Friday is taco night!
Oslo is just like America, just a little bit different. There's a safety net. And it's cold, there were flurries just now. And they read the "New York Times" and watch Netflix.
Huh?
That's what Helle said. She checked the "Times" on a regular basis. With all the scuttlebutt that newspapers are history, that they can't survive, the truth is today's informed generation wants to know what's going on, and they do that by tuning in to those with boots on the ground. Opinion may rule on American TV, but in the rest of the world, everybody wants facts.
In Canada too!
The only ones uninformed are Americans.
So the fastest way to get here was via United. Through Newark. There was only one seat left when I booked, by the window. I don't know about you, but if you confine me, then I've definitely got to pee. And my social anxiety has me worried about bothering my seatmate. Once upon a time, I used to ask to switch, but that was before everybody decided the aisle was desirable.
And I read the newspapers, I had a lot of time, the plane left LAX an hour late. I was getting spilkes, was I gonna miss my connection?
Whew, I made it. But then we sat on the tarmac in Newark for two hours. One runway was closed for construction, another for weather and only one was available to come and go so I finished my periodicals to get ready to delve back into Ben Fong-Torres's Little Feat book and finally we hit the air.
Flying into Oslo... It was like frozen tundra. Small hills, plenty of snow.
But at least there were trees! Vetle's father grew up in Norway's northernmost town, where there are no trees and no mountains, it's just flat, it's a sixteen hour drive from Oslo, you can see the Northern Lights.
And my driver kept telling me how expensive Norway was. He was an English bloke who couldn't stay away from a Scandinavian blonde and now he's a resident, and was a fount of information. Transplants always make the best guides.
He told me it was all about the oil. That's why Norway hadn't joined the European Union, it had too much money. And with everything imported, everything is so expensive, ten or fifteen bucks for a beer, at least that's what he said. But my limited investigation proved it to be so, as I was dividing by six, trying to figure out what things really cost.
After checking into the Thief, yes, that's the name of my hotel, I took a stroll towards the Fortress, the fourteenth century military bastion, and therein I saw a sign for the Norway Resistance Museum.
I'm a sucker for World War II history. I grew up just after, as did England's classic rockers, it affects our world view.
But I did not know Germany occupied Norway, because I'm an American, from the greatest country in the world, where everything is better and most people can't even name the Presidents on Mt. Rushmore.
Yes, the Germans launched a surprise attack, back in 1940, before the U.S. was even in the war. And Norway was unprepared. And the Germans took over. And there was a Norwegian who turned, a sympathizer who wanted to set up a German government.
And the truth is, Norway was occupied for essentially the entire duration. There was occasional help from the British, and eventually some boats from the Americans, but it was a matter of standing up to the powers that be, hoping they didn't shoot you or send you off to a camp.
They had radios. And underground newspapers. (Do you remember underground newspapers, they were all the rage in the late sixties, long before Tumblr!)
And the Germans just could not defeat the people. They purged the underground newspapers, but they reappeared. Because with their backs against the wall, people tend to stand up for what they believe, it's hard to convince them otherwise.
And the truth is we in the U.S. are unafraid of Canada and Mexico, they're not going to invade. But in Scandinavia, Northern Europe...the countries are all so close!
Makes me feel so alive. Traveling opens your horizons, broadens your world, makes you see how tiny you truly are and how you think you know everything, but you don't.
And after getting kicked out of the museum because I read the sign wrong, I thought they closed at five but it was four, I emerged into rain.
You've got to know, I haven't lived in the east for oh-so-long. Grey skies and precipitation, they're anomalies in Southern California.
My shoes are soaked and my pants are sticking to my legs and I'm loving it, fighting the elements, living the hard life, it builds character.
So after showering I went to dinner with Helle and Vetle. They both had iPhones. Vetle tethered mine to his so I could use the net to download the transportation app.
Yes, that's how they do it here. You pay online.
There are so many things that are better here.
But Helle would still like to spend time in the States, believing it's just too safe in Norway. Kind of like how Canadians say the country's a giant high school, with everybody knowing each other and anybody who stands out being torn down.
But I told her it wasn't that different. Except for a lot more land and a lot more poor people. And the middle class is struggling for money, the government doesn't pay for public college and refund 60% of your living loans when you graduate, you're on your own.
And I asked Helle and Vetle what true Norwegian cuisine would be, what the national food is.
And that's when they told me TACOS!
Huh?
Started in the nineties, Tex-Mex became the rage. Even our Swedish waitress, who moved to Norway for the increased pay, agreed.
You can buy Santa Maria salsa in the grocery store!
And you can watch "House of Cards" on Netflix. And "Game Of Thrones" on HBO Nordic.
You see it is a very small world. And the truth is excellence translates. Whether it be the iPhone, which they believed had a 70% penetration, or Spotify, which they both subscribe to, or the aforementioned "New York Times."
Same as it is back home.
Only completely different.
The Thief: http://thethief.com/en/the-hotel/
Resistance Museum: http://bit.ly/1imf966
Dinner at Festningen Restaurant: http://bit.ly/1jPkINm
--
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 --
Saturday, 5 April 2014
Friday, 4 April 2014
Rhinofy-Ry Cooder Primer
TATTLER
Start here. Because you know this one, most probably in its Linda Ronstadt incarnation from "Hasten Down The Wind," the album with the Karla Bonoff covers.
Ry and his producer Russ Titelman take credit for writing it...along with Washington Phillips, whose version I've also included, it's quite the blueprint.
Anyway, the soul of the guitar playing will immediately infatuate you, it's like sitting down in an overstuffed chair.
This is from "Paradise and Lunch," Ry's fourth solo album, quite the comeback from the disappointing "Boomer's Story." But it was the second record that broke Ry through, "Into The Purple Valley."
TEARDROPS WILL FALL
We bought these albums on recommendation, usually in the rock press, we had no idea what they sounded like until we broke the shrinkwrap and dropped the needle. Oftentimes we were surprised.
And this was the case with "Into The Purple Valley." Yes, they told us the songs were from the Dust Bowl era, truly ancient, but we were not prepared for the sound.
But this was back when everything didn't have to sound the same, when it was a badge of honor to have your own sound.
And I'm starting here with "Teardrops Will Fall," because like "Tattler," it's easily digestible.
It's reflective, and it will make you so too.
MONEY HONEY
A story song. About the power of cash.
The mandolin, the electric guitar and the female vocals..."Money Honey" is a tour de force, you'll find yourself singing it at the strangest moments. It enters your brain and it stays there.
F.D.R. IN TRINIDAD
There are so many words, Ry can barely squeeze them in. As a result, you end up knowing them. Cordell Hull is famous in my world because he was mentioned in this song.
Yes, Ry Cooder was looking back in an era when everybody else was looking forward. He was imploring us to slow down and see what had happened as opposed to what was coming down the pike.
BILLY THE KID
Not the only song about the outlaw, but the best.
Once again, the mandolin is what hooks you.
ON A MONDAY
It's all about the picking.
And the slide guitar.
And the hypnotic groove.
And the story that follows the days of the week.
HEY PORTER
It's so SAD!
Written by Johnny Cash after exiting the armed forces, you can hear the anticipation for a return to regular life.
VIGILANTE MAN
A Woody Guthrie tune, it sounds like there's no one else around. As if Ry is playing and singing by himself on a porch in Oklahoma.
ALIMONY
Listening to "Into The Purple Valley" is like falling down a rabbit hole, you get so deep you want more. So you go back and buy the initial LP, "Ry Cooder," which is a bit too slick and not as good, but contains gems nonetheless, like this.
Yes, sometimes it takes a while to get it right. Or to put it another way, you've got to get it wrong to get it right. After making his first album, Ry knew what he wanted on his second. He stripped it down, it got more authentic. Or maybe it's as simple as adding Jim Dickinson into the Van Dyke Parks/Lenny Waronker production stew.
"Look at this one, look at that one
Tell me, do they look like me?"
Ry isn't afraid to play the scumbag. He doesn't want to PAY!
DO RE MI
A famous Woody Guthrie song that I didn't discover until I heard Ry Cooder's rendition.
The truth is you need that do re mi, now more than ever. Even if you want to stay home as opposed to moving to California.
"California's a Garden of Eden
It's a paradise to live in or see
But believe it or not
You won't find it so hot
If you ain't got that do re mi"
ONE MEAT BALL
That's all he could afford!
Not simple to get into, you'll find this one running through your brain endlessly.
COMIN' IN ON A WING AND A PRAYER
The one true keeper off "Boomer's Story," I was so enraptured with Ry that I bought the album and kept playing it over and over trying to get into it, but I couldn't. Sometimes you miss.
But not on this one cut.
JESUS ON THE MAINLINE
Like I said, "Paradise and Lunch" was a complete return to form. It's probably Ry's best album.
Hear this track a few times and you'll find yourself running around saying...
CALL HIM UP!
TAMP 'EM UP SOLID
A train song that opens "Paradise and Lunch," it starts off quietly and gets louder, as if the train has come over the horizon to pick you up to take you on a ride.
Its magic is its understatedness. Subtle, when done right, eclipses in-your-face.
DITTY WAH DITTY
As if you entered a roadhouse and there was a rollicking piano player and a guy picking and singing this song, in love with the mood they're in. You feel privileged just to be INCLUDED!
FOOL FOR A CIGARETTE/FEELIN' GOOD
From back when smoking was still reasonable, before it became the scourge of the lower class.
It's hypnotic.
I GOT MINE
"Chicken Skin Music" was much better than "Boomer's Story," but it was kind of a treading water move, it seemed too similar in tone to "Paradise and Lunch," however it is very good. Start here.
DOWN IN HOLLYWOOD
From "Bop till You Drop," which was endlessly promoted as the first digitally recorded pop album, if only as much time had been spent on the music.
But this track, cowritten by Ry and Tim Drummond, actually got scads of airplay, it made Ry a known quantity.
LITTLE SISTER
Not a revelatory version of the Elvis hit, but worth hearing.
And from here it was downhill...
It's almost as if Ry had paid so many dues that when others were paying attention he no longer cared about delivering.
But Ry did get his moment in the movies, his soundtrack work eclipsed and then replaced his solo work.
And eventually there came the Buena Vista Social Club and more solo records, but really it's Ry's early work that stands the test of time.
Start with his slide work on "Memo From Turner" and play the above. There's more than that, but it's a good place to start.
Spotify playlist: http://spoti.fi/1dLO3IA
--
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 --
Start here. Because you know this one, most probably in its Linda Ronstadt incarnation from "Hasten Down The Wind," the album with the Karla Bonoff covers.
Ry and his producer Russ Titelman take credit for writing it...along with Washington Phillips, whose version I've also included, it's quite the blueprint.
Anyway, the soul of the guitar playing will immediately infatuate you, it's like sitting down in an overstuffed chair.
This is from "Paradise and Lunch," Ry's fourth solo album, quite the comeback from the disappointing "Boomer's Story." But it was the second record that broke Ry through, "Into The Purple Valley."
TEARDROPS WILL FALL
We bought these albums on recommendation, usually in the rock press, we had no idea what they sounded like until we broke the shrinkwrap and dropped the needle. Oftentimes we were surprised.
And this was the case with "Into The Purple Valley." Yes, they told us the songs were from the Dust Bowl era, truly ancient, but we were not prepared for the sound.
But this was back when everything didn't have to sound the same, when it was a badge of honor to have your own sound.
And I'm starting here with "Teardrops Will Fall," because like "Tattler," it's easily digestible.
It's reflective, and it will make you so too.
MONEY HONEY
A story song. About the power of cash.
The mandolin, the electric guitar and the female vocals..."Money Honey" is a tour de force, you'll find yourself singing it at the strangest moments. It enters your brain and it stays there.
F.D.R. IN TRINIDAD
There are so many words, Ry can barely squeeze them in. As a result, you end up knowing them. Cordell Hull is famous in my world because he was mentioned in this song.
Yes, Ry Cooder was looking back in an era when everybody else was looking forward. He was imploring us to slow down and see what had happened as opposed to what was coming down the pike.
BILLY THE KID
Not the only song about the outlaw, but the best.
Once again, the mandolin is what hooks you.
ON A MONDAY
It's all about the picking.
And the slide guitar.
And the hypnotic groove.
And the story that follows the days of the week.
HEY PORTER
It's so SAD!
Written by Johnny Cash after exiting the armed forces, you can hear the anticipation for a return to regular life.
VIGILANTE MAN
A Woody Guthrie tune, it sounds like there's no one else around. As if Ry is playing and singing by himself on a porch in Oklahoma.
ALIMONY
Listening to "Into The Purple Valley" is like falling down a rabbit hole, you get so deep you want more. So you go back and buy the initial LP, "Ry Cooder," which is a bit too slick and not as good, but contains gems nonetheless, like this.
Yes, sometimes it takes a while to get it right. Or to put it another way, you've got to get it wrong to get it right. After making his first album, Ry knew what he wanted on his second. He stripped it down, it got more authentic. Or maybe it's as simple as adding Jim Dickinson into the Van Dyke Parks/Lenny Waronker production stew.
"Look at this one, look at that one
Tell me, do they look like me?"
Ry isn't afraid to play the scumbag. He doesn't want to PAY!
DO RE MI
A famous Woody Guthrie song that I didn't discover until I heard Ry Cooder's rendition.
The truth is you need that do re mi, now more than ever. Even if you want to stay home as opposed to moving to California.
"California's a Garden of Eden
It's a paradise to live in or see
But believe it or not
You won't find it so hot
If you ain't got that do re mi"
ONE MEAT BALL
That's all he could afford!
Not simple to get into, you'll find this one running through your brain endlessly.
COMIN' IN ON A WING AND A PRAYER
The one true keeper off "Boomer's Story," I was so enraptured with Ry that I bought the album and kept playing it over and over trying to get into it, but I couldn't. Sometimes you miss.
But not on this one cut.
JESUS ON THE MAINLINE
Like I said, "Paradise and Lunch" was a complete return to form. It's probably Ry's best album.
Hear this track a few times and you'll find yourself running around saying...
CALL HIM UP!
TAMP 'EM UP SOLID
A train song that opens "Paradise and Lunch," it starts off quietly and gets louder, as if the train has come over the horizon to pick you up to take you on a ride.
Its magic is its understatedness. Subtle, when done right, eclipses in-your-face.
DITTY WAH DITTY
As if you entered a roadhouse and there was a rollicking piano player and a guy picking and singing this song, in love with the mood they're in. You feel privileged just to be INCLUDED!
FOOL FOR A CIGARETTE/FEELIN' GOOD
From back when smoking was still reasonable, before it became the scourge of the lower class.
It's hypnotic.
I GOT MINE
"Chicken Skin Music" was much better than "Boomer's Story," but it was kind of a treading water move, it seemed too similar in tone to "Paradise and Lunch," however it is very good. Start here.
DOWN IN HOLLYWOOD
From "Bop till You Drop," which was endlessly promoted as the first digitally recorded pop album, if only as much time had been spent on the music.
But this track, cowritten by Ry and Tim Drummond, actually got scads of airplay, it made Ry a known quantity.
LITTLE SISTER
Not a revelatory version of the Elvis hit, but worth hearing.
And from here it was downhill...
It's almost as if Ry had paid so many dues that when others were paying attention he no longer cared about delivering.
But Ry did get his moment in the movies, his soundtrack work eclipsed and then replaced his solo work.
And eventually there came the Buena Vista Social Club and more solo records, but really it's Ry's early work that stands the test of time.
Start with his slide work on "Memo From Turner" and play the above. There's more than that, but it's a good place to start.
Spotify playlist: http://spoti.fi/1dLO3IA
--
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, 3 April 2014
Letterman
I haven't watched in a long, long time.
But there was a time when I couldn't miss it. It was the SNL of its day. It was our program. With our sensibilities and irreverence.
Yes, once upon a time the baby boomers were the younger generation, champing at the bit to replace our parents. But now we're fading off into the sunset, just like Dave.
It's hard getting old. You lose the drive. The need to prove yourself. To pull yourself up and demonstrate that you're worthwhile. Age and you start to accept who you are and where you are, the die has been cast, your fate has been determined.
Get old and you don't want to try new products, you believe efforts to change the world are futile, you know life is no longer about acquisitions but stories. Friendships and the tales that are told are everything. If you watch late night TV...you don't, because you're already asleep. And if you're up at that hour, you're watching Netflix, or your DVR, not the endless parade of celebrities selling stuff.
But at first, those celebrities wouldn't do Dave's show. He was on uber-late, when VCRs were just becoming ubiquitous, when the only people up were us.
So suddenly we knew who Larry "Bud" Melman was. Biff was one of our friends. The whole menagerie of people on the show...we knew them, long before we were familiar with Howard Stern's Wack Pack.
Yes, Letterman was the first person to put Howard on national television. And show business is all about loyalty, Howard's never forgotten it. And Howard's hitting his stride right now.
But Dave is getting out of the way.
You could see it coming. His talk of antidepressants. Going on Alec Baldwin's podcast and declaring that he just didn't have it in him to work that hard anymore, to come up with all those stunts.
Many of which were conceived by his then girlfriend Merrill Markoe, who has been forgotten to history. Ain't that always the case. The manager or the label may make all the money, but the act gets the fame, and fame is forever.
You watched to see what they'd come up with next. Not only Stupid Pet Tricks and the Alka-Seltzer suit, but the location shoots, how they made Sirajul and Mujibur stars. Unlike today, Letterman and company were poking fun at show business, as if to say I KNOW I'M A GAP-TOOTHED COMEDIAN, I KNOW I'M ONLY HERE TEMPORARILY!
If you don't drink the kool-aid, you can have fun with it.
And Dave did.
Until he moved to 11:35.
Then he put on a suit, got rid of the wrestling shoes and sport jacket, he got slick, but we didn't care, because suddenly Dave was God, back when whomever aired at 11:35 was so.
Those days are long gone.
But what killed Dave's reign at the top was hosting the Oscars. Because unlike phony actors, Dave's got an edge, he's not an air-kissing ass-kisser. As a result, the press turned on him and then the public and soon middle of the road Jay Leno held the crown, and mostly kept it in the ensuing decades.
Not that Dave was no longer good. It's just the era had passed. Kind of like Jimmy Page or Paul McCartney. They're still talented, they can still do good work, but it's not up to the standard of Zeppelin or the Beatles.
And one must mention acts, because Dave featured one every night, and although these performances could not mint instant stars, some were so powerful they could not be forgotten. Like Melissa Etheridge stamping her foot to "I'm The Only One." Or my personal favorite, Sinead O'Connor doing "You Made Me The Thief Of Your Heart." I can still see them in my mind's eye. Back when music still ruled the culture, back when your performance was more important than your bank account.
And unlike Johnny, Dave didn't really do interviews, he wasn't so good at it. But hijinks would ensue.
And you never fast-forwarded past the monologue. Because the thrill was to watch Dave recover from the too often mediocre jokes that fell flat, twisting those lips, grimacing, tossing off a one liner.
And then there was the Top Ten list. Which triumphed because it was irrelevant.
And then there was Dave's mother, most memorably at the Olympics.
Dave may have revered Carson, but he made late night his own.
And now everybody does his show. It's comedy as opposed to interviews. But no one does it as well. And Jimmy Fallon's failing is he's nice, you can take him anywhere. Dave was not invited and stayed home anyway, knowing his job was TV host, not celebrity.
And he's still got it. You hear it on podcasts, you see it when he's got a favorite guest next to him, the sparks, the fun. It's not rehearsed, the key is to spar, top each other, get in a jab, it's not safe, at least it never was at 1:35.
But the truth is the format is antiquated. We don't all assemble in front of the set every night. An appearance barely moves the needle. And everybody's conscious of repurposing content for the web, where the eyeballs truly are.
But you have to wake up at some point and admit your time is done, that it's unseemly to compete with those far younger for eyeballs even younger than they are. You let it go.
But still, it's sad. It's the end of an era.
Derek Jeter did not invent baseball.
But David Letterman invented late night television. Or shall we say he changed the rules, modified the game. And we were drawn to him for just this reason. In a world where rules were everything, with so much money involved in network television, Dave was willing to throw out the book and go his own way.
So, so long Dave. You'll live on in our hearts. At least we baby boomers, whose lives were changed by you, you filled a niche we didn't know we had and your memory will be lost to the sands of time, but so will we.
And so long Jay Leno. You were the best comic of the era, Dave made you a star, but when you got your turn you believed ratings equaled quality and you kowtowed to your bosses, most of whom we don't remember the name of and are already gone.
And so long the era of the baby boomers. You were the largest segment of the population, you pushed and pulled and changed the world.
But now it's someone else's time.
And it won't be on late night television. It'll probably be online. But one thing we know for sure, the next star's luminance will be comprised of the same elements that made David Letterman king - irreverence, ingenuity and the ability to poke fun at yourself. Add to that a great team which Dave adored and respected and the belief that it was all about the show, hitting the note every night as opposed to embellishing his celebrity.
The Jimmys will keep talking. Conan will continue to labor in obscurity.
But now there will be a giant vacuum at the center. Because someone's got to lead. And the late night leader just hung up his gloves.
Melissa Etheridge "I'm The Only One": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARmH4FcDKHA
Sinead O'Connor "You Made Me The Thief Of Your Heart": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R759r_9-cs
--
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 --
But there was a time when I couldn't miss it. It was the SNL of its day. It was our program. With our sensibilities and irreverence.
Yes, once upon a time the baby boomers were the younger generation, champing at the bit to replace our parents. But now we're fading off into the sunset, just like Dave.
It's hard getting old. You lose the drive. The need to prove yourself. To pull yourself up and demonstrate that you're worthwhile. Age and you start to accept who you are and where you are, the die has been cast, your fate has been determined.
Get old and you don't want to try new products, you believe efforts to change the world are futile, you know life is no longer about acquisitions but stories. Friendships and the tales that are told are everything. If you watch late night TV...you don't, because you're already asleep. And if you're up at that hour, you're watching Netflix, or your DVR, not the endless parade of celebrities selling stuff.
But at first, those celebrities wouldn't do Dave's show. He was on uber-late, when VCRs were just becoming ubiquitous, when the only people up were us.
So suddenly we knew who Larry "Bud" Melman was. Biff was one of our friends. The whole menagerie of people on the show...we knew them, long before we were familiar with Howard Stern's Wack Pack.
Yes, Letterman was the first person to put Howard on national television. And show business is all about loyalty, Howard's never forgotten it. And Howard's hitting his stride right now.
But Dave is getting out of the way.
You could see it coming. His talk of antidepressants. Going on Alec Baldwin's podcast and declaring that he just didn't have it in him to work that hard anymore, to come up with all those stunts.
Many of which were conceived by his then girlfriend Merrill Markoe, who has been forgotten to history. Ain't that always the case. The manager or the label may make all the money, but the act gets the fame, and fame is forever.
You watched to see what they'd come up with next. Not only Stupid Pet Tricks and the Alka-Seltzer suit, but the location shoots, how they made Sirajul and Mujibur stars. Unlike today, Letterman and company were poking fun at show business, as if to say I KNOW I'M A GAP-TOOTHED COMEDIAN, I KNOW I'M ONLY HERE TEMPORARILY!
If you don't drink the kool-aid, you can have fun with it.
And Dave did.
Until he moved to 11:35.
Then he put on a suit, got rid of the wrestling shoes and sport jacket, he got slick, but we didn't care, because suddenly Dave was God, back when whomever aired at 11:35 was so.
Those days are long gone.
But what killed Dave's reign at the top was hosting the Oscars. Because unlike phony actors, Dave's got an edge, he's not an air-kissing ass-kisser. As a result, the press turned on him and then the public and soon middle of the road Jay Leno held the crown, and mostly kept it in the ensuing decades.
Not that Dave was no longer good. It's just the era had passed. Kind of like Jimmy Page or Paul McCartney. They're still talented, they can still do good work, but it's not up to the standard of Zeppelin or the Beatles.
And one must mention acts, because Dave featured one every night, and although these performances could not mint instant stars, some were so powerful they could not be forgotten. Like Melissa Etheridge stamping her foot to "I'm The Only One." Or my personal favorite, Sinead O'Connor doing "You Made Me The Thief Of Your Heart." I can still see them in my mind's eye. Back when music still ruled the culture, back when your performance was more important than your bank account.
And unlike Johnny, Dave didn't really do interviews, he wasn't so good at it. But hijinks would ensue.
And you never fast-forwarded past the monologue. Because the thrill was to watch Dave recover from the too often mediocre jokes that fell flat, twisting those lips, grimacing, tossing off a one liner.
And then there was the Top Ten list. Which triumphed because it was irrelevant.
And then there was Dave's mother, most memorably at the Olympics.
Dave may have revered Carson, but he made late night his own.
And now everybody does his show. It's comedy as opposed to interviews. But no one does it as well. And Jimmy Fallon's failing is he's nice, you can take him anywhere. Dave was not invited and stayed home anyway, knowing his job was TV host, not celebrity.
And he's still got it. You hear it on podcasts, you see it when he's got a favorite guest next to him, the sparks, the fun. It's not rehearsed, the key is to spar, top each other, get in a jab, it's not safe, at least it never was at 1:35.
But the truth is the format is antiquated. We don't all assemble in front of the set every night. An appearance barely moves the needle. And everybody's conscious of repurposing content for the web, where the eyeballs truly are.
But you have to wake up at some point and admit your time is done, that it's unseemly to compete with those far younger for eyeballs even younger than they are. You let it go.
But still, it's sad. It's the end of an era.
Derek Jeter did not invent baseball.
But David Letterman invented late night television. Or shall we say he changed the rules, modified the game. And we were drawn to him for just this reason. In a world where rules were everything, with so much money involved in network television, Dave was willing to throw out the book and go his own way.
So, so long Dave. You'll live on in our hearts. At least we baby boomers, whose lives were changed by you, you filled a niche we didn't know we had and your memory will be lost to the sands of time, but so will we.
And so long Jay Leno. You were the best comic of the era, Dave made you a star, but when you got your turn you believed ratings equaled quality and you kowtowed to your bosses, most of whom we don't remember the name of and are already gone.
And so long the era of the baby boomers. You were the largest segment of the population, you pushed and pulled and changed the world.
But now it's someone else's time.
And it won't be on late night television. It'll probably be online. But one thing we know for sure, the next star's luminance will be comprised of the same elements that made David Letterman king - irreverence, ingenuity and the ability to poke fun at yourself. Add to that a great team which Dave adored and respected and the belief that it was all about the show, hitting the note every night as opposed to embellishing his celebrity.
The Jimmys will keep talking. Conan will continue to labor in obscurity.
But now there will be a giant vacuum at the center. Because someone's got to lead. And the late night leader just hung up his gloves.
Melissa Etheridge "I'm The Only One": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARmH4FcDKHA
Sinead O'Connor "You Made Me The Thief Of Your Heart": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R759r_9-cs
--
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 --
The Pulse
BOOKSTORES
There was a front page story in the "New York Times" on the dearth of bookstores in Manhattan. I'm sick and tired of all the baby boomers lamenting the loss of yesterday. Sure, rents are high, sure Manhattan is quick becoming an artist free world, but that's because of income inequality, the loss of bookstores is about digital, there's a phenomenal store known as Amazon just one click away on the web.
And if you hate Amazon, you hate anybody who disrupts the past and makes things easier in the future. Let's put it this way, we all abhor the fact that Wal-Mart eviscerated downtown, but now we see that Amazon was gonna do it anyway, and isn't it interesting that Wal-Mart does so poorly in the Internet sphere.
Everybody wants cheap prices all the time. For all the hogwash about bringing manufacturing back to the U.S., no one wants to pay $1000 for a flat screen or the same price for a smartphone, that's what globalization brings you.
As for bookstores, digital won. The fact that the boomers don't know it yet does not make it untrue.
Youngsters are not addicted to physical books. But they are addicted to reading, and this is a good thing.
DATA
"The Dollar-And-Cents Case Against Hollywood's Exclusion of Women": http://53eig.ht/1mIpBu7
And the nerds inherit the earth.
While you're complaining that you have to take math in school, Nate Silver and the rest of the nerds are utilizing data to gain new insights and change entire industries.
Never again will talking heads bloviate about election results. Oh, maybe on Fox, where it's about drumming idiots into submission with falsehoods, but the younger generation doesn't watch cable TV news anyway. They've become inured to looking at the data.
And this data says that the Hollywood trope that no one wants to see females in movies is untrue.
You can argue with the Alison Bechdel paradigm, but the truth is Hollywood is undergoing a wrenching transition based on fact as opposed to feeling.
This is bad because it turns out people overseas do want to see action movies.
But this is good because the fivethirtyeight story will have an impact.
But it didn't have an impact in a vacuum. The story appeared in the L.A. "Times" today.
Point being, doing good work is no longer enough, you need a publicity firm to get the word out. Which I'm sure fivethirtyeight had here.
It's a sad world, but you've got to work it. In other words, to quote Pete Townshend, "meet the new boss, same as the old boss"...gatekeepers are kings once again, they may be different people, but they're as powerful as ever.
When there's cacophony, he with the most reach wins. Which is why we have superstar acts and a ton of wannabe and middling ones bitching that they just can't get traction, they just can't get money, the whole world is unfair.
But the truth is you've got to be great and you've got to have a team behind you.
Sorry.
Meanwhile, data has limited impact on creativity in music. Where it's not about story and rarely done by teams.
Oh, that's right, the Top Forty is dominated by teams making the same repetitive crap. Which is why even Top Forty is a backwater. You can tell that to Pitbull, no matter what he says on Howard Stern.
MICHAEL LEWIS
This story's been told definitively twice before.
Once in "Wired" and once in "Newsweek."
But neither one had traction.
I wrote about the one in "Newsweek" (you can read it here: http://bit.ly/1ovr0pR)
And as a result my readers told me about the story in "Wired."
But neither had any traction.
Because neither had the PR team/expertise of Michael Lewis.
Now the "Newsweek" article was written by Tom Wolfe, our preeminent cultural arbiter, who wrote how flash traders eclipsed the Masters of the Universe. Read it here: http://bit.ly/1ovro7
I've purchased Michael Lewis's new book, I have not read it yet (I bought it via Amazon, it was delivered to my Kindle instantly the day it went on sale, the problem here is..?)
I love Lewis. But I love Tom Wolfe even more. Lewis is cerebral. Wolfe is emotional. Wolfe makes flash trading come alive.
But without "60 Minutes," with the limited impact of "Newsweek," Wolfe's article went nowhere.
Illustrating it's all about promotion.
As for "Wired"'s article: http://wrd.cm/PshRON, it predated "Newsweek"'s and was nowhere near as well-written as Wolfe's, so it got no traction beyond the magazine's readers.
Furthermore, what we've got here is the book business imitating the music business. Yes, this is a Beyonce move. No one knew about the Michael Lewis book, it launched and was on sale immediately and the news was everywhere. Will the impact last?
MARK CUBAN
He was quoted in the "New York Times" re the Michael Lewis book.
Cuban has figured out the modern paradigm better than the musicians.
Establish a persona as a thinker and a doer, willing to color outside the lines, and then be in the media all the time.
Cuban is respected because of his wealth and he walks a line where he is never overpromoting/becoming a buffoon.
Cuban is everything Jay Z and the wannabes wannabe. He's a rich star.
And he's staying that way by being in the news constantly. Always weighing in because the media asks. And pontificating on his blog. He's firing on all cylinders.
This is the modern paradigm. Which is why Mark Cuban will probably outlive Michael Lewis's book.
Maybe not.
FACTS
People hate 'em. Especially those with an agenda.
This week Paul Krugman wrote a story debunking the myth of the skills gap. You can read it here: http://nyti.ms/1j6jRXC
Even the President is ignorant here. He was referencing the skills gap in Michigan yesterday.
The point is, everyone is swayed by the wind, and even though there are smart people who've devoted their lives to subjects, no one wants to give them any credit, especially if they work for that left wing organ known as the "New York Times."
Left wing? That's because the right wing labeled it so! The "New York Times" wrote negatively about the Obamacare website, the "Times" will criticize the left, the right won't criticize the right.
But let's not make this about politics, let's stay with ignorance.
In this data-driven world, the uneducated and those with an agenda believe in being uninformed.
Just imagine if you were uninformed in tech, if you didn't believe in the data.
Facts rule in tech, which is why tech is ruling us.
--
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 --
There was a front page story in the "New York Times" on the dearth of bookstores in Manhattan. I'm sick and tired of all the baby boomers lamenting the loss of yesterday. Sure, rents are high, sure Manhattan is quick becoming an artist free world, but that's because of income inequality, the loss of bookstores is about digital, there's a phenomenal store known as Amazon just one click away on the web.
And if you hate Amazon, you hate anybody who disrupts the past and makes things easier in the future. Let's put it this way, we all abhor the fact that Wal-Mart eviscerated downtown, but now we see that Amazon was gonna do it anyway, and isn't it interesting that Wal-Mart does so poorly in the Internet sphere.
Everybody wants cheap prices all the time. For all the hogwash about bringing manufacturing back to the U.S., no one wants to pay $1000 for a flat screen or the same price for a smartphone, that's what globalization brings you.
As for bookstores, digital won. The fact that the boomers don't know it yet does not make it untrue.
Youngsters are not addicted to physical books. But they are addicted to reading, and this is a good thing.
DATA
"The Dollar-And-Cents Case Against Hollywood's Exclusion of Women": http://53eig.ht/1mIpBu7
And the nerds inherit the earth.
While you're complaining that you have to take math in school, Nate Silver and the rest of the nerds are utilizing data to gain new insights and change entire industries.
Never again will talking heads bloviate about election results. Oh, maybe on Fox, where it's about drumming idiots into submission with falsehoods, but the younger generation doesn't watch cable TV news anyway. They've become inured to looking at the data.
And this data says that the Hollywood trope that no one wants to see females in movies is untrue.
You can argue with the Alison Bechdel paradigm, but the truth is Hollywood is undergoing a wrenching transition based on fact as opposed to feeling.
This is bad because it turns out people overseas do want to see action movies.
But this is good because the fivethirtyeight story will have an impact.
But it didn't have an impact in a vacuum. The story appeared in the L.A. "Times" today.
Point being, doing good work is no longer enough, you need a publicity firm to get the word out. Which I'm sure fivethirtyeight had here.
It's a sad world, but you've got to work it. In other words, to quote Pete Townshend, "meet the new boss, same as the old boss"...gatekeepers are kings once again, they may be different people, but they're as powerful as ever.
When there's cacophony, he with the most reach wins. Which is why we have superstar acts and a ton of wannabe and middling ones bitching that they just can't get traction, they just can't get money, the whole world is unfair.
But the truth is you've got to be great and you've got to have a team behind you.
Sorry.
Meanwhile, data has limited impact on creativity in music. Where it's not about story and rarely done by teams.
Oh, that's right, the Top Forty is dominated by teams making the same repetitive crap. Which is why even Top Forty is a backwater. You can tell that to Pitbull, no matter what he says on Howard Stern.
MICHAEL LEWIS
This story's been told definitively twice before.
Once in "Wired" and once in "Newsweek."
But neither one had traction.
I wrote about the one in "Newsweek" (you can read it here: http://bit.ly/1ovr0pR)
And as a result my readers told me about the story in "Wired."
But neither had any traction.
Because neither had the PR team/expertise of Michael Lewis.
Now the "Newsweek" article was written by Tom Wolfe, our preeminent cultural arbiter, who wrote how flash traders eclipsed the Masters of the Universe. Read it here: http://bit.ly/1ovro7
I've purchased Michael Lewis's new book, I have not read it yet (I bought it via Amazon, it was delivered to my Kindle instantly the day it went on sale, the problem here is..?)
I love Lewis. But I love Tom Wolfe even more. Lewis is cerebral. Wolfe is emotional. Wolfe makes flash trading come alive.
But without "60 Minutes," with the limited impact of "Newsweek," Wolfe's article went nowhere.
Illustrating it's all about promotion.
As for "Wired"'s article: http://wrd.cm/PshRON, it predated "Newsweek"'s and was nowhere near as well-written as Wolfe's, so it got no traction beyond the magazine's readers.
Furthermore, what we've got here is the book business imitating the music business. Yes, this is a Beyonce move. No one knew about the Michael Lewis book, it launched and was on sale immediately and the news was everywhere. Will the impact last?
MARK CUBAN
He was quoted in the "New York Times" re the Michael Lewis book.
Cuban has figured out the modern paradigm better than the musicians.
Establish a persona as a thinker and a doer, willing to color outside the lines, and then be in the media all the time.
Cuban is respected because of his wealth and he walks a line where he is never overpromoting/becoming a buffoon.
Cuban is everything Jay Z and the wannabes wannabe. He's a rich star.
And he's staying that way by being in the news constantly. Always weighing in because the media asks. And pontificating on his blog. He's firing on all cylinders.
This is the modern paradigm. Which is why Mark Cuban will probably outlive Michael Lewis's book.
Maybe not.
FACTS
People hate 'em. Especially those with an agenda.
This week Paul Krugman wrote a story debunking the myth of the skills gap. You can read it here: http://nyti.ms/1j6jRXC
Even the President is ignorant here. He was referencing the skills gap in Michigan yesterday.
The point is, everyone is swayed by the wind, and even though there are smart people who've devoted their lives to subjects, no one wants to give them any credit, especially if they work for that left wing organ known as the "New York Times."
Left wing? That's because the right wing labeled it so! The "New York Times" wrote negatively about the Obamacare website, the "Times" will criticize the left, the right won't criticize the right.
But let's not make this about politics, let's stay with ignorance.
In this data-driven world, the uneducated and those with an agenda believe in being uninformed.
Just imagine if you were uninformed in tech, if you didn't believe in the data.
Facts rule in tech, which is why tech is ruling us.
--
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 --
Wednesday, 2 April 2014
Mailbag
From: Dan Reynolds
Subject: Re: St. Paul & The Broken Bones
Wow. I love this. I'm overseas right now in Chile missing my wife and 17 month old baby girl and have spent a good portion of my day wondering if I chose the right path (just one of those days). I've hardly spent 2 full months with my wife and baby in the last 2 years while on the road touring for Imagine Dragons. My Ma continually told me not to be a musician because it was too risky and didn't lend well for a good family life (just read that Chris Martin is getting divorced yesterday, there goes another marriage).
And it's true, I struggle everyday to keep my lonely wife happy and my baby girl remembering my face. No sob story, just missing the joys of regular life. Days at the park with family, and nights with good friends. Ive been touring straight for 5 years now and have lost most contact with friends and neglected my family quite a bit.
For what? For this. For the love of music. I'm just jotting you a quick note to thank you for sharing this.
Such passion for music like this reminds me why I'm doing what I do. It's because it makes people happy. And truly, it's magical. This man singing his guts and out and dancing fills me with joy on a dark depressing day in a hotel room by myself in Chile. I think I'll have a little more pep in my step tomorrow night on stage at The Lollapalooza Festival. I wish these guys were sharing the stage so I could let go and dance with that stud of a singer.
Thanks for the continued advice and passion for music Bob.
Dan Reynolds
Singer of Imagine Dragons
______________________________________________
From: Tom Freston
Subject: Re: Vice
Hi Bob,
I appreciate your faith in me. But when you see something as authentic and as smart as Vice, it's hard not to get excited or involved. Met them in 2005 and Shane had a vision then to do exactly what they're doing now, create amazing content for the web. They developed their voice, paid their dues, and got so good at it that they now even have that HBO show. It's sort of a movie trailer for all the work they do online.
Best,
Tom
______________________________________________
From: Mike Dreese
Subject: Re: Wu-Tang Album
For the past year Wu-Tang is our #3 selling music t-shirt both in stores and on Amazon,after Beatles and Led Zep. They just keep blowing out. Just re-ordered 1200 more yesterday -mike dreese, newbury comics
Sent from my iPhone
______________________________________________
From: John Hummer
Subject: RE: Courtside Seats
First time I played at the Forum, as a rookie with the Buffalo Braves, (now the LA Clippers) (wow, 40 some years ago), Gina Lollabrigida and Kim Novak were on the front row. You never forget that when you are 22 years old. :)
______________________________________________
From: Steve Lukather
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Al Kooper Primer
Al does not get enough love or respect !
They induct one hit wonders from 1956 into certain HOF's but NO Al ?? WTF?
Just the organ part in Like A Rolling Stone should get him in. The rest of his work is legendary and he was a starmaker as well as an A+R guy. Come on..
Al is also a really funny, good guy with endless wonderful stories when music was real and I am honored to know him and call him a friend.
Luke
PS I co -wrote and played on the Tubes hits 'Talk to ya later' and 'She's a Beauty' with Foster and Fee Waybill but I was a Tubes fan in '75 still in high school and love the ' classic years' and was honored to work with them.
PSS Al still rules.
______________________________________________
From: AL KOOPER
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Al Kooper Primer
So where do I send your monthlyPRcheque ????
Be careful
People will think we're dating.......
My mother-in-law sent a 70th birthday "cake" made out of her incomparable chopped liver with cracker sides,
Best present I got.
pic.twitter.com/uJ2fBryVD8
______________________________________________
From: BERTON AVERRE
Subject: Re: Pono
I love Neil Young: I revere his music and I respect the hell out of him as a guy. But laying the woeful current state of music at the feet of digitization is a serious stretch. Put simply, the reason we don't have an album like "After The Gold Rush" these days is because we don't have a Neil Young writing and recording songs like "When You Dance I Can Really Love", "Don't Let It Bring You Down", "Southern Man", "Cripple Creek Ferry"....Whether the delivery system is a vinyl disc or a sequence of ones and zeros matters very very little.
In the Eighties we had an explosion of instrument technology: synths, drum machines, sequencers and the like. It took a while for the musicians to learn how to utilize these tools to serve the songs, as opposed to vice versa. Danny Korchmar's terrific work on Henley's "Boys of Summer" may have been on a guitar synth, like I heard at the time, but the tune lives on because it's a great record. Or take a band like Toto, musical proficiency coming out of their ears, coming up with a song like "Africa" in the midst of the DX7 Era. Talent Trumps Technology.
By all means, improving the sound of digital files is a wonderful enterprise, have at it. Just don't try to sell me that a more realistic bass response is going to turn the vast wasteland into a riot of desert blooms. Maybe what we're really talking about here is it's apparently easier for techies to continue to re-invent the wheel than it is for tomorrow's musicians to learn how to play and write at a consistently high level. Hey! I just had a great idea: Talent Pono. What's Kickstarter's email address?
______________________________________________
From: Farley Flex
Subject: Re: St. Paul & The Broken Bones
Hey Bob I'd like your opinion on the following thought. If you listen to St. Paul and the Broken Bones doesn't it make you think that there are literally hundreds if not thousands of Black artists who sing and have been singing like this for decades that get no attention? I like what he does but I said it before and I'll say it again, Amy Winehouse, Nikki Yanofsky and others who receive accolades from musical pundits are average at best when positioned amongst the scores of Black artists that the industry determines are not as marketable because being a great Black singer is not a novelty. Just my thought.
______________________________________________
From: Andrew McNeice
Subject: Re: The Swedish Pop Phenomenon
Bob - I run www.MelodicRock.com - focussing on the classic rock bands still going and the new ones that have taken up the mantle....
Toto , Survivor, Journey, Foreigner, Night Ranger, Styx...
But the BIGGEST thing I cover is who's coming out of Sweden. Most of the band's that have real hype and a contemporary meets classic sound are Swedish. I don't know what they are doing over there - but it's working.
In fact, half the lineup for my MelodicRockFest 4 event in Chicago this year are coming from Sweden. The US fans LOVE these bands because they can play and they know how to write GREAT songs.
Here are a few of the best -
HEAT - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f6D5qP9WAc
Work Of Art - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IVY-0AFU_U
WET - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COq2RouJ2tQ
Eclipse - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOr_fMznk6E
Best Regards, Andrew. www.melodicrock.com
______________________________________________
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Frank Zappa Primer
Bob-
I have been an avid reader of yours for a few years now. This is completely unrelated but for some reason my email system flagged your Zappa Primer as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WARNING: Your email security system has determined the message below may be a potential threat.
The sender may pose as an out-of-town breeder, offering pets for adoption.
I think Zappa himself maybe would have got a kick out of that. :)
Keep that truth coming!
-Josh Himmelsbach
______________________________________________
From: Rik Shafer
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Love Is Alive
Bob, Gary Wright was a killer piano player in high school in TenaflyNJ. He was a year older than me and a better player. His sister Lorna was real pretty and she sang for 20 minutes in a band i was on.Friends ran into Gary and hung out and said he was a pretty good guy. And he got famous and all that but I still remember him banging out Jerry lee Lewis tunes on piano and being knocked out. We weren't surprised when he got big.
______________________________________________
From: Annabelle Gauberti
Subject: Re: Business Rules
Hey Bob,
Thanks for that quote on lawyers, on which I totally agree.
But music people are soooo bad at paying lawyers, although they desperately need their skills: they just think that they should be entitled to free advice (or close to free advice).
I think that, by far, music people are the worse, in terms of opening their purse to pay lawyers: I do not have this issue with other clients who work in the creative industries (fashion, luxury, cinema, art, design).
Thank you for your enriching letters, it╒s always refreshing to read your stuff.
Annabelle Gauberti
Crefovi
Partner
Solicitor of England and Wales
Avocat au barreau de Paris
______________________________________________
From: Warren Klein
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Little Feat Primer
Re: Lowell George
Hi, Bob
Besides Lowell╒s considerable musical talent, he possessed great physical strength. When I played with him in the Factory (Lowell's first band), I would see him demonstrate this when the starter went out on his Morgan. He would put the car in reverse, open the door, & push the car backwards with his hand sufficiently fast to pop the clutch & start the car. Amazing!
Best,
Warren Klein
www.prehistoricmusic.net
______________________________________________
From: Timothy Thrasher
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Little Feat Primer
Yo Bob,
Fyi, Fat Man in the Bathtub is also another name for a clitoris. There I said it! Be well. From Vermont.
______________________________________________
From: Jeff Hillery
Subject: Re: Pono
Several things flashed in my mind at Neil's presentation and after a sales promo video played with one affluent rock star after another singing the praises of Pono. 1) Would Neil need Kickstarter if any of those rock stars put their money where their mouths were/are? 2) Why haven't Neil's rich rock star pals climbed on the bandwagon as investors?
Jeff Hillery
Austin, TX
______________________________________________
From: Thom Wolke
Subject: Jackson Browne Tribute
Bob,
Maybe you know about this but don't care. There's a tribute to Jackson Browne that was just released yesterday. Here's one of the first reviews out of the box (not lost on me that it's from 'Big Oil-friendly' Dallas newspaper):
http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/columnists/michael-granberry/20140328-review-jackson-browne-tribute-record-is-a-triumph-of-musical-panache.ece
Until someone can explain to me why everyone is okay with the fact that Kelcy Warren, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelcy_Warren), the CEO of ETP (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Transfer_Partners), one of this country's largest producers (including a 'fracking' division) and transporters of natural gas, produced and financed this album, I must urge folks to boycott buying, playing, or reviewing this project.
I also find it more than interesting that even the reviewer above notes an "omission":
"I only have one minor quibble, and it's one of omission, not inclusion. While it's noble and perhaps appropriate in our divisive age to leave out political songs, activism and social commitment helped define Browne's life and career. While most of his fans may prefer his personal songs, as he once said to me in an interview, "What's more personal than your politics?"
We're talking about an artist (Jackson Browne), who has made his name in many ways as 'Mister Eco-Friendly Warrior Poet'.
And I get the point about Mr. Oil Man putting his money for good. I cannot help but wonder though, if all of the artists like Bonnie and Bruce, etc, all knew the entire story. Or were they not told the whole truth ? Were they approached with, "Hey, ya wanna contribute a song to an album we're doing for your good buddy Jackson ????"
I worry about the next time Mr. Oil Man's company runs afoul in some way with an environmental concern. Will he pull his brand newly minted album tribute to Mister Eco-Friendly out to play as a defense ?
How come there's none of Jackson's powerful socially conscious songs on the album? Too 'hot' a topic for Mr. Oil Ma ? I understand Jackson had no say in this album's production.
Did Jackson even know who/what was behind it's creation? Or is now Jackson stuck between a rock and a hard place?
These are the things I'd like to know.....
--
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 --
Subject: Re: St. Paul & The Broken Bones
Wow. I love this. I'm overseas right now in Chile missing my wife and 17 month old baby girl and have spent a good portion of my day wondering if I chose the right path (just one of those days). I've hardly spent 2 full months with my wife and baby in the last 2 years while on the road touring for Imagine Dragons. My Ma continually told me not to be a musician because it was too risky and didn't lend well for a good family life (just read that Chris Martin is getting divorced yesterday, there goes another marriage).
And it's true, I struggle everyday to keep my lonely wife happy and my baby girl remembering my face. No sob story, just missing the joys of regular life. Days at the park with family, and nights with good friends. Ive been touring straight for 5 years now and have lost most contact with friends and neglected my family quite a bit.
For what? For this. For the love of music. I'm just jotting you a quick note to thank you for sharing this.
Such passion for music like this reminds me why I'm doing what I do. It's because it makes people happy. And truly, it's magical. This man singing his guts and out and dancing fills me with joy on a dark depressing day in a hotel room by myself in Chile. I think I'll have a little more pep in my step tomorrow night on stage at The Lollapalooza Festival. I wish these guys were sharing the stage so I could let go and dance with that stud of a singer.
Thanks for the continued advice and passion for music Bob.
Dan Reynolds
Singer of Imagine Dragons
______________________________________________
From: Tom Freston
Subject: Re: Vice
Hi Bob,
I appreciate your faith in me. But when you see something as authentic and as smart as Vice, it's hard not to get excited or involved. Met them in 2005 and Shane had a vision then to do exactly what they're doing now, create amazing content for the web. They developed their voice, paid their dues, and got so good at it that they now even have that HBO show. It's sort of a movie trailer for all the work they do online.
Best,
Tom
______________________________________________
From: Mike Dreese
Subject: Re: Wu-Tang Album
For the past year Wu-Tang is our #3 selling music t-shirt both in stores and on Amazon,after Beatles and Led Zep. They just keep blowing out. Just re-ordered 1200 more yesterday -mike dreese, newbury comics
Sent from my iPhone
______________________________________________
From: John Hummer
Subject: RE: Courtside Seats
First time I played at the Forum, as a rookie with the Buffalo Braves, (now the LA Clippers) (wow, 40 some years ago), Gina Lollabrigida and Kim Novak were on the front row. You never forget that when you are 22 years old. :)
______________________________________________
From: Steve Lukather
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Al Kooper Primer
Al does not get enough love or respect !
They induct one hit wonders from 1956 into certain HOF's but NO Al ?? WTF?
Just the organ part in Like A Rolling Stone should get him in. The rest of his work is legendary and he was a starmaker as well as an A+R guy. Come on..
Al is also a really funny, good guy with endless wonderful stories when music was real and I am honored to know him and call him a friend.
Luke
PS I co -wrote and played on the Tubes hits 'Talk to ya later' and 'She's a Beauty' with Foster and Fee Waybill but I was a Tubes fan in '75 still in high school and love the ' classic years' and was honored to work with them.
PSS Al still rules.
______________________________________________
From: AL KOOPER
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Al Kooper Primer
So where do I send your monthlyPRcheque ????
Be careful
People will think we're dating.......
My mother-in-law sent a 70th birthday "cake" made out of her incomparable chopped liver with cracker sides,
Best present I got.
pic.twitter.com/uJ2fBryVD8
______________________________________________
From: BERTON AVERRE
Subject: Re: Pono
I love Neil Young: I revere his music and I respect the hell out of him as a guy. But laying the woeful current state of music at the feet of digitization is a serious stretch. Put simply, the reason we don't have an album like "After The Gold Rush" these days is because we don't have a Neil Young writing and recording songs like "When You Dance I Can Really Love", "Don't Let It Bring You Down", "Southern Man", "Cripple Creek Ferry"....Whether the delivery system is a vinyl disc or a sequence of ones and zeros matters very very little.
In the Eighties we had an explosion of instrument technology: synths, drum machines, sequencers and the like. It took a while for the musicians to learn how to utilize these tools to serve the songs, as opposed to vice versa. Danny Korchmar's terrific work on Henley's "Boys of Summer" may have been on a guitar synth, like I heard at the time, but the tune lives on because it's a great record. Or take a band like Toto, musical proficiency coming out of their ears, coming up with a song like "Africa" in the midst of the DX7 Era. Talent Trumps Technology.
By all means, improving the sound of digital files is a wonderful enterprise, have at it. Just don't try to sell me that a more realistic bass response is going to turn the vast wasteland into a riot of desert blooms. Maybe what we're really talking about here is it's apparently easier for techies to continue to re-invent the wheel than it is for tomorrow's musicians to learn how to play and write at a consistently high level. Hey! I just had a great idea: Talent Pono. What's Kickstarter's email address?
______________________________________________
From: Farley Flex
Subject: Re: St. Paul & The Broken Bones
Hey Bob I'd like your opinion on the following thought. If you listen to St. Paul and the Broken Bones doesn't it make you think that there are literally hundreds if not thousands of Black artists who sing and have been singing like this for decades that get no attention? I like what he does but I said it before and I'll say it again, Amy Winehouse, Nikki Yanofsky and others who receive accolades from musical pundits are average at best when positioned amongst the scores of Black artists that the industry determines are not as marketable because being a great Black singer is not a novelty. Just my thought.
______________________________________________
From: Andrew McNeice
Subject: Re: The Swedish Pop Phenomenon
Bob - I run www.MelodicRock.com - focussing on the classic rock bands still going and the new ones that have taken up the mantle....
Toto , Survivor, Journey, Foreigner, Night Ranger, Styx...
But the BIGGEST thing I cover is who's coming out of Sweden. Most of the band's that have real hype and a contemporary meets classic sound are Swedish. I don't know what they are doing over there - but it's working.
In fact, half the lineup for my MelodicRockFest 4 event in Chicago this year are coming from Sweden. The US fans LOVE these bands because they can play and they know how to write GREAT songs.
Here are a few of the best -
HEAT - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f6D5qP9WAc
Work Of Art - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IVY-0AFU_U
WET - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COq2RouJ2tQ
Eclipse - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOr_fMznk6E
Best Regards, Andrew. www.melodicrock.com
______________________________________________
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Frank Zappa Primer
Bob-
I have been an avid reader of yours for a few years now. This is completely unrelated but for some reason my email system flagged your Zappa Primer as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WARNING: Your email security system has determined the message below may be a potential threat.
The sender may pose as an out-of-town breeder, offering pets for adoption.
I think Zappa himself maybe would have got a kick out of that. :)
Keep that truth coming!
-Josh Himmelsbach
______________________________________________
From: Rik Shafer
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Love Is Alive
Bob, Gary Wright was a killer piano player in high school in TenaflyNJ. He was a year older than me and a better player. His sister Lorna was real pretty and she sang for 20 minutes in a band i was on.Friends ran into Gary and hung out and said he was a pretty good guy. And he got famous and all that but I still remember him banging out Jerry lee Lewis tunes on piano and being knocked out. We weren't surprised when he got big.
______________________________________________
From: Annabelle Gauberti
Subject: Re: Business Rules
Hey Bob,
Thanks for that quote on lawyers, on which I totally agree.
But music people are soooo bad at paying lawyers, although they desperately need their skills: they just think that they should be entitled to free advice (or close to free advice).
I think that, by far, music people are the worse, in terms of opening their purse to pay lawyers: I do not have this issue with other clients who work in the creative industries (fashion, luxury, cinema, art, design).
Thank you for your enriching letters, it╒s always refreshing to read your stuff.
Annabelle Gauberti
Crefovi
Partner
Solicitor of England and Wales
Avocat au barreau de Paris
______________________________________________
From: Warren Klein
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Little Feat Primer
Re: Lowell George
Hi, Bob
Besides Lowell╒s considerable musical talent, he possessed great physical strength. When I played with him in the Factory (Lowell's first band), I would see him demonstrate this when the starter went out on his Morgan. He would put the car in reverse, open the door, & push the car backwards with his hand sufficiently fast to pop the clutch & start the car. Amazing!
Best,
Warren Klein
www.prehistoricmusic.net
______________________________________________
From: Timothy Thrasher
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Little Feat Primer
Yo Bob,
Fyi, Fat Man in the Bathtub is also another name for a clitoris. There I said it! Be well. From Vermont.
______________________________________________
From: Jeff Hillery
Subject: Re: Pono
Several things flashed in my mind at Neil's presentation and after a sales promo video played with one affluent rock star after another singing the praises of Pono. 1) Would Neil need Kickstarter if any of those rock stars put their money where their mouths were/are? 2) Why haven't Neil's rich rock star pals climbed on the bandwagon as investors?
Jeff Hillery
Austin, TX
______________________________________________
From: Thom Wolke
Subject: Jackson Browne Tribute
Bob,
Maybe you know about this but don't care. There's a tribute to Jackson Browne that was just released yesterday. Here's one of the first reviews out of the box (not lost on me that it's from 'Big Oil-friendly' Dallas newspaper):
http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/columnists/michael-granberry/20140328-review-jackson-browne-tribute-record-is-a-triumph-of-musical-panache.ece
Until someone can explain to me why everyone is okay with the fact that Kelcy Warren, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelcy_Warren), the CEO of ETP (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Transfer_Partners), one of this country's largest producers (including a 'fracking' division) and transporters of natural gas, produced and financed this album, I must urge folks to boycott buying, playing, or reviewing this project.
I also find it more than interesting that even the reviewer above notes an "omission":
"I only have one minor quibble, and it's one of omission, not inclusion. While it's noble and perhaps appropriate in our divisive age to leave out political songs, activism and social commitment helped define Browne's life and career. While most of his fans may prefer his personal songs, as he once said to me in an interview, "What's more personal than your politics?"
We're talking about an artist (Jackson Browne), who has made his name in many ways as 'Mister Eco-Friendly Warrior Poet'.
And I get the point about Mr. Oil Man putting his money for good. I cannot help but wonder though, if all of the artists like Bonnie and Bruce, etc, all knew the entire story. Or were they not told the whole truth ? Were they approached with, "Hey, ya wanna contribute a song to an album we're doing for your good buddy Jackson ????"
I worry about the next time Mr. Oil Man's company runs afoul in some way with an environmental concern. Will he pull his brand newly minted album tribute to Mister Eco-Friendly out to play as a defense ?
How come there's none of Jackson's powerful socially conscious songs on the album? Too 'hot' a topic for Mr. Oil Ma ? I understand Jackson had no say in this album's production.
Did Jackson even know who/what was behind it's creation? Or is now Jackson stuck between a rock and a hard place?
These are the things I'd like to know.....
--
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, 1 April 2014
Vice
Never bet against Tom Freston.
And he's bet on Shane Smith.
As MTV cedes its reign as the voice of a generation, as websites go click-happy, with an ever-descending parade of lowest common denominator drivel, Vice is rising like a phoenix to become the most important media outlet appealing to the younger generation.
That's right, kids need something to talk about on WhatsApp. Steve Jobs famously said that Apple computers were just tools, long before today's puffed-up tech titans will have us believe that their products are ends unto themselves.
Yes, what we've got is tireless self-promoters of the soulless and the worthless.
Welcome to 2014.
And into this mix we put Shane Smith. A Canadian who looks like someone you'd hang with in a bar, who'd have your back, but wouldn't be unwilling to argue with you.
Argument. That's something the younger generation doesn't do well. They're inundated with business advice how to get along. As if all rough edges should be shaved away in the pursuit of harmony. But the truth is there's no center to many of these cliques. And the history of people illustrates that individuals who walk the road not taken triumph, they're the ones who not only gain our eyeballs, but change the world.
You can't stop watching Vice on HBO. It's kind of like the "Sopranos," if the "Sopranos" were real.
What we normally get with news is bloviating, arguing from a position, with two teams so loyal to themselves that you can't trust a word they say. Come out against your party and you're excommunicated, just ask David Frum, another Canadian.
So Shane Smith goes to Afghanistan and does a better job of asking what we're doing there than MSNBC or Fox, never mind CNN, the all plane crash all the time network.
And then Vice goes to Greenland and frightens anybody watching into climate change belief, because pictures speak louder than words, when they're displayed in a way that respects the audience.
And there you have it, the mantra of the twenty first century is SMART!
Forget the Kardashians, the rest of reality television too. That's fodder for the ignorant masses, it's all about money, and despite what the media tells you, with its endless scorecards, money isn't everything, ideas are.
And there are plenty of people in business who are smart, but they've drunk the kool-aid. They're loyal team players in search of financial security, they're afraid to do it someone else's way, they just want the CEO riches, so they can fly private and live behind walls.
Then there are people like Mr. Smith, who are willing to tip the world on edge to see what's underneath.
It started with TED talks. But the people they feature are smarmy, it's almost cult-like, with the endless backslapping and the exclusion of anybody provocative, Google Nick Hanauer's talk for edification, never mind Sarah Silverman's.
Yes, groupthink is prevalent on the left and the right, it pervades the young and old, but the truth is we're drawn to the exception, those who march to the beat of their own drummer in pursuit of excellence.
Yes, Vice started with a bang, Dennis Rodman in North Korea, it got our attention.
But now it's season two, and the focus is on information, which is king in today's age. That's why we're endlessly surfing, why we're addicted to our smartphones, we're on a quest for information.
But too much is biased, it's hard to believe in any one viewpoint.
And then this burly Canadian comes along and you say this is what I've been waiting for, this is the thing!
It's only just beginning. Vice has been around forever, but it's finally hit critical mass. By being smart it influences people.
And the most impressionable are those who push the envelope most, the young.
Yes, the young are gonna change this world, just like their parents protested and stopped the Vietnam war. The young are not beholden to their jobs, they're willing to risk.
Assuming they've got a leader.
And right now, in this endless sea of b.s., where every website is asking us to click on worthless information so they can sell advertising, where Buzzfeed is lionized and idiots actually care what Arianna Huffington has to say, someone has sneaked upon the scene to change everything.
That's the power of television.
That's the power of Shane Smith.
That's the power of Vice.
--
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 --
And he's bet on Shane Smith.
As MTV cedes its reign as the voice of a generation, as websites go click-happy, with an ever-descending parade of lowest common denominator drivel, Vice is rising like a phoenix to become the most important media outlet appealing to the younger generation.
That's right, kids need something to talk about on WhatsApp. Steve Jobs famously said that Apple computers were just tools, long before today's puffed-up tech titans will have us believe that their products are ends unto themselves.
Yes, what we've got is tireless self-promoters of the soulless and the worthless.
Welcome to 2014.
And into this mix we put Shane Smith. A Canadian who looks like someone you'd hang with in a bar, who'd have your back, but wouldn't be unwilling to argue with you.
Argument. That's something the younger generation doesn't do well. They're inundated with business advice how to get along. As if all rough edges should be shaved away in the pursuit of harmony. But the truth is there's no center to many of these cliques. And the history of people illustrates that individuals who walk the road not taken triumph, they're the ones who not only gain our eyeballs, but change the world.
You can't stop watching Vice on HBO. It's kind of like the "Sopranos," if the "Sopranos" were real.
What we normally get with news is bloviating, arguing from a position, with two teams so loyal to themselves that you can't trust a word they say. Come out against your party and you're excommunicated, just ask David Frum, another Canadian.
So Shane Smith goes to Afghanistan and does a better job of asking what we're doing there than MSNBC or Fox, never mind CNN, the all plane crash all the time network.
And then Vice goes to Greenland and frightens anybody watching into climate change belief, because pictures speak louder than words, when they're displayed in a way that respects the audience.
And there you have it, the mantra of the twenty first century is SMART!
Forget the Kardashians, the rest of reality television too. That's fodder for the ignorant masses, it's all about money, and despite what the media tells you, with its endless scorecards, money isn't everything, ideas are.
And there are plenty of people in business who are smart, but they've drunk the kool-aid. They're loyal team players in search of financial security, they're afraid to do it someone else's way, they just want the CEO riches, so they can fly private and live behind walls.
Then there are people like Mr. Smith, who are willing to tip the world on edge to see what's underneath.
It started with TED talks. But the people they feature are smarmy, it's almost cult-like, with the endless backslapping and the exclusion of anybody provocative, Google Nick Hanauer's talk for edification, never mind Sarah Silverman's.
Yes, groupthink is prevalent on the left and the right, it pervades the young and old, but the truth is we're drawn to the exception, those who march to the beat of their own drummer in pursuit of excellence.
Yes, Vice started with a bang, Dennis Rodman in North Korea, it got our attention.
But now it's season two, and the focus is on information, which is king in today's age. That's why we're endlessly surfing, why we're addicted to our smartphones, we're on a quest for information.
But too much is biased, it's hard to believe in any one viewpoint.
And then this burly Canadian comes along and you say this is what I've been waiting for, this is the thing!
It's only just beginning. Vice has been around forever, but it's finally hit critical mass. By being smart it influences people.
And the most impressionable are those who push the envelope most, the young.
Yes, the young are gonna change this world, just like their parents protested and stopped the Vietnam war. The young are not beholden to their jobs, they're willing to risk.
Assuming they've got a leader.
And right now, in this endless sea of b.s., where every website is asking us to click on worthless information so they can sell advertising, where Buzzfeed is lionized and idiots actually care what Arianna Huffington has to say, someone has sneaked upon the scene to change everything.
That's the power of television.
That's the power of Shane Smith.
That's the power of Vice.
--
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 --
Apple Buys Beats
The streaming music service, not the headphones.
The headphones are going bonkers, despite every audiophile in the world castigating them for their bass-heavy frequency response, turns out music is a fashion item and everybody wants to be fashionable. Easier to spend a few hundred dollars on ear cans as opposed to a Rolls-Royce or a NetJet account. Everybody wants to appear rich and a player, even though the truth is the purveyors, the proprietors, the men who pull the strings behind the curtains (and it's seemingly always men, did you read that Marissa Mayer is gonna start a streaming video service on Yahoo...why not a search engine and a smartphone while she's at it!) are the ones making all the money, pulling away from the hoi polloi.
Yes, I'm talking about Tim Cook. You know, the guy who said he was bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. when the truth is it's for the niche Mac Pro while everything else is still being made in China and Apple hoards more cash than it knows what to do with.
But the truth is Mr. Cook has been running on Steve Jobs's fumes, the same way Al Teller ran on Irving Azoff's legacy at MCA. Cook has yet to come up with anything new. Meanwhile, Huawei eats smartphone sales on the low end and Samsung is nibbling at every inch of consumer electronics shelf space and iTunes music sales are off.
Yes, it turns out Steve Jobs was wrong. Don't criticize him, you can't be right unless you're willing to be wrong, everybody makes mistakes, and Steve was famous for changing course, delivering what he said he would not before, and the truth is people don't want to own their music, they want to stream it, and Apple's got no streaming solution.
Oh, the company has iTunes Radio. But it's an also-ran in a mature sphere where Pandora dominates. But the truth is YouTube dominates in music, and before Spotify makes any more inroads, Cook has decided to make a deal with the devil, i.e. Jimmy Iovine.
Yes, Jimmy pulls one out of the hat once again.
You really didn't think Beats Music could survive without a free option, did you? Didn't Napster prove that you can't compete with free? Isn't that the history of the Internet, if people can get it for free, your business model is challenged?
So Beats Music is hemorrhaging money and Apple has a need and an acquisition was made.
However, there is absolutely no truth to the rumor that Iovine is ankling his Universal post to start an Apple record label, abandoning Interscope now that John Janick is doing the day to day work. Apple is smarter than to get into music production. Apple is about locking people into their ecosystem, and producing content has nothing to do with that. Distribution is king. Apple doesn't care whose music you play on their devices, as long as you employ their devices.
That's what Steve Jobs had right, a foolproof solution, an end to end answer to questions you didn't know you had, but will uncover in time.
That's still Apple's iPhone ace in the hole. Sure, a Samsung Galaxy might make phone calls and display apps, but how easy is it to synch your music and your photos?
But the truth is music synching is passe. Which is why Tim Cook is making this Beats deal.
As for the price?
A cool billion.
Yes, Jimmy bought low and sold high. It's not WhatsApp kind of money, then again, Facebook wasn't interested, despite Jimmy flying to see Mark Zuckerberg once a month for the past year. And when Zuckie made the Oculus deal Jimmy knew it was time to pull the trigger, to take the Cook offer, even though he wanted more. Yes, Jimmy was angling for $2 billion, but in this case he had little leverage, he took the cash.
As for his minions?
In one fell swoop, Trent Reznor has made more money than he ever did in music.
As for Dr. Dre, who hasn't had a hit single in eons and probably never will again, he's rolling in dough. Jay Z keeps telling us he's the man, but it turns out Dre is. Proving the man behind the console is always more powerful than the one in front of it. Acts come and go, producers, or at least their royalties, are forever.
And speaking of royalties...
Just like with iTunes Radio, Apple will immediately increase payments, to shame Spotify. Apple wants acts on board, especially since they utilize their devices and software, Macs and Logic. And we all know the money is in the tools one uses to create, as opposed to what comes out of the speakers.
Now despite this announcement, don't expect Apple to launch its streaming service for quite a while, look to history, the acquisition of Lala, Bill Nguyen's enterprise that launched as a CD trading site. But just like Mr. Nguyen was jettisoned, Ian Rogers will not make the transition to Apple. Mr. Rogers says it's because of a lack of Cupertino skateparks, but that's just a smoke screen, Apple wants none of the Beats employees, it's going to take the code and upgrade it, the licenses are key, and the technical infrastructure.
In other words, whereas the Lala buy was about getting engineers on board, in the case of Beats Music, Apple wants the end product and will keep the present Beats team on for only a short while, to help in the transition.
Cook wanted to launch the service in September, with the iPhone 6, but now with Scott Forstall gone, Apple software development is still in disarray, and this timetable is impossible, so the launch will come in the new year, right after Christmas, before the Super Bowl, when Cook is scheduled to appear on the Howard Stern show to introduce the product.
That's right, Stern now has more impact than football, and as a lover of Apple products he's willing to host Cook for free. Furthermore, with endless reruns on both Howard 100 and Howard 101, the message will continue to get out. And, the interview will stream free on iTunes Radio, so you won't need a satellite subscription to hear it.
Cook was very close to making a deal with Rush Limbaugh instead, but Rush's hatred of gays queered the deal. That's right, despite being an Apple fanboy, Rush's political positions did him in.
As for Cook's request that his sex life be off limits on Stern's show...Gary Dell'Abate told me that Howard will not negotiate, everything's fair game.
So where does this leave us?
1. Streaming wins. People have been waiting for years for Apple to get into the market, now it has. Is it too late? Apple owned the portable music sphere with its iPod, no one else could get traction, but Android has significant market share in phones. Therefore, despite Cook portraying this as a breakthrough acquisition, it's really about catching up.
2. Jimmy Iovine demonstrates that he's a winner, that all the naysayers are wrong. He went on "American Idol" with those godforsaken Beats headphones around his neck and he willed them to be successful. Now that he's unloaded Beats Music, rumor has it that Iovine will be shepherding a return to rock movement, saying it's all about being able to play your instrument and that hip-hop is dead. He will reunite Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty for another duet, maybe around the time of the Apple/Beats launch, Jimmy has always known it's about marketing.
3. Spotify is history. Daniel Ek is no competition for Apple. In tech timing is everything. Spotify fought the war, got customers softened up to embrace streaming, Apple will gain the lion's share of the revenue (and yes, there will be an Android version of the Apple/Beats streaming service, it will launch simultaneous with the Apple version, just like iPod for Windows broke Apple through, Cook is taking no chances, he's replicating the formula.)
4. Tim Cook shows that he is willing to go against Steve Jobs's wishes, that Apple is now truly his company.
5. Once again, the money flows to the techies. Yes, Iovine got paid, but only once, he's got no ongoing remuneration coming from Apple, like Ian Rogers, he's out.
So the war is over. Our long national nightmare is history. We've evolved from CDs to piracy to the iTunes Store to legal streaming services. Now the person proffering the best music wins. Distribution is available to everyone, if not marketing dollars. Then again, just like Apple has been jawboning labels for exclusives, expect this behavior to continue on the Apple/Beats service, home page real estate continues to be valuable.
And one more thing...
YouTube's streaming music heyday is about to end. As part of the Beats deal, the heads of the three major labels have secretly agreed not to renew their YouTube licenses. You can't win unless you kill the competition, and Tim Cook has made a preemptive strike.
--
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 --
The headphones are going bonkers, despite every audiophile in the world castigating them for their bass-heavy frequency response, turns out music is a fashion item and everybody wants to be fashionable. Easier to spend a few hundred dollars on ear cans as opposed to a Rolls-Royce or a NetJet account. Everybody wants to appear rich and a player, even though the truth is the purveyors, the proprietors, the men who pull the strings behind the curtains (and it's seemingly always men, did you read that Marissa Mayer is gonna start a streaming video service on Yahoo...why not a search engine and a smartphone while she's at it!) are the ones making all the money, pulling away from the hoi polloi.
Yes, I'm talking about Tim Cook. You know, the guy who said he was bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. when the truth is it's for the niche Mac Pro while everything else is still being made in China and Apple hoards more cash than it knows what to do with.
But the truth is Mr. Cook has been running on Steve Jobs's fumes, the same way Al Teller ran on Irving Azoff's legacy at MCA. Cook has yet to come up with anything new. Meanwhile, Huawei eats smartphone sales on the low end and Samsung is nibbling at every inch of consumer electronics shelf space and iTunes music sales are off.
Yes, it turns out Steve Jobs was wrong. Don't criticize him, you can't be right unless you're willing to be wrong, everybody makes mistakes, and Steve was famous for changing course, delivering what he said he would not before, and the truth is people don't want to own their music, they want to stream it, and Apple's got no streaming solution.
Oh, the company has iTunes Radio. But it's an also-ran in a mature sphere where Pandora dominates. But the truth is YouTube dominates in music, and before Spotify makes any more inroads, Cook has decided to make a deal with the devil, i.e. Jimmy Iovine.
Yes, Jimmy pulls one out of the hat once again.
You really didn't think Beats Music could survive without a free option, did you? Didn't Napster prove that you can't compete with free? Isn't that the history of the Internet, if people can get it for free, your business model is challenged?
So Beats Music is hemorrhaging money and Apple has a need and an acquisition was made.
However, there is absolutely no truth to the rumor that Iovine is ankling his Universal post to start an Apple record label, abandoning Interscope now that John Janick is doing the day to day work. Apple is smarter than to get into music production. Apple is about locking people into their ecosystem, and producing content has nothing to do with that. Distribution is king. Apple doesn't care whose music you play on their devices, as long as you employ their devices.
That's what Steve Jobs had right, a foolproof solution, an end to end answer to questions you didn't know you had, but will uncover in time.
That's still Apple's iPhone ace in the hole. Sure, a Samsung Galaxy might make phone calls and display apps, but how easy is it to synch your music and your photos?
But the truth is music synching is passe. Which is why Tim Cook is making this Beats deal.
As for the price?
A cool billion.
Yes, Jimmy bought low and sold high. It's not WhatsApp kind of money, then again, Facebook wasn't interested, despite Jimmy flying to see Mark Zuckerberg once a month for the past year. And when Zuckie made the Oculus deal Jimmy knew it was time to pull the trigger, to take the Cook offer, even though he wanted more. Yes, Jimmy was angling for $2 billion, but in this case he had little leverage, he took the cash.
As for his minions?
In one fell swoop, Trent Reznor has made more money than he ever did in music.
As for Dr. Dre, who hasn't had a hit single in eons and probably never will again, he's rolling in dough. Jay Z keeps telling us he's the man, but it turns out Dre is. Proving the man behind the console is always more powerful than the one in front of it. Acts come and go, producers, or at least their royalties, are forever.
And speaking of royalties...
Just like with iTunes Radio, Apple will immediately increase payments, to shame Spotify. Apple wants acts on board, especially since they utilize their devices and software, Macs and Logic. And we all know the money is in the tools one uses to create, as opposed to what comes out of the speakers.
Now despite this announcement, don't expect Apple to launch its streaming service for quite a while, look to history, the acquisition of Lala, Bill Nguyen's enterprise that launched as a CD trading site. But just like Mr. Nguyen was jettisoned, Ian Rogers will not make the transition to Apple. Mr. Rogers says it's because of a lack of Cupertino skateparks, but that's just a smoke screen, Apple wants none of the Beats employees, it's going to take the code and upgrade it, the licenses are key, and the technical infrastructure.
In other words, whereas the Lala buy was about getting engineers on board, in the case of Beats Music, Apple wants the end product and will keep the present Beats team on for only a short while, to help in the transition.
Cook wanted to launch the service in September, with the iPhone 6, but now with Scott Forstall gone, Apple software development is still in disarray, and this timetable is impossible, so the launch will come in the new year, right after Christmas, before the Super Bowl, when Cook is scheduled to appear on the Howard Stern show to introduce the product.
That's right, Stern now has more impact than football, and as a lover of Apple products he's willing to host Cook for free. Furthermore, with endless reruns on both Howard 100 and Howard 101, the message will continue to get out. And, the interview will stream free on iTunes Radio, so you won't need a satellite subscription to hear it.
Cook was very close to making a deal with Rush Limbaugh instead, but Rush's hatred of gays queered the deal. That's right, despite being an Apple fanboy, Rush's political positions did him in.
As for Cook's request that his sex life be off limits on Stern's show...Gary Dell'Abate told me that Howard will not negotiate, everything's fair game.
So where does this leave us?
1. Streaming wins. People have been waiting for years for Apple to get into the market, now it has. Is it too late? Apple owned the portable music sphere with its iPod, no one else could get traction, but Android has significant market share in phones. Therefore, despite Cook portraying this as a breakthrough acquisition, it's really about catching up.
2. Jimmy Iovine demonstrates that he's a winner, that all the naysayers are wrong. He went on "American Idol" with those godforsaken Beats headphones around his neck and he willed them to be successful. Now that he's unloaded Beats Music, rumor has it that Iovine will be shepherding a return to rock movement, saying it's all about being able to play your instrument and that hip-hop is dead. He will reunite Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty for another duet, maybe around the time of the Apple/Beats launch, Jimmy has always known it's about marketing.
3. Spotify is history. Daniel Ek is no competition for Apple. In tech timing is everything. Spotify fought the war, got customers softened up to embrace streaming, Apple will gain the lion's share of the revenue (and yes, there will be an Android version of the Apple/Beats streaming service, it will launch simultaneous with the Apple version, just like iPod for Windows broke Apple through, Cook is taking no chances, he's replicating the formula.)
4. Tim Cook shows that he is willing to go against Steve Jobs's wishes, that Apple is now truly his company.
5. Once again, the money flows to the techies. Yes, Iovine got paid, but only once, he's got no ongoing remuneration coming from Apple, like Ian Rogers, he's out.
So the war is over. Our long national nightmare is history. We've evolved from CDs to piracy to the iTunes Store to legal streaming services. Now the person proffering the best music wins. Distribution is available to everyone, if not marketing dollars. Then again, just like Apple has been jawboning labels for exclusives, expect this behavior to continue on the Apple/Beats service, home page real estate continues to be valuable.
And one more thing...
YouTube's streaming music heyday is about to end. As part of the Beats deal, the heads of the three major labels have secretly agreed not to renew their YouTube licenses. You can't win unless you kill the competition, and Tim Cook has made a preemptive strike.
--
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)