I don't know who the people in "People" are and I don't care. I used to, I used to pride myself on being a pop culture expert, but there became so much of it that you couldn't keep up and then I got so old I realized it wasn't worth keeping up, that almost nobody cares, that this is how an industry makes itself feel good about itself, promoting faux stars.
I hate "Preview" issues. We know in a matter of hours whether a film is good or bad, why do we have to be hyped months in advance to pique our curiosity?
I realize I wasted a lot of time doing fruitless things. Like going to concerts thinking I could meet women. That's not why I went, but I believed it was a byproduct and there was just something deficient with me. Now I realize life is about cliques, and it's hard to jump from one to another. You build your network slowly, and you can only manage so many people, and even though you might have a replica clique in another city, state or country, you'll never meet them and that's okay, you can't know everybody in the world, even though everybody can know you, but that doesn't make you feel better about yourself.
I love the experience of going to a movie theatre to see a great movie. But I hate the time wasted getting there, parking and waiting for the film to begin. And I hate the audience members who talk and text. And as much as I love the experience, if the movie is not great, I'm frustrated with the time I've wasted. I used to be able to watch anything, but that was when films were America's art form and everybody was shooting for greatness, now commerciality comes first, and the lowest common denominator elements don't appeal to me. Another Spider-Man, really?
I realize you're best off marrying/being involved with someone from your own caste. Because they have the same values. And values are everything.
If I throw it out and my memory fades did I even do it?
Traveling is hard, but I want to do it incessantly, it gets me high. Throw me in a new place, let me soak up the culture in a museum and it's like a blood transfusion.
The pills have side effects. Do I stop taking them to avoid the effects? But then I risk dying. I wonder what goes through the mind of smokers when they hit sixty, when you finally become aware the end is both inevitable and near. Are they scared straight or do they continue to live in denial? I try not to live in denial, but I must admit I'm expecting a benefit therefor. By going to the doctor and doing what he says I expect to live a longer, healthier life. But the truth is DNA counts, and many who ignore their health will live longer than I do, but not many.
We talk about our health. The pills we take, the conditions we have, it comes up in every conversation, and it doesn't bug us, it's akin to discussing bands when we were younger.
We hold our tongue at first, but we can't help from imparting wisdom to those younger than us, but even though they pay attention, they refuse to listen, refuse to take our advice, they've got to fail for themselves, unfortunately.
I'm stunned that those who I thought were going to break through career-wise don't. When I was young I thought everybody wanted to be successful, and I mean the top of their field. Then I learned that many don't care that much and so many that do care can't get out of their own way. That's what therapy's for, but they can't go, because then they'd have to admit there's something wrong, and their egos are so fragile they can't.
Everyone peaks, everyone's forgotten. David Geffen's nearly retired. Sylvester Stallone made "Rocky" thirty five years ago. Is this how it always was? The cultural heroes of today aren't even footnotes tomorrow?
I vote in every election but I'm starting to believe it makes no difference. Oh, I catch myself, I see how we wouldn't have been in Iraq if Gore beat Bush, but then I think of how Bush's team outmaneuvered Gore's and the Supreme Court handed the Presidency to Bush. And I'm going to get a lot of correction e-mail as a result of writing that, but it ceases to bother me, because who are these people anyway? I only listen to my friends and those with power. Ugly, isn't it? Or those who deliver information or wisdom.
I no longer want to read bad writing. Information is not the same as writing. Just because you can type, that does not make the result readable. Then again, writing, good writing, is rarely profitable, so the whole Internet is laden with link-bait, which I occasionally click on, illustrating that the Internet terrorists have won.
I don't want to move. These people who go from house to house, who redecorate and move out, don't they know time is running out, that you've got to enjoy your life because soon it will be gone?
I'm intrigued by appearances but know they don't count. Just because you're beautiful, that does not make you nice and compassionate, and that's all I care about.
Commitment is the key to relationships, but nobody seems to know this.
Kim and Kanye are the number one tabloid fodder, but it's killed his career in the process. Is this karma?
I don't know whether to get a lighter computer, a MacBook Air, or a more powerful computer, a Mac Pro. They keep changing the paradigm and I'm flummoxed. If I'm in front of the screen all day do I need the fastest, or just one that can do the job?
I don't want to reconnect with everybody I ever knew, but I do want to stalk them online to see what they are up to.
I hate hype, but hype is more prevalent than ever before.
Once upon a time I knew every restaurant in Los Angeles, now I read "Los Angeles Magazine" about the twenty five best and have been to few and when I start contemplating tackling the list I say...no. Then again, I'll go to multiple Triple-D establishments. But I know what Guy Fieri is selling. But maybe that's my personality. Rather than experience the best, I like something that's great for a price. But I've got the other side of my personality too, in that when something is inexpensive, I want to pay extra for the best. Don't give me supermarket cookies, I want to go to the boutique. And I'll eat Ben & Jerry's before anything labeled "ice milk," no matter what the price.
I'm stunned that people are so much like me but yet so different. Last night the four of us spontaneously started talking about therapy and our relationship issues, but I'm not a bro, and it's hard to accept who you are, who I am.
America is about making you feel inadequate. And this rarely works on me anymore. Because I know all those people propagating their superior image are lying. It costs nothing to lie, and the media likes it, because it's outrageous, but the truth is sex and TV are the same for all of us, and there's always someone who's got more money than you.
The experts at the Apple Store no longer are. I want to soak up information, but this is hard when I know more than they do.
I'm a sucker for information, for your story. I want to hear everybody's story, from the homeless person to the billionaire, because that's what life's about, the victories, the hurts, and within said stories is wisdom. And the older I get the smarter I become. But the older you get in America the more irrelevant you become. Because you don't take the bait. Yong people believe politicians are running for the good of the country, not themselves. That the book, movie, record being hyped is actually good. That their life will be better if they're just skinnier and better-looking. But the truth is life is about acceptance. But that doesn't necessarily make you happy. But older people are much happier than younger ones, it's been proven. But no one wants proof anymore. They just want emotion, ranting and raving by those with an agenda. So as you start to age, you tune out, realizing the circus is all for naught. And you start to focus on what truly gets you off. But you're haunted by the
specter of death. By the feeling that not only may you be missing something, but that you played your life completely wrong. But you're too old to do anything about it.
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Friday, 2 May 2014
Rhinofy-Rod Stewart Primer
Forget the old guy with the challenged voice singing standards and marrying women half his age. Once upon a time, Rod Stewart was a god, our most riveting live performer, if you ever saw him with the Faces, you'll never forget it.
But I'm getting ahead of myself...
SHAPES OF THINGS
Forget the Yardbirds take, upon which Jeff Beck also played guitar, this version is a mind-bending adventure that will have you leaning into the speaker just to get closer the sound. And that's what it's all about, the sound. Back when there was no production, maybe a light show at best.
And sure, Jeff is wailing.
But who's that guy singing?
We didn't know.
If this act had stayed together, they could have been as big as Led Zeppelin, well, close, but Jeff has a hard time getting along with people, and the group splintered.
HANDBAGS AND GLADRAGS
From the initial solo album.
If this doesn't close you, stop reading right now.
Yes, written by Mike D'Abo of Manfred Mann fame, it was already a hit by Chris Farlowe, but Stewart made it his own.
AN OLD RAINCOAT WON'T EVER LET YOU DOWN
All the press was about Stewart's reworking of the Stones' "Street Fighting Man," which opened his debut solo LP, entitled "The Rod Stewart Album" in the U.S., but it was called "An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down" in the U.K., after this cut. And I include it primarily because Stewart wrote it. However when he sings the "la's" around 1:45, you'll melt. But the point is Stewart was not only a singer, but a writer, and even though most of the tracks he's recorded have not been originals, the best are.
MAN OF CONSTANT SORROW
What the hell, another from the debut, because it's so haunting you'll truly believe you're in Colorado. The sparse instrumentation, Rod's vocal...it's pure magic.
WICKED MESSENGER
The opening cut from the first Small Faces album with Stewart (it said "Small Faces" on initial pressings, it was changed to "Faces" thereafter.) A Dylan cover, it was more than that. "First Step" was not only the initial Stewart Faces album, it was the best!
THREE BUTTON HAND ME DOWN
An entrancing ditty that you won't be able to get out of your head.
FLYING
The BEST cut off "First Step," it's a magic elixir of Ron Wood's guitar, Ian McLagan's organ and Rod's vocal. Absolutely incredible, if you don't know it, you're in for a treat.
GASOLINE ALLEY
You could feel it!
The album cover was embossed... Rod's rooster hair, the manhole cover, you ran your fingers over them and...
This is how I discovered Stewart, the reviews on this album were so damn good I had to purchase it without hearing it first. And when I dropped the needle I said...HUH?
Because Stewart's voice is an acquired taste, and at this point we'd heard nothing like it.
The title track is still my favorite....
"Going home
Running home
Down to gasoline alley where I started from"
IT'S ALL OVER NOW
We rockers were enamored of the Stones' version, but Stewart made the song his own. And his radiated JOY!
ONLY A HOBO
Bob Dylan wrote it, but unless you're old and gray and a Dylanologist, you probably don't know it.
It's got the same feel as "Man Of Constant Sorrow," and that's a good thing!
"Only a hobo, but one more is gone
Leavin' nobody to sing his sad song
Leavin' nobody to carry him home
Only a hobo, but one more is gone"
Everybody's a human being, never forget that.
MY WAY OF GIVING
It's the organ, it's the bass, the electric guitar...back when what was in the grooves was all that mattered.
"It's all part of my way of giving
And I'm giving it all to you"
It's subtle, but it's incredible, it's the album track you think is a throwaway and then come to love the most.
COUNTRY COMFORT
Yes, the Elton/Bernie song, but before we'd heard the original. And to tell you the truth, I prefer Elton's take, but this demonstrates Rod's exquisite taste.
CUT ACROSS SHORTY
Originally done by Eddie Cochran, this will make your hair stand on end and have you scurrying down the rabbit hole, forsaking pop and just following this SOUND!
YOU'RE MY GIRL (I DON'T WANT TO DISCUSS IT)
Originally done by Little Richard, with a fantastic take by Rhinoceros being played on the radio, this was a complete reworking, it's a revelation.
And there you have it, seven cuts from "Gasoline Alley"... You've got to understand, this was the kind of album that had you poring over the credits...WHO ARE THESE GUYS! You felt they were virtuosos, you were interested in everything they had to say and do.
MAYBE I'M AMAZED
"Long Player" is deficient, but this live take of the McCartney classic is the best cut, especially when Rod comes in...
I saw the band at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester. The band started without Rod, and then he sauntered in from the wings with a peacock walk I'll never forget.
And this duet was the most memorable moment of the show.
You know that special feeling when you experience greatness, stardom, before everybody else...THIS WAS IT!
EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY
I know, I know, all the press, all the accolades, went to "Maggie May," but this is the cut.
It's like Rod the Mod had something to prove, he was gonna show us, "Every Picture Tells A Story" is tour-de-force, right down to Maggie Bell's "vocal abrasives."
MAGGIE MAY
Hang in there long enough and you get lucky. You put out good work and nothing happens...and then something does!
And every fall this track goes through my head...it's late September, should I really be back in school?
(I KNOW) I'M LOSING YOU
Sure, the original was by the Temptations, but I far prefer this. It's like a freight train runnin' down the track broadcasting the message for all to hear. Whew!
MANDOLIN WIND
Sounds like the Dylan covers above, and if I didn't tell you otherwise, you'd think Bob wrote it, but that's untrue, Rod did, and it's just as good.
STAY WITH ME
"A Nod is as Good as a Wink... To A Blind Horse" is nearly unlistenable, except for this, the Faces' classic.
TRUE BLUE
Can I leave "You Wear It Well" off this list?
Yup, I'm gonna do that. Because it's essentially a reworking of "Maggie May."
But this is something different.
"Never been a millionaire
And I tell you mama I don't care"
There's all kinds of references to money and products, but here Rod's not saying he wants and deserves them, but that they're not what's important.
Then again, back then money wasn't everything.
LOST PARAGUAYOS
An acoustic story song, infectious.
ANGEL
My favorite cover of the Jimi Hendrix song, ever.
Most didn't know the original, it's become more famous over time, but Rod makes it less about the guitar workout and more about the lyrics and the changes.
THREE TIME LOSER
So Rod finally finishes his Mercury deal and signs with a real record company, Warner.
And disappoints us.
Oh, there was nothing wrong with "Atlantic Crossing," it's just that it lost the English feel, maybe because Tom Dowd produced it. Sometimes working with the right guy is the wrong thing.
Funny lyrics here though!
TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT (GONNA BE ALRIGHT)
So Rod's arguably the biggest rock star in the world, he's dating Britt Ekland and he releases this mildly-veiled sexual serenade and it was all over the airwaves and...
You just had to love it.
THE FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST
It was not on the Cat Stevens albums we knew, which were all on A&M, nobody knew this song, but it's the best on the LP.
Rod Stewart made "The First Cut Is The Deepest" a standard.
And when you listen to it now, it still seems like he means every word. If he'd only done this one cut, he'd still be remembered.
DA YA THINK I'M SEXY
Everybody went disco, from the Stones to the Beach Boys, most looking for the hit they hadn't had in decades, and still didn't have.
And "Miss You" is a classic.
But the man who truly triumphed in the disco sphere was Rod Stewart, because "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" is so damn good.
In other words, if you're gonna hop genres you can get away with it if you deliver a cut as good as or better than everything else in the genre. Furthermore, wasn't Rod selling sex anyway?
And for those who say this cut ruined Rod's career...come on, you're kidding! If you don't like "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" you've got no...sex!
And the above are the highlights. I left out some hits and live cuts. But the point is as the landscape changed and there was less need for what he did, Rod became a schlockmeister.
And that's sad, because he's messing with our memories, our picture of who he once was.
And that was the coolest, most credible cat out there.
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But I'm getting ahead of myself...
SHAPES OF THINGS
Forget the Yardbirds take, upon which Jeff Beck also played guitar, this version is a mind-bending adventure that will have you leaning into the speaker just to get closer the sound. And that's what it's all about, the sound. Back when there was no production, maybe a light show at best.
And sure, Jeff is wailing.
But who's that guy singing?
We didn't know.
If this act had stayed together, they could have been as big as Led Zeppelin, well, close, but Jeff has a hard time getting along with people, and the group splintered.
HANDBAGS AND GLADRAGS
From the initial solo album.
If this doesn't close you, stop reading right now.
Yes, written by Mike D'Abo of Manfred Mann fame, it was already a hit by Chris Farlowe, but Stewart made it his own.
AN OLD RAINCOAT WON'T EVER LET YOU DOWN
All the press was about Stewart's reworking of the Stones' "Street Fighting Man," which opened his debut solo LP, entitled "The Rod Stewart Album" in the U.S., but it was called "An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down" in the U.K., after this cut. And I include it primarily because Stewart wrote it. However when he sings the "la's" around 1:45, you'll melt. But the point is Stewart was not only a singer, but a writer, and even though most of the tracks he's recorded have not been originals, the best are.
MAN OF CONSTANT SORROW
What the hell, another from the debut, because it's so haunting you'll truly believe you're in Colorado. The sparse instrumentation, Rod's vocal...it's pure magic.
WICKED MESSENGER
The opening cut from the first Small Faces album with Stewart (it said "Small Faces" on initial pressings, it was changed to "Faces" thereafter.) A Dylan cover, it was more than that. "First Step" was not only the initial Stewart Faces album, it was the best!
THREE BUTTON HAND ME DOWN
An entrancing ditty that you won't be able to get out of your head.
FLYING
The BEST cut off "First Step," it's a magic elixir of Ron Wood's guitar, Ian McLagan's organ and Rod's vocal. Absolutely incredible, if you don't know it, you're in for a treat.
GASOLINE ALLEY
You could feel it!
The album cover was embossed... Rod's rooster hair, the manhole cover, you ran your fingers over them and...
This is how I discovered Stewart, the reviews on this album were so damn good I had to purchase it without hearing it first. And when I dropped the needle I said...HUH?
Because Stewart's voice is an acquired taste, and at this point we'd heard nothing like it.
The title track is still my favorite....
"Going home
Running home
Down to gasoline alley where I started from"
IT'S ALL OVER NOW
We rockers were enamored of the Stones' version, but Stewart made the song his own. And his radiated JOY!
ONLY A HOBO
Bob Dylan wrote it, but unless you're old and gray and a Dylanologist, you probably don't know it.
It's got the same feel as "Man Of Constant Sorrow," and that's a good thing!
"Only a hobo, but one more is gone
Leavin' nobody to sing his sad song
Leavin' nobody to carry him home
Only a hobo, but one more is gone"
Everybody's a human being, never forget that.
MY WAY OF GIVING
It's the organ, it's the bass, the electric guitar...back when what was in the grooves was all that mattered.
"It's all part of my way of giving
And I'm giving it all to you"
It's subtle, but it's incredible, it's the album track you think is a throwaway and then come to love the most.
COUNTRY COMFORT
Yes, the Elton/Bernie song, but before we'd heard the original. And to tell you the truth, I prefer Elton's take, but this demonstrates Rod's exquisite taste.
CUT ACROSS SHORTY
Originally done by Eddie Cochran, this will make your hair stand on end and have you scurrying down the rabbit hole, forsaking pop and just following this SOUND!
YOU'RE MY GIRL (I DON'T WANT TO DISCUSS IT)
Originally done by Little Richard, with a fantastic take by Rhinoceros being played on the radio, this was a complete reworking, it's a revelation.
And there you have it, seven cuts from "Gasoline Alley"... You've got to understand, this was the kind of album that had you poring over the credits...WHO ARE THESE GUYS! You felt they were virtuosos, you were interested in everything they had to say and do.
MAYBE I'M AMAZED
"Long Player" is deficient, but this live take of the McCartney classic is the best cut, especially when Rod comes in...
I saw the band at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester. The band started without Rod, and then he sauntered in from the wings with a peacock walk I'll never forget.
And this duet was the most memorable moment of the show.
You know that special feeling when you experience greatness, stardom, before everybody else...THIS WAS IT!
EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY
I know, I know, all the press, all the accolades, went to "Maggie May," but this is the cut.
It's like Rod the Mod had something to prove, he was gonna show us, "Every Picture Tells A Story" is tour-de-force, right down to Maggie Bell's "vocal abrasives."
MAGGIE MAY
Hang in there long enough and you get lucky. You put out good work and nothing happens...and then something does!
And every fall this track goes through my head...it's late September, should I really be back in school?
(I KNOW) I'M LOSING YOU
Sure, the original was by the Temptations, but I far prefer this. It's like a freight train runnin' down the track broadcasting the message for all to hear. Whew!
MANDOLIN WIND
Sounds like the Dylan covers above, and if I didn't tell you otherwise, you'd think Bob wrote it, but that's untrue, Rod did, and it's just as good.
STAY WITH ME
"A Nod is as Good as a Wink... To A Blind Horse" is nearly unlistenable, except for this, the Faces' classic.
TRUE BLUE
Can I leave "You Wear It Well" off this list?
Yup, I'm gonna do that. Because it's essentially a reworking of "Maggie May."
But this is something different.
"Never been a millionaire
And I tell you mama I don't care"
There's all kinds of references to money and products, but here Rod's not saying he wants and deserves them, but that they're not what's important.
Then again, back then money wasn't everything.
LOST PARAGUAYOS
An acoustic story song, infectious.
ANGEL
My favorite cover of the Jimi Hendrix song, ever.
Most didn't know the original, it's become more famous over time, but Rod makes it less about the guitar workout and more about the lyrics and the changes.
THREE TIME LOSER
So Rod finally finishes his Mercury deal and signs with a real record company, Warner.
And disappoints us.
Oh, there was nothing wrong with "Atlantic Crossing," it's just that it lost the English feel, maybe because Tom Dowd produced it. Sometimes working with the right guy is the wrong thing.
Funny lyrics here though!
TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT (GONNA BE ALRIGHT)
So Rod's arguably the biggest rock star in the world, he's dating Britt Ekland and he releases this mildly-veiled sexual serenade and it was all over the airwaves and...
You just had to love it.
THE FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST
It was not on the Cat Stevens albums we knew, which were all on A&M, nobody knew this song, but it's the best on the LP.
Rod Stewart made "The First Cut Is The Deepest" a standard.
And when you listen to it now, it still seems like he means every word. If he'd only done this one cut, he'd still be remembered.
DA YA THINK I'M SEXY
Everybody went disco, from the Stones to the Beach Boys, most looking for the hit they hadn't had in decades, and still didn't have.
And "Miss You" is a classic.
But the man who truly triumphed in the disco sphere was Rod Stewart, because "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" is so damn good.
In other words, if you're gonna hop genres you can get away with it if you deliver a cut as good as or better than everything else in the genre. Furthermore, wasn't Rod selling sex anyway?
And for those who say this cut ruined Rod's career...come on, you're kidding! If you don't like "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" you've got no...sex!
And the above are the highlights. I left out some hits and live cuts. But the point is as the landscape changed and there was less need for what he did, Rod became a schlockmeister.
And that's sad, because he's messing with our memories, our picture of who he once was.
And that was the coolest, most credible cat out there.
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/1hV64Uo
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Thursday, 1 May 2014
Supermensch
The music business died with Live Aid.
We can debate when it was born, whether it was with Bill Haley, Little Richard or the Beatles, but it was truly done after that July day in 1985, which was a victory lap Woodstock could only dream of. This wasn't just 400,000 on Max Yasgur's farm, the whole world was watching.
And that's the way it used to be, when rock and roll ruled the world.
The best rock documentary ever made is "History Of The Eagles."
The second best might be the first half of "Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon."
Shep Gordon, who is that?
That's just the point. The last time I saw him he and Alice Cooper were getting an award and Shep refused to make a speech, knowing his success was all about putting his acts first. If your manager is famous, telling you how great he is, you've got the wrong one.
And that's what's wrong with this movie. It's hagiography. Watching you'd think Shep Gordon is the nicest, most powerful person in the world, friendly with the Dalai Lama and screwing Sharon Stone. Then again, these are the kinds of myths created before Live Aid, when you sat at home, reading the magazines with your jaw dropped in awe, saying to yourself…I WANT TO GET ME SOME OF THAT!
Which is why everybody moved to L.A. and Sweet Connie and the rest of the groupies wanted to get close. Because up through Live Aid, rock was where it was at.
And that's where the first half of this documentary is, before it devolves into chefs and actors and Hawaii and all the stuff we think we care about but really don't, because rock music, when done right, is life itself. Actors play a role, rock stars are the role.
So Shep graduates from the University of Buffalo. The media tells you you need to go to an Ivy, but neither Irving nor Geffen graduated from college, because what it takes to succeed is never taught in school, it's in your DNA, it's who you are.
And Shep Gordon is a stoner graduating with a sociology degree who wants to save the world. But after ten minutes as a probation officer, he turns to rock and roll. No, that's not true, he turns to dope dealing.
The fact that it's illegal? Everybody who made it in the rock era did something illegal.
So he hooks up with Alice Cooper and…
They're broke. They're running out on the bill. Frank Zappa doesn't even want to put out their record.
Obstacles, it's worse than "Survivor" making it in the music business.
So Shep and the boys lie, cheat and steal, utilize leverage and luck to make it.
They have a truck carrying a picture of Alice and his snake break down in Piccadilly Circus. They manipulate the media. And we bought it.
Furthermore, they were breaking rules all the time, standing up to the label, oh how different it is today.
They were flying by the seat of their pants, drinking and drugging, screwing and swallowing, having fun all the while.
And what will you learn?
The three rules of rock and roll.
1. Get the money.
2. Think about getting the money.
3. Remember to always think about getting the money.
That's what a manager does.
They don't unpack so they can roll out quickly.
They've got a checklist because they can't think clearly.
They're flying private and meeting every famous person and if you didn't want to be a rock star back when, you were deaf.
No one wants to be a rock star today.
Oh, there are the bankers and techies who call themselves that, but they're not cool.
And the people in music are only doing it their way if they think it will pay dividends. No one's got a backbone, at least no one with any talent and success.
But as Shep says… If he does his job really well, it'll probably kill you.
Because being a rock star is hard work. Without a safety net. Hell, the bassist from the Atlanta Rhythm Section died the other day, Robert Nix is already six feet under, ever wonder why our rockers don't live?
So you'll watch this movie and buy it or if you're sophisticated you won't.
Shep is convinced he saw Pablo Picasso, but the artist died years before.
You see rockers' memories are imperfect. And they know that fiction makes a better story than truth. Which is why most of what you read before Live Aid was half true or made up, it was part of the act, part of the magic.
But after Live Aid…
MTV realized it was big business. They squeezed the original VJs out, they added a game show and scripted programming to hold viewers and garner advertising.
But once upon a time, the music was enough.
Because it drove the culture. It was where the kids who didn't fit in went to not only get rich, but change the world.
At a price.
The one price that is constantly emphasized in this film is Shep Gordon's personal life. Married twice, his first betrothal was annulled and the second fizzled when his wife refused to employ artificial means to have a child.
And if you believe that, you're wet behind the ears.
You see Shep Gordon was fueled by the action, doing for others made him feel good. That drug left room for no one else, and still doesn't. He surrounds himself with friends, but those friends go home to their spouses, he sleeps alone.
So beware the life of famous stardom.
Shep says fame doesn't make you happy.
But neither does wealth.
They both just temporarily fill an endless hole.
But we can't stop watching. Those of us who color inside the lines, who are afraid to take a risk and marvel at those who do. Which is why we're now enamored of extreme sports icons like Shaun White more than musicians.
But once upon a time, "Rolling Stone" was the Bible. You had to go to the gig to feel included. Youth drove the world, our parents weren't wearing designer jeans, they were completely clueless.
We ruled.
Our musicians led.
And not a single one made it without a manager, a handler, an entourage.
Because being a good performer/writer/musician is one thing. Doing business is another.
Was Shep Gordon the best ever? Is he as good as he's portrayed in this movie?
It doesn't matter.
What does is if you lived through this era, the early seventies, when Alice Cooper was the biggest band in the land, you'll see yourself in this movie, reading the rock rags, bothering your parents with the music, believing that inside the grooves of these records was truth and a path forward.
If only those days would come back.
"Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon": http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3074780/
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We can debate when it was born, whether it was with Bill Haley, Little Richard or the Beatles, but it was truly done after that July day in 1985, which was a victory lap Woodstock could only dream of. This wasn't just 400,000 on Max Yasgur's farm, the whole world was watching.
And that's the way it used to be, when rock and roll ruled the world.
The best rock documentary ever made is "History Of The Eagles."
The second best might be the first half of "Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon."
Shep Gordon, who is that?
That's just the point. The last time I saw him he and Alice Cooper were getting an award and Shep refused to make a speech, knowing his success was all about putting his acts first. If your manager is famous, telling you how great he is, you've got the wrong one.
And that's what's wrong with this movie. It's hagiography. Watching you'd think Shep Gordon is the nicest, most powerful person in the world, friendly with the Dalai Lama and screwing Sharon Stone. Then again, these are the kinds of myths created before Live Aid, when you sat at home, reading the magazines with your jaw dropped in awe, saying to yourself…I WANT TO GET ME SOME OF THAT!
Which is why everybody moved to L.A. and Sweet Connie and the rest of the groupies wanted to get close. Because up through Live Aid, rock was where it was at.
And that's where the first half of this documentary is, before it devolves into chefs and actors and Hawaii and all the stuff we think we care about but really don't, because rock music, when done right, is life itself. Actors play a role, rock stars are the role.
So Shep graduates from the University of Buffalo. The media tells you you need to go to an Ivy, but neither Irving nor Geffen graduated from college, because what it takes to succeed is never taught in school, it's in your DNA, it's who you are.
And Shep Gordon is a stoner graduating with a sociology degree who wants to save the world. But after ten minutes as a probation officer, he turns to rock and roll. No, that's not true, he turns to dope dealing.
The fact that it's illegal? Everybody who made it in the rock era did something illegal.
So he hooks up with Alice Cooper and…
They're broke. They're running out on the bill. Frank Zappa doesn't even want to put out their record.
Obstacles, it's worse than "Survivor" making it in the music business.
So Shep and the boys lie, cheat and steal, utilize leverage and luck to make it.
They have a truck carrying a picture of Alice and his snake break down in Piccadilly Circus. They manipulate the media. And we bought it.
Furthermore, they were breaking rules all the time, standing up to the label, oh how different it is today.
They were flying by the seat of their pants, drinking and drugging, screwing and swallowing, having fun all the while.
And what will you learn?
The three rules of rock and roll.
1. Get the money.
2. Think about getting the money.
3. Remember to always think about getting the money.
That's what a manager does.
They don't unpack so they can roll out quickly.
They've got a checklist because they can't think clearly.
They're flying private and meeting every famous person and if you didn't want to be a rock star back when, you were deaf.
No one wants to be a rock star today.
Oh, there are the bankers and techies who call themselves that, but they're not cool.
And the people in music are only doing it their way if they think it will pay dividends. No one's got a backbone, at least no one with any talent and success.
But as Shep says… If he does his job really well, it'll probably kill you.
Because being a rock star is hard work. Without a safety net. Hell, the bassist from the Atlanta Rhythm Section died the other day, Robert Nix is already six feet under, ever wonder why our rockers don't live?
So you'll watch this movie and buy it or if you're sophisticated you won't.
Shep is convinced he saw Pablo Picasso, but the artist died years before.
You see rockers' memories are imperfect. And they know that fiction makes a better story than truth. Which is why most of what you read before Live Aid was half true or made up, it was part of the act, part of the magic.
But after Live Aid…
MTV realized it was big business. They squeezed the original VJs out, they added a game show and scripted programming to hold viewers and garner advertising.
But once upon a time, the music was enough.
Because it drove the culture. It was where the kids who didn't fit in went to not only get rich, but change the world.
At a price.
The one price that is constantly emphasized in this film is Shep Gordon's personal life. Married twice, his first betrothal was annulled and the second fizzled when his wife refused to employ artificial means to have a child.
And if you believe that, you're wet behind the ears.
You see Shep Gordon was fueled by the action, doing for others made him feel good. That drug left room for no one else, and still doesn't. He surrounds himself with friends, but those friends go home to their spouses, he sleeps alone.
So beware the life of famous stardom.
Shep says fame doesn't make you happy.
But neither does wealth.
They both just temporarily fill an endless hole.
But we can't stop watching. Those of us who color inside the lines, who are afraid to take a risk and marvel at those who do. Which is why we're now enamored of extreme sports icons like Shaun White more than musicians.
But once upon a time, "Rolling Stone" was the Bible. You had to go to the gig to feel included. Youth drove the world, our parents weren't wearing designer jeans, they were completely clueless.
We ruled.
Our musicians led.
And not a single one made it without a manager, a handler, an entourage.
Because being a good performer/writer/musician is one thing. Doing business is another.
Was Shep Gordon the best ever? Is he as good as he's portrayed in this movie?
It doesn't matter.
What does is if you lived through this era, the early seventies, when Alice Cooper was the biggest band in the land, you'll see yourself in this movie, reading the rock rags, bothering your parents with the music, believing that inside the grooves of these records was truth and a path forward.
If only those days would come back.
"Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon": http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3074780/
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The Music Business Today
THE TRANSITION
We're in the midst of the greatest transition in the music business since the Beatles, and I'm not talking about files to streaming, ownership to rental, but the transition from baby boomers to the younger generation.
Malcolm Young's illness is evidence.
Voices change. Arthritis sets in. In other words, no one lives forever, and no one can do it forever. Sure, you might see ancient warriors still treading the boards, but so many of your favorite classic acts are not only over sixty, they're seventy. In other words, if you want to see the Stones, go now, this is truly the last time.
And what this means is the legacy of the business is being wiped out, everything boomers were married to will be gone. Traditional radio, physical product, getting a good seat at a fair price, the music and everything attendant to it will be wiped out and we'll end up with a clean slate.
So, if you're waiting for the past to come back, sayonara!
The younger generation grew up in a pop world. Will there be a revolt against said pop music, will its "Sgt. Pepper" follow its "I Want To Hold Your Hand," otherwise known as "My Humps"? Possibly, we'll have to wait and see, but the people making the music will find the path themselves, they will not see themselves as part of a legacy business, but a whole new thing.
BLOCKBUSTERS AND MONEY
It only gets better from here, if you're a winner. Income is only going up. Musicians have always had cultural power, they're just leaving so much of it on the table. We live in a society of winners and losers, and music is the same. If you're looking at your royalty statement or your touring income and you're not happy, don't keep doing what you're doing, you ain't goin' nowhere. You've got to double down, change... Lemmings die, smart innovators live. That may mean you glom on to the sound of the day, that may mean you get a big investor, but it's always been a hits business and it still is today, only we are not interested in B material, we need nothing to fill out the char...great, and only great, wins, and very little is great, but that which is is ubiquitous, and very profitable.
FREQUENCY
There's been a big change in music in the last ten years. Used to be an act put out new music every three to five years. If you do that now, unless you're Justin Timberlake, you're forgotten.
Album cycles have sped up.
Acts put covers and live material on YouTube.
In other words, we are in an era of creation as opposed to marketing. It's an artist's wet dream. You have a ready and willing audience that wants to eat up everything you have to say. Feed them. Constantly. Singles may take longer than ever to happen on radio, but if you don't think radio is losing its influence, you're in it.
Furthermore, the tail of almost anything is not very long. Is anybody listening to "Gangnam Style" now? "Blurred Lines"? Beyonce's latest?
Baby boomer thinking is that you make an impact and last.
Youngster thinking is what have you done for me lately?
If you haven't done anything lately, you're on the way to extinction.
MERGER OF SOUNDS
Country artists rap, some don't even include banjos and fiddles in their music anymore. If you believe there's a separation in sound, you're unaware of the audience. Kids consume everything. All the influences. Don't be surprised to hear EDM elements in country music soon. The younger generation thinks this is de rigueur, the same way they've got no problem with gay marriage. Times change. And they have.
RECORD LABELS
Everybody needs money. And leverage comes from catalog. Major labels have catalog, as long as they proffer fair deals, they will survive. Someone else could swoop in and replace them, but they'd have to have very deep pockets, because they don't have that catalog cash cow.
INTERNET RADIO
Will not look like terrestrial radio. Despite all of its publicity, its festival, its awards show, Clear Channel has still not penetrated the new paradigm, which is personalization, or I hear what I want to on demand. iTunes Radio has put not a dent into Pandora's mindshare, Apple's only hope is to expand internationally before Westergren's company. There is a first mover advantage, and Clear Channel/iHeart does not have it, no matter what they say.
FACEBOOK
Zuckerberg is smarter than everybody. Because he realizes Facebook is not forever. That's what his recent acquisitions have been all about...tomorrow. In other words, Fleetwood Mac was right, don't stop thinking about tomorrow, but the music business is famous for this. Expect further disruption by those not married to the past, this business leaves itself wide open for it.
SPOTIFY
Signed, sealed, delivered, it's done, Spotify won. Why? Because it was a good idea, executed well at the right time. And the company had deep pockets and was willing to lose money. It's the free tier that made Spotify win. Beats has no chance. Rdio and Deezer have already been forgotten. Only YouTube can compete with Spotify. There's only one winner online, and if you think otherwise, tell me who competes with Amazon, which keeps getting bigger a la Zuckerberg, having just made a deal for HBO's content.
CONCERT PROMOTION
The dream was with the decline of the labels, the promoters would step in and break acts, this has not happened, because promoters don't want to invest, they don't have the vision, if you sell tickets, they'll book you, but if you can't, they don't want you. Artist development will continue to come from outside sources.
FESTIVALS
Are not where you break acts. Don't believe otherwise.
But festivals work primarily because of the camaraderie of the audience, it's very different from the traditional concert experience where you're married to your seat, at the festival you get to interact with others, and we do live in a social network.
MOBILE
Desktop? Done. Tablet? Done.
Last quarter's iPad sales were not spectacular, Tim Cook says it's an inventory thing. But pundits believe otherwise. It's all about the mobile handset, which keeps getting bigger. Mobile is going to be where you listen to music, buy stuff and get information. And if you're not making it easier for consumers to do this on their handsets, you're missing out. If anything, America is behind the curve on this. In India, in developing nations, in Europe...mobile already rules.
FOOD
Hot dogs and popcorn will not do. Even kids know good food. The whole country has gone upscale. This is the blockbuster syndrome in action. If your venue or festival is not serving gourmet fare, you're losing money and disappointing your audience.
COKE
Is dying. That's not my opinion, check the statistics, kids don't want it. So everything you thought was forever might not be, everything is up for grabs, the future will be owned by those not married to the past, who are disrupting on a regular basis.
As for music and creativity...that's king, because few can do it and it affects us so. How it will come to be will always be a gray area. Right now, tracks are massaged by many over a long period of time. Tomorrow individuals might write them in an hour. That's the magic, never underestimate magic.
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We're in the midst of the greatest transition in the music business since the Beatles, and I'm not talking about files to streaming, ownership to rental, but the transition from baby boomers to the younger generation.
Malcolm Young's illness is evidence.
Voices change. Arthritis sets in. In other words, no one lives forever, and no one can do it forever. Sure, you might see ancient warriors still treading the boards, but so many of your favorite classic acts are not only over sixty, they're seventy. In other words, if you want to see the Stones, go now, this is truly the last time.
And what this means is the legacy of the business is being wiped out, everything boomers were married to will be gone. Traditional radio, physical product, getting a good seat at a fair price, the music and everything attendant to it will be wiped out and we'll end up with a clean slate.
So, if you're waiting for the past to come back, sayonara!
The younger generation grew up in a pop world. Will there be a revolt against said pop music, will its "Sgt. Pepper" follow its "I Want To Hold Your Hand," otherwise known as "My Humps"? Possibly, we'll have to wait and see, but the people making the music will find the path themselves, they will not see themselves as part of a legacy business, but a whole new thing.
BLOCKBUSTERS AND MONEY
It only gets better from here, if you're a winner. Income is only going up. Musicians have always had cultural power, they're just leaving so much of it on the table. We live in a society of winners and losers, and music is the same. If you're looking at your royalty statement or your touring income and you're not happy, don't keep doing what you're doing, you ain't goin' nowhere. You've got to double down, change... Lemmings die, smart innovators live. That may mean you glom on to the sound of the day, that may mean you get a big investor, but it's always been a hits business and it still is today, only we are not interested in B material, we need nothing to fill out the char...great, and only great, wins, and very little is great, but that which is is ubiquitous, and very profitable.
FREQUENCY
There's been a big change in music in the last ten years. Used to be an act put out new music every three to five years. If you do that now, unless you're Justin Timberlake, you're forgotten.
Album cycles have sped up.
Acts put covers and live material on YouTube.
In other words, we are in an era of creation as opposed to marketing. It's an artist's wet dream. You have a ready and willing audience that wants to eat up everything you have to say. Feed them. Constantly. Singles may take longer than ever to happen on radio, but if you don't think radio is losing its influence, you're in it.
Furthermore, the tail of almost anything is not very long. Is anybody listening to "Gangnam Style" now? "Blurred Lines"? Beyonce's latest?
Baby boomer thinking is that you make an impact and last.
Youngster thinking is what have you done for me lately?
If you haven't done anything lately, you're on the way to extinction.
MERGER OF SOUNDS
Country artists rap, some don't even include banjos and fiddles in their music anymore. If you believe there's a separation in sound, you're unaware of the audience. Kids consume everything. All the influences. Don't be surprised to hear EDM elements in country music soon. The younger generation thinks this is de rigueur, the same way they've got no problem with gay marriage. Times change. And they have.
RECORD LABELS
Everybody needs money. And leverage comes from catalog. Major labels have catalog, as long as they proffer fair deals, they will survive. Someone else could swoop in and replace them, but they'd have to have very deep pockets, because they don't have that catalog cash cow.
INTERNET RADIO
Will not look like terrestrial radio. Despite all of its publicity, its festival, its awards show, Clear Channel has still not penetrated the new paradigm, which is personalization, or I hear what I want to on demand. iTunes Radio has put not a dent into Pandora's mindshare, Apple's only hope is to expand internationally before Westergren's company. There is a first mover advantage, and Clear Channel/iHeart does not have it, no matter what they say.
Zuckerberg is smarter than everybody. Because he realizes Facebook is not forever. That's what his recent acquisitions have been all about...tomorrow. In other words, Fleetwood Mac was right, don't stop thinking about tomorrow, but the music business is famous for this. Expect further disruption by those not married to the past, this business leaves itself wide open for it.
SPOTIFY
Signed, sealed, delivered, it's done, Spotify won. Why? Because it was a good idea, executed well at the right time. And the company had deep pockets and was willing to lose money. It's the free tier that made Spotify win. Beats has no chance. Rdio and Deezer have already been forgotten. Only YouTube can compete with Spotify. There's only one winner online, and if you think otherwise, tell me who competes with Amazon, which keeps getting bigger a la Zuckerberg, having just made a deal for HBO's content.
CONCERT PROMOTION
The dream was with the decline of the labels, the promoters would step in and break acts, this has not happened, because promoters don't want to invest, they don't have the vision, if you sell tickets, they'll book you, but if you can't, they don't want you. Artist development will continue to come from outside sources.
FESTIVALS
Are not where you break acts. Don't believe otherwise.
But festivals work primarily because of the camaraderie of the audience, it's very different from the traditional concert experience where you're married to your seat, at the festival you get to interact with others, and we do live in a social network.
MOBILE
Desktop? Done. Tablet? Done.
Last quarter's iPad sales were not spectacular, Tim Cook says it's an inventory thing. But pundits believe otherwise. It's all about the mobile handset, which keeps getting bigger. Mobile is going to be where you listen to music, buy stuff and get information. And if you're not making it easier for consumers to do this on their handsets, you're missing out. If anything, America is behind the curve on this. In India, in developing nations, in Europe...mobile already rules.
FOOD
Hot dogs and popcorn will not do. Even kids know good food. The whole country has gone upscale. This is the blockbuster syndrome in action. If your venue or festival is not serving gourmet fare, you're losing money and disappointing your audience.
COKE
Is dying. That's not my opinion, check the statistics, kids don't want it. So everything you thought was forever might not be, everything is up for grabs, the future will be owned by those not married to the past, who are disrupting on a regular basis.
As for music and creativity...that's king, because few can do it and it affects us so. How it will come to be will always be a gray area. Right now, tracks are massaged by many over a long period of time. Tomorrow individuals might write them in an hour. That's the magic, never underestimate magic.
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Wednesday, 30 April 2014
Amateurs/Professionals
AMATEURS
Have tons of ideas, are excited about all of them and see none to fruition.
PROFESSIONALS
Have tons of ideas, pick one and do their best to make it happen.
AMATEURS
Think they can do everything.
PROFESSIONALS
Know it's almost impossible to achieve one thing.
AMATEURS
Think they know everything.
PROFESSIONALS
Are always learning.
AMATEURS
Start with no preparation.
PROFESSIONALS
Do research, they want to know where the bodies are buried, what the landscape holds. Better to take all these factors into account before you start, because trying to adjust on the fly is so much more difficult, it wastes time and energy and it's hard to put a fourth wheel on a car you designed with three.
AMATEURS
Don't finish.
PROFESSIONALS
Are all about execution. Sure, they occasionally abandon a project when they see further effort is fruitless, but the mark of a pro is someone who begins and ends. If you notice someone can't complete a task, run from them!
AMATEURS
Are worried about image.
PROFESSIONALS
Let their work do the talking.
AMATEURS
Demonstrate insecurity.
PROFESSIONALS
Are extremely confident.
AMATEURS
Can only see what's in front of them.
PROFESSIONALS
Are all about the big picture.
AMATEURS
Hold those above them in contempt.
PROFESSIONALS
Hold no one in contempt, but they haven't got much time for losers. If you're an amateur trying to graduate to professional status and you have the good fortune to encounter a pro, DON'T WASTE THEIR TIME! Give just one or two compliments and ask your question. But most amateurs are so busy being sycophants the professional tunes out, or goes on at such length that the professional excuses himself.
AMATEURS
Have no idea what dues are.
PROFESSIONALS
Have paid their dues, and are still paying them.
AMATEURS
Believe in instant success.
PROFESSIONALS
Know anything worth accomplishing takes a long time, and what might look like overnight success is rarely such.
AMATEURS
Boast.
PROFESSIONALS
Never slap their own backs, and are oftentimes uncomfortable with others slapping their backs.
AMATEURS
Get nervous.
PROFESSIONALS
May be anxious, but they've performed the task so many times they let instinct take over, they go on their experience, nervousness never comes into the equation.
AMATEURS
Are looking for their one big break.
PROFESSIONALS
Know that life is about a series of breaks.
AMATEURS
Are afraid to fail.
PROFESSIONALS
Don't like to fail, but when they do they pick themselves up, dust themselves off and get back in the game.
AMATEURS
Interrupt.
PROFESSIONALS
Listen.
AMATEURS
Demonstrate their bile, they get frustrated or angry and it's easy to see.
PROFESSIONALS
Are cool, calm and collected. You may read about the crazy owner/operator/entrepreneur, but if they're truly nuts, they don't last, their board replaces them, and the truth is most are not that nuts, it just makes a better story in the press to portray them as such.
AMATEURS
Bristle.
PROFESSIONALS
Show empathy.
AMATEURS
Are always telling you how busy they are and how hard they're working.
PROFESSIONALS
Show up and stay as long as it's interesting and profitable, bitching gains them nothing, so they don't.
AMATEURS
Believe what people say.
PROFESSIONALS
Believe what people do.
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Have tons of ideas, are excited about all of them and see none to fruition.
PROFESSIONALS
Have tons of ideas, pick one and do their best to make it happen.
AMATEURS
Think they can do everything.
PROFESSIONALS
Know it's almost impossible to achieve one thing.
AMATEURS
Think they know everything.
PROFESSIONALS
Are always learning.
AMATEURS
Start with no preparation.
PROFESSIONALS
Do research, they want to know where the bodies are buried, what the landscape holds. Better to take all these factors into account before you start, because trying to adjust on the fly is so much more difficult, it wastes time and energy and it's hard to put a fourth wheel on a car you designed with three.
AMATEURS
Don't finish.
PROFESSIONALS
Are all about execution. Sure, they occasionally abandon a project when they see further effort is fruitless, but the mark of a pro is someone who begins and ends. If you notice someone can't complete a task, run from them!
AMATEURS
Are worried about image.
PROFESSIONALS
Let their work do the talking.
AMATEURS
Demonstrate insecurity.
PROFESSIONALS
Are extremely confident.
AMATEURS
Can only see what's in front of them.
PROFESSIONALS
Are all about the big picture.
AMATEURS
Hold those above them in contempt.
PROFESSIONALS
Hold no one in contempt, but they haven't got much time for losers. If you're an amateur trying to graduate to professional status and you have the good fortune to encounter a pro, DON'T WASTE THEIR TIME! Give just one or two compliments and ask your question. But most amateurs are so busy being sycophants the professional tunes out, or goes on at such length that the professional excuses himself.
AMATEURS
Have no idea what dues are.
PROFESSIONALS
Have paid their dues, and are still paying them.
AMATEURS
Believe in instant success.
PROFESSIONALS
Know anything worth accomplishing takes a long time, and what might look like overnight success is rarely such.
AMATEURS
Boast.
PROFESSIONALS
Never slap their own backs, and are oftentimes uncomfortable with others slapping their backs.
AMATEURS
Get nervous.
PROFESSIONALS
May be anxious, but they've performed the task so many times they let instinct take over, they go on their experience, nervousness never comes into the equation.
AMATEURS
Are looking for their one big break.
PROFESSIONALS
Know that life is about a series of breaks.
AMATEURS
Are afraid to fail.
PROFESSIONALS
Don't like to fail, but when they do they pick themselves up, dust themselves off and get back in the game.
AMATEURS
Interrupt.
PROFESSIONALS
Listen.
AMATEURS
Demonstrate their bile, they get frustrated or angry and it's easy to see.
PROFESSIONALS
Are cool, calm and collected. You may read about the crazy owner/operator/entrepreneur, but if they're truly nuts, they don't last, their board replaces them, and the truth is most are not that nuts, it just makes a better story in the press to portray them as such.
AMATEURS
Bristle.
PROFESSIONALS
Show empathy.
AMATEURS
Are always telling you how busy they are and how hard they're working.
PROFESSIONALS
Show up and stay as long as it's interesting and profitable, bitching gains them nothing, so they don't.
AMATEURS
Believe what people say.
PROFESSIONALS
Believe what people do.
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Tuesday, 29 April 2014
Play It Again
I'm a sap.
I've never owned a black leather jacket, never a skinny tie, I'm nothing if not unfashionable.
But I'm human.
What does it mean to be human?
Anxious. Wondering if this or that is gonna work out.
Lonely. Wanting to connect, but not knowing how to bridge the gap.
Self-conscious. Worried if people are going to laugh at you.
I know what's hip, and sometimes my taste squares with that, but if a song touches me...I don't care where it came from.
Which means I don't care what you think of me or my taste.
But that would be completely untrue.
But at home I play that which reaches me, like Luke Bryan's "Play It Again."
I know, this territory has been covered before, even better, by Taylor Swift with "Our Song."
But this is just a little bit different, it's a little less country and a little less adolescent.
"She was sittin' all alone over on the tailgate
Tan legs swingin' by a Georgia plate
I was lookin' for her boyfriend
Thinkin', no way she ain't got one"
It's easier when you're older, you just look for the ring.
But when you're an adolescent, an early twentysomething, everyone's available.
Or are they?
Listen to Neil Strauss and you can embrace false confidence and employ the neg, trying to trick the women into paying attention by putting them down.
But I've been put down so much I'm never gonna employ this technique, furthermore I fantasize that if she just saw my true insides, she'd like me.
But still you have to make your move.
Despite the guy who hits on everybody, giving men a bad reputation, most of us are too afraid of rejection. You're already out of our league, now you're gonna kick us back to the minors?
"Soon as I sat down I was fallin' in love"
The magic is in the change. But still there's that moment when you're talking to someone and you're beginning to fall. You're just being yourself, and she's just being herself, and it works. Your self-consciousness fades away, you feel accepted, you don't want the moment to end.
But in the song it does...
"Talkin' over the speakers in the back of that truck
She jumped up and cut me off"
What's going on? Everything was going so well and suddenly she's jumping the tracks!
"She was like, oh my God, this is my song
I've been listening to the radio all night long
Sittin' 'round waitin' for it to come on and here it is"
Passion, that's what attracts us. Conventional wisdom is it's attractiveness. But that's untrue, if we see the spark of life in you we're completely sold, we're undone.
"She was like, come here boy, I wanna dance
'Fore I said a word, she was takin' my hand
Spinnin' me around 'til it faded out
And she gave me a kiss
And she said, play it again, play it again, play it again
And I said, play it again, play it again, play it again"
We males are bad at leading. We're good on the ball field, amongst our buddies, but put us in front of women and we're completely clueless, any guy can see it, the guy is talking but he's faking it, he's just waiting for the moment when the woman takes over.
And when you lead us beyond our comfort zone there's nothing we like more. I'm not much of a dancer, but in the above situation I've got no doubt I'd be doing a two-step. And hoping the song never ended!
"I'd 'a gave that DJ my last dime
If he would have played it just one more time"
Money isn't everything.
Of course the construct of the song is suspect, it's no longer the twentieth century, no one waits for the song to come on the radio. Still, we get it.
"But a little while later
We were sittin' in the drive in my truck
Before I walked her to the door
I was scannin' like a fool, AM, FM, XM too"
Little things make a difference, the XM reference makes me swoon. But there's also evidence of desperation, and we males are nothing if not desperate. Pushing the buttons, scanning for a return to nirvana.
"But I stopped real quick when I heard that groove
Man, you should have seen her light up"
It's the little things that matter, those are the situations you remember. Sure, graduating from college is a big deal, as is passing the Bar and getting married, but what truly makes our heart beat is when small things work out and the game continues, and our good feelings persist. Talk to any guy, he can remember these moments, especially the one where your eyes light up and focus upon him, giving him the green light he's looking for.
And sure, everybody wants to get laid, but this is not what I'm talking about.
Pricks keep score and boast about it.
Real men are looking to melt. And it only happens a few times in a lifetime.
And if you've got your motorcycle jacket, if you wear your sunglasses at night, if you think punk is the best music ever made, you're never gonna get "Play It Again."
But most of the girls will. Because they're optimistic and romantic. And they're in control. They're just waiting for that special someone to approach them so they can say yes.
And really the reason I like "Play It Again" has little to do with the lyrics.
It's the sound.
That acoustic guitar intro and then the crystal clear strumming, setting the mood.
And the aforementioned change.
And the singable chorus.
So what I've done here is prove that I'm not cool.
But cool is for New York. For Angelenos who hit the clubs and the restaurants.
But me, I'm a human being, a dreamer. As old as I am I still fantasize my life will work out like a fairy tale. And when I hear "Play It Again" I believe it just might.
Spotify: http://spoti.fi/1hSEu5M
YouTube-official video: http://bit.ly/1h5yOtu
YouTube-lyric video: http://bit.ly/1rMnEwR
P.S. Standing in the California desert I didn't quite get it. But Luke Bryan's performance of "Do I" had me surfing Spotify, checking out his tracks, as soon as I got home. And I discovered "Play It Again" and so much more. And now I feel I missed my opportunity, I can't wait to see him again, so I can stand and sing along at the top of my lungs, amongst my brethren, all the women standing there dreaming life might just work out.
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I've never owned a black leather jacket, never a skinny tie, I'm nothing if not unfashionable.
But I'm human.
What does it mean to be human?
Anxious. Wondering if this or that is gonna work out.
Lonely. Wanting to connect, but not knowing how to bridge the gap.
Self-conscious. Worried if people are going to laugh at you.
I know what's hip, and sometimes my taste squares with that, but if a song touches me...I don't care where it came from.
Which means I don't care what you think of me or my taste.
But that would be completely untrue.
But at home I play that which reaches me, like Luke Bryan's "Play It Again."
I know, this territory has been covered before, even better, by Taylor Swift with "Our Song."
But this is just a little bit different, it's a little less country and a little less adolescent.
"She was sittin' all alone over on the tailgate
Tan legs swingin' by a Georgia plate
I was lookin' for her boyfriend
Thinkin', no way she ain't got one"
It's easier when you're older, you just look for the ring.
But when you're an adolescent, an early twentysomething, everyone's available.
Or are they?
Listen to Neil Strauss and you can embrace false confidence and employ the neg, trying to trick the women into paying attention by putting them down.
But I've been put down so much I'm never gonna employ this technique, furthermore I fantasize that if she just saw my true insides, she'd like me.
But still you have to make your move.
Despite the guy who hits on everybody, giving men a bad reputation, most of us are too afraid of rejection. You're already out of our league, now you're gonna kick us back to the minors?
"Soon as I sat down I was fallin' in love"
The magic is in the change. But still there's that moment when you're talking to someone and you're beginning to fall. You're just being yourself, and she's just being herself, and it works. Your self-consciousness fades away, you feel accepted, you don't want the moment to end.
But in the song it does...
"Talkin' over the speakers in the back of that truck
She jumped up and cut me off"
What's going on? Everything was going so well and suddenly she's jumping the tracks!
"She was like, oh my God, this is my song
I've been listening to the radio all night long
Sittin' 'round waitin' for it to come on and here it is"
Passion, that's what attracts us. Conventional wisdom is it's attractiveness. But that's untrue, if we see the spark of life in you we're completely sold, we're undone.
"She was like, come here boy, I wanna dance
'Fore I said a word, she was takin' my hand
Spinnin' me around 'til it faded out
And she gave me a kiss
And she said, play it again, play it again, play it again
And I said, play it again, play it again, play it again"
We males are bad at leading. We're good on the ball field, amongst our buddies, but put us in front of women and we're completely clueless, any guy can see it, the guy is talking but he's faking it, he's just waiting for the moment when the woman takes over.
And when you lead us beyond our comfort zone there's nothing we like more. I'm not much of a dancer, but in the above situation I've got no doubt I'd be doing a two-step. And hoping the song never ended!
"I'd 'a gave that DJ my last dime
If he would have played it just one more time"
Money isn't everything.
Of course the construct of the song is suspect, it's no longer the twentieth century, no one waits for the song to come on the radio. Still, we get it.
"But a little while later
We were sittin' in the drive in my truck
Before I walked her to the door
I was scannin' like a fool, AM, FM, XM too"
Little things make a difference, the XM reference makes me swoon. But there's also evidence of desperation, and we males are nothing if not desperate. Pushing the buttons, scanning for a return to nirvana.
"But I stopped real quick when I heard that groove
Man, you should have seen her light up"
It's the little things that matter, those are the situations you remember. Sure, graduating from college is a big deal, as is passing the Bar and getting married, but what truly makes our heart beat is when small things work out and the game continues, and our good feelings persist. Talk to any guy, he can remember these moments, especially the one where your eyes light up and focus upon him, giving him the green light he's looking for.
And sure, everybody wants to get laid, but this is not what I'm talking about.
Pricks keep score and boast about it.
Real men are looking to melt. And it only happens a few times in a lifetime.
And if you've got your motorcycle jacket, if you wear your sunglasses at night, if you think punk is the best music ever made, you're never gonna get "Play It Again."
But most of the girls will. Because they're optimistic and romantic. And they're in control. They're just waiting for that special someone to approach them so they can say yes.
And really the reason I like "Play It Again" has little to do with the lyrics.
It's the sound.
That acoustic guitar intro and then the crystal clear strumming, setting the mood.
And the aforementioned change.
And the singable chorus.
So what I've done here is prove that I'm not cool.
But cool is for New York. For Angelenos who hit the clubs and the restaurants.
But me, I'm a human being, a dreamer. As old as I am I still fantasize my life will work out like a fairy tale. And when I hear "Play It Again" I believe it just might.
Spotify: http://spoti.fi/1hSEu5M
YouTube-official video: http://bit.ly/1h5yOtu
YouTube-lyric video: http://bit.ly/1rMnEwR
P.S. Standing in the California desert I didn't quite get it. But Luke Bryan's performance of "Do I" had me surfing Spotify, checking out his tracks, as soon as I got home. And I discovered "Play It Again" and so much more. And now I feel I missed my opportunity, I can't wait to see him again, so I can stand and sing along at the top of my lungs, amongst my brethren, all the women standing there dreaming life might just work out.
--
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Baby Boomer Dilemmas
Can't understand how you can be on TV but no one can see you. Having grown up with three channels, baby boomers can't fathom five hundred. Gene Simmons trumpets the run of his "Family Jewels" show and it's not even a footnote, to quote the Eagles, it's already gone, and to quote Blondie, it certainly is not fading away and radiating.
Can't understand why what was important to them is unimportant to their children, like Blondie.
Lament the fact that their favorite artists don't put out new music but when it's released they don't want to buy it or stream it, and if it's played in concert, they go to the bathroom.
Can't understand why anybody would want to stay to the end of anything, because of the TRAFFIC!
Have all the latest gadgets but barely know how to use them.
Were brought up by hands-off parents and have counterbalanced this with being incredibly hands-on themselves. As if they don't talk or text with their children multiple times a day, and their kids don't check in with them to demonstrate they've arrived, they'll wander off into the universe and die. We made it without our elders, why wouldn't our children be able to make it without us?
Can't square looking good with feeling bad. All the hogwash about fifty being the new thirty and sixty being the new forty has convinced them that they're breaking the laws of science, but the truth is people break down, everybody does, and then they die.
Think their children are entitled, when the truth is every baby boomer alive believed they were entitled.
Can't understand why anybody would want to stand at a concert. Ooh, my aching bones!
Want to do Netflix marathons but still want to be anti TV.
Still believe music can change the world, even though this hasn't been the case since 1969 and the younger generations have no memory of this.
Want to drive foreign cars while their children are open to American ones, didn't their progeny get the message, that Japanese automobiles don't break and German ones have status?
Believed in acceptance during "Woodstock" and now won't even accept themselves, they're running for facelifts and Botox and want nothing to do with anybody of a lower social status.
Remember when the country was dominated by the middle class and can't understand income inequality, it's boomers this issue appeals to.
Were into the Great Society but now don't want to pay tax, especially if the benefits don't flow to them.
Couldn't wait to get their drivers' licenses but their kids can be in their twenties without them.
Believed boilable vegetable bags by Green Giant were the future only to find out fresh and local was.
Love vinyl, but sold all of theirs during the CD revolution.
Saw Florida as a geriatric graveyard and now can't wait to move there.
Remember when Manhattan was the epicenter of the arts, before it became the epicenter of money.
Thought college was where you grew up and learned something as opposed to overpaying for an entry ticket to a job.
Can't understand why you can't get a good ticket. When you lined up in the morning, tickets were good. When you sit in your underwear at 10 AM clicking on Ticketmaster, you're lucky to get a ticket at all.
Think because they're old they can't get STDs, but they're growing amongst the aged.
Believe erectile dysfunction doesn't apply to them.
Won't talk about vaginal dryness.
The women are thinner than they were in school, the men are heavier.
Can no longer recognize the people in "People."
Still believe in government, and that their voice and vote counts.
Remember when Manhattan was dangerous.
Remember TV shows that you can look up in Wikipedia, but you can't see anywhere.
Can remember when almost nobody had flown in an airplane, as opposed to flying on a whim.
Are cheap. They're the ones carrying their bags on board as opposed to paying to fly them underneath.
Realize opportunity has slipped through their fingers. But are still dreamers nonetheless, as if it's only a matter of time before their fairy godmother descends from the heavens and gives them everything they want.
Lament they didn't go to school during the hook-up era. Free love was nothing like this.
Know you can freeze your eggs, but having children after forty is strenuous.
Know that you work ever harder for less money.
Remember when companies were loyal.
Won't wear hearing aids and glasses because of vanity, it's going to be hard to communicate with them in the future.
Go to the movies to get out of the house as opposed to having something they need to see, otherwise Saturday night would look like the rest of the week, endless television.
Were fed by their mothers every night growing up, but have now become accustomed to takeout.
Can Google for basic information, but can't go deep. A baby boomer has no idea their whole life is online, even if they've got an unlisted phone number.
Don't need the best, but their children do.
Want to own, not rent, whether it be a house or music.
Remember when you didn't buy a car with electric windows because they were gonna break, now tech never breaks.
Remember when you fixed stuff, now you just throw it out and buy a new one.
Want manufacturing to come back to the U.S., but still want cheap electronics.
Can't understand hip-hop, never could.
Are all about designer logos even though they abhorred them when young.
Laughed at people with hairpieces but are now getting toupees.
Think the young are clueless, even though when they were growing up, they believed they knew everything.
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Can't understand why what was important to them is unimportant to their children, like Blondie.
Lament the fact that their favorite artists don't put out new music but when it's released they don't want to buy it or stream it, and if it's played in concert, they go to the bathroom.
Can't understand why anybody would want to stay to the end of anything, because of the TRAFFIC!
Have all the latest gadgets but barely know how to use them.
Were brought up by hands-off parents and have counterbalanced this with being incredibly hands-on themselves. As if they don't talk or text with their children multiple times a day, and their kids don't check in with them to demonstrate they've arrived, they'll wander off into the universe and die. We made it without our elders, why wouldn't our children be able to make it without us?
Can't square looking good with feeling bad. All the hogwash about fifty being the new thirty and sixty being the new forty has convinced them that they're breaking the laws of science, but the truth is people break down, everybody does, and then they die.
Think their children are entitled, when the truth is every baby boomer alive believed they were entitled.
Can't understand why anybody would want to stand at a concert. Ooh, my aching bones!
Want to do Netflix marathons but still want to be anti TV.
Still believe music can change the world, even though this hasn't been the case since 1969 and the younger generations have no memory of this.
Want to drive foreign cars while their children are open to American ones, didn't their progeny get the message, that Japanese automobiles don't break and German ones have status?
Believed in acceptance during "Woodstock" and now won't even accept themselves, they're running for facelifts and Botox and want nothing to do with anybody of a lower social status.
Remember when the country was dominated by the middle class and can't understand income inequality, it's boomers this issue appeals to.
Were into the Great Society but now don't want to pay tax, especially if the benefits don't flow to them.
Couldn't wait to get their drivers' licenses but their kids can be in their twenties without them.
Believed boilable vegetable bags by Green Giant were the future only to find out fresh and local was.
Love vinyl, but sold all of theirs during the CD revolution.
Saw Florida as a geriatric graveyard and now can't wait to move there.
Remember when Manhattan was the epicenter of the arts, before it became the epicenter of money.
Thought college was where you grew up and learned something as opposed to overpaying for an entry ticket to a job.
Can't understand why you can't get a good ticket. When you lined up in the morning, tickets were good. When you sit in your underwear at 10 AM clicking on Ticketmaster, you're lucky to get a ticket at all.
Think because they're old they can't get STDs, but they're growing amongst the aged.
Believe erectile dysfunction doesn't apply to them.
Won't talk about vaginal dryness.
The women are thinner than they were in school, the men are heavier.
Can no longer recognize the people in "People."
Still believe in government, and that their voice and vote counts.
Remember when Manhattan was dangerous.
Remember TV shows that you can look up in Wikipedia, but you can't see anywhere.
Can remember when almost nobody had flown in an airplane, as opposed to flying on a whim.
Are cheap. They're the ones carrying their bags on board as opposed to paying to fly them underneath.
Realize opportunity has slipped through their fingers. But are still dreamers nonetheless, as if it's only a matter of time before their fairy godmother descends from the heavens and gives them everything they want.
Lament they didn't go to school during the hook-up era. Free love was nothing like this.
Know you can freeze your eggs, but having children after forty is strenuous.
Know that you work ever harder for less money.
Remember when companies were loyal.
Won't wear hearing aids and glasses because of vanity, it's going to be hard to communicate with them in the future.
Go to the movies to get out of the house as opposed to having something they need to see, otherwise Saturday night would look like the rest of the week, endless television.
Were fed by their mothers every night growing up, but have now become accustomed to takeout.
Can Google for basic information, but can't go deep. A baby boomer has no idea their whole life is online, even if they've got an unlisted phone number.
Don't need the best, but their children do.
Want to own, not rent, whether it be a house or music.
Remember when you didn't buy a car with electric windows because they were gonna break, now tech never breaks.
Remember when you fixed stuff, now you just throw it out and buy a new one.
Want manufacturing to come back to the U.S., but still want cheap electronics.
Can't understand hip-hop, never could.
Are all about designer logos even though they abhorred them when young.
Laughed at people with hairpieces but are now getting toupees.
Think the young are clueless, even though when they were growing up, they believed they knew everything.
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Monday, 28 April 2014
Final Stagecoach/Day Three
IT'S LIVE
The bifurcation occurred twenty five years ago, with Milli Vanilli. That duo may have been busted, but since then it's been de rigueur, totally accepted to utilize tapes/hard drives in concert. In pop it's about the show, and a show is all about production, not music. And whether you like what's coming out of the speakers or not, in country it's all about the music. I heard bad notes and missed notes and faulty vocals and I couldn't help but realize the result was HUMAN!
Yes, while we all grasp electronic devices we're still just flesh and blood, and it's hard to relate to that which is inert, which so much pop music is. Fans love country because it reminds them of life. Themselves and their adventures. It's imperfect, but that's what you get.
In other words, you can go to Hollywood and get plastic surgery but that's not gonna mean much in country, where the most important thing is not your two-dimensional image, but your three-dimensional songs.
ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL
Possibly the tightest band I've seen this year.
Once upon a time it was about performance, not dancing. And Ray Benson knows this. The only problem Ray's got is when he had his chance, he did not deliver a hit. And that's the music business, in all genres, when the machine is behind you, when someone's paying you to make records, when they've got a radio promotion staff itching for hits...DELIVER THEM!
When you sign a deal is not when you should explore your creativity. That's for YouTube, that's for your Internet-only album (although soon all albums will be such). Don't blow your one big chance, it's probably the only one you're gonna get.
FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE 1
Just one step away from pop. You might think country is twangy, and many lament it no longer is, but the Nash Vegas acts have raps and so many of the Top Forty elements.
BEST T-SHIRT
"Stagecoach is Coachella with SONGS!"
FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE 2
The vocal imperfections were rampant, but isn't that what live music is supposed to be, different from the record? The duo emanated tons of energy, they were doing their best to have a good time and incite one.
In other words, you can lip-synch to or even sing along with your track at the club, but all you're getting is exposure, which is why the country acts last and the pop acts don't. Sure, the single matters, but even more important is that you have an identity.
I'm still not sure who Katy Perry is, even though she's had a ton of hits.
Same deal with Rihanna.
They're plastered all over the Internet, the faux news organizations trumpeting their shenanigans, but there's nothing behind the facade.
Whereas country fans truly believe they know their favorite acts.
THIS IS HOW WE ROLL
With Luke Bryan. A number one hit that those not in the scene will instantly deplore.
But put yourself in the shoes of the audience...
You're going to college, classes boring your ass off, killing a few years before you hit drudgery, and then it comes to the weekend.
America is all about pecking order. If you're not in "People" or on TMZ you don't count. Only this is not true, your life is just as important as that of the star, you've both got to fill 24/7. And stars are lonelier than the hoi polloi. The hoi polloi have got their buds, who they laugh and get tanked up with and sing...stuff like this.
Because when you're driving down the highway with the top down and the radio blasting you gain camaraderie by singing along to anthems that describe your existence, like this.
CRUISE
Ditto.
This is the track that broke Florida Georgia Line, that got them their deal.
Criticize it as lowest common denominator, but admit it's a hit.
You're looking for your chance? Deliver something that the powers-that-be can work with.
LUKE BRYAN
Went to college. As did Kenny Chesney and Eric Church and even the Florida Georgia Line boys.
And he's 37.
Notice the difference?
In pop the acts are ever younger, wet behind the ears and sans experience.
If you're in your thirties your pop career has got no chance, in country you're just beginning.
LUKE BRYAN'S BAND
Whoa, can they play.
People e-mail me all day long complaining about no-talents populating the chart. But most of them could never get a gig with Bryan or the rest of the country superstars. You're astounded at the musicianship.
LUKE AND THE GROCERY STORE
He needed provisions to barbecue, he went.
Pop stars don't shop for food, hell, they don't even EAT, you're judged by your skinniness, and they've all got bodyguards and don't function like normal people, but the country acts do.
Trust was palpable at Stagecoach.
After the sun goes down, it's very dark. If you get stabbed good luck surviving. But that's not the vibe, there's no danger, because the truth is we're all in it together, and the country acts realize this.
DO I
"Baby what are we becoming
It feels just like we're always running
Rolling through the motions every day"
Up to this point Luke had been rocking, before you slow it down you've got to grab them by the throat and make them pay attention.
But when he slowed it down...
You've got to understand, you're out there with 70,000 other people, in the middle of nowhere, cell service is spotty because of the overload, you're disconnected in a way you never are, and when the song wafts over the assembled multitude the magic seizes your insides and melts them.
Come on. Life is fraught with so many left turns and disappointments, about the only thing we can count on is music.
Which is why we go.
And when done right it unhooks us from the b.s., sets us free to be our better selves.
"Do I turn you on at all when I kiss you baby
Does the sight of me wanting you drive me crazy
Do I have your love, am I still enough
Tell me don't I or tell me do I baby"
This music thing is funny. I'm inundated with the musings of the believers, but when I listen to what they're foaming at the mouth about it doesn't resonate.
I remember when it used to be different. When I lived for the music.
But that was back when we were addicted to Cousin Brucie and Murray the K and then free-form FM and MTV, they drove the culture, music doesn't drive the culture today.
And then you go to Stagecoach and you realize for these fans it's not casual, it's all consuming, it's so important. And when the music plays you can comprehend it, you don't need a decoder ring, and it's not about being hip, there's no self-consciousness involved, you just dedicate yourself to it.
Which is what I did.
And I'm telling you now, and I'm not Freddie but I'm certainly a dreamer, I was stunned how little response I got to my Stagecoach blogs, proving that my audience doesn't know and doesn't want to, if I said the same things about Coachella they'd be overloading me.
And I don't understand this, how a mass of people can dismiss a sound and its fans so easily.
But I guess that's America. Where we're no longer in it together, where you're so busy getting ahead that you don't care about me.
But that's not the way it is in country music.
Say it's not what it used to be, berate it all you want, but know that in country everybody's in it together, the acts and the audience. Nothing's evanescent, everybody's in it for the long haul.
And when you stand there in the California desert, with the wind blowing back your hair and the palm trees swaying as the sound floats over the landscape you tell yourself there's nowhere you'd rather be.
You come home and play the songs you heard for the very first time.
You go to Wikipedia to learn more about the acts.
You let your mind drift and realize what you want to do most is go back and repeat the experience.
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The bifurcation occurred twenty five years ago, with Milli Vanilli. That duo may have been busted, but since then it's been de rigueur, totally accepted to utilize tapes/hard drives in concert. In pop it's about the show, and a show is all about production, not music. And whether you like what's coming out of the speakers or not, in country it's all about the music. I heard bad notes and missed notes and faulty vocals and I couldn't help but realize the result was HUMAN!
Yes, while we all grasp electronic devices we're still just flesh and blood, and it's hard to relate to that which is inert, which so much pop music is. Fans love country because it reminds them of life. Themselves and their adventures. It's imperfect, but that's what you get.
In other words, you can go to Hollywood and get plastic surgery but that's not gonna mean much in country, where the most important thing is not your two-dimensional image, but your three-dimensional songs.
ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL
Possibly the tightest band I've seen this year.
Once upon a time it was about performance, not dancing. And Ray Benson knows this. The only problem Ray's got is when he had his chance, he did not deliver a hit. And that's the music business, in all genres, when the machine is behind you, when someone's paying you to make records, when they've got a radio promotion staff itching for hits...DELIVER THEM!
When you sign a deal is not when you should explore your creativity. That's for YouTube, that's for your Internet-only album (although soon all albums will be such). Don't blow your one big chance, it's probably the only one you're gonna get.
FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE 1
Just one step away from pop. You might think country is twangy, and many lament it no longer is, but the Nash Vegas acts have raps and so many of the Top Forty elements.
BEST T-SHIRT
"Stagecoach is Coachella with SONGS!"
FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE 2
The vocal imperfections were rampant, but isn't that what live music is supposed to be, different from the record? The duo emanated tons of energy, they were doing their best to have a good time and incite one.
In other words, you can lip-synch to or even sing along with your track at the club, but all you're getting is exposure, which is why the country acts last and the pop acts don't. Sure, the single matters, but even more important is that you have an identity.
I'm still not sure who Katy Perry is, even though she's had a ton of hits.
Same deal with Rihanna.
They're plastered all over the Internet, the faux news organizations trumpeting their shenanigans, but there's nothing behind the facade.
Whereas country fans truly believe they know their favorite acts.
THIS IS HOW WE ROLL
With Luke Bryan. A number one hit that those not in the scene will instantly deplore.
But put yourself in the shoes of the audience...
You're going to college, classes boring your ass off, killing a few years before you hit drudgery, and then it comes to the weekend.
America is all about pecking order. If you're not in "People" or on TMZ you don't count. Only this is not true, your life is just as important as that of the star, you've both got to fill 24/7. And stars are lonelier than the hoi polloi. The hoi polloi have got their buds, who they laugh and get tanked up with and sing...stuff like this.
Because when you're driving down the highway with the top down and the radio blasting you gain camaraderie by singing along to anthems that describe your existence, like this.
CRUISE
Ditto.
This is the track that broke Florida Georgia Line, that got them their deal.
Criticize it as lowest common denominator, but admit it's a hit.
You're looking for your chance? Deliver something that the powers-that-be can work with.
LUKE BRYAN
Went to college. As did Kenny Chesney and Eric Church and even the Florida Georgia Line boys.
And he's 37.
Notice the difference?
In pop the acts are ever younger, wet behind the ears and sans experience.
If you're in your thirties your pop career has got no chance, in country you're just beginning.
LUKE BRYAN'S BAND
Whoa, can they play.
People e-mail me all day long complaining about no-talents populating the chart. But most of them could never get a gig with Bryan or the rest of the country superstars. You're astounded at the musicianship.
LUKE AND THE GROCERY STORE
He needed provisions to barbecue, he went.
Pop stars don't shop for food, hell, they don't even EAT, you're judged by your skinniness, and they've all got bodyguards and don't function like normal people, but the country acts do.
Trust was palpable at Stagecoach.
After the sun goes down, it's very dark. If you get stabbed good luck surviving. But that's not the vibe, there's no danger, because the truth is we're all in it together, and the country acts realize this.
DO I
"Baby what are we becoming
It feels just like we're always running
Rolling through the motions every day"
Up to this point Luke had been rocking, before you slow it down you've got to grab them by the throat and make them pay attention.
But when he slowed it down...
You've got to understand, you're out there with 70,000 other people, in the middle of nowhere, cell service is spotty because of the overload, you're disconnected in a way you never are, and when the song wafts over the assembled multitude the magic seizes your insides and melts them.
Come on. Life is fraught with so many left turns and disappointments, about the only thing we can count on is music.
Which is why we go.
And when done right it unhooks us from the b.s., sets us free to be our better selves.
"Do I turn you on at all when I kiss you baby
Does the sight of me wanting you drive me crazy
Do I have your love, am I still enough
Tell me don't I or tell me do I baby"
This music thing is funny. I'm inundated with the musings of the believers, but when I listen to what they're foaming at the mouth about it doesn't resonate.
I remember when it used to be different. When I lived for the music.
But that was back when we were addicted to Cousin Brucie and Murray the K and then free-form FM and MTV, they drove the culture, music doesn't drive the culture today.
And then you go to Stagecoach and you realize for these fans it's not casual, it's all consuming, it's so important. And when the music plays you can comprehend it, you don't need a decoder ring, and it's not about being hip, there's no self-consciousness involved, you just dedicate yourself to it.
Which is what I did.
And I'm telling you now, and I'm not Freddie but I'm certainly a dreamer, I was stunned how little response I got to my Stagecoach blogs, proving that my audience doesn't know and doesn't want to, if I said the same things about Coachella they'd be overloading me.
And I don't understand this, how a mass of people can dismiss a sound and its fans so easily.
But I guess that's America. Where we're no longer in it together, where you're so busy getting ahead that you don't care about me.
But that's not the way it is in country music.
Say it's not what it used to be, berate it all you want, but know that in country everybody's in it together, the acts and the audience. Nothing's evanescent, everybody's in it for the long haul.
And when you stand there in the California desert, with the wind blowing back your hair and the palm trees swaying as the sound floats over the landscape you tell yourself there's nowhere you'd rather be.
You come home and play the songs you heard for the very first time.
You go to Wikipedia to learn more about the acts.
You let your mind drift and realize what you want to do most is go back and repeat the experience.
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The Date Shake
"And I wanna sleep with you in the desert tonight
With a billion stars all around"
That's when the polo grounds come alive, after dark, when the palm trees are swaying, the mountains are still discernible and the sky is covered with stars.
I didn't understand Palm Springs. Hell, I didn't even know there was desert in California, I thought it only existed in Africa!
And I never got it until a couple of years back, when my mother was spending the month there and I got up on a February morning and it was brisk and clear and invigorating. I thought Palm Springs was for oldsters...maybe I'm an oldster now.
I guess that's part of the Coachella/Stagecoach experience, hanging at the house before you venture over to the gig. And while we were sitting at the table, Lisa implored us to go for a date shake.
I think it's a Palm Springs thing. I've never had one anywhere else. Actually, I've only had one one time before, out by the freeway, twenty five years ago, and it was tasty, but not memorable.
Unlike the one at Shields.
You know those movies about Florida, where the paint has faded on the buildings and they don't look like they've been touched since the fifties?
That's what Shields is like.
Lisa, Felice and Claudia spotted it on the way back Friday night.
We detoured there on Saturday.
I wanted to see the movie. I'm a sucker for films and museums.
Yup, at the end of the building they feature a fifteen minute flick "Romance and Sex Life of the Date" in a permanent auditorium and those in attendance looked like this would be the highlight of their day, I was wet behind the ears compared to them, and Jay peeked in too, but we had to go, there was not time for nostalgia.
And by time I strolled back to the cafe through the date-themed novelty items the shakes had already been served, we were ready to go, BUT I WANTED MY OWN!
Felice said one was enough.
One is never enough. I'm about ready to go back to the desert to imbibe again.
$4.75 seems extreme. But the cup was huge. And what was inside was...
Thicker then the shake at In-N-Out. Not plasticky like the one at McDonald's. You sucked hard and the elixir of life came up through the red straw.
It tasted like dates not at all, and I like dates!
It was smooth, ice-creamy and just a tad gritty. I kept sucking and sucking, to quote Depeche Mode, I just couldn't get enough.
So the next time you're venturing to Coachella, for the iconic festival or Stagecoach, be sure to make a detour to Shields.
Because life is not about acquisitions, but momentary experiences, the kind you can recall decades later, the taste on your tongue, the feeling down your throat... We live in a foodie era, but some of the best things in life have been around forever. Partake...
https://www.shieldsdategarden.com/default.aspx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3KPTyQ40a4
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With a billion stars all around"
That's when the polo grounds come alive, after dark, when the palm trees are swaying, the mountains are still discernible and the sky is covered with stars.
I didn't understand Palm Springs. Hell, I didn't even know there was desert in California, I thought it only existed in Africa!
And I never got it until a couple of years back, when my mother was spending the month there and I got up on a February morning and it was brisk and clear and invigorating. I thought Palm Springs was for oldsters...maybe I'm an oldster now.
I guess that's part of the Coachella/Stagecoach experience, hanging at the house before you venture over to the gig. And while we were sitting at the table, Lisa implored us to go for a date shake.
I think it's a Palm Springs thing. I've never had one anywhere else. Actually, I've only had one one time before, out by the freeway, twenty five years ago, and it was tasty, but not memorable.
Unlike the one at Shields.
You know those movies about Florida, where the paint has faded on the buildings and they don't look like they've been touched since the fifties?
That's what Shields is like.
Lisa, Felice and Claudia spotted it on the way back Friday night.
We detoured there on Saturday.
I wanted to see the movie. I'm a sucker for films and museums.
Yup, at the end of the building they feature a fifteen minute flick "Romance and Sex Life of the Date" in a permanent auditorium and those in attendance looked like this would be the highlight of their day, I was wet behind the ears compared to them, and Jay peeked in too, but we had to go, there was not time for nostalgia.
And by time I strolled back to the cafe through the date-themed novelty items the shakes had already been served, we were ready to go, BUT I WANTED MY OWN!
Felice said one was enough.
One is never enough. I'm about ready to go back to the desert to imbibe again.
$4.75 seems extreme. But the cup was huge. And what was inside was...
Thicker then the shake at In-N-Out. Not plasticky like the one at McDonald's. You sucked hard and the elixir of life came up through the red straw.
It tasted like dates not at all, and I like dates!
It was smooth, ice-creamy and just a tad gritty. I kept sucking and sucking, to quote Depeche Mode, I just couldn't get enough.
So the next time you're venturing to Coachella, for the iconic festival or Stagecoach, be sure to make a detour to Shields.
Because life is not about acquisitions, but momentary experiences, the kind you can recall decades later, the taste on your tongue, the feeling down your throat... We live in a foodie era, but some of the best things in life have been around forever. Partake...
https://www.shieldsdategarden.com/default.aspx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3KPTyQ40a4
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It Should Have Been Me
Forget exulting in someone else's success, the great American pastime is lamenting that you got screwed, that someone else has got your job, your girl, your plaudits, everything you deserve.
It's hard to rise above in our country, because the minions are lined up to tear you down.
Sure, there are some who do it for sport, primarily those who were bullied in high school and are now taking it out on others. But mostly we find the great unwashed and in most cases undeserving tearing down the looks, talent and good fortune of those who have broken through.
Write about someone who's made it and you're gonna get feedback that they suck. And it's driven by the small cancer inside that exclaims WHY WASN'T IT ME!
No one wants to admit they're a failure, undeserving, never mind unqualified. They see the world as one of opportunities they were not fortunate enough to get.
Now I'm not talking about the disadvantaged, those who grew up without parents, in poverty. But if you read the pleadings of these people you'd think they were brought up in shacks, with outhouses, and they can't afford pizza, never mind a new car.
Yes, for all the boasting rappers most Americans, especially artists, believe by demonstrating what they have not got, they will get what they deserve.
Actually, this is true, they get nothing.
Not everybody on top is a jerk. And there's a reason most of them made it, one that you don't want to know, because then that will illustrate...you're just not good enough.
Do you know how to network?
Do you know how to kiss ass?
Are you smart enough to not only pick up on the street cues, but the business ones?
Can you read music?
Do you have a great voice?
Are you fun to hang around with?
Do you do others favors?
Are you willing to suffer without complaining?
Do you go to sleep not repeating affirmations of your deserving success, but planning a route thereto?
When the going gets rough, do you punt or keep going?
Then why do you think you deserve success when the others don't?
Oh, they had a rich father. Oh, the program director was out of town the day you went to the station. You've got tons of excuses and very little perspective, instead of looking inside you keep complaining that SOMEONE TOOK YOUR JOB!
Now maybe Asians have got your manufacturing gig, but those are faceless jobs. The ones that require personality and pluck...did you ever consider the fact that your bitching that someone else is less deserving than you is what is holding you back?
The guy with the hit record? He didn't write it, they auto-tuned it, you could go in and whip out your composition and go straight to number one, only your song is not good and you don't know how to get yourself into the place where you can take advantage.
You're tweeting all day but some other critic with worthless opinions is getting all the ink. Ever cross your mind that your sour personality is what's holding you back?
And these people all have friends just like them, who reinforce their opinions. Ever notice that losers hang together? And that the winners want nothing to do with them?
It's hard to break away from your group, to lose weight when everybody's fat, to stop smoking when everybody's taking a drag. Yup, they've done studies on this, like-minded people hang together.
To emerge victorious in the war of art, you're gonna have to leave your friends behind, because they're not gonna like your attitude, they're gonna complain you've changed when the truth is they refuse to.
If you don't make the people around you feel good, if you can't do something for them that they can't do for themselves, if you're not supremely talented...
You're not gonna make it.
And this condition has always existed, but with the Internet it's been amplified. Everyone's fighting for attention and when they don't get it they take it as a personal affront.
Do you really want to be a musician? Do you really want to be famous? Do you really want to get up at 6 AM to do endless repetitive interviews with people who know nothing about you?
Then maybe you're not cut out for this work.
Are you willing to be nice to people you dislike? Connivers out to screw you who are necessary to your success?
Why does everybody just see the tip of the iceberg and conclude they deserve to be there?
Would you sit at home and surf WebMD and believe you're ready for surgery?
Then why do you think you deserve someone else's stardom?
And that's why the successful want so little to do with you complaining wannabes. You're not friends, but vultures, trying to drag them down into the hole you're in.
That's the number one e-mail I get. The act I'm writing about sucks and the person complaining could do it better.
And they oftentimes include a link. And when I click through I wonder if they're e-mailing from a mental institution, because their composition is so far from the mark, it's laughable.
Very few make it.
Luck is a tiny component of success.
Everyone's got excuses for failing.
Try coming up with the reasons for your success, what you're not doing that will help you, other than sending messages imploring others to help you climb the ladder whilst you bitch that the star on stage HAS TAKEN YOUR SPOT!
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It's hard to rise above in our country, because the minions are lined up to tear you down.
Sure, there are some who do it for sport, primarily those who were bullied in high school and are now taking it out on others. But mostly we find the great unwashed and in most cases undeserving tearing down the looks, talent and good fortune of those who have broken through.
Write about someone who's made it and you're gonna get feedback that they suck. And it's driven by the small cancer inside that exclaims WHY WASN'T IT ME!
No one wants to admit they're a failure, undeserving, never mind unqualified. They see the world as one of opportunities they were not fortunate enough to get.
Now I'm not talking about the disadvantaged, those who grew up without parents, in poverty. But if you read the pleadings of these people you'd think they were brought up in shacks, with outhouses, and they can't afford pizza, never mind a new car.
Yes, for all the boasting rappers most Americans, especially artists, believe by demonstrating what they have not got, they will get what they deserve.
Actually, this is true, they get nothing.
Not everybody on top is a jerk. And there's a reason most of them made it, one that you don't want to know, because then that will illustrate...you're just not good enough.
Do you know how to network?
Do you know how to kiss ass?
Are you smart enough to not only pick up on the street cues, but the business ones?
Can you read music?
Do you have a great voice?
Are you fun to hang around with?
Do you do others favors?
Are you willing to suffer without complaining?
Do you go to sleep not repeating affirmations of your deserving success, but planning a route thereto?
When the going gets rough, do you punt or keep going?
Then why do you think you deserve success when the others don't?
Oh, they had a rich father. Oh, the program director was out of town the day you went to the station. You've got tons of excuses and very little perspective, instead of looking inside you keep complaining that SOMEONE TOOK YOUR JOB!
Now maybe Asians have got your manufacturing gig, but those are faceless jobs. The ones that require personality and pluck...did you ever consider the fact that your bitching that someone else is less deserving than you is what is holding you back?
The guy with the hit record? He didn't write it, they auto-tuned it, you could go in and whip out your composition and go straight to number one, only your song is not good and you don't know how to get yourself into the place where you can take advantage.
You're tweeting all day but some other critic with worthless opinions is getting all the ink. Ever cross your mind that your sour personality is what's holding you back?
And these people all have friends just like them, who reinforce their opinions. Ever notice that losers hang together? And that the winners want nothing to do with them?
It's hard to break away from your group, to lose weight when everybody's fat, to stop smoking when everybody's taking a drag. Yup, they've done studies on this, like-minded people hang together.
To emerge victorious in the war of art, you're gonna have to leave your friends behind, because they're not gonna like your attitude, they're gonna complain you've changed when the truth is they refuse to.
If you don't make the people around you feel good, if you can't do something for them that they can't do for themselves, if you're not supremely talented...
You're not gonna make it.
And this condition has always existed, but with the Internet it's been amplified. Everyone's fighting for attention and when they don't get it they take it as a personal affront.
Do you really want to be a musician? Do you really want to be famous? Do you really want to get up at 6 AM to do endless repetitive interviews with people who know nothing about you?
Then maybe you're not cut out for this work.
Are you willing to be nice to people you dislike? Connivers out to screw you who are necessary to your success?
Why does everybody just see the tip of the iceberg and conclude they deserve to be there?
Would you sit at home and surf WebMD and believe you're ready for surgery?
Then why do you think you deserve someone else's stardom?
And that's why the successful want so little to do with you complaining wannabes. You're not friends, but vultures, trying to drag them down into the hole you're in.
That's the number one e-mail I get. The act I'm writing about sucks and the person complaining could do it better.
And they oftentimes include a link. And when I click through I wonder if they're e-mailing from a mental institution, because their composition is so far from the mark, it's laughable.
Very few make it.
Luck is a tiny component of success.
Everyone's got excuses for failing.
Try coming up with the reasons for your success, what you're not doing that will help you, other than sending messages imploring others to help you climb the ladder whilst you bitch that the star on stage HAS TAKEN YOUR SPOT!
--
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Sunday, 27 April 2014
Stagecoach-Day Two
They brought swimming pools.
You want to watch sports at home, but nobody wants to sit on the couch and watch a concert. A concert is an event, where you go and soak up the atmosphere, and what you see is secondary to what you hear, music is unlike football or movies, when done right it enters your ears and sets your mind free, offering a journey into the past, the future and parts unknown. Despite living in a technological age, the consumption of music has not changed, it has maintained its mystery, and that's its appeal.
And that appeal is undeniable.
I know twenty thousand people more go to Coachella. But they're spread out, at Stagecoach they all end up in front of the main stage, there's an endless sea of people, it feels so tribal, so powerful, as if music has recaptured its rightful place upon the entertainment landscape. Everyone has shown up to listen. And the artists delivering the message...
Resemble not a whit the rest of the entertainment icons.
In country, you can be thin, you can be fat, you don't have to be good-looking, you just have to sing songs we connect with.
It's a reflection of life. Where everybody has their own little clique, which orders their existence. That's what you understand when you go to Stagecoach, life isn't about Hollywood, it's not about Silicon Valley, it's about the people you know and the environment you live in. Which is why people are happy to stay home in Texas or Arkansas or Iowa or Pennsylvania...their comrades and environs give them order. You might think you want to be a TV reality star, but then you get home and find out your own personal cult has rejected you and nobody on the coast wants you and the choice you made doesn't enhance your life, but detracts from it. Fame without portfolio sucks.
Then again, the young don't know that.
But the old do.
And that's one of the fascinating aspects of today's country music. Sure, there's Hunter Hayes, wet behind the ears, but the biggest stars are deep in their thirties, like Eric Church and Jason Aldean, they've got a few miles on the odometer.
And speaking of the odometer, one thing I love about country music is the way they paint their trucks, it makes my heart beat faster. Because, you see, I get excited about music and the show and the experience, it makes me feel alive.
We started off with Jason Isbell... If only his album was more consistent, like Ryan Adams's "Heartbreaker" or "Gold," everybody would know his name. We're waiting for alternative country's superstar. We had Steve Earle with "Guitar Town," but now when the whole world could be listening, the scene is a bit too insular, it doesn't realize the album must be spectacular through and through, but Isbell's a start.
And I spent a long time talking with Jeff Hanna of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I loved hearing the band's history, but even more his personal history. Yup, we're old enough to have had multiple wives and children and to gain perspective, we boomers may be ragged in appearance, but we're rich in experience.
And then we went to the RV village.
That's where they had the pools. Filled up at a $1 a gallon.
They start drinking at 8 AM, supposedly curfew is 1:30, everybody's got a cornhole set, no one's wearing many clothes, if you grew up on the east coast the freedom was palpable. These people drove to the godforsaken desert, they're not limited, where they went to college and who their parents are is irrelevant, it smelled like...freedom. And fun.
Then back to the tent to hear Don McLean do "American Pie."
Turns out everybody in America knows it. No matter what their age. It's like you're born with a chip with the lyrics.
Most aged acts get tired of performing their hit. I don't think McLean does, because of the crowd reaction.
And they also knew all the lyrics to the Dirt Band's "Fishin' In The Dark." They're not gonna know the words to what's on Top Forty now decades in the future, but infectious stuff like this, which has deeper meaning, or a sense of humor, because you see, what's smart sustains.
And then Hunter Hayes.
And he was good, but what stunned me was the sea of people. So far back that the video screen was way out of sync with the sound. Not that anybody was complaining, they were all singing along.
Same deal with Jason Aldean. Who looked like he had just been in the backyard drinking beer and barbecuing.
Yup, the country artists have not only appropriated the old rockers' music, but their ethos. They don't dress up, but down. They let the music do the talking. Production at Stagecoach is nearly nonexistent. It's all about the music, baby.
And palm trees. And mountains. And yes, dust.
Oh, and also legs and breasts and sunglasses and smiles. While everybody rich is running behind gates, it's thrilling to be amongst the people, who are harmless, they keep apologizing if they bump into you, they're not your enemy, for they realize we're all in it together.
So, so long manufactured media. Wherein the "New York Times" and the "Wall Street Journal" refuse to give respect to this scene, despite it dwarfing those of the inner city. Just because it's in the paper, that does not make it true, never mind important.
And so long music you can't sing along to. How did we get so far from melody...
And so long giving lip-service to fans while doing your best to avoid them. Try getting a meet and greet with Top Forty titans. They don't want anything to do with the audience, they're too busy courting corporations.
Not that today's country music is pure. It's a machine. It sometimes has lowest common denominator lyrics. It has its own media infrastructure.
But in the desert, you don't see it. In the desert, it's about the music. The acts and the fans bond as one and it doesn't matter what anybody else thinks or does, whether they acknowledge the scene or they don't.
The world is run by women. And at Stagecoach they outnumber men. And sure, they've all put on their look. But what they want to do most is hang on the fence and sing along with songs they know by heart.
Got a problem with that?
I certainly don't.
It's thrilling!
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You want to watch sports at home, but nobody wants to sit on the couch and watch a concert. A concert is an event, where you go and soak up the atmosphere, and what you see is secondary to what you hear, music is unlike football or movies, when done right it enters your ears and sets your mind free, offering a journey into the past, the future and parts unknown. Despite living in a technological age, the consumption of music has not changed, it has maintained its mystery, and that's its appeal.
And that appeal is undeniable.
I know twenty thousand people more go to Coachella. But they're spread out, at Stagecoach they all end up in front of the main stage, there's an endless sea of people, it feels so tribal, so powerful, as if music has recaptured its rightful place upon the entertainment landscape. Everyone has shown up to listen. And the artists delivering the message...
Resemble not a whit the rest of the entertainment icons.
In country, you can be thin, you can be fat, you don't have to be good-looking, you just have to sing songs we connect with.
It's a reflection of life. Where everybody has their own little clique, which orders their existence. That's what you understand when you go to Stagecoach, life isn't about Hollywood, it's not about Silicon Valley, it's about the people you know and the environment you live in. Which is why people are happy to stay home in Texas or Arkansas or Iowa or Pennsylvania...their comrades and environs give them order. You might think you want to be a TV reality star, but then you get home and find out your own personal cult has rejected you and nobody on the coast wants you and the choice you made doesn't enhance your life, but detracts from it. Fame without portfolio sucks.
Then again, the young don't know that.
But the old do.
And that's one of the fascinating aspects of today's country music. Sure, there's Hunter Hayes, wet behind the ears, but the biggest stars are deep in their thirties, like Eric Church and Jason Aldean, they've got a few miles on the odometer.
And speaking of the odometer, one thing I love about country music is the way they paint their trucks, it makes my heart beat faster. Because, you see, I get excited about music and the show and the experience, it makes me feel alive.
We started off with Jason Isbell... If only his album was more consistent, like Ryan Adams's "Heartbreaker" or "Gold," everybody would know his name. We're waiting for alternative country's superstar. We had Steve Earle with "Guitar Town," but now when the whole world could be listening, the scene is a bit too insular, it doesn't realize the album must be spectacular through and through, but Isbell's a start.
And I spent a long time talking with Jeff Hanna of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I loved hearing the band's history, but even more his personal history. Yup, we're old enough to have had multiple wives and children and to gain perspective, we boomers may be ragged in appearance, but we're rich in experience.
And then we went to the RV village.
That's where they had the pools. Filled up at a $1 a gallon.
They start drinking at 8 AM, supposedly curfew is 1:30, everybody's got a cornhole set, no one's wearing many clothes, if you grew up on the east coast the freedom was palpable. These people drove to the godforsaken desert, they're not limited, where they went to college and who their parents are is irrelevant, it smelled like...freedom. And fun.
Then back to the tent to hear Don McLean do "American Pie."
Turns out everybody in America knows it. No matter what their age. It's like you're born with a chip with the lyrics.
Most aged acts get tired of performing their hit. I don't think McLean does, because of the crowd reaction.
And they also knew all the lyrics to the Dirt Band's "Fishin' In The Dark." They're not gonna know the words to what's on Top Forty now decades in the future, but infectious stuff like this, which has deeper meaning, or a sense of humor, because you see, what's smart sustains.
And then Hunter Hayes.
And he was good, but what stunned me was the sea of people. So far back that the video screen was way out of sync with the sound. Not that anybody was complaining, they were all singing along.
Same deal with Jason Aldean. Who looked like he had just been in the backyard drinking beer and barbecuing.
Yup, the country artists have not only appropriated the old rockers' music, but their ethos. They don't dress up, but down. They let the music do the talking. Production at Stagecoach is nearly nonexistent. It's all about the music, baby.
And palm trees. And mountains. And yes, dust.
Oh, and also legs and breasts and sunglasses and smiles. While everybody rich is running behind gates, it's thrilling to be amongst the people, who are harmless, they keep apologizing if they bump into you, they're not your enemy, for they realize we're all in it together.
So, so long manufactured media. Wherein the "New York Times" and the "Wall Street Journal" refuse to give respect to this scene, despite it dwarfing those of the inner city. Just because it's in the paper, that does not make it true, never mind important.
And so long music you can't sing along to. How did we get so far from melody...
And so long giving lip-service to fans while doing your best to avoid them. Try getting a meet and greet with Top Forty titans. They don't want anything to do with the audience, they're too busy courting corporations.
Not that today's country music is pure. It's a machine. It sometimes has lowest common denominator lyrics. It has its own media infrastructure.
But in the desert, you don't see it. In the desert, it's about the music. The acts and the fans bond as one and it doesn't matter what anybody else thinks or does, whether they acknowledge the scene or they don't.
The world is run by women. And at Stagecoach they outnumber men. And sure, they've all put on their look. But what they want to do most is hang on the fence and sing along with songs they know by heart.
Got a problem with that?
I certainly don't.
It's thrilling!
--
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
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