The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore

I can't get this song out of my head.

I needed to hear something familiar, so I dialed up Classic Vinyl on Sirius XM. But when I hit a clunker I switched to 60's on 6 and heard this, which I didn't want to listen to, because the Walker Brothers never really made it over here, but I kept listening because something deep in my memory bank told me there was an entrancing change a' comin', and it did!

"The sun ain't gonna shine anymore
The moon ain't gonna rise in the sky
The tears are always clouding your eyes
When you're without love, baby"

And it's not about the words, I don't think I ever understood their meaning until I just wrote them down, but the sound. The way the verse segues into this release, wherein the vocalist is suddenly set free, able to reveal his innermost feelings. Then again, there's a scrim between you and him, it's a Wall of Sound production even though it wasn't produced by Phil Spector, but Bob Crewe, who got some ink upon his death back in 2014, having mostly to do with his sexual preference, which was unknown by the general public back in his heyday, but those of us who purchased 45's knew his name, for it was all over the Four Seasons records, and as a matter of fact, Crewe cowrote this song with Bob Gaudio, and the original version was recorded by Frankie Valli the year before, '65, after the Four Seasons had started to fade, but it didn't quite break into the Hot 100, but when rerecorded by the Walker Brothers it went all the way to number one in the U.K., but it did not dominate in the U.S., it went to number 13, which meant it was not ubiquitous and in many markets was barely played at all, because really only a few records get spun religiously and in the days before MTV, before the codification of FM by Lee Abrams, radio was oftentimes regional, kind of like the food, I went to Park City and saw the same damn chains I see in L.A., from Subway to Burger King, and I revel in the fact that I no longer have to go blindly into some faceless emporium to eat the equivalent of shoe leather, which I remember quite vividly outside of Yellowstone Park back in '74, they called it roast beef but it might as well have been billed Florsheim, but the point is you used to leave home and it was different, and now, statistically, no one leaves at all, they just stay where they are, not being able to afford to go where the jobs are, but the point is it used to be exciting to take a drive and listen to what was being played elsewhere before radio became homogenized and the satellite came along to save us.

And the weird thing is the Walker Brothers are American. But they had to go overseas to make it. Huge stars in the U.K. they became, and we heard their name now and again but we rarely heard their music, but tonight...

The Frankie Valli take is so out of time as to be almost laughable. You'll hear the intro and know why this didn't hit in the era of the British Invasion and then Frankie sings the verses like it could be the phone book, back when we had those, and then he belts the chorus in his classic way, albeit a bit reservedly, and it's the same song but it's completely different. You're listening to the Valli version, but you want to know the singer of the Walker Brothers iteration, it's all dark and mysterious.

The intro is hokey, but then it locks into a Gene Pitney feel and a deep vocal takes over akin to a Righteous Brother....

"Loneliness is the cloak you wear"

The scourge of life that's somehow absent from modern art. Remember when songs were about the human condition, when you listened not to be a member of a group, but to bond with the singer in a twosome, a marriage where you felt safe and understood?

"Emptiness is the place you're in
Nothin' to lose but no more to win"

It's when you're stuck in neutral that life is worst. When you're out of the game, when victory or defeat are not in the equation, only stasis.

You listen to the Walker Brothers' recording and you visualize a whole movie. He's lost without her, on the edge of despair, he's got to testify, tell you, but it's more than that, you can see through the record into the studio, a big room with everybody there at the same time, the rockers and the classicists, the electric instruments and the acoustic, the backup vocalists, the producer in a sweater.

It's almost like a western. Something one step removed. What used to be. You're intrigued. Deep inside there's not only a story, but humanity.

"Lonely, without you, baby
Girl, I need you
I can't go on"

The chorus is the hook, but it's this interlude that makes the track a classic, it slows down and the truth is revealed.

And now you know what music was like fifty years ago. You couldn't make it at home, you needed professionals in a studio, and they were shooting for the stars, doing their best to create something from heaven, that lasted forever, that would imprint itself upon listeners' brains and make them buy it so they could hear it again and again, to get that same reflective feeling, from an era when music was totally personal, when melody was more important than the beat, when you sang along to bond yourself to the magic, when radio was a living, breathing thing and you never knew what you'd tune in and hear, when all the hits weren't made by the same people, when every track was just a bit different, when music's goal was to impart wisdom while at the same time taking you away, soothing you, helping guide you through life.

And the funny thing is the more they sing about the sun not shining anymore the more your own brain clears, the more optimistic you become.

That's the power of a hit record.

That's the power of music.

Spotify: http://spoti.fi/2o1Dnwo

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Trumpcare Fails

This is what happens when entertainment abdicates its responsibility.

Reality triumphs.

The movie business is in decline, the China it depended upon has sputtered, if it weren't for increased prices grosses would have tanked. And this is a result of the studios giving the public what it thinks it wants.

Nobody knows what the public wants. William Goldman was correct. Nobody knows anything in Hollywood. And now all the focus is on D.C.

This calcification, this predictability, this rule-abiding has infected music too. Credit Beyonce and Eric Church and most recently Drake for messing with the distribution paradigm, but they're still selling albums even if they call them playlists and what they contain is moribund, we need more experimentation, speaking to the disenfranchised.

We've got a business selling hip-hop in a world where forty percent will never listen to the sound.

We've got a preponderance of beats and an absence of melody.

We've got songs written by committee because we're afraid of individuality.

What we're looking for is tracks that speak to those without a voice, those who are not rich or elected or in control of the press.

Instead, we've got an insularity that turns off fans and an overwhelming amount of fake music.

There are so many records by so many people demanding our attention that we can't even find the good stuff. On a regular basis people e-mail me songs that have hundreds of millions of streams which I've never heard of. Try Duke Dumont's "Ocean Drive," links below, which made it to number one on the dance chart but only number forty on the Top Forty so most people have never heard of it, despite having 245,513,819 views on YouTube and 105,336,472 streams on Spotify. Who is gonna cut out the detritus and focus us on that which we need to hear? I mean I knew Dumont's name, but with so much crap pushed down my throat I can't see the forest for the trees, like an average American.

Or if Duke's one listen smash is not your cup of tea, how about Mudcrutch's "Hungry No More," from their second album, "2." If you lived through the seventies and eighties, when rock was king and you sat in front of the stereo stoned nodding your head, this'll reach you, sit through the whole thing, as the aural adventure unfolds.

So, there is good new stuff out there, but it's not getting to the public. The same way people don't know the truth about the Affordable Care Act or globalization or so many of the issues dominating the economic landscape.

Then again, money is the root denominator, the only thing we think about more is love, although if you've got no mazuma good luck getting laid.

So, we've got a cornucopia of information and little coherence in music. No wonder it's static, we need to entrance the public. But people are being force fed retreads and are saying no mas. When the truth is they want something brand new that's different, they want someone to lead them to greatness the same way Elizabeth Warren cuts through the fog by speaking truth.

But maybe you don't agree with that.

But your party just lost. Because when given the power you couldn't get it done.

The artists have been given the power for fifteen years. They can record for nearly free, distribute for nearly free, publicize for nearly free, but all they can do is bitch that the game is rigged or put out derivative drivel.

It's time to rise above. It's time to lead.

Music has power. It can influence not only hearts, but minds. The Food Network turned the average American into a gourmand. Great new music can change people's beliefs and make them take action.

Watching what was happening in D.C. was more riveting than anything coming out of the entertainment industrial complex, and we still have no idea where it's going to end up, kinda like trying to predict "Sgt. Pepper" from "I Want To Hold Your Hand." There's gerrymandering, there are more Democratic Senate seats up for grabs the next election than Republican and...

Who's gonna lead us out of the wilderness?

Artists. If they just grab the wheel and start to drive.

"Ocean Drive"

Spotify: http://spoti.fi/2nwZfCb

YouTube: http://bit.ly/2nlAc4k

"Hungry No More"

Spotify: http://spoti.fi/2mApMPB

YouTube: http://bit.ly/1rZ9Y7n

P.S. "Hungry No More" has only 46,123 views on YouTube and 90,848 streams on Spotify. In other words, greatness is not enough. The cream can no longer rise to the top, like truth in our country at large. You need to push it, make people aware of it.

P.P.S. I like to get excited about things, I like to be passionate about things, I like to feel alive and following the shenanigans in D.C. I feel this way, but too often I feel dull when hyped and exposed to music, but there's nothing as enticing as a track that titillates and stimulates, it's just that we're venerating wankers playing by the rules instead of celebrating those who think outside of the box and test limits.


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Mailbag

Re: More Chuck Berry

Back in the 80s my high school competed in a band competition in Montreal. The organizers hired a DJ for the hotel ballroom afterparty, who was spinning the latest New Wave pop pablum. The American contingent listened politely through a few songs, but soon grew restless, chanting "Rock and Roll" until the DJ gave up the mic to a small group of kids, who kicked into an a capella version of Johnny B Goode, then Maybelline. The crowd went crazy - and the teachers, many of whom remembered when that music was still fresh, were over the moon.

Later, in 1989, I was in Madras, India (now Chennai) at the Taj Hotel celebrating my 21st birthday. The house band was great, playing the latest pop tunes, but the crowd was subdued. My friends pushed me up to the stage to sit in on guitar and vox, and we kicked into Johnny B Goode - of course they all knew it, even in India. Again, everyone got up and danced with abandon - mostly locals. When the song ended and the band went back to "Don't Worry Be Happy", the party died again.

Chuck's music is truly a global language, and the full throated expression of the joy of music, youth and love. It will live forever.

Richard Himes

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Subject: Chuck Berry (R.I.P.)

It was two weeks before Altamont and we played a big venue in San Francisco right on the ocean. We were playing, The Grass Roots, Santana, The Beau Brummels .. so many great bands from that era. Chuck was in his Mercury parked right at the stage entrance. He was stretched out in the front seat and every once in awhile, when we were talking to him he would open up his bullet proof attache case and flash the thousands of dollars he had in it. The only other person we'd seen do anything like that was James Brown. Chuck was right up there with the greatest performers of our time. He said, "You boys are getting ripped off." He was sitting there with his 20 Grand in that airline case. Looking at us as if to say, "I got paid. Are you getting paid?" There were thousands of people there to see me play too but at that moment, I realized this guy knows exactly what he's doing more than anyone else up there. He was trying show us the ropes and teach us a thing or two. We were so lucky to have had the experience of his music and his face to face wisdom, too.

Ralph Scala
The Blues Magoos

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Re: More Chuck Berry

Hi Bob,

It seems all of us who have been around in the music biz since "back in the day" have a few precious Chuck Berry Stories to share. My Spanish promoter told me of the time they sent a limo to pick up Chuck at the Madrid airport and after the driver finished putting the luggage in the trunk Chuck jumped into the drivers seat and drove away leaving the bewildered driver standing there. I myself have the rare distinction of being able to say Chuck Berry opened for me. Well ... not really of course, but I was playing a festival in Buffalo in the early 80's and Chuck was the headliner but when he arrived backstage he informed the promoter that he going to take an earlier flight back to St. Louis and insisted the playing order be switched and he go on right away. I remember he turned to me, "All right with you son if Chuck Berry opens for you tonight?" I said "Yes sir, Mr. Berry!" and so Chuck went on before me. My drummer was a Chuck Berry fanatic and had brought all his vintage Chess albums with him for Chuck to sign but Chuck declined saying, "I have a policy - no autographs before the show" to which my drummer explained that since we were now going on after him there would be no time later to which Chuck slammed his fist down on the table and exclaimed, "I have a policy!" And he never stopped smiling the whole time. The DNA of rock 'n roll surely made it's first genetic appearance in that man. What a musician! What a poet! What a privilege to have briefly shared a few unforgettable moments in his presence.

From Paris,
Elliott Murphy

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Re: More Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry played The Ritz in NYC quite frequently. I was working on the tech crew there in 86 or 87 and he was scheduled to play. He pulled up in his limo and would not get out until the night manager handed him a check for the full fee. I was a 20 year-old kid and Pat, the stage manager told me to go up to the headliner dressing room stage right and wait for Chuck. In fear of him bolting from the gig, Pat told me under no circumstances to let him leave the dressing room other than to go on stage for his set. So, there I sat terrified, waiting for him. The guy walks in, larger than life with just his guitar in hand. He greets me in a very kind and respectful manner, tuned his guitar, slicked his hair and walked down those rickety narrow dressing room stairs and on to the stage. He was a real presence, to say the least. The set that followed was killer. I had the great fortune of seeing Chuck play a few more times while I worked at The Ritz. The last time I saw him play there, he left the building in handcuffs in the company of 8 NYC cops.

Phil Schuster
NYC

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Re: More Chuck Berry
From: Andrew Kastner

Hey Bob, It seems that everyone I know has a personal Chuck Berry story. It seems that man touched almost everyones life in one way or another. Around 1984 my band, Jack Mack and the Heart Attack was opening for Chuck at the Avalon Ballroom in Catalina. We were really looking forward to playing with one of our heroes. We went on stage and began our set but after 2 songs Chucks Road manager told the promoter to pull us off because Chuck wanted to play. We had the feeling he just didn't want to follow a 9 piece band with a 4 piece horn section. Chuck went on with is pick up band and he was so hammered he barely made it through his set. That's my only Chuck Berry story but all my musician friends in LA have one of their own. Chuck was hard to work with but he was probably the single most influential musician/songwriter in the history of music and every time I hear one of his records it puts a smile on my face. RIP Chuck
P.S. By the way someone in your last blog mentioned the Back To The Future Movie. That's our lead singer, Mark Campbell singing Johnny B. Goode for Michael J. Fox.

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Re: More Chuck Berry

Hey Bob. I was with Marshall Chess when he related a story about Mr Berry that I shall never forget. The day Chuck was to be released from Cook County Jail after serving a year for being caught with a minor Marshall's father asked Marshall to make the short trip from Chess Studios to Cook county Jail to pick up Chuck. Marshall, in his fathers Cadillac picked up Chuck in his prisoner jump suit and took him right to Chess Studios. That day (in his jumpsuit) he recorded Mabeline. After the session Leonard gave money to Marshall and instructed him to go down to Wabash Ave and purchase Chuck some new clothes. PS: A interesting aside is that Willie Dixon played upright bass on almost every Chuck Berry single recorded at Chess Studios. There was certain magic and synergy at Chess in the late 50's and early 60's.

Timm Martin
Out The Box Records

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Re: More Chuck Berry

I was 20 years old. My band, Poppeye, was playing at a private hotel in Palm Springs called "Ashley's". We did three nights with Mr. Berry...that was 40 years ago. He was a joy. He was kind, thoughtful...and ran us youngsters into the ground with his energy. God bless Chuck Berry.

Michael K. Clifford

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Re: More Chuck Berry

Might be too late to get in on the fun. I'm a local player, for a long, long time. But one thing we know, when the night is rough, and the crowd doesn't feel it, play Chuck Berry, any Chuck Berry, and it will all be alright.

David Petersen

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Re: More Chuck Berry

In grade 2 my teacher brought his guitar to class and played Johnny B Goode. I told my mom about it and she bought me Chuck Berry's Greatest Hits. This was 1982. I played the record repeatedly. Took me until grade 9 to pick up the guitar, but the first song I learned was.....

Steve Calhoun

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Re: More Chuck Berry

Here is my Chuck Berry memory- it was 1985 or 86- I was at a Dr John Show with my pal Dirk Keller we're at Biddy Mulligan's on Sheridan Road in Rogers Park, IL. Biddy's was a really small little place, ok it was a dump! We are there for Dr John. He's playing, and who walks in, and sits down right next to me and Dirk? Chuck Berry! And not just Chuck Berry, his entourage, which also just happened to include Keith Richards from the The Rolling Stones! So, Dr John, says, "Hey, let's get Keith to come up here and play," and he does! They tried to get Chuck Berry on stage too, If you know anything about Chuck, he didn't ever work for free, had to paid upfront and so on...He would not get up off his chair- another reason, he had a young good looking blonde girl, sitting on his lap. As I remember it, there was another girl in the group, who was the only black girl, and Dirk said to her, aren't you Chuck's daughter, and she said, "yes" and kind of rolled her eyes, in embarrassment by her father's behavior.

Jump ahead to New Years 2011- Me, Marty Zivin and Tom Gaines are at the Congress Theater in Chicago for a Chuck Berry Show- This is the show where he fell ill on stage- sat down behind the keyboards and passed out. Pretty Shocking to see- Tom said, you should call it into WBBM, I did, and was on WBBM Newsradio talking about, had no idea, that the CBS Radio Network, picked up my audio, and then I actually got paid for my report which aired on the network- the next day, I was on CH 2 telling the story! Instead of going to the hospital, Chuck jumped into his limo, with some young ladies in tow- and went back to St. Louis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=138b-ZHA9yE&utm_source=phplist5786&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Mailbag

Bart Shore

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Re: More Chuck Berry

Dear Bob--

I went to Trinity College and my roommate my freshman year was this fellow named Bob Orenstein who was from some part of southern Connecticut. Bob was a very likeable fellow and also very smart he went on to become a doctor. Bob moved to Arizona where he now practices medicine. A few years ago, Bob had occasion to treat Chuck Berry for some ailment. Bob was concerned about Chuck's comfort in his hospital and Bob went to see Chuck at some point. He inquired of Chuck whether Chuck was comfortable and whether Chuck needed anything. Chuck responded, "Why yes, I do---bring me a Gibson guitar"...

File that one under "Love for music".

Regards,

Jeff Baker
class of Trinity College 1981
Long time reader, first time responder

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Re: More Chuck Berry

I booked Chuck Berry at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco for some now-forgotten amount. When it was time to pay him I had the cash ready and he said, where is the $1000 for my daughter Ingrid (who may or may not have been on stage at some point in the evening). I had to empty all the cash registers and the safe and pay the $1000 in quarters, 1s, 5s, 10s and 20s. Luckily, there was enough. That was the last time I booked him.

queenie taylor

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Subject: Re: Where Songs Come From

Dear Bob,

I signed on to represent Tom Waits in about 1977. My company, Athena Artists (don't ask about the name) worked primarily with brilliant comedians (Steve Martin, George Carlin, Don Novello - AKA Father Guido Sarducci) and really talented singer song writers. Randy Newman, Jerry Jeff Walker, John Prine and a number of others who still are among my personal favorites. This roster caused Herb Cohen, Tom's manager, to call me. I sat and listened to Herb wax elequently about Tom's talent with Tom sitting right there. I was familiar Tom's work from the Troubadour and other venues, but I had also heard stories of the nature that could cause nightmares for his representatives. I thanked Herb for his time and asked Tom if he would take a one on one meeting with me. I did not specify a time, but Tom jumped and said- "Absolutely. Step into my office". With that he led me to the alley behind Herb's office.

I was candid. "Tom, I have a lot of respect for your talent, but I have heard some horrible stories, can you tell me what the truth is?"

He then, in his deep, whiskey/smoke clouded voice, began to tell me, with great authority, that it was true that he drove an old car (might have been a cadillac, Buick, Olds, but I don't remember) and that he had lot and lots and lots of junk in it and was once forced by the sheriff to unload all of it on Hollywood Boulevard while they searched his car. He further admitted a to a few less memorable sins, and wound up by telling me that it was true that he lived at the Tropicana motel, that his room was also full of stuff, including his grand piano, which blocked his entrance to the bathroom that he was forced to piss in the kitchen sink. Then proclaimed, "But most of the rest of that stuff you hear is bullshit. I took him on then and there.

After a while he came to me with the notion that he was getting burned out on clubs because people drank a lot and did not listen and wanted to know if I could book him into theaters. As you know a club is a few hundred people at most while theaters are generally in the high hundreds or low thousands and you must fill most if not all of the seats. I knew the market would not deliver sufficient numbers of ticket buyers to fill theaters so I took a different tack. I put another Athena client, Leon Redbone, as the opening act and went to theaters that had a subscription base that would nearly fill the theater with season ticket holders.

These theaters would not allow rock bands and I had to assure them with recordings and 8x10 glossies.

Again I do not recall what theater in L.A. we used, but when I visited Tom back stage and asked him how he liked playing the theater circuit he admitted it was an improvement over clubs, but he also raised an interesting point. "I know you had to send them my record and my picture and that was ok, but next time I would like them to send me pictures of their typical audience."

Tom learned that the absence of alcohol did not guarantee a listening and cognizant audience.

Chet Hanson

______________________________________

So I hear through the grapevine that there is a magic algorithm that penetrates the apparent paper curtain in social media.
It is based around authenticity and sincerity.
It has no agenda beyond the sincere expression of authentic expression.
Those dynamics are closely monitored by a "behind the curtain" technical god....basically censorship by the powers to be.....

Authenticity, the most powerful of all human forces is a numerical formula in the social / internet form centered around the "agenda free" form of expression in its purest form.
.....no different than real life except that artificial intelligence "a work in progress" is still working to, in synchrinocity, working to imitate the dying act of real life, on all platforms of mass communication
And outreach.
The kicker is that the algorithm is "hip"...
first and foremost to manipulation because it is a formulaic means to an end....the solicitation to advertising income by all mediums of social media.

If I blog I have to be coy and trick the apparent AGENDA card. Google is under hip to the game / procedure.

This very agenda driven social agenda is governed by an
numerically formula dictated and defined by an advertising (monetarily driven) mathematical
formulated agenda which exposes "big brother" ..."an all
for money" debunking the premise the free commerce foundation that the internet is based on.

So,
In layman terms....don't blatantly
sell or commit to commerce to the followers much of anything or you are de-
authinticated ( "pushed to the back of the line")...in the great scheme of critical outreach.

It is, to date an imperfect form of communication/ outreach because it tends to expose the hidden agenda of social platforms allocated to critical mass
outreach...Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram / Snapchat etc are all advertising (income) oriented.

......more later.

For you novice, non agenda followers focus on AUTHENTICITY... the single most powerful
tool in life !!!!!

Taylor Swift flawlessly mastered it. John Mayer staggered through it.

......more to come.

RDunn

P.S. Back in the day when I wrote songs, I kept a note pad beside my bed. If I woke up in the middle of the night I would jot down whatever idea popped into my head knowing that the next morning I would have to opportunity to properly edit my scratchings.
There was no "send button".....
That said, I apologize for my very poorly edited ramblings last night.

Sincerely,

Ronnie

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Subject: Re: Absolutely Final Skin

Bob,

Long time follower. I worked at Sony Music for 13 years.

I rarely had skin issues until last January - I noticed red bumps on my forearm, then the next day - they were all over my upper arms, then my legs, my belly, my back. It looked like I had razor burn EVERYWHERE. I went to Urgent Care and he said I had a bad case of eczema and dermatitis. and gave me PREDNISONE plus a cream. I didn't take the pills or the creams because I didn't believe it... I then went to a dermo who saw my arm for 3 seconds and said - eczema and prescribed me 2% hydrocortisone, told me to take 2 minute cool showers and slather my skin in vaseline, that was apparently "the best". I did that for 2 weeks. Do you know how hard it is to squeeze into jeans with vaseline smeared all over your body? I was living in stretchy yoga pants and sweatshirts. Easy because it was January in NYC.

I grew tired of this and went to my regular DR who is a doll.

She asked me a few questions about new clothing I may have been wearing. I said, well I bought this new bra from Amazon and I've been wearing it off / on for the last few weeks. She asked if I had washed it yet? I said no.. She said - I think it's the bra. Stop wearing it.

Sure enough. I threw it away. 2 weeks later, I was cured.

It's been a year and that weird rash hasn't come back. I treat my body well - eat good foods/use good creams etc.

My point - I wonder if you are allergic to something that you are using or wearing.

Good Luck. It's annoying to figure out.

Best Wishes,
Christine Hurst

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From: Paul Carbonara
Subject: Re: Absolutely Final Skin

Yes! Please raise tinnitus. 13 years of standing in front of Clem Burke have my ears ringing like a fire alarm. Debbie has it bad too.

Good luck with your skin
Paul Carbonara

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Subject: Park City

Dear Bob,

A friend just sent me your blog. I've been skiing in Utah since 1986. We've owned a vacation home there for the last eight years. I've never been hurt skiing. On Sunday I went through a wet patch at the bottom of PC and fractured my ankle. I'm having surgery on Monday. Consider yourself lucky.

Sincerely,

Ron Davis

______________________________________

From: Bob Kranes
Subject: Re: Bad Judgment

This whole sceniero made me so anxious my eczema has returned.

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The Bob Dylan Interview

http://bobdylan.com/news/qa-with-bill-flanagan/?utm_source=phplist5785&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=The+Bob+Dylan+Interview

Won't get anybody to listen to the music. Actually, all you need to know is revealed in the answer wherein he says he listens to music on CDs. The plastic discs were supposed to be an improvement on vinyl, permanent and clear, but now the world has bifurcated, into vinyl purists and on demand streamers and if you're listening to digital discs it just proves that you're out of the loop. When did Bob Dylan become such an old fart? Then again, he's 75.

Don't get your knickers in a twist. If we can't criticize the giants we cannot push them to test the limits and exceed their previous work. We've been giving Dylan a pass for far too long. I'll piss him off, and his Grammy speech taught us he's listening, intently, and say the last great thing he did was "Things Have Changed" from the "Wonder Boys" soundtrack. It was a one-off. Which percolated in the marketplace long after the movie stiffed, even though it was quite good, better than the book, then again, Michael Chabon's one who's gotten an unjust pass himself, too much focus on the writing and too little on the plot and I'll posit his best work was his very first, "The Mysteries Of Pittsburgh," but now I'm getting so obscure and referential you might be lost. I'm doing what Dylan is doing in this interview, and it's utterly fascinating.

Getting back to the marketing element, in today's world it's so hard to gain attention that your product must be available simultaneous with the hype. Just ask Drake, who just proved it, or Beyonce. It's only old farts inured to the movie business who believe in the buildup. To tell you the truth if "Triplicate" had been on Spotify today I would have checked out some of the cuts Dylan talks about, but I won't when it's released, whenever that might be, because I will have already moved on to new stuff and Bob's disappointed me with his frog-throat voice and rearranged songs for far too long unless I hear from a trustworthy source I'm missing out. Then again, Dylan's from a previous generation, he's like God coming down from the mountaintop with the tablets, we pay attention to him, we don't need no stinking penumbra. But I'll bet your life and mine that this interview is better than the three disc set. Because that's what Bob does best, opine, give us insight into the culture. He's now lived long and is still obfuscating whilst revealing truth and instead of covering old chestnuts he should be blogging, now's when we need him most, when our country is in turmoil, we're looking for insight, we're looking for art, we're ready for his tricks. Instead he's bunting, using up his capital hyping a project that no one cares about that will be instantly forgotten, like his previous cover LPs, and if you think he doesn't care then why did he do this interview in the first place? A fake one to boot. Bill Flanagan is interviewing him but it debuts on Bob's own site? Did Flanagan even get paid? Hell, Flanagan's questions are the worst part, it's Dylan's cryptic answers that intrigue. Riddled with truth and falsehood. Bob's the original Keyser Soze. We don't know what to believe, but we can't stop paying attention.

So just when we need him most, when he could put out one cut that could change the world, Dylan overloads us with irrelevant product in a world where we've got no time. How come all the old acts can't come up to speed. Not only should the release be day and date with the hype, but one track is enough, we've got time to listen to one track. And then follow it up with another not that far down the line. We're interested in what Dylan has to say, but the fawning press has been kissing his ass for so damn long that we've gone on react and are tuning his work out. Because how many times can you go to the well and find out it's dry?

Dylan makes Minnesota come alive. Cites Twin Cities bands from far after he left. Creates myths about his family and friends not knowing or caring about his appearance on "Ed Sullivan" when he was always close to his mother and even brought her to a Yetnikoff event. Bob's creating a character, who knows who he really is, and when he says he's got nothing to say and is not worthy of the hang time you either protest too much or roll your eyes and say "there he goes again," evading the punch, dancing like a butterfly while he stings us like a bee.

Yes, Dylan's still here, unlike Muhammad Ali. And his insight and chops are as sharp as ever. But he's squandering them. He refuses to reach for the stars. Refuses to write a song that will change the world. Refuses to come down off the mountaintop and interact with us in the new world. Sure, he did that XM series, but imagine Dylan on Twitter or YouTube. Imagine him writing with Drake. Imagine him risking.

Because he still cares. And he's still stuck in the old ethos, where music is everything and you're a student of the game. Bob Dylan still gives a damn, in a world where most aged acts are only about the bread, collecting cash from Live Nation when they pass Go!, and plying the boards endlessly giving people what they want. Dylan never played that game, he gave us what we needed. And what we need now more than ever is leaders who make us think for ourselves, who sharpen our vision, who get us to investigate and come up with our own conclusions, to question authority and brave the road untaken. This interview is a marvelous start, but the "Triplicate" project is a nonstarter, dead on arrival in a world where what happens in the morning is already forgotten in the afternoon and if you take chances and create greatness you can impact society, but there's no greatness in covering aged tunes, however much insight they might contain, not when your voice is ragged and nearly unlistenable. For that, you've got to write a song that's solely your own. We're waiting Bob...

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Bad Judgment

I went to Park City to go powder skiing. It started out as a group of eleven, all fired up to ride the cat in the backcountry, but as the temperature rose and the snow melted the participants dropped out one by one until there were only six of us left.

And five of them bolted yesterday, the designated cat skiing day, because with this heat it was a no-go.

Now when I lived in Utah, back in the dark ages, before many of you were even born, it never rained in the mountains. But Saturday in Salt Lake it was eighty degrees. In Park City it was topping out at sixty. So on Monday I made turns at Deer Valley with Toby Mamis, who decamped from the City of Angels for Utah thirteen years ago and is as happy as a clam. Toby says he never goes to a seder, but they've built a synagogue in Park City, along with a Catholic church, the mountain hideaway may be one of the only places in the Beehive State that is not LDS-dominant.

And on Tuesday, the aforementioned six returned to Deer Valley to cruise the groomers before the sun beat the slopes to shreds and after surviving our dash, when you get a group of guys together the testosterone flows, we partook of a bountiful buffet at the Stein Eriksen Lodge and the other five departed, to get earlier flights than planned so they could go back to their desks and earn their keep.

I take my desk with me. I can operate anywhere. And I was not going to give up a day of skiing.

This was a mistake.

I'm addicted to Dark Sky. Weather forecasting is notoriously dicey, but what's great about the Dark Sky app is there's no human involvement, only computers, and at this point I trust zeros and ones more than people and Dark Sky said it was gonna rain all day Wednesday, today.

And it did.

My plan was to get out at nine, hit it hard, get back to the room by noon and check out at one, the latest time available. Now if it had been midwinter, I would have stashed my bags and skied till the end of the day, but that's impossible now, with the weather so warm, so...

I woke up to the sound of rain on the roof. No, John Sebastian and his fellow band members were not doing a gig in Utah, but the drops were literally bouncing on the balcony and my brain said no but my heart said go so I suited up. And when you do, you get into the groove. Pull on the long underwear, buckle up the boots...

And in this case I took my winter jacket.

Good move. But not enough to counter my bad move, which was to leave my iPhone in the room.

You learn your lessons. I learned mine today.

I'm thinking the rain will soak through my spring jacket and I'm feeling confident in my choice when I exit the hotel and the drops are a'flyin', and I'm smart enough not to raise my goggles off my face, you don't want to get the insides wet, and I'm laughing as I ride the Frostwood Gondola to the Orange Bubble Express and that's when I noticed...

I was the only one out there.

Now normally one would be elated. But this had me wondering. Was I a dunce?

Yes.

But I'm still in a good mood as the rain is bouncing off the bubble, and I must say, I've never skied the Canyons side before but I'm good with a map and just before I get to the top...

It starts to hail.

Or maybe it's graupel. I won't walk you through the various types of snow but one thing was for sure, when my skis hit the ground on the exit ramp, there was an inch or two of new stuff.

Good call on the winter jacket.

Bad call on being out there.

Because visibility was bad and the snow was STICKY!

And there you have the essence of my problem, the snow snakes were out in force.

So my plan was to cover the entire mountain, get a peek at each lift, and I go off in a direction from which there is no return and there are huge clumps of snow in the middle of the slope and my skis are being grabbed again and again and that's when I realize, I've got to go low.

You learn from experience. I knew that where it was raining it wouldn't be sticky, but with so much snow having melted there was no way I could ski to the bottom, I could only go up. So I did.

Where it was a veritable sea of Maypo with Marky there to reach out for my skis and when I finally got to the next juncture, I decided to take the chair that went across instead of up.

But this took me to another chair that went straight up and it was snowin' and blowin' and I realized...

I'd made a big mistake. Skiing down from there could leave me in a cast.

And I didn't want that.

So I took the road, which was completely unskied. And I'm going straight in fits and starts and I end up at the Quicksilver gondola which goes to the original Park City, which is higher in elevation, so I decide to ride it.

But it's occurring to me, like that old Foreigner song, I'm a long, long way from home and I've got no PHONE! So not only can I not call my hotel to pick me up at the original Park City base area, if I fall on a slope and need to be rescued...

There will be no one there.

Furthermore, I've got an iPhone 7, which is waterproof, but my OCD makes me afraid to get it wet and the day is just a cornucopia of bad judgment.

But it's only getting worse.

I get over to the original Park City and I see people! Two or three of them! This will solve my problem! They'll tamp down the new snow!

But when I got off the lift the main way down was completely untracked. And with two inches of new snow, I could barely go. And when I did, it felt like the bottoms of my skis were made of sandpaper, and I never knew when they'd hit a knot in the wood and I'd grind to a halt, instantly.

Now I'm starting to lose it. I'm literally miles from my hotel. I've got to ski many slopes to get home. How am I going to do this?

Not easily

I make it back to the Quicksilver Gondola. I ride up.

But the map is confusing, I find the unskied slope that will supposedly take me down to the Canyons base but the truth is it's bringing me back to the Quicksilver Gondola, I'm in a living "Groundhog Day," and I'm starting to freak out, because it's so flat I can't go, and there's not a soul in sight.

And then I grind to a halt and there's a non-functioning lift that will take you across the flat so I've got to walk.

Now you're never as alive as when your life is in danger. But then I realize I'm no longer twenty five and I could have a heart attack and I'm about to have a complete meltdown. I'm trekking across a hill, alone, in the snow, on March 22nd, and everybody else down in town is oblivious, but I could literally die out here, and they might not find me until...

At least the end of the day, when the patrol does its sweep.

So I decide to talk myself off the ledge. Since I'm walking, the snow snakes can't get me, so why not just bask in the atmosphere, enjoy the landscape, or at least try, and, I know where I am, I'll make it eventually.

To a lift that's gonna take me up.

No f'ing way. As I told you earlier, I need to go DOWN!

So I take a road and it's sticky and there are bare spots and rocks but I find the lift that went cross-country that got me into this mess and the signs all say it's gonna take me to the Red Pine Gondola which will take me home and I'm starting to relax but it's untrue. Just when I thought I was out of the woods, I had to go back up. And up. And up.

But it's only one run down to the Red Pine Gondola. I can do this.

Well, maybe I can't.

I get off the lift and there are all these signs saying not to take this way, to go on the road.

But the road is nearly flat and that's where you can truly break your leg, with the stops and starts, better to be on a steeper slope.

Or so I thought, because skiing down this run was like skiing in molasses. I could barely move. And it was long and...

I'm freaking out all over again.

And now we're at the part of the story where you think I protesteth too much. I mean hell, I'm back in Los Angeles writing this, how bad could it be?

Well, have you been out in the elements? Mother Nature cuts no breaks. One false move and it can be all over. And I didn't think I was gonna die at this point, but the odds of hurting myself were extremely high. And I'm not even fully recovered from my shoulder surgery. You see my bindings are set to release at a value too high to eject me at such a slow speed. And they don't release upwards at the toe, meaning if I fall backward, extremely rare in regular conditions, my leg is a goner. Or, I could fall sideways and still get hurt when the bindings don't release. And the instinct in this situation is to sit back, but then you're setting yourself up for instant failure, you can't recover from a jolt. But if you lean forward, you could tip over your skis, and there's no way my bindings will release at this slow speed, even though they have the theoretical capability, so I can snap a bone and...

It happens all the time. People get hurt. Because they do stupid things. They think they're immune.

Like me.

I didn't need to be out there. I could have said no, like everybody else. But I just couldn't help myself, kinda like those wingsuiters competing in events where ten percent of the contestants die, they don't think it'll happen to them. But it does.

So I can see the shore, er, the Red Pine Gondola, but I'm far away and if I ski where everybody else has, the three or four people before me, hours into the day, I'm okay. But there's a dad and his two kids trying to make it down in front of me, the only people I've seen on the Canyons side all day, which forces me to the side where the untracked new snow is and I grind to a halt and I've made it this far, almost all the way back, I'm in sight of safety, but I'm far from safe!

Needless to say, I made it. Got to the Red Pine Gondola as the snow turned to rain and when I got off at the bottom I felt like an idiot. A safe idiot, but an idiot nonetheless.

P.S. If you'd like to play the home game, you can pull up the Park City trail map and visualize my trek here:

http://www.parkcitymountain.com/~/media/park%20city/pdfs/1617_winter_trailmap5.ashx?utm_source=phplist5784&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Bad+Judgment

I started on the Frostwood Gondola. From there I went to the Orange Bubble Express. Then to the Sun Peak Express. And then I skied all the way down to the cross-country chair known as Timberline. From there I went up the Iron Mountain Express, down to the Quicksilver Gondola, over to the original Park City where I rode the Silverlode Express. Then back to the Quicksilver Gondola. Whereupon I got off in the middle and skied the Highway, thinking it would take me to the base, but instead I ended up back at the Quicksilver Gondola, and refused to go up on Flat Iron or Dreamcatcher, so I took the road, White Pine to Cascade, and got back on Timberline where I discovered I had to go up to get to the Red Pine Gondola, so I took the Tombstone Express and ultimately skied down Sidewinder to the Red Pine Gondola which took me to the main base and then I rode the Frostwood Gondola back to my hotel, where I stripped off my soaked clothing, took a shower and continued to question why I'd gone out in the first place.

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Absolutely Final Skin

Coconut oil and water will save mankind

Citizen Cope

_____________________________________


Hi Bob , All this time I thought you had a thick skin ... Bub Zulu

_____________________________________


Hey Bob

How about a letter on prostate issues and urination problems?

Would love to hear what your readers have to say about the topic.

Rob Evans
long time sufferer of prostate issues and urination probems

_____________________________________


Bob,
Look at all your responses!
Regular column for sure. Amazing. I'm going to give coconut oil a try myself now.

Statins? Hope you don't have joint pain and muscle aches.

I highly recommend subscribing to The People's Pharmacy newsletter. It's free. Two pharmacists write it and offer great info for patients on every kind of health issue imaginable. They are very credible and site medical journals/ studies in every issue. They fight the FDA for patients, undergo their own studies of faulty generic medications to help patients, and more. They genuinely want to provide solid info. Consider checking them out. They might even have info on your itchy skin condition and tips for treatment in their archives.

Dane Farnsworth talked about finding a good naturopath. Does he/she have one on the Westside? Need a recommendation.

Hope you feel better soon. Love your newsletter, even the music ones-- lol!
Best,
Martine Ehrenclou

_____________________________________


Well, call me cheap but if it was my money I would try my Neutrogena Daily Control first. 9 bucks and if it doesn't work you can still use it to shampoo your "hair". All that other shit will cost you an arm and a leg plus who wants to give up pastrami sandwiches and celery soda? You might as well take a dirt nap.

Joseph Barbarotta

_____________________________________


Bob, like many of us you bought into that whole Statin farce. Do yourself a favor and read up on the research.
Steve Mazzola
Omnia quaere

_____________________________________


Man, I don't blame you if you don't listen to anyone's advice. Especially mine!

Oh and dietary cholesterol has ZERO effect on your blood cholesterol. That's a holdover from the 70's & 80's talking.

People still touting 'low-fat' too. A real shame. Look where all the 'low-fat' food got us.... bloated, overweight, diabetic whales.

Use coconut oil. Fair warning: it solidifies around 55 degrees. But it's easy to find and works great.

As for quitting sugar for a day? That's useless. If you want to see the benefits of that regimine, you'll need to be all in for at least a week. If not more.

Talk to Peter Attia.

http://eatingacademy.com/start-here?utm_source=phplist5783&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Absolutely+Final+Skin

Bill Seipel

_____________________________________


My grandmother had beautiful skin into her 80s. I asked her secret: she never ever used soap. Nothing but very warm water followed by cold water.
When I hear about coconut oil it's usually accompanied by *only* coconut oil. Which means no soap, natural oils and probably the skin takes care of itself.
I've done this for years after mid 40s chronic roseacea outbreaks and it has never recurred since.

Jamie Howarth (Midd '76)

_____________________________________


Please send this to Jeff Laufer- tide doesn't suck
They make the totally pure, organic tide ( clear container) that's equivalent to anything sold at Whole Foods, except it actually cleans clothing
And they make a no scent, no allergens version of tide ( white container)
Both are really good.
Been using the white version for a few years.
Also good is arm and hammer

Wow
You can start a whole new blog now!

BTW I've been to a Chinese physician who is based in NYC and Vancouver who has treated Andrew Loog Oldham ( it's on the docs website, but he said he hardly sees him anymore )

And if you saw the news today about that new super statin - hopefully the price will come down and we can all eat eggs everyday and not have to worry about high cholesterol or heart attacks

Check out a site called Food 52 you have the health version of it!!

Regards
Amy Krakow

_____________________________________


Hey Bob,
Move to Canada where regardless of your ailment you'll get a great doctor and health care.

Best,
James Hyslop

_____________________________________


Bob I tap out buddy. Can't read all the responses. I am a bit younger but starting to get some issues. Guess I'll be experimenting on some of these suggestions.
Best
Johnny Vieira

_____________________________________


Bob, I'm flabbergasted...this outpouring of responses about your skin issue is remarkable, flattering (to see your readers' and fans' loyalties)--and it's convinced me you've now effectively broken on through to the other side. I see a weekly "Lefsetz on Health" column--which encourages reader feedback, sharing & participation. Your work is always widely read, respected and appreciated--but it feels to me that you're on to something really big, genuine, lasting & important for us all here. Bravo!!! I got chills reading many of these earnest, sincere and healing-based insights...Big time! Kudos, Alden Marin

_____________________________________


When I was at my dream job at [record label] which took years and years to land [as dream jobs do] and started to see it slip away because I couldn't navigate the politics, my body reacted into plaque psoriasis, which there is no history of, in myself or family.

For context, that ailment happens when you are under so much stress that your body starts attacking itself because it believes your own skin is pathogenic. Literally.

I'd go through it all again for one day back in the building.

Name withheld

_____________________________________


I work in music and travel a lot to Nashville from Finland.

My skin is better in Finland,
but always gets super irritated in Nashville.

The chlorine and the godknowswhats in the water you guys have there makes showers, drinks including the ice cubes an irritant.
The taste of medicine of non-organic milk and meat in the states is always a shock too.

I try to stay on bottled water, fruit salads and stuff from Whole Foods when in Nashville.

My doctor here in Finland also told me that many golfers who go there to play get skin problems coz of what you spray on golf courses to keep all but one style of grass dead.

Somewhat typical to the USA, the answers you get are focused on what more to buy and pile on your skin, instead of what to leave out of your life.

:-)
Tapani Rauha/PopRockJazz

_____________________________________


Wow. So many people who care about you. Lucky guy. I don't have a cure for you, but felt compelled to offer something so....thanks for the entertainment.

MC Sneed

_____________________________________


Colloidal Silver water. The hospital at home. I have been making and drinking 'silver water' for 15 years and have just recently added/coupled Organic Sulfur (MSM) water to my diet. A little goes a long way. I recommend buying a kit online that comes with a 12volt generator and 2 bars of 99.9% silver.
Cures addictions! anti fungal, anti bacterial, anti viral, cell differentiating, antioxidant.
Take your health and power back for free!

DLowe

_____________________________________


omg statins !
See movie Statin Nation I and II
Then try FOOD :-)
(low carbohydrate / high fat)

Jonathan Whitton

_____________________________________


Tried psoriasis ointment? I use one called Psoriasin. Its over the counter and the only active imgredient is coal tar. Have to use it a couple times a day but it gave me true relief.

Andi Rock

_____________________________________


No cholesterol comes from any all vegetable product, ever.

CanningKevin

_____________________________________


Have you tried a gluten free diet..

I became gluten free four years ago when my mom was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

Her thyroid was removed, but she had to go on a diet to keep her weight in check.. so she asked if I'd do it with her for support. Obviously I said yes.

Up until then I was diagnosed with chronic bronchitis and spent most of my life with an inhaler on hand.

As soon as went gluten free, no more breathing issues and I haven't used my inhaler since. So I did some research and found loads of stories from people being healed of seemingly unrelated ailments, including skin conditions.

Anyway, maybe worth some research.

Hope this helps!

Anthony Vasquez

_____________________________________


I had a slight case of psoriasis for about 30 yrs...was treating it with topical cortisone cream...not a huge deal but even the time I knew I was only addressing symptom.
My wife suggested I speak to a counselor from The Kushi Institute, the center for macrobiotic food/ lifestyle in Beckett, Mass. I agreed.
I was advised to give up poultry / eggs for 90 days... not a small request for someone who at the time didn't eat beef, lamb or pork.
I did it and all skin problems vanished with a more plant based diet.
Western culture tends to load up with an inordinate amount of animal protein...
Since then, I've chosen to occasionally eat beef.
This is due to dealing with Lyme, the awful ailment named after a town in your home state. Replacing myelin demands the l-Carnatine found in beef & salmon.
Moving away from too much animal protein & sugar should clear up most of your problems.
Good luck,
Kevin Teare

_____________________________________


With everyone and their brother writing in with their can't miss cures, I can't believe no one's mentioned the most obvious one, the one "the establishment" doesn't want you to know about.

You're just gonna need a witch doctor, a machete and a chicken…

-Zach Ziskin

_____________________________________


I am in my 40's. I've had acne and rosacea all my life. I'm still dealing with it. I live in NYC and have access to the top dermatologists and the ability to get many credible recommendations due to my job. I think I've seen every top dermatologist in NYC over the past 16+ years living in this city. I have been on every cream/ ointment/ pad/ facial/ I tried different light treatments/ oral antibiotics... you name it! Good lord, the money I have wasted on this skin! It made me into a skin addict trying to find the right products. My skin got worst. I trust two dermatologists in this city. One is an absolute gem. Bottom line, I'm figuring it out on my own even today by taking suggestions from a few areas and creating my own routine. I was taking screenshots of all the tips and advice coming through since your initial post! I thought maybe these suggestions will work for breakouts! Copying and pasting suggestions and sites. Which skin condition is next? At this point, I get more excited about talking skin and diet than anything else.
Paula's Choice is a great site. Paula Begoun is the founder. She has her own line of products and suggests a daily routine of products based on your condition. ( natural or not since she claims not all natural is good) Consistency is key! She is a wealth of knowledge on all skin conditions. Also, unscented detergents and fabric softeners + fish oil pills and but refrigerated probiotics. Take daily. Probiotics are key ( check out the best brand and units) and yes changing your diet. Water + lemon daily. I have coconut oil on my face for the first time thanks to your post! What a skin community!

Natalie Bubnis

_____________________________________


Catching up after a business trip i see you already have loads of response but wanted to share my experience.

I've had a Pityriasis versicolor condition for about 20 years. I'm 31 now. I gave up trying to hide it with stupid shampoo you have to apply and wait 10mn in the shower 3 times a week before every summer. I decided to own it and fuck the world. I live in Lille, France, the weather's like Paris/London, not so wet but always grey.

But then i started improving what i eat. Still eating loads of meat (i like it too much) but dropping sugar is what i think made the difference. I make a conscious effort to eat wholefood, vegetables, even wholegrain pasta/rice instead of regular ones. Of course no sodas, even fruit juices are to be avoided unless fresh pressed. Your body uses the energy provided by the sugar to break the molecules of the fiber of the fruit. Without the fibers to break the sugar just goes straight in your body and messes you up.

I hope you'll find a way to get better.

Adrien M

_____________________________________


Who knew that so many men had skin issues and weren't discussing it?
Now I know why everyone in so cal smells like a pina colada....,coconut oil!!!!
Come with me to Myanmar and get your JUBU or JUDDHIST on. Good pilgrimage. Reduce stress. Be barefoot. Turn off!!!
Btw I take hot showers, moisturize, sun block, swim salt water as often as the east coast allows. Eat meat in moderation. Upped my fruit and veggies. Cheat on cookies!!!
Something I learned a long time ago from my dad HAPPINESS is the key to all.
Roberta Shoten

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Thanks for sharing all the skin stuff.

I'm glad (and really sorry) that I have so much company in that arena.

One thing worth noting on the food suggestions…

Your blood type has a lot to do with the type of exercise that's best for you and the type of foods that suit you best.

For example, Paleo diets seem to work well with Type O people (the most common blood type) but not so well with others.

This is worth googling and digging into as there are a number of contradictory positions out there. But, blood type has a lot to do with skin.

And, sugar is just plain bad - that includes high fructose corn syrup which adds corn as an allergen to the sweet mix. It's in so many foods that it's freaky. Snack at your own risk if it comes in a bag.

John Parikhal

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Thanks for the call out, Bob. And yes, coconut oil is ridiculously high in cholesterol, but it is a different chain that doesn't clog your arteries, actually does the opposite. Who knew.

So you know who I am, I started in the record industry business delivering records in a van and working at Music Warehouse on LI in the early 70's then landed a job with RCA/AM/Arista records in the late 70's until mid-80's in sales and promotion in NY. Loved the business, but left for personal reasons.
I started my own advertising agency in 1985, which I've had since then. But still a music junkie.

I'm now also Chairman of the LI Music Hall of Fame (www.limusichalloffame.org). Which kinda brings me full circle.

As I mentioned, my gf is a board certified health coach, her name is Katherine Kappas, you can look her up (www.katherinekappas.com). She helps a lot of people with all kinds of issues, holistically, and if you want to chat, she can Skype or Facetime with you since we are in NY. She won't charge you, she's a doll and thinks this whole situation (especially the sex life part) is hysterical.

Good luck with the skin. Let me know if you'd like to speak with Kathy. Hey, you never know.

Thanks,

Ernie Canadeo

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Green smoothies cured me- Almond milk, kale, apples, bananas, wheatgrass powder, trader joes antioxidant powderextra virgin olive oil, cinnamon, ground flaxseed meal.....i have the skin of a 12yr old ballerina -dave schimansky

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Bob - have you tried taking piles of Vitamin C? Supposed to be great for the complexion and skin.

Richard Sales

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I didn't see anyone suggest Windex, but Michael Constantine swore by it my My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Philip Scott

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What an outpouring.

Forget the music business blog. You need to shift it over to a healthcare blog.

You'll make a fortune if you can monetize it!

I wonder if Adele has eczema?

Rik shafer

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If I recall correctly you have a form of leukemia for which you are taking
a rather expensive drug. Apologies if I have gotten this part wrong.

A few years ago, an acquaintance in our age group (coincidentally also an
avid skier) was DX'd with leukemia and prescribed a drug which showed
promising results but which made his skin itch horribly -- so much so
that, at his request, his medical team took him off the drug.

I don't know whether my friend's situation bears any relation to yours,
but if it does I'd advise not stopping the drug.

I hope you find some relief among the hundreds of heartfelt emails you've
received lately! Aren't people wonderful?

Judy Smith

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Back in '12 I was diagnosed with rectal cancer, went through 5 weeks of chemo and 28 radiation treatments. About 14 treatments in, going to the bathroom became tear-inducing torture, one of the reasons I went from 160 lbs to 112 lbs within 4 months, why eat when you know you'll go through such pain? After going through that, a 3 month period with a colostomy bag, the three week long hospital stays and two major surgeries, I'm now ok. Not great, looks like the cancer is holding off, but my digestive system is whacky, I can go literally 10+ times per day if I eat like a normal human being. That I can deal with if I plan properly, like eat nothing or like a bird if I'm going to see a show like Gene Simmons tonight, who wants to hit the can in a nasty bathroom in a concert venue???

The biggest issue is my SKIN in the bum area, going to the bathroom a lot I can deal with. My skin, almost five years later is just raw, almost tear-inducing still at times due to radiation proctitis. I guess it's chronic in some, saw a dermatologist, yep tried several creams, nada, oncologist, it may go away, colonoscopy Dr, eh, not much you can do. Really??? I'm not the only one that suffers from this but there's nothing on the market that can help?

That's my SKIN story. I was diagnosed at 45, I'm 50 now. I tell people all the time, sure cancer of the bum is an embarrassing subject, but people need to get checked and they don't. Even those that witnessed me go through this. But if one does, and is saved from the torture I endured, I'm good with that.

I'm back up to 142 lbs, in shape, put some muscle back on at Planet Fitness, funny when I tell people, their reaction is YOU had cancer??? Yep, me, at 45. Colonoscopies at 50??? I really believe they should start at 40 or earlier, almost everyone I met at the Clinic was 40 or under going through a similar ordeal.

Thanks for the newsletter, it's always interesting.

Cheers,

Howard Ross

_____________________________________


Thanks - note - Shingles may be real for some of your readers. My UVM college audio producer & friend was named Witt Shingle he worked with Gabby on Hawaiian Slide Key albums in LA with Ry Cooder. I got a shingles shot. Best ~ ski or hang in central VT some day - Jim Eaton

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Am an eczema survivor

1. No fabric softener.
2. Dreft or Mrs. Meyes for laundry (or any ECO brand at Whole Foods or Co-op)
3. Whichever lotion you use from that long list of recommendations, be sure there are NO SULFATES. Eucerin and Aveeno both contain sulfates, I believe.
4. Coconut oil does work, but is very greasy
5. La Roche Posay Lipikar Lait (not from CVS, but from Europe - the laws are more stringent in EU than US, so it's a better formulation from EU). Here's who ships it
http://www.lifeandlooks.com/25578.html?currency=usd&language=9&gclid=CjwKEAjwtbPGBRDhoLaqn6HknWsSJABR-o5s4SRM6iakX983ywbkpDl7CZ-GXQ2_rE-AEfxKv8EAfRoCnKrw_wcB&utm_source=phplist5783&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Absolutely+Final+Skin

Lesley Bracker

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Not one to ever jump in but exactly the same skin issues. New drug out, Xolair, given by injections, super expensive unless health insurance covers.
Specifically for rash and inching only, for over active immune system.
Just starting injections this week.
http://www.xolair.com/?cid=xol_PS_MIXLCUWB0019_11&c=MIXLCUWB0019&dclid=CNjLhYnH4NICFQNnfgodcn0KWg&utm_source=phplist5783&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Absolutely+Final+Skin

Ron Finkel

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Everything is connected to diet. What is your cholesterol? If it is really high that can indicate that you have inflammation which needs to tested. Get your CRP tested. How is your b12 level? That is important too!

Jeanette Kimszal, RDN

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Hey Bob...It's my experience that dermatologists just treat the symptoms and don't get to the root of the problem. I think a lot of skin issues have to do with diet. A holistic doctor recommended that I stop eating grains and no processed sugar. When I immersed myself in this diet my skin never looked better!
Thanks for all your great writing!
All the best,
Brandon Wilde

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I have allergies and eczema and get dry itchy skin too. I'm Black and haven't had good luck with visiting dermatologists to relieve my skin symptoms. They don't usually work for me.
I have nothing for you but hope you report back on what you did and how it worked out.

Given the huge number of responses, can you write about back pain and sciatica issues? If you don't have such pain, make it up. Ha!! I need to tap your hive mind to crowd source some remedies for my life changing pain.

Cheers,
Trevor

_____________________________________


Given the response to your skin issue, I'm curious to see what your audience has to say about Tinnitus.

Keep up the good work.

Scott Drath

_____________________________________


It's called eyes wide shut syndrome.

You allow the "authority" to poison your water with fluoride (used for rat poison, read your toothpaste warning). By the way your body is made of water. You're food is processed with chemicals, genetically modified, bathed in pesticides, old, dead, shipped across the planet from nutrient deficient soils to meet your demand and convenience. Yes all your booshie restaurants serve you poison and fish from a Fukushima radiation laden Pacific Ocean, let alone a place like McDonalds that should be charged with crimes against humanity. Then you breath oil and rubber all day in the big city while they spray you overhead with chemicals. And if you don't think so think again, the facts are out regarding atmospheric testing or whatever the hell their excuse. One day crystal clear, the next smoked out with lines of haze from high altitude planes. It gets into you, food, water. Then, you go to rest on a mattress with springs in it, little do you know that the coils, with 40 wifi/cell tower/radio signals surrounding you act like antenna and create a nice radio frequency cloud surrounding your bed so you can cook a little at night.

Welcome to the 21st century of the average American, unfortunately uneducated and unaware. What else would one expect?

No sparay??? Think again -----

Marcin Janiszewski

_____________________________________


OK Bob, as one of the true Gurus in my life, I have to keep you healthy!
holisticblends@holisticblends.com
This is Sherry Brescia'a website. Everything you need to know is there.
She covers everything from skin to acid reflux, pain, diet, and beyond.
As I faithfully check in with you everyday, do yourself a huge favor, sign up for her program and she'll check in with you everyday. It all comes down to educating yourself in the world of acid / alkaline, and eating great food.
Get rid of all your ointments and fire your doctor for now. (Most doctors training only concerns medicine and how to prescribe it, having no clue about preventative practices). Unless you break something of course:)
Only you know and I know, It's not what you put on, it's what you put in,
Sincerely,

John Ellis

_____________________________________


Never tried the apple cider vinegar but I can tell you that Geoff is right about the Kenalog shots. If u want to take a trip that involves wearing shorts and short sleeves, get one 10 days before you go!

Curry Grant

_____________________________________


I speak from experience - it took a rheumatologist to diagnose the skin condition that I had ALL OVER MY BODY (it crept up, little by little, as you have described). The problem was an inside job (they usually are, unless it is contact dermatitis). Perhaps your GP will agree? Sometimes, hematology can be helpful, as well - especially since you have had a blood disease in the past. Feel better!

TL McMillan

_____________________________________


Impressed that John Duignan says he's cured his tinnitus on his own. Never heard that before, and after suffering with ringing ears for twenty some years...I would love to know how he did it. And what caused his tinnitus in the first place. Music? Loud noise? Drugs? Gunshots? Other?

Warning! A tinnitus topic might launch yet another avalanche in your mailbox! But it would be the mitzvah of all time for us sufferers.

This is the ONLY thing that gives me momentary relief from the insidious ringing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxt368FWvew&utm_source=phplist5783&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Absolutely+Final+Skin

BTW...I forgot to mention that taking benzodiazepines aka anti-anxiety drugs (commonly known as Valium, Xanax, Ativan, Restoril, Klonopin, Versed) will not only make your ears ring, but they will make you itch worse than any other cause. Flaky skin is one thing, but itching is in actuality the way that a body expresses pain. And theoretically pain is your 'friend' because it alerts you that attention must be paid.

I wish our bodies were like cars so we could just lift up the hood and see what's wrong!

Lisa Freedman

_____________________________________


Catching up on emails and I just read yours about your skin condition and if you haven't found a solution, I can share what worked for my son after seeing too many "expert" dermatologists in NYC to count and different diagnosis's. As you say, medicine is more of an art form than science. He was in such pain from the itching, rubbing countless creams and ointments on himself, self medicating with benedryl and atarax and none of it really worked. A lot of skin flareups happen when the weather changes btw, but you probably know this already. He finally found the cure from Dr. Emma Gutman, who runs the Eczema Center at Mt. Sinai in NYC. She saw him and in :10 seconds knew exactly what to do and how to fix it. Within two days his skin was almost flawless. And the itching you speak of, I know how absolutely horrible and painful that is. Here was what 'cured' him immediately and of course, hope it helps you -

1) Take a warm bath with 1/2 cup clorox (the kind you'd use in with white clothing in laundry) and a full tub of water. Soak for 5 minute 3 times a week.

2) Shower using Ketokonozol shampoo (need script for this) for your scalp and Shampoo and face.
Use hibiclens to clean the rest of your body in the shower.

3) Phototherapy - start at a low dose (30 seconds) and increase.- 3 times a week. You'll need to find a doctor who has this machine and obviously get a script for this too.

4) He also took a low dose antibiotic for 10 days since all the itching caused an infection which is what makes your skin itch even more.

Over the years, my son was prescribed so many creams and ointments with steroids for this condition, that I could scream. Had I known about this much healthier alternative treatment, I could have saved us from years of bad skin management.

Good luck!

Susan Solovay

_____________________________________


FWIW this stuff has done a decent job
http://www.corn-huskers.com/?utm_source=phplist5783&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Absolutely+Final+Skin

Jason Kennedy

_____________________________________


I know you have a lot to sift through. I hope that you have started your road to healing. It will take some diligence, focus and patience. I have added some additional notes.

Stay away from Parabens, banned in Europe, cancer causing and they irritate the skin. (It's on the villains chart in the link below with the other ingredients that are harmful) The EU has higher regulations in the cosmetics world than the US. You would be better off getting samples of products to try because you will know immediately if they irritate. The coconut oil can be blended with a lotion and it will hydrate the skin.

California is the lead with the highest organic food regulations in the US, thankfully.

Heal your gut.

You can go and try done bone broth. You can get it at BelCampo. Check their site BelCampo.com
If it's of interest, there is a book about the benefits of bone broth, "Nourishing Broth," or you can just google the benefits. It's liquid gold as long as your condition doesn't get worse.

If you purchase probiotics, which you should immediately, highest content, in the billions, make sure it is dairy free. Dairy is your enemy.

You should look up foods with high levels of histamines and adjust your diet. Speak to your allergist/doctor.

Keep us updated on your progress.

Laura Tamburino

_____________________________________


Your reply went to my spam box. I've read a good amount of the responses and I concur with most of the natural practices. As far as the coconut oil goes, make sure it is organic, raw and not pasteurized. Dr. Mercola is a great resource and has an extensive website. I had some weird skin stuff going on and it's hard to tell what will work sometimes as they stem from different sources. Dane Farnsworth was right on the money, in my book! Two things to always remember, (if it's not an allergy to grass or something along those lines) if it's coming out on your skin your body can't process the toxins and your liver is in overload. Whatever you put on your body topically absorbs and goes through your kidneys to process. So putting Jergen's or other chemical based lotions will process through the liver and isn't helping. You need to find the source. There are a lot of ways to detox and that should be high on your list!

Of course your doctor said that, Ugg!!!! Coconut oil is antibacterial and antifungal so even if it doesn't solve the skin issue it's not going to hurt you and will give you other health benefits and it's cheap compared to what he is going to prescribe. I didn't see anyone recommend Castor oil, but that is also very good. Again, organic and not pasteurized. http://www.drmercola.com/cancer/what-you-should-know-before-using-castor-oil/?utm_source=phplist5783&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Absolutely+Final+Skin

Check out Bullet proof coffee for brain function. You don't need to do their system but the premise is good.

Just one more thing...sorry! Apple cider vinegar is also an anti-inflammation remedy. I have used it topically and drinking it is really good. Your mind immediately thinks it's an acid, but when ingested it will turn your body alkaline. But that's a whole other story!

Good luck and I look forward to your course of action and to see your progress.

Tanya Page

_____________________________________


Hey Bob,

Just turned 31 and had a breakout on my skin that sounds incredibly similar to yours. Mine is mostly eczema, which I've had before on a very small scale before it vanishes.

It started with peeling under the fingernail of my right-hand ring finger, and then around it. Expanded to my inner ear and then my scalp. Later started getting a rash on my forehead and palms and I finally said enough and went and got a steroid cream.

The doctor seemed unconcerned; he told me to reduce my stress/anxiety (I work in tech in SF) and my carb/fat intake and sent me on my way in less than 20 minutes. Thanks dude.

So I'm turning to Eastern medicine to augment my treatment. I know, that's the shit that killed Steve Jobs, right? Not exactly.

I lived in China for four years and learned a thing or two about this. The thing is Traditional Chinese Medicine is a whole-person approach to internal medicine. I've got this cream for the surface symptoms but my skin condition is simply a physical manifestation of something that's out of whack internally.

Western medicine's strength is it's empirical and you have science to back it up but they usually just throw drugs at the symptoms until they stop.

Eastern medicine has a history spanning millennia to back it up but less empirical support. However, they treat the whole person with a root cause approach.

But you gotta be careful. Look for a Chinese or Taiwanese doctor first, or at least someone who's been trained in China second.

The woman I'm seeing helped a friend after a serious car accident. She was having terrible neck and shoulder pain so the doc brewed up a tincture from scratch and two weeks later my friend has made what you might call a miraculous recovery. When she heard about my problems she gave me the recommendation immediately.

I'm headed in Monday for my consultation. I'll keep you posted, if you're interested.

Get well soon.

Mike

_____________________________________


Poor dear. I'm with you.
It wouldn't be an on / off again case of shingles would it ?

I just picked up an ancient book in my house: The Ultra Simple Diet by Mark Hyman, M.D.
Because I just want to get healthy and lose a couple of lbs. It's one of those anti-inflammation diets that starts your day with a good green tea (coffee can wait) and has me cooking brown rice once a week and storing it in little plastic bags to eat during the week - this among other recommendations.

A healthy diet couldn't help and I doubt you will go hungry either.

I'm sending you "get well vibes" !

Barbara Rounds

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Johnson's Baby Shampoo is the trick for the itchiness around the eyes and face. Dermatologist recommended this for my husband and I a couple of months ago (we live in SWFL) and it does the trick every time for us. Lukeward water, light scrub, it was gone in 2 days......and hasn't reappeared since :) Cheers! Elisa Miller-Burda and Petr

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Thanks for that 2nd round of replies. If you are considering a 3rd, keep in mind they say in Judaism that 3 times a "hazakah," a strength. In other religions and cultures of course 3 has its own symbolism of strength. So, I imagine you'll get more replies to your reply. You're definitely keeping a lot of us entertained. Clearly this is more interesting than our boring and often depressing Facebook feeds these days. Stay strong; there's always a light at the end of the tunnel!

With great hope for good epidermal news,

Rachel Steinerman

_____________________________________


What's funny is seeing the names of people I used to see / hang with / bump into / hear about at conventions 20 - 25 years ago, in various stages of inebriation or drug usage, now espousing about coconut oil and lavender aloe and Panthothenic Acid. Dylan was right, the times they are a changin'. As well as the people.

Barry Lyons / Rent A Label

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