College is lonely.
At least in the beginning. Especially if you go to a sanctuary far from home, having thrown away all your friends to start over.
Oh, I know it doesn't work that way anymore. I once met a girl on a train. From New York to Boston. We exchanged a few letters thereafter, even spoke on the phone. And then she receded into the veritable darkness of my past. But what they don't tell you is you never ever forget them. And just yesterday I found her on Facebook. Oh, I'm not gonna contact her. I'm sure I can cajole her memory, remind her of who I once was. But that's not the point, the point is the global village is so small right now that you never lose touch with anybody you ever knew. Remember ten or fifteen years ago when you were thrilled to find a long lost friend online? Now, it doesn't even merit a shrug. But seeing their picture all these years later can truly creep you out.
So really, going to college is very similar to what Benjamin felt in "The Graduate," i.e. lost. You know how you got here, but once you're there you're not quite sure what to do. Some people reinvent themselves. Change their look or their name, trying to cast away all the denigration of high school. But really, it's tough enough trying to integrate with a whole new group of people, having known everybody else for the better part of twenty years.
And the weirdest thing about going to college is your initial friends don't last. You go to dinner, exchange histories, and then one day realize you don't really have that much in common, you've got a different perspective on studying. It's painful, but you drift away, after you've found your new buddies, by accident, when you weren't so desperate to make friends that anybody with a warm smile who gave good conversation was part of your new crew.
But you bring your old sensibilities along. And in my case, it was my records.
And I can tell you that the first two albums I bought in college were Free's "Fire and Water" and Neil Young's "After The Gold Rush." That I ran down to the Vermont Book Shop to purchase "Led Zeppelin III" only to be disappointed. My mother mailed me Joe Cocker's second and the Band's third, but the records I remember most are those I listened to during January term. When you take only one course, go skiing every day and get high every night.
Included in that January 1971 mass was "Gasoline Alley." Which has been forgotten as Rod Stewart tries to maintain a recording career, singing standards for old fogeys. But it was an earthy masterpiece that sounded like nothing else. And then, of course, there were the first two Elton John albums. I could listen to "Take Me To The Pilot" and "Where To Now St. Peter?" 24/7, and mostly did, on headphones, as my roommate tried to sleep. But there was one other album I'd purchased during Christmas vacation that was completely different from the rest, my first by this artist ever, and that was Bob Dylan's "New Morning." You've got no idea how bright and chipper you feel dropping the needle on the title track in zero degree weather, it gets you going.
And I bought "New Morning" because the reviews were so good. And at this point, having gone back and bought all the rest before he played his triumphant return gigs at Madison Square Garden with the Band, I can state definitively that my favorite is "Bringing It All Back Home." And I might even say the best is "Blood On The Tracks." But the one that's paramount in my brain, because it was the first, is "New Morning."
And my favorite cut is "Sign On The Window," because of the wisdom.
"Build me a cabin in Utah
Marry me a wife, catch rainbow trout
Have a bunch of kids who call me 'Pa'
That must be what it's all about
That must be what it's all about"
Oh, how true that is. Took me decades to learn it. Didn't believe it at first. But the greats are always one step ahead of us.
But with the album just before "New Morning," collective wisdom was that Bob Dylan was one step behind us. That's what usually happens, beacons fade out. Artists lose their way. With cover songs and other detritus, the excoriation of "Self Portrait" was so great that Dylan put out "New Morning" in a matter of months. And just the other week, Columbia put out a new iteration. Of outtakes and demos and...I'd like to tell you you need to own it. But you don't.
But you do need to hear "Went To See The Gypsy." The original demo.
In its previously released incarnation, sandwiched in the middle of side one of "New Morning, "Went To See The Gypsy" was intimate, it resonated. But it's nothing like the demo. The demo is haunting.
What separates the greats from the poseurs is the delivery. The greats have an identity, they're comfortable with themselves. Think about comedians, it's rarely about the joke, it's almost always how it's told. They say that songs are everything. And that's true. But they only become hits when recorded properly. And a great producer can whip anybody into a star by sprinkling his fairy dust upon them. But when the truth emanates from the artist himself it's eerie and magical and we're drawn right to it, because it represents life.
The track has almost nothing on it. Just Dylan, his guitar and a lead. But the way Dylan strums, at just a certain time, punctuates the song. He sings the lyrics, and then he plays some chords and he demonstrates it's not about how fast you play, or how studied your technique, but what you do with the chops you've got.
We're drawn to authenticity.
If you read about college, it's all fun and games. Farts and frats. Nobody studies, everybody gets laid and the rest of us should feel envious. But if you think that's how it is, you never went. There's the stress of class. The stress of cash. Whether you borrowed the money or your parents paid. And the knowledge that as every day progresses doors are closing, time is passing, opportunities are evaporating. It's in college that you learn you can't do everything. And when you graduate, you suddenly find no one's breathing down your neck anymore, no one even cares what you do, you're on your own.
And I wish I had a bunch of advice for you. But the truth is you've got to find your own way. Anybody who says they've got answers doesn't realize life is about experience.
And it's the experience we hear in Dylan's vocal. He's been somewhere and done something.
You hope to do the same.
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/1aULKje
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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
--
Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com --
Friday, 6 September 2013
Rhinofy-Some Kind Of Wonderful
How many ways did we hate Grand Funk Railroad?
Overpromoted by their manager/producer, former artist Terry Knight, they could not possibly live up to the hype. And they didn't. Supposedly they stole the show at the Atlanta Pop Festival, in the wake of Woodstock, and this message was blasted into the hinterlands where no one ever heard any good music, and their initial album succeeded.
Only to be followed up by something worse, the second album, "Grand Funk," with the cheesiest red cover of all time. That's what Capitol Records was famous for back then. Spending no money.
But then, when the band had finally reached critical mass, they delivered something...listenable. Come on, admit it, you like "I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home)." Especially when it slows down and gets moody.
But Grand Funk (they dropped "Railroad") still sucked. Every album worse, especially the double live one. Yes, as the seventies wore on, Grand Funk receded into irrelevance. And then they hooked up with Todd Rundgren.
Todd'd had his hit. Still almost no one knew his work with his first band Nazz, but some had noticed he engineered the Band and was a wunderkind like McCartney, able to both play and record and produce everything. And that became his new career, producing albums. For a flat fee. Quickly. Todd didn't labor over it, he just wanted to get it right, and get paid.
And no matter how big a star you once were, the smart ones realize when the whole enterprise is going in the wrong direction something's got to give. And sure, some make mistakes, the Beach Boys even went disco, but Grand Funk executed a masterstroke, they gave in to Rundgren and had the biggest hit of their career, "We're An American Band." And we LIKED IT! Yes, we were sick of hating the Detroit band, they'd been around long enough to have a sense of humor about themselves. And Todd delivered a killer track that sounded so right emanating from the car speaker. Hell, I don't know if anybody ever bought the single, never mind the album, "We're An American Band" was a radio track. And we loved hearing it! Come on, Sweet Connie became a legend, she single-handedly put Little Rock on the map, way before Bill Clinton. And this was the first time most white listeners had ever heard of Freddie King. But it was the cowbell, the drumming, the riff and Don Brewer's vocal exhortations. Wanna be remembered, forever? Capture magic in three minutes. Make no mistakes, leave no fat, just make people want to hear it again and again and again. Yes, "We're An American Band" was simple and dumb and that's what was so great about it! Furthermore, this was back before tech titans ruled the world, before we could watch our favorites on YouTube, the height of success was the rock and roll lifestyle, getting high, getting laid, and you went to the show to be close to the action, and try to score yourself.
But where do you go from here? Lightning rarely strikes twice. What are the odds Grand Funk could write another hit song?
Zero.
Which is why on the next album, Todd went for a cover. "The Loco-Motion." Huh?
Little Eva's original was one of the very first singles I ever bought. Definitive in execution it was heresy to remake it. But somehow Grand Funk's rendition worked. I'm not saying I loved it, but it did go to number 1.
And then Todd was done.
But the formula was established. And if something works in rock and roll, you do it again. Especially if you're lucky enough to get a second wind, like Grand Funk.
They switched producers to Jimmy Ienner. Who knew how to make three minute hits from his tenure with the Raspberries. And he dug deep to find a track almost no one knew.
Yes, this is not the Goffin/King "Some Kind Of Wonderful," made famous by the Drifters, but a little known song written by John Ellison for his group the Soul Brothers Six.
What?
That's right. A band that reached the whopping number of 91 on the Hot 100 back in 1967. Which means most people in America never heard it.
The Fantastic Johnny C, of "Boogaloo Down Broadway" fame, cut it the next year and had about the same level of success, which was not much, his version made it to #87.
But back before the chart was based on beats, when songs were everything, producers knew their history, they knew great numbers, they kept them in their hip pocked to rerecord at just the right time with just the right band.
At least I think it was Jimmy Ienner's idea to record it. I'm not sure. But looking at the history of Grand Funk, I doubt the band would have come up with it. But what they ended up with was a number 3 on the Hot 100.
Yup.
"I don't need a whole lots 'a money
I don't need a big fine car"
Imagine a rapper singing this today! Absolutely impossible. Today it's how much better you are than everybody else, you've got everything and they've got nothing. But the truth is life is not about possessions, but experiences. And the right significant other exceeds any Mercedes-Benz or private jet trip.
"I got everything that a man could want
I got more than I could ask for"
Isn't that what we're all looking for? That someone special, made just for us, that makes our life complete?
"I don't have to run around
I don't have to stay out all night
'Cause I got me a sweet, a sweet lovin' woman
And she knows just how to treat me right"
It's mutual! He's got her on a pedestal, but it's not a one way street, they meet in the middle, he and she both give.
"Well my baby, she's all right
Well my baby, she's clean out of sight
Don't you know that..."
He's PROUD!
"She's some kind 'a wonderful
She's some kind 'a wonderful
Yes she is"
Oh, the way everybody's singing together, it's like the a cappella groups Ienner grew up with. And at this point, you've closed your eyes, you're shaking your head from side to side, you're enraptured.
But really, it's all about the bass. It's in the pocket, anchoring the track, pushing it forward and hooking you all at the same time. When it dips, you do too.
And then when Mark Farner starts calling for a witness and Craig Frost's organ starts to play, there's molasses all over the floor, and you're positively stuck, hooked to this dumb track that feels so right.
Not that the band could follow this one up. Not with Jimmy, not with Frank Zappa, who succeeded him in the producer's chair. In 1976, they expired. Which was fine with us, we never liked 'em anyway. Oh, they reunited, but there's no way they could get traction in the era of MTV. And now there are two acts, Grand Funk with and without Farner and I haven't seen them live in forever. But I'm sure, absolutely positive, when they go into this handful of hit numbers, the crowd becomes exuberant. And although not the best, the one everybody claps along to is "Some Kind Of Wonderful."
CAN I GET A WITNESS?
Spotify playlist: http://spoti.fi/p6HcZ8
P.S. I've included the 2002 remaster, which is positively powerful. Along with the 1975 take from their second live album, "Caught In The Act." Also included are the Soul Brothers Six original as well as Fantastic Johnny C's iteration. And for your entertainment, Mark Farner's solo remake from 1991, wherein his love for the Lord substitutes for his love for that one special woman...hell, whatever gets you through the night!
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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
--
Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com --
Overpromoted by their manager/producer, former artist Terry Knight, they could not possibly live up to the hype. And they didn't. Supposedly they stole the show at the Atlanta Pop Festival, in the wake of Woodstock, and this message was blasted into the hinterlands where no one ever heard any good music, and their initial album succeeded.
Only to be followed up by something worse, the second album, "Grand Funk," with the cheesiest red cover of all time. That's what Capitol Records was famous for back then. Spending no money.
But then, when the band had finally reached critical mass, they delivered something...listenable. Come on, admit it, you like "I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home)." Especially when it slows down and gets moody.
But Grand Funk (they dropped "Railroad") still sucked. Every album worse, especially the double live one. Yes, as the seventies wore on, Grand Funk receded into irrelevance. And then they hooked up with Todd Rundgren.
Todd'd had his hit. Still almost no one knew his work with his first band Nazz, but some had noticed he engineered the Band and was a wunderkind like McCartney, able to both play and record and produce everything. And that became his new career, producing albums. For a flat fee. Quickly. Todd didn't labor over it, he just wanted to get it right, and get paid.
And no matter how big a star you once were, the smart ones realize when the whole enterprise is going in the wrong direction something's got to give. And sure, some make mistakes, the Beach Boys even went disco, but Grand Funk executed a masterstroke, they gave in to Rundgren and had the biggest hit of their career, "We're An American Band." And we LIKED IT! Yes, we were sick of hating the Detroit band, they'd been around long enough to have a sense of humor about themselves. And Todd delivered a killer track that sounded so right emanating from the car speaker. Hell, I don't know if anybody ever bought the single, never mind the album, "We're An American Band" was a radio track. And we loved hearing it! Come on, Sweet Connie became a legend, she single-handedly put Little Rock on the map, way before Bill Clinton. And this was the first time most white listeners had ever heard of Freddie King. But it was the cowbell, the drumming, the riff and Don Brewer's vocal exhortations. Wanna be remembered, forever? Capture magic in three minutes. Make no mistakes, leave no fat, just make people want to hear it again and again and again. Yes, "We're An American Band" was simple and dumb and that's what was so great about it! Furthermore, this was back before tech titans ruled the world, before we could watch our favorites on YouTube, the height of success was the rock and roll lifestyle, getting high, getting laid, and you went to the show to be close to the action, and try to score yourself.
But where do you go from here? Lightning rarely strikes twice. What are the odds Grand Funk could write another hit song?
Zero.
Which is why on the next album, Todd went for a cover. "The Loco-Motion." Huh?
Little Eva's original was one of the very first singles I ever bought. Definitive in execution it was heresy to remake it. But somehow Grand Funk's rendition worked. I'm not saying I loved it, but it did go to number 1.
And then Todd was done.
But the formula was established. And if something works in rock and roll, you do it again. Especially if you're lucky enough to get a second wind, like Grand Funk.
They switched producers to Jimmy Ienner. Who knew how to make three minute hits from his tenure with the Raspberries. And he dug deep to find a track almost no one knew.
Yes, this is not the Goffin/King "Some Kind Of Wonderful," made famous by the Drifters, but a little known song written by John Ellison for his group the Soul Brothers Six.
What?
That's right. A band that reached the whopping number of 91 on the Hot 100 back in 1967. Which means most people in America never heard it.
The Fantastic Johnny C, of "Boogaloo Down Broadway" fame, cut it the next year and had about the same level of success, which was not much, his version made it to #87.
But back before the chart was based on beats, when songs were everything, producers knew their history, they knew great numbers, they kept them in their hip pocked to rerecord at just the right time with just the right band.
At least I think it was Jimmy Ienner's idea to record it. I'm not sure. But looking at the history of Grand Funk, I doubt the band would have come up with it. But what they ended up with was a number 3 on the Hot 100.
Yup.
"I don't need a whole lots 'a money
I don't need a big fine car"
Imagine a rapper singing this today! Absolutely impossible. Today it's how much better you are than everybody else, you've got everything and they've got nothing. But the truth is life is not about possessions, but experiences. And the right significant other exceeds any Mercedes-Benz or private jet trip.
"I got everything that a man could want
I got more than I could ask for"
Isn't that what we're all looking for? That someone special, made just for us, that makes our life complete?
"I don't have to run around
I don't have to stay out all night
'Cause I got me a sweet, a sweet lovin' woman
And she knows just how to treat me right"
It's mutual! He's got her on a pedestal, but it's not a one way street, they meet in the middle, he and she both give.
"Well my baby, she's all right
Well my baby, she's clean out of sight
Don't you know that..."
He's PROUD!
"She's some kind 'a wonderful
She's some kind 'a wonderful
Yes she is"
Oh, the way everybody's singing together, it's like the a cappella groups Ienner grew up with. And at this point, you've closed your eyes, you're shaking your head from side to side, you're enraptured.
But really, it's all about the bass. It's in the pocket, anchoring the track, pushing it forward and hooking you all at the same time. When it dips, you do too.
And then when Mark Farner starts calling for a witness and Craig Frost's organ starts to play, there's molasses all over the floor, and you're positively stuck, hooked to this dumb track that feels so right.
Not that the band could follow this one up. Not with Jimmy, not with Frank Zappa, who succeeded him in the producer's chair. In 1976, they expired. Which was fine with us, we never liked 'em anyway. Oh, they reunited, but there's no way they could get traction in the era of MTV. And now there are two acts, Grand Funk with and without Farner and I haven't seen them live in forever. But I'm sure, absolutely positive, when they go into this handful of hit numbers, the crowd becomes exuberant. And although not the best, the one everybody claps along to is "Some Kind Of Wonderful."
CAN I GET A WITNESS?
Spotify playlist: http://spoti.fi/p6HcZ8
P.S. I've included the 2002 remaster, which is positively powerful. Along with the 1975 take from their second live album, "Caught In The Act." Also included are the Soul Brothers Six original as well as Fantastic Johnny C's iteration. And for your entertainment, Mark Farner's solo remake from 1991, wherein his love for the Lord substitutes for his love for that one special woman...hell, whatever gets you through the night!
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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
--
Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com --
Thursday, 5 September 2013
Time Warner Cable
I hate writing them a check every month.
All I really want is super high speed Internet and a modicum of TV channels. Since I never watch the boob tube anyway, other than Bill Maher and an occasional other HBO program. I used to get every single channel offered, believing since I was in the media business I required that access. I remember Ann Powers reviewing Live Earth or some other useless made for television music event that they don't have anymore and stating that she couldn't watch it because she didn't get that channel. Huh? Either you're all in or you're not. Especially if you're a scribe for the L.A. "Times," although she's not there anymore, then again, almost no one else is either. But now when everybody's time-challenged, even five year olds, my priorities are such that I've got no time for television.
Oh, don't call me a cheapskate. I'll gladly pay my Verizon Wireless bill. Hell, they told me to cut down my data plan, I never wanted to hit my limit, I was overpaying!
But these nickel and dime outfits, including Verizon landlines, are driving me nuts. They keep raising the price inexplicably and providing worse service.
Why do I need a landline?
Well, you don't expect me to use Time Warner's phone service, do you? Just read the reviews, people analogize it to two Dixie cups held together by a string. And it doesn't work in an emergency anyway. And in California, we've got 'em. They're called earthquakes.
So I'll pay $45 a month for my landline. Yes, my mobile handset is probably enough, but it's uncomfortable when I'm surfing the Net at the same time and I'll pay for that clarity for the few times I actually speak on the telephone. But this month it was $68. I pay for discount long distance, but my calls were not far enough, to the Valley and Laguna Beach, and they didn't qualify, so I was charged eight bucks. Just push me into canceling service, I dare you!
But it's even worse. The line went completely dead last winter and it took them a week to revive it and ever since my answering machine won't work right, it cuts off calls. And you might ask why I need such a thing and I'll tell you it's to screen calls, so I don't pick up for the telemarketers and the other time-wasters. It's the most efficient system, better than voicemail, when the machine works, which it really doesn't anymore.
And I'm paying the bills and I see that the Time Warner one I knocked down from $200 to under $150 is now $168, not even a year later. Huh? That's almost a car payment, check the leases. What happened in less than twelve months to add $18?
Oh, that's right, I've got to pay for Les Moonves's lifestyle. As if he doesn't have enough already. He had a standoff with Time Warner and all of us who paid couldn't watch CBS or Showtime for a long time. Not that I do anyway. But my girlfriend is addicted to "Dexter," and she couldn't catch up. Not to mention that she pays for service at her own home. And it's not like Time Warner is issuing a rebate. No, they just gave us one free on demand movie. Whoop-de-do!
So I think I might cut the cord.
Hell, who wants on demand movies anyway, when we've got Netflix? Not that I utilize the service, I've got enough entertainment I'm not watching but paying for to last me five lifetimes. But the rest of the cheapskates want one flat fee for everything, yup, that's the biggest Netflix bitch, not that you can't rent DVDs at the old low price, they're fine with streaming, they just can't fathom that everything's not available!
And it's not that I'm against subscriptions. Hell, I think Spotify, Rdio, MOG/Beats and Deezer are a bargain, considering one album costs as much as a month. But rationalize television to me once again? I've got to pay so you can watch sports? So Bob Iger and Steve Jobs's widow can get ever richer?
Come on.
I used to buy the argument that the bundle was better, it kept prices low across the board. But that was back before the Internet, back before we had options. Really, television is a scam to make the providers rich, never mind the cable operators who say they're on our side. Yup, niche outlets get paid a fortune by cable operators, which means we're subsidizing them. It's like paying for your next door neighbor's gardener when all you've got is concrete and astroturf.
But really, it's less about the money than the attitude. How dare they! Ain't that America. Where the rich are entitled and stick it to everyman. Then again, that's also America where the poor take it, believing one day they too will be rich and will be able to rip off the downtrodden.
Our only hope is the youngsters, the teens who go to college and no longer take not only a stereo, but a television set. They don't need it. Their laptop is enough. Then they graduate and if you think they're gonna pay $168 a month you're probably paying their health and auto insurance, otherwise in this no job McWorld you just can't afford it.
But it gets even worse. Time Warner needs more money so they start increasing the modem lease price. They're now feeling so guilty that they say I could buy one. But they don't offer to sell me one. No, I've got to do research and get no service and why is it that there are so many charges on my bill that I just can't understand?
Oh, I could lose some channels. But then I wouldn't be able to qualify for reasonably priced Internet. I've got to have 1 Digital Video tier to do that. Never mind that they overcharged me for years when after they bought Adelphia's assets, I was paying for service that I could not get. A refund? Are you kidding me?
And just try going to their Website or calling them. The site is incomprehensible and the phone operators are not familiar with what they're selling. And you end up wasting so much time that you're better off just paying every month and forgetting about it.
That's what all these companies do. Try to keep you in the dark and make it so hard to change that you won't.
Even worse, they're a monopoly. Oh, you could get Verizon DSL instead of Time Warner cable Internet, but that'd be like walking from L.A. to New York instead of taking an airplane, it's just that damn slow. As for FiOS...sounds great, but the build-out is done and the footprint is minimal.
Furthermore, the day I cut down on channels is the day I find out the one channel I want to watch is unavailable. That's how they do it. The packages are irrational. You can't buy what you want.
But the whole world now only wants to buy what it wants. And it's those companies who realize this who will prosper. People are dying to abandon Time Warner, given an opportunity they will, the same way they gave up buying CDs when Napster launched.
But the faceless Time Warner and the smirking Les Moonves think the gravy train is forever.
But as Rob Halford sang so eloquently, they've got another thing coming.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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
--
Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com --
All I really want is super high speed Internet and a modicum of TV channels. Since I never watch the boob tube anyway, other than Bill Maher and an occasional other HBO program. I used to get every single channel offered, believing since I was in the media business I required that access. I remember Ann Powers reviewing Live Earth or some other useless made for television music event that they don't have anymore and stating that she couldn't watch it because she didn't get that channel. Huh? Either you're all in or you're not. Especially if you're a scribe for the L.A. "Times," although she's not there anymore, then again, almost no one else is either. But now when everybody's time-challenged, even five year olds, my priorities are such that I've got no time for television.
Oh, don't call me a cheapskate. I'll gladly pay my Verizon Wireless bill. Hell, they told me to cut down my data plan, I never wanted to hit my limit, I was overpaying!
But these nickel and dime outfits, including Verizon landlines, are driving me nuts. They keep raising the price inexplicably and providing worse service.
Why do I need a landline?
Well, you don't expect me to use Time Warner's phone service, do you? Just read the reviews, people analogize it to two Dixie cups held together by a string. And it doesn't work in an emergency anyway. And in California, we've got 'em. They're called earthquakes.
So I'll pay $45 a month for my landline. Yes, my mobile handset is probably enough, but it's uncomfortable when I'm surfing the Net at the same time and I'll pay for that clarity for the few times I actually speak on the telephone. But this month it was $68. I pay for discount long distance, but my calls were not far enough, to the Valley and Laguna Beach, and they didn't qualify, so I was charged eight bucks. Just push me into canceling service, I dare you!
But it's even worse. The line went completely dead last winter and it took them a week to revive it and ever since my answering machine won't work right, it cuts off calls. And you might ask why I need such a thing and I'll tell you it's to screen calls, so I don't pick up for the telemarketers and the other time-wasters. It's the most efficient system, better than voicemail, when the machine works, which it really doesn't anymore.
And I'm paying the bills and I see that the Time Warner one I knocked down from $200 to under $150 is now $168, not even a year later. Huh? That's almost a car payment, check the leases. What happened in less than twelve months to add $18?
Oh, that's right, I've got to pay for Les Moonves's lifestyle. As if he doesn't have enough already. He had a standoff with Time Warner and all of us who paid couldn't watch CBS or Showtime for a long time. Not that I do anyway. But my girlfriend is addicted to "Dexter," and she couldn't catch up. Not to mention that she pays for service at her own home. And it's not like Time Warner is issuing a rebate. No, they just gave us one free on demand movie. Whoop-de-do!
So I think I might cut the cord.
Hell, who wants on demand movies anyway, when we've got Netflix? Not that I utilize the service, I've got enough entertainment I'm not watching but paying for to last me five lifetimes. But the rest of the cheapskates want one flat fee for everything, yup, that's the biggest Netflix bitch, not that you can't rent DVDs at the old low price, they're fine with streaming, they just can't fathom that everything's not available!
And it's not that I'm against subscriptions. Hell, I think Spotify, Rdio, MOG/Beats and Deezer are a bargain, considering one album costs as much as a month. But rationalize television to me once again? I've got to pay so you can watch sports? So Bob Iger and Steve Jobs's widow can get ever richer?
Come on.
I used to buy the argument that the bundle was better, it kept prices low across the board. But that was back before the Internet, back before we had options. Really, television is a scam to make the providers rich, never mind the cable operators who say they're on our side. Yup, niche outlets get paid a fortune by cable operators, which means we're subsidizing them. It's like paying for your next door neighbor's gardener when all you've got is concrete and astroturf.
But really, it's less about the money than the attitude. How dare they! Ain't that America. Where the rich are entitled and stick it to everyman. Then again, that's also America where the poor take it, believing one day they too will be rich and will be able to rip off the downtrodden.
Our only hope is the youngsters, the teens who go to college and no longer take not only a stereo, but a television set. They don't need it. Their laptop is enough. Then they graduate and if you think they're gonna pay $168 a month you're probably paying their health and auto insurance, otherwise in this no job McWorld you just can't afford it.
But it gets even worse. Time Warner needs more money so they start increasing the modem lease price. They're now feeling so guilty that they say I could buy one. But they don't offer to sell me one. No, I've got to do research and get no service and why is it that there are so many charges on my bill that I just can't understand?
Oh, I could lose some channels. But then I wouldn't be able to qualify for reasonably priced Internet. I've got to have 1 Digital Video tier to do that. Never mind that they overcharged me for years when after they bought Adelphia's assets, I was paying for service that I could not get. A refund? Are you kidding me?
And just try going to their Website or calling them. The site is incomprehensible and the phone operators are not familiar with what they're selling. And you end up wasting so much time that you're better off just paying every month and forgetting about it.
That's what all these companies do. Try to keep you in the dark and make it so hard to change that you won't.
Even worse, they're a monopoly. Oh, you could get Verizon DSL instead of Time Warner cable Internet, but that'd be like walking from L.A. to New York instead of taking an airplane, it's just that damn slow. As for FiOS...sounds great, but the build-out is done and the footprint is minimal.
Furthermore, the day I cut down on channels is the day I find out the one channel I want to watch is unavailable. That's how they do it. The packages are irrational. You can't buy what you want.
But the whole world now only wants to buy what it wants. And it's those companies who realize this who will prosper. People are dying to abandon Time Warner, given an opportunity they will, the same way they gave up buying CDs when Napster launched.
But the faceless Time Warner and the smirking Les Moonves think the gravy train is forever.
But as Rob Halford sang so eloquently, they've got another thing coming.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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
--
Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com --
Tuesday, 3 September 2013
Follower/Leaders
FOLLOWERS
Finish college.
LEADERS
Drop out.
FOLLOWERS
Obey the rules.
LEADERS
Question authority.
FOLLOWERS
Believe it's about accolades.
LEADERS
Believe it's about relationships.
FOLLOWERS
Need external validation.
LEADERS
Have self-confidence.
FOLLOWERS
Have a backup plan.
LEADERS
Have no safety net.
FOLLOWERS
Will not take no for an answer. Since they're playing the game, they believe the rules and the courts will save them.
LEADERS
Hit a roadblock and change direction. They only fight battles they know they can win.
FOLLOWERS
Work for the corporation.
LEADERS
Start the corporation.
FOLLOWERS
Go to graduate school to gain a profession.
LEADERS
Hire professionals.
FOLLOWERS
Look at how everybody else does it, conformity is king.
LEADERS
Do it their own way, but are aware of how everybody else is doing it.
FOLLOWERS
Believe in vacation.
LEADERS
Never take a day off.
FOLLOWERS
Are students of what's in front of them.
LEADERS
Are students of the game.
FOLLOWERS
Stop learning after school.
LEADERS
Never stop learning. Whether it be from books, news or colleagues.
FOLLOWERS
Argue about their paycheck.
LEADERS
Money is secondary, and they believe there's enough if they succeed.
FOLLOWERS
Are afraid to lose.
LEADERS
Are willing to lose, because they believe they're destined to win.
FOLLOWERS
Say no. Pessimism reigns.
LEADERS
Say yes. But are not afraid to say no. Optimism rules.
FOLLOWERS
Plan.
LEADERS
Make it up as they go.
FOLLOWERS
Take direction.
LEADERS
Make up the direction.
FOLLOWERS
Believe it's all about the CV, what you can list on LinkedIn.
LEADERS
Social network because they've got so many ideas their heads will explode if they don't release them. They know the people who started the social networks. They're more interested in what made social networks successful than playing within them. They know building a resume only counts if you're looking to get hired, and they've created every job they've had since high school.
FOLLOWERS
Are afraid and sometimes evidence desperation.
LEADERS
Are never afraid and never desperate. They see the world as their plaything, not something that can hold them back or down.
FOLLOWERS
Have no vision.
LEADERS
Can see the future in 3-D.
FOLLOWERS
Work in established industries.
LEADERS
Establish industries. The greats are not afraid of being ahead of the times, they know the times will come to them.
FOLLOWERS
Think about themselves.
LEADERS
Think about others. Sure, many are narcissistic, but their fortunes are based on filling the needs of the public, not their boss.
FOLLOWERS
Adjust their personalities to get along.
LEADERS
Get to be themselves.
FOLLOWERS
Play the politics.
LEADERS
Are above the politics.
FOLLOWERS
Work in the world.
LEADERS
Run the world.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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
--
Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com --
Finish college.
LEADERS
Drop out.
FOLLOWERS
Obey the rules.
LEADERS
Question authority.
FOLLOWERS
Believe it's about accolades.
LEADERS
Believe it's about relationships.
FOLLOWERS
Need external validation.
LEADERS
Have self-confidence.
FOLLOWERS
Have a backup plan.
LEADERS
Have no safety net.
FOLLOWERS
Will not take no for an answer. Since they're playing the game, they believe the rules and the courts will save them.
LEADERS
Hit a roadblock and change direction. They only fight battles they know they can win.
FOLLOWERS
Work for the corporation.
LEADERS
Start the corporation.
FOLLOWERS
Go to graduate school to gain a profession.
LEADERS
Hire professionals.
FOLLOWERS
Look at how everybody else does it, conformity is king.
LEADERS
Do it their own way, but are aware of how everybody else is doing it.
FOLLOWERS
Believe in vacation.
LEADERS
Never take a day off.
FOLLOWERS
Are students of what's in front of them.
LEADERS
Are students of the game.
FOLLOWERS
Stop learning after school.
LEADERS
Never stop learning. Whether it be from books, news or colleagues.
FOLLOWERS
Argue about their paycheck.
LEADERS
Money is secondary, and they believe there's enough if they succeed.
FOLLOWERS
Are afraid to lose.
LEADERS
Are willing to lose, because they believe they're destined to win.
FOLLOWERS
Say no. Pessimism reigns.
LEADERS
Say yes. But are not afraid to say no. Optimism rules.
FOLLOWERS
Plan.
LEADERS
Make it up as they go.
FOLLOWERS
Take direction.
LEADERS
Make up the direction.
FOLLOWERS
Believe it's all about the CV, what you can list on LinkedIn.
LEADERS
Social network because they've got so many ideas their heads will explode if they don't release them. They know the people who started the social networks. They're more interested in what made social networks successful than playing within them. They know building a resume only counts if you're looking to get hired, and they've created every job they've had since high school.
FOLLOWERS
Are afraid and sometimes evidence desperation.
LEADERS
Are never afraid and never desperate. They see the world as their plaything, not something that can hold them back or down.
FOLLOWERS
Have no vision.
LEADERS
Can see the future in 3-D.
FOLLOWERS
Work in established industries.
LEADERS
Establish industries. The greats are not afraid of being ahead of the times, they know the times will come to them.
FOLLOWERS
Think about themselves.
LEADERS
Think about others. Sure, many are narcissistic, but their fortunes are based on filling the needs of the public, not their boss.
FOLLOWERS
Adjust their personalities to get along.
LEADERS
Get to be themselves.
FOLLOWERS
Play the politics.
LEADERS
Are above the politics.
FOLLOWERS
Work in the world.
LEADERS
Run the world.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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
--
Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com --
Monday, 2 September 2013
Roar
Classic rock is dead.
Not only are the children of the baby boomers pushing thirty, in some cases exceeding that threshold, there's a whole new generation of barely pubescent children who have never experienced free-form radio and sitting in front of the stereo listening to full length albums.
And nothing angers the children of the sixties more.
During the MTV era, at least different genres of music were entertained. It was not only Boy George and Duran Duran, but Bob Dylan and Tom Petty too. There was still a thread to the past. But now that thread has been broken.
Exhibit one. Paul McCartney's new track "New."
http://bit.ly/17jVJNM
It's just not good enough. Sure, he worked with Mark Ronson, but someone was afraid to tell him to push it just a little bit farther, because just like the AM radio of the sixties, Top Forty only has time for the best. If your track is not positively great, it's got no room for you.
Of course Top Forty is a shadow of its former self. The deejays are jive and the playlist is limited. But it's the only radio format, other than country, that truly matters anymore. It's where those truly interested in music, the young 'uns, go to check acts out.
And what they consider a successful act is so different from what boomers revered in the seventies. In the seventies, who the act was was almost as important as the music they made. What their political values were, the eloquence with which they exhibited these ideas. Whereas today's music is purely commercial, and those who make it are only interested in the money.
Lady Gaga's got the same problem as Sir Paul. No one told her "Applause" was not good enough. When you play on a world stage, when everybody is watching, you've got to ace the test, which is why labels employ writing camps, why every record is massaged, there's a ton of money at risk, and they don't want to blow their chances.
Yes, you never hear those at the top of the food chain bitching about either piracy or diminished opportunities in the music business. Because if you're winning at the Top Forty game, there's so much money raining down you can barely spend it, because you're working too hard!
Yes, despite all the paparazzi photos of these stars at the beach, today's young artists work harder than their predecessors, they don't have time for shenanigans, they know that if they don't stay in the public eye, someone else will replace them, there's an endless line of wannabes. All with desire and a modicum of talent. The key is to plug them into the system. Backstreet Boys might be an oldies act, but Max Martin is hotter than ever.
So put on your headphones, pull up Katy Perry's "Roar."
http://bit.ly/17jd3OM
Hold your nose. Close your mouth and listen.
And if you don't hear catchiness, you don't know what catchiness is!
Yes, that's the problem with the wannabes and the whiners, they've got no idea what a hit is. It's not something you need to play ten times to get, it's something you want to hear again before it's finished playing through.
And if you think Katy Perry could construct such ear candy alone, you probably think Alex Rodriguez can win the pennant without the rest of the Yankees. An entire team is involved. The aforementioned Max Martin and Bonnie McKee and Henry Walter and Dr. Luke. Mr. Gottwald and his right hand Cirkut produced. Sure, Katy gets a writing credit, but really she's just the front of this monolithic enterprise. Sold like a new chewing gum, with online teasers, a tsunami of marketing. Yes, the major labels may still be bitching about piracy, but they truly do get the Internet, they're chock full of marketing gurus who leave no stone unturned.
So where does this leave you?
The fiction is the means of production are in the hands of the proletariat, that people can rise above and take power. But the truth is it's harder than ever to have a hit. First, you can't write it. Second, you can't record it. Third, you can't get the mindshare.
Don't equate this new hit business with credibility and careers, that's got nothing to do with it. Sure, you go on the rocket ship ride and try to expand your personality, give a reason to like you, but Rihanna has evidenced nothing beyond her hits and her figure, and Adam Levine can certainly sing, but he employs third parties to have hits, and we really know nothing about him other than he dates beautiful women, furthermore, we don't want to know more, we don't expect more, we just want more of this ear candy.
Not that all the music has to be light. The sleeper hit of the summer is Lorde's "Royals."
http://bit.ly/10DdvU6
Sure, Top Forty radio may be last, needing proof that everybody else is on board, but "Royals" is an even more infectious track than "Roar." If you don't get it instantly, in second one or two, you're never gonna get it. But that's your competition. Something so instant and magical that you can't sit there and criticize it whatsoever.
And sure, Lorde did it without a team, but she's got one of the three best tracks of the year. And so far everybody else who has made it has not been an unknown.
So, like electronics, like so many other avenues, the level of quality has gone up. We expect the TV to work right out of the box and to be perfect thereafter. And if it breaks, we just buy a new one. This is so different from before. Where imperfect could get a toehold. That's what the Internet and technology have bequeathed, a higher standard of quality.
And I know many of you do not believe this. But the truth is if you don't cut a track that affects us as quickly as "Roar" and "Royals" do you're inherently niche. Most people are not interested, no matter how many hours you've put in.
But it's even worse than that. Because if you're basing your career on live performance, there's nowhere to play. Lorde didn't break on the road, but on radio.
Well, actually, the Web.
But the point is people only want these excellent songs and if you string enough of them together you can sell out an arena. Sure, the classic rock acts are still plying the boards, but look at the performers at the festivals, they're not sixty to seventy, but twenty to thirty. Just because the boomers control the media, don't think a revolution has not taken place. Yes, we're fourteen years into the twenty first century and we still don't call it the "teens" but the change in the music business has been staggering. And it's got little to do with piracy and more to do with a whole new generation coming into power, who are not beholden to hundred plus dollar an hour recording studios and the construction of album long listening experiences. They grew up in this megahit era.
However, what's truly interesting is it's now about the song more than ever. Despite all the hype about online video, how it's the new MTV, most of these performers have such a thin personality and so little credibility that it does not work when you see them, which is why they surround themselves with trappings when you see them live. Just put them on the stage alone and there's virtually no charisma. Which is why Katy Perry's version of "Roar" at the VMAs fell so flat:
http://on.mtv.com/1aGRkpo
Look at the crowd. You've been at shows. There's little of the excitement of life and performance because it's not about music but show. But music is something that goes in your ears, not your eyes, so listening to "Roar" is a much better experience.
And that's a good thing. First and foremost it starts with the song, the record. Same as it ever was only more so!
P.S. Although his track misses, give McCartney credit for understanding, unlike all his classic rock brethren. He's trying to play the young person's game, he's close.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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
--
Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com --
Not only are the children of the baby boomers pushing thirty, in some cases exceeding that threshold, there's a whole new generation of barely pubescent children who have never experienced free-form radio and sitting in front of the stereo listening to full length albums.
And nothing angers the children of the sixties more.
During the MTV era, at least different genres of music were entertained. It was not only Boy George and Duran Duran, but Bob Dylan and Tom Petty too. There was still a thread to the past. But now that thread has been broken.
Exhibit one. Paul McCartney's new track "New."
http://bit.ly/17jVJNM
It's just not good enough. Sure, he worked with Mark Ronson, but someone was afraid to tell him to push it just a little bit farther, because just like the AM radio of the sixties, Top Forty only has time for the best. If your track is not positively great, it's got no room for you.
Of course Top Forty is a shadow of its former self. The deejays are jive and the playlist is limited. But it's the only radio format, other than country, that truly matters anymore. It's where those truly interested in music, the young 'uns, go to check acts out.
And what they consider a successful act is so different from what boomers revered in the seventies. In the seventies, who the act was was almost as important as the music they made. What their political values were, the eloquence with which they exhibited these ideas. Whereas today's music is purely commercial, and those who make it are only interested in the money.
Lady Gaga's got the same problem as Sir Paul. No one told her "Applause" was not good enough. When you play on a world stage, when everybody is watching, you've got to ace the test, which is why labels employ writing camps, why every record is massaged, there's a ton of money at risk, and they don't want to blow their chances.
Yes, you never hear those at the top of the food chain bitching about either piracy or diminished opportunities in the music business. Because if you're winning at the Top Forty game, there's so much money raining down you can barely spend it, because you're working too hard!
Yes, despite all the paparazzi photos of these stars at the beach, today's young artists work harder than their predecessors, they don't have time for shenanigans, they know that if they don't stay in the public eye, someone else will replace them, there's an endless line of wannabes. All with desire and a modicum of talent. The key is to plug them into the system. Backstreet Boys might be an oldies act, but Max Martin is hotter than ever.
So put on your headphones, pull up Katy Perry's "Roar."
http://bit.ly/17jd3OM
Hold your nose. Close your mouth and listen.
And if you don't hear catchiness, you don't know what catchiness is!
Yes, that's the problem with the wannabes and the whiners, they've got no idea what a hit is. It's not something you need to play ten times to get, it's something you want to hear again before it's finished playing through.
And if you think Katy Perry could construct such ear candy alone, you probably think Alex Rodriguez can win the pennant without the rest of the Yankees. An entire team is involved. The aforementioned Max Martin and Bonnie McKee and Henry Walter and Dr. Luke. Mr. Gottwald and his right hand Cirkut produced. Sure, Katy gets a writing credit, but really she's just the front of this monolithic enterprise. Sold like a new chewing gum, with online teasers, a tsunami of marketing. Yes, the major labels may still be bitching about piracy, but they truly do get the Internet, they're chock full of marketing gurus who leave no stone unturned.
So where does this leave you?
The fiction is the means of production are in the hands of the proletariat, that people can rise above and take power. But the truth is it's harder than ever to have a hit. First, you can't write it. Second, you can't record it. Third, you can't get the mindshare.
Don't equate this new hit business with credibility and careers, that's got nothing to do with it. Sure, you go on the rocket ship ride and try to expand your personality, give a reason to like you, but Rihanna has evidenced nothing beyond her hits and her figure, and Adam Levine can certainly sing, but he employs third parties to have hits, and we really know nothing about him other than he dates beautiful women, furthermore, we don't want to know more, we don't expect more, we just want more of this ear candy.
Not that all the music has to be light. The sleeper hit of the summer is Lorde's "Royals."
http://bit.ly/10DdvU6
Sure, Top Forty radio may be last, needing proof that everybody else is on board, but "Royals" is an even more infectious track than "Roar." If you don't get it instantly, in second one or two, you're never gonna get it. But that's your competition. Something so instant and magical that you can't sit there and criticize it whatsoever.
And sure, Lorde did it without a team, but she's got one of the three best tracks of the year. And so far everybody else who has made it has not been an unknown.
So, like electronics, like so many other avenues, the level of quality has gone up. We expect the TV to work right out of the box and to be perfect thereafter. And if it breaks, we just buy a new one. This is so different from before. Where imperfect could get a toehold. That's what the Internet and technology have bequeathed, a higher standard of quality.
And I know many of you do not believe this. But the truth is if you don't cut a track that affects us as quickly as "Roar" and "Royals" do you're inherently niche. Most people are not interested, no matter how many hours you've put in.
But it's even worse than that. Because if you're basing your career on live performance, there's nowhere to play. Lorde didn't break on the road, but on radio.
Well, actually, the Web.
But the point is people only want these excellent songs and if you string enough of them together you can sell out an arena. Sure, the classic rock acts are still plying the boards, but look at the performers at the festivals, they're not sixty to seventy, but twenty to thirty. Just because the boomers control the media, don't think a revolution has not taken place. Yes, we're fourteen years into the twenty first century and we still don't call it the "teens" but the change in the music business has been staggering. And it's got little to do with piracy and more to do with a whole new generation coming into power, who are not beholden to hundred plus dollar an hour recording studios and the construction of album long listening experiences. They grew up in this megahit era.
However, what's truly interesting is it's now about the song more than ever. Despite all the hype about online video, how it's the new MTV, most of these performers have such a thin personality and so little credibility that it does not work when you see them, which is why they surround themselves with trappings when you see them live. Just put them on the stage alone and there's virtually no charisma. Which is why Katy Perry's version of "Roar" at the VMAs fell so flat:
http://on.mtv.com/1aGRkpo
Look at the crowd. You've been at shows. There's little of the excitement of life and performance because it's not about music but show. But music is something that goes in your ears, not your eyes, so listening to "Roar" is a much better experience.
And that's a good thing. First and foremost it starts with the song, the record. Same as it ever was only more so!
P.S. Although his track misses, give McCartney credit for understanding, unlike all his classic rock brethren. He's trying to play the young person's game, he's close.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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
--
Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com --
Sunday, 1 September 2013
Apple's Mistake
It should have started a subscription streaming service sooner.
Once upon a time, Apple was the beacon in the consumer's eye. Not only did it possess a leader more charismatic than any rock star, it positively dominated complete swaths of consumer culture. It had the iPod, the iTunes Store, the iPhone and the iPad.
But those were the heady days of yesteryear. Before Android, Amazon, Samsung and the cratering of its stock.
Students of the game are familiar with Clayton Christensen's "Innovator's Dilemma," wherein the professor says you prepare for disruption by creating your competitor across the street, and when your new business reaches critical mass, you close the old and inflate the new. What starts out poor ultimately becomes good enough and the public embraces it while the cognoscenti pooh-pooh it and before long you're at the end of a revolution, with those entrenched in the old ways having missed the war.
We've seen this in terms of audio quality. Oldsters and artists and purveyors wondered who would want a lo-res file when you could acquire a pristine CD?
Everybody, it turned out.
As for the vinyl revolution... Have you noticed that it's been propped up by a dying print press, and that there are Civil War reenactors too? If your dander rises from reading this paragraph you're a hobbyist living in the past, have fun, but you're no longer a card-carrying member of the mainstream.
So in the early days of streaming the services, like Rhapsody, were clunky with a bad interface. Kind of like the mislabeled MP3s in the early days of Napster. Furthermore, few people had broadband connections, no one had a smartphone and wireless 3G was not prevalent, never mind 4G
But over time systems improved, and YouTube came to dominate, it became the world's number one music service. Ask anybody under the age of 21, they don't buy, they stream. Yes, while you were busy bitching about Spotify, YouTube won. And it won because the record labels were reluctant to authorize Spotify, especially in the U.S., and YouTube snuck in the window. And online, he who's first usually wins. Bing couldn't compete with Google and Beats probably cannot compete with Spotify.
Anyway, fearful of giving up MP3/AAC profits, Apple refused to enter the streaming sphere. And now they're competing with a Pandora-like service years later. Apple is so far behind the curve, you'd think it's a record company. Apple built its cachet and profits on leading and dominating, now it's doing neither.
Meanwhile, Spotify suffered from not having everything. But now the Eagles and Metallica are on the service and if you're bitching about what's not there, you're probably complaining you can't buy 100 octane gas for your '64 GTO.
And Spotify had streaming hiccups, caused by a lack of server power, now history as a result of a west coast farm.
And Spotify had horrible search, which is no longer a problem since the company jettisoned its service for the one Apple uses at iTunes.
In other words, Spotify got better. iTunes got worse. Hell, if you think iTunes 11 is good, you enjoyed reading Microsoft manuals, when they still existed! (As for their online help...it might as well be written in Chinese.)
In other words, if you stay where you are to maximize profits, you're a day away from losing your business.
This is what happened to Lady Gaga. She released a middling album, both in terms of sales and reviews/perception, and then she went on an endless cleanup tour, raking in the momentary dough. Meanwhile, Katy Perry stole her thunder. Katy's new track is killing Gaga's. Odds are Gaga's past her peak, because she didn't realize the eighties are history, that you can't spend years between releases, cleaning up in every market, you've got to play and risk and reinvent constantly.
But not Apple. Back when the iPhone ruled smartphones, if Apple had introduced a streaming service they could have ensured the iPhone's dominance. It would be a reason to stick with Apple. But now Spotify's available everywhere and even Amazon sells a healthy percentage of MP3s, while testing the streaming waters with its Prime service.
In tech, if you don't dominate, if you don't have almost all of the market share, you're on your way to marginalization. Which is why Apple is faltering and YouTube is dominating in music. If I've got YouTube, why do I need Spotify?
That's what the Swedish company has to convince people. That they need to pay for the service.
As for the musicians complaining about payouts, ignore them completely, they're wasting their breath, the battle has been fought and the war is over, streaming already won.
Ain't that typical. Ignorant old school purveyors bitching about something they know nothing about. To rail against streaming services on any level is to complain that you can't buy a car without a catalytic converter, to insist that Tesla must not exist because it hurts Chevron and Exxon. Change happens, your best bet is to see the future and to glom on, not to try and jet everyone back to the past.
The public has voted. It prefers streaming.
And we learned during the Napster crisis that denying the public's preference is a recipe for death.
But we did not expect Apple to become a victim of this same hollowing out disease. We expected Apple to lead, to creatively destroy its core in order to win in the future. The company that eradicated the floppy drive and tossed over ADB for USB and put wi-fi in laptops before most people knew what it was became inured to profits, and ensured its musical death.
Don't let this happen to you.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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
--
Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com --
Once upon a time, Apple was the beacon in the consumer's eye. Not only did it possess a leader more charismatic than any rock star, it positively dominated complete swaths of consumer culture. It had the iPod, the iTunes Store, the iPhone and the iPad.
But those were the heady days of yesteryear. Before Android, Amazon, Samsung and the cratering of its stock.
Students of the game are familiar with Clayton Christensen's "Innovator's Dilemma," wherein the professor says you prepare for disruption by creating your competitor across the street, and when your new business reaches critical mass, you close the old and inflate the new. What starts out poor ultimately becomes good enough and the public embraces it while the cognoscenti pooh-pooh it and before long you're at the end of a revolution, with those entrenched in the old ways having missed the war.
We've seen this in terms of audio quality. Oldsters and artists and purveyors wondered who would want a lo-res file when you could acquire a pristine CD?
Everybody, it turned out.
As for the vinyl revolution... Have you noticed that it's been propped up by a dying print press, and that there are Civil War reenactors too? If your dander rises from reading this paragraph you're a hobbyist living in the past, have fun, but you're no longer a card-carrying member of the mainstream.
So in the early days of streaming the services, like Rhapsody, were clunky with a bad interface. Kind of like the mislabeled MP3s in the early days of Napster. Furthermore, few people had broadband connections, no one had a smartphone and wireless 3G was not prevalent, never mind 4G
But over time systems improved, and YouTube came to dominate, it became the world's number one music service. Ask anybody under the age of 21, they don't buy, they stream. Yes, while you were busy bitching about Spotify, YouTube won. And it won because the record labels were reluctant to authorize Spotify, especially in the U.S., and YouTube snuck in the window. And online, he who's first usually wins. Bing couldn't compete with Google and Beats probably cannot compete with Spotify.
Anyway, fearful of giving up MP3/AAC profits, Apple refused to enter the streaming sphere. And now they're competing with a Pandora-like service years later. Apple is so far behind the curve, you'd think it's a record company. Apple built its cachet and profits on leading and dominating, now it's doing neither.
Meanwhile, Spotify suffered from not having everything. But now the Eagles and Metallica are on the service and if you're bitching about what's not there, you're probably complaining you can't buy 100 octane gas for your '64 GTO.
And Spotify had streaming hiccups, caused by a lack of server power, now history as a result of a west coast farm.
And Spotify had horrible search, which is no longer a problem since the company jettisoned its service for the one Apple uses at iTunes.
In other words, Spotify got better. iTunes got worse. Hell, if you think iTunes 11 is good, you enjoyed reading Microsoft manuals, when they still existed! (As for their online help...it might as well be written in Chinese.)
In other words, if you stay where you are to maximize profits, you're a day away from losing your business.
This is what happened to Lady Gaga. She released a middling album, both in terms of sales and reviews/perception, and then she went on an endless cleanup tour, raking in the momentary dough. Meanwhile, Katy Perry stole her thunder. Katy's new track is killing Gaga's. Odds are Gaga's past her peak, because she didn't realize the eighties are history, that you can't spend years between releases, cleaning up in every market, you've got to play and risk and reinvent constantly.
But not Apple. Back when the iPhone ruled smartphones, if Apple had introduced a streaming service they could have ensured the iPhone's dominance. It would be a reason to stick with Apple. But now Spotify's available everywhere and even Amazon sells a healthy percentage of MP3s, while testing the streaming waters with its Prime service.
In tech, if you don't dominate, if you don't have almost all of the market share, you're on your way to marginalization. Which is why Apple is faltering and YouTube is dominating in music. If I've got YouTube, why do I need Spotify?
That's what the Swedish company has to convince people. That they need to pay for the service.
As for the musicians complaining about payouts, ignore them completely, they're wasting their breath, the battle has been fought and the war is over, streaming already won.
Ain't that typical. Ignorant old school purveyors bitching about something they know nothing about. To rail against streaming services on any level is to complain that you can't buy a car without a catalytic converter, to insist that Tesla must not exist because it hurts Chevron and Exxon. Change happens, your best bet is to see the future and to glom on, not to try and jet everyone back to the past.
The public has voted. It prefers streaming.
And we learned during the Napster crisis that denying the public's preference is a recipe for death.
But we did not expect Apple to become a victim of this same hollowing out disease. We expected Apple to lead, to creatively destroy its core in order to win in the future. The company that eradicated the floppy drive and tossed over ADB for USB and put wi-fi in laptops before most people knew what it was became inured to profits, and ensured its musical death.
Don't let this happen to you.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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
--
Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com --
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)