Grillo's Pickles

https://www.grillos.com All it took was a push from my nutritionist. (Of course I have a nutritionist, I live in California! No, seriously, I go to the nutritionist because I have insanely high cholesterol when untreated. But now with a combination of Crestor and Zetia Boston Heart tells me my numbers are very low, in the green, if you know Boston Heart...) Susan said, almost as an aside, to eat some fermented foods, she recommended pickles and sauerkraut... And that was all I needed to hear. There are no illegal foods in Susan's world, but really, you should shy away from carbs and since I'm insulin resistant... (I know that's popular jargon, but if you feel a bit sleepy and out of it after eating pasta, you might be insulin resistant too...like cholesterol, it's got a genetic component.) So when Susan recommends a food I actually like... Not that I'd been eating pickles on a regular basis. Maybe when I went to the deli. But I've been trying to avoid that, since it comes with pastrami and other foods that should not be eaten on a regular basis. Now growing up, I ate a ton of pickles. There were two giant jars in the garage. Homemade things, the kind of stuff kids today would never touch. But growing up in the dark ages... One jar had green tomato pickles, the other sour dills. You rarely see green tomato pickles anymore, because of their bite. You chomp down on them like an apple, and you get the crunch of the veins and the oozing of the fluid and a sour sensation all at the same time. Let's just say they wake you up. And back in the fifties, even the sixties, most people were eating bland food. But not Jews! My father was an epicurean. A veritable gourmet. He'd take us for Italian ice on Sundays and late at night he'd stop at Zwerdling's bakery to buy rolls hot off the press... There's nothing like truly fresh bread. And my dad bought the above pickles, along with lox and whitefish and sable and bagels, at Max's delicatessen. (One of their specialties was chive cheese, unlike the kind you see today, as in there were almost as many chives as cheese!) Now somewhere in the sixties Max handed the reins to Sam, and it was now called Sam's, but Sam had worked there all the while and the store was still the same. You don't get the same experience today, it's kind of like the long lamented hardware store where the proprietor knew your name... My father was beyond a regular, he'd run around the store sampling things... So I was taught the only good pickles, the only ones worth eating, were the outliers that were handmade and proffered at places like Max's/Sam's. Especially back then, pickles were bland. Now pickles did have a moment back in the eighties, with the movie "Crossing Delancey," when that was Peter Riegert's business and the issue was whether it was too déclassé a job for Amy Irving...and whatever happened to her? But they've never been hip. But the ones you get in the store are much better. So after that session with the nutritionist I was combing the aisles at Costco, something I love to do, kind of like exploring the offerings on the Netflix homepage, and in the refrigerated section I found this big plastic bucket of pickles. I debated whether to buy it. The problem with Costco is the deals are so good that you're overcome with temptation and find yourself at home with more than you could ever consume, unless you have a family, and I do not. But pickles? Don't they last a long time? So I put the bucket in my cart. Now opening this bucket of pickles was not simple. It looks like you have to rip off a plastic band, but really you only have to break this one tab to open the bucket up. But then... You're confronted with the fact that the bucket is packed full. It's impossible to open it without getting pickle juice over everything. Which is an incentive to eat a bunch of pickles, because then the volume goes down and the pickle juice level descends... And I was stunned how good these pickles were. Not exactly like the ones at Max's/Sam's, but these were store bought, made for mass consumption. Those pickles were Grillo's. Not that I thought much of it. I mean you can buy great stuff at Costco, but I wouldn't think it would purvey the paragon of pickles. The absolute zenith. But I did expect such at Gelson's, the local high end market. Which offered Mt. Olive. Nowhere close. So I went back to Costco... And they haven't had them since! But a couple of months back, driving my cart down the aisle at City Market in Vail, I saw them. Of course in a smaller container, but they were Grillo's. I didn't buy them that day, I'm trying to remember why, maybe I was in somewhat of a rush, but the next time I went back to City Market... I couldn't find them. And the problem is I only like to do things when everybody else does not. Meaning I'll go for my tostada at Poquito Mas at three in the afternoon, when I can get a parking spot and sit in the booth without feeling guilty about taking up space. And I shop late in the evening, as Paul Simon would do. Midnight is a good time for me, however City Market in Vail is only open until ten. Now the problem with City Market in Vail is after about six, the meat slicer at the deli counter disappears. And they have Boar's Head meats, which are the best of the over the counter, no Oscar Mayer for me, so I try to shop a bit earlier, but I got engaged in a long conversation with Charley, who was lending me his car for this grocery sojourn, and I missed the window. And, since it was later in the day, very few people were working there. Would there really be someone who knew where the Grillo's pickles were? Now I must admit I spent way too much time looking before I asked. My father constantly implored us to ask, he was uninhibited, maybe that's why I'm shy, but finally I found someone who looked like he knew what was going on and he led me to the Grillo's pickles. And that's when it all became clear, unlike seemingly every other pickle brand they're refrigerated! Why, I can't tell you, since pickles are often brined in open-air casks, even by the railroad tracks. And when I got back to the condo, VOILA! But back in L.A., I've run out of luck, I can't find Grillo's pickles seemingly anywhere. And then the other day on a quick run to Whole Foods, waiting for my sliced roast beef (it's the best there, it's salt-cured), I was looking over my shoulder and I saw them, Grillo's pickles! Now ultimately I realized there was a tiny little red dot on the bucket, saying they were "Hot," but I can handle it. Actually, I ate a bunch before I even noticed the labeling. And then, just the other day, I saw a link for the Wirecuttter, hyping the fact that they rated store bought pickles. So I clicked on over, looking for what was the best, I'm all about the best when it comes to food and other low-priced items, and I'd be lying if I didn't tell you I was rooting for Grillo's, but what were the odds? And then... GRILLO'S WAS NUMBER ONE! https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-pickles/ So what I'm doing here is hipping you to Grillo's. If you ever get a hankering for a pickle, if you like something with a bit of bite, that is not bland, they fit the bill perfectly. This has been a public service announcement. P.S. Only when I began writing this did my brain connect pickles to a story I read in yesterday's "Wall Street Journal," about the people in Trump's cabinet on fermented food diets. I guess my nutritionist was ahead of the game. "Everyone in Trump’s Cabinet Is Eating Sauerkraut - JD Vance, RFK Jr. and other officials swear by a diet of grass-fed meat and fermented foods, even when the sulfurous odors cause friction at home" https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/fitness/trump-vance-lutnick-rfk-sauerkraut-diet-2f33bdf1 https://apple.news/A85-8CdS6Sm6MJ8jPvbyt0A -- 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 Medium Changes The Message

I’m not a Marshall McLuhan maven, but one thing is for sure, the internet has changed the message, and too many refuse to accept this. It crosses all art forms, from books to movies, but here I'm going to focus on music. It starts off with short. No one is going to dedicate a lot of time to that which they don't already like. So, your first entry must be short. This is the essence of TikTok/Instagram Reels, where everything breaks today. You can deny this, but it is only to your detriment. How do you grab people quickly? There are many ways, but one thing is for sure, the traditional path just doesn't work. People don't want to see a fifteen or thirty second clip of a new recording over images... No, because the means of production are in the hands of the proletariat, i.e. everybody has a recording device in their pocket and access to the internet and free distribution, it's become about humanity. So, whatever your clip is, it must focus on humanity. You can use razzle-dazzle images, but even if they gain traction, they're one and done. The focus must be on those in the video, and in music, that must be the people making it. Now back when production and distribution was expensive and most people could not play, the key was to deliver perfection, in drips and drabs. Remember when a live album used to be a big thing, put out after four or five studio LPs? The internet has eviscerated that paradigm. Today, live is free on YouTube. But, since there's so much product in the marketplace, perfection is no longer key, never mind that most people are listening on substandard systems. Yes, in a digital world of zeros and ones, you need to deliver what computers cannot, i.e. humanity. It's a fool's errand to comp vocals, do it over and over again to get it exactly right. That's what Suno does, you're human, you make mistakes, you need to leave them in. And you must display your emotions, you must laugh and cry, be serious and... So, if you want to break a new artist, you must do it on these platforms. Ups are cheap and outs are not counted. That means you should do it until you get it right, i.e. people respond. Songwriting camps? How passé! These should be multimedia camps creating short clips. Not for others, but for those who write the tunes. It should be closer to an OnlyFans house than it is to the songwriting camps of today. You all get together and create...BUT THAT'S THE END PRODUCT! It's not about writing something for someone else to sing, but you. And you need to post right after you've written it, when you're still in the same emotional space. It can be just you and your guitar if you can convey the gravitas and the meaning, if it's an emotional effort, not studied one. However, you and your compatriots at the camp/in the house should be making innovative clips, that's part of the songwriting process today. It's all baked at once. Fast. And if it doesn't work, you go back to the drawing board. And when you create this way, genres are irrelevant. The major labels are looking for easy lifts, something like the last thing that they can promote in the press and to radio. No, you start with online and stay online. Your hope is it crosses over to traditional DSPs, period. But you have to build it, the thought of breaking through a DSP playlist is laughable. You're one of a zillion songs, that people may never hear again, never mind they're not paying attention to begin with. But on TikTok...people are focused. You're either on or you're off, you're not distracted. So the audience is giving its full attention, and if people see something they like, they want more of it. Period. As for longer efforts... Once you gain an audience, once people are hooked, then you can experiment with longer form content. Before that, thirty seconds is enough. That's right, we're looking for HOOKS! Certainly less than a minute. If you can't get your message across in that period of time you're not really an artist. You must get your head out of the old game. Both the labels and the creators. Stop talking about making albums, which only came about because of the invention of the 33 1/3 vinyl record. You're doing it all wrong. Number one is your relationship with your audience. If you truly hook people, they'll follow you anywhere. And the rule of TikTok is you've got to produce, produce, produce. The truth is if someone likes what you're doing, they want more of it. You're now a friend of theirs, on the verge of being a best friend. You connect with your best friend every day, that's what people are expecting of the posters on TikTok. It's audience first! Don't think about music first. Don't think about the chart first. Think about what it's going to take to get people to pay attention and to continue to want to pay attention. This does not necessarily mean lowest common denominator, it means INTERESTING! Sometimes catchy. Always innovative. We're looking for progenitors online, not imitators. Now young people already know everything I've stated above. They don't read newspapers. They want that direct hit that only comes from the phone. And the oldsters are so pissed about this that they rail about social media and want to take youngsters' phones away. But that's like trying to kill the Beatles. The audience is hooked, they want more. And what is delivered on TikTok is exactly what oldsters do not purvey. It's a feeling more than an image, it's not mere content, it's about the effect. You know, the way you felt hearing a song only once and needing to go to the record store to buy it. You can argue with me all you want, but the ship has already sailed, this is where we are. Everybody's cottage industry and the major labels have no power the individual does not. And the more layers you put between creator and audience the more you squeeze out the juice. People need to feel that direct connection, that's what being sold in this digital world. Which is why experiences are king. Think about delivering an EXPERIENCE! That's what your music should be. P.S. I'll say it again, if you're not spending a lot of time on TikTok... I hope you're not in the music business. TikTok is like Napster, only in this case, the disruption is in content as well as distribution. And until you understand the new platform, you can't operate. This is why the major labels are wasting so much money trying to break new artists, they're just doubling-down on an old paradigm that is nearly dead. Spending a lot on a few, polishing and promoting. No, today the marketplace is broad, and you don't have to spend a lot to make it. It's about making as opposed to promotion. Everything is your art. You're performing online every time you post. Forget gatekeepers, those who promise exposure. Sure, a sync in a major production may yield dividends, yet the odds are very low. But the majors keep shooting arrows, hoping to hit the target. The world of creativity has already been disrupted. But all we get from Spielberg and the oldsters is movies are inviolate and must be seen in a theatre. How out of touch can you be? As for short attention spans... People have unlimited time for that which they love, but if they don't love it, they just scroll 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

More Best Opening Track-SiriusXM This Week

Tune in June 20th to Faction Talk, channel 103, 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

Widow's Bay

Did you watch this fakokta show? I have a policy. If Felice wants to watch something, I will give it a shot, assuming the show has high Rotten Tomatoes ratings and is fully available. "Widow's Bay" has EXCELLENT Rotten Tomatoes ratings, 98/93, and you know I'll watch anything that exceeds 80. And, it finished last night, the tenth episode aired June 17th. God help you if you took two months to watch this show week by week. I'd be tearing my hair out, waiting for a big reveal... There is a bit of a buildup, but then, in classic non-American streaming style, there's not complete resolution because they're setting it up for a second season! So what we've got here is Keri Russell's husband, Matthew Rhys, as mayor of an island off the Maine coast, Widow's Bay. Who would'a thunk that Felicity would turn into one of our finest actresses, starring in A-level product like "The Diplomat"? And she met Rhys doing another great series, "The Americans," and now I pay attention to him too. So the bottom line is Widow's Bay is haunted. So this is a horror show, right? Well, that's something you're debating from square one, you're flummoxed by the tone. Am I supposed to be scared or should I be laughing? Should I take this seriously? Rhys wants to increase tourism, but many residents believe the island is haunted. Is it? Well, it appears that it is. And they even go back hundreds of years, they spend an entire episode delineating the curse, with Betty Gilpin as a mail order bride and... It's so whacked. Just coming up with this. I give the producers credit, but I'm not exactly sure how it all fits together. And in many ways it doesn't. But there are episodes. Actually, there are two... One involves Kate O'Flynn as Patricia Moyer, Rhys's assistant. O'Flynn looks like a cross between Illeana Douglas and Shelley Duvall. She's got a bit of a weak chin, and she's not classically beautiful, but she's dedicated to her job, you can count on her... But she's an outcast. The hip group of girls she grew up with on the island want nothing to do with her. This is such a great demonstration of this paradigm... That's how the world works. There are insiders and outsiders. And some of these outsiders are happy in their backwaters, but a lot of these outsiders just wish they could be in the inside group. But they don't understand the inside group dynamics. Which are based on groupthink, usually signaled by a leader. You fawn and get along, color outside the lines and you're ostracized. And then there are those who are aware they're not in the hip group, but they just can't understand why, like Patricia. So she stumbles on a book that says if you throw a party you'll be popular and... If you ever went to high school, you'll wince. Assuming you were not one of the insiders. And then there's the episode with the shaman. This is utterly hysterical. I mean I couldn't stop laughing (and at certain other times in this show too, when it wasn't flat or I wasn't scared or...) The mayor and Patricia and Wyck go to see Chris Fleming as Todd O'Connor, because they want to know about the mushrooms the pastor ate... Oh, you've been there. But this is on an island! The guy with the long hair, with a drawer full of drugs, and the jargon... This isn't dark drug dealer. This guy isn't about earning millions, but enlightenment. Just talk to someone who's done ayahuasca. They describe a religious experience. And it's all led by a shaman, like this guy. They take it so seriously, as if they have the answer and you don't. But this is played for laughs, and I was more than chuckling, tears were nearly coming to my eyes. And those episodes, #4 and #5, "Beach Reads" and "What to Expect on Your Trip," are worth the price of your time. I thought they were a turn in the arc, that the series had hit its stride, sometimes it takes a few episodes to find the groove. But this was not the case. So, if you start this show and it feels a bit dry, if it doesn't strike your funny bone or maintain your interest or... STOP! I do not even recommend you start. Despite the hype, stay away from this show, you will want your time back. And I'm scratching my head... Does everything on Apple get a pass? Is this the Emperor's New Clothes? I mean the creators were taking some risks, but that does not mean the end result is worth it. What did you think? -- 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

Dayna Goldfine & Dan Geller-This Week's Podcast

Dayna Goldfine & Dan Geller are documentarians whose most recent film is "Peter Asher: Everywhereman." https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dayna-goldfine-dan-geller/id1316200737?i=1000773284830 https://open.spotify.com/episode/424EC35VjWpPcMGMxAS1BZ?si=OGm1_S6PTZGjcFEgtG70jQ https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/dayna-goldfine-dan-geller-337049425 https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/9b1c0388-de26-4bbe-b166-42b83a85df0b/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-dayna-goldfine-dan-geller -- 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

Making a Living

The safety net has been hobbled. Despite being in your business in an untold number of ways, from abortion to drug rights, never mind licensing requirements, now, more than ever, you're responsible for paying your own bills. But it gets worse. Because so many jobs don't pay enough to put a roof over your head and food on the table, never mind deliver health care and an automobile to get to and fro, and the gas and insurance for it. Now you don't have to go to college, but if you do not, you must be a self-starter, someone who can create something out of thin air that people will pay you for, sooner rather than much later. You might be a tech genius, but very few are. It's kind of like being a musician, many can play the guitar, but not may can earn a living at it. So... College is b.s. But without it, you're starting behind the 8-ball. Most of what you learn happens outside the classroom, which is why you should do your best to go to a residential institution. You need to widen your perspective by meeting others from different backgrounds and social strata. You may think you know it all, but when you go to college you will find out you do not. And you want to go to the best college you can afford. Here's a hint... Most of the best colleges are need-blind, meaning if you can get in they'll foot the bill if you can't afford it. So don't be afraid to reach for the stars, you never know. Assuming you've got the goods. Life is all about the people you know and the goods you possess. And almost always, the goods are between your ears. And it's not facts, but analysis, can you appraise the landscape and come to conclusions, gain insight. But even if you've got that college degree, you must still ask yourself whether you're a follower or an innovator. Working for yourself is a license to starve. But it's also a license to make a living unfettered by a boss. So... If you're an entrepreneur and it's just about making a living, making bank to foot your bills, there are trades, i.e. plumbers, electricians, etc., and numerous opportunities providing services. These may not be glamorous gigs, but they are low hanging fruit. Yet they require intense dedication and long hours. So, if you're not an entrepreneur, go get a job at a corporation. Or maybe the store down the street. But just know unless you own the enterprise, you're expendable. Now, more than ever, it's when you're going to get fired, not if. And if you are fired...forget the want ads, it's all about networking. So... If you want to play the corporate game, soft skills are the most important. You've got to be a good hang. Socialize ad infinitum. Do favors. Because you're going to need one, it's just a matter of when. But know other than family, you are not assured that those in your network will be reliable, will deliver the quid pro quo, especially if you're lower on the totem pole than they are. That's just reality. If you confront them regarding their lack of delivery, they'll just say "it's business," and it is. So that's a path you can take. Working for one company or another and trading yourself up to a better gig utilizing your network until you die. You might get enough money to buy a house, drive a foreign car, but your spouse will probably have to work too. And you will constantly be on call. When the phone rings on the weekend, you'd better answer it, doesn't matter if you're having a baby or there's a death in the family... You can never sleep working for someone, you must always have one eye open to the politics, the gossip, to making sure you're super-serving your boss, even if they're an a-hole. But if you want to go the entrepreneurial route in the arts... You must know that you are not needed. No one needs your music, movie or book. There are plenty out there. And you might create something better than what's successful, but that does not mean you'll get rich. If you go the artistic route you must have no bills, no obligations, be willing to walk into the wilderness unfettered, possibly for years! If you don't have the stomach for this, don't start and don't complain. Just go to graduate school, which is a glorified trade school. But know, unless you're an MD, graduate school does not mean you'll make a great living. Just that you will make a living. Should you borrow for your education? That's a tough one. I'd do your best not to. Certainly don't borrow expecting riches at the end, there are a ton of starving lawyers. But if you go down the artistic path, you must accept that you are an entrepreneur, you are running a business, that you're responsible for your career. This is the exact opposite of the pre-internet era. Then it was about attaching yourself to someone who could push the button. Distribution was controlled, and you needed access to it, which intermediaries like record labels provided. Now distribution is open to everyone and it's almost free. That challenge has been decimated. But the end result is the channel is clogged. With both the great and the terrible. How do you rise above? I'd say by being great, but that's not enough and that's not always definitive. It's all about gaining fans. Period. Don't try to impress intermediaries, go directly for people who will support you, buy your work, come to shows, tell all their friends about you. If you are not willing to dun everybody you know, don't start. This is where the rubber meets the road. Once again, don't even bother sending your material to an intermediary, expecting to be jetted into the stratosphere. They're already too busy and even if they want you, chances are they can't do much for you that you cannot do yourself. I know this is disillusioning, but it's the truth. So, can your art deliver a living, based solely on your own efforts? Look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself that question. If the answer is no, stop. Forget the false encouragement, mostly from people who want to charge you or are afraid to tell you the truth. Careers are about attention and reaction. Period. If you can't deliver both... Don't shoot for the stars. Today no one has universal purchase. Those acts paraded in the mainstream press? Most of America, never mind the world, doesn't know the material. Accept this. Everything is cottage industry today. Can you build your own cottage industry? Now you must separate desire from truth. The truth is we're all great at something, but it may not be what you're emotionally attached to. Let me put it this way, if you're a great salesman you'll never starve. But if you're a great musician, you might. -- 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

Re-Rush at the Forum

I met Rush in the fall of 1975.  Rush was supposed to open for a Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow show in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre.  Rush was kicked off the show because their drum riser was too big, according to Ritchie Blackmore.  Ritchie was a prick then and remained so for the rest of his career.  There was “payback” coming for Mr. Blackmore. I had just arrived at Mercury Records as the new head of rock promotion.  There was a group of 4 young Mercury record company guys that were going to see the Rush show: me, Cliff Burnstein A&R, and Mike Gormley and George Kneymeyer from publicity.  It was a  Rainbow/Rush show…..that didn’t happen. We met the 3 Rush band members Alex, Geddy and Neil and their road manager Howard Ungerleider at their hotel dining room after our workday ended.  These guys were road warriors even then.  They could not have been nicer.  After a quick meal, they were very excited to show us their new touring vehicle.  It was a van, but the seats had been replaced with airline seats that TOTALLY reclined.  The band could sleep while Howard drove them to their next show.   In addition to being Rush’s road manager then, Howard was and still is the Rush lighting director, a job he has held for over 50 years.  Rush is loyal to their crew.  I remember Howard had a headset that allowed him to listen to music while the band slept.   The inside of the van had been insulated with thick padding for sound and temperature control.  I thought it interesting that Rush, who played LOUD on stage, was concerned about road noise in their van. Rush had released 3 albums when I met them: “Rush”, “Fly by Night”, and “Caress of Steel”.  These albums had not done well in the US.  The 3rd album “Caress of Steel” did not make any forward movement.  There was some talk amongst the Mercury senior executives about dropping the band.   The next Rush album to be released was “2112” which came out in March 1976.  The Rush managers, Ray Daniels and Vic Wilson brought the finished about to the Mercury offices in early 1976.  We all met in the conference room to listen to the album together.  I am sure that Cliff Burnstein had been listening as the recording process happened, but this was the official presentation of the album.   I remember the presentation of the album well, because I tipped my chair over backwards in the conference room.  “You only get one chance to be a first impression” and mine was “the guy that didn’t know how to sit in a chair”.  Embarrassing. Clearly the “2112” album was a cut above the 3 previous Rush albums.  The album charted in the top 100 for Billboard magazine, peaking at 61, a first for Rush.  “2112” began a decade long run of platinum albums for Rush.  As a matter of fact, at one point Rush’s sales history placed them third behind the Beatles and the Rolling Stones for the most consecutive gold or platinum albums by a rock band.   It was TOUGH getting Rush records on the radio.  Geddy Lee’s voice was a bridge too far for a lot of programmers, but when the band came to town, the band’s appeal could not be denied.  We picked off stations one by one.  Once a station programmed Rush, they got immediate big positive response.   I guess someone made the right decision to not drop Rush after their “Caress of Steel” album.  At one point, the Rush catalogue was the most important catalogue in all of PolyGram. Seeing Rush in 2026, was different but not different.  First, the show started at 7:45 SHARP.  There was a great self-deprecating video that showed that Rush, the nice guys, were still in there.  It was hilarious, particularly their reference to the “silk robes” that were featured on their “2112” album cover. There are lots of drummer jokes.  One of my favorites is: Q: “What is the last thing the drummer said to his band?” A: “Hey guys, let’s learn to play one of my songs!” This was NOT the case with Rush.  Their drummer Neil Peart wrote A LOT of the songs that made them famous.   Sadly, Neil left us several years ago.  There is a new drummer. A German woman named Anika Nilles.  She is fantastic. Rush, to their credit did two video tributes to Neil during their show.  Both were spot on.  There is no hiding the fact that Neil was/is a BIG part of Rush. There is a keyboard playing on stage now, but to be honest, I didn’t see the contribution in any significant way. Sunday night it was so great to hear the opening rifts of familiar Rush songs like Xanadu, Limelight, The Spirit of the Radio, 2112 Overture, Tom Sawyer and Working Man.  It felt comfortable. Howard Ungerleider, the road manager/lighting designer I met 50 years ago has been working OVERTIME on this production.  I cannot think of any show I have ever seen that would be better than the opening night of the Rush tour.  Howard even had the old school Super Trooper spotlights from the rear of the arena operational.  I can see him calling cues to the spotlight operators from his lighting control post in the orchestra.  Lighting, pyro, props, floating effects, all added to the show. Lastly, I wanted to recount the Ritchie Blackmore “payback” story.   San Antonio was an “early adopter” for Rush and Ritchie Blackmore, mainly because of the radio stations KISS/KMAC and two DJ’s there, Joe Anthony and Lou Roney and a GREAT local promoter, Stone City.  This FM/AM combo would play a lot of hard rock artists albums, and the bands would be able to do sellout business in San Antonio.  It was critical at the time because the bands would be breaking even financially in most markets, but they got PAID in San Antonio….big time.  San Antonio enabled a lot of bands like Rush to stay on the road. There was a famous picture of some Rush fans holding a homemade sign that said, “San Antonio loves Rush”.  Blackmore photo shopped the sign to change it to “San Antonio loves Blackmore”.  When I saw this, I put together a mailer and sent it to all the rock stations in America pointing out the original photo and the one that had been changed.   I was “called on the carpet” for this because Blackmore was signed to Polydor, a sister label…..but the mailer had already shipped.   54,000 fans in Los Angeles.  54,000!!    Mike Bone ___________________________________ I was awaiting your opinion on the Rush shows and you NAILED IT.  I'll be seeing them in October, though in some ways it already feels like I have. Between live recordings, interviews, and concert footage, I've probably logged six+ hours of content online, and none of it has felt like enough. There's something genuinely joyful about them that takes me right back to the hundreds of rock shows I attended in junior high and high school — they bring a whole era back to life. All the best, Alan Stewart ___________________________________ I'm happy to read this. I was there the first night in LA, and it was spectacular. It was respectful of Neil; the tracks played were representative of the 50 years (they played By-Tor and I almost fell backward!), and you are spot on. There are bands touring today who came to be in the 90s that can't do it anymore. Rush? A 70s band that still sounds amazing. Geddy's voice was a touch deeper, but he made it work. And Anika. WOW. She made those amazing sounds with what looked like a very different kit from the one Peart played. My first album was Bastille Day in 1975. Growing up in Upstate NY, these guys were practically a local act. They'd hit Rochester and Buffalo at least once a year, and I was always there. For 3 hours, I went back in time. I'm gonna catch them in San Jose later in the year as well. Rock. John Butler ___________________________________ Don’t forget Loren Gold back there on keys and synths!! Loren is no slouch, and is doing more than just triggering sounds back there!! This is a 4-piece live band now! Loren is a veteran of incredible bands/tours including The Who, Chicago and many more! Tom Cusimano Sr Manager, Artist Relations Korg USA ___________________________________ Signals came out when I was 12. Changed my life. Felt like the lyrics were written for me personally at the time. The Analog Kid…epic! Marty Winsch ___________________________________ Yes Bob! We took our twenty-something boys the first night and we were all transfixed. It was like we finally had the privilege of sharing a peak-era rock concert from the ‘70s with them. And Anika is a force. The whole time I was wondering if you were there, appreciating the time machine they created for us. Tony Hawk ___________________________________ I was there last night. Incredible! Took my wife, 7 year old, and 4 year old. We had an adventure and they LOVED the show. Still buzzing. Cesar Contreras ___________________________________ Dear Bob, Great article on a great show.   I was hoping you would go and then write. My English Lit students in the early 90’s first urged me to catch their show. “New World Man”, with its Kraftwerk ethos, always makes me smile. dennis brent ___________________________________ Before their first album came out, I used to go to a long-gone club called the Piccadilly Tube at Yonge and Dundas in Toronto, here they played once a month in the late 70s (rooting with bands like Max Webster and Wireless). Cover was $5. In a million years I never would have guessed that almost 50 years later that band would be the subject of such a glowing review in a newsletter like yours! Like you, I wasn’t a fanatic, but man, it’s so great that they’re not only pulling this off, they’re KILLING it. Mike Campbell ___________________________________ Thanks so much for this post. I hope Rush will get a wave of new fans they never had before.. They are one of the bands who have received probably the most bad reviews by Rolling Stone and other media or just non interest from the industry over the years and they deserve a lot better. Thanks again, Bob. Mike Vancha ___________________________________ Totally Agree that it was invigorating indeed! I was there the 2nd night. 3rd row in front of Alex.  This was my band, my influence in a lot life things since I was 16 years old. I am 61 now and I love them just as much now as I ever have - and maybe more?  Why? Because they just seem to get better as they get older. Because every time you listen to their music, you hear something different. Because they are indeed one of those rare bands who never compromised and found a way to survive and stay relevant for 50+ years. And now a come back! Their last R40 tour was over the top incredible and after Neil passed we all believed that was probably it. But Alex and Geddy stayed active in various creative ways and then along come Anika.  What a gift she is to the Rush fans new and old and how cool that she is sitting on one of the most important drum thrones that ever existed and is showcasing to the world her incredible talent.  Man, she blew me away in so many ways.  What a monster drummer she is. She will most certainly become a global influence for more female drummers and how cool is that? You can tell that Alex and Geddy are so happy to have her on stage. She brings a new energy to a band that left the limelight at their peak. But NOW, have somehow come together to rise to a new peak, a new chapter and inspire us all again.For any band to do 88 dates across the globe, doing close to 3 hour shows, you have to be in peak form and prepared in every single way. And to do it at 72 years of age? Impressive and inspiring! Anika will indeed be the secret sauce to keep them going, blow us all away with the live performance and hopefully introduce a new legion of fans to their incredible catalog of songs.  Rush is indeed BACK!  Shawn Fowler ___________________________________ I was not a Rush fan. Sure, Tom Sawyer was great but it wasn’t my thing. Then a friend of mine invited me to tag along to a show.  I’m always game for live music and Rush - sure. First song on - every song. Songs I’d never heard before, songs that rang familiar - all - amazing. I was transfixed. How do these 3 people produce all this sound. How do they come together amidst all that complexity? And how does it all appear effortless and fun? That was it. I was a fan. I have every album and many in multiple formats. I saw the last tour and giddily made it a must to secure tickets to this one. Rush is a one of a kind act. They are each masters of their instruments. To watch them is to witness greatness. You are seeing incredible dedication and passion and love for something. Then there’s the friendship. These guys love each other. Anika will add a fresh take and reinvigorate them. I can already see the chemistry. Do not miss Rush! This is the kind of show you must be present for. Long live Rush. Marc McDonald in Boston. ___________________________________ I was hoping you went and to read your feedback. I sadly have been unable to attend the shows. I have have been watching endless clips and can say that it's simply extraordinary. Sort of a profound moment. My marker is having seen the band twice, 2112 & Hemispheres. I am a fan and play the records quite often. Watching the band with Anika for me was quite emotional, seeing the joy and satisfaction it brought to Alex & Geddy and obviously to the audience. Chemistry 101. Watching her do her thing and her reactions is priceless. The audience feedback for Anika is so beautiful and incredibly well deserved. Respect! Cheers, Mark Arevalo ___________________________________ Long time, deep Rush fan here, Bob… and you fucking nailed it!   I have tickets to see them next month in Chicago, on my 58th birthday, no less.  I’m bringing my 15yr old son, who is also a fan, but never got to see them live. I am so excited for the show! Thank you for the spot-on analysis (New World Man is my fave, as well!).  Cheers, sean michael dargan ___________________________________ Awesome, I love it. I was always more of a Zeppelin fan, than Rush.  In high school we would debate endlessly who was better Peart vs Bonham. But to have Rush out there with Anika is just so cool.  She’s the real deal, and she has soul.  Not many drummers have soul, but she does.  She plays with feel, which is hard considering Rush is not a ‘feel’ sort of band.  Maybe in some ways she is breathing life into those songs in her own way.  It’s inspiring. I wish Zeppelin would take a page out of the Rush playbook, and just do it.  For the sake of the songs, for the sake of the fans who never got an opportunity to see them. But Robert Plant takes things too seriously. and could learn a thing or two from Geddy and Alex. It’s supposed to be FUN. Jon Pleeter ___________________________________ Glad you got to go. They have always stayed true to themselves and somehow kept moving forward, with a great sense of humor.  So looking forward to seeing them at MSG on 8/1! Saw them a few times in my teens in the late 70s and 10 years ago on their 40th anniversary tour. Judging by the YouTube video of 2112 from the Forum, it should be an amazing show. My friend Greg got us into 2112 in 10th grade and we got to see them at the Palladium (NYC) in 1977 for the A Farewell To Kings tour. It was their last theater tour before moving to arenas and their first album to use keyboards heavily. Before that they were more of a traditional power trio. There were 3 bands on the bill in 1977,  Rush headlining, UFO with Michael Schenker in the middle, and the opening act was a new band with only their debut album out called...Cheap Trick. We did not like them at all, but they did already have their schtick. A few years later saw them at MSG and actually caught a drumstick. Not from Neil, but from Alex, who grabbed a drumstick in the middle of a solo, went up and down the neck with it, and tossed it into the crowd. I was the lucky recipient about 8-10 rows back. Unfortunately it got misplaced over the years  but I still have the memory. Just like you said, this time I am bringing my wife, who has never seen them before.  I even went to their online store and bought a t-shirt with a design from the 1977 tour to bring it full circle. Cannot wait! Best, Perry Resnick ___________________________________ Rush-what an amazing story!  I remember being in high school and thinking their first few records were decent Led Zeppelin-influenced pieces, and that Geddy sang high, kinda like Robert Plant but not exactly the same.  When 2112 came out it seemed like a major turn, and again, I liked it, but during a time when Yes, The Who, Jethro Tull and others were turning out concept albums it didn’t seem special.  All The World’s A Stage was released fall of my senior year of high school and THAT record is what sold me. The best of their 1st 4 albums, played live to a rabid crowd (and all the sweet stage gear pictured on the album jacket!) made me a fan.  I finally got to see Rush live at the Indiana University Auditorium during the Hemispheres tour. It was LOUD, but it was also the clearest live sound I had experienced up to that point and the light show was incredible.  I saw the band several times in the 80’s. The thing about Rush during that time was that they always toured. It wasn’t a big announcement like Zeppelin, or Bowie, or the Stones where it happened every so often and you might not get tickets. It was, another album, another tour, and you always felt like you could get a ticket and see the band.  But the crowds kept getting bigger, and the music kept evolving, and somewhere along the way Rush became their own entity. A hardworking band with a sound like no one else who had grown a legion of devoted fans.  I was on the fence about this tour because, seriously, Rush without Neil?  But then I saw a clip of “Tom Sawyer” from the first night at the Forum and Anika absolutely owned that part. As soon as the clip finished I sprung for a ticket to their second Atlanta show.  As they have done throughout their whole career, Rush have found their way to yet another musical chapter and I am excited to experience it. Long live Rush! Jim Blaney Nashville ___________________________________ I first saw Rush in 1976 in my home town of Sydney, NS and I still say it's one of the best concerts I've ever seen. I saw them on their last tour through Halifax and it was spectacular. Rush was on a whole other level, 2112 blew us all away and All the World's a Stage was such an incredible live album. I saw the new drummer on YouTube she looks incredible.  Doug Gillis ___________________________________ Thanks for the write up on Rush. I was at the second show at The Forum. Geddy and Alex played with more energy and enthusiasm than the show in Irvine, CA that I saw in 2015. A highlight of the show was the live appearance of singer Aimee Mann on the 1987 song Time Stand Still. She sang the refrain on the original studio recording.  I was amazed to learn recently that Rush is third only to The Beatles and The Stones for consecutive platinum and gold albums. And yet…they are relatively unknown to the general public even though they were most popular during the so-called “mono culture”. My boomer parents have no clue who they are. My friends from Canada in the 90s knew their name but could not name a single Rush song. I assumed that Rush was to Canada what The Beatles are to the UK. David Evans ___________________________________ I’ve seen 2 Rush shows this week, and Anika Nilles is the lightning bolt rock and roll needed. She’s incredible.  I was just in a pre production meeting with a young all girl band, and they were so inspired by what they saw, and pleasantly surprised that a bunch of old men are worshipping Anika’s talent. It’s well deserved. I wish I was seeing a third show! The buzz around this is beautiful, and needed.  Jay Ruston ___________________________________ Not a Rush fan either but they're ok. But the Drummer!!! Talk about talent! In interviews with her, she mentions she's not as strong as male drummers. Who the hell cares.  This woman is possibly the music story of the year. She is amazing! I could watch just her playing! Wow! Tom Hedtke ___________________________________ She’s a bright light of hope in the surrounding gloom - of everything! Hugo Burnham ___________________________________ Thanks for nuthin’ Bob. I’d hoped that the Rush tour would settle under the radar after its kick-off so the ticket prices would come down from the stratosphere. Now you go and give them a boffo review and is others are going to check it out on your say-so. I guess I’ll have to shell out extra $$ now… Vikas Sharma Ottawa ___________________________________ I’ve never seen them and have always regretted it, especially as a drummer. The problem is the tickets are MSG are NUTS!! Such a bummer. Maybe you can get me on the list!!! Haha Rob DiFondi ___________________________________ Bob, I wonder how many people had difficulty at first tolerating Rush but later became fans, believing they’re one of the greatest rock bands in the world. In 1975, I went with a friend who paid my way to a Kiss concert because he just had to convince me that this Kiss band he loved were actually good musicians, an opinion I did not share. The opening act was Rush. I had never heard any songs off Rush's (then) two albums, so I knew nothing about them. The theater was in Fresno and had about 2,000 seats. An old, converted Cinerama movie theater where I had seen 2001: A Space Odyssey. This was almost exactly 52 years ago. To me, Geddy sounded like the proverbial castrated Robert Plant. The most embarrassing part was when Alex broke a string and a roadie came out with, not a replacement ES-335 (and what was that about for a self-respecting hard rock band? No Les Paul? No Strat?) but a string to replace the one that had broken. He handed it to Alex and dashed off stage. Alex spent the next few minutes putting the string on himself, while Geddy kept us occupied with an impromptu spiel about something forgettable.  Both bands put on what I thought was an embarrassing show. More likely, they were just not for me. I liked their performance of “Fly By Night”, but overall, I just didn’t get it. A couple of years later, I laughed when 2112 came out during my Air Force Basic Training in San Antonio, and I heard the lyrics from another airman’s boom box.   “We are the priests…”, etc. Who were they kidding? I laughed when I heard Geddy exclaim “Salesman!” when I heard "Spirit of Radio” on the radio a 3 years later.  I just didn’t get it. Now it’s 1990, I’m a computer scientist, working on the first tablet computer and living in San Francisco and a having dinner with Rasha, a new PhD Computer Scientist friend of mine we had brought over from Yugoslavia to use his work on handwriting recognition based on academic work done by a young Yann LeCun. Rasha is a brilliant computer scientist who was also a concert pianist. High IQ. Cultured. Refined. The son of cabinet member of the Yugoslavian President.  Our shared musical experience to date was seeing Evgeny Kissin at Davies Symphony Hall. We were comparing genres of music we liked and started talking about Rock.  With his fork in the air asked me, “Do you like Rush?”. Coming It was as if he had asked me if I believed in the supernatural. Rush was the last artist's name I expected him to come out of his mouth in this conversation.  I told him about my 1975 experience. He said that his first exposure to them was as a soldier in the Yugoslavian army while doing his mandatory military service there. He was on sentry duty in the middle of nowhere, during a rainy and miserable night. At about 3 AM, a fellow soldier turned on his cassette player and out came “Permanent Waves”. Rasha, a trained classical musician, proceeded to dissect that album’s greatness song by song.  Then he said they were coming to Shoreline and asked me if I wanted to go. I thought, why not - it’ll be a good laugh at least.  We brought our wives, had a lovely picnic, and sat there through Mr. Big, not paying attention to them. In fact, we sat through their first song. But when they played “Free Will” - the second song, I recall - Rasha leapt to his feet, and never got back down. Understand, I had never seen him exhibiting such wild abandon. He knew every riff, every lyric, and I realized that, living in Yugoslavia, this song meant a lot more to him than it ever could to me. No wonder he loved them. Now I got off my feet and paid attention. I realized that I already knew the “Red Barchetta” riff and loved playing it on guitar myself, without knowing where I had heard it. I realized I loved "Closer to the Heart”.  In these days, Rush sounded a lot like the Police, and I found liked that.  Peart, who had now been in the band more than one year, was completely captivating, especially during his drum solos. I found I really enjoyed 2112 and Spirit of Radio during the encore.  I could understand Rasha’s enjoyment of Rush, but I wasn’t thrilled enough to become a fan. I could certainly see why people liked them. But I wasn’t going to see them again or buy any of their albums. In 2004, Rush released the “Feedback” EP. Seeing that all the songs were songs I loved, I bought it. To say I was blown away would be an understatement. Their empathy for this music was infectious - anyone who would or could marry Blue Cheer’s “Summertime Blues” intro to The Who’s arrangement, with a “My Generation” quote in the middle was exactly my kind of band. Covering “The Seeker”? An homage to Cream’s “Crossroads”? These were my kind of people. I even played their arrangement of this on stage in Vegas with a band I hired for a developer conference later that year.   I bought the “Chronicles” CD, ripped it to the iPod, and listened to it many, many times.  In 2010 they released their “On the Lighted Stage” documentary. The documentary was interesting, but it was the DVD extra where they were sitting around a private room at a restaurant eating and drinking that really nailed me. A group of self-deprecating friends laughing at each other’s foibles. I decided that I liked - no loved! - these guys. Hagiography? Sure. Still great. And they were too drunk to fake it. That was it Over 2 months, I bought every CD. After this I went to every show when they came to town. As a Microsoft exec, I saw many of my peers at these shows. Alex’s RRHOF speech confirmed the documentary vibe. I’m one of those people who know every drum roll, every guitar solo, and every lyric. There you have it, from ennui to exhilaration, over 50 years.  I think this was their path - from ridicule by wannabe critics and snobs like me to exhilaration, etc. It is impossible for anyone to resist becoming a Rush fan, over time. Gary Lang ___________________________________ Quite honestly, in the annals of rock, it’s the Beatles, Stones, U2, Pink Floyd and Rush as the top 5 of all time. They’re in that class. Everyone else can fight for 6-100 placing. Bob Maggio -- 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 Culture Club Movie

"Boy George & Culture Club": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1arIh7WCkU 1 There's only one problem with this movie...IT'S MISSING THE THIRD ACT! Forget the reunification like in "Behind the Music," all those years after the band stopped having hits, what happened then? I was surprised that wasn't covered in the movie. And I was also surprised how great this documentary is. A lot of times your mind is drifting while watching these retrospective documentaries, you know so much, it's hagiography, but this film... Funny how's it entitled "Boy George & Culture Club," because that was an issue, delineated well in the film, how Boy George ended up dominating and overwhelming the other three. And it does cover George's descent into heroin addiction, but what happened over the decades after that? That's always fascinating to me, when you can walk the streets without bodyguards, when you're not exactly a has-been, but the mania has moved on to others. And there was mania for Culture Club. When people talk about the explosion of MTV, the wiping away of the old and the replacement with the new, they always focus on Duran Duran, with their expensive, exotic videos. And that was all great, but Culture Club was there first. It was Culture Club that not only broke from what was, but also broke MTV. It's hard to believe, but MTV was once exotic. Not everybody had it. It was rolled out market by market. Such that when you went to someone's house and they had access, you stared at the TV for hours. And Culture Club is when the script flipped. Culture Club was broken by MTV, not radio, a paradigm that continued for decades, to the point new MTV-centric Top 40 stations appeared on the FM dial and the old AOR rockers either collapsed, like KMET, or moved into oldies or... It was a whole new world. Demi was the one who turned me on to Culture Club. I was at their house in the afternoon, probably ready to go to Los Tacos with Freddy, as we were doing every day at that time, and Culture Club appeared on the screen and she got excited, started waxing rhapsodic about Boy George's clothing. Meanwhile, the song... "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me"...was confounding. We'd come from the era of bombastic rock, this was more akin to what came earlier, nearly twenty years before, but with a reggae beat. I mean how could this guy have such a sweet voice? Even back then we thought it was a trick, long before Pro Tools and AutoTune, never mind Suno, could make anybody a singer in any style. Now once Culture Club broke, the gates opened and a slew of English acts blew in. We had lasting ones, like the Eurythmics, and those that seemed to go as fast as they came, everybody from Haircut 100 to T'Pau to Spandau Ballet... Something was happening across the pond, and it wasn't the old farts, but young 'uns, who seemed to be living the life of Carnaby Street with a twist. Fashion was a key element. And it was bright in a way that rock had been dark. And there was no equivalent in the U.S. This music was both accessible and exotic. Fashion was a key element. You purchased "The Face" on import to see what was going on. When you went to see these acts live, the audience looked like those on stage, and... It all started with Boy George. 2 What is utterly fascinating in this film is the charisma of Boy George. Stay around long enough and acts are baked into their success, their role as stars, many are still hanging on decades later. But Boy George? He's sui generis. Never been someone like him before and never since. He's very endearing without being cloying. He doesn't want to be your best friend but you know if you ran into him he'd be open and nice. And he's self-deprecating. What a breath of fresh air! Everybody else is myth-making and this guy is owning his drama and his faux pas and laughing about it. Usually the leader of the band fights back, settles old scores, tries to prove they're worthy, never mind respectable. But not Boy George. The thing about George is he was going nowhere. And worked in a clothing store. Today, for years since, clothing and image have been key. Look at Billie Eilish! A manufactured look, and when she changed it, her audience went berserk. But this is who Boy George was. There was nothing made up or fake about it. And it was clear he had a good voice, and as a result he was pulled into Bow Wow Wow and then pushed out, for hogging the mic, for being himself. So different from the U.S., where everybody plays it safe to stay on the ride. Get booted and usually it's the end. But George didn't seem to care, never mind not being bitter about his exit, he admits he deserved it! And from there he runs into Mikey Craig in a club, and the bass player asks him if he wants to form a group. And rather than foaming at the mouth or being standoffish, George says sure, he was going with the flow, there was no five or ten year plan, like there's been with musical acts for years now. So they get a guitar player who they replace with Roy Hay, but... Jon Moss comes in as the drummer. It's been well-documented that George had a thing for Jon, but stunningly, Jon owns it in this movie. How when he encounters George he's entranced, even though he never swung that way before. And most of the lyrics are written by George to or about Jon. Did Jon still care about him after they'd gained fame, with all its attendant opportunities? And George owns how he was insecure, that he didn't know how to have a relationship, he had no models in his life. 3 Now I won't say they were handing out record deals to everybody, but back in England in the early eighties it wasn't that heavy a lift. Now KEEPING your record deal, that was hard. Culture Club signs with Virgin and are going to be dropped, but "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" becomes a hit, even though George doesn't want it to be released (but laughs about how he was wrong), and the juggernaut begins. And oh, what a juggernaut it was. It wasn't quite Beatlemania, but an eighties version thereof. Unlike so many image-heavy groups, the songs stood up, they transcended the clothing. Which made the act even more enticing. So you're watching this movie and... You're brought right back to the era. It's palpable. How we were alive and optimistic. Sure, many were disillusioned that Reagan had become president, but you were not consumed with politics 24/7, you could take your eye off the ball and live your life. And you still believed you could get to the destination. In an era where you bought the albums and played them, knew them by heart. And the bands didn't start in arenas, I remember seeing the Eurythmics at the Hollywood Palace, even though their hit was monstrous. You were there on the way up. And you were either in the club or not. It was kind of akin to the sixties when either you grew your hair long or you didn't. Either you sat by the sidelines or you jumped in. And once Culture Club and the English acts broke through, both youngsters and oldsters threw off their shackles and embraced this new sound and its hedonistic mores. Not that it was only hedonism. Although uneducated, Boy George is smart. He can opine on not only his career, but the world around him. Which is a far cry from today's barely pubescent acts looking to become brands. As for what they were selling... Think about it, an obviously gay front man, dressed out of your grandmother's closet on steroids, was singing these sweet tunes... And they were not identical. My favorite Culture Club song is "Church of the Poison Mind," which actually opens up this film, my jaw dropped. It's not like the song is obscure, but as time goes by usually only the monster smashes are remembered, focused upon. And they do cover "Karma Chameleon"... George knows this is a hit, but the rest of the band thinks it's too soft. And there's mention of Mikey's bass lines and if you can't say Culture Club was pushing the envelope musically, you can say that they brought together so many different strands of music and melded them together into something new and appealing. The tropes of yore... The long hair, the guitar solos...they were nowhere in evidence. Now they did reappear cloaked in spandex at the end of the eighties, as every hard rock act sang a ballad they hoped would be a hit, but that was after the power of MTV was established. George and the crew weren't thinking about world domination, they knew what breaking in America meant, and how difficult it was to do, but really, they got strapped to a jet and flew around the world and worked 24/7 until they burned out. That's what outsiders aren't aware of, the work involved. They see the recording and the releases and the tour in their country, but all the interviews, the radio appearances, getting up at the crack of dawn needing to be upbeat and friendly even though you were on stage and partying until the wee hours the night before... It's a job. That causes you to do drugs just to cope. It burns you out. And then George starts hanging with Marilyn... God, I haven't thought of Marilyn in years! Another failed music business hype. The most cutting edge thing about him was his name, but we only read about Marilyn in the press, we see him here, and he looks like some guy who sat in the back of your high school class. 4 So this is the rocket ship. This is a peek into the early to mid-eighties. I kept looking at the bar at the bottom of the screen, seeing how much time was left, when were they going to go deep into the denouement... But they didn't. It peaks and then... Ultimately they get back together and go on the road and... That's not satisfying enough for me, that's forty years gone by, quite a life! And the truth is this is a promotional flick. Primary Wave acquired a stake in Culture Club's assets and created this film to amplify earnings. This paradigm started with the Amy Winehouse movie, which is the Holy Gail of these docs, especially about latter-day groups, but the thing about this Culture Club movie is... IT WAS NEVER BORING! My mind didn't drift, I was positively entranced. Because I'd been there. And it felt like a badge of honor, having lived through something. Also, it was inspiring, as to future possibilities. But it was quite an era. And this film encapsulates it. If you were there, you'll love it. -- 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