Oldsters are about yesterday.
Youngsters are about today.
Documenting your entire life history, building a timeline, a shrine to yourself, so that the people you grew up with will be impressed? That's for baby boomers. Their children want nothing to do with it. Kids are for living, oldsters are for dying.
Baby boomers didn't start the texting revolution...
Want to communicate with your millennial in college? Then you'd better learn how to text, the younger generation barely e-mails. Talking on the phone? Who'd want to waste so much time!
The oldsters are rarely early adopters. They know the value of money, they're set in their ways. For all the old bloviators bemoaning the loss of privacy online, it's the kids who got the memo, that if they post pictures of illicit activity they might not get a job in the future. Kids believe in evanescence, oldsters believe in the permanent record. Ergo, the growth of Snapchat.
Kind of like the Facebook phone. The business media did not stop trumpeting its arrival. But the truth is a kid has no problem employing Facebook on his phone, assuming he wants to use it, it's only oldsters who have this problem, oldsters who are not about to switch providers who are still lamenting the loss of physical keyboards. Want to know how someone's technologically toast? If they still use a BlackBerry. You're wiping out utilization, because it's all about apps. E-mailing and texting back and forth is for business people who miss the future, as they plot where to have lunch.
There seems to be this belief that there's stasis in the digital realm. As if Microsoft still ruled and tablets were not about to eclipse desktops. Sure, the digital highway is littered with the carcasses of failed enterprises, whether it be MySpace or Pets.com, but to think that iTunes is forever is to have missed the memo. The main asset of iTunes? The credit card numbers. Other than that?
As for Google... It's been proven no one can eclipse the company in search, but is search, as we know it today, important tomorrow? Are we really gonna just type keywords into a blank field?
Interesting question.
The only company that seems to know what's going on is Amazon. Which refuses to worry about profits and keeps plowing whatever money it makes into innovation, old style Microsoft innovation, not pure, incredible Apple innovation. Yup, the first iteration of Amazon products always sucks...but they keep on improving them. And they keep adding features to Prime and inventing new products.
What is the new product of Facebook?
Facebook didn't come up with Tumblr or Pinterest, and certainly missed out on Twitter.
And isn't it fascinating that the young 'uns were the last to come to Twitter. The old techies and early adopters were there first. But their parents still don't understand the need for Twitter, never mind how to use it.
We live in a fluid society. If your result comes up on the second page of Google, it might as well not exist...hell, if it's not one of the first two or three hits, if not the very first.
Bury that information on Facebook, soon no one will see it.
But those who care are exchanging real time info constantly in the new world. That's where it's at.
And searching for profits, locked into an old paradigm, establishing contact between the distant, the lost, Facebook is missing the future.
Look at it this way... Kids already knew their friends, were already in constant contact with them. It's baby boomers who needed to catch up on the lost souls.
I'm not saying Facebook is toast. I'm not saying no oldsters use Twitter.
But I am saying to look at the trends.
Microsoft owned desktop computing. They've even been reluctant to port their productivity apps to the iPad.
Is this a recipe for further success?
Tech is like bands, they're rarely forever.
And if you want to know what a kid's up to, going to their Facebook page will tell you very little. Hell, they're leaving few digital crumbs for their parents... They're devouring the cookies and leaving no trace!
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Saturday, 1 June 2013
Friday, 31 May 2013
Signal/Noise
I'm trying to separate the signal from the noise.
Once upon a time, information was scarce, like music. You had to hunt for it, no one was pointing a fire hose at your face, which is what logging on to the Internet is like. It's a tsunami of information. Time is limited. Where do you place your attention?
According to Eric Schmidt of Google, today we generate more data in a single day than the entire world created prior to 2003.
Whew!
"Noise" means...useless information.
"Signal" means...truth.
I got that from this month's story on Nate Silver in "Fast Company":
http://www.fastcompany.com/3009258/most-creative-people-2013/1-nate-silver
Interestingly, I can't recommend the article. The facts are there, but the narrative is less than incredible.
And I only have time for incredible.
And so do you.
I'm catching up on my reading, I've got a stack of magazines as high as Mini-Me. And what stuns me is not only the repetition of information, but the amount of useless information.
The PR flacks believe if they just blast the story, somehow it will take.
And the magazines too often are just filling space. Like "Fast Company" pushing the "100 Most Creative People In Business." And "New York" telling us what to do this summer.
Huh?
I don't know who these "Fast Company" people are, the squibs give me almost no information, and there's so much data in the "New York" issue that it makes me question its veracity. Kind of like how they give you twenty five must-dos every issue. Huh? I've only got time for two or three, maybe only one! Give me twenty and I ignore them all!
That's the problem we're confronting. Not only is everybody trying to push a square peg into a round hole, the hole is the size of a needle's eye, it just won't fit. But that doesn't stop the purveyors. Every day I get tons of e-mail imploring me to listen to the productions of people I've never heard of. If I checked out all their music, I'd be unable to do anything else. It's all just...noise.
I'm not saying it's not good.
Wait a second, I am. Well, a bunch of it is good, but as stated above, I only have time for great, INCREDIBLE!
We need Ray Davies to write a song about it.
But with no traction in the offing, he's put down his pen.
Then we have idiots like John Fogerty re-recording his hits with a bunch of today's names. Huh? That was the nineties paradigm. When information was still scarce. I'll listen to the original, but I rarely have time for that. You want me to listen to imitation remakes? Come on, tell me the time the latter-day duet was better than the original...it's never happened in my book.
So we've got sellers and consumers.
And the consumers are inundated with noise. To the point where they ignore almost everything that's incoming, they only pay attention to their trusted filters, who most often are human beings, friends.
You can't trust Pandora... If you think the service is about anything but money, you haven't followed the travails of Tim Westergren. Oh, he TALKS about music, but he's being pressured by Wall Street to provide better returns. It's all a ruse. Like his recommendations.
And then there's the "Huffington Post." Where the links are intriguing but the stories don't exist. As they say in today's parlance, it's all link-bait, I've stopped clicking, entirely, yet old media keeps trumpeting the genius of Arianna... Huh?
As for record reviews... If you trust what's in "Rolling Stone," you're a better person than me. Hell, all over the web are tons of short reviews. At most I'm interested in the average, like Rotten Tomatoes for movies. Give me the general feel, is it necessary to pay attention?
This is a big problem.
Because there's just not enough time for all the new productions. In the seventies, you could see every movie. Today, most indie movies go unreleased, there's nowhere for them to play.
That doesn't mean we don't have to read stories about them.
But then you check out the result and...
It's kind of like the James Salter hype, perpetuated by "The New Yorker"... Interesting backstory, but now that the book has come out, everyone agrees it doesn't deserve the push...
And then everything's forgotten.
Today's story is yesterday's news. Literally. Movies play for a weekend. Records enter the chart at number one and then fall precipitously. Meanwhile, the chart isn't reflective of what's really going on anyway.
But mostly this is a personal story. I don't know whether to try and keep up or cry UNCLE! To burn the midnight oil or check out and just live my life.
I'm trying to whittle down. I've stopped reading those stories that talk about what MIGHT happen unless I'm truly interested in the subject. I'll wait until the Supreme Court decides, I can miss the pre-analysis.
And then there's e-mail.
I'm gonna tell you a dirty little secret. The longer you write, the less I read. Truly, unless your e-mail is fascinating, and this does happen occasionally, if you're writing multiple paragraphs I skim...because I've got no time.
No one has any time.
Who's watching 24 hour cable news? Unless there's a crisis, it's like watching paint dry. Oh, check the ratings, they're horrific.
Same with late night television... For all the ink spilled about Fallon succeeding Leno, the ratings for all these shows go down down down. Why? Because instead of being subjected to these promotional circle jerks, people are watching dramas on their DVRs, or Netflix. Given choice, they don't want what they got before. Kind of like the network news... I'm gonna tune in for appointment TV presented by a slimmed-down team that's taking its cues from "The New York Times," the only newspaper with enough reporters on the beat?
As for "The New York Times"... So much of what's in there is placed by the aforementioned PR people. You read the hype, then it's gone. Kind of like Steve Martin's album with Edie Brickell. That story was EVERYWHERE! But I've never ever had a single person tell me they listened to the record. To quote the Eagles, it's already gone.
And if you made it this far, I'm impressed. I'm doing my best, but it stuns me you're reading at all, that you're giving me your time.
But then there are the people who e-mail me and tell me I'm doing it wrong, to STFU. And maybe I am, but then why are you still reading?
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Once upon a time, information was scarce, like music. You had to hunt for it, no one was pointing a fire hose at your face, which is what logging on to the Internet is like. It's a tsunami of information. Time is limited. Where do you place your attention?
According to Eric Schmidt of Google, today we generate more data in a single day than the entire world created prior to 2003.
Whew!
"Noise" means...useless information.
"Signal" means...truth.
I got that from this month's story on Nate Silver in "Fast Company":
http://www.fastcompany.com/3009258/most-creative-people-2013/1-nate-silver
Interestingly, I can't recommend the article. The facts are there, but the narrative is less than incredible.
And I only have time for incredible.
And so do you.
I'm catching up on my reading, I've got a stack of magazines as high as Mini-Me. And what stuns me is not only the repetition of information, but the amount of useless information.
The PR flacks believe if they just blast the story, somehow it will take.
And the magazines too often are just filling space. Like "Fast Company" pushing the "100 Most Creative People In Business." And "New York" telling us what to do this summer.
Huh?
I don't know who these "Fast Company" people are, the squibs give me almost no information, and there's so much data in the "New York" issue that it makes me question its veracity. Kind of like how they give you twenty five must-dos every issue. Huh? I've only got time for two or three, maybe only one! Give me twenty and I ignore them all!
That's the problem we're confronting. Not only is everybody trying to push a square peg into a round hole, the hole is the size of a needle's eye, it just won't fit. But that doesn't stop the purveyors. Every day I get tons of e-mail imploring me to listen to the productions of people I've never heard of. If I checked out all their music, I'd be unable to do anything else. It's all just...noise.
I'm not saying it's not good.
Wait a second, I am. Well, a bunch of it is good, but as stated above, I only have time for great, INCREDIBLE!
We need Ray Davies to write a song about it.
But with no traction in the offing, he's put down his pen.
Then we have idiots like John Fogerty re-recording his hits with a bunch of today's names. Huh? That was the nineties paradigm. When information was still scarce. I'll listen to the original, but I rarely have time for that. You want me to listen to imitation remakes? Come on, tell me the time the latter-day duet was better than the original...it's never happened in my book.
So we've got sellers and consumers.
And the consumers are inundated with noise. To the point where they ignore almost everything that's incoming, they only pay attention to their trusted filters, who most often are human beings, friends.
You can't trust Pandora... If you think the service is about anything but money, you haven't followed the travails of Tim Westergren. Oh, he TALKS about music, but he's being pressured by Wall Street to provide better returns. It's all a ruse. Like his recommendations.
And then there's the "Huffington Post." Where the links are intriguing but the stories don't exist. As they say in today's parlance, it's all link-bait, I've stopped clicking, entirely, yet old media keeps trumpeting the genius of Arianna... Huh?
As for record reviews... If you trust what's in "Rolling Stone," you're a better person than me. Hell, all over the web are tons of short reviews. At most I'm interested in the average, like Rotten Tomatoes for movies. Give me the general feel, is it necessary to pay attention?
This is a big problem.
Because there's just not enough time for all the new productions. In the seventies, you could see every movie. Today, most indie movies go unreleased, there's nowhere for them to play.
That doesn't mean we don't have to read stories about them.
But then you check out the result and...
It's kind of like the James Salter hype, perpetuated by "The New Yorker"... Interesting backstory, but now that the book has come out, everyone agrees it doesn't deserve the push...
And then everything's forgotten.
Today's story is yesterday's news. Literally. Movies play for a weekend. Records enter the chart at number one and then fall precipitously. Meanwhile, the chart isn't reflective of what's really going on anyway.
But mostly this is a personal story. I don't know whether to try and keep up or cry UNCLE! To burn the midnight oil or check out and just live my life.
I'm trying to whittle down. I've stopped reading those stories that talk about what MIGHT happen unless I'm truly interested in the subject. I'll wait until the Supreme Court decides, I can miss the pre-analysis.
And then there's e-mail.
I'm gonna tell you a dirty little secret. The longer you write, the less I read. Truly, unless your e-mail is fascinating, and this does happen occasionally, if you're writing multiple paragraphs I skim...because I've got no time.
No one has any time.
Who's watching 24 hour cable news? Unless there's a crisis, it's like watching paint dry. Oh, check the ratings, they're horrific.
Same with late night television... For all the ink spilled about Fallon succeeding Leno, the ratings for all these shows go down down down. Why? Because instead of being subjected to these promotional circle jerks, people are watching dramas on their DVRs, or Netflix. Given choice, they don't want what they got before. Kind of like the network news... I'm gonna tune in for appointment TV presented by a slimmed-down team that's taking its cues from "The New York Times," the only newspaper with enough reporters on the beat?
As for "The New York Times"... So much of what's in there is placed by the aforementioned PR people. You read the hype, then it's gone. Kind of like Steve Martin's album with Edie Brickell. That story was EVERYWHERE! But I've never ever had a single person tell me they listened to the record. To quote the Eagles, it's already gone.
And if you made it this far, I'm impressed. I'm doing my best, but it stuns me you're reading at all, that you're giving me your time.
But then there are the people who e-mail me and tell me I'm doing it wrong, to STFU. And maybe I am, but then why are you still reading?
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Rhinofy-Higher Love
Yes, the Stevie Winwood track, the one that took him from rock credibility to the mainstream, that made him an MTV dancing fool, that gave him twenty-odd years of touring goodness, despite having so many classic credentials in his back pocket before this...can you say GIMME SOME LOVIN'? Never mind "I'm A Man" and "Dear Mr. Fantasy"?
So who do we want to credit?
Maybe Steve and Will Jennings, who wrote it.
Better yet, Russ Titelman, who produced it. Check Russ's credits, there may be commercial failures, but never artistic ones. Even without his partner Lenny Waronker, Titelman was a fountain of excellence, he goosed artists to give their best, whether it be Clapton, McVie or Winwood. Ultimately, I think Russ is the winner here, he put the players together, he had the vision. But vision doesn't make a hit track.
Maybe credit should go to Chaka Khan who is doing her best emotional/sexual singing/screaming, it sounds like she's about to come, and that's a GOOD THING!
Then there's Carole Steele on the congas. They add a feel, a vibe, that makes the song unique. But they're just part of the stew, a minor element, not the key.
Or maybe Philippe Saisse, with the synthesizer bass. Yup, one can argue strongly that "Back In The High Life" is the album that brought this sound mainstream, that made keyboard players the bottom as opposed to pickers. And maybe Mr. Saisse should not be underestimated, since he's part of the rhythm section, the foundation.
Then there are those synth horns. So exuberant. Programmed by David Frank.
But also playing synth, but this time drums, is Mr. Winwood himself. Yes, we keep coming back to the rhythm section, anchored by...John Robinson. The same John Robinson underlying Daft Punk's monstrous "Random Access Memories"? YES!
But he's not the only one...
When I think of "Higher Love," there's a single part that always comes to mind, the one that begins right after the first verse...yes, that's when the unmistakable playing of Nile Rodgers begins. It sounds like he's cracking pistachios, running his fingers over soft rocks, the sound is uniquely his without dominating, just adding a dollop of essence, a spice that makes the whole track come alive.
Are you getting this? IT'S THE SAME GUYS!
Have we come full circle? Is not only the sound of "Random Access Memories" reminiscent of the seventies, but the whole damn paradigm? In other words, will records become expensive once again, played by humans with tons of experience?
This would be a sea change. It would require everybody to do what no one in America will, never mind the music business...and that's RESET! Yup, adjust their vision downwards. Think about music instead of money. Maybe making records is no longer about getting rich, but getting it RIGHT!
Maybe no more bitching about theft.
Maybe no more comparison to the titans of tech and banking.
Maybe no more questioning what happens to the songwriter.
Maybe just playing.
And despite all the bitching, I'm telling you now, people are gonna pay for music in the future. If you're thinking about piracy, you're thinking wrong, because stealing is just too difficult, it's easier to just pull up Spotify and listen, just like you pay for convenience in so many other areas.
So there will be money...
For the winners.
And the winners will be a small coterie of people who write and play at the level of the past. That's right, now you've got to be BETTER than ever before. Because the rest of recorded history is just a click away.
This is a good thing.
The playing field is now level. There's no issue of getting your effort into the retail shop, of getting paid. Now you can focus on what you do best, making MUSIC!
Nobody involved in "Higher Love" was a newbie. From Titelman to Winwood to Robinson and Rodgers, they'd all paid their dues, something that's anathema today, where everything must be instant.
But music is not like MySpace, it's not even like Facebook. When done right, music is forever, it's made to last.
Like "Higher Love." Which sounds as fresh today as it did when it was released back in 1986.
"Back In The High Life" was not made overnight. It was not cheap.
But it was right.
That's what we're interested in today. What's right.
Ladies and gentlemen...START YOUR ENGINES!
P.S. Yes, I know other people played on this track too. They deserve kudos, it's definitely a team effort.
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/p6HcZ8
Previous Rhinofy playlists: http://www.rhinofy.com/lefsetz
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So who do we want to credit?
Maybe Steve and Will Jennings, who wrote it.
Better yet, Russ Titelman, who produced it. Check Russ's credits, there may be commercial failures, but never artistic ones. Even without his partner Lenny Waronker, Titelman was a fountain of excellence, he goosed artists to give their best, whether it be Clapton, McVie or Winwood. Ultimately, I think Russ is the winner here, he put the players together, he had the vision. But vision doesn't make a hit track.
Maybe credit should go to Chaka Khan who is doing her best emotional/sexual singing/screaming, it sounds like she's about to come, and that's a GOOD THING!
Then there's Carole Steele on the congas. They add a feel, a vibe, that makes the song unique. But they're just part of the stew, a minor element, not the key.
Or maybe Philippe Saisse, with the synthesizer bass. Yup, one can argue strongly that "Back In The High Life" is the album that brought this sound mainstream, that made keyboard players the bottom as opposed to pickers. And maybe Mr. Saisse should not be underestimated, since he's part of the rhythm section, the foundation.
Then there are those synth horns. So exuberant. Programmed by David Frank.
But also playing synth, but this time drums, is Mr. Winwood himself. Yes, we keep coming back to the rhythm section, anchored by...John Robinson. The same John Robinson underlying Daft Punk's monstrous "Random Access Memories"? YES!
But he's not the only one...
When I think of "Higher Love," there's a single part that always comes to mind, the one that begins right after the first verse...yes, that's when the unmistakable playing of Nile Rodgers begins. It sounds like he's cracking pistachios, running his fingers over soft rocks, the sound is uniquely his without dominating, just adding a dollop of essence, a spice that makes the whole track come alive.
Are you getting this? IT'S THE SAME GUYS!
Have we come full circle? Is not only the sound of "Random Access Memories" reminiscent of the seventies, but the whole damn paradigm? In other words, will records become expensive once again, played by humans with tons of experience?
This would be a sea change. It would require everybody to do what no one in America will, never mind the music business...and that's RESET! Yup, adjust their vision downwards. Think about music instead of money. Maybe making records is no longer about getting rich, but getting it RIGHT!
Maybe no more bitching about theft.
Maybe no more comparison to the titans of tech and banking.
Maybe no more questioning what happens to the songwriter.
Maybe just playing.
And despite all the bitching, I'm telling you now, people are gonna pay for music in the future. If you're thinking about piracy, you're thinking wrong, because stealing is just too difficult, it's easier to just pull up Spotify and listen, just like you pay for convenience in so many other areas.
So there will be money...
For the winners.
And the winners will be a small coterie of people who write and play at the level of the past. That's right, now you've got to be BETTER than ever before. Because the rest of recorded history is just a click away.
This is a good thing.
The playing field is now level. There's no issue of getting your effort into the retail shop, of getting paid. Now you can focus on what you do best, making MUSIC!
Nobody involved in "Higher Love" was a newbie. From Titelman to Winwood to Robinson and Rodgers, they'd all paid their dues, something that's anathema today, where everything must be instant.
But music is not like MySpace, it's not even like Facebook. When done right, music is forever, it's made to last.
Like "Higher Love." Which sounds as fresh today as it did when it was released back in 1986.
"Back In The High Life" was not made overnight. It was not cheap.
But it was right.
That's what we're interested in today. What's right.
Ladies and gentlemen...START YOUR ENGINES!
P.S. Yes, I know other people played on this track too. They deserve kudos, it's definitely a team effort.
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/p6HcZ8
Previous Rhinofy playlists: http://www.rhinofy.com/lefsetz
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Thursday, 30 May 2013
Boston Strong
Oh to write a song as good as "Shower The People"...
I'm supposed to be at dinner, but I can't stop watching "Boston Strong."
Once upon a time these events were on television, when they were infrequent, when we had not yet become inured to tragedy in our lives. Still, isn't it interesting that when a crisis appears, we always turn to our artists, our musicians. There's no music in school, we live in a money-grubbing, too often soulless country. We depend upon our artists to give it all meaning.
And that's what James Taylor and Carole King are doing right now.
I know, I know, they've been on an endless reunion tour.
But...if you're a baby boomer, they're our soundtrack.
Once all the rebellion is put to sleep, when you realize that you're not special, that life is for living, you cast aside your prejudices and just...enjoy. You might have been a tattooed, angry soul yesterday, but tomorrow you're Bieber or Amanda Bynes...history.
Because there's no basis, no backup, no catalog. But if you stay at it for years, you get really good, you touch our souls.
Like with "Shower The People"...
"Once you tell somebody the way that you feel
You can feel it beginning to ease"
That's life. It's about sharing. Don't keep it inside. Tell people.
"You can play the game
And you can act out the part
Though you know it wasn't written for you
But tell me how can you stand there
With your broken heart
Ashamed of playing the fool"
Image. It's not everything it's cracked up to be. We're all imperfect. We all have problems with bathing suits. Own it. Your life will get easier.
"You can run but you cannot hide
This is widely known
And what you plan to do
With your foolish pride
When you're all by yourself alone"
That's what we want to be...together. And that's what we do during live events. Tune in, feel part of it.
In this crazy world where no one stays in one place anymore, we unite when it's immediate, when it's one time only, the replay will not do.
TV has lost the plot. It thinks it's about ratings when it's truly about content. Which is all over the web, in hi-def, blow this image up full-screen and it will blow your mind...it's so sharp.
And sure, it'd be better to be there...
Then again, maybe not. At these big events you can't get a seat up close and personal unless you're rich or know somebody, which most people don't. But online, you can be right there in the first row. You can see the lines in the faces...the performers appear HUMAN! Something too many celebrities are evading, with their plastic surgery and Botox and... But it's experienced faces we truly want to see, those with the decades etched upon them, reminding us of not only who they were, but who we are too.
When this old world starts getting you down...
Put on a record.
It'll keep you going, it'll safe your life.
http://www.aconcertforboston.org
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I'm supposed to be at dinner, but I can't stop watching "Boston Strong."
Once upon a time these events were on television, when they were infrequent, when we had not yet become inured to tragedy in our lives. Still, isn't it interesting that when a crisis appears, we always turn to our artists, our musicians. There's no music in school, we live in a money-grubbing, too often soulless country. We depend upon our artists to give it all meaning.
And that's what James Taylor and Carole King are doing right now.
I know, I know, they've been on an endless reunion tour.
But...if you're a baby boomer, they're our soundtrack.
Once all the rebellion is put to sleep, when you realize that you're not special, that life is for living, you cast aside your prejudices and just...enjoy. You might have been a tattooed, angry soul yesterday, but tomorrow you're Bieber or Amanda Bynes...history.
Because there's no basis, no backup, no catalog. But if you stay at it for years, you get really good, you touch our souls.
Like with "Shower The People"...
"Once you tell somebody the way that you feel
You can feel it beginning to ease"
That's life. It's about sharing. Don't keep it inside. Tell people.
"You can play the game
And you can act out the part
Though you know it wasn't written for you
But tell me how can you stand there
With your broken heart
Ashamed of playing the fool"
Image. It's not everything it's cracked up to be. We're all imperfect. We all have problems with bathing suits. Own it. Your life will get easier.
"You can run but you cannot hide
This is widely known
And what you plan to do
With your foolish pride
When you're all by yourself alone"
That's what we want to be...together. And that's what we do during live events. Tune in, feel part of it.
In this crazy world where no one stays in one place anymore, we unite when it's immediate, when it's one time only, the replay will not do.
TV has lost the plot. It thinks it's about ratings when it's truly about content. Which is all over the web, in hi-def, blow this image up full-screen and it will blow your mind...it's so sharp.
And sure, it'd be better to be there...
Then again, maybe not. At these big events you can't get a seat up close and personal unless you're rich or know somebody, which most people don't. But online, you can be right there in the first row. You can see the lines in the faces...the performers appear HUMAN! Something too many celebrities are evading, with their plastic surgery and Botox and... But it's experienced faces we truly want to see, those with the decades etched upon them, reminding us of not only who they were, but who we are too.
When this old world starts getting you down...
Put on a record.
It'll keep you going, it'll safe your life.
http://www.aconcertforboston.org
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Wednesday, 29 May 2013
Mailbag
Subject: IMS Business Reports
Hi Bob,
We had a delay on making the reports free, Monday was a bank holiday and then the team took the day to re-code the website section to make it free. It now is and you can direct your readers to this link for the download http://www.internationalmusicsummit.com/ibiza/business-reports
All the best.
Kind Regards,
Domenico Ruggeri
General Manager
International Music Summit
_____________________________________
Subject: The Richest Electronic DJs In The World 2013
http://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/entertainment-articles/the-richest-electronic-djs-in-the-world-2013/
Andre Bourgeois
_____________________________________
Re: The Daft Punk Album
Now that Spotify has a play counter on the most popular songs for each artist, you can see that Daft Punk's new song has more streams than JT's "Suit & Tie". Sales are an incomplete metric for "success".
Alex Drizos
_____________________________________
From: Amanda Palmer
Re: Social Media Manipulation
a few months ago a friend of mine was fired from one of the top online tech/buzz magazines. he'd been busting his ass there for a year, working long hours and cranking out incredibly well-written, deeply researched content about his interests and also turning in obligatory stories about gadgets and video games and so forth. one day they called him into the office and told him that while his writing was stellar, he wasn't generating enough page views. they'd crunched the numbers. and he was fired on the spot.
a few weeks later, a writer for the same outlet wrote a particularly bizarre piece slamming me and my kickstarter. it was so weird and the criticism so unusually off-the-wall that i instinctively reached for the retweet button, to share it and laugh about the weirdness with my fans. right after i did, my recently-fired writer friend shot me a tweet, reminding me what we'd just learned. this article was eyeball-bait. by sharing the trash they'd written, i was keeping the trash writer in the job.
so i deleted the re-tweet.
since then, i just don't link to the trolls or the journalists who are clearly out for a fight which brings page views....i don't take the bait from sites who hoping that people (like me) with high-number followings will feel offended/defensive enough to spread the pain around to their own base and therefore alleviate some of the ego-pain that comes being slammed in the press (and i've had my fair share this year...it's very tempting to share the outside criticism with your core audience.)
i also got into a really interesting conversation about this stuff with a journalist in new york the other night, and learned something i didn't know.
"ad views" on sites like TMZ are considered worthless compared to ad views on an outlet like...i don't know, new york magazine, let's say....but NOT because people don't click on the ads.
NOBODY EVER CLICKS ON THE ADS.
the ad placement is only about impressions and associations, and nobody wants their impression to be associated with TMZ, even if they're happy to go there to look at plastic surgery disasters.
but when you buy online real estate to splash your new cadillac/apple gadget/name-a-product across the front of new york magazine online, you're just.....buying a more credible spot on the planet. but nobody, ever, EVER, clicks on that cadillac ad. (that's the theory, anyway.)
rock on bob
_____________________________________
Re: Rhinofy-Traffic
Dear Bob,
I really enjoyed your article on Traffic. They were one of, if not my favorite group of that period, and I agree with you, the second album was the definitive one, even though "Mr Fantasy" was great.
The combination of their great songs, and Winwood, Mason and Capadi's vocals made the few albums they made real standouts of that period. I had already been a big fan of Winwood's voice from the Spencer Davis group, but the combination of the three of them, and the songs they wrote, made that band unique.
As it turns out, I had the honor and the pleasure of producing "Alone Together" along with Dave. I had left what at the time seemed like a promising future at A&M records, but felt like I was in a rut with the things I was producing, and needed a change, so I went with my instincts, and joined my two close friends Bob Krasnow and Don Graham and started Blue Thumb Records. I remember very distinctly when we got a call from our friend Allen Parisier, who along with his two Partners, Sid Kaiser and the brilliant photographer Barry Feinstein, who had done most of the great album covers in that period from the George Harrison "All Things Must pass" to Janice Joplin's "Pearl", and of course "Alone Together" with the three-fold out cover, and the tie-dye vinyl record. They had just started a management company called "Group Three, and Dave was the first artist they signed. As it turns out, at least up to that time other than the Crusaders, Dave was the most important artist we had signed.
One of the first things I wondered about was why they came to us instead of one of the majors, though it occurred to me later that the majors probably passed because they didn't realize how talented Dave Mason was. The minute I heard traffic's debut album, and especially the follow up with Feelin Alright, "Crying To Be Heard, "You can All Join In", I knew that Dave was a great songwriter; in fact probably better than Winwood, though Winwood's voice was so great and distinctive that I think everyone was drawn to him first.
In thinking back, the making of "Alone Together" was one of the highlights of my career, and was responsible for giving me my first sense of confidence regarding my production chops.
Dave and I put our heads together, and came up with a combination of what was at that time this incredible pool of musicians in the LA area. You have to remember, the Mama's and Papa's had sounded the call with "California Dreamin" and talent from all over the the world had set their sites on the west coast. We picked Sunset Sound where I had been recording for about five years to record the tracks, with Bruce Botnick who had done all of the things I had produced up to that time, plus had recorded all of the "The Doors" albums among other things.
Studio 1 at Sunset was a magic room to record in. it just had that vibe, and it had a fantastic room echo chamber which made things sound so great when you heard the playback, that it inspired you to forge ahead. The players we chose, Jim Gordon, Jim Keltner, along with Jim Capaldi to share the drum seat on different tracks, Leon Russell, and John Simon, (who produced "The Band" albums) to play keyboards, and Carl Radle of " Derek and the Dominos" fame to play bass. Man, what a band! The first track we cut was "Only You Know And I Know" and I think it blew every one's mind on how it came out. At that point Dave I believe got very excited with the result's, and put in a call To Jim Capaldi, and asked him to fly over from England to write some material with him, and of course also play drums.
Dave was so good at coming up with musical ideas. We cut the tracks with him playing 12 string rhythm guitar, then he put all of those incredible Electric guitar parts down afterwards. Everything you hear from wa-wa to solo's are him. What a genius! If I'm not mistaken, Dave was one of the first, if not the first of the well known band members to do a solo album, though On second thought George Harrison was doing "All Things Must Pass" around the same time. After I finished Dave's album,(and it may have been released already) I took a trip to England with Barry Feinstein and Allen Parisier and was present at George's home when Barry did the photo shoot for Georges album, and the night before the shoot, George played us the album, and I kept wondering why "My Sweet Lord" sounded so familiar. I realized soon enough when he was sued by the publisher of "He's So Fine.
One last point I want to make is, it turns out because "Alone Together" took longer than we had expected, Bruce Botnick had to bow out before the mixing of the album, as he was taking Paul Rothchilds place, to produce the Doors. I was in a real fix as I couldn't think of someone I had the same confidence in as Bruce. Then a friend of mine, the producer Joe Wissert reminded me that our close friend Al Schmitt, who had hung up his engineering shoes to get into producing everyone from Sam Cook to the Jefferson Airplane had been one of the best engineers in the late fifties and early sixties. I asked him to mix Dave's album, and he told me he hadn't mixed an album in at least 10 or twelve years. I said Don't worry man, it's like riding a bike, you never forget. Well he mixed the shit out it, and after the experience came to the conclusion that he loved recording and mixing more than producing, and went on in his career to win 19 grammy awards, more than any other engineer or mixer.
Best,
Tommy LiPuma
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Hi Bob,
We had a delay on making the reports free, Monday was a bank holiday and then the team took the day to re-code the website section to make it free. It now is and you can direct your readers to this link for the download http://www.internationalmusicsummit.com/ibiza/business-reports
All the best.
Kind Regards,
Domenico Ruggeri
General Manager
International Music Summit
_____________________________________
Subject: The Richest Electronic DJs In The World 2013
http://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/entertainment-articles/the-richest-electronic-djs-in-the-world-2013/
Andre Bourgeois
_____________________________________
Re: The Daft Punk Album
Now that Spotify has a play counter on the most popular songs for each artist, you can see that Daft Punk's new song has more streams than JT's "Suit & Tie". Sales are an incomplete metric for "success".
Alex Drizos
_____________________________________
From: Amanda Palmer
Re: Social Media Manipulation
a few months ago a friend of mine was fired from one of the top online tech/buzz magazines. he'd been busting his ass there for a year, working long hours and cranking out incredibly well-written, deeply researched content about his interests and also turning in obligatory stories about gadgets and video games and so forth. one day they called him into the office and told him that while his writing was stellar, he wasn't generating enough page views. they'd crunched the numbers. and he was fired on the spot.
a few weeks later, a writer for the same outlet wrote a particularly bizarre piece slamming me and my kickstarter. it was so weird and the criticism so unusually off-the-wall that i instinctively reached for the retweet button, to share it and laugh about the weirdness with my fans. right after i did, my recently-fired writer friend shot me a tweet, reminding me what we'd just learned. this article was eyeball-bait. by sharing the trash they'd written, i was keeping the trash writer in the job.
so i deleted the re-tweet.
since then, i just don't link to the trolls or the journalists who are clearly out for a fight which brings page views....i don't take the bait from sites who hoping that people (like me) with high-number followings will feel offended/defensive enough to spread the pain around to their own base and therefore alleviate some of the ego-pain that comes being slammed in the press (and i've had my fair share this year...it's very tempting to share the outside criticism with your core audience.)
i also got into a really interesting conversation about this stuff with a journalist in new york the other night, and learned something i didn't know.
"ad views" on sites like TMZ are considered worthless compared to ad views on an outlet like...i don't know, new york magazine, let's say....but NOT because people don't click on the ads.
NOBODY EVER CLICKS ON THE ADS.
the ad placement is only about impressions and associations, and nobody wants their impression to be associated with TMZ, even if they're happy to go there to look at plastic surgery disasters.
but when you buy online real estate to splash your new cadillac/apple gadget/name-a-product across the front of new york magazine online, you're just.....buying a more credible spot on the planet. but nobody, ever, EVER, clicks on that cadillac ad. (that's the theory, anyway.)
rock on bob
_____________________________________
Re: Rhinofy-Traffic
Dear Bob,
I really enjoyed your article on Traffic. They were one of, if not my favorite group of that period, and I agree with you, the second album was the definitive one, even though "Mr Fantasy" was great.
The combination of their great songs, and Winwood, Mason and Capadi's vocals made the few albums they made real standouts of that period. I had already been a big fan of Winwood's voice from the Spencer Davis group, but the combination of the three of them, and the songs they wrote, made that band unique.
As it turns out, I had the honor and the pleasure of producing "Alone Together" along with Dave. I had left what at the time seemed like a promising future at A&M records, but felt like I was in a rut with the things I was producing, and needed a change, so I went with my instincts, and joined my two close friends Bob Krasnow and Don Graham and started Blue Thumb Records. I remember very distinctly when we got a call from our friend Allen Parisier, who along with his two Partners, Sid Kaiser and the brilliant photographer Barry Feinstein, who had done most of the great album covers in that period from the George Harrison "All Things Must pass" to Janice Joplin's "Pearl", and of course "Alone Together" with the three-fold out cover, and the tie-dye vinyl record. They had just started a management company called "Group Three, and Dave was the first artist they signed. As it turns out, at least up to that time other than the Crusaders, Dave was the most important artist we had signed.
One of the first things I wondered about was why they came to us instead of one of the majors, though it occurred to me later that the majors probably passed because they didn't realize how talented Dave Mason was. The minute I heard traffic's debut album, and especially the follow up with Feelin Alright, "Crying To Be Heard, "You can All Join In", I knew that Dave was a great songwriter; in fact probably better than Winwood, though Winwood's voice was so great and distinctive that I think everyone was drawn to him first.
In thinking back, the making of "Alone Together" was one of the highlights of my career, and was responsible for giving me my first sense of confidence regarding my production chops.
Dave and I put our heads together, and came up with a combination of what was at that time this incredible pool of musicians in the LA area. You have to remember, the Mama's and Papa's had sounded the call with "California Dreamin" and talent from all over the the world had set their sites on the west coast. We picked Sunset Sound where I had been recording for about five years to record the tracks, with Bruce Botnick who had done all of the things I had produced up to that time, plus had recorded all of the "The Doors" albums among other things.
Studio 1 at Sunset was a magic room to record in. it just had that vibe, and it had a fantastic room echo chamber which made things sound so great when you heard the playback, that it inspired you to forge ahead. The players we chose, Jim Gordon, Jim Keltner, along with Jim Capaldi to share the drum seat on different tracks, Leon Russell, and John Simon, (who produced "The Band" albums) to play keyboards, and Carl Radle of " Derek and the Dominos" fame to play bass. Man, what a band! The first track we cut was "Only You Know And I Know" and I think it blew every one's mind on how it came out. At that point Dave I believe got very excited with the result's, and put in a call To Jim Capaldi, and asked him to fly over from England to write some material with him, and of course also play drums.
Dave was so good at coming up with musical ideas. We cut the tracks with him playing 12 string rhythm guitar, then he put all of those incredible Electric guitar parts down afterwards. Everything you hear from wa-wa to solo's are him. What a genius! If I'm not mistaken, Dave was one of the first, if not the first of the well known band members to do a solo album, though On second thought George Harrison was doing "All Things Must Pass" around the same time. After I finished Dave's album,(and it may have been released already) I took a trip to England with Barry Feinstein and Allen Parisier and was present at George's home when Barry did the photo shoot for Georges album, and the night before the shoot, George played us the album, and I kept wondering why "My Sweet Lord" sounded so familiar. I realized soon enough when he was sued by the publisher of "He's So Fine.
One last point I want to make is, it turns out because "Alone Together" took longer than we had expected, Bruce Botnick had to bow out before the mixing of the album, as he was taking Paul Rothchilds place, to produce the Doors. I was in a real fix as I couldn't think of someone I had the same confidence in as Bruce. Then a friend of mine, the producer Joe Wissert reminded me that our close friend Al Schmitt, who had hung up his engineering shoes to get into producing everyone from Sam Cook to the Jefferson Airplane had been one of the best engineers in the late fifties and early sixties. I asked him to mix Dave's album, and he told me he hadn't mixed an album in at least 10 or twelve years. I said Don't worry man, it's like riding a bike, you never forget. Well he mixed the shit out it, and after the experience came to the conclusion that he loved recording and mixing more than producing, and went on in his career to win 19 grammy awards, more than any other engineer or mixer.
Best,
Tommy LiPuma
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The Daft Punk Album
Don't believe the hype. Its success had little to do with the marketing campaign. Other than it motivated core fans!
That's the story here. Kind of like when Apple introduces a new product. Daft Punk fans, earned over two decades, track the band incessantly, and when they heard a new record was imminent, they couldn't stop talking about it. They're the ones who made the SNL ad and the Coachella video go viral. Otherwise, the ads were dead in the water. I.e. nobody who didn't care before cared now, the ads didn't wake up the masses, the fans did!
Not that every fan is happy with "Random Access Memories." Many are angry that it's a return to the seventies as opposed to a step forward into the electronic stratosphere.
But one thing "Random Access Memories" has that most albums do not is a hit single.
And a hit is not something that can be quantified, rather it's something you HEAR, that makes you feel warm and excited and energized and desirous of nothing so much as playing it again. The launch pad was primed, but it was "Get Lucky" that ensured blastoff.
And now with streaming media, we live in a totally different era. The listening threshold is tiny. Used to be you had to wait to hear multiple tracks on the radio, distill public opinion, only fans bought without hearing first. But the buzz has caused immense streaming on Spotify.
This is the new model:
1. A long hard slog of a career. Instant is for pussies. True musicians are lifers.
2. Energization of the fan base. Gatekeepers have never had so little power. And I say good riddance. Because unlike fans, gatekeepers are not loyal. Program directors can find a zillion reasons not to air your follow-up single. But a hard core fan will always check it out.
3. Excellence is key! Not only is the single fantastic, the rest of "Random Access Memories" is highly listenable.
BUT WAIT BOB! YOU SAID THE ALBUM WAS DEAD!
It is.
But there are exceptions to every rule.
Exception number one... Excellence eviscerates all rules. If you're fantastic, you need no social media presence, you don't have to do anything but release your music.
Exception number two, a sub-set of number one..."Random Access Memories" is playable through and through. And that's a rarity today. Oh, the hard core fan base might play your album, but the hoi polloi will not, which is why your career is stuck. In the Internet era, we only have time for great. So if you can deliver this, and I can't think of another album in 2013 that has, go ahead and make your album. Otherwise, continue to woodshed and be in the public eye.
Yes, that hearkens back to Exception Number One also... Justin Timberlake went on a scorched earth publicity campaign to sell his album. The label had to force the single up the chart. It all worked, but isn't it interesting that Daft Punk required no Grammy appearance, no hosting of SNL, no endless hype to break their album.
Then again, Daft Punk sold three hundred thousand-odd albums and Justin Timberlake three times as many.
But this is a good thing. It allows room for growth.
Yes, there's time for the uninformed to get on the gravy train. In a world where everybody's overwhelmed, many are immune to hype, they're busy with other things, they come to the party later. And that's fine. That's even better. Continued slow growth keeps you in the public consciousness.
Also, one can argue that "Random Access Memories" is a streaming phenomenon. That sales are on an old metric.
One thing's for sure, "Random Access Memories" is the album of the year. The one everybody's talking about. With almost no backlash. It's closer to "Rumours" than it is to "The 20/20 Experience."
Meanwhile, you should check it out:
GIVE LIFE BACK TO MUSIC
Taking their cue from the Rolling Stones, who perfected this paradigm, Daft Punk knows you've got to start your LP with a killer cut. "Give Life Back To Music" grabs you instantly, and that's necessary in the Internet era. And you'll love Nile Rodgers's guitar.
DOIN' IT RIGHT
The surprise cut! The one that got little buzz, as opposed to the ones with Giorgio Moroder and Paul Williams, "Doin' It Right" is a classic album track, the one that won't get airplay, but becomes your favorite. It puts a smile on your face, especially when the untreated vocals begin.
CONTACT
By all rights, this should be awful. With a vocal by Buzz Aldrin. But I LOVE this! And you will too!
And, of course, there's "Get Lucky"...
"Random Access Memories" is the first album in eons I don't want to take off, that I don't want to abandon to listen to something else. It's the album that shouldn't have been made. An expensive project in an era when everybody bitches they can't afford to cut endlessly in the big room. A seventies album in the twenty first century.
I'd like to say many more "Random Access Memories" will follow. But I know this is untrue. Because no one wants to put in the time, the focus today is on the trappings instead of the music, people believe if everybody knows your name, you're home free.
BUT IT DON'T REALLY HAPPEN THAT WAY AT ALL!
Music still rules.
LISTEN!
P.S. Want to know what it was like in the seventies, listen to "Random Access Memories."
P.P.S. This is just the beginning. Next comes the tour. Wherein Daft Punk will be bigger than both the Stones and U2. Just you wait and see!
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/11tcMLF
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That's the story here. Kind of like when Apple introduces a new product. Daft Punk fans, earned over two decades, track the band incessantly, and when they heard a new record was imminent, they couldn't stop talking about it. They're the ones who made the SNL ad and the Coachella video go viral. Otherwise, the ads were dead in the water. I.e. nobody who didn't care before cared now, the ads didn't wake up the masses, the fans did!
Not that every fan is happy with "Random Access Memories." Many are angry that it's a return to the seventies as opposed to a step forward into the electronic stratosphere.
But one thing "Random Access Memories" has that most albums do not is a hit single.
And a hit is not something that can be quantified, rather it's something you HEAR, that makes you feel warm and excited and energized and desirous of nothing so much as playing it again. The launch pad was primed, but it was "Get Lucky" that ensured blastoff.
And now with streaming media, we live in a totally different era. The listening threshold is tiny. Used to be you had to wait to hear multiple tracks on the radio, distill public opinion, only fans bought without hearing first. But the buzz has caused immense streaming on Spotify.
This is the new model:
1. A long hard slog of a career. Instant is for pussies. True musicians are lifers.
2. Energization of the fan base. Gatekeepers have never had so little power. And I say good riddance. Because unlike fans, gatekeepers are not loyal. Program directors can find a zillion reasons not to air your follow-up single. But a hard core fan will always check it out.
3. Excellence is key! Not only is the single fantastic, the rest of "Random Access Memories" is highly listenable.
BUT WAIT BOB! YOU SAID THE ALBUM WAS DEAD!
It is.
But there are exceptions to every rule.
Exception number one... Excellence eviscerates all rules. If you're fantastic, you need no social media presence, you don't have to do anything but release your music.
Exception number two, a sub-set of number one..."Random Access Memories" is playable through and through. And that's a rarity today. Oh, the hard core fan base might play your album, but the hoi polloi will not, which is why your career is stuck. In the Internet era, we only have time for great. So if you can deliver this, and I can't think of another album in 2013 that has, go ahead and make your album. Otherwise, continue to woodshed and be in the public eye.
Yes, that hearkens back to Exception Number One also... Justin Timberlake went on a scorched earth publicity campaign to sell his album. The label had to force the single up the chart. It all worked, but isn't it interesting that Daft Punk required no Grammy appearance, no hosting of SNL, no endless hype to break their album.
Then again, Daft Punk sold three hundred thousand-odd albums and Justin Timberlake three times as many.
But this is a good thing. It allows room for growth.
Yes, there's time for the uninformed to get on the gravy train. In a world where everybody's overwhelmed, many are immune to hype, they're busy with other things, they come to the party later. And that's fine. That's even better. Continued slow growth keeps you in the public consciousness.
Also, one can argue that "Random Access Memories" is a streaming phenomenon. That sales are on an old metric.
One thing's for sure, "Random Access Memories" is the album of the year. The one everybody's talking about. With almost no backlash. It's closer to "Rumours" than it is to "The 20/20 Experience."
Meanwhile, you should check it out:
GIVE LIFE BACK TO MUSIC
Taking their cue from the Rolling Stones, who perfected this paradigm, Daft Punk knows you've got to start your LP with a killer cut. "Give Life Back To Music" grabs you instantly, and that's necessary in the Internet era. And you'll love Nile Rodgers's guitar.
DOIN' IT RIGHT
The surprise cut! The one that got little buzz, as opposed to the ones with Giorgio Moroder and Paul Williams, "Doin' It Right" is a classic album track, the one that won't get airplay, but becomes your favorite. It puts a smile on your face, especially when the untreated vocals begin.
CONTACT
By all rights, this should be awful. With a vocal by Buzz Aldrin. But I LOVE this! And you will too!
And, of course, there's "Get Lucky"...
"Random Access Memories" is the first album in eons I don't want to take off, that I don't want to abandon to listen to something else. It's the album that shouldn't have been made. An expensive project in an era when everybody bitches they can't afford to cut endlessly in the big room. A seventies album in the twenty first century.
I'd like to say many more "Random Access Memories" will follow. But I know this is untrue. Because no one wants to put in the time, the focus today is on the trappings instead of the music, people believe if everybody knows your name, you're home free.
BUT IT DON'T REALLY HAPPEN THAT WAY AT ALL!
Music still rules.
LISTEN!
P.S. Want to know what it was like in the seventies, listen to "Random Access Memories."
P.P.S. This is just the beginning. Next comes the tour. Wherein Daft Punk will be bigger than both the Stones and U2. Just you wait and see!
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/11tcMLF
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Tuesday, 28 May 2013
Final Ibiza
1. I'm in a fog. Man was not made to fly across eight time zones. I never quite caught up while I was there, and although flying east to west is so much easier on the body, yesterday all I did was sleep. They say it's one day of recovery for every time zone. I certainly hope not!
2. The old town of Ibiza, which is the epicenter of the island, which was in walking distance from my hotel, is dominated by an old castle, a citadel, upon a promontory, called Dalt Vila. For two nights, the IMS negotiated to have shows there, to kick off the season, yup, that's what it is, a four month season, from Memorial Day through September, when it's warm and the locals work seven days a week, garnering enough cash to make it through the winter. Some hibernate in the off season, some travel. That's one thing the English have down, as well as so many Europeans, they've got passports and they use them! My driver plans to spend the winter in South America, backpacking.
You learn so much traveling, it gives you perspective. But it's good to be back in the good 'ol USA where we've got regulations! If I hear one more right wing nut excoriate regulations I'm gonna ship them to a foreign country and show them what it's like. Not only do buildings collapse in Asia, but in the rest of the world railings can be flimsy, there can be no lights, never mind friction strips, upon steps, and you realize you're one false move away from being handicapped. Yup, that's what happens when you've got no regulations, some people pay...with their health, with their lives...it could be you! Furthermore, in America you've got confidence. I got on a rickety ski lift in South America and I was wondering...was this thing gonna break? In the U.S. there are inspections, standards, the odds of flaws are low. Kind of like when I went snorkeling in the Caribbean and almost drowned... Nobody was looking out for me, the concessionaires had no responsibility!
Anyway, on Friday night we climbed to the top of Dalt Vila for this concert, which ended early, so the locals wouldn't be disturbed. Early? That's midnight!
And the lights are pulsing and the crowd is moving in time and I'm standing on stage with Sven Vath, who's telling me his story.
He's got twenty employees in Frankfurt. He's got a record company, an agency...
And he's got forty employees in Ibiza.
And I ask him, doesn't he want to shift from Monday night, when he has his residency in Ibiza?
No, he LOVES Monday night! Because that allows him to do three or four festivals every weekend!
And how does he do this?
BY PRIVATE JET!
Word is getting out, but most people in America are unaware of the vast sums of money made by deejays. They report to nobody other than themselves. They don't need the Fortune 500 to make their numbers, they're doing quite well, without depending upon recorded music.
And then Sven excused himself, he had to hit the decks.
Yes, Sven is old school...he uses two Technics 1200s and a mixer. And the crowd was enraptured.
Sven Vath picking vinyl: http://bit.ly/16nMcp5
Ibiza from Dalt Vila: http://bit.ly/111e0GT
3. And what I want to do right now, is get you all on a jet and take you to the Lio.
It's a club. Owned by Pacha. Which seems beamed right out of the thirties. Or maybe "I Love Lucy"...you remember Ricky's club!
Now this wasn't the lumpy people of Pacha... This was European royalty. Or Russians. Or somebody so rich they didn't care about the prices, which are far from low. That's what happens when you visit Europe, you see income inequality in action. The Russians can outspend anybody!
Anyway, the Lio has food...it was the best meal I ate on the island.
There was stuffed lobster.
And veal tartare.
And black cod miso that gave Matsuhisa a run for its money.
But while we were eating, there was a stage show. Every five or ten minutes another act would emerge. Performing acrobatic feats, singing, dancing...it was like Cirque du Soleil but without the bogus self-importance. It was sheer entertainment...as you drank and ate and laughed and danced... It was everything you think Vegas once was, alive, today. Check it out:
http://lioibiza.com
4. Our tour guide Friday night was Massimo, who was born in Syria, lived in the U.S. and now runs the Pacha magazine. I got a complete explanation of the antics in his homeland. He said the war was all about religion. Ensuring the "wrong people" don't gain power.
And the straw that stirred the drink was Eddie Dean, who owns Pacha in New York. Hanging with Eddie is a blast, because he's talkative, upbeat...he makes the night come alive.
Which it did. As we sat facing the stage, with our backs to the water and...
Take a look:
http://bit.ly/13gXPZ0
5. I flew home on Air Berlin, so I could take two flights instead of three. They served something that looked like worms which turned out to be northern shrimp, so I ate those, I was hungry. But nothing was gonna get me to partake of the triangle of gelatin with meat suspended inside... Want great food on the airplane? Fly to Asia!
6. I asked Sven when he slept... AT THE END OF THE MONTH!
Yes, you need a vacation to recover from your vacation in Ibiza.
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2. The old town of Ibiza, which is the epicenter of the island, which was in walking distance from my hotel, is dominated by an old castle, a citadel, upon a promontory, called Dalt Vila. For two nights, the IMS negotiated to have shows there, to kick off the season, yup, that's what it is, a four month season, from Memorial Day through September, when it's warm and the locals work seven days a week, garnering enough cash to make it through the winter. Some hibernate in the off season, some travel. That's one thing the English have down, as well as so many Europeans, they've got passports and they use them! My driver plans to spend the winter in South America, backpacking.
You learn so much traveling, it gives you perspective. But it's good to be back in the good 'ol USA where we've got regulations! If I hear one more right wing nut excoriate regulations I'm gonna ship them to a foreign country and show them what it's like. Not only do buildings collapse in Asia, but in the rest of the world railings can be flimsy, there can be no lights, never mind friction strips, upon steps, and you realize you're one false move away from being handicapped. Yup, that's what happens when you've got no regulations, some people pay...with their health, with their lives...it could be you! Furthermore, in America you've got confidence. I got on a rickety ski lift in South America and I was wondering...was this thing gonna break? In the U.S. there are inspections, standards, the odds of flaws are low. Kind of like when I went snorkeling in the Caribbean and almost drowned... Nobody was looking out for me, the concessionaires had no responsibility!
Anyway, on Friday night we climbed to the top of Dalt Vila for this concert, which ended early, so the locals wouldn't be disturbed. Early? That's midnight!
And the lights are pulsing and the crowd is moving in time and I'm standing on stage with Sven Vath, who's telling me his story.
He's got twenty employees in Frankfurt. He's got a record company, an agency...
And he's got forty employees in Ibiza.
And I ask him, doesn't he want to shift from Monday night, when he has his residency in Ibiza?
No, he LOVES Monday night! Because that allows him to do three or four festivals every weekend!
And how does he do this?
BY PRIVATE JET!
Word is getting out, but most people in America are unaware of the vast sums of money made by deejays. They report to nobody other than themselves. They don't need the Fortune 500 to make their numbers, they're doing quite well, without depending upon recorded music.
And then Sven excused himself, he had to hit the decks.
Yes, Sven is old school...he uses two Technics 1200s and a mixer. And the crowd was enraptured.
Sven Vath picking vinyl: http://bit.ly/16nMcp5
Ibiza from Dalt Vila: http://bit.ly/111e0GT
3. And what I want to do right now, is get you all on a jet and take you to the Lio.
It's a club. Owned by Pacha. Which seems beamed right out of the thirties. Or maybe "I Love Lucy"...you remember Ricky's club!
Now this wasn't the lumpy people of Pacha... This was European royalty. Or Russians. Or somebody so rich they didn't care about the prices, which are far from low. That's what happens when you visit Europe, you see income inequality in action. The Russians can outspend anybody!
Anyway, the Lio has food...it was the best meal I ate on the island.
There was stuffed lobster.
And veal tartare.
And black cod miso that gave Matsuhisa a run for its money.
But while we were eating, there was a stage show. Every five or ten minutes another act would emerge. Performing acrobatic feats, singing, dancing...it was like Cirque du Soleil but without the bogus self-importance. It was sheer entertainment...as you drank and ate and laughed and danced... It was everything you think Vegas once was, alive, today. Check it out:
http://lioibiza.com
4. Our tour guide Friday night was Massimo, who was born in Syria, lived in the U.S. and now runs the Pacha magazine. I got a complete explanation of the antics in his homeland. He said the war was all about religion. Ensuring the "wrong people" don't gain power.
And the straw that stirred the drink was Eddie Dean, who owns Pacha in New York. Hanging with Eddie is a blast, because he's talkative, upbeat...he makes the night come alive.
Which it did. As we sat facing the stage, with our backs to the water and...
Take a look:
http://bit.ly/13gXPZ0
5. I flew home on Air Berlin, so I could take two flights instead of three. They served something that looked like worms which turned out to be northern shrimp, so I ate those, I was hungry. But nothing was gonna get me to partake of the triangle of gelatin with meat suspended inside... Want great food on the airplane? Fly to Asia!
6. I asked Sven when he slept... AT THE END OF THE MONTH!
Yes, you need a vacation to recover from your vacation in Ibiza.
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Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
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