Almost completely forgotten, they were the first U.S. release on Led Zeppelin's label Swan Song and truly lived up to the appellation "supergroup"... Well, Paul Rodgers was super in Free, but that band had faded out. And Mott The Hoople only had one hit in the U.S., and we had no idea that Mick Ralphs was such a virtuoso, and Simon Kirke and Boz Burrell were minor members of hit bands but we knew who they were but we had no idea that together they'd concoct such memorable music! There wasn't a guy alive who didn't love Bad Company, and it was not restricted to males only.
BAD COMPANY
Why does this sound so good?
It was the first cut I heard on the radio, before the album came out. Sure, Paul could sing, but the track was so atmospheric, so brooding and then so powerful, one of my favorite tracks ever. Come on, that's why they call me...BAD COMPANY AND I CAN'T DENY!
CAN'T GET ENOUGH
The big hit, on all radio formats. I'll actually say the sound is a bit thin, but there's no denying this is an instant, one listen smash. Come on, you're sitting at home believing you deserve attention? Listen to this and tell me what you're doing is just as good!
MOVIN' ON
What a guitar sound!
SEAGULL
So intimate. Back when bands didn't adhere to only one sound, when they could rock and be mellow all on the same album. We lonely guys listened to this late at night and felt we were a member of a tribe, and our membership would get us through until we found the girlfriend we so desired.
FEEL LIKE MAKIN' LOVE
And then they turned it up.
"Baby, when I think about you
I think about love"
From the acoustic guitar intro to the winsome vocal to the explosion at the chorus this too was an instant smash, and deservedly so.
"Feel like makin'
Feel like makin' love"
It's what came between those two lines that so enraptured us. The guitar, the drums, the bass, Bad Company was a BAND!
SHOOTING STAR
One of the best songs about rock and roll stardom ever written and recorded. Back when some of our heroes died but not so many that it seemed a curse of the lifestyle. Furthermore, there was the reference to being inspired by the Beatles. The laconic groove sits right in your pocket.
DEAL WITH THE PREACHER
It's all about the vocal, the URGENCY! It's like someone grabbed Paul Rodgers by the balls and he eked out the words. Listening to this makes you forget about the rest of the world, makes you believe you're on a subliminal trip to somewhere!
WILD FIRE WOMAN
Another incredible vocal. It's amazing how consistently good the first two Bad Company albums were. No filler, just winners.
"Wild fire shooting through my veins
Burns a fever to my brain
Wild fire woman, something you got
I start to shiver when you do that
Do that baby"
Come on, please, DO THAT!
GOOD LOVIN' GONE BAND
The album opener. The English cats knew to blow our doors off right off the top, they grabbed our attention and kept it. The change makes you SWOON!
LIVE FOR THE MUSIC
The first stumble, the first album that was not golden throughout, but that does not mean there weren't peaks on "Run With The Pack."
This is my anthem...
"Some people say I'm no good
Layin' in my bed all day
But when the nighttime comes I'm ready to rock
And roll my toes away"
Once upon a time music was the anti. Forget the "Billboard" Top Forty charts, they were nearly meaningless from '68 to '81, it was what you heard on FM, stuff like this.
You stayed up late, got up late and wore your street clothes because the only thing that mattered was the music. Just the band on stage, with your fist in the air, singing along at the top of your lungs.
I'm still this person, which may be why I don't fit in.
RUN WITH THE PACK
The title cut off the third album, a satisfying romp that is put over the top by the way the cut slows down and gets quiet during the chorus.
SIMPLE MAN
"Freedom is the only thing means a damn to me"
Not the Republican freedom, where the government is supposed to stay out of your business while it refuses you an abortion, but the feeling of being in the Wasatch, with only the snow and the sky to keep you company, with this cut playing on a loop in your head.
Put me in society and it doesn't work. I'm a square peg in a round hole. That's why we believed in the musicians, they were this squared. They couldn't do anything else. They didn't kowtow to corporations, they went their own way, and whipped a few bills off their stack of hundreds to take care of the damage.
I don't want to hurt you, and I don't want you to hurt me. Why is this such a problem in today's society, why is everybody in everybody else's business?
Leave me alone with my music.
BURNIN' SKY
And the fourth album was even worse than the third. With even fewer high peaks. But this was one of them.
It's got all the classic Bad Company elements, each band member integral to the perfected sound. Along with a pounding beat. This was not thin like "Feel Like Makin' Love."
LEAVING YOU
Ooh, that guitar intro, the vocal, it's like the most famous person in the world stepped inside your house to tell you his personal story... To the accompaniment of powerful rock and roll.
ROCK 'N' ROLL FANTASY
And then the surprise, just when we were about to write Bad Company off, they came back blazin' with a more modern sound but even more importantly incredibly hooky songs.
This lead-off track on "Desolation Angels" gets more airplay than the better Kinks song with the same moniker, but still, this is nearly astounding, there's no fat, you just lock into the groove and GO!
CRAZY CIRCLES
Since we're taking it from the top...
"Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" opened the album in classic rocking style, but the following cut was even better, the quiet "Crazy Circles," with infectious acoustic playing.
This would burn up Spotify if released today. Because it's not about fitting the formula, just nailing it on your own terms, and this does!
GONE, GONE, GONE
Almost like "Back In Black," the album keeps going, sounding different from cut to cut, but still demanding attention.
EVIL WIND
A change in groove, this is still one of the best cuts on the album. It almost sounds like it could be off one of the first two LPs, once again, there's no fat, just pure rock and roll.
EARLY IN THE MORNING
And the final track on the first side has got a great guitar intro and a dreamy vocal and who woulda thunk at this late date Bad Company would fire on all cylinders?
LONELY FOR YOUR LOVE
My favorite cut on "Desolation Angels," this opens the second side with the same vocal style as on "Wild Fire Woman" but with an even jauntier groove and a stinging guitar.
Unexpected changes, the aforementioned stinging guitar, urgency, this is what rock and roll is supposed to be.
OH, ATLANTA
Sounds like a carnival. Not the Little Feat song, but every bit as good.
RHYTHM MACHINE
A nod to the sound of the day, but for some reason Bad Company walks up to the line and does not cross it, this is not pandering.
Unfortunately, the band couldn't replicate this quality, and the follow-up "Rough Diamonds" was a near-disaster, and then the band split. It ultimately reformed and had hits with a different lead singer, but truly it's all about the classic lineup, one of the best in rock and roll.
Yet Bad Company is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Because being good is not good enough, you've got to pose, you've got to be edgy. What a bunch of crap. I'll admit Patti Smith broke more rules than Bad Company, but I'd rather listen to Bad Company any day of the week, and I still do.
If there were a band this good today they'd go straight to the top of the charts.
And either you know what I'm talking about or you'll play these tracks and marvel at what you've been missing, that one of the best bands in rock and roll history has been hiding in plain sight!
Spotify: http://spoti.fi/1wpoMss
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Friday, 27 June 2014
Thursday, 26 June 2014
The Don Bar
I eat a lot of energy bars.
I know they're not real food, that's what my nutritionist tells me, but they're a good pick-me-up, assuming you buy the ones with enough protein.
Yes, I've learned how to read the nutrition label. You don't want one with less than ten grams of protein. Otherwise, you'll just get a sugar rush and no get up and go.
And for a while there I was hooked on ZonePerfect bars. I highly recommend them, only I don't. You know how most energy bars taste like cardboard, how they resemble food but not really? That's not the case with ZonePerfect bars. They're truly tasty. Start with the Chocolate Mint. If you dig that, move on to the Double Dark Chocolate. And the Dark Chocolate Almond. They say they've got tons of protein, but I don't believe it. I don't think the FDA tests these bars. Furthermore, I know my gumption doesn't last long after consuming one. And I've eaten plenty, I've had to wean myself, I was downing them like candy. I still can't resist when I go to Bob's Market, where they've got a full complement, but mostly I've moved on to...
The Balance Bar.
Now for a long time I thought the Chocolate Raspberry was it. Kinda like Joyva Chocolate Covered Raspberry Jell Rings, which most people get for Passover, but work at any time. Just a hint of raspberry does the trick. Remember when Robin Rose sold her raspberry chocolate chip ice cream? This was just at the advent of the foodie era, you could not get close to her emporium in Venice.
And I've eaten every Balance bar extant. Because they taste good enough, have enough protein and not too many carbs, they're BALANCED!
For a minute there I enjoyed the Almond Brownie. But then I decided they had a chemical taste. In a pinch I'll still eat one, at the top of Vail Mountain, but I do my best not to buy them.
As for the gold models?? None of them really ring my bell, Chocolate Mint Cookie Crunch sounds good, but it too has the chemical taste. And who doesn't like S'mores? But the Balance iteration is a far cry from the campground favorite.
No, my Balance Bar of choice is the Mocha Chip.
Now I drink no coffee.
But I'm a fool for coffee ice cream, and coffee yogurt, and the Mocha Chip Balance Bar is a staple of my diet.
I used to buy them by the box at Whole Foods, they give you a discount that way, they're only 99 cents apiece. But for some reason they stopped stocking them, and they're $1.69 at Bob's, which is way too much, but I've got a jones.
It's the chewiness along with the hint of coffee that does it. Mmm... I've already eaten one today. I brought along a dozen to Sun Valley.
That's where I am, for an arts conference. Technically, the Americans for the Arts Leadership Roundtable. Marty invited us, he's on Felice's board.
And I haven't been to Sun Valley since 1976. A mountain that gets no snow but provides some of the best skiing in America, because it's the same pitch from top to bottom, there are no flat spots to recover, you've got to commit.
And this morning I walked over to Warm Springs. Checked out Limelight, where we used to bang the bumps.
And after finishing my expedition, we went on an excursion up Idaho Highway 75 to Galena Lodge. Where we sat outside in the barely 60 degree weather and I ate a trout salad and said...mmm, I'm still hungry.
And I remembered Felice fingering a candy bar at the counter. I knew they had some chozzerai there, when everybody returned to the car, I went on a reconnaissance mission.
It was there that I encountered the Don Bar.
Now you've got to know, once upon a time, before the Internet and cell phones, Ketchum, Idaho was off the beaten path, the entire western United States was. You'd get in your automobile and realize it was just you and the elements, you and the big sky. If you broke down, good luck. But with no safety net, you felt so alive.
And there's no cell service at Galena Lodge. So I figured I'd better fortify myself, in case the apocalypse arrived.
So I bought the Don Bar.
I was reluctant at first, it looked mostly like a cellophane wrapped brownie.
But the man behind the counter told me no, it was an energy bar.
That made it legit, I could buy and consume it, it wasn't dessert, it was sustenance!
And he said that it was comprised of oats and peanut butter and...
I was sold before he finished. And although I thought three bucks was excessive for such a tiny square, I said what the hell.
And when I unwrapped it, NIRVANA!
Oh, when life exceeds your expectations. When your mind says average but your taste buds say exquisite. Lunch was good, but this energy bar was a 10!
Every bite was a mouth orgasm of sweet and crunchy, yet sticky and substantial. It was firmer than a Balance Bar, but nowhere near as crunchy as a ZonePerfect. It sat in that sweet spot reserved for delectable treats that have perfect mouth feel yet satiate your taste buds.
And it did the trick, it topped off my tank, it made me full.
That's what protein does. When you see a woman consuming a salad without fish, chicken or beef, know that she knows nothing about nutrition, that she's only into looks, because she's gonna be starving, because women need ten to fifteen grams of protein at every meal and men need fifteen to twenty.
Which is why I read the labels on the energy bars.
Not that there was much info on the Don Bar at Galena Lodge, but you know when something has enough protein, because, as I said, you feel full.
So, so long Clif bars, with their decent taste but hardly any protein, they're carb-centric.
And so long Nature Valley, which too specialize in carbs and are nearly protein free.
And hello Balance Mocha Chip and the newly found Don Bar!
Because life is lived on the go, and you need something quick and easy to keep you going.
P.S. The recipe is secret, but one blogger tried to recreate the Don Bar here: http://bit.ly/VrVkp6
ZonePerfect: http://zoneperfect.com/products/zoneperfect
Balance Mocha Chip: http://www.balance.com/products/mocha-chip/
Joyva Chocolate Covered Raspberry Jell Rings: http://bit.ly/UNyHe1
http://galenalodge.com
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I know they're not real food, that's what my nutritionist tells me, but they're a good pick-me-up, assuming you buy the ones with enough protein.
Yes, I've learned how to read the nutrition label. You don't want one with less than ten grams of protein. Otherwise, you'll just get a sugar rush and no get up and go.
And for a while there I was hooked on ZonePerfect bars. I highly recommend them, only I don't. You know how most energy bars taste like cardboard, how they resemble food but not really? That's not the case with ZonePerfect bars. They're truly tasty. Start with the Chocolate Mint. If you dig that, move on to the Double Dark Chocolate. And the Dark Chocolate Almond. They say they've got tons of protein, but I don't believe it. I don't think the FDA tests these bars. Furthermore, I know my gumption doesn't last long after consuming one. And I've eaten plenty, I've had to wean myself, I was downing them like candy. I still can't resist when I go to Bob's Market, where they've got a full complement, but mostly I've moved on to...
The Balance Bar.
Now for a long time I thought the Chocolate Raspberry was it. Kinda like Joyva Chocolate Covered Raspberry Jell Rings, which most people get for Passover, but work at any time. Just a hint of raspberry does the trick. Remember when Robin Rose sold her raspberry chocolate chip ice cream? This was just at the advent of the foodie era, you could not get close to her emporium in Venice.
And I've eaten every Balance bar extant. Because they taste good enough, have enough protein and not too many carbs, they're BALANCED!
For a minute there I enjoyed the Almond Brownie. But then I decided they had a chemical taste. In a pinch I'll still eat one, at the top of Vail Mountain, but I do my best not to buy them.
As for the gold models?? None of them really ring my bell, Chocolate Mint Cookie Crunch sounds good, but it too has the chemical taste. And who doesn't like S'mores? But the Balance iteration is a far cry from the campground favorite.
No, my Balance Bar of choice is the Mocha Chip.
Now I drink no coffee.
But I'm a fool for coffee ice cream, and coffee yogurt, and the Mocha Chip Balance Bar is a staple of my diet.
I used to buy them by the box at Whole Foods, they give you a discount that way, they're only 99 cents apiece. But for some reason they stopped stocking them, and they're $1.69 at Bob's, which is way too much, but I've got a jones.
It's the chewiness along with the hint of coffee that does it. Mmm... I've already eaten one today. I brought along a dozen to Sun Valley.
That's where I am, for an arts conference. Technically, the Americans for the Arts Leadership Roundtable. Marty invited us, he's on Felice's board.
And I haven't been to Sun Valley since 1976. A mountain that gets no snow but provides some of the best skiing in America, because it's the same pitch from top to bottom, there are no flat spots to recover, you've got to commit.
And this morning I walked over to Warm Springs. Checked out Limelight, where we used to bang the bumps.
And after finishing my expedition, we went on an excursion up Idaho Highway 75 to Galena Lodge. Where we sat outside in the barely 60 degree weather and I ate a trout salad and said...mmm, I'm still hungry.
And I remembered Felice fingering a candy bar at the counter. I knew they had some chozzerai there, when everybody returned to the car, I went on a reconnaissance mission.
It was there that I encountered the Don Bar.
Now you've got to know, once upon a time, before the Internet and cell phones, Ketchum, Idaho was off the beaten path, the entire western United States was. You'd get in your automobile and realize it was just you and the elements, you and the big sky. If you broke down, good luck. But with no safety net, you felt so alive.
And there's no cell service at Galena Lodge. So I figured I'd better fortify myself, in case the apocalypse arrived.
So I bought the Don Bar.
I was reluctant at first, it looked mostly like a cellophane wrapped brownie.
But the man behind the counter told me no, it was an energy bar.
That made it legit, I could buy and consume it, it wasn't dessert, it was sustenance!
And he said that it was comprised of oats and peanut butter and...
I was sold before he finished. And although I thought three bucks was excessive for such a tiny square, I said what the hell.
And when I unwrapped it, NIRVANA!
Oh, when life exceeds your expectations. When your mind says average but your taste buds say exquisite. Lunch was good, but this energy bar was a 10!
Every bite was a mouth orgasm of sweet and crunchy, yet sticky and substantial. It was firmer than a Balance Bar, but nowhere near as crunchy as a ZonePerfect. It sat in that sweet spot reserved for delectable treats that have perfect mouth feel yet satiate your taste buds.
And it did the trick, it topped off my tank, it made me full.
That's what protein does. When you see a woman consuming a salad without fish, chicken or beef, know that she knows nothing about nutrition, that she's only into looks, because she's gonna be starving, because women need ten to fifteen grams of protein at every meal and men need fifteen to twenty.
Which is why I read the labels on the energy bars.
Not that there was much info on the Don Bar at Galena Lodge, but you know when something has enough protein, because, as I said, you feel full.
So, so long Clif bars, with their decent taste but hardly any protein, they're carb-centric.
And so long Nature Valley, which too specialize in carbs and are nearly protein free.
And hello Balance Mocha Chip and the newly found Don Bar!
Because life is lived on the go, and you need something quick and easy to keep you going.
P.S. The recipe is secret, but one blogger tried to recreate the Don Bar here: http://bit.ly/VrVkp6
ZonePerfect: http://zoneperfect.com/products/zoneperfect
Balance Mocha Chip: http://www.balance.com/products/mocha-chip/
Joyva Chocolate Covered Raspberry Jell Rings: http://bit.ly/UNyHe1
http://galenalodge.com
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Tuesday, 24 June 2014
Scorecard
MAJOR LABELS
More powerful than at any time since Napster.
Case in point, Sam Smith. One has to credit Capitol with a phenomenal publicity campaign. Mr. Smith has been featured in every major outlet, the press on his Apollo show alone was incredible. This is what a major label can do, it can build a star overnight. An indie act could be as good as Sam Smith, but without the muscle, money and relationships, it could never get the push, the head start.
Prior to Internet cacophony, which started in earnest three years ago, the best and the brightest flowed to the top. But now we're all overwhelmed with information and we look to others to point us in the right direction.
Nothing is as powerful as the recommendations of friends, but when there's a swirl of information, when every major outlet is championing something, people sample, and that's the hardest thing to do today, to get someone to check you out.
The Internet was supposed to wipe out major labels. But it's only made them stronger. They're utilizing their catalogs to leverage concessions from streaming services and they own radio.
In other words, all the scuttlebutt about indies is just that. And most indie successes have a major label tie.
ELECTRIC DAISY CARNIVAL
The "New York Times" and "Wall Street Journal" send reporters to Coachella, but none to Electric Daisy, which dwarfs the other desert festival in attendees. Not that there's anything special going on at Coachella, just a bunch of kids having coming of age experiences pogoing to deejays in the Sahara tent and a bunch of old fogeys populating the main stages.
This is what happens when media loses control of the message. Once upon a time, the only news we knew was distributed by the major media. If they didn't feature it, it didn't happen. But today there's a plethora of information/reporting available, as a result 140,000 people a day trekked to the racetrack in the desert for an all night show, a three night extravaganza.
It's about culture, it always is, that's the essence of big movements, whether it be the Woodstock Generation or hip-hop or EDM/electronic music.
EDC's not getting the publicity it deserves.
PEOPLE
Lucian Grainge, Doug Morris and...who at Warner Music?
Art is not about running the trains on time, hell, a good artist is rarely punctual. It's about finding the nugget and refining and promoting it. Which is why the music business has been populated by impresarios, from Ahmet Ertegun to Chris Blackwell to...Jimmy Iovine.
Warner Music has no impresarios. The operation has discipline, but no content, no zest. Sony was revitalized by the aged Doug Morris, proving it's not about your age, but your skills.
FESTIVALS
We've reached the limit. Certainly in the U.S.
In other words, do I really need to read about the Governors Ball, never mind go?
To triumph festivals have to be special. It's about location and production and billing. If everybody has got the same acts, the newer efforts pale.
So we've got the progenitor, Coachella, it survives. As does Lollapalooza, because of its great location. Everything else is up for grabs.
The next tier is ACL and Bonnaroo. ACL has the benefit of being in Austin. Bonnaroo has the detriment of being in the middle of nowhere. Coachella is a rite of passage, Bonnaroo is three days in the heat and the mud and hopefully not more rain. Bonnaroo cannot sell without a lineup, unlike Electric Daisy, which trumps them all.
And if you're not one of the above... You're fighting for your survival.
Look at the U.K. this year. Glastonbury is Coachella, it always does well. But other festivals are experiencing hiccups.
The acts are the topping at a festival. What the promoter is selling is cool. Unless you can convince the audience your event is a must-attend, cool happening, you're vulnerable.
DEATHS AT EDC
Are irrelevant. People die everywhere. This is not New York City, this is Las Vegas.
In other words, deaths at Electric Daisy are equivalent to Mayor Eric Garcetti dropping an F-bomb at the Kings celebration. The media gets its knickers in a twist, but those who truly care don't even shrug, they don't even pay attention.
We live in an era of personal responsibility. If you do too many drugs and O.D...that's your fault. If we're gonna ban electronic music festivals, we're going to have to ban casinos, where those who can't afford it lose all their assets. This certainly isn't going to happen in Las Vegas, where EDC resides.
PERSONAL BRANDS
A trumped-up construct the media keeps going on about that is nowhere near as important as they think it is. In other words, just because you can post online, that does not mean anybody reads it. We're at the turning point here, the next step is being a faceless contributing member of society. Only so many can design an app, only so many can win the "Voice." As people realize this, they'll strive for something out of the spotlight.
In other words, if you've got six hundred Twitter followers and 90,000 tweets...you're missing the point, life is not for the posting, but for the living. And more and more people are realizing this.
AMAZON & YOUTUBE
Are on the brink of blinking.
That's the power of the public. Both of these companies are under the illusion that since they provide desired services with low friction that the public is always on their side, nothing could be further from the truth. The public has a strong sense of right and wrong, and right now Jeff Bezos is crossing it.
Yes, Jeff Bezos. He is Amazon. That's why it's so successful, because of him. But he's a retailing savant, his strong suit is not emotions, he's all dollars and cents. And artists are about emotions.
The Hachette battle is complicated. But if more companies stand up to Amazon, it will blink, as it should, after all, it depends upon good will to survive.
As for YouTube... You're starting a music service and paying less than your competitors?
Bad form.
POLITICS
People don't care, that's why so few vote. Bush got us into Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama can't get us out. It's like a bad TV show with low ratings that never gets canceled, with the players, those in D.C., believing they're still stars.
HILLARY CLINTON
Is everything Democrats want but doing her best not to get elected.
Just because decades ago Bill Clinton learned to lean on pollsters to get elected, this does not mean playing the game works in the twenty first century.
We're looking for authenticity. When Hillary Clinton calls the Bible the most influential book in her life, we laugh, because we know it's not true, we know she's saying that to impress those who don't care. This is how she lost in 2008, and this is how she's going to lose again in 2016. She would have been better than Barry, I'd vote for her, but first you've got to win the election.
THE HORSE RACE
You'd think the 2016 election is tomorrow. At least the 2014 one. Mainstream media has become like Hollywood, trumpeting movies far in advance of their opening, even though we no longer pay attention, because we know within hours of opening whether they're any good.
VIRALITY
Is dead. Just can't happen anymore.
I'm not saying you can't build online, but the days of going from zero to hero like PSY or KONY or "Harlem Shake"... That's an era that's passed. When the paradigm was still new, before we knew it could be manipulated. Now you've got to fight to rise above and then keep pushing. As for novelty? It rarely pays dividends.
AMATEUR ART
YouTube stars, everybody starting in their basement, are not to be paid attention to, their strong suit is their desire to be famous, there's no art there, and to last there must be art, even if the songs are written by Max Martin and Dr. Luke.
CHELSEA HANDLER TO NETFLIX
You go where everybody else isn't. You can't win the late night wars, there's too many people playing, it's a war of attrition. But by going to Netflix where your show can be streamed 24/7... That's the future. We live in an on demand world. You mean I have to wait until 11:35 to see your show? You mean you only post excerpts on YouTube? I've got to plow through the commercials on Hulu? Netflix has got a huge, built-in audience. And for all the hoopla that releasing all episodes of a show at once kills water cooler talk, there's been more buzz about "Orange Is The New Black" than anything on network or cable.
GOOGLING
We live in a can-do culture. Where there's no instruction booklet and no help. If you ask someone to explain, that just means you're too lazy to Google, and you're ignored.
JOHN LEGERE/T-MOBILE
Elon Musk may be our technical genius, but John Legere is our marketing genius. If you're not number one, you've got to do it a different way, you've got to break rules. If you're not a major, don't imitate the major, it's death.
LADY GAGA
Broke the number one rule...IT'S ABOUT THE MUSIC!
COMMERCIALISM
When everybody's selling out, that's when you shouldn't.
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More powerful than at any time since Napster.
Case in point, Sam Smith. One has to credit Capitol with a phenomenal publicity campaign. Mr. Smith has been featured in every major outlet, the press on his Apollo show alone was incredible. This is what a major label can do, it can build a star overnight. An indie act could be as good as Sam Smith, but without the muscle, money and relationships, it could never get the push, the head start.
Prior to Internet cacophony, which started in earnest three years ago, the best and the brightest flowed to the top. But now we're all overwhelmed with information and we look to others to point us in the right direction.
Nothing is as powerful as the recommendations of friends, but when there's a swirl of information, when every major outlet is championing something, people sample, and that's the hardest thing to do today, to get someone to check you out.
The Internet was supposed to wipe out major labels. But it's only made them stronger. They're utilizing their catalogs to leverage concessions from streaming services and they own radio.
In other words, all the scuttlebutt about indies is just that. And most indie successes have a major label tie.
ELECTRIC DAISY CARNIVAL
The "New York Times" and "Wall Street Journal" send reporters to Coachella, but none to Electric Daisy, which dwarfs the other desert festival in attendees. Not that there's anything special going on at Coachella, just a bunch of kids having coming of age experiences pogoing to deejays in the Sahara tent and a bunch of old fogeys populating the main stages.
This is what happens when media loses control of the message. Once upon a time, the only news we knew was distributed by the major media. If they didn't feature it, it didn't happen. But today there's a plethora of information/reporting available, as a result 140,000 people a day trekked to the racetrack in the desert for an all night show, a three night extravaganza.
It's about culture, it always is, that's the essence of big movements, whether it be the Woodstock Generation or hip-hop or EDM/electronic music.
EDC's not getting the publicity it deserves.
PEOPLE
Lucian Grainge, Doug Morris and...who at Warner Music?
Art is not about running the trains on time, hell, a good artist is rarely punctual. It's about finding the nugget and refining and promoting it. Which is why the music business has been populated by impresarios, from Ahmet Ertegun to Chris Blackwell to...Jimmy Iovine.
Warner Music has no impresarios. The operation has discipline, but no content, no zest. Sony was revitalized by the aged Doug Morris, proving it's not about your age, but your skills.
FESTIVALS
We've reached the limit. Certainly in the U.S.
In other words, do I really need to read about the Governors Ball, never mind go?
To triumph festivals have to be special. It's about location and production and billing. If everybody has got the same acts, the newer efforts pale.
So we've got the progenitor, Coachella, it survives. As does Lollapalooza, because of its great location. Everything else is up for grabs.
The next tier is ACL and Bonnaroo. ACL has the benefit of being in Austin. Bonnaroo has the detriment of being in the middle of nowhere. Coachella is a rite of passage, Bonnaroo is three days in the heat and the mud and hopefully not more rain. Bonnaroo cannot sell without a lineup, unlike Electric Daisy, which trumps them all.
And if you're not one of the above... You're fighting for your survival.
Look at the U.K. this year. Glastonbury is Coachella, it always does well. But other festivals are experiencing hiccups.
The acts are the topping at a festival. What the promoter is selling is cool. Unless you can convince the audience your event is a must-attend, cool happening, you're vulnerable.
DEATHS AT EDC
Are irrelevant. People die everywhere. This is not New York City, this is Las Vegas.
In other words, deaths at Electric Daisy are equivalent to Mayor Eric Garcetti dropping an F-bomb at the Kings celebration. The media gets its knickers in a twist, but those who truly care don't even shrug, they don't even pay attention.
We live in an era of personal responsibility. If you do too many drugs and O.D...that's your fault. If we're gonna ban electronic music festivals, we're going to have to ban casinos, where those who can't afford it lose all their assets. This certainly isn't going to happen in Las Vegas, where EDC resides.
PERSONAL BRANDS
A trumped-up construct the media keeps going on about that is nowhere near as important as they think it is. In other words, just because you can post online, that does not mean anybody reads it. We're at the turning point here, the next step is being a faceless contributing member of society. Only so many can design an app, only so many can win the "Voice." As people realize this, they'll strive for something out of the spotlight.
In other words, if you've got six hundred Twitter followers and 90,000 tweets...you're missing the point, life is not for the posting, but for the living. And more and more people are realizing this.
AMAZON & YOUTUBE
Are on the brink of blinking.
That's the power of the public. Both of these companies are under the illusion that since they provide desired services with low friction that the public is always on their side, nothing could be further from the truth. The public has a strong sense of right and wrong, and right now Jeff Bezos is crossing it.
Yes, Jeff Bezos. He is Amazon. That's why it's so successful, because of him. But he's a retailing savant, his strong suit is not emotions, he's all dollars and cents. And artists are about emotions.
The Hachette battle is complicated. But if more companies stand up to Amazon, it will blink, as it should, after all, it depends upon good will to survive.
As for YouTube... You're starting a music service and paying less than your competitors?
Bad form.
POLITICS
People don't care, that's why so few vote. Bush got us into Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama can't get us out. It's like a bad TV show with low ratings that never gets canceled, with the players, those in D.C., believing they're still stars.
HILLARY CLINTON
Is everything Democrats want but doing her best not to get elected.
Just because decades ago Bill Clinton learned to lean on pollsters to get elected, this does not mean playing the game works in the twenty first century.
We're looking for authenticity. When Hillary Clinton calls the Bible the most influential book in her life, we laugh, because we know it's not true, we know she's saying that to impress those who don't care. This is how she lost in 2008, and this is how she's going to lose again in 2016. She would have been better than Barry, I'd vote for her, but first you've got to win the election.
THE HORSE RACE
You'd think the 2016 election is tomorrow. At least the 2014 one. Mainstream media has become like Hollywood, trumpeting movies far in advance of their opening, even though we no longer pay attention, because we know within hours of opening whether they're any good.
VIRALITY
Is dead. Just can't happen anymore.
I'm not saying you can't build online, but the days of going from zero to hero like PSY or KONY or "Harlem Shake"... That's an era that's passed. When the paradigm was still new, before we knew it could be manipulated. Now you've got to fight to rise above and then keep pushing. As for novelty? It rarely pays dividends.
AMATEUR ART
YouTube stars, everybody starting in their basement, are not to be paid attention to, their strong suit is their desire to be famous, there's no art there, and to last there must be art, even if the songs are written by Max Martin and Dr. Luke.
CHELSEA HANDLER TO NETFLIX
You go where everybody else isn't. You can't win the late night wars, there's too many people playing, it's a war of attrition. But by going to Netflix where your show can be streamed 24/7... That's the future. We live in an on demand world. You mean I have to wait until 11:35 to see your show? You mean you only post excerpts on YouTube? I've got to plow through the commercials on Hulu? Netflix has got a huge, built-in audience. And for all the hoopla that releasing all episodes of a show at once kills water cooler talk, there's been more buzz about "Orange Is The New Black" than anything on network or cable.
GOOGLING
We live in a can-do culture. Where there's no instruction booklet and no help. If you ask someone to explain, that just means you're too lazy to Google, and you're ignored.
JOHN LEGERE/T-MOBILE
Elon Musk may be our technical genius, but John Legere is our marketing genius. If you're not number one, you've got to do it a different way, you've got to break rules. If you're not a major, don't imitate the major, it's death.
LADY GAGA
Broke the number one rule...IT'S ABOUT THE MUSIC!
COMMERCIALISM
When everybody's selling out, that's when you shouldn't.
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Monday, 23 June 2014
Trickery
That's Yahoo's new business model. To sneak in advertorial amongst the real posts to try to get you to click on them so they can make money.
And you wonder why no one trusts the press. David Carr did a good article about that today:
"A Novel Lays Bare Media Ills": http://nyti.ms/1qsC5pz
Which is why credibility is so important. Everybody's so busy trying not to offend anybody that they lose their identity. John Lennon had it right, you can only believe in yourself...I'm not so sure about Yoko.
So your business model is challenged. Too bad. If you can't survive financially in today's world, maybe you shouldn't. But to resort to b.s. to make coin is just offensive. The same way the Republicans utilize subterfuge to achieve their goals. Can't we agree on the facts and then argue from there? But no, everyone's playing the game.
Used to be we depended upon artists to show the way. Back before they would do anything to get Facebook likes and Twitter followers, before the gamification of art. Once again, if your track is not good enough to stop me in my tracks, maybe you don't deserve to have a career.
Honest. Forthright. Believable. From the heart. When did those go out of style?
It's like our whole nation is on the wrong path. The rich don't believe in an honest living, Microsoft breaks antitrust laws, forcing manufacturers to pay for Windows whether they install it on machines or not and Sean Parker steals e-mail addresses from one company to launch another, known as Plaxo, and the end result is these people are heroes.
And the only ones living honestly are those at the bottom, the disadvantaged, who have no other option but to be honest and forthright.
And the music business is no better. Can you explain how I buy a ticket again? Is there a website of pre-sales? Why is there even a secondary market? It's a business of bots and holdbacks and the artists blame Ticketmaster when they, themselves, are at fault.
So, we can't attack climate change because someone in a paid for think tank says it ain't so.
And we're subjected to the same damn lyrics in every country song.
And now that we have alternative news sources, we realize how much the mainstream media misses.
Yet everybody believes if they just yell loud enough, they'll win.
Marissa Mayer... Maybe Yahoo was meant to fail. Google owns search and your content appeals to few. Maybe the company can't be reinvented. Just because you stand up in your designer outfits and say it is so does not make it so. I used to use your news page as my homepage, but now it's filled with advertising, you're winning, but I'm losing. But not for long. This is how you lose me.
And clickbait is not forever. I've wasted too much time. And now it's the same damn stories recycled. I know which stars have had plastic surgery.
And we used to depend on artists for truth. But now they're just bitching that they can't win. But instead of focusing on their bona fides, their art, they build up the penumbra, the marketing, to try and get us to listen to that which we should not. Yup, that's the truth, just like Yahoo may have no place in the future, your music might not either.
But we're always hungry for that which comes straight from the heart, which touches us, which acknowledges that life is brief and precious and confusing.
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And you wonder why no one trusts the press. David Carr did a good article about that today:
"A Novel Lays Bare Media Ills": http://nyti.ms/1qsC5pz
Which is why credibility is so important. Everybody's so busy trying not to offend anybody that they lose their identity. John Lennon had it right, you can only believe in yourself...I'm not so sure about Yoko.
So your business model is challenged. Too bad. If you can't survive financially in today's world, maybe you shouldn't. But to resort to b.s. to make coin is just offensive. The same way the Republicans utilize subterfuge to achieve their goals. Can't we agree on the facts and then argue from there? But no, everyone's playing the game.
Used to be we depended upon artists to show the way. Back before they would do anything to get Facebook likes and Twitter followers, before the gamification of art. Once again, if your track is not good enough to stop me in my tracks, maybe you don't deserve to have a career.
Honest. Forthright. Believable. From the heart. When did those go out of style?
It's like our whole nation is on the wrong path. The rich don't believe in an honest living, Microsoft breaks antitrust laws, forcing manufacturers to pay for Windows whether they install it on machines or not and Sean Parker steals e-mail addresses from one company to launch another, known as Plaxo, and the end result is these people are heroes.
And the only ones living honestly are those at the bottom, the disadvantaged, who have no other option but to be honest and forthright.
And the music business is no better. Can you explain how I buy a ticket again? Is there a website of pre-sales? Why is there even a secondary market? It's a business of bots and holdbacks and the artists blame Ticketmaster when they, themselves, are at fault.
So, we can't attack climate change because someone in a paid for think tank says it ain't so.
And we're subjected to the same damn lyrics in every country song.
And now that we have alternative news sources, we realize how much the mainstream media misses.
Yet everybody believes if they just yell loud enough, they'll win.
Marissa Mayer... Maybe Yahoo was meant to fail. Google owns search and your content appeals to few. Maybe the company can't be reinvented. Just because you stand up in your designer outfits and say it is so does not make it so. I used to use your news page as my homepage, but now it's filled with advertising, you're winning, but I'm losing. But not for long. This is how you lose me.
And clickbait is not forever. I've wasted too much time. And now it's the same damn stories recycled. I know which stars have had plastic surgery.
And we used to depend on artists for truth. But now they're just bitching that they can't win. But instead of focusing on their bona fides, their art, they build up the penumbra, the marketing, to try and get us to listen to that which we should not. Yup, that's the truth, just like Yahoo may have no place in the future, your music might not either.
But we're always hungry for that which comes straight from the heart, which touches us, which acknowledges that life is brief and precious and confusing.
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Sunday, 22 June 2014
More EDC
"I wanna go back, go back
And do it all over
Can't go back, I know"
"I Wanna Go Back"
Billy Satellite
I had such a good time in Vegas that I'm sitting here in L.A. depressed, coming down from an experience I didn't anticipate that has me yearning for more.
Ain't that how it always is, what you least expect delivers so much. And I thought I didn't even like Vegas! But it was all about the people!
The piece-de-resistance was dinner at Scarpetta Friday night. Where Boyle ordered in Italian and the conversation took a wild turn from making Madonna records to ADHD to everybody's relationship.
Neil Jacobsen gave up his car. Yup, he's totally Uber. He saves money and time. There's no valet parking wait and he can fire up his laptop in the backseat. And now he's going totally Airbnb. Yup, he bought a new place at the beach and the way he's gonna make it work is by renting it out. Hell, that's what he does when he goes to NYC, he rents an investment banker's place, the guy even provides groceries.
And that's what happens when you leave the house, when you walk out the front door, you get a different spin on the world, you see everything differently.
So back to that meal at Scarpetta...
We sat at the chef's table. With glass looking into the kitchen and another window overlooking the Strip. The polenta was as good as billed, but it was the bread that was spectacular, with layers of prosciutto, YUM! And the octopus was a 10, as were the oysters, and my Wagyu steak had the texture of flank and the taste of...it was as good as it gets. And Boyle said not to worry about the price, since we were eating on credit, whenever the Cosmo screwed up, he got more.
And I understand how the Wynn is the place, but I recommend the Cosmopolitan, because of the balconies, because of the vibe. It's the place of the yearning, upscale twenty and thirtysomethings. Everybody's on their way to becoming a winner. The vibe is palpable, it's not the self-satisfied feel the baby boomers exude, it's enticing.
I grew up with two sisters. My friends were always made in distant locations, where I was unburdened from their interference and judgment. Like at summer camp, wherein I bonded with my fellow campers and we came to know the real people each other truly were.
That's what happens when you hang with people long enough, they become three-dimensional. The quiet open up, the boasters are revealed to be empty, and you get more than the hit and run chance provided in everyday life.
As for EDC itself...
"Hey brother
Do you still believe in one another
Hey, sister...
Do you still believe in love, I wonder"
"Hey Brother"
Avicii
Neil A&R'ed that record. And that's the ethos of EDC. That we're truly all in it together. We might be divisive on TV, talking heads may take positions on the left and the right, but the truth is we're all just human beings looking for a path, and love.
Boyle told me there are never any fights at EDC. Sure, you can attribute that to the effect of drugs, but if you come this far do you want to ruin the experience?
And the experience is...
The Kinetic Field. With a crowd up to 80,000, pulsing to the beat.
And then there's the Circuit Grounds tent, two and a half times the size of the Sahara, where the people are crowded in but it's not scary.
And then there's the stage with hip-hop flavored electronic music, and another one featuring Diplo and I'd be lying if I told you I was an expert on all the variations, but I'm learning, all you've got to do is IMMERSE YOURSELF!
You can sit at home and decry the music and the scene, but that just demonstrates that you're old and calcified, that you're not open to questioning your preconceptions, to new doors opening, your judgment makes you no different from those who want no change.
But change is inevitable.
But life is not forever.
Life is about experiences. Those are the notches in your belt. Where you've been, what you've seen. If you're looking to your driveway to measure your accomplishments you've missed the point, it's about what's in your brain.
So, so long classic rockers. Your audience is now in its sixties and seventies. You ruled, some of the music will be played forever. But what was once here is now gone. You invented something new, variations on the riff are not so exciting.
And so long to hip-hop. Elements of your music are being embraced in the new sound, the same way the blues begat classic rock. Even more interesting is those who pooh-poohed you and now do the same to EDM.
And so long to the old music business.
It does not matter if the deejay pushes a button. It does not matter if the music is made by computers. It does not matter if the music is a mashup of what came before. What does matter is it's new and different and if you don't think electronic music is testing the limits, you've got no idea where the perimeter is.
So if you've got the gumption and the will, I recommend you book a flight. Not via Trans World Airways to San Francisco, as Eric Burdon implored us, but by Southwest to Las Vegas. Go to the day clubs, to the night clubs, but save enough energy to trek out to the desert in the middle of the night to discover that the younger generation is just like you...finding themselves by pushing boundaries not giving a whit that they're parents don't understand.
So it's different. So you find it hard to understand. So you'd rather stay home and watch television.
That's your prerogative.
But for me, I'M IN!
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/1in6FRn
"I Wanna Go Back"-YouTube: http://bit.ly/1rnL8bb
"Hey Brother"-YouTube: http://bit.ly/18PMG9o
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And do it all over
Can't go back, I know"
"I Wanna Go Back"
Billy Satellite
I had such a good time in Vegas that I'm sitting here in L.A. depressed, coming down from an experience I didn't anticipate that has me yearning for more.
Ain't that how it always is, what you least expect delivers so much. And I thought I didn't even like Vegas! But it was all about the people!
The piece-de-resistance was dinner at Scarpetta Friday night. Where Boyle ordered in Italian and the conversation took a wild turn from making Madonna records to ADHD to everybody's relationship.
Neil Jacobsen gave up his car. Yup, he's totally Uber. He saves money and time. There's no valet parking wait and he can fire up his laptop in the backseat. And now he's going totally Airbnb. Yup, he bought a new place at the beach and the way he's gonna make it work is by renting it out. Hell, that's what he does when he goes to NYC, he rents an investment banker's place, the guy even provides groceries.
And that's what happens when you leave the house, when you walk out the front door, you get a different spin on the world, you see everything differently.
So back to that meal at Scarpetta...
We sat at the chef's table. With glass looking into the kitchen and another window overlooking the Strip. The polenta was as good as billed, but it was the bread that was spectacular, with layers of prosciutto, YUM! And the octopus was a 10, as were the oysters, and my Wagyu steak had the texture of flank and the taste of...it was as good as it gets. And Boyle said not to worry about the price, since we were eating on credit, whenever the Cosmo screwed up, he got more.
And I understand how the Wynn is the place, but I recommend the Cosmopolitan, because of the balconies, because of the vibe. It's the place of the yearning, upscale twenty and thirtysomethings. Everybody's on their way to becoming a winner. The vibe is palpable, it's not the self-satisfied feel the baby boomers exude, it's enticing.
I grew up with two sisters. My friends were always made in distant locations, where I was unburdened from their interference and judgment. Like at summer camp, wherein I bonded with my fellow campers and we came to know the real people each other truly were.
That's what happens when you hang with people long enough, they become three-dimensional. The quiet open up, the boasters are revealed to be empty, and you get more than the hit and run chance provided in everyday life.
As for EDC itself...
"Hey brother
Do you still believe in one another
Hey, sister...
Do you still believe in love, I wonder"
"Hey Brother"
Avicii
Neil A&R'ed that record. And that's the ethos of EDC. That we're truly all in it together. We might be divisive on TV, talking heads may take positions on the left and the right, but the truth is we're all just human beings looking for a path, and love.
Boyle told me there are never any fights at EDC. Sure, you can attribute that to the effect of drugs, but if you come this far do you want to ruin the experience?
And the experience is...
The Kinetic Field. With a crowd up to 80,000, pulsing to the beat.
And then there's the Circuit Grounds tent, two and a half times the size of the Sahara, where the people are crowded in but it's not scary.
And then there's the stage with hip-hop flavored electronic music, and another one featuring Diplo and I'd be lying if I told you I was an expert on all the variations, but I'm learning, all you've got to do is IMMERSE YOURSELF!
You can sit at home and decry the music and the scene, but that just demonstrates that you're old and calcified, that you're not open to questioning your preconceptions, to new doors opening, your judgment makes you no different from those who want no change.
But change is inevitable.
But life is not forever.
Life is about experiences. Those are the notches in your belt. Where you've been, what you've seen. If you're looking to your driveway to measure your accomplishments you've missed the point, it's about what's in your brain.
So, so long classic rockers. Your audience is now in its sixties and seventies. You ruled, some of the music will be played forever. But what was once here is now gone. You invented something new, variations on the riff are not so exciting.
And so long to hip-hop. Elements of your music are being embraced in the new sound, the same way the blues begat classic rock. Even more interesting is those who pooh-poohed you and now do the same to EDM.
And so long to the old music business.
It does not matter if the deejay pushes a button. It does not matter if the music is made by computers. It does not matter if the music is a mashup of what came before. What does matter is it's new and different and if you don't think electronic music is testing the limits, you've got no idea where the perimeter is.
So if you've got the gumption and the will, I recommend you book a flight. Not via Trans World Airways to San Francisco, as Eric Burdon implored us, but by Southwest to Las Vegas. Go to the day clubs, to the night clubs, but save enough energy to trek out to the desert in the middle of the night to discover that the younger generation is just like you...finding themselves by pushing boundaries not giving a whit that they're parents don't understand.
So it's different. So you find it hard to understand. So you'd rather stay home and watch television.
That's your prerogative.
But for me, I'M IN!
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/1in6FRn
"I Wanna Go Back"-YouTube: http://bit.ly/1rnL8bb
"Hey Brother"-YouTube: http://bit.ly/18PMG9o
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