really care, I'm just so damn hungry. And I take a few spoonfuls and then ask him CAN YOU GET ME A DIET COKE? And he starts talking about needing coffee for the caffeine, but I'm not interested in the caffeine, as a matter of fact, I normally drink Caffeine-Free Diet Coke. And no coffee. But he comes back with a can and THAT HITS THE SPOT! So when in hell can I get out of here? Felice is itching to come pick me up, but I don't want her to sit. They tell me ninety minutes. There's paperwork. But eventually they say I'll be done in twenty minutes and I text Felice, but about nineteen minutes in, the big doc comes back and tells me he's scheduled me for the follow-up next week, for the catheter to be removed and the stone to be blasted. THAT SOUNDS GOOD! And I've got to go to my internist for pre-op. Whoa...really? You just operated on me! But then he gets an idea, WHY DON'T WE DO IT HERE, RIGHT NOW? But I get a text from Felice that she's already parked, but man, let's do it. So they give me an EKG. And then draw some blood. And it takes a bit of time to do all that, and then I'm done. They let me walk out alone, which is shocking. And I get in the car and we get on the freeway, off to CVS for the prescribed antibiotic and... The nurse said I might have some urgency, so she gave me a plastic urinal for the ride. And I didn't need to use it, but man, I was close. And when we got home I went directly to the bathroom and peed and IT WAS INCREDIBLY PAINFUL! I mean really bad. And I could feel the wire inside me. How am I supposed to cope? And I'm so f*cked up on the Dilaudid they injected into me before the procedure. You feel warm and then a bit out of it, but I don't get how people like drugs. Now I'm home, I'm out of it, I can't concentrate, can't read a book, I'm just mindlessly surfing when I'm not getting up to sit on the pot. I finally figure out I'm a bit better if I put a pillow under my knees while I'm lying in bed. But man, I'm still aching. But after hours (we got home around 4 PM...), the Dilaudid haze started to lift. And the pain... I could still feel the wire and now, where the stone is, and that was not so nice. Had they moves it and irritated the canal, or was this what I was going to have to endure for the next week? And the thing about stuff like this is you're canceling your schedule, one thing at a time. First I canceled Tuesday afternoon's PT appointment Then I canceled the morning shrink appointment. I hope I don't have to pay, it's less than 24 hours notice. And then late last night I canceled the podcast I had scheduled for today. And I was supposed to be at the Troubadour tonight for the Gram Parsons tribute, but there's no way I could do that. And... I'm still messed up a bit psychologically. For a day and a half I was in limbo. In another world. And now I'm back and it's the same as it ever was except for the pain. Is this how it's gong to be, as I age, one episode after another? Then I remember that I've gone to the hospital for kidney stones previously, and had one surgically removed. But there was no infection. And... -- 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

Mailbag

From: Richard Griffiths Subject: Re: Song of the Summer Most important number these days? MPH Merch per head. That tells you if you’re playing a pub for a hundred but MPH is £10 versus artists playing 10000 and only doing £5 MPH. The pub artist has real fans the arena artist passing fans. I have an artist ( who I won’t name) doing over £50 MPH in arenas, ________________________________________ From: Mindi Abair Subject: Re: The Aerosmith Extravaganza Night 2 I would have loved to be at the Hollywood Bowl for this. I toured with Aerosmith for the Global Warming Tour in 2012. They embody rock n roll. There's nothing corporate about them... They're a band that has stood the test of time for good reason. They're authentic. They mean it. They believe in what they're doing. They pose well, but they're not posers. I hate the "rock is dead" conversation because I love the abandon and authenticity of it. Maybe the younger generation can take a little inspiration from these guys to live your life with authenticity... write songs that speak to your own experience and not do it for anyone but themselves. Thanks for telling the story of the night. Felt like I was there!!!  Mindi Abair  ________________________________________ From: Toby Mamis Re: Opening Acts On the other hand, we do a lot of Alice Cooper shows that are "an Evening with," because that's what the fans want and we found that support acts weren't really adding anything nor were they really benefiting.  We turn down "buy-on" offers as well.  We'd love to showcase great new acts but it's not economically viable for them or even for us in the end. ________________________________________ Subject: Re: The Choosin' Texas Kerfuffle Bob, You are 1000% correct on this topic -- and I have the analytics to prove it.  Here's a telling anecdote: Last year, after nearly 4 decades at UMG and WMG, I decided to "retire" and purchase the late Joel Whitburn's 55-year-old chart book company.  The jewel of the company is the database he created of dozens of charts going back to 1890 (Biilboard, Cash Box, Gavin, Apple, Spotify, etc.). We'll soon be moving the data online, but in the meantime, to keep cash flowing, we worked on an update to a country chart book that was released almost 10 years ago.  Our new book, History of Top Country Singles 1944-2025,.did not sell nearly as well as past editions.  When I anonymously went on reddit to ask former customers why, the number one reason was, "Because we've never heard and don't care about most of the hits in the last 10 years!" So, changing course, we are now issuing three multi-genre books covering the 1970's, 1980's and 1990's.  All this data is technically in other books in our catalog, but they are selling gang-busters!!  The sales don't lie.  Those decades represented the peak of music as a mass market medium. Vinnie Freda CEO, Record Research ________________________________________ From: Dan Navarro Subject: Re: CD Sales Bounce Yup. I sell “a lot” of CDs, I mean, within my niche context. Not big time numbers, but profitable, and worth-it. Cuz I tour constantly. During Covid, even woth dailyvstrea. My James Lee Stanley duet “All Wood zand Led” sells if I play a song from it. People at the merch table will pick them up, laugh, and say “I don’t have a player in my car, my house or my computer.“ Then they buy. It’s a souvenir of the show with an autographing surface. That’s it. The fact that it has music in it is a coincidence. I generally include a free download code, so if they care at all about offline play they don’t have to scrounge around for a ripping solution. The CD is not gone, it’s…I dunno…taxidermy. ________________________________________ From: Medea Isphording Bern Subject: Re: Opening Acts Hi Bob, I had tix to see Fitz and the Tantrums at a smallish venue this weekend. So excited! I made early dinner (not a fan) plans and we were inside the venue by 7:45, show starting at 8. I was able to be so close to the stage I was trembling! At 8:05, a guy with a guitar comes onto the stage. I won’t say his name, because he was really trying to entertain, But, as you say, most people were talking, scrolling, drinking, drinking some more. I sort of lost interest when I noticed that music was still coming from his guitar but he wasn’t actually playing (and I know this is a thing with solo acts, but it still rankles.) What the hell? My son ands wife politely hung on, but my husband gave up and went home. Too bad for him ultimately, since the headliner was so fabulous and had the audience dancing up a storm. Had this been in a club and I had to pay a $20 cover, it would have been ok. But he was not peppy like Fitz and co. so the music’s appeal didn’t track. O if we only ran the zoo. Take care, Medea Bern ________________________________________ Subject: Dolly Parton In 1978, I was a 21 year old college student majoring in broadcasting.  The university would sponsor concerts and Dolly Parton was scheduled to perform. The day of the show, Dolly came to the campus television studio to tape an interview.  We were all apprehensive about being around her, a star, but she completely put us at ease. She was friendly, talked to everyone, asked our names, complimented us, was a genuinely nice person. Somehow, it was my responsibility to clip a lavalier microphone on Dolly.  She was on set, sitting in a chair, and I timidly approached her.  I was looking down at her, trying to figure out where to put the mic, when I suddenly realized that I was standing there staring at Dolly Parton's bosom. Seeing the microphone in my hand and my eyes on her chest, Dolly laughed and said "I'll put it on for you".   As I tried to hand the mic to her, nervous as I could be, I accidentally dropped it down her blouse. Thoroughly embarrassed, I froze.  Dolly laughed again and didn't skip a beat.  She reached in and fished the mic out and clipped it on.  Then, she touched my arm and said "Wouldn't be the first thing that got lost in there". BC Bunker ________________________________________ Subject: Re: The Heart Scan Here's the other side.   I felt an almost unnoticeable "flutter" when my heart rate was between 120 and 130. Usually when I was walking up a certain hill that I started schlepping up for exercise when the gym closed during Covid. I had been working out 5 days a week by then, and had been working out for 35 years, non-stop, while eating really well for probably 25 of those years. I only once felt that same flutter on the days I worked out on my Spin bike, so it could have gone unnoticed.   I had a Calcium scan. It was 32, when I was 69. 32. But it all looked to be in one place. Even the interventional cardiologist thought it would turn out to be a "false positive." It wasn't. The Angiogram showed a 90+% blockage in my left anterior descending artery, which every doctor has called "the Widowmaker." They put a stent in and all is well.   I complained to my doctors that I eat healthfully, work out constantly, don't drink, don't smoke and watch my weight. "Genetics" they said. Each of my doctors has said the same thing. Genetics. Jeffrey Wruble ________________________________________ From: Thomas Fitzsimmons Subject: Re: E-Mail Of The Day Bob, Three years ago I asked my GP if they had a test that could indicate heart problems other than a stress test. Having taken a cologuard test and a grail test for cancer I was looking for a comparable heart test. He recommended a calcium test and wrote me a script. Two days later I had it done and the score was in the 600's. I sent the results to a friend who is a cardiologist that day and we met 2 days later. We scheduled a nuclear stress test the following week and if that indicated blockage we would schedule an angiogram. The stress test indicated blockage and a week later we did the angiogram. It indicated 80% blockage in three arteries, two that split off from one and the other being the "widow maker". I met with a surgeon a week later and within a month had a triple bypass. In a matter of 7 weeks I went from asking for a test to bypass surgery. As you've mentioned in your reports you have to be your own advocate and things can escalate rapidly.  ________________________________________ From: Lisa Lauren Subject: RE: The Implant Hi Bob, I also grew up with parents who were lax about going to the doctor.  So when I had some recurring tooth/jaw pain (in 2019), I kept waiting for it to go away - for a month or so. I saw a doctor at immediate care and he gave me Gapapentin. When the pain started getting worse a couple of days later I went to a neurologist, who told me to go straight to my dentist. He took one look and told me to go to the endodontist, who gave me a partial root canal.  Two days later the pain was unbearable and I went to the emergency room and ended up having surgery for an abscess.  I woke up intubated in the ICU and was there for a week.  At one point I heard a doctor in the room say the word "tracheotomy" but I was too heavily sedated to get upset, but I can still remember it.  Not a great word to hear as a singer.  Eventually I recovered and I can still sing, but I tell EVERYONE in no uncertain tems that if you have any kind of tooth/mouth pain, do not hesitate to go to the doctor.  Yikes.  I'm glad you also had a positive outcome.   ________________________________________ From: Marty Winsch Subject: Re: The Boeing Documentary Tennessee Titans are worth over $8 billion. To support ALS they are selling 2000 tickets at $28, Chris Johnson’s number when he played for Tennessee and when he rushed for over 2000 yards. Are they donating all $56k? Of course not. Only $5 dollars of each ticket is going to ALS research, 2000 x $5 is $10,000. So, the Titans are donating $10,000 to ALS research at Vanderbilt. How the f*ck can people get it so wrong. An organization worth $8b making a $10k donation, oh and off the back of deadwood tickets they weren’t going to sell anyway? Titans vs. Jets. Talk about a good idea gone wrong and coming up short. What a f*cking joke. I hope they get bitch slapped for this. ________________________________________ Subject: Re: The Boeing Documentary Bob, My father flew a B-17 in WWII.  In the 90’s we were on a short flight (Detroit to Chicago) in a 737 with a thunderstorm raging and the turbulence was awful.  The plane is bouncing and I’m holding the arm rest for dear life.  He is calm as can be and says to me, “relax, no one is shooting at us”.  Thanks, Neal Berz ________________________________________ From: Stephen-Craig Aristei Subject: Re: The Boeing Documentary After a lifetime of flight, my best airplane story is still my 1st ride in an airplane. I was seven years old and my father’s boss tethered me in his lap in his bi-plane, we took off from the company airstrip in Westchester, California and flew over Balona  Creek and the coastal construction that became the Marina Del Rey Marina- if you haven’t guessed- the pilot was Howard Hughes! Still the most amazing flight experience in my life! ________________________________________ From: Ryan M Subject: Re: The German Found this show by accident and literally made up a story to bail out of an event I was supposed to go to so that I could watch it all in one night. Some of my relatives who survived ended up at Kibbutzim that looked exactly like that. They all pretty much looked like that, even when I was there as a kid in the late 90’s. Amazing show. Lead actor speaks fluent Hebrew in the series and doesn’t know how to speak it at all in real life. The producers fed him line by line and that’s how he got it done. Anyway, I was gonna give it 10min. That didn’t happen. ________________________________________ From: Reg Subject: Re: Re-Jim Griffin Thanks for posting this. I met Jim in our Leadership Music group in Nashville back in 2013. My first thought was “Who is this character?" Over the next year, I learned who he was. First, he was a brilliant mind. Second, he was a humorous and caring soul. Next, he was an intensely devoted family man. It was an honor to have spent time with Jim, learned from him and to call him friend. Rest Easy, Jim. Lotta folks gonna miss you.  Peace, Reg (Scott Register) ________________________________________ From: Jim Willcox Subject: Re: Re-Jim Griffin I'm sure you'll be receiving a ton of letters from those who knew Jim Griffin. I first met him at a music conference back in 2000, when I left journalism full-time to help launch an online music company. Despite my lack of experience and knowledge of the music industry, he was welcoming and encouraging, and invited me to join the pholist as a great way to learn about the industry and the issues it faced during this period of great and rapid transition. There I encountered some of the smartest, most insightful, and passionate people who, despite often quite spirited differences and debates, still got together on occasion to share a bowl of pho in the spirit of brotherhood. I was only able to attend one pho lunch, in NYC during a music conference, something I'm now regretting. Even after I left the music business, I remained (and remain) a member of the pholist to hear some of the smartest people in the room discuss and debate a pretty wide variety of issues. Jim was not only whip-smart and articulate—he could foresee how the music industry would change and offered a blueprint for how it should be handled. If you look at the recording from the Congressional Napster hearing, you'll see how prescient he was at predicting what has now been commonplace.  I mainly knew Jim from his writings, so I can't say I was as personally close to him as many others were, but I nonetheless feel the loss. I hadn't heard the term "quantum entanglement" until he posted about it, but because he did, I felt I needed to learn about it. He will be greatly missed. jim James K. Willcox Senior Editor/Electronics & Home Consumer Reports ________________________________________ From: Hank Barry Subject: Re: Re-Jim Griffin Thanks for this Bob.  Jim and Stacie Griffin understood the technology and implications of digital media long before Napster.  Through the Pho List and directly, they have been friends with and counselors to many, including Milt Olin, the exceptional general counsel at A&M who became Napster's Chief Operating Officer. Stacie's observation that "everything Jim predicted would happen is now true" is exactly correct. Rest in peace Jim. Hank Barry ________________________________________ From: Eric Steiner Subject: Re: Re-Jim Griffin Dear Bob, Jim was a classmate at Rich East HS in Chicagoland. We worked together at the high school radio station and I envied his job at a stereo store while I was a bus boy at a Sears cafeteria. He always was interested in the best sound equipment and I wish we didn’t lose touch as young adults when we went our separate ways to college. My memories of Jim are admittedly pre-adulthood, but I’ll never forget his coaching about my radio playlists and discovering the latest and greatest after hours in his store. Eric Steiner, Freeland, Whidbey Island, Washington ________________________________________ From: Casey Rae Subject: Re: Re-Jim Griffin We hadn’t spoken in a minute, but he was a major mentor, and a peach of a human being. RIP.  Casey Rae ________________________________________ From: Michael McCarty Subject: Re: Re-Jim Griffin Bob This is sad news. I was a Jim Griffin disciple when he was walking that lonely road as practically the only sane voice on how to handle the digital future of music.  I used to follow him to conferences,  take copious notes while he was speaking, and buttonhole him afterwards. As part of the EMI system (on the publishing side), year after year of frustration ensued while I waited in vain  for our exalted leaders to wake up and listen to him. I think Marty Bandier understood that we were in the intellectual property business, and this internet thing was an opportunity to engage with new licensees. Unfortunately the record guys, both at EMI and every other major music company, were in charge of the response to Napster.  I think it’s absolutely true that the day Napster was released, the heads of all the major labels handled their email as follows:  *Have secretary (the actual name of the position) print the emails and place them in the inbox on the CEO’s desk *CEO would then write a response on the paper *Secretary would then fax it back to the sender Boy were they well suited to lead the industry against technological disruption!  I never could tell if Jim knew what an uphill battle it was to deal with these people. Not only did the label heads not understand they were in the IP business, they didn’t have two brain cells devoted to the concept. The fundamental issue was that the industry had evolved to the point where the major record label's core business was … distribution. Long gone were the industry founders like Ahmet, Herb and Jerry, Berry Gordy, etc. They were MUSIC guys whose passion was to find talent and bring it to the world. Pressing records, getting them on the radio and in stores was a means to that end. As the record business exploded with the rise of LPs replacing singles (at 10x the price), the sales of which were fuelled by FM radio, and then with the introduction of the CD which led to consumers replacing their vinyl collections for twice the price, the major label culture evolved too. It evolved into a “real” business with MBA-think wherein they decided that the intersection of lowest risk and highest barrier to entry was DISTRIBUTION. Smaller labels and entrepreneurs could blow their brains out on a new signing, but your Warner/CBS/MCA company could make a guaranteed margin on each record sold - hit or not. This evolution also dictated what personality types could thrive inside the rapidly expanding industry, which turned out to generally be type A, poorly educated, non-musical sales/promotion technophobes.  So, when Napster hit, this label leadership crowd, instead of looking at the landscape as IP owners, saw an existential threat to their distribution business. The FOUNDERS would have said “oh great, another way to distribute our music”. Instead, the DISTRIBUTORS said “oh sh*t, another way to distribute our music”. Being luddites, they had no idea that the digitization of music was an unstoppable force. Once they reluctantly realized they couldn’t stop it, the hubris took over and they thought they could control it by creating their own DSP abominations in the form of Press Play and Music Net.  How Jim retained his sanity through all of this is a miracle. It must have been frustrating beyond belief.  I guess that’s the cost of seeing the future when the powers that be refuse to. RIP Jim. Best, M ________________________________________ From: Jim Blaney Subject: Re: Malcolm Gladwell's Gun Book Bob “Don't get in an argument with an unknown person. You never know who they truly are and clashes can escalate in a minute” And watch yourself on the road. My daughter in law is a nurse who works at Ascension St Thomas West Hospital. In 2020 one of the nurses who worked on her floor was driving to work on I440 here in Nashville when she cut another car off. One of the passengers had a pistol and fired 6 shots at her car. One bullet hit her. She died.  "Caitlyn Kaufman trial: Lawyer says road rage shooter acted in anger, not premeditation": https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/lawyer-road-rage-shooter-acted-in-anger-not-premeditation/ ________________________________________ From: Michael Shaw Subject: Re: Song of the Summer Show of summer:  caught you on Dwight’s “Greater Bakersfield” show earlier this afternoon (mountain time).  Tuned in when you started talking about “Blonde on Blonde” vs “Nashville Skyline.”  Sat in the whole foods parking lot ’til y’all were done and had you had sung!  Will have to try and find it on the SXM app to hear the whole thing.  Great stuff.  I could have ridden in that elevator I walked into for hours. -Michael -- 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

Production

Is a requirement at the arena level. The old days of the music being enough...there are very few acts that can pull this off, usually ones who became established before the death of MTV/VH1/radio and the advent of the internet. Yes, in the late eighties and beyond acts felt a necessity to replicate their videos live. This also reflects a change in the music. A return to the pop star of yore as opposed to the post-Beatles rock star. The trappings became more important, as did the visual image. Such that we got spandex and costume changes and even tapes and then hard drives to replicate the sound of the record perfectly. It was believed this was what the audience expected. Whether they did back then, they certainly do now. Especially for this price. A show is an event, more akin to a Broadway play than a greasy, dirty, underground affair. Those shows do still exist, just not in arenas. One can also argue that it's in these smaller venues where the music is paramount that the future of music lives, but in a world where moneyed-interests want it all and they want it now, in big numbers, i.e. the major labels, there is little support for that which cannot rain down bucks in great amounts very soon. If you're different, it happens slower, now more than ever. The word can be spread online, but with so much in the channel, it's hard to reach critical mass quickly. We live in the train-wreck era. That's what the algorithm is all about. Featuring clips that shock you. Same with clickbait headlines. You can play this game, and win, but it is extremely competitive, and requires a constant presence. As for those who win, who play arenas, they are now in the SHOW business as opposed to the CONCERT business. And that's a big change. Just in terminology. "Show" doesn't have the gravitas of "concert." Show is spectacle, razzle-dazzle, a lot about what you see as opposed to what you hear. This is where we've devolved to. Sure, Devo based its entire act on de-evolution, but the alternative as an answer to the mainstream has died. You are no longer reacting, a counterpoint to the mainstream, but in a world unto yourself. If you are taking the road less travelled don't be concerned with putting down those playing the big commercial game, just follow your own path. You want to be seen as outside the system as opposed to in opposition to it. Outside is where all the action is, the rebels. You're outside the constant self-promotion. That does not mean you cannot post, but you need to be cheeky, or downright authentic, you can't be saying LOOK AT ME, BUY MY STUFF! We are waiting for the outside to triumph once again, the essence of FM radio after the Beatles, it only takes one act and then the floodgates open, but so far this has not occurred, there is no transcendent act that demands attention that refuses to play the conventional game. But if you have won playing the conventional game know that people are paying a sh*t-ton to see you, and they expect value for their dollar. The music is not enough, they want show. As for it being already available on YouTube...this is not a disadvantage. This would be like saying watching a porn film is as good as having intercourse. A show should feel of a piece, the audience at the arena should feel included. You're selling a vibe, emotion, a once in a lifetime experience. The show attendee must leave the arena feeling something, having experienced more than the music itself. Something that cannot be garnered elsewhere, something so special that they need to return to see the act irrelevant of whether they have more hits. Kenny Chesney is famous for changing up his show and delivering new experiences live. And he's not the only one. Of course there is Taylor Swift. But don't see these efforts as extra, they are an integral part of arena/stadium shows today. Don't skimp on your production designer, they are stars in their own right today. Your production is not an afterthought, it deserves focus if not quite equal to the music, certainly significant. The apotheosis of this is the Sphere. Where the acts are almost incidental to the experience. Sure, the music is necessary, but it's the visuals that wow, that draw business. After all, most of these acts can be seen elsewhere on a regular basis, but they can demand beaucoup bucks at the Sphere. As for intimate, acoustic music... The heyday of the singer-songwriter can return, as long as acts focus on those two words. You have to be able to both sing and write, at a very high quality level. We all played guitars and sang Beatle songs back in the day, but we did not believe we deserved mainstream attention, whereas today's younger performers do. And as big as Phoebe Bridgers might be, imagine someone with a better voice singing more palatable songs, numbers that anybody anywhere would like and would be capable of singing. There still is a mainstream, it's just that very few are playing to it. The last person who did so successfully was Adele, but she was not a rock star, rather closer to a diva. But someone with a rock sensibility could take the stage in their jeans and t-shirt and that would be enough, even in an arena, because they would be selling something more cerebral than visual. But that's not what is happening today. Today it's about what you see, attendees want to be wowed, they want their jaws to drop, it's more akin to an amusement park ride than a concert of yore. So if you made it by playing the game, being in the Spotify Top 50, utilizing publicity such that you can play arenas, you'd better have a ton of production, do your best to overwhelm your audience. Because that's what people expect. -- 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

Opening Acts

People only want to see the headliner. Live music is now an event, not a culture. Sure, there are outliers, fans who need to go to the show constantly, keep up on developing acts, but that's not most of the public. People have favorites and they want to see them and no one else. They don't want their time wasted, in a world with so many distractions, where nobody has enough of it. It's a constant balancing act, weighing what is worth your time and devotion, your attention, and if you need to sit through something new that is not going to float your boat, you'd rather do something else. Of course there are exceptions. If an act is handpicked by the headliner, knowing they'll appeal to their audience, this can vault the opener to further success. Most notably with Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran, although he had a career before. And Gracie Abrams...who sings similarly confessional songs. But most acts can't deliver this imprimatur to their opener. They’re better off just doing an evening with. That's what people want, MORE! And they're willing to pay for it. Sure, concert ticket prices are high, but people are lining up to pay, substantial sums. Don't look at the business through the lens of the past, going to club shows, arena shows of your favorites, that's not how people view concerts these days. They're not fans of live music, they're fans of this specific act. As for building and climbing your way up the ladder... Now a hit or two can garner arena sales the first time out. If for no other reason than if you hit, you can reach a substantial number of people easily via the internet. People want to hear the hit. They want to be of the moment. They want to be able to brag they were there. Shoot selfies and post them. Going to see an act that nobody knows about? Where's the fun in that? Today's life is all about obscurity, almost everything languishes without attention. But if you can gain notice, build momentum, the throngs will come out to see you. For a while anyway, not forever, not in arenas, not at these prices. To continue to sell that many tickets you have to maintain a bond with the audience, usually via more hits, but this bond can be maintained via social media and other ways on the internet. So if you're starting out, it's a conundrum. Careers are built on the road, but there's nowhere to play, nowhere people are paying attention. Which is why you must kill each and every time out. You don't know who is in the audience who might spread the word. Also, festivals are now auditions for careers. Used to be an appearance was good for your résumé, but didn't grow your audience. But now, audience members do scout for new talent at festivals. Once again, it's the imprimatur of the promoter. If the promoter bothered to pick this act out of the plethora available, there must be a reason. People love gatekeepers, when they don't hate them. Talent hates when it is squeezed out of potential opportunities, but fans want gatekeepers to make sense of the world for them. Radio specialized in this, but ironically, most of the acts who break from festivals are not the beneficiaries of radio airplay, they're too outside, until they're not. Radio comes last. It's a live business. And despite all the hoopla about playlisting, discovery doesn't happen on Spotify, et al, but elsewhere on the net, on TikTok and via word of mouth. So... What are the odds your opening slot is going to deliver fans? Pretty damn low. If for no other reason than most people won't even show up for your performance, and will talk throughout it if they're in attendance. Better to build your own audience and headline your own shows, so people who really care will come, and if you're that good, your audience will grow, even though arenas might be far away. Arenas are for acts in the Spotify Top 50 and legacies who broke in the old system, before the internet came along and blew the game apart. And those who made it in the old system are known by many more and can maybe sell stadiums, whether it be Coldplay, Journey or the classic classic rockers. It's hard to reach that many people today. But not impossible, look at Morgan Wallen, then again, his music is known by fewer than those in the pre-internet heyday. The price of the ticket is irrelevant if people want to go. Kind of like Hermès, or Rolex, or BMW and Mercedes. These are luxury goods, that's what shows are today. Rare and exalted. If you want to go, you must pony up. And scarcity rules. The act goes on tour infrequently and may not come back to your market for years. And even if it does, that illustrates demand is so heavy that it will be hard to get a ticket! People don't complain about the price they pay for luxury goods, so acts should not be wary of charging what the ticket is really worth and doing their best to eliminate the bots and secondary market. Those complaining about high prices...are paying them anyway or weren't going to go to begin with. You can't be swayed by blowback from the few. Remember when Netflix said it was going to flip the script to streaming? There was such an uproar that the company said it would stay in the DVD by mail business. But have you rented a DVD recently? Even played one? Even own a DVD player? Steve Jobs got rid of legacy ports. Apple killed the headphone jack. Each and every time people complained, but nobody does so anymore. So if you're looking for a leg up by chaining yourself to a hit act, trying to use their audience to grow your own... Those days are in the rearview mirror. You've got to deliver your own attention, grow your own audience. As for multi-act shows... Those are about value, that's a different business, think of it like a mini-festival, people might be willing to experience an act they're not in love with, but rarely one they don't know. The acts playing stadium shows must all have an audience, if they're brand new or relatively unknown, it's a fool's errand. Discovery rarely happens live. It happens elsewhere, on social media, via personal interaction. And people only want to pay to see the biggest, most successful acts. There's those and everybody else. Ironically, there's more live music than ever before. Oftentimes via free or soft ticket shows. So, journeymen/women can make a living playing music, but they have never been further away from the big time. We live in a world of winners and losers. And people only want to pay attention to the winners. This is not only in music, but in every sphere of life, where all the information and access is at everybody's fingertips. To be a winner you've got to be able to self-start. Maybe a label can pour gasoline on your career, but to sustain you need much more. Music that speaks to an audience, a bond with your fans. And, once again, as hard as it is to break through, it's even harder to sustain. Because there are new acts every day and an abundance of diversions. And even if you lower the price people won't come, concerts are not price sensitive, either people want to come or they do not. And if they do, their wallet is open. They'll pay and they'll even go to multiple shows, like the Backstreet Boys at the Sphere or Harry Styles at MSG. Wealthy people might go once for bragging rights, but the return attendees are regular people, schoolteachers, working for a living, they need to be in the building to see their favorite acts just that much. That's the passion you've got to inspire. Or else... You need to get another job. -- 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

Looking Forward

NO COMPLAINING The only people who want to hear it are...other complainers. There's a whole ecosystem of people convinced that the system is stacked against them, who are constantly complaining online how unfair the game is. The truth is they are not good enough and/or unwilling to work hard enough. As for the 10,000 hour rule... It's not just 10,000 hours, it's 10,000 hours of HARD PRACTICE! Jerry Seinfeld intentionally sought out tough rooms to hone his act. Furthermore, he performed his initial five minute monologue for "The Tonight Show" in excess of a hundred times prior to taking Johnny Carson's stage. Most people are not willing to do the hard work, the rewards go to those who do. SINGING If you have a substandard voice get someone else to sing your songs unless you are the best lyricist of all time, in the league of Bob Dylan. Why start out hamstrung? A great voice used to be a criterion for a record deal, never mind success, back in the pre-internet era. But now that anybody can play, everybody believes they deserve success, even though they don't have the chops. WRITING Not only does it give you a leg up, it's where all the money is. Focus on your songwriting more than your playing unless you're planning on being a studio or backup musician. CHARACTER However, if your voice has a unique timbre, if you can deliver a song in a unique way...some people can get away without writing their own material. Don't equate this with having a good voice. Rod Stewart could never win a TV competition show, but his raspy delivery is unique and credible, at least in his heyday in the seventies. Sure Rod wrote, but he also sang others' songs...he's the one who rescued Cat Stevens's "The First Cut Is the Deepest" from the dustbin. Ditto Joe Cocker. Who else could have even conceived of his rendition of "With a Little Help from My Friends"? AUTHENTICITY/CREDIBILITY You have to be perceived as real, you have to live your true identity 24/7, because there are cameras everywhere and they're out to get you. People live to expose the faux pas and contradictions of performers online. So don't fake it unless that's your identity. If you're a part of the machine, singing songs written by committee, no one cares if you're authentic, you may be marketable, but at the core there's no there there. People are looking for something to latch on to, they want to identify. The old days of putting people on a throne and idolizing them no longer works in a world where everybody with a keyboard believes they're a deserving star. You need to reflect people's truth back upon them. You have to articulate it in a way that they can feel but not put into words. You want to foster belief, not brain dead fealty. NO You have to be able to say no. Never forget, your handlers, those surrounding you, are percentage partners. If you do the endorsement deal, the commercial, the private gig, they make money, so they're rarely going to tell you not to. Have a backbone, adhere to your beliefs. If it doesn't feel good, don't do it. If it's going to compromise your identity, don't do it. You're building an image, which must be bulletproof. It's those who stay true to themselves who have the longest careers. DON'T BE LIKE ANYBODY ELSE Just like the Kinks song. Music pushes the envelope, makes a difference in society, when it surprises people, delivers what they cannot even conceive of. We don't need a new jam band just like the last jam band. And we certainly don't need another pop singer just like the last one. If you're not unique, we don't need you. Your influences must come from outside the game. If all you're doing is studying the charts and the grosses you're missing out on life and will have nothing to say. DO THE OPPOSITE Just like George in the aforementioned "Seinfeld." Get no tattoos. You'll be asked about this in every interview. How come you're not like everybody else? Everybody else has tattoos, why don't you? Ditto on long hair. You've got to make people question, you've got to make people think. DON'T BE AFRAID TO BE RETRO We call it going back to basics. You don't need no stinkin' 808. You can have more than one chord in a song. You can make a record that is not stacked with sounds from top to bottom. Think of it this way... Can people sing your song a cappella, i.e. with no accompaniment? That's right, sans the trappings, does your song stand alone, both in changes and lyrics? And never forget the basic building blocks. The magic of a bridge. Starting with the chorus. These tricks NEVER go out of style. YOU DON'T NEED A MAJOR LABEL Now, more than ever, that's about commerce, not art. That's for pop stars who will garner success via publicity and radio and TV, the traditional game. The majors want it easy, which delivers the lowest common denominator, and they want it fast, which allows for no artist development. SPOTIFY IS NOT EVERYTHING You may look at the Spotify numbers for an act and see they're anemic and think the act is not happening. But then you see how many tickets they're selling and it doesn't add up. These acts' success lies elsewhere. Look for unique YouTube videos, or a social media presence on TikTok or Instagram Reels. A hit on TikTok will bond the fan to the artist more than a hit on Spotify. Spotify is where a fan goes LAST! (Not to rag on Spotify, it dwarfs its competitors in consumption, and therefore it's a stand-in for the on-demand streaming outlets, i.e. DSPs.) Don't be demoralized if your Spotify numbers are bad, as long as you're a success somewhere else. YOU'RE COMPETING AGAINST NO ONE This is not the old days, with a limited number of slots. It all comes down to you. You need to make headway and grow. It is not a zero sum game. And chances are you can be big and a huge slice of the public has never heard of you, never mind your music. This is the case for just about everybody, it's just that those who appear to have broad traction have better publicity, but publicity has never meant less. Getting someone to listen to new music is nearly impossible. Word of mouth is the best way to grow. But that assumes you have a track that entrances people in ten seconds, OR TEN MINUTES! You can't have it both ways. If you want the public to take your extended opuses seriously, just make extended cuts and be known for that. But if that is not your game, make it instantly palatable and memorable. This is reality, don't shoot the messenger. CREATE, CREATE, CREATE The main issue is notice, not stiff material. Stiff sinks like a stone and disappears. Rather than try and polish a turd, like the majors, bringing in outside writers, remixing a track to death, write it, cut it, post it and repeat. No one can create an 11 every time out. And your only way to increase your number of 11s is to come up to bat more. Be uninhibited, start and finish, don't second guess yourself, what feels like mediocre today people might like tomorrow. But, when you create an 11 you'll know, and so will everybody else. If you think you created an 11 and no one else reacts...you didn't create an 11. IT'S A LONG GAME If you're not in it for years, consider yourself a hobbyist. Sure, the odds of success are low, but those who do break through and sustain have been at it for eons. There's too much in the pipeline, it's so hard to gain notice. And the longer you're in it, the more you learn and the better you get. MYSTERY IS HISTORY Everybody posts online, everybody knows who everybody else is, and you should too. Consider social media part of your art. If you're just posting clips, you're doing it wrong. Be creative about it and do it YOURSELF! It must come straight from the heart. SKILL Conception beats execution every day of the week. Meaning the idea is more important than your ability to play your instrument, to get the production exactly right. Of course you have to have rudimentary skills, but you do not have to be a virtuoso on your instrument to create a great record. CHANNEL The best material comes fast, seemingly out of nowhere, you're channeling it, not thinking about it. Sure, you can sit in a room and try to eke out a song, but the best material is almost always that which comes in a flash, a burst of creativity. And when you have this moment, write it down/record it INSTANTLY! Because the mood you're in is as important as the idea. WE'RE LOOKING FOR GREAT And we want to tell everybody about it when we find it. But it's so rare. This is your job, to be so unique, so special, so deserving of attention that we've got to tell everybody we know about you. -- 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

Stephen Miller's Appointment

All you need to know is his wife Katie didn't vote, because she was afraid if she registered her address would be made public and... As it is, she and Stephen are already living on a military base, to ensure their safety. And if that doesn't tell you all you need to know... Isn't this how it always plays out? The rich/elite separate themselves from the hoi polloi to ensure their theoretical invulnerability. From Versailles to Beverly Park... They fly private, they vacation at resorts you've never heard of and... They're doing it all on your money. It's the everyday consumer who keeps the wheels of commerce humming. So how much power does the public have? Right now people are fired up. I've been living a long time and I've never seen anything like this. And all those ancient debates about the red and blue not being able to have a conversation, sit at the same table...those days are through. Of course there are dyed-in-the-wool bonkers believers on the fringes of both parties. But what we learned on Tuesday is we're more alike than different. It's finally safe to invite everybody for Thanksgiving. Because one thing we can all agree on is... We're PISSED! You're supposed to keep the public quiet, their attention diverted, the last thing you want is focus. But Trump demanded it with his antics. Whether it be shooting people in the street or building his ballroom and even more just getting rich. 90% of voters listed corruption as one of their main complaints, why they voted blue. We haven't all been on the same page since... I don't know when. And now Trump is sticking it in our eye, by appointing the architect of the policies hated by the public. An outsider from his days in high school. We don't need the class president, or the captain of the football team, but we do need someone who knows how to get along. As for Trump himself... He seems to be taking a page from Putin's playbook. Act like dissent doesn't matter, and go behind the scenes to enforce your vision. Now historically in America, at least in modern times, you could get away with your bad behavior, by saying everybody else was doing it. Even worse is drinking from the trough because the rich/elite give you access. What America did on Tuesday, and needs to do more, is say NO! That's the essence of morality, the essence of character. And that's the only thing that will save us. Netanyahu would not be saying the election was stolen if Trump didn't lay the groundwork in 2020. Ditto Bolsonaro. I'm not saying I'm approving of a mob mentality, but this is something different, the people are mad as hell and they're not going to take it anymore. Funny how they made that movie back in the seventies and now it's the public on the bleeding edge as opposed to the film business, which notoriously plays it safe. But people are hungry for edgy. This is how music lost its power. It became about the brand, grosses and... The most revered acts of all time were not necessarily the ones who hoovered up the most money. So you've got to say no to those checks being offered. For your own benefit. You can't be above the public, but right down in the pit with people. This is what the Millers are trying to escape. But that ship sailed over a decade ago. In today's world everybody has a voice and everybody is equal. You're grist for the mill. If you're too big for your britches, if you're a lyin', stinkin', scumbag, the minions are going to go wild on you online. Everything we were told was true has been flipped. That the oligarchs dictated and... Funny how all those companies left California for Texas, what now? Did you see the mayor of Houston just decoupled from ICE? If the police stop undocumented people, they're not going to alert ICE. Give the guy credit for adjusting. Unlike Agent Orange. This is why you play the game, because you never know how it will turn out. No one expected a victory this big, no one expected the country to be this pissed. So now... We all want to return to business as usual, stop focusing on Washington, D.C., but before that happens... We've got work to do. Or as the Stones would say...WE'VE GOT THE TURD ON THE RUN! -- 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

Holiday 1970-SiriusXM This Week

Tune in Saturday November 7th to Faction Talk, channel 137, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West. If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz -- 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

Val Garay-This Week's Podcast

He produced "Bette Davis Eyes." He engineered all those Linda Ronstadt records. He produced the Motels. And MORE! VIDEO: https://youtu.be/XR7A3Ok-3hA?si=58w5z9HrPn4OQuw6 ADUIO: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/val-garay/id1316200737?i=1000800034817 https://open.spotify.com/episode/74UdkYMEx8MD546CaNGxPL?si=0Uk16t_CSlyKLb3mIPI_YA https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/val-garay-349281778/ https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast?ref=dm_sh_Cv3BzPgkTUkZ1bM3Wmf7f4F9r -- 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

The Election

Trump is toxic. How come the Republicans didn't realize this? In truth, many of them did, but they were more afraid of the president than they were of the public, and this was a grave mistake. Akin to the Democrats in 2024. Biden said he wanted to "finish the job." It was clear he had lost a step, he was made inaccessible by his staff. But rather than state the reality, they lined up behind the old man and... You know what happened. But it's important to pause here. If Biden hadn't run there would have been a primary and there's no way Kamala Harris would have been the candidate and the Dems would have won and we wouldn't be in this mess to begin with. But both parties detached from reality and the people. And what we learned in this election is the people still rule. Just when it looked like the system was broken and inaccessible to the public, it was rescued, which is the most amazing thing, but that does not mean we will get the change people want. Because the Democrats still see themselves as an organized party, with a hierarchy, that sends messages from the top down, when in truth the public hates the Dems even more than the Republicans! That was one of the statistics in the reams of info crossing my desk this morning. This election was not about a love of Democrats, but a hatred of Donald Trump. Then again, the media has acknowledged this anti-Dem sentiment, the same media that delivered partisan screeds for the past two years. However... One of the big takeaways from this election is how money didn't matter. If I get one more f*cking text from a candidate looking for money... They spent this damn cash on television ads. Who in their right mind is still watching broadcast, even basic cable television? And even if they are, why are they not using the remote to avoid these incessant advertisements? This is another way the media is out of touch with the public. Believing that old systems still rule. There's story after story excoriating the public for being out of touch, not getting a newspaper, getting their information from YOUTUBE OR TIKTOK! Turns out the public is well-informed. And they did get their information online. Where facts and ideas are spread 24/7. They don't need no stinkin' mainstream media to know which way the wind blows (even though opinions are based on the reporting that the mainstream media does...print, not TV, which is bloviators opining at best). So we've got DOGE, we've got ICE, we've got the ballroom... But even more we've got AI and data centers. If these titans of Silicon Valley were so smart they would have found a better way to sell their message. Instead, we kept being told to leave them alone, that they knew better, and if there were potential downsides to AI...well, that's the price of inevitable progress, right? That's not a message that resonated with the public. Tech barons used to be icons, looked up to more than musicians, they were changing the world, and they were RICH! But it turns out they were the science nerds in high school without a date without social knowledge or graces. The public doesn't want to follow these people off a cliff. And people are PISSED that all these same tech companies played ball with Trump. Tim Apple? Thank god he's gone, he was so duplicitous. But oh, he was saving the company! Well, Apple would have survived anyway. Sometimes you've got to stand up for what's morally right. Unlike the law firms who settled with Trump. Who lost associates, never mind credibility. They asked us what they were supposed to do, focusing on money first and foremost, driving the legal profession even further into the ground than it was during Watergate. Used to be lawyers were respected, now they raise suspicion. And it's not only the attorneys, it's Live Nation too. Everything comes out. You put Grenell on the board, you met with Trump, you forgot that you're a public-facing enterprise and that you must pay fealty and have loyalty to the people, your customers, first. Talk about a bad look... About as bad as the billionaires in California fighting a wealth tax. Now I voted against that, we need something national, but the sentiment is clear, the public knows these people borrow against their stock and pay no taxes and they're mad as hell and ready to make these executives pay the price. As for the acts... They've been acting like Reagan is still president. If it makes money, you can't say anything negative. Hoover up those dollars. To the point where music played absolutely no role in this election, why should it, it's basically cartoons. Except for people like Zach Bryan... How can a guy with no hits sell out stadiums year after year? By being honest, credible, speaking from the heart as opposed to by committee. This is what people are looking for, truth, as opposed to warmed over commerce. The major labels have sidelined themselves. Only interested in the bottom line, they don't get involved with anything that doesn't render a quick buck. And the joke is on them, their catalogs are delivering big bucks but all the action is in live these days. Everybody with a buck, everybody with any power, carried on unchecked, not caring a whit what the "little people" think. The cronyism was off the charts. Income inequality has finally come home to roost. And you've got traditional Democrats crying over Democratic Socialists, not realizing it was less about the agenda and more about a poke in the eye of them and the rest of the establishment! Now I must say, stunningly, I have a little hope. But never underestimate the power of the Democrats to snatch defeat from the hands of victory. That's my number one worry. Now back in power, the usual suspects will behave in the usual way, which is not aligned with the public, and as a result they will squander power. But it's a new day. And it's unlike any previous day. This vote was against AUTHORITARIANISM! People felt the American way of life was on the ballot. They believe in democracy, not kings. And there has been enough blurring of the lines for people to be truly upset. Cozying up to Putin? Check the poll numbers on that. Almost NO ONE is in favor of that, never mind the rest of the anti-Trump checklist. Meanwhile, Trump got elected because he was on TV, there was nothing there, still isn't. But the Democrats lost touch with the voters, couldn't see they were now perceived to be the party of the elites, out of touch with the rank and file, and even worse, these Dems felt they were entitled to their perch, they'd worked hard in school, gotten professional jobs, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? They had contempt for those working for a living, those who didn't live life by their rules, and these people jumped to Trump, to stick it in the eye of these left wing elites. But Trump and MAGA read this as a desire for a return to the past. Which no one in America really wants, they like their flat screens, they like their smartphones, they don't want to go backward, they just want... America is a melting pot. We were told we were all equal. We want a level playing field. And we hate it when one group puts its finger on the scale and tilts the game in their favor. I'm not saying we all agree, I'm not saying there will be harmony, I'm not saying crackpot and fringe elements still don't exist, arguing for heinous policies, I'm just saying this is not what most people want. And they are the majority. They want everybody to start from the same line, with no unfair advantages. And then we get Trump's corruption. Unlike his predecessors Trump doesn't hide his questionable behavior, he rubs our faces in it, it's up close and personal. And... It's one thing if it's Putin, it's one thing if it's Eastern Europe, but a president of the United States with his hand in the till, getting rich at our expense? That's a bridge too far. You can serve, write a book, do some speaking engagements, be on some boards and end up wealthy, but making a billion in office? Corruption. Turns out this rubbed the public the wrong way. Sure, everyone's fighting for an edge, but there are basic rules, you don't flout them, run right over them. Never mind with impunity. So if you want to be successful in the coming years, look to the public first, not the enablers who will make your life easier, who you will owe a favor to. Don't disengage from the street, remember who you are and where you came from. The unfortunate thing is too many came from privileged positions and have leveraged this to succeed, and we don't like that. They've eliminated opportunity, rising from the bottom to the top is the American Dream, but it's more achievable in Canada and Europe than it is in the U.S. And the young are all about climate change, ecology. And Trump doubles down on coal, pays for wind farms to go away, does his best to cripple electric vehicles when they're taking over all around the world except here? How did we become so isolated? I can listen to music from every country in the world on Spotify, it's at my fingertips, but my country is living in the 1850s. It's a changed world. Will D.C. finally acknowledge this? I wouldn't bet on it. But they should be afraid, very afraid, because it turns out the public is not somnambulant and ignorant like they were perceived to be. Sure, there's tons of misinformation out there, but basic truths, about gas prices, health care, the war in Iran, they filtered through, more than ever before, because people are online all day long. And all they're told is to put the smartphone down. Oldsters reveling in phone-free days. Boasting how they use dumb phones. These are the same people who refused to embrace automobiles, the same people who refused to embrace COMPUTERS! And then AOL comes along and everybody is online, and has been ever since. This is a changing of the guard, a loosening of the power of the baby boomers, who unlike their parents think they're still hip and in touch and refuse to get out of the way. Well, they're being pushed aside by younger generations. Who are sick and tired of being in the back seat. As for you? Let this be a warning. Think twice about who you associate with, doing something just for the money. It might not be illegal but there's a good chance you'll lose the hearts and minds of the public, and the people ultimately rule. Power to the people right on! -- 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

The Aerosmith Extravaganza Night 2

1 Rock died because it became self-referential. You got tattoos and put on the clothes and we were supposed to believe you, but even though you sang pretty good and one could tap their toes to your music, the audience didn't feel it in the gut, there was not that visceral response. I'd like to say that something picked up the rock mantle and ran with it, but this would be untrue. At least today. Hip-hop had a good run, but when the most exciting thing is a beef between two artists you know you've lost your way. As for the popsters... If it were only about songs, we'd be living in the early sixties. AND WE ARE! But in 1964... The Beatles arrived and entranced the baby boomer population, which became glued to the radio and drooled in admiration at concerts and... Top 40 evolved into FM. And there were guitarists, and then virtuosos, from Keith Emerson to Rick Wakeman. Boundaries were being pushed. And when it started to fade, MTV came along and reinvigorated the entire scene. And that's when Billy Idol came along. I owned that Generation X LP, the debut, it was 1978 and there was something happening in the U.K. that we couldn't keep our eyes off of. They'd digested the Ramones, and multiple bands were spawned, whereas in the U.S. despite everybody bowing at the altar of the original punk band today, the truth is they were ignored at this time. There was not only punk, but new wave like Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson, and ska with the English Beat, the Specials, Selecter... There was a plethora of these acts, who seemed to come from nowhere, often with no experience, and we hoovered them right up. Some of us. Not everybody. These records did not cross over to the Top 40, but if you were a fan, addicted to the radio, a regular at the record store, you knew. And you were excited. Now what truly broke MTV was the new bands from the U.K., many of which were one hit wonders, but we didn't have a U.S. equivalent to Culture Club and Haircut 100 and no one even wore their hair like Mike Score in A Flock of Seagulls. Reagan was in office, money was paramount, and these acts seemed not to care, and as a result they laughed all the way to the bank. And eventually in the late eighties we got hair band ballads, rockers in spandex, and then Nirvana came along and blew up the past at the same time that Metallica opened an avenue for harder rock and... Since then all we've gotten is imitations. Which leads me to Lizzy Hale. She strutted, she screamed, but it washed right off of me. I could see the act, but it didn't penetrate. She wasn't dangerous. The attitude seemed forced. That's how I felt about the entire first half of last night's show. They'd seen the movie, they knew how to paint the numbers, but it was all ultimately safe. I mean does rock and roll belong in the Hollywood Bowl to begin with? And then came Billy Idol. What has he got to do with Aerosmith? I mean he did exhibit a Rebel Yell, but he started off as a punk, the antithesis to the five from Boston. Then again, Steve Stevens could come out of central casting from the era, the last hurrah, when you had long hair and picked your axe and... I wasn't expecting much, but Billy leaned into "Livin' on the Edge"... I know it, never appreciated it as much as what came before, but last night... I had to look it up on my phone. Sure, Mark Hudson was involved, so you could say there was a ringer, but if you know Hudson...he might have been on that TV show, but he's nothing like his brother who married Goldie Hawn... "There's something wrong with the world today" Ain't that the truth. But all we get with records is escape, cosplay, almost nothing straight to the heart... WE'RE LIVIN' ON THE EDGE! We most certainly are, you used to listen to a band to know which way the wind blew, now you go on social media, where the "musicians" are hawking products as part of the expansion of their band. Billy is leaning into it. Not playing to the audience. But locked into the song. He's DELIVERING IT! And that's what we're looking for. 2 I guess I single out Lizzy Hale because she was trying so hard. Too many of the first half performers were just going through the motions, there were no showstoppers, it was more akin to one of those post-Grammy spectaculars where they honor the work of somebody... You build a cast, some women sprinkled in so you don't get blowback, people show up for the opportunity to be seen and... I'm sitting there thinking I want to be touched. And then I was. By the Black Crowes. Chris Robinson was LEANING INTO IT! Talk about a guy who rubs people the wrong way. Even hard core fans, they can't get over the fact that the reunion left out past band members, especially the drummer who wrote that book. But Chris...DOESN'T SEEM TO CARE! Chris has got ATTITUDE! He's feeling the songs, they're part of him, and his brother Rich is a way underrated guitar player. The Crowes were not trying too hard, they were just doing what they do, with even a sense of humor. There was no issue of image, they gave a shout-out to George Drakoulias, saying they played the next song for the man who discovered them at their audition. And it was NO MORE NO MORE! "Baby I'm a DREAMER Found my horse and carriage" They were all dreamers. It was an utterly long shot. Their parents weren't dunning people to pay attention, oftentimes they just wished their progeny would go back to school, or get a job. But not only did musicians like those in Aerosmith take their own path, they were DIFFERENT! Sure, you might have gone to high school with them, but you lost touch long ago. You heard they were livin' for the city, doin' drugs, going down a dark path. If you thought about them at all, you shook your head, wondering how they chose to go down such a wrong road. AND THEN YOU HEARD DREAM ON ON THE RADIO! Aerosmith's first album came out when Steven Tyler was TWENTY FIVE! May sound young to you today, but if you delve into the weeds... You graduate from high school at eighteen and he spent SEVEN YEARS trying to make it. The Black Crowes didn't need to convince us, they were living the music, which lifted them above the first half acts. Didn't have to be studied, didn't have to be perfect, it just needed to have energy and feel. And then came Guns N' Roses." 3 I still can't forgive them for leaving Izzy out of the reunion. Then again, he was already gone before the first full implosion. But "Dust n' Bones"... That's still my favorite cut from the Illusions. Izzy was the secret sauce. The band hasn't put out truly great, consistent work, since. But they're playing stadiums. Seemingly year after year. Now I know why. THEY KILLED! After a lame review of their first night's performance in the L.A. "Times" I wasn't expecting much, but it could have been 1987, when the band broke. They were loud and raucous and unlike anything else... They were just one step further, louder, more edgy, more obnoxious. And everyone knows Axl is crazy. As are many of our heroes. That's why they do this, to express themselves. They channel something we can relate to. And this is all they can do, they can't fit in in the regular world, do a day job. And this was not the comeback Axl, puffy with corn rows, he was lean and wearing a t-shirt and giving it his all. AND THEY STARTED WITH MAMA KIN! Yes, they reached back to the debut and amped it up in a way that Adrian Barber could not, Aerosmith needed Jack Douglas to lift them up over the line. (Who Tyler gave a shout-out to at the end of the evening, and when the show was over the big screen listed those who were no longer with us. Rock and roll is a hard road, not everybody survives.) GN'R was not going through the motions, THEY WERE THE MOTIONS! Slash has got his Les Paul propped up at an angle. You wouldn't let your daughter go out with these guys. Now in truth, Axl gave a speech that was so calm and heartfelt that it almost had me re-evaluating, was he back on the planet? But when they tore into "Sweet Child o' Mine" and "Nightrain"...he was hopping around like he was high on...who knows what, himself! And he even shimmied! You know that patented Axl move, that sexy squirm that drove the girls wild. He's still got it. They've got it. But W. Axl Rose is 64. That's how much time has passed. Long, long time ago, as Don McLean would sing... Then again, Buddy and those on the plane were his heroes, Guns N' Roses are ours. But not as much as Aerosmith. 4 They were not going to let the opening acts blow them off the stage. No, Aerosmith delivered like their lives depended upon it, they were full bore and... This is an interesting act. Sure, Joe is Steven's sidekick, as Keith is to Mick, but this is definitely Steven's stage, he is the focus. I don't want to denigrate the rest of the band, I just want to say they're not moving, they're not playing it up, they cede the focus to Tyler, who they support at full volume, but... Sure, he's got his outfit and the streamers from his mic stand, but... You wince when Mick starts to dance. Did you see that video where he's in a dance studio rehearsing for the tour after his heart issue? Steven ain't in no dance studio, there's nothing rehearsed, managed about it, it's pure emotion. Which after telling us they were back in the saddle, Tyler implored Tom Hamilton to play... A shiver just went through me... Have you listened to "Sweet Emotion" recently? Of course it's great, but it's more than that... It's ethereal, but with the energy of kryptonite underneath. It starts to boil, and then it EXPLODES! There's a rhythm, you're nodding your head, the vocals are sweet, and then... The band's original manager David Krebs told me rock and roll died because you can't sing lyrics like this anymore. "Stand in front just a shakin' your ass" This wasn't the Beatles. And the Stones were English. But Steven Tyler... This was POSSIBLE! The music turned you into a jumping bean, you could feel it between your legs. "I'll take you backstage you can drink from my glass" And they were game, they begged to be picked. That's the power of rock and roll. "'Cause a month on the road and I'll be eating from you hand" That's the truth...CAN YOU HANDLE THE TRUTH? And then the smoke started to pour out of the white piano wheeled on stage and.... "Every time that I look in the mirror All these lines on my face getting clearer" How many times have you heard "Dream On"? Tyler was insisting this was the FIRST TIME! He demanded attention. And even got on top of the instrument and grooved and I was worried about him up there at 78 with his feet... But he was throwing caution to the wind, which is what a true rocker does, forgets about the pitfalls, it's full steam ahead Mr. Boatswain, full steam ahead. And that brings us to the next song, COME TOGETHER! You wouldn't think they'd play a cover at this show, but... Here comes old flat-top He come grooving up slowly. "Come Together" is the only thing that is remembered from that execrable movie, it's the only thing that DESERVES TO SURVIVE from "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." And then... Tyler remarks that they're the only band that still has all five original members and... Joey Kramer comes in from the wings and... He ain't movin' that well, but he gets up behind the kit and the rhythm is clear, this is "Walk This Way." But not far into it, Tyler stops the music. I feel sorry for Joey. Obviously there's something wrong with his playing, or the band just couldn't find the groove, and I'm giving Tyler props for stopping, needing to get it right. And Tyler's talking and we're waiting for the song to start again... And then it becomes PERFECTLY CLEAR! Rev Run and Darryl McDaniels enter from the wings, bopping, wearing the same hats from 1988, and they're up front and center and now we're truly WALKING THIS WAY! Tyler has ceded the stage. Run and DMC are throwing it down, making you believe you missed out when you didn't go to all those rap shows. The pure energy, the injection of adrenaline, it's the MTV 80's COME ALIVE! Yet it didn't feel like nostalgia, but pure life, a completion of the circle. We're all still here, these are our roots, rock and roll will never die... At least as long as Aerosmith is around. And then the harmonica and... The train is kept a-rollin'. Showing the band's roots, all the way from Tiny Bradshaw to the Yardbirds to Lake Sunapee. All energy, all cylinders firing. And then it was done. 5 So what did we learn? There's a reason certain acts are considered legends, why their music sustains. And it's more than what's in the grooves, it's the identity of the band members, the attitude, it's the other. Now the legend is true. Most of the time you meet your heroes and they disappoint you. But I always say NOT STEVEN TYLER! I woke up one morning to a message, Tyler was calling me from the studio, he was working with Ringo... And when I called back I chided him. WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP AT TEN A.M., DIDN'T YOU READ THE ROCK AND ROLL MANUAL? And without missing a beat, Tyler said... I THREW THAT MANUAL OUT YEARS AGO! He's that guy. He's Steven Tyler. The guy you see on stage. And it was his night. Not that the rest of the band wasn't great, didn't deliver, but it was Tyler who put on the brakes, took the band off the road. And now he's back? ABSOLUTELY! -- 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

Your Opinion Has Changed...Or Not-SiriusXM This Week

You loved or hated them previously and now... Tune in Saturday October 31st to Faction Talk, channel 137, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West. Phone #: 844-686-5863  If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz -- 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

A Body That Works

Netflix trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOaz-N53bvY A mediocre name for a phenomenal series. Then again, it's translated from Hebrew, it was probably better in its initial iteration. What surprised me was "A Body That Works" was hiding in plain sight, i.e. on Netflix, not some obscure outlet that requires a payment that most people don't want to pony up. But I'd never heard of it! But it came up in my endless research of international shows and... That's just the point, they don't make shows like this in the U.S. ever. It's closer to Bergman than Spielberg. Not that it's slow, but the subject matter is everyday life, which is heavier than the fantasies sold on screens in the U.S. So what we've got here is a successful thirtysomething couple who can't have a baby, multiple miscarriages have ended their hopes. Therefore, they decide to employ a surrogate. But this ain't no slapstick comedy, this is real life. And what makes this show so great is Rotem Sela as Elie is better looking than the average bear, not a Hollywood stunner but more like the best looking girl in your high school class, someone who seems real as opposed to unapproachable. But as the series unfolds... Elie is so neurotic and controlling such that no man would want to be involved with her. This never happens in American stuff. The beautiful actress is the center of attention, the story revolves around her, we're supposed to fantasize and salivate over her, an unattainable icon with no rough edges who may be abused by the system, but is always in the right. Once again, that is not Elie. As for the surrogate, Chen... She's a single parent who has trouble making ends meet. She and her son are living in her father's apartment, and he isn't thrilled about it. Then again, when they finally move out... Chen is doing it for the money. But surrogates don't have a great image in society. She is shunned, and so is her son. But she signed up and... Elie is constantly trying to control her. In an OCD way. Elie becomes obsessed about things and instead of keeping her mouth shut, she says them and... As for Elie's husband Ido, played by Yehuda Levi, right at the start his mother is giving him sh*t about his wife. How he does whatever she says and the parents don't see him anymore. I've lived a variation on this theme, it is painful...and one thing is for sure, no one is understanding. So Ido has to sell out, go to work for the man, at the biggest law firm in Israel, to pay the surrogacy bill, since the couple's savings have been burned up with multiple rounds of IVF. But they want a baby... As for Elie, she's a book editor who doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut and go along. Movie honcho Tomer is writing an autobiography and she tells him the truth, which is very rare in the entertainment business, VERY rare. And Tomer is played by... LIOR RAZ! You know, DORON FROM "FAUDA!" And Tomer listens to Elie and starts writing from the heart, without compromise, but he also won't put up with her b.s., he calls her on it. Such that Elie has to confront her own issues, which she has never done, believing she is always right, she's wound so tight it's surprising she doesn't crack. And Raz as Tomer does it so well, neither being a bully nor a doormat. But the heart of the story is what goes on between Elie and Ido... This is my kind of series. If you want light entertainment, if you want to escape, "A Body That Works" is not for you. Not because it's dreary and heavy, but because it's REAL! There is an argument between Elie and Ido wherein Ido finally calls Elie on her sh*t and ultimately the entire relationship hangs in the balance. He's been pushed too far, he can no longer bow down and take it. But not only is Ido standing up for himself, Elie's identity and behavior are now in the mix and you realize that this argument may become determinative. I've been there. You probably have too. What starts as a run-of-the-mill argument escalates and escalates and suddenly you're in territory that you didn't anticipate. Everything was hunky-dory just a minute ago, but years worth of anger are now in play and...where do you go from there? As I've said numerous times previously, the Israelis and the Danes make the best television. And "A Body That Works" proves it. Now it's not like the Israelis don't know what they've got, "A Body That Works" was the country's highest rated drama in 2023. And when it hit Netflix, it was in the top ten in France, Germany, Poland, Romania, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Italy. And if you can find the common thread amongst those nations...I certainly can't. But not in America. We can't handle real. But the issues in "A Body That Works" are the core of life. Relationships, how you maintain them, what your life desires are, how you handle loneliness. In every episode I resonated, I said to myself I'VE BEEN THERE! I hope I haven't overhyped you. I think I've scared off those who wouldn't be interested, but as for those still sticking around... We live in an era of vapidity, seen nowhere as much as in popular music. Oh, there's money to be made, but it's mostly empty calories. It's commerce, not art. And this happened over at Netflix. At one time the streamer was known for its unconstrained alliance with artists, allowing creators to do what they wanted. But suddenly focusing on the bottom line, these creators severed the relationship and went elsewhere. Sure, the masses might want lowest common denominator, then again, when something is truly phenomenal they resonate with it just like the highbrows. It's shows like this that build a platform, in the case of Netflix it was "House of Cards," and for HBO it was "The Sopranos." There were other successful projects previously, but none that captured the zeitgeist. You want to leave the theatre or turn off the set and feel numb, unable to shake what you've experienced, because it resonates with you and your life, something no superhero extravaganza can ever achieve. Not that "A Body That Works" is either "House of Cards" or "The Sopranos." It's not that good. It's not era-defining. But it's on the road, it's on track, and if you watch it you'll know what I'm talking about. -- 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