Re-Springsteen Cancels In North Carolina

If Bill Graham were alive he'd already be mounting a show in North Carolina with a whole bunch of major music and movie stars. Where's Live Nation? (Live Nation, the legacy of BGP.)

Toby Byron

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Fuck Springsteen. A commitment is a commitment.

Chris Branson

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Grew up in the age after the true giants. I used to say that if I had a hero it would be Bruce. After 56 years I'm gonna modify that and say the Bruce IS my hero.

Chris Gottlieb

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Fuckin Aye!

No need to be more articulate nor elaborate.

smitty

Jim Smith, CTIE

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Preach! And the saddest part is how Kanye had that power and gave it up: remember when he said this (https://youtu.be/zIUzLpO1kxI) re: Katrina?

- Ben Schwartz

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Bruce IS America ... he represents every thing that's real and normal and mom and apple pie. And that's coming from a Canadian.

His decision to cancel the concert will have wide-ranging impact, because his cancellation tells not just his fans, but America itself, that this is NOT how the country should be lead, that divisiveness and hate is wrong, and will not be tolerated.

Roxanne Teller

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Enough bashing Kanye. He speaks on social issues frequently - this has always been a huge component of his art, from the very first song on his very first album and only intensifying in the years since. You would know that if you ever listened to his music - but honestly engaging with anything, I know, is contrary to your tired nostalgic ethos. Your generation fucked everything up, stupid.

Oswald Hobbes

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ThankGod for North Carolina & Springsteen is Disgusting
More Signs of Jesus Coming. He will NOT be in HEAVEN

Sidelle

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I grew up in Greensboro. I saw the 85' Born in the USA tour at the Coliseum. My folks still live there. I hope NC gets it's shit together and I assume Bruce pays attention and returns…

My money is on both events happening.

Chapeau to the Boss!

Cheers,

Kirk Peterson

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BRAVO, BRUCE!!!

THANKS!
DON GRAHAM

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Leaving a little money on the table for your integrity is a very good way to be able to live with yourself. No one admires a scared little suck up. Not everyone will love us.

Cinzia Zanetti

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With the show being this Sunday perhaps a better move would have been to play the date for free in spite of HB2 and speak out about it.

I think if given the choice his fans would have rather seen the show and Bruce could have used the money to fight HB2, serve the LGBT community and educate everyone at the show

The promoter could have still received his % and all the people who make a living from a show like this would have benefitted instead of being penalized. I'm not sure anyone who worked to get HB2 done are being hurt, but stagehands/caterers/emts/production suppliers etc certainly are.

A boycott going forward is welcome, appropriate and a better move than pulling the plug on fans and working folks at the last minute.

Steven Gietka

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He can afford it.

zacantczak
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In a time when unmitigated greed is celebrated as the norm, leaving money on the table is indeed a radical proposition. While Bruce's working class fans will miss a night with a legend ... Some of his wealthier fans will experience the shock of not getting what they want even when willing to pay top dollar. It may be an eye opener. An impressive Statement from The Boss.

Ted Schreiber

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Kudos to Bruce on North Carolina. I'd like to think I'd do the same if I still worked with a big act or that the act would agree. I remember when the Allman's would set up and play for free at the drop of a hat even after they were making big money and do benefits all the time. Jimmy Carter would have never made it to the Iowa caucus in 1976 without their seed money

William Perkins

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Amen, thanks for bringing more attention to this!

Geronimo Son

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At 69 years of age, I could only cry for all we have lost and how proud I am that some are still willing to remember what it was worth.

John Brower

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Is this about that thing where people want men to be able to go into the bathroom with my daughter.

Cole Hartman

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C'mon Bob...maybe Bruce just needed to take a break for the tour. His working class/everyman shtick simply doesn't resonate with me anymore

Dave Migdal

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All this would be true, had Bruce cancelled a week ago. That way his fans, who are well known for traveling, could have canceled their flights and hotels.

By canceling at the last minute, Bruce is hurting the very people (and no, I am not one of them) who comprise his fan base, one of the most fanatical and loyal core audiences in the world.

Bruce had 3 options here:

1. Do what he did, when he did it.

2. Do what he did, but a lot earlier (this whole controversy started on March 21st).

3. Hold the concert as planned and donate all post expense profits to one or more of the many NC based LBGT legal defense funds dedicated to overturning this idiotic law.

He chose #1 and will be universally lauded because he is who he is (has earned our respect over many years). However, #'s 2 and 3 would have been much better decisions.

Billy Mack

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I'm a fan of Bruce's and definitely agree with LGBT equal rights,
But would be better served if Bruce let the show go on!
How about having the proceeds go to the LGBT cause!?
Why disenfranchise fans who didn't necessarily vote for the NC legislature or the governor?!

Art is power, so make it count, instead of shutting it down!!

Wrong decision was made here.

Respectfully yours,
Matt Gorny

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When I saw his statement this afternoon, the first thing I thought of was you, and how for the last several years have asked "What happened to Artists that would speak up?"

We've got our answer. May others follow his lead.

Van Easton

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We need more ACTIVISM like THE BOSS, from the music artist community to address a plethora of issues out there in the WORLD rearing their ugly heads. Think about this...1967 to 2017 is 50 fucking years ago, half a CENTURY. The youth of the WESTERN WORLD need the FIRE of music and it's messengers, to IGNITE their SPIRIT, NOW! Without IT, THEY WILL BE DOOMED.

Olie Kornelson

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Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuce. Thanks for what you wrote. It resonated hugely with me. I was at the show a few weeks ago where Bruce closed down the Los Angeles Sports Arena this year. 4 hours of straight rock 'n' roll. I played with him at the Beacon Theater filling in right after Clarence's death. I can't tell you how much I respect what he stands for … what he represents … this guy works harder than any other artist I've ever met or seen perform. He's currently 66 and he's playing twice as long with twice as much passion as any 20 year old for his audience. And he uses the microphone in front of him and his stature as an artist and the lyrics that he writes to better the world. Marvin Gaye did it with What's Goin On. Linda Rondstadt and Jackson Browne and many artists in the 70's stood up for what they believed in. I believe musicians and artists really did stop the war. Now Springsteen stands strong for what's right. I hope a new generation can learn
from him… learn to use their power as creators of music and art to shape the world. It works.

Mindi Abair

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Hi Bob, this one surprised me! I haven't been supportive Bruce and his political activism for eight years now. As a long time Bruce tramp his supporting Barack Obama's socialistic view for American economics appalled me, but I have to applaud him for taking this stance for LBGT rights!

Lavon Pagan

P.S. One more thing... Who the fuck is Kanye West?!

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I'm proud that Bruce cancelled his concert in North Carolina to protest their bigoted law. Proud but not surprised.

I count myself as one of the many senior-citizen Springsteen fans. Growing up in Va. Beach, we had the boardwalk, shore, and our own "tilt-a-whirl down on the south beach drag". And yes, there were many tourist girls who "promised to unsnap their jeans" under the boardwalk.

I went to numerous Springsteen concerts, which were way better than the ones in :LA where the rich folk sit up front looking detached. I grew up driving with Springsteen 8-tracks. I personally wore out a half dozen copies each of Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town. Then I played the cassettes until they squealed. Name an album from today's artists that you have worn out - digitally if not physically. Bruce has always spoken to the downtrodden, the abandoned, the lovelorn, and lonely. In his music we have all found redemption.

And Bob I know you've dismissed Bruce on numerous occasions - mainly for not selling like Kanye West. But he's not singing to you, he's singing to us. Back in 1985 Bruce and Steve Van Zandt were the first aboard the "Ain't Gonna Play Sun City" movement too (hell Steven wrote the damn song). So lets see if artists like Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban R. Kelly, Peter Frampton, Wiz Khalifa etc. will follow suit and cancel their upcoming concerts as well, I'm not holding my breath.

After all, there are artists, and there are performers. Bruce is the epitome of both.

Tom Cartwright

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Bravo Bruce!! Many younger musicians should take a lesson from the Boss and use their music to fight the good fight!! Like the song in School of Rock says "Stick it to the man!"

Harvey Leeds

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Right fucking on Bob!

Rory Johnston

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Bruce and his crew honed their chops as a bar band. Local gigs were available in those days, bands could stay afloat by interspersing dance floor-packing cover tunes with originals. You didn't have to kiss ass..you just needed to show up on time, play loud and in tune, be entertaining, and keep rocking while you developed your own identity. The meager pay--wet 10s and 20s across the bar on Sunday nights was enough to keep you going while you grew a following. If you finally did break through to the next level, you remembered where you came from, and you were prepared to take the high road.

But all those gigs are gone now. Vanished. Replaced with DJs. No wonder that today's young bands regard sponsorships, bullshit branding, and general all around subservience to The Man as the only route to making any money at all.

Paul Lanning

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Bruce Springsteen has been #1 for me since 1978 at the age of 4, when my mother played me over and over in the car rides her tape recording of the Winterland concert simulcast on WNEW, NY.

Never have I been more proud to be a Bruce devotee than I am today.

Thank you Bob for adding your voice and insight to this moment.

Yours in solidarity and gratitude ,

Shiva Baum

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They should refuse to refund the tickets. 90% of that arena doesn't care about no queers' rights just like 90% of his NYC crowd. Let the politicians stew in their muck. Giving everyone their money back let's them of the hook

Anthony Rollo

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Fuck...
Finally..
Three chords and the truth .
Thank you Bob

Kindest regards

Paul Laine

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I'm conflicted about this. I respect Bruce for taking a stand. But his fans there feel the pain, not the legislators and governor. I'm left wondering if it might have been better for him to use the concert there as a platform to speak out against the law, invite the transgender community there to come to the show and advocate against the law, hold press conference with them. There's no real loss of income for the state with his cancellation, since he's responsible for all the costs as it was his decision to cancel. However, if artists and agents and managers refused to book any NEW shows there, that could have a financial impact. And there are several other states passing equally reprehensible laws, not just North Carolina.

Toby Mamis

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Wow. Bruce cancels ONE show and you say, "Look at all that money he's walking away from! Cheer him on!" What a total ass kisser you are. Meanwhile, he bilks the public out of millions with overpriced tickets across the land. Now, if he were to cancel ALL of his shows on principle, that would be something. But he's done nothing here but create a modicum of publicity for himself in trying to endear a tiny, microscopic fraction of the transsexual public so that he appears "down with the issues." But you say, "Art is power!"
What a pantsload. This is a man who has probably garnered hundreds of millions throughout his career and can easily afford to cancel one show.
Bob, you really are fractured, aren't you?
And private corporate gigs? You do realize that most EVERY corporation provides an entertainment fund for their employees, don't you? Because they think highly of the hard work that their people do for the company all year and WANT to bring some happiness to them for ONE NIGHT for the team. But no, you condemn the whole paradigm, because you are an envious little twit who can't stand to see people enjoy themselves. You call them all "corporate pricks." My sympathies go out to you. You are truly a miserable soul.

Don Barnes

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Well put and thank you.
http://www.people.com/people/mobile/article/0,,625880,00.html

Wix

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Amen Bob.

Joe Dougan

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Bob, I think Bruce made the wrong decision. Now he is punishing his fans by not playing. I'm pretty sure people who love Bruce would support the equality for all principle.

By using this gig as a platform to share his feelings and views around it, he could have really made a statement. Bruce knows how to captivate people with his story telling skills. He could have added in some wonderful songs, like This is Your Land, or something cheeky, like Dancing Queen or some Dylan or Joan Baez....

Instead, he becomes a footnote in this fight for equality. A truth sayer who decided not to get on stage and not speak his truth.

Protest by being silent.

I think he should have risen to the opportunity, instead of making a gesture, to which the lawmakers out there go.... "big deal...."

Jan Roskott

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What absolute nonsens. Really Bob???? This is taking a stand, BATHROOMS ? You're getting soft & delusional in your age old man. Here I thought he was standing up for injustice. You and Bruce are just pandering to a stupid base of hipsters.

You're groupie at best.

Saman Sohrabi

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Like you, I believe in the power of music to change the world and Bruce is a shining example of speaking truth to power and putting action behind his core beliefs with grace, intellect and no fear. He is an artist who does this day in and day out year after year by supporting grassroots efforts tackling hunger and poverty in communities all across the U.S. It's time for others to get active because together we can change the world.

Noreen Springstead
WhyHunger, Executive Director

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Hi Bob - I saw him on Wednesday night in Kansas City where he put on a masterwork of a show. You were right: his slow tunes were the best. Especially Drive All Night. He has never sounded better. A true rock and roll Lion in Winter in touch with his past, contemplating his present and exploding with introspection. As a Southerner (I live in Charleston SC) , it felt like watching history unfold when I read the news about the Greensboro cancellation on the flight home. I am so proud of Bruce for always taking the high ground.

Thank you for sharing your perspective on our culture and society.

Your loyal reader,
Pete Ballou

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I may be a lone voice among Liberals on this but I saw Bruce's action as unconscious, self-centered grandstanding.

What about the fans?

The ones who live there.

Who don't support the sex-hating lunatic fringe that has taken control of politics.

What about them?

The ones who vote against bigotry and discrimination in a state that is slowly being pulled out of the dark ages.

The fans who can't fly or drive to another show in another location.

Bruce is supposed to be about the fans.

Instead, he shows off how sensitive he is and how grandly he can make a statement.

The fans don't get to see a show they probably saved for, planned for, and wanted to see.

I'm swimming against the current on this one.

John Parikhal

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"Who's gonna stand up and save the earth?" I remember singing these words not too long ago with my favorite rock star and then month later finding him singing to a private rich CEO. Yes, Neil Young! Today, I am sickened every time I think of him and how he has turned over the years. A pity indeed! Especially in these times of need!
Go Bruce!!

Terri Haram
Wake Forest, NC

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Way to go, Bruce. Good to know integrity still matters to some people.

Now all we've got to do is organize a boycott of the entire state of Mississippi, which just enacted a law allowing people in the workplace to refuse service to homosexuals if it's based on their religion. I don't know about you, but I'm getting pretty sick and tired of ignorant hatemongers who say "Needer needer, can't touch me, because it's my faith." And we enemies of the Cross (i.e., reasonable people) continue to lose faith in the future of our country, seemingly overrun with belching, boasting, bullying, bloviating, bitching, boorish, bibulous, bestial, baggy-ass, bumptious, barbarous, bathetic, bizarre, bellicose, bastardly-bigoted Billy Joe/Bobby Buck baboons. But enough about Donald Trump.

Berton Averre

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thank you so much for mentioning the proletariat.......i haven´t seen/heard the term in the political discourse for a far too long time.
all best wishes,

Werner Balzert

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Bruce cancelling his concert is equivalent to black communities that destroy and loot their own people's businesses because they're upset with something other event or issue. I'd guess a great majority of the concert goers feel the same as Bruce. Dos he's not changing anything and only hurting the people that might share his feelings.

Jpmartin

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Nah, Bruce is already a rich guy. What does one show mean to him? On the other hand, what about all the nurses and truck drivers and waitresses and laborers in NC who spent their hard-earned money on a ticket and you know very well they also took the day off to stand in line and have their day with Bruce? In my opinion, obviously not one you agree with, he should have done the show and taken the opportunity to speak his mind passionately to all those fans without ruining their day. By not performing, he hurts the little people who have made him. He stays home and watches the masters. This in exchange for image points. I call BS. Bad decision.

Lavinia

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53 years ago (4/12/63) Bob Dylan refused to appear on the Ed Sullivan
show because they wouldn't let him perform the song he had chosen,
"Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues."
Bob said "If I can't play my song. I'd rather not appear on the show."
It should be noted that Bob Dylan had not yet sold many records and
was not famous at that moment.

Paul Zullo
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You're right of course, but this is easy for Bruce to do. Glad he's cancelled, but he'll still eat.

Real courage is Antony not coming to the Oscars because they didn't ask him - now her - to perform his nominated song for the cameras. Venture to say his career could use the attention. But he still said no. That is courage. That is art.

Matt Roberson

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Bob, speaking as a life-long Tarheel who's seen more than a few Springsteen shows, starting with the BTR tour (and many of them at the same Greensboro venue that was to host the show this weekend), I 100% applaud and support the Boss' decision, even though it is causing no amount of disappointment among everyone who had tickets. So I just hope people will turn that disappointment into aggravation, and then into action, to call their elected reps here in NC and give 'em an earful. HB2 is utterly shameful, but as you probably know, people often have to be cajoled into action - hit 'em where it hurts, in other words. Incidentally, I noticed that Little Steven's Underground Garage Tour with The Sonics has a May 5 date in Asheville, NC. That's a month out, so I'm betting they're taking a wait-and-see attitude for now. But the closer we get to that date, the harder it will be for Van Zandt not to cancel it, too. As for all the other artists out there - hey, Justin Bieber, looks like you
have NC on your upcoming itinerary, eh? - it will be interesting to see how many follow suit. There are a helluva lot of concert venues in this state. "Shut up and play your guitar," indeed.

Fred Mills
Asheville, NC

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Not sure about this one Bob.

Sure - if you are a fan of Bruce, or Jackson Browne, or even Barbara Streisand, you need to understand that social issues are a major part of their persona. But as many of your readers surely have, many times in my life I have spent lots of hard-earned money just to see a special concert. It's bad enough that the entire ticket game is rigged these days and you have to shell out major bucks on StubHub. But if the show you want to see isn't at your back door, there is planning, travel, and more involved.

Last winter I flew across the Atlantic to see Sparks perform with an orchestra. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and an investment - just as "The River" tour is to some Bruce fans. Many people who planned on going to that show took off work, got on a plane, booked hotels. etc... Add the financial loss to the disappointment of missing a highly anticipated show and you've got a seriously disappointed fan.

Love Bruce, hate HB2, but it seems this could have been handled differently......

Dr. Richard Madow

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Had the same conversation yesterday after sending the article to a dear friend in Asheville. When a society's artists don't have principles and values, or are unwilling to share those values in public for fear of losing sales, we're fucked. Somewhat refreshing to see Bruce take a stand. What's your art about if it's not a commentary about the human condition? Bottle service? Fuck that.

Joe Weinstein

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Fantastic article. It's nice to see that some artist still have a backbone. Artists who stand for something that is noteworthy are doing what the little guys can't. I like Jack Johnson's approach to touring. Making sure that each venue is doing their best to be energy efficient. I am glad to see someone take a stand. As always thanks for all the great weekly reads.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jack-johnson-greening-concerts_us_56e1fed1e4b0860f99d878fe

Best Regards
John Sammel

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Bravo

Herb Lamberton

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Well said, Bob.

Bruce has taken a stand on an issue with infinitely more impact and importance of course, but fresh on the heels of that story there's this: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/09/arts/music/after-his-induction-steve-miller-rips-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame.html?_r=0.

Again, not comparing relevance of issues but it adds to your point. Although Steve Miller is someone whose songs and many I know grew tired of hearing on the radio decades ago (high school class of '86), he just out "rock-starred" everyone half his age and below.

What kind of world is it where the only artists who take a stand and have this kind of mainstream reach are in their 60s and 70s? Imagine if in the era of The Doors and Hendrix, Tony Bennett and Louis Armstrong were the only ones willing to take a stand. Unthinkable!

Alex Skolnick, Brooklyn

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Bernie Sanders it not a rockstar you pig

V

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Thanks Bob.

Artists are leaders by nature. When you create something, when you innovate…you're taking the lead. Springsteen reminds us that it's essential to embrace the opportunity you have to speak up for what you believe in. You strengthen your connection to those in the audience who already share that part of your story, and have the chance to be an important catalyst in changing the story of others.

Matthew Carey

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Dixie Chicks. I need to rant about them for a minute. Witnessing that entire ordeal as a youth deeply impacted me and still silently guides how I support my artists and what I stand for in the industry years later.

I was a closeted pre-teen year old living in a small Oregon city at the time Americans took up their pitch forks. Should be noted that when the girls were running, the music industry was more than quick to lock the front door, closed the blinds and pretended no one was home.

DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT THEY WERE 24 HOURS BEFORE NATALIE SAID THOSE DAMN WORDS? "Home" was easily going to win Album of the Year, "Travelin' Soldier" (one of the most beautiful songs ever written - and about a soldier who died fighting for his country, imagine that) was about to hit #1....

I don't really know what I want to say here other than why the fuck are the people reading your blog so quick to agree with you now (retroactively), yet they were the same guys and girls that took part in the black out that ensued for years to come.

Hint: $$$

Bernie, The Pope, etc. are onto something with their speeches on not only the US's but the world's economics... the root of their message is ultimately all about "GREED". A word that not only describes but defines our industry.

I still cringe at the "payback Grammy's" (what was it, 6 or 7?) they were awarded for an album 1/10th of the genius of Home. That album being the extremely so-so Taking The Long Way. Ugh, OK, I'm done....

You've given me motivation for at least another month now! Keep it up, Bob.

P.S. Hoping to travel + see Dixie Chicks in Europe this year! If not, Hollywood Bowl in October. See you there?

P.P.S IF YOU OR YOUR READERS HAVEN'T SEEN "SHUT UP AND SING" (their doc film), I HIGHLY SUGGEST IT!

http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/14/dixie.chicks.reut/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbGBp0oA0ek&nohtml5=False

Kyle Kuhns


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Springsteen Cancels In North Carolina

Art is power.

In this crazy screwed up world that we live in, where the rich get the breaks and the poor are kept at bay, money has become everything.

But when you got nothing, you got nothing to lose.

That's how it was for the acts of yore, accumulation was a byproduct, not the main goal. Therefore acts could speak their mind, could take risks.

But that no longer happens.

Musicians are court jesters. Come on, what self-respecting player would perform for the corporate pricks who hire them for privates? Once upon a time these pillagers were seen as the enemy, as they should be. But today musicians envy CEOs. They want to fly private, they want the perks, and they will do nothing that gets in the way of that.

Furthermore, they'll make choices that squander their credibility. Not only the aforementioned privates, which frequently are unknown to the hoi polloi, but sponsorships and endorsements. An artist is an embodiment of his identity. When done right, the artist channels his emotions and feelings and insights directly to the listener. That's why we revere artists, because they speak to us.

But how can you respect someone who'll do what's expedient, who has no backbone, who is constantly in search of money?

Not that there's anything wrong with getting rich, but if you're not willing to leave some cash on the table...

That's what Bruce Springsteen has done here. Not only has he canceled the gig and gotten all that publicity, ultimately it's costing him money, not only lost revenues, but refunds and more.

That's an artist. Someone who puts truth, justice and the American Way before cash.

Whew!

Things have gone topsy-turvy. Prior to this it was only corporate titans who balked at the North Carolina bill. Then you got PayPal saying it refuses to put its operations there. All laudable efforts, but where were the artists?

Home, afraid.

If you take a stand, some people won't like it.

But you can change hearts and minds, you can make a difference.

Right now Bernie Sanders is the biggest rock star out there, speaking his truth. But I give Bruce credit for putting his hat in the ring. He's still smarting from the blowback from his previous political efforts, but a true artist can withstand the social media criticism, can lose a few fans, all in an effort to stand up for what's right.

Bruce Springsteen grew up when musicians were giants, when they were the most powerful people in the world, they owned the youth, they helped stop an unjust war.

Decades later the Dixie Chicks were excoriated for stating the truth about our President, the same truth that Donald Trump has employed to gain so much traction.

You remember truth, don't you?

Bruce can't deny his roots, his upbringing, where he came from.

But today's fans have never experienced what he did. The Youngbloods implored us to get together, but Kanye West is all about himself, how he's been wrong, stifled... He doesn't seem to care about you.

So is it any wonder that today's acts don't take a stand? They've got no one to look up to!

"American Idol" was based on the paradigm of Mariah Carey, she was the patron saint of that show. That's how far we've come, a nitwit with a good voice melismas and the proletariat falls in line.

Who's going to be next? Who else is gonna follow Bruce? Jeopardize their career and lose money all for what's right?

Used to happen all the time.

It has to happen again.

"A Statement From Bruce Springsteen On North Carolina": http://goo.gl/KZgvEH


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Re-Thunderclap Newman

I know what you're talking about. The day that song doesn't stir my blood and whisk me back to the Time is the day you can turn off the ventilator. The signature chords on the euphoric upsweep of the key change, Jimmy McCulloch's gentle ascending lines..."Something In The Air" is a rush, from a time when a rush was something beautiful.

Berton Averre

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So sad....Something In The Air is one of the greatest songs ever.

Leigh Goldstein

__________________________________

Thanks for this one.
Something in the Air was and is one of my top favorites. It was high on my playlist when I was a d.j. and music director at my college radio station, WRUV-FM, Burlington, VT.
I'm thrilled whenever I hear it. The song is timeless, both musically and lyrically. And I didn't even know that Tom Petty covered it.
thanks again,

Robin Sloane Seibert

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Beautifully put. Thank you Bob.

Mike Greggs

__________________________________

Oddly Thunderclap Newman had been on my mind the last few months, before Andy's passing. I still have my original 1970 vinyl, on Polydor, here in Canada. And I had an early CD issue that, like most of them, sounded like crap. So I went looking for it in iTunes and on the streaming services and like you noticed it wasn?t there, which I found curious. My label is in the Universal system and my buddy Warren Stewart is the catalog guy. I pointed out the digital hole and he's running it down but the 1991 Bill Levenson CD reissue is still in print in Canada so I just recently grabbed a copy. That reissue comes with single edits of three songs. Nostalgic waxing geezer alert: that period - maybe call it '70 -'74 was particularly loaded with great records, largely insignificant commercially, but titanic artistically - Dave Mason's Alone Together, Leon Russell's Carney, Nick Drake, Dan Hicks, Richard and Linda Thompson and
many many more of course, and Hollywood Dream resonates down the decades with the best of them. But you know and champion all that, for which we thank you.

Kim Cooke

__________________________________

I know what you're talking about. I bought the album when it came out based on Pete Townsend's involvement and the fact Jimmy McCulloch was playing guitar. Hadn't even heard Something's In The Air yet but there was a buzz in the underground music press ahead of it so I grabbed it. The whole record didn't grab me but the single sure did. I was over the moon when Petty faithfully covered it and a whole whack of people heard the song for the first time. Sad to hear of Andy's passing (didn't know until I read your post) but great to be reminded of that killer tune.

Mike Campbell

__________________________________

Great article. Thanks. Agreed TP did honor the song well but I still remember the feeling of awe relating to the feel and words of the song. It really was original in both ways and stood out from the other songs on the radio. Sorry it's just a passing memory compared to now. Peace.

Jeff Booth

__________________________________

Sorry to hear about Andy. I loved his music.

Kevin Sutter

__________________________________

A big like on this. Well said.

Greg Stephens

__________________________________

Nice,Bob.I got that album from a record club.

Ted Keane

__________________________________

You kill me with my past. Promo man at atlantic song on atlantic / track records from England. Still have gold record Keep teaching these new music kids.

Jerry Greenberg

__________________________________

Yes! "Letting Go" -- a GREAT track!

Rob Meurer

__________________________________

I was wondering when you'd get to Andy Newman's passing. I love Thunderclap Newman! They had a lot of spins on the local progressive fm station, LAV-FM. For those who don't know them here is a link: https://youtu.be/k8zmkzshUvE

Hope all is well.

Mike Busch

__________________________________

Excellent tribute to a wonderful song, and the people and spirit behind it. Excellent!

Bill Hunt

__________________________________

McCartney has so many obscure gems. I absolutely love Beware My Love, and She's My Baby- a masterpiece of pop minimalism.
Not to mention Little Lamb Dragonfly, or Big Barn Bed. it's as if they don't even exist....

Always loved Something in the Air, though knew nothing of the artist.
It just has that organic, realness that we miss so much today.

Thanks Bob.

Timothy Sullivan

__________________________________

bravo,

Andrew Loog Oldham

__________________________________

That's the most iconic song of our generation

Wasn't the song in the Magic Christian too?
Oy

Regards
Amy Krakow

__________________________________

A masterpiece of a record
Jeff Laufer

__________________________________

Wilco has been doing Something in the air live for years. It's the kind of song that you just feel like you heard it a million times the first time you hear it. Great tune.

Hal Cohen

__________________________________

BRAVO!!

Kinnon Thomas

__________________________________

I do know, Bob.
A friend and I pooled our money to buy a used promo copy we found at a head shop in Bangor, Maine. The only thing we knew was that Pete was involved. At first we were bummed because it "didn't sound like the Who", but after playing it and playing it ... wonderful songs.

Kevin Ritchie

__________________________________

Wow, how that song Something In the Air kept me going that summer of 1970. Great tune . I almost named my dog that I got that summer, Thunderclap.

Best, Steve Fenster

__________________________________

"Something in The Air" is a seminal 70's track. Steely Dan does a nice cover on tour. "Hand out the arms and ammo we're gonna blast our way through here" is a good descriptor of our foreign policy in the Middle East today. Andy "Thunderclap" Newman is still timeless. RIP.

Stuart K. Marvin

__________________________________

Thanks Bob for the words about perhaps the greatest musician name ever...Thunderclap Newman.

I've been playing gigs for folks with brain injuries the last few months and it's been so rewarding. Out of the blue today I played my version of "Something in the air" and mentioned the artists unique name.

Thanks for the story and recognition of a great song.

RIP Andy and Merle.

Ranj Singh

__________________________________

Nice shot of love to " thunderclap". Sad he isn't around to read something like this. He'd feel great and he earned at least that much for " something in the air" alone.

Bill Tibbs

__________________________________

Amen

John Zambetti

__________________________________

Something in the air.
Man, what memories that brings back.

Somehow, I got the soundtrack to the strawberry statement movie for cheap, and I listened to it a lot. Both Circle Game and Something in the Air were thinking pieces, the crosby stills and nash stuff was a known quantity, which is probably why I bought the album. And Give Peace a chance was a great closer.

when I finally saw the movie, it was just ok. But those songs will stay with me forever.

Makes me want to make my band learn Something in the Air. But that piano part would be hard...

---Dale Janus

__________________________________

Thanks Bob.

I'm a listener, not a mover or shaker. "Something in the Air" was a huge AM radio song for me growing up.

Everything about it rang true then.
Still does to this day.

Your reminder is poignant.

Best wishes.

Paul Lancia
Turku, Finland
Fort Myers, Florida

__________________________________

Love "something in the air "

Josie1000

__________________________________

Good one Bob,

Maureen Droney

__________________________________

Something In The Air was prominent in THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN - Peter Sellers/Ringo Starr:

Toward the end of the film, Guy fills up a huge vat with urine, blood and animal excrement and adds to it thousands of bank notes. Attracting a crowd of onlookers by announcing "Free money!", Grand successfully entices the city's workers to recover the cash. The sequence concludes with many members of the crowd submerging themselves, in order to retrieve money that had sunk beneath the surface, as the song "Something in the Air" by Thunderclap Newman, is heard by the movie's audience.

Clint Young

__________________________________

I know them and I'll never forget something in the air. stay tuned this summer - the air will be thick

jht99

__________________________________

Great one!!!

Brad Durham

__________________________________

Loved that song. As a kid in Connecticut, I actually heard it on a.m. radio. WAVZ, WNHC out of New Haven. Loved the Tom Petty version used in Almost Famous too.

Cinzia Zanetti

__________________________________

"Life's just a game, you fly a paper plane, there is no end..."

Good post Bob. I always loved that record. Who's next?

Jeff Holland

__________________________________

You didn't forget and you showed respect to Andy to every one of your influential and non indluential music loving readers . In death for a few minutes we remember Andy as a great piano player who made some music that still inspires .

Ted

__________________________________

Well, I am a Newbie to your site ... Probably less than a month.

Sometimes I read to the end, sometimes not.

I just want to say, just the mention of anything "Paul McCartney and Wings" gets my passion burning. I remember the most in my life: 1. Being age 8 and hearing "Band on the Run" on an American radio station in Germany.

But, the documentary "Wingspan" that I saw in college was the way I always thought life was going to go ... Seriously! ?????

Clare Alexander

__________________________________

I know wherof you speak.

Barry Lyons / Rent A Label

__________________________________

Thank you so much for recognizing the passing of Andy Newman. Hollywood Dream has been one of my favorite albums since it was released in October 1970.

Speedy Keen first turned up on my radar when his composition Armenia City In the Sky was performed by The Who as the opening track on The Who Sell Out in 1967. Something in the Air was produced by Pete Townshend and he also played bass on the track under the pseudonym of Bijou Drains. The song was a huge hit in the UK in the summer of 1969 and late that year was featured in the Magic Christian film which starred Ringo Starr and Peter Sellers. The film's soundtrack also included the Paul McCartney composed "Come And Get It" performed by Badfinger.

The Hollywood Dream album was also produced by Pete Townshend with Bijou Drains on the bass. The album also included a fine version of the Basement Tapes song "Open the Door, Homer."

Like you I listened to this album constantly from its release in October 1970 and it is still great.

Best
Jim McElwee
Menlo Park

__________________________________

great song. thanks Bob.

Owen

__________________________________

One of my favorite songs of all time. Thank you for your tribute.

Jeremy Hammond

__________________________________

"And I looked around, and he was gone, are we to lose?"

Thanks so much for gracefully noting the passing of Andy Newman. "Something in the Air" was brilliant, and it was just the tip of the iceberg, wasn't it?

I went to see Thunderclap Newman at Sussex University in March of 1971 on the strength of that tune, and on the strength of "Accidents", their UK follow-up that got airplay, but was too long, brilliant, weird and wonderful to chart respectably. But live, they were a revelation.

And such an odd grouping:
Vocalist Drummer John "Speedy" Keene, who, with his prominent beak, looked like the third runner-up in a Pete Townshend Lookalike contest,

Jimmy McCullough, the hot guitar player with the tiny teen-idol good looks,

and at the helm - this far-from-cool looking bearded bespectacled man, fingers flying over the keyboard, and dazzling with his virtuosity as he dove into a trunk full of instruments - glockenspiel, woodwinds, sax, flute, tin whistle, and frequently, a kazoo fixed into a megaphone, clamped to the piano top so he could tickle the ivories at the same time. Musical, inventive, unforgettable.

LPs were not cheap in those days, but I ran for my copy of Hollywood Dream. Over the years I still have never tired of "The Reason" "Something In The Air" and "Accidents". RIP Andy Newman. And thanks again Bob for remembering him.

Life's Just a Game You Fly a Paper Plane There is No End...

Michael McNamara
Toronto

__________________________________

Great song. Very important to remember . Thx!

All the best,

Dave Polemeni

__________________________________

The obituary from The Guardian which a a bit more about his life before and after http://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/apr/03/andy-thunderclap-newman-obituary

James Grady

__________________________________

Wow. Thanks for that Bob.
I don't recall this band's name at all, but I absolutely remember hearing this song. Surprised you didn't post the YouTube link:

http://youtu.be/k8zmkzshUvE

Roy Liu

__________________________________

Thanks for bringing us the news of Thunderclap Newman's passing. I saw this news nowhere.

And Medicine Jar (as well as the rest of Venus & Mars) is still in rotation at our house).

Bob Ardrey

__________________________________

Yes, thanks. Of course I remember the original version, which was great, along with so much other music at the time. And then thanks, Tom Petty, for bringing it back.

marktownsmail

__________________________________

Nicely put, sir. 2016 seems like the beginning of the long goodbye to the 20th century, with each of us diminished by one loss after the other. When I worked in music retail, we snickered at the folks who rushed to buy records by the recently-passed, but I've been listening to Merle, George Martin's breathtaking work with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Eagles (no 'the' out of respect to Frey), Bowie...

David Boyle

__________________________________

You might be interested to know that The Polyphonic Spree has been covering "Something In The Air" for a while. I saw this particular show and although the clip doesn't show it, they played the song four times in a row. Four times in a row. And the crowd sang along.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1izbmesJ_y8&feature=youtu.be

Patti Haskins

__________________________________

Thanks, Bob, for the obit on Andy "Thunderclap" Newman. That's one I didn't see in the NY Times' obits. I think Townshend produced and played bass on "Something In The Air" under the pseudonym Bijou Drains. (How'd he come up with THAT?) I'm heading to Waterloo Records on my lunch break today to search for "Hollywood Dream."

Jeff Hillery
Austin, Texas

__________________________________

Beautiful! Our college eras were the same and I relate to your remembrances of those times. And you are dead on about the differences between then and now politically. I enjoy your observations every day but today really hit home.

Patti Martin

__________________________________

Thank you for this Bob.

You and I must be very close in age. The early 70's were the crucible in which my little psyche was formed. And Thunderclap Newman was one of the flames hardening the steel. I remember seeing The Strawberry Statement in a theater on Miami Beach, and coming out high on adrenaline and certain we were going to change the world, which we did,,, sort of.

I've continued to listed to "Something in The Air" over the decades since. It made onto dozens of mix tapes and playlists, and I used it to try and infect my kids with a spirit of activism. But I never knew the backstory of Andy and his band until today. Thank you for this gift that I'm sure I will be thinking about in the weeks to come as I unearth some of the albums you mentioned and re familiarize myself with the hidden gems therein.

Marc Von Arx

__________________________________

Thanks for the refresher on Thunderclap Newman. I didn't know that Andy had died until I read your email. But I was driving to a photography class on Tuesday evening and turned on WXPN which was in the middle of playing "Something in the Air". I thought: Wow, these lyrics are as relevant today as they were when I first heard them in 1969. Of course you said the same but you provided a much deeper analysis, as always.

Thank you for sharing your insight and intelligence with the hoi polloi. Now that I am retired and actually have time to keep up with email yours are usually the highlight of my day. Most recently I worked in IT but from '74 - '95 I was a DJ on Philadelphia radio, and often share your emails with my old radio buddies.

Best Wishes,

Gerry Hebert

__________________________________

And you know it's real.........
Thanks Bob!

Jeff Greenberg

__________________________________

Thanks for remembering Andy Newman - it is so true that you can make an amazing hit song and never be heard from again.

I lived in Hollywood/LA worked as a roadie for about 5yr back in the mid-70's to early 80's - 2yrs with Gary Wright around 'Dreamweaver', and '77 US/'82 European tours with Frank Zappa. Gave up my dreams and put my Caltech diploma to use, now doing software...

Regards,
Alan Barclay

__________________________________

"Something In The Air" was the first single I ever bought.

Nice post, Bob. Bravo.

Hugo Burnham



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More Kesha

I have no idea whether Kesha was raped by Dr. Luke.

But I do know the singer has a bad lawyer. This is the same guy who represented Winona Ryder, who was accused of shoplifting. Rather than copping a plea and having it go away, he turned it into a cause celebre that resulted in a media circus and ultimately Ms. Ryder's career was devastated. Is Mark Geragos doing the same thing for Kesha here?

A good lawyer looks at the desired result, what he wants to achieve for his client.

What did Geragos want to achieve for Kesha?

It doesn't appear to be a conviction of Dr. Luke on charges of rape. Because there is no criminal case. Rather this is a purely civil matter, it appears Kesha just wants to get out of her contract.

But this is nearly an impossible thing to do. At best you can make a deal, have another label pick up the rights and pay back the original owner. But Geragos is playing the long ball, with Kesha's career at risk. He wants the contract invalidated on a rape that was once denied by his client and will be hard to prove.

This has got nothing to do with whether the rape happened or not. This is about goals, and how to achieve them.

One can argue the result proffered by Sony and Dr. Luke is a pretty good one, the ability to record without Dr. Luke's involvement. As for Kesha's allegation that benefits will go to her "rapist"... A good attorney tells his client not to try for everything, but to get as much as she can.

I won't walk you through the mumbo-jumbo of what the judge said yesterday. There are issues of jurisdiction, but there are also instances wherein the judge says Kesha's case was not supported by enough evidence, which also indicates shoddy lawyering.

But, once again, good lawyers focus on result.

Marcia Clark, et al, were so busy entering all evidence, boringly, that the O.J. Simpson jury tuned out. Whereas Johnnie Cochran knew a trial was a drama, a play, that had to entice and convince the jury. Who wants to watch a bad show?

But that's a criminal case. But I bring it up to show just because you believe someone is guilty, and they just might be, a bad lawyer will have a hard time convicting them.

I can't think of a single instance wherein an artist under contract has been able to walk away with impunity, not one. This is a novel theory, that Kesha should be able to do this because of rape. It could possibly be won, but what are the odds, and at what cost?

The odds are low.

And the cost to Kesha is her career.

Didn't Kesha's team allege that musical careers are evanescent?

Did George Michael's career ever recover from suing Sony?

This is business. I sympathize with those who say rape is hard to prove. But, once again, Kesha is trying to get out of her contract, that's her main goal. Is her attorney helping her achieve this?

Right now, no.

And the clock keeps ticking and ticking.

TiK ToK.

"New York State Judge Rejects Kesha's Claims in Dr. Luke Case": http://goo.gl/b47DvE


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Andy "Thunderclap" Newman

A footnote in the history of rock and roll, under his moniker a classic rock track was created that will never die.

But he did. Last week. Years after his bandmates Speedy Keen and Jimmy McCulloch.

McCulloch joined the band when he was fifteen. And it was he who went on to further notoriety, most famously with Paul McCartney's Wings, wherein he composed the music for "Medicine Jar," from the band's 1975 smash "Venus and Mars," which gets no love today, it's completely forgotten, but how could one follow up "Band on the Run"? Yet, "Venus and Mars" contains one of my favorite McCartney tracks, "Letting Go," the whole album was the soundtrack of my summer of 1975, along with "Blood on the Tracks" and "One of These Nights." McCulloch also composed the music for "Wino Junko" from Wings' 1976 album "At the Speed of Sound." More famous than "Venus and Mars" because of the lightweight hits "Silly Love Songs" and "Let 'Em In," the album was not as good, it featured too much of Linda, "Cook Of The House" may have been a joke, but it was execrable, however there were some standout tracks on the LP, like "Beware My Love" and "Warm and Beautiful," and let's throw in "She's My Baby" for
good measure. And let's not forget McCulloch's debut with Paul, et al, was on "Junior's Farm," a ripper. But Jimmy couldn't keep his hand out of the medicine jar and died at 26, what a waste.

John "Speedy" Keen held out much longer, he didn't pass away until 2002, but despite being the genius behind Thunderclap Newman, writing almost all the material, after this success he slipped into obscurity, I bought his 1975 solo LP, anyone who knew his work had to have it, but it was disappointing.

And the man the band was named after?

Andy Newman was an enigma, a piano player who seemed to vanish into thin air once the band broke up. Who was responsible for the band's success? Was it Pete Townshend who produced and played bass? McCulloch was a stellar guitarist. But, as stated above, Keen wrote the songs.

But the album had Newman's piano all over it. Especially the almost ten minute masterpiece "Accidents."

Okay, now you think I'm overstating. Could be the case. But I listened to "Hollywood Dream," the band's one and only LP, ad infinitum back in 1970 and '71, I purchased it at Sam Goody's during fall break from college. I met my new best friend Larry at the museum toting all the LPs I'd retrieved, needing them for sustenance, to get me through the first semester of my freshman year.

It did not begin auspiciously.

I'm game. I'll make the most of a situation. I leave the starting line. I learned all this from my mother.

But it doesn't always work.

You can give it your best try, the old college try, and still...you may find out you're in an untenable position.

Kind of like freshman orientation. They bused us all up to Bread Loaf, Middlebury's summer campus, wherein a band played and we ate unmemorable food and I was as lonely as a boy could be.

Except when the band from Boston played Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the Air." The sound man let me listen on headphones. I couldn't believe they were playing a song I'd only heard a couple of times on FM radio that seemingly no one knew but me. You could buy it as part of the "Strawberry Statement" soundtrack LP, a double, but even though I read the book I wasn't about to lay down my cash for an album of songs I already owned just for this one cut. And who would even know where to buy a single, a format I'd given up on once the Beatles hit.

So, inspired by the song, that's the power of music, on the way back to campus I sat next to a woman and did my best job of chatting her up. I couldn't get a word in edgewise. I just looked her up, she's an MD in the middle of the country. Don't you love the internet?

Sometimes.

But for a long time the band's LP "Hollywood Dream" was unavailable.

And it's still not on streaming services.

But Tom Petty brought "Something In The Air" back from the dead on his "Greatest Hits" LP, it's a faithful version, I give TP credit.

And the way the song goes...

"Call out the instigators
Because there's something in the air"

Funny how 1969 and 2016 are so similar. Even if Hillary wins we know there's widespread unrest, the populace is no longer happy with the rich and powerful dictating to us.

"We've got to get together sooner or later
Because the revolution's here"

That's the difference between yesterday and today. Yesterday the youth were all on the same team, there was no such thing as a twentysomething Republican, we loved our brothers, we wanted change, now we've got chaos.

"Hand out the arms and ammo
We're gonna blast our way through here"

Not if college students insist on trigger warnings, back then we were afraid of getting our ass shot off in Vietnam, so we were much more willing to put our lives on the line, death'll do that for you.

Another difference between then and now is music rode shotgun, it greased the skids of change.

"And you know it's right"

That's right, you know you've got a gay brother, that your grandparents were immigrants, that really you're no better than anybody else. So why do we keep trying to keep each other down?

At least we used to have the Hollywood Dream. And the American Dream. The dream that things could get better and would. Our music inspired us.

And now our heroes are dropping like flies. Some that you recognize, some that you've hardly even heard of, as Ray Davies would say.

Merle Haggard passed today.

And David Bowie and Glenn Frey and Paul Kantner and Dan Hicks and more bit the bullet already this year.

Joe Cocker passed a year ago.

But we know all them.

Most people don't know Andy Newman.

Let that be a lesson to you, you can have a worldwide hit and still live in obscurity, never mind poverty. At least Andy Newman went back to being an electrician, as opposed to continuing to court the dream.

So, reach for the brass ring. And if your work resonates you can be an agent for change.

That's the job of an artist, to link us all together, to show us the way, to illustrate that life is not dreary, to give us hope.

Andy Newman's act did all that for me.

I salute him and his bandmates, who may be gone but are not forgotten by me.

Maybe you know what I'm talking about...


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Do You Have To Lie To Get Ahead?

Or to put it another way, are you better off telling people what they want to hear?

Trump tells his acolytes there's gonna be a border wall that Mexico will pay for.

Bernie tells his believers that college is gonna be free.

Neither will happen.

But neither will get elected. The true winners don't hit the long ball, don't promise the fantastical, they titillate your inner soul with the possible.

And then you fall for it, and then you get screwed.

The truth in this life is that there are leaders and followers, and I'm not sure one can become the other. I'm also not sure if you're born that way. But I do know the winners are charismatic people who charm you into believing they'll deliver what you want. So you follow them and support them and even give them the benefit of the doubt until...you've been screwed over too many times and cry foul, but the truth is the leader then has a whole new group of followers who believe.

Because they want to. Otherwise life would be too tragic, if you had no hope, if you didn't think things could get better. That's what Maria Konnikova posits in her book "The Confidence Game: Why We Fall For It Every Time."

Not that everybody leading a corporation is a con man.

Then again, corporations are not the only organizations where this applies. Ever hear the coach or manager of a sports team say they suck, that they cannot win? Not if he wants to keep his job. But eventually, when results falter, that person is bounced and a new one comes in with the same mantra.

Which happens at the company too. But in many companies the CEO controls the board, it's all groupthink all the time. Only in America can a CEO underperform yet still get his bonus.

But that's what the underclass is reacting to, and everybody from the middle on down is now part of the underclass, they believe the game is rigged.

And it is. Dishonesty reigns. Lying, cheating, fudging... That's what the winners do.

They also take the reins, like a basketball player with a hot hand they want the ball, they don't shy away from risk, they want to be in control, they want to take the shot.

Is there room for honesty?

That's what Trump and Sanders are depending on. Before he blew himself up honesty was Trump's calling card, saying the unsayable. And Sanders may not have gone for shock effect, but unlike the Donald Bernie was consistent, he'd been saying the same things decade after decade.

But Bernie can't win because the game is rigged. First the debates were on Saturdays, when no one was watching, so he couldn't get traction. Then, he hit the superdelegate wall.

Meanwhile, the press didn't cover him because common wisdom was that he had no chance. Bernie had not cultivated the media powers-that-be, it hurt him.

But the Donald knew how to use the media to his advantage, that's what powered his campaign.

And one could be frustrated, or one could lead too.

But the common man does not want to, does not want the scrutiny and the pressure, does not want the risk.

There are those who can accept the spotlight and those who cannot.

And the winners of the game bask in it.

It's no different from Kanye West telling us he's a winner ad infinitum. We start to believe it. With the endless coverage of his antics West appears the most powerful musician on the planet, one who can lie with impunity. Didn't he say "Pablo" would never be available on Apple?

Oops.

But we give him a pass, because we love the theatre, and most people don't care anyway.

So if you want to win, you can't do it without friends. And the way you make friends is to be entertaining and the way you get them to do what you want is by promising them promotions and money, finding their soft spot and playing to it. Meanwhile, you're constantly foraging for new believers to replace the old ones who fall off. And if you're all truth all the time, you're doomed. But give people hope of a better life and you can win.

Don't blame me, I'm just the messenger.


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More Love Yourself

bob,

what people don't seem to realize is that these folks that make it before they're thirty and even more so before twenty years old, have to deal with all the crap that we dealt with trying to become adults while they also deal with the psychophants, the fame, the wealth, and the potentially complete lack of veracity on the part of anyone around you.

I firmly believe if i had made it in my twenties, i would probably be dead long ago.

the fact that many of these folks survive and go on to make the best art they know how is heroic.

think about how well we'd have fared if we had had a klieg light on us during our teenage years.

i said the same thing about britney when she was going crazy. she had to make all of her mistakes in front of millions of people. we got to do it in the shadows.
god bless anyone who makes it and more blessings to them if they survive.

james lee stanley

__________________________________

Very interesting and I have to admit the guy can make a pretty damn good contemp pop song.

The Adam Watts email at the end is kind of telling. He reminds me of my 95 year old grandmother confessing that the world was just going too fast now, it was exhausting trying to keep up. She'd gone from horses, to cars, to jets to a man on the moon and computers and she was just plain tired. As baby boomers we thought we'd seen everything and there was no way the future could leave us behind, but it rapidly is.

The limitless vitality of youth is what's required and it takes a lot of energy because change comes at warp speed now and you have to be built for it. We aren't. We are basically autistic. Our brains can't filter so much input and so we cling to that which is safe, the past. We understood it and it was all we needed.

John Brodey

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Get a grip.

- Bruce Gow

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Yes!! Thanks Bob for putting my comment in the letter. Really, I love it!!

But really that song sucked ass Bob, and I'm surprised you found love in it.. Different strokes for different folks..

Keep em coming!

Evan Bautista

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Garbage, clueless post below. It is a great song….and the lyrics are spelled correctly. (Well - Ed Sheeran. Brilliant. English. Innit?!)

Hugo Burnham

"Beiber.. Best shit really.. This is a fucking joke Bob. Your working for the man..

All these songs are garbage..

Evan Bautista"

__________________________________

I see some disagreement, and what I want to kindly stress to you is that this song contains ZERO songwriting craft. It's just a few guitar chords in a loop with talking on top if it. No melody, and it doesn't even try to rhyme. No hooks. Nothing but words, and words that aren't even lyrics.

I understand, Bob, that you are a passionate lover of music, and that you glom on to songs that say things you relate to. We all do. But a lot of us need to hear that the artist cares enough about his art to actually practice it, to put some work into it. And believe me, this song was words scribbled on paper and then spit out over an utterly unengaging loop. No one sat down and WROTE this song, see? It was simply spewed forth as self-expression. Maybe he hit on some meaningful thoughts, but he didn't write a song. I mean, really, fucking "Wooly Bully" has more melody than "Love Yourself". NO CRAFT.

Some of these folks need to stop pretending they're songwriters and just write blogs. Merely having something to say does not make you a songwriter! In fact, 90% of Lennon-McCartney songs had nothing to say! But they were wonderfully crafted, by guys who LOVED the art of songwriting, by guys who strived to be better and better at it, by guys who weren't satisfied to just vomit their feelings over a couple chords. No one gave a shit about George and Ira Gershwin's fucking FEELINGS.

OK, I'm rambling on here, but I wanted to explain to you why a lot of us listened to that track and came away totally nonplussed.

Best,
Rob Meurer

__________________________________

First I agree, Love Yourself is just an amazing song…. period. Thanks for the mention of Suga Suga with this story too. Funny truth of the Bash record was that I managed him, the featured singer, Frankie J and the producer, Happy Perez at this time. Frankie and Bash did two records and they wanted the other one to be the single. I thought Suga Suga was so special, I tried to get Frankie's label (Columbia at the time) to write Bash a check so it could be Frankie's single. They didn't get it. I then told Bash I would go get him a deal but needed him to go on the road with Frankie to help promote the single. I believe it was at least 7 labels that turned us down before we took a singles deal with Avery Lipman. The song went on to be a global hit. More proof as you mentioned with the Bieber song that it truly is and always will be ALL ABOUT THE SONG.

Great songs live forever.

Charles Chavez


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Re-Love Yourself

Excellent Bob thank you

Gabriel Wiernik

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Agreed, Bob! I'm an indie/ rock artist and typically don't care all that much for top pop songs but this one got me.

Definitely something very special to it! Thanks for this!

Alex

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You've got to be kidding. I take it you meant to send this email out on April 1st.

John Gaulke

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Truth!

Jeanne Buckley Peloso

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Many music loving fans rejected JB for many years, as did I, but this album has successfully pulled "the rest of us" into his world (that his teen demographic was already squarely in) and likely hundreds of thousands of new listeners will be looking forward to hearing from him again.

Brandon Sharp

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The men don't know but the little girls do ... Or the majority of girls do.

We're just kickin back while the men try to figure out what we already know.

Brittany McDonald

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Great piece Bob. You nailed it. This is a great song, and it makes you reconsider him entirely.
And the fact that this kid's career was rebuilt over the past year even adds to the story.

Steve Jones

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First time I heard it I thought it was Ed till the Ch kicked in

Kim Bullard

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You know what we love about you?

1. You educate us (my sister and I sit around and devour every sentence the minute it hits our inbox; learning, discussing, taking what resonates with us, and forwarding many of your blogs to our musician friends), it's free and that rocks! We are taking our time, trying to do it right, learning from other's mistakes, and you are helping us do that.

2. That you get our generation; our music, our style, our need to to jump from one genre to another at lightening speed, without completely ridiculing it. It's super cool when a baby boomer is smart enough to be open-minded about the new music and doesn't get stuck into thinking only their generation had the best music. Good music is good music. Sort of grown-up-Bieber, has figured it out (team or not - collabs or not).

3. Sure, pop is known for its collabs but what that can mean is, 'great song - I want a piece or you pay more'. Or as they say in Nashville 'Got a hit? Then you get a writ'. It's how it works these days. Especially in LA and NYC. No equal thirds or fourths. Getting paid for production isn't enough anymore. You built the track and that means you get songwriting credit, upfront $ AND production points. It's how it's done now. And if you came in the room and gave hi-fives, even you will get a piece, because you 'encouraged them'.

4. That you have the courage (would like to insert another word here, but we are good girls), to call TSwift... Twizzle Stick!!!

Keep rocking the free world!

Char & Sar
The Command Sisters

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Thanks for mentioning Baby Bash. He's a great songwriter plus his voice is mellow and chill. Listen to Baby I'm Back!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Bash

Dina
c/o LaPolt Law, P.C.

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Thank goodness someone else is saying it!

Very interested to see if 'the team' can maintain this new level of quality control now.

Thanks for writing what you write!

Josh Brent

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Dear Bob,

Couldn't agree more.
Bieber's latest record, Purpose, has 3 or 4 songs that are just... Great songs. My sister (the other singer/songwriter and bassist in our duo) gives me a HUGE amount of flack for listening, but they are such undeniably catchy songs, and they are sung with this almost slightly diffident, yet captivatingly soulful voice. And they just work. For me. So many levels. Part of me wonders what it is that makes the bare arrangement of Love Yourself work so well. Worked at The Grammy's when Bay accompanied.
The quality of he song writing is just very good. You can only strip a song back so far to guitar and vocal if it is.

Oh well.
More work to be done!!
Cheers
Max Luck

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Bob,

Agreed...on everything you said except you have in fact heard love yourself...you made a stab at his guitar playing...like he was in a living room playing for his parents or something like? On some award show.
Anyway agreed with that also.

Paul Harris

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No drums whatsoever in that track. Totally unheard of + One of the huge reasons why it stands out sonically

Michael G. Simpson

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Bout time you got on board, mate. I preferred "Purpose" to "25" all day, every day. I still haven't bought "25", because I already pay for streaming and I don't wanna buy an album I can't access the way I access music.

I am more than 10 years older than the age Adele's album is named for and I'm nearly old enough to be Beiber's mum. It's hard to believe he and Adele are only 5 years apart in age. Bieber endeared himself to me through my 16 month old who loves "Sorry". He made us all #Beliebers.

His Comedy Central roast did its job: level him back down to us, and make us rise up from bashing and dismissing a spoilt kid to remembering when WE egged a house or got arrested for street racing our first car or breaking up with our first love. He's had to do it in front of the world after all.

Angela Randall

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Awesome. Simply awesome. My friends an I have been listening to this album in darkened rooms- almost ashamed to be enjoying it. It's catchy and fun with enough depth to keep us coming back. Will we find the meaning of life through listening to Biebs? Probably not, but we'll sure enjoy the the trip.

Love your letters- even when I disagree- but this time you hit the nail on the head.

And to those who don't enjoy this? Soup grapes indeed!

Cheers,
Hannah Van Winkle

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Yikes Bob,Yikes.

Bob Kalill

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I'm 47 with a 7 year old son, and you give me a window into what he will face, experience, and choose. I thank you for that, as I am that whining (nearly "old") cunt still listening to Zeppelin and the Dead while my subconscious yells "what the fuck is wrong with the world".

The answer is nothing, the world is just fine and as you say, maybe this is the right direction.

Only you could take me on a two day journey from feeling like, "yeah this is it, things won't get better" (scary old sex) to "I think things are getting better, I feel young again, and I am happy with the future my son has in front of him."

Thanks buddy.

Paul Pertusi

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1). The lyrics are so vapid and inane. I suppose that's the first thing that drives me up the wall. But, then again, so were the lyrics to "Gloria" and "I Want Candy" and thousands of other songs teens adored in the mid-60s so perhaps this criticism does not stand.

This social put down stuff stuff seems like an obsession, however. "...he's kissing her off but only because he needs to separate himself, pull himself up to higher ground, survive." Is it just me or does it seem like 50+% of all contemporary songs lyrics explore this "I must say 'Fuck you' so I can survive" theme? Yuk. Yeah, yeah, I know, when you're in high school this is important stuff. Still.

When does the Bob Dylan of contemporary pop arrive and elevate song lyrics into decent poetry??? Can't come soon enough IMHO.

2). "Bobby! Should I take 'em to the bridge?" Apparently the answer is "No" and "Never." Doesn't anyone know how to write a bridge anymore? You have the high energy verses, then you have the obligatory quiet verse interlude 3/4 of the way in, then you go out on a high energy verse. Boom, done. Every time. Blech.

Trace Ordiway

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Hi Bob-
Not sure if you saw this better version of "Love Yourself"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhfdmZ4Csb0

Kristy Carruba

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Yeah, it's a great track. The verses get a little stagnant and unexceptional by the second go around, to me, but that hook is indelibly fantastic. I didn't realize that Ed Sheeran had co-written it before reading this, but makes perfect sense!

-Dan Diaz

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I like it too! First heard it in January, in Australia, while I was visiting my son. He's 26, playing in a band down under, living the dream. Ya he's broke. He likes it too. He's always sorta stood up for Justin. Has empathy for his having to grow up as a spectacle.

Thanks

Sent from Julie Christian's iphone

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Just last week, my wife and I were going to do a presentation at a North Philadelphia elementary school...a school with no music program and not a lot of hope in the environment. We were there to talk about the magical qualities of music, and all the different careers that go into what the kids hear on the radio and online. For the performance part of the program, I was looking for a current song that actually had a melody with some simple instrumentation (and wasn't degrading to anyone). I stumbled upon "Love Yourself" and instantly knew this was the track I had to learn...great haunting melody that quickly pulls you in, a positive message and a song I knew the kids would really be drawn to. And that line "My mama don't like you, and she likes every one"...o boy that was the clincher..my favorite lyric in the whole song because it says it all no matter that generation you from. Thanks Bob for spotlighting this tune which has helped earn Bieber a little respect in my book.

Vincent James

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Beiber.. Best shit really.. This is a fucking joke Bob. Your working for the man..

All these songs are garbage..

Evan Bautista

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Hi Bob

I never thought I'd see the day that I would say this; But Justin's, "Love YourSelf" is the best song in the world of Top 50 songs. Radio, Spotify or otherwise.

I'm a fifty seven year old guy who loves music from all over the world. Of course my cultural taste has grown up beyond pop music. So, why do I like, "Love Yourself"?

The lyrics are a bit serious for those of us who lived with verbal abuse and an unusual amount of control. Verses that include, "... You tried to make me forget where I came from" say a lot for people like me who have lived Or, are living in the abusive situation I found my self in.

Oh yeah, this pop song is for the adults. Seriously!

Doug Ruffin

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The first time I heard the song I missed all of the nuance you describe. I just heard a payoff that was a veiled way of saying "screw yourself" and getting it on hit radio. More subversive than CeeLo. As clever as JT. Sudden respect for the Beibs and added admiration for Ed.

Keith Brown

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song of the year for me

Joe Taylor

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Bob, When I can't sleep at night I flip through the local FM dial. every once and a while I come across a gem. This was one of them. The quietness stopped me up and then the line about his Mum made me chuckle. To top it all off, he lip trumpets along to what sounds like a real trumpet playing. I was similarly affected by, Somebody That I used to Know." Your tastes and mine intersect nearly half the time. That's a pretty good average. Thanx for the song and book tip-offs.

O, Clank

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Hey Bob,

This one thing you said jumped out at me:

"That's right, the kids are all about the group, which may explain why there are so many writers on all their tracks. We think they need help, but maybe collaboration is inbred."

Nice theory but.... Not in my experience as a professional songwriter and producer for the last 15 years. With perhaps one main exception: It's long been in hip hop culture to pass tracks around and create a collage of sound out of both necessity (don't own or play drums? Sample em) or in some cases by intention... Then, once the sound was made, it was copied and became a genre.

That said, in pop, sadly, most young kids are victims of Millennial Cultural ADD. They don't have time to build on their passion and learn the craft of songwriting by slaving away in the isolation of their bedrooms and garages writing a few hundred songs for the love of it.... For the NEED of it... Writing to express themselves and to find the one special song that somehow really worked and then trying to do it again.... And Again.
Rarely today. No time for that! Their phones are blowing up! The world is rushing by and they're missing out! They want the brass ring at Google like speeds. So, short cuts become the norm. The Merely Amusing makes a select few uber-famous on YouTube and for the rest, entitlement ensues. In the saddest cases it's written all over their faces "What? I don't have to be good, that's what Protools is for. I don't need to know who I am, I'm who I make myself to seem like when I post a photo." And it's back to swiping Instagram while we edit edit edit.

Then, If a budding talent lands a deal... The label assigns the A&R and they call in the older guys and gals to do the heavy lifting.... And if it still ain't right, "send it over to What's His Name, he's got the cool new sounds on his laptop!"... Oh that didn't totally work, but sorta? Keep a couple of the sounds and call in another What's His Name with a different laptop full of different sounds (often designed by a different dude on a different laptop)... And then they cobble together a track that sounds just as ADD as our culture and it feels just about right. Then this A&R guy, sweating but resolute, hands it to his bosses then to the marketing team, and they hope they don't get fired... All the while taking solace in the fact that they've passed the buck enough times that blame can be spread so thin as to almost evaporate.... And not only that, the "art" has been so watered down by sonic marketing and self conscious creating, that it's hard to tell exactly who's fault a
failure is...

And if it's a hit? Well, few of them last these days because the result of the process described above isn't a timeless, heartfelt and honest personal work that resonates decades later. It's hardly any one person's soul on display... It's a group's ambition and sense of sonic fashion carefully blended together into a smoothie, designed to fit THIS EXACT MOMENT, and that's it. A vapor. Or as the warden says in Shawshank Redemption ".... Up and vanished like a fart in the wind".

And then somewhere, someone sits down with a guitar... Or at a piano... and writes an actual song. And it just feels right.... Because it's true.

What a concept:)

And thank God for them.

I'm not as bitter as I may sound. This is just a phase, and I'm doing my part to advocate for true artists whenever and however I can.

Adam Watts
www.WeAreBrokenCity.com

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Beibers latest is definitely a guilty pleasure Bob and it's all because of Stern!

https://m.soundcloud.com/howardstern/2015-song-parody-of-year-ill-suck-your-ween-what-do-you-mean-justin-beiber-parody?in=howardstern/sets/2015-in-review-ill-suck-your-ween

Peace and Love,

Dan Millen

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Thank you.

I'm proud of him. Ed forwarded me what u wrote. Very cool of you. And as for me...I just like doing cool shit and hanging out with my wife and kid ;) take care.

Scooter Braun


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