He got locked in the box of being Jerry Garcia.
This is not the movie I expected it to be. If you're looking for the Altamont story, an in-depth analysis of the band's keyboardists and their deaths, this flick is not for you. Actually, I'm not sure this film will satisfy anybody, even the hardest core Deadheads, because it's mostly others telling their story of the band, and if you were ever touched, if you were a fan, you've got your own. Buying the albums, trading the tapes, going to the show... Each concert was different, and that's what built the legend, much more than the passing of cassettes, it was a living breathing thing that was palpable, very different from a show today, still-influenced by MTV, with a firm setlist and production, the Dead made it up as they went along, and if you weren't there you might miss out, but what made the band go nuclear was the hit, "Touch Of Grey," suddenly everybody was clued in, because some things never change, it's always about the single.
And when the band reaches the pinnacle it's always about the money. You're the center of an ecosystem. If you leave the road, if you break up, what are all those people gonna do for a living? And the responsibility weighs heavy. Everybody says go, from the manager to the agent to your fellow players, never mind the audience, and then you self-destruct. This is what happened to Kurt Cobain, I believe it's what happened to Chris Cornell, and it definitely happened to Jerry Garcia.
But you don't want to hear that. You want to put these people on a pedestal, invest them with your hopes and dreams, and the greats were never in it for that. They wanted acknowledgement, they wanted success, but they didn't want to fulfill expectations, they wanted to experiment, they wanted to be free, like in the sixties.
If you're watching on Amazon there are six episodes. And it becomes an endurance test. And if you're not up for the full investment, just watch the first and the last, they're superior. But that's the difference between then and now, we had few options, we experienced boredom, we'd go to the Grateful Dead show and it would be one hour of greatness, one hour of trash and two hours of mediocrity, not that anybody would admit it. But at least give them credit for trying to climb that hill, achieve greatness. And this flick mirrors a Dead show, and when it's on, it's SPECTACULAR!
Like is said in the flick, Ronald Reagan wanted to erase the sixties. The Republicans still want to achieve this, even though it was fifty years ago. But if you were alive back then, you know the sixties were not overrated, our only regret was they didn't continue, that we didn't get to participate in everything, we wanted to go to the Acid Tests which we didn't know existed until Tom Wolfe's book, that's what made Woodstock so big, everybody had gotten the memo, they didn't want to be LEFT OUT!
But first there was just a germ of an idea.
You've got to start with economics. You could live on next to nothing. You could pursue your dream. Even I did this, spending two years skiing in Utah. No American does this anymore, they're afraid of missing out on their career, and it costs too much to do it. And don't criticize the ski talk, Jerry Garcia loved to SCUBA dive, and even their old road manager, Sam Cutler, says you've got to get away from it to survive, he even referenced snow skiing.
But, once again, you don't want your heroes to be human.
And if you've met your heroes you're sorely disappointed almost all of the time. Your image does not comport with reality. And today everybody wants the responsibility of being a star, but Garcia stopped talking, he was afraid of people hanging on his every word.
So, it's the turn of the decade. From the fifties to the sixties. The beatniks paved the way, and the poets did too. And you became a musician not for the money but because you got the bug, you were bitten. And Garcia was and his goal was never to make commercial music, but the music in his head. And first and foremost it had to be FUN!
That's a running theme in the film, along with Garcia's infatuation with Frankenstein. Jerry only wants to do it if it's fun. And he's into the moment, not the legacy, he's all about the now. So if you're looking for instruction, if you're looking for lessons, I wouldn't start with the Dead, they were making it up as they went along. Hell, try that, but good luck surviving. You see times have changed. You can't make it here. But Jerry, et al, did.
And they all acknowledge Jerry is the leader, the teacher, the inspiration.
And Jerry was inspired by what was going on around him and a high school student named Brigid Meier. And when she returns, 28 years later, when Jerry has Dennis McNally track her down you know all men are the same, looking back, never forgetting where they were, who they were, the women that influenced them. It's not about hanging with the rich and famous, it's about hanging with those who knew you when.
And that's the essence of the picture, the Brigid Meier story.
As for the rest...
I really don't care what Al Franken has to say about the band. Or Steve Silberman. Or even Nick Paumgarten, the most articulate of the three. Because, like I said, we all have our own stories.
And the stories are not fully fleshed out. Joe Smith has told me numerous times about telling the band to make one for him, after multiple uncommercial LPs, but somehow the band just gets divine inspiration and makes "Workingman's Dead," even though Joe says a lot, this is not included.
Nor is the formation of their own record company.
Nor is there emphasis on the postcards and their fan club.
And they mention European tours and going to the pyramids but you want to know more about road life, and you want to know more about relationships, Mountain Girl is only mentioned by her daughter Trixie. And I won't say the film is a whitewash, but there's very little negative in it, and there's always negative in life, it's amazing we get along at all.
So, the early footage is revelatory. As is some footage of the initial European tour. But this flick is not about facts, but feeling. And too often they miss the feeling. You get the feeling of what it was like to be in the band before it was signed, which makes the initial installment so good, and the mania of the end, when there were more people outside the stadium than in it, but the all night Fillmore shows, how "Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty" blew up the band, working with Lowell George... That's nowhere to be found. The Dead meant the most in the seventies, the eighties and nineties were a victory lap, and although they say this about the later period, they don't go into depth about the commercial heyday of the 1970s.
So I'm disappointed.
I think most people will be disappointed. Assuming they watch it at all.
Have you got four hours to watch a Grateful Dead movie? Only the most hardcore Deadhead does, and there are not enough nuggets here to satisfy them.
Maybe the film had to be sixteen hours long.
Or there had to be a cut and uncut version.
The definitive story of the Grateful Dead has yet to be told. And isn't that just the point? The story is continuing, it will never die, the act will probably outlive its members, which is rare these days.
Because they were in it for the music.
Until they were in it for the business and it destroyed them.
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Saturday, 10 June 2017
Forgiveness
http://spoti.fi/2rLpXZm
When did we evolve into a zero tolerance society?
People are imperfect, they make mistakes, unless forewarned, should they pay the ultimate penalty? Should they lose their jobs, get kicked out of school for having a brain fart, even when premeditated with a blind spot, even when conscious?
My college had an honor code. Break it and you faced the consequences. But those kids who were just kicked out of Harvard for writing bad stuff on Facebook... I don't want to defend it, some of it was truly heinous, but do they deserve to lose their place in class? Does Kathy Griffin need to have her career decimated? Does Bill Maher have to be kicked off of HBO? Just because someone commits a faux pas and offends someone, does their employer have to invoke the nuclear option? The employer maintains, as does the complainer. The one who made the mistake...
Have you heard anything from Michael Richards recently? I'm not sure he ever got over his mortification from making racist comments in the heat of the moment.
And there's a camera everywhere.
No one bats a thousand and no one ever gets it all right. Is this the culture we want to live in, where everybody walks around inhibited, afraid to speak? It's the free exchange of ideas that makes our society great. You find out you're wrong and you adjust. Impulse is the core of creativity. Once you start filtering your instincts, you screw it up.
Now I'm not saying repeat offenders shouldn't pay a price. Bill O'Reilly had a blind spot that he was unwilling to admit to, he was a serial harasser.
But Billy Bush? Come on, we've all been in that situation, hanging with someone richer and more powerful than we are, we're uptight, we don't quite know how to act, so we agree, we play along. Come on, you've never winced at your behavior, what you've said after an encounter?
I mean does it have to be so black and white? Is Comey a bad guy forever because he interfered with the election, or can he be a good guy now?
And this isn't right or left. Everybody deserves a pass, at least now and again.
Certain things are beyond the pale, like killing someone. But there are even exceptions there, having to do with premeditation, insanity, but in the court of public opinion you're guilty, you get no trial, and you're permanently on the sidelines while everybody else moves on and forgets about you.
This is kind of like the drug laws. Or three strikes and you're out. We're so busy creating rules to make us feel safe that we coarsen our society.
Now I don't know where to draw the line, this is a gray area.
But in schools, there's a zero tolerance policy.
And in media.
And you become a pariah. I'm pissed at Al Franken for canceling appearances with Kathy Griffin and Bill Maher. That's how you know who your true friends are, whether they stand by you or abandon you in times of crisis. Al can say he's worried about voters, but grow a pair, will you? What's more important, getting re-elected or standing up for what's right?
Didn't Don Henley sing it was about forgiveness?
But that was almost thirty years ago. When our rock stars were chiaroscuro, not held up as perfect, before they all got plastic surgery and told us they were better than we were.
And the stars used to sing about love. That's one of my favorite verses, from Todd Rundgren:
"And when you feel afraid, love one another
When you've lost your way, love one another
When you're all alone, love one another
When you're far from home, love one another
When you're down and out, love one another
All your hope's run out, love one another
When you need a friend, love one another
When you're near the end, love one another
We got to love one another"
Love is the answer. Something John Lennon preached and got shot for. If he wasn't so damn famous, he wouldn't have been a target. Everybody on the edge is a target, but we need those pushing the envelope to enlighten us, to stimulate us, to entertain us.
What did Ian Hunter sing, once bitten twice shy?
How about that. Give somebody a bite. And then be on guard for other failures, other trips over the line.
But when someone screws up just once, why should they pay the ultimate penalty?
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When did we evolve into a zero tolerance society?
People are imperfect, they make mistakes, unless forewarned, should they pay the ultimate penalty? Should they lose their jobs, get kicked out of school for having a brain fart, even when premeditated with a blind spot, even when conscious?
My college had an honor code. Break it and you faced the consequences. But those kids who were just kicked out of Harvard for writing bad stuff on Facebook... I don't want to defend it, some of it was truly heinous, but do they deserve to lose their place in class? Does Kathy Griffin need to have her career decimated? Does Bill Maher have to be kicked off of HBO? Just because someone commits a faux pas and offends someone, does their employer have to invoke the nuclear option? The employer maintains, as does the complainer. The one who made the mistake...
Have you heard anything from Michael Richards recently? I'm not sure he ever got over his mortification from making racist comments in the heat of the moment.
And there's a camera everywhere.
No one bats a thousand and no one ever gets it all right. Is this the culture we want to live in, where everybody walks around inhibited, afraid to speak? It's the free exchange of ideas that makes our society great. You find out you're wrong and you adjust. Impulse is the core of creativity. Once you start filtering your instincts, you screw it up.
Now I'm not saying repeat offenders shouldn't pay a price. Bill O'Reilly had a blind spot that he was unwilling to admit to, he was a serial harasser.
But Billy Bush? Come on, we've all been in that situation, hanging with someone richer and more powerful than we are, we're uptight, we don't quite know how to act, so we agree, we play along. Come on, you've never winced at your behavior, what you've said after an encounter?
I mean does it have to be so black and white? Is Comey a bad guy forever because he interfered with the election, or can he be a good guy now?
And this isn't right or left. Everybody deserves a pass, at least now and again.
Certain things are beyond the pale, like killing someone. But there are even exceptions there, having to do with premeditation, insanity, but in the court of public opinion you're guilty, you get no trial, and you're permanently on the sidelines while everybody else moves on and forgets about you.
This is kind of like the drug laws. Or three strikes and you're out. We're so busy creating rules to make us feel safe that we coarsen our society.
Now I don't know where to draw the line, this is a gray area.
But in schools, there's a zero tolerance policy.
And in media.
And you become a pariah. I'm pissed at Al Franken for canceling appearances with Kathy Griffin and Bill Maher. That's how you know who your true friends are, whether they stand by you or abandon you in times of crisis. Al can say he's worried about voters, but grow a pair, will you? What's more important, getting re-elected or standing up for what's right?
Didn't Don Henley sing it was about forgiveness?
But that was almost thirty years ago. When our rock stars were chiaroscuro, not held up as perfect, before they all got plastic surgery and told us they were better than we were.
And the stars used to sing about love. That's one of my favorite verses, from Todd Rundgren:
"And when you feel afraid, love one another
When you've lost your way, love one another
When you're all alone, love one another
When you're far from home, love one another
When you're down and out, love one another
All your hope's run out, love one another
When you need a friend, love one another
When you're near the end, love one another
We got to love one another"
Love is the answer. Something John Lennon preached and got shot for. If he wasn't so damn famous, he wouldn't have been a target. Everybody on the edge is a target, but we need those pushing the envelope to enlighten us, to stimulate us, to entertain us.
What did Ian Hunter sing, once bitten twice shy?
How about that. Give somebody a bite. And then be on guard for other failures, other trips over the line.
But when someone screws up just once, why should they pay the ultimate penalty?
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Friday, 9 June 2017
Jerry Brown On The Axe Files
http://cnn.it/2rjC0uD
I know, I know, I'm overloading you with missives. Hell, I'm thrilled you're subscribing and reading AT ALL! It's just that I'm both excited about life and overwhelmed, and there's just so much HAPPENING!
Like listening to the BBC re the election on Sirius this morning. What a great world we live in where we can tune into the source and get a take. But there are fewer outlets in the U.K., at least it seems that way, whereas in America we live in the land of chaos, nowhere so much as in the land of podcasts, most of which are vanity projects, but some resonate.
Like the Axe Files. Wherein David Axelrod interviews both right and left wingers. He gets their history, and if we're lucky their take on what's going on now. I mean he even had Karl Rove, and that guy who wrote "Hillbilly Elegy," whom I now deplore. J.D. Vance may have come from nothing, but after Yale he became part of the tech/financial complex, working for Peter Thiel, and I'd rather listen to someone still in the belly of the beast. Did you read that story in the "New Yorker" about the opioid crisis in West Virginia? The EMT went to the same house for O.D.'s three times in one day, FOR THE SAME PEOPLE!
Now we live in a land of disagreement, where there's little leadership and we feel that we're on our own, then you listen to Jerry Brown on the Axe Files and you see a glimmer of hope.
That's right, Governor Moonbeam. Who dated Linda Ronstadt. Who kept running for President and losing. He's Governor again, but not for long, hell, he's 79 years old. But he's as fresh and as motivated as ever. And listening to him talk is stimulating and energizing and THIS IS THE BEST PODCAST I'VE HEARD ALL YEAR!
We need leaders. We need people who are speaking English. Brown pulls no punches, says exactly what he thinks, with no hems and haws. He just lays it all out. And I believe even if you disagree, if you're on the right, you'll think he makes sense.
And at the end he recites all the California triumphs. High taxes, but a great economy with a reserve.
But I don't want to get into the specifics, I want you to LISTEN!
And no one's got any time, I know. I went to the Dylan Nobel speech and it had under a hundred thousand listens. Now I see it's got 661,050, and to tell you the truth, you don't have to listen to all 27 minutes, when he gets talking about "Moby Dick" and "All Quiet On The Western Front" it's boring, it's like he had to appeal to the naysayers, say he's part of the canon of literature. But BEFORE THAT? Wow, he talks about inspiration, locking on to Buddy Holly, hearing records, getting inspiration, finding his direction, not worrying about popular culture but going his own way, it's so INSTRUCTIVE!
But even more I want you to listen to Jerry Brown. All of it. Because it's the wisdom of experience. He himself makes that point, when he was first governor when he was 36, he thought experience was the problem, now he knows that's wrong. And he learned how to get along, to compromise, and this is a better Commencement speech than you're ever gonna hear.
If you listen to podcasts. If you're worried about the world surrounding us. If you're interested in stimulation... PLEASE LISTEN!
"The Addicts Next Door": http://bit.ly/2rwI9qS
"2016 Nobel Lecture In Literature-Bob Dylan": http://bit.ly/2rLz0Kc
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I know, I know, I'm overloading you with missives. Hell, I'm thrilled you're subscribing and reading AT ALL! It's just that I'm both excited about life and overwhelmed, and there's just so much HAPPENING!
Like listening to the BBC re the election on Sirius this morning. What a great world we live in where we can tune into the source and get a take. But there are fewer outlets in the U.K., at least it seems that way, whereas in America we live in the land of chaos, nowhere so much as in the land of podcasts, most of which are vanity projects, but some resonate.
Like the Axe Files. Wherein David Axelrod interviews both right and left wingers. He gets their history, and if we're lucky their take on what's going on now. I mean he even had Karl Rove, and that guy who wrote "Hillbilly Elegy," whom I now deplore. J.D. Vance may have come from nothing, but after Yale he became part of the tech/financial complex, working for Peter Thiel, and I'd rather listen to someone still in the belly of the beast. Did you read that story in the "New Yorker" about the opioid crisis in West Virginia? The EMT went to the same house for O.D.'s three times in one day, FOR THE SAME PEOPLE!
Now we live in a land of disagreement, where there's little leadership and we feel that we're on our own, then you listen to Jerry Brown on the Axe Files and you see a glimmer of hope.
That's right, Governor Moonbeam. Who dated Linda Ronstadt. Who kept running for President and losing. He's Governor again, but not for long, hell, he's 79 years old. But he's as fresh and as motivated as ever. And listening to him talk is stimulating and energizing and THIS IS THE BEST PODCAST I'VE HEARD ALL YEAR!
We need leaders. We need people who are speaking English. Brown pulls no punches, says exactly what he thinks, with no hems and haws. He just lays it all out. And I believe even if you disagree, if you're on the right, you'll think he makes sense.
And at the end he recites all the California triumphs. High taxes, but a great economy with a reserve.
But I don't want to get into the specifics, I want you to LISTEN!
And no one's got any time, I know. I went to the Dylan Nobel speech and it had under a hundred thousand listens. Now I see it's got 661,050, and to tell you the truth, you don't have to listen to all 27 minutes, when he gets talking about "Moby Dick" and "All Quiet On The Western Front" it's boring, it's like he had to appeal to the naysayers, say he's part of the canon of literature. But BEFORE THAT? Wow, he talks about inspiration, locking on to Buddy Holly, hearing records, getting inspiration, finding his direction, not worrying about popular culture but going his own way, it's so INSTRUCTIVE!
But even more I want you to listen to Jerry Brown. All of it. Because it's the wisdom of experience. He himself makes that point, when he was first governor when he was 36, he thought experience was the problem, now he knows that's wrong. And he learned how to get along, to compromise, and this is a better Commencement speech than you're ever gonna hear.
If you listen to podcasts. If you're worried about the world surrounding us. If you're interested in stimulation... PLEASE LISTEN!
"The Addicts Next Door": http://bit.ly/2rwI9qS
"2016 Nobel Lecture In Literature-Bob Dylan": http://bit.ly/2rLz0Kc
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RapCaviar
http://spoti.fi/2mThvTu
Is driving the culture. It's more important than radio. It's where rap records get started, and rap rules America.
How did this happen?
MILLENNIALS! The pooh-poohed generation has taken over. They threw a monkey wrench into the British election and they're skewing music listening. This is the way it always happens. Just when you think everything's copacetic, when there is no change, change happens.
The debate about Spotify has been about compensation.
But the true story about Spotify is INFLUENCE!
Spotify is where records get started. And they do so very quickly. This is not radio, where you massage program directors and wait for your slot, where you have arguments about what and what doesn't work. Spotify knows INSTANTLY! Either a track is saved or skipped. And with this data, the service places winning tracks on other playlists and they become hits. Radio is last. And at this point radio reaches more people, but 6,962,977 people are subscribed to RapCaviar, and that's just plain NUTS!
And in the mobile version, there are videos interspersed in the playlist, there's a whole culture, a whole ecosystem, lacking in other genres, especially those which have not moved to streaming. Once again, country and rock and every other genre should IMPLORE their acolytes to subscribe to Spotify. As for Apple Music, it's a black hole behind a paywall with no readily discernible data. It's anti-now. Apple should be publishing reams of data, to not only help artists but to cement their place in the culture.
But right now it's limited to Spotify.
And why is it African-Americans are always on the cutting edge of technology? First with pagers, then with smartphones and now streaming. They're open to something new, they go where the action is, they create the action, they're aware of the rules whereas everybody else keeps whining that their cheese has been moved.
And African-Americans drive the culture.
So the whites are hip-hop fans, and they're all aware of RapCaviar, they pay attention to it.
The most popular rock playlist on Spotify is Rock This, with only 3,664,155 followers. Even Rock Classics only has 2,315,715 followers.
Hot Country has 3,794,358.
ElectroNow has 4,253,946.
Ultimate Indie has only 1,707,052.
None of the Folk and Americana breaks seven figures, they don't even get to half of that. Metal is even worse. Punk is just about as bad.
So if you're focusing your fans on downloads and CDs you're only hurting yourself. People discover new music on Spotify. And it will only become more powerful. They're going to steal radio's thunder while stations keep putting out press releases how healthy the genre is. In an instant world, who wants to be last? In an on demand world, who wants to wait to hear what they want and be unable to skip?
Right now hip-hop rules Spotify, that's where all the money is going. If you want to get paid, you need to advocate for your genre's playlist, you've got to play the streaming game.
Or you're gonna be left out.
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Is driving the culture. It's more important than radio. It's where rap records get started, and rap rules America.
How did this happen?
MILLENNIALS! The pooh-poohed generation has taken over. They threw a monkey wrench into the British election and they're skewing music listening. This is the way it always happens. Just when you think everything's copacetic, when there is no change, change happens.
The debate about Spotify has been about compensation.
But the true story about Spotify is INFLUENCE!
Spotify is where records get started. And they do so very quickly. This is not radio, where you massage program directors and wait for your slot, where you have arguments about what and what doesn't work. Spotify knows INSTANTLY! Either a track is saved or skipped. And with this data, the service places winning tracks on other playlists and they become hits. Radio is last. And at this point radio reaches more people, but 6,962,977 people are subscribed to RapCaviar, and that's just plain NUTS!
And in the mobile version, there are videos interspersed in the playlist, there's a whole culture, a whole ecosystem, lacking in other genres, especially those which have not moved to streaming. Once again, country and rock and every other genre should IMPLORE their acolytes to subscribe to Spotify. As for Apple Music, it's a black hole behind a paywall with no readily discernible data. It's anti-now. Apple should be publishing reams of data, to not only help artists but to cement their place in the culture.
But right now it's limited to Spotify.
And why is it African-Americans are always on the cutting edge of technology? First with pagers, then with smartphones and now streaming. They're open to something new, they go where the action is, they create the action, they're aware of the rules whereas everybody else keeps whining that their cheese has been moved.
And African-Americans drive the culture.
So the whites are hip-hop fans, and they're all aware of RapCaviar, they pay attention to it.
The most popular rock playlist on Spotify is Rock This, with only 3,664,155 followers. Even Rock Classics only has 2,315,715 followers.
Hot Country has 3,794,358.
ElectroNow has 4,253,946.
Ultimate Indie has only 1,707,052.
None of the Folk and Americana breaks seven figures, they don't even get to half of that. Metal is even worse. Punk is just about as bad.
So if you're focusing your fans on downloads and CDs you're only hurting yourself. People discover new music on Spotify. And it will only become more powerful. They're going to steal radio's thunder while stations keep putting out press releases how healthy the genre is. In an instant world, who wants to be last? In an on demand world, who wants to wait to hear what they want and be unable to skip?
Right now hip-hop rules Spotify, that's where all the money is going. If you want to get paid, you need to advocate for your genre's playlist, you've got to play the streaming game.
Or you're gonna be left out.
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Thursday, 8 June 2017
Taylor Swift On Spotify (And Everywhere Else)
There's no story here. And to the degree there is one, it's not about Swift.
Streaming won, we live in an on demand culture. Furthermore, those at the top of the streaming chart are making beaucoup bucks. And with new chart formulas, it's the streamers who top the chart, sales are nearly irrelevant. Hell, they're up in arms in the U.K. over Ed Sheeran's dominance of the singles chart, he had almost all of the positions! But that's what happens when truth outs. We need a way to break songs, but we can't argue that those who've already made it dominate the majority of listening.
But not Taylor Swift.
Come on, we already had this debate over a decade ago. Remember when acts wouldn't go on iTunes? Hell, even Kid Rock woke up, even though his hero, Bob Seger, is still living in the last century. Want to be marginalized in today's society? Just make yourself unavailable. You need to be everywhere today, never say no, and if you're LUCKY people will spend their time with you.
Taylor Swift will be over someday. How do I know? BECAUSE EVERYBODY IS OVER SOMEDAY! You don't want to cripple yourself in the middle of your career. Look at Kesha. Now what? Stay in the game, play out your contract. That's the rule of the music business, it's not about justice, it's about being around long enough to write your own rules. Sorry that's unfair, but dem's the rules.
Taylor Swift is living in a bubble. You can't blame her, she grew up with fame, but she's got no idea how she's perceived. She overplayed her hand with that photographed holiday party, she got in online tangles she shouldn't have, with other, more streetwise performers, and then she went on hiatus.
Bad move. She should have stayed on social media, people would have forgotten the faux pas. But by going silent that's all we remember. I mean come on, letting Kim and Kanye take you down? As for Katy Perry... Just stand up and apologize, say it was somebody else's fault, you weren't aware. Then again, you wrote that song...
She's got to stop dissing people. That's a one note game.
Not that Taylor Swift's career is gonna die tomorrow. Because the whole world is Nashville now. Meaning it's about songwriters getting their wares on hit records. And with albums history, you've got to have the single, that's what streaming has taught us. So, Taylor gets her choice of the best of the best. And if you think she's writing these numbers independently, you probably still believe in Santa Claus.
But Swift is not stupid. Which is why she made this move. She realized the marketplace had changed. Two summers ago Apple was not gonna pay for free streaming, for the trial period, today Apple Music has 27 million paying subscribers, only dwarfed by Spotify's more than 50. It's where the money is. Sure, Adele triumphed without Spotify, but that was eighteen months ago, and sure, she sold albums, but the singles on "25" were not as successful as those on "21" and some of that has to do with quality, but even more has to do with availability.
You don't want to be too early.
But you certainly don't want to be too late.
Taylor Swift realized streaming has won. And she hasn't even restricted her tunes to paid streaming, which Spotify now allows, she wants to continue to be the biggest star in America, and she can only do this by playing by the new rules.
She realized the game has changed.
Have you?
P.S. After writing this, but before sending it, I got an email from someone in the demo who wrote:
"But the same night, at the same hour that Perry's new album drops? She couldn't wait a week? That seems like a pointed shot. And super petty."
I think that's right. I think that's brilliant insight. This is the kind of thing the internet was built for, the scuttlebutt that will ensue, no matter what the truth. This illustrates Swift has learned no lessons, because the truth is irrelevant, the perception will be she's still at war with Katy Perry, which is kind of funny for someone who refused to take a stand on the election, if Taylor Swift had come out for Hillary, Clinton would have won, that's how powerful Swift is. But she abdicated her power all in an effort to further her career, while hurting it in the process. You punch UP, not DOWN! Which is why it worked when Swift attacked Apple but it doesn't when she attacks Perry. Swift is seen as a truthsayer who composes her own music, her body of work hangs together, Perry is all over the place. But Swift cannot accept her superiority. And when you're fighting all comers, which seems to be Swift's M.O., you ultimately lose.
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Streaming won, we live in an on demand culture. Furthermore, those at the top of the streaming chart are making beaucoup bucks. And with new chart formulas, it's the streamers who top the chart, sales are nearly irrelevant. Hell, they're up in arms in the U.K. over Ed Sheeran's dominance of the singles chart, he had almost all of the positions! But that's what happens when truth outs. We need a way to break songs, but we can't argue that those who've already made it dominate the majority of listening.
But not Taylor Swift.
Come on, we already had this debate over a decade ago. Remember when acts wouldn't go on iTunes? Hell, even Kid Rock woke up, even though his hero, Bob Seger, is still living in the last century. Want to be marginalized in today's society? Just make yourself unavailable. You need to be everywhere today, never say no, and if you're LUCKY people will spend their time with you.
Taylor Swift will be over someday. How do I know? BECAUSE EVERYBODY IS OVER SOMEDAY! You don't want to cripple yourself in the middle of your career. Look at Kesha. Now what? Stay in the game, play out your contract. That's the rule of the music business, it's not about justice, it's about being around long enough to write your own rules. Sorry that's unfair, but dem's the rules.
Taylor Swift is living in a bubble. You can't blame her, she grew up with fame, but she's got no idea how she's perceived. She overplayed her hand with that photographed holiday party, she got in online tangles she shouldn't have, with other, more streetwise performers, and then she went on hiatus.
Bad move. She should have stayed on social media, people would have forgotten the faux pas. But by going silent that's all we remember. I mean come on, letting Kim and Kanye take you down? As for Katy Perry... Just stand up and apologize, say it was somebody else's fault, you weren't aware. Then again, you wrote that song...
She's got to stop dissing people. That's a one note game.
Not that Taylor Swift's career is gonna die tomorrow. Because the whole world is Nashville now. Meaning it's about songwriters getting their wares on hit records. And with albums history, you've got to have the single, that's what streaming has taught us. So, Taylor gets her choice of the best of the best. And if you think she's writing these numbers independently, you probably still believe in Santa Claus.
But Swift is not stupid. Which is why she made this move. She realized the marketplace had changed. Two summers ago Apple was not gonna pay for free streaming, for the trial period, today Apple Music has 27 million paying subscribers, only dwarfed by Spotify's more than 50. It's where the money is. Sure, Adele triumphed without Spotify, but that was eighteen months ago, and sure, she sold albums, but the singles on "25" were not as successful as those on "21" and some of that has to do with quality, but even more has to do with availability.
You don't want to be too early.
But you certainly don't want to be too late.
Taylor Swift realized streaming has won. And she hasn't even restricted her tunes to paid streaming, which Spotify now allows, she wants to continue to be the biggest star in America, and she can only do this by playing by the new rules.
She realized the game has changed.
Have you?
P.S. After writing this, but before sending it, I got an email from someone in the demo who wrote:
"But the same night, at the same hour that Perry's new album drops? She couldn't wait a week? That seems like a pointed shot. And super petty."
I think that's right. I think that's brilliant insight. This is the kind of thing the internet was built for, the scuttlebutt that will ensue, no matter what the truth. This illustrates Swift has learned no lessons, because the truth is irrelevant, the perception will be she's still at war with Katy Perry, which is kind of funny for someone who refused to take a stand on the election, if Taylor Swift had come out for Hillary, Clinton would have won, that's how powerful Swift is. But she abdicated her power all in an effort to further her career, while hurting it in the process. You punch UP, not DOWN! Which is why it worked when Swift attacked Apple but it doesn't when she attacks Perry. Swift is seen as a truthsayer who composes her own music, her body of work hangs together, Perry is all over the place. But Swift cannot accept her superiority. And when you're fighting all comers, which seems to be Swift's M.O., you ultimately lose.
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Theresa May
Comey is not the story. Democrats are creaming in their jeans over today's testimony, believing Congress is gonna bring Trump down.
But that is untrue, the public's gonna bring Trump down. How do I know? BRITAIN!
Brexit was the first indication that the underclass was angry, left behind, that they were afraid of losing their identity and believed globalization was the cause. And these same views played out in the Presidential election, it's just that no one wanted to believe them. Not Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who propped up Hillary, nor the reporters who loved hanging with the rich and famous as opposed to the poor and unknown, nor the pollsters, who believed data was infallible.
Now the loss of the Conservative majority is predicated on exit polls. And who knows, those could be wrong. But one thing's for sure, Theresa May miscalculated, she shouldn't have called an election. She thought her party had the support of the people.
It didn't.
And neither does Trump's.
Of course he's President. But if you think he's headed for imminent impeachment you don't know the wheels of justice grind slowly and everybody's expendable but the President. He'll sacrifice Sessions, even his son-in-law Jared Kushner. And even if there's an offense, getting the Republicans to evict him from office is hard to fathom, especially after they all rallied around Trump after denigrating him.
But this is not about D.C. This is about the tenor of our country, the tenor of our world.
People are dissatisfied. They're sick of business as usual. They didn't like Trump so much as they hated Hillary. They didn't want four more years of Obama not because they were racist and sexist, but because their lives had become economically stagnant in the interim. Barry was so busy being cool, appealing to the insiders, that he lost touch with the outsiders, the little people, whom Bill Clinton spoke to so effectively.
But if the elites are wrong about Theresa May, WHAT ELSE ARE THEY WRONG ABOUT?
This is the takeaway, this is the story.
I too am glued to the news, watching for every Trump faux pas. But it's entertainment, I'm powerless, but he won and he's in office and he's debasing our country but the only way out of this is to wait for another election.
Now the game is rigged, via gerrymandering, but the truth is Trump's eviscerated his support. How do I know?
Let's start with the Paris Agreement.
Turns out corporations and governors are gonna take action independently, the tone deafness of the Administration is palpable. When you play to your core, you ignore the rest, and pulling out is not gonna save jobs, it's not even gonna save coal. Elected officials are caught up in how things look... That doesn't matter, it's how things ARE!
And the truth is people trust neither politicians nor corporations. Nor should they. Politics is show business for ugly people. And the elected officials just want to get rich, just like the newsies who want to hang with power. They're detaching from the rank and file, and it's gonna bite 'em in the ass.
How do I know?
NAPSTER!
Why did people need poor-sounding files? Why didn't they keep on buying overpriced CDs with one good track?
Because they were sick of being ripped-off! And they were ahead of the record labels!
The people are way ahead of the politicians, the newspeople too. The people have boots on the ground everywhere, and if they can get a job it pays poorly and they can't get ahead and everyone's addicted to dope. Stop crapping on the rank and file, they know more than you think they do. Just like you hated on rioters burning down buildings in their own neighborhoods, when you've got nothing, you've got nothing to lose, when you've got no seat at the table, you resort to anarchy to have an effect.
That's how Trump got elected. Don't dive deep into fake news and Comey, that's inside baseball. People wanted a change.
But most don't want the change Trump is delivering.
So expect a wicked correction. And I'm not talking about one in the stock market, but that could tank too. You see most people don't own stock and they don't pay income taxes either, but they're paying taxes all the while...payroll, sales...
As for institutions, they believe they're rigged. They like health care, but they hate the insurance companies. You've got to be rich to get service in America, and they're not.
Everybody believes it's gonna be business as usual, go on the same forever. Russia is gonna be democratic, CDs are gonna rule and internal combustion engines are gonna pollute until the end of time. But change comes rapidly. Look at Kodak. We heard for ten years that digital was gonna replace film. Never happened. But then in ONE YEAR Kodak fell, the switch was just that fast.
So what does it all mean?
Don't pay attention to the bloviators, the professional commentators. Everybody's trying to get rich and have a better lifestyle and by time you make it on camera you've left most of humanity behind. Humanity without money, humanity without leaders, but humanity with a voice.
Want to succeed tomorrow? Champion the downtrodden, the underclass. That's how Bernie Sanders went from zero to hero overnight. Want to be a credible rock star? Ensure your fans can get in for a cheap price, go build houses in Appalachia. Show that you remember where you came from, your roots.
But the problem is in the last few decades people have been born with silver spoons in their mouths, they've gone to Harvard and flown private and have no idea what's going on in the rest of the world.
These are the CEOs, the nitwits turning airplanes into cattle cars.
And these are the politicians.
Ignore them. They're on the wrong path.
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But that is untrue, the public's gonna bring Trump down. How do I know? BRITAIN!
Brexit was the first indication that the underclass was angry, left behind, that they were afraid of losing their identity and believed globalization was the cause. And these same views played out in the Presidential election, it's just that no one wanted to believe them. Not Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who propped up Hillary, nor the reporters who loved hanging with the rich and famous as opposed to the poor and unknown, nor the pollsters, who believed data was infallible.
Now the loss of the Conservative majority is predicated on exit polls. And who knows, those could be wrong. But one thing's for sure, Theresa May miscalculated, she shouldn't have called an election. She thought her party had the support of the people.
It didn't.
And neither does Trump's.
Of course he's President. But if you think he's headed for imminent impeachment you don't know the wheels of justice grind slowly and everybody's expendable but the President. He'll sacrifice Sessions, even his son-in-law Jared Kushner. And even if there's an offense, getting the Republicans to evict him from office is hard to fathom, especially after they all rallied around Trump after denigrating him.
But this is not about D.C. This is about the tenor of our country, the tenor of our world.
People are dissatisfied. They're sick of business as usual. They didn't like Trump so much as they hated Hillary. They didn't want four more years of Obama not because they were racist and sexist, but because their lives had become economically stagnant in the interim. Barry was so busy being cool, appealing to the insiders, that he lost touch with the outsiders, the little people, whom Bill Clinton spoke to so effectively.
But if the elites are wrong about Theresa May, WHAT ELSE ARE THEY WRONG ABOUT?
This is the takeaway, this is the story.
I too am glued to the news, watching for every Trump faux pas. But it's entertainment, I'm powerless, but he won and he's in office and he's debasing our country but the only way out of this is to wait for another election.
Now the game is rigged, via gerrymandering, but the truth is Trump's eviscerated his support. How do I know?
Let's start with the Paris Agreement.
Turns out corporations and governors are gonna take action independently, the tone deafness of the Administration is palpable. When you play to your core, you ignore the rest, and pulling out is not gonna save jobs, it's not even gonna save coal. Elected officials are caught up in how things look... That doesn't matter, it's how things ARE!
And the truth is people trust neither politicians nor corporations. Nor should they. Politics is show business for ugly people. And the elected officials just want to get rich, just like the newsies who want to hang with power. They're detaching from the rank and file, and it's gonna bite 'em in the ass.
How do I know?
NAPSTER!
Why did people need poor-sounding files? Why didn't they keep on buying overpriced CDs with one good track?
Because they were sick of being ripped-off! And they were ahead of the record labels!
The people are way ahead of the politicians, the newspeople too. The people have boots on the ground everywhere, and if they can get a job it pays poorly and they can't get ahead and everyone's addicted to dope. Stop crapping on the rank and file, they know more than you think they do. Just like you hated on rioters burning down buildings in their own neighborhoods, when you've got nothing, you've got nothing to lose, when you've got no seat at the table, you resort to anarchy to have an effect.
That's how Trump got elected. Don't dive deep into fake news and Comey, that's inside baseball. People wanted a change.
But most don't want the change Trump is delivering.
So expect a wicked correction. And I'm not talking about one in the stock market, but that could tank too. You see most people don't own stock and they don't pay income taxes either, but they're paying taxes all the while...payroll, sales...
As for institutions, they believe they're rigged. They like health care, but they hate the insurance companies. You've got to be rich to get service in America, and they're not.
Everybody believes it's gonna be business as usual, go on the same forever. Russia is gonna be democratic, CDs are gonna rule and internal combustion engines are gonna pollute until the end of time. But change comes rapidly. Look at Kodak. We heard for ten years that digital was gonna replace film. Never happened. But then in ONE YEAR Kodak fell, the switch was just that fast.
So what does it all mean?
Don't pay attention to the bloviators, the professional commentators. Everybody's trying to get rich and have a better lifestyle and by time you make it on camera you've left most of humanity behind. Humanity without money, humanity without leaders, but humanity with a voice.
Want to succeed tomorrow? Champion the downtrodden, the underclass. That's how Bernie Sanders went from zero to hero overnight. Want to be a credible rock star? Ensure your fans can get in for a cheap price, go build houses in Appalachia. Show that you remember where you came from, your roots.
But the problem is in the last few decades people have been born with silver spoons in their mouths, they've gone to Harvard and flown private and have no idea what's going on in the rest of the world.
These are the CEOs, the nitwits turning airplanes into cattle cars.
And these are the politicians.
Ignore them. They're on the wrong path.
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Pandora Tanks
And Sirius is looking to steal it.
How did this happen?
Myopia, and an unwillingness to acknowledge that the internet landscape had changed.
It was a fountain of innovation. Every month there was a new site, a new app, we were all excited, it was akin to the British Invasion, internet innovation ruled the world...
And then it stopped.
When the big money comes in, when consolidation happens, you've got to find a seat at the table or you're left out.
In retrospect, the two most significant signposts were Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram. Let's start with the latter. It was challenging Facebook's dominance. But rather than sit by, work harder on its core product and hope for the best, Facebook purchased Instagram and took it out of the game. It tried to buy Snapchat too, but when Evan Spiegel could not read the rules of the new game, having his own Stanford-induced myopia, Zuckerberg just copied the site's most addictive elements and injected them into his huge use base and if you think Snapchat is forever, you're not using it. Kinda like Periscope squashed Meerkat. You can love your little engine that could, the progenitor, but it cannot defy the laws of business. And now Live.ly is outpacing Periscope! That's the essence of the internet, you get ahead of change, or you're ejected from the system.
As for WhatsApp... Zuckerberg knew the game better than the prognosticators, who kept saying he overpaid. But Zuck could see the future. Could anybody involved with Pandora see what's coming down the road?
Absolutely not.
Pandora was the big kahuna in internet radio. When that was a thing, when that was a fad. It rallied its troops for lower rates. It advertised its excellence, which sophisticated users saw sucked, and if you don't get the hard core attached to your product, if they're not evangelizing, you're screwed. Pandora's core is the passive audience, and they're not only passive listeners, they're not big talkers, Pandora hit a wall and now listenership is going in the wrong direction, it just hit its lowest number in two years, at 76.7 million, meaning there's a business there for someone to buy, or is there?
But we're not through excoriating Pandora's management.
There's a first mover advantage. And if you're not the first mover, you must be exponentially better. The iPod was exponentially better than previous MP3 players. Facebook was exponentially better than MySpace. Hell, GOOGLE was exponentially better than previous search engines. But Pandora's pick and choose subscription site? Late to the market and not a great leap forward from Spotify. Which is why all the hubbub about iHeart's product was just noise. Why Tidal can't succeed. As for Apple Music, it capitalized on the company's brand name, and has made headway, but it still hasn't overtaken Spotify. Which decided to double-down and lose money to get to the goal line. All those inane music business stories about Spotify's losses, the company going out of business, were just that, stupid. Because Amazon has taught us if you want to dominate, you've got to spend, spend, spend.
But the final chapter has not been written. Because Amazon still has not decided to play for real in music. Then again, it never played for real in downloads. A late product which was hard to get on your iPod. Amazon doesn't care that much about music, but if it ever does...
It could buy Spotify.
You see Spotify is not forever not as a standalone product. It's a data machine, and data now drives the internet. Who wants it and at what price? We're gonna find out. Because Spotify's margins are meager, the same thing that haunted Pandora and other music sites, this is the music business's myopia, unless your partners are strong, you're doomed. The best thing for the industry is a strong Spotify, as for Apple, it's got incredibly deep pockets. And Google is the gang that can't shoot straight, Zuckerberg shoots to kill, Google is half-hearted in too many endeavors.
But Apple has an advantage, it's selling more than music, it's got a whole services division.
The history of the internet is consolidation, hell, the history of COMPUTING is consolidation. How many computer manufacturers are there? How many mobile operating systems, never mind the ever-shrinking number of manufacturers. Microsoft killed all the competing word processors. And Pandora is doomed as a standalone company.
It matches Sirius pretty well, in that they're both in the radio business.
But Malone likes to buy low and control. That's how he ended up with Sirius to begin with. When you're desperate, he'll rescue you, but it's only a matter of time before he and Maffei are behind the wheel.
As for Sirius, it dominates because its progenitors could see the future, that it was all about automobile manufacturer relationships. As for the future of Sirius, that's what they're trying to figure out now.
But at least they're trying.
"Pandora Extends Deadline for KKR Deal to Explore Its Options": http://nyti.ms/2r5LMnT
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How did this happen?
Myopia, and an unwillingness to acknowledge that the internet landscape had changed.
It was a fountain of innovation. Every month there was a new site, a new app, we were all excited, it was akin to the British Invasion, internet innovation ruled the world...
And then it stopped.
When the big money comes in, when consolidation happens, you've got to find a seat at the table or you're left out.
In retrospect, the two most significant signposts were Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram. Let's start with the latter. It was challenging Facebook's dominance. But rather than sit by, work harder on its core product and hope for the best, Facebook purchased Instagram and took it out of the game. It tried to buy Snapchat too, but when Evan Spiegel could not read the rules of the new game, having his own Stanford-induced myopia, Zuckerberg just copied the site's most addictive elements and injected them into his huge use base and if you think Snapchat is forever, you're not using it. Kinda like Periscope squashed Meerkat. You can love your little engine that could, the progenitor, but it cannot defy the laws of business. And now Live.ly is outpacing Periscope! That's the essence of the internet, you get ahead of change, or you're ejected from the system.
As for WhatsApp... Zuckerberg knew the game better than the prognosticators, who kept saying he overpaid. But Zuck could see the future. Could anybody involved with Pandora see what's coming down the road?
Absolutely not.
Pandora was the big kahuna in internet radio. When that was a thing, when that was a fad. It rallied its troops for lower rates. It advertised its excellence, which sophisticated users saw sucked, and if you don't get the hard core attached to your product, if they're not evangelizing, you're screwed. Pandora's core is the passive audience, and they're not only passive listeners, they're not big talkers, Pandora hit a wall and now listenership is going in the wrong direction, it just hit its lowest number in two years, at 76.7 million, meaning there's a business there for someone to buy, or is there?
But we're not through excoriating Pandora's management.
There's a first mover advantage. And if you're not the first mover, you must be exponentially better. The iPod was exponentially better than previous MP3 players. Facebook was exponentially better than MySpace. Hell, GOOGLE was exponentially better than previous search engines. But Pandora's pick and choose subscription site? Late to the market and not a great leap forward from Spotify. Which is why all the hubbub about iHeart's product was just noise. Why Tidal can't succeed. As for Apple Music, it capitalized on the company's brand name, and has made headway, but it still hasn't overtaken Spotify. Which decided to double-down and lose money to get to the goal line. All those inane music business stories about Spotify's losses, the company going out of business, were just that, stupid. Because Amazon has taught us if you want to dominate, you've got to spend, spend, spend.
But the final chapter has not been written. Because Amazon still has not decided to play for real in music. Then again, it never played for real in downloads. A late product which was hard to get on your iPod. Amazon doesn't care that much about music, but if it ever does...
It could buy Spotify.
You see Spotify is not forever not as a standalone product. It's a data machine, and data now drives the internet. Who wants it and at what price? We're gonna find out. Because Spotify's margins are meager, the same thing that haunted Pandora and other music sites, this is the music business's myopia, unless your partners are strong, you're doomed. The best thing for the industry is a strong Spotify, as for Apple, it's got incredibly deep pockets. And Google is the gang that can't shoot straight, Zuckerberg shoots to kill, Google is half-hearted in too many endeavors.
But Apple has an advantage, it's selling more than music, it's got a whole services division.
The history of the internet is consolidation, hell, the history of COMPUTING is consolidation. How many computer manufacturers are there? How many mobile operating systems, never mind the ever-shrinking number of manufacturers. Microsoft killed all the competing word processors. And Pandora is doomed as a standalone company.
It matches Sirius pretty well, in that they're both in the radio business.
But Malone likes to buy low and control. That's how he ended up with Sirius to begin with. When you're desperate, he'll rescue you, but it's only a matter of time before he and Maffei are behind the wheel.
As for Sirius, it dominates because its progenitors could see the future, that it was all about automobile manufacturer relationships. As for the future of Sirius, that's what they're trying to figure out now.
But at least they're trying.
"Pandora Extends Deadline for KKR Deal to Explore Its Options": http://nyti.ms/2r5LMnT
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Wednesday, 7 June 2017
The Warriors
I love dominance. I love excellence.
I loved Elton John's streak from the black album (sorry Metallica!) through "Rock Of The Westies." And I appreciate what Bieber is doing right now.
Because it ends.
I don't want to give somebody else a chance, a turn, I don't want to pass the trophy around, I want to see someone succeed at the top of their game until they just can't do it anymore. Like Stevie Wonder from "Music Of My Mind" through "Songs In The Key Of Life," like Michael Jordan with the Bulls.
I lost too much of my life watching basketball in the nineties. I missed the era of Babe Ruth (although I did see Roger Maris hit his 61st!), but I lived through the Jordan era and soaked it up. Because I knew it would never come again. And sure, LeBron is a superstar, but he's a big man using his size, whereas Steph Curry is a shrimp, by NBA standards.
Now how did the NBA become so big?
One thing's for sure, it embraced popular culture. Shaq was rapping while baseball players were silent, while the NFL commissioner was making 50 mil trying to keep his players in line in a league where the coach is king. But in the NBA... Hell, James handpicked his coach and he still won. And last year the Cavaliers triumphed.
I don't want to go deep, explain what happened to Draymond Green, it's just that the Warriors had the best regular season record in history, and they couldn't go all the way, they lost in the finals, and that's one for the record books, in the wrong way.
Yup, we thought the Bulls' win/loss record could not be eclipsed, but it was.
Now the Warriors are trying to make a run in the playoffs. One of no losses.
Now that's a feat.
And sure, the deck is stacked, Kevin Durant jumped from Oklahoma. Then again, the Yankees always overpaid for players, but in the NBA there's a salary cap, although it can be manipulated.
But like I said, I like excellence.
So I'm watching tonight's game and it appears they're gonna lose. It's coming down to the wire and the Warriors are behind. They're playing their game, taking the outside shots, but they're not dropping. And even the inside shots are not dropping, what a block by James!
And just when it looked like it was over...
It was not.
Now if you read today's "New York Times" you learned that basketball is the sport of millennials, because it's personality focused.
"The N.F.L. markets the shield."
"The M.L.B. markets the franchises."
"...and the NBA markets the players."
This is how music got screwed up, when the executives became bigger than the acts, when they thought they knew more, hell, they STILL think they know more.
But they don't.
Just because you're in charge of the checkbook that does not mean you're talent. All these enterprises run on talent, and the caretakers seem to forget this, while they milk the company dry with their zillion dollar salaries.
But the players start from scratch. You can be a star in college and still not make it in the NBA. Hell, you can be NBA-worthy and get hurt. So if you're on the court, not only do you deserve to be, you get RESPECT!
And you're in incredible physical shape and you're running and the action never stops.
Watching tonight I finally realize the scuttlebutt is right. Baseball is too slow and there's not enough action in football. How do I know this is true? Because I found it nearly impossible to put my devices down to watch the game. I don't even bother to watch baseball, who has the time? There are so many other exciting things to do. As for football... That's for oldsters and meatheads. It'll die about the same time as electric motors replace internal combustion engines in cars. Oh, it's coming, sooner than you think. But you believe the past is forever.
But it's not.
That's the story of the internet era. Keep one eye on the future, otherwise you're gonna get wiped out. Keep trying to reinvent yourself. Embrace new platforms and ideas. The landscape is forever changing.
But the basketball rules remain the same.
That's one thing wrong with football, they keep tweaking the rules. But in the NBA..?
We live in an era where the individual is king. No one is faceless. But the NFL and MLB want to live in the past. Meanwhile, the NBA runs on Twitter, when the fans of baseball and football keep pooh-poohing the service.
But back to the game...
Durant took it over when it looked like it was over.
And then Steph Curry stepped to the line and put a stake in Cleveland's heart. Hell, it's hard to rattle a guy who's sunk thirty straight, make that thirty two.
And I'm lying on the bed with a smile on my face. I don't want it to go seven games, I don't want the Cavaliers to win even one. I want the Warriors to run the table, I want to see it in the record books, a record that can't be beaten. I want to embrace a team of individuals who came together to win. I want to feel part of something in an alienating world where you always feel left out.
I WANT THE WARRIORS TO WIN!
"Sure, He's Good at Basketball, but How Are His Twitter Skills?": http://nyti.ms/2sVmS6D
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I loved Elton John's streak from the black album (sorry Metallica!) through "Rock Of The Westies." And I appreciate what Bieber is doing right now.
Because it ends.
I don't want to give somebody else a chance, a turn, I don't want to pass the trophy around, I want to see someone succeed at the top of their game until they just can't do it anymore. Like Stevie Wonder from "Music Of My Mind" through "Songs In The Key Of Life," like Michael Jordan with the Bulls.
I lost too much of my life watching basketball in the nineties. I missed the era of Babe Ruth (although I did see Roger Maris hit his 61st!), but I lived through the Jordan era and soaked it up. Because I knew it would never come again. And sure, LeBron is a superstar, but he's a big man using his size, whereas Steph Curry is a shrimp, by NBA standards.
Now how did the NBA become so big?
One thing's for sure, it embraced popular culture. Shaq was rapping while baseball players were silent, while the NFL commissioner was making 50 mil trying to keep his players in line in a league where the coach is king. But in the NBA... Hell, James handpicked his coach and he still won. And last year the Cavaliers triumphed.
I don't want to go deep, explain what happened to Draymond Green, it's just that the Warriors had the best regular season record in history, and they couldn't go all the way, they lost in the finals, and that's one for the record books, in the wrong way.
Yup, we thought the Bulls' win/loss record could not be eclipsed, but it was.
Now the Warriors are trying to make a run in the playoffs. One of no losses.
Now that's a feat.
And sure, the deck is stacked, Kevin Durant jumped from Oklahoma. Then again, the Yankees always overpaid for players, but in the NBA there's a salary cap, although it can be manipulated.
But like I said, I like excellence.
So I'm watching tonight's game and it appears they're gonna lose. It's coming down to the wire and the Warriors are behind. They're playing their game, taking the outside shots, but they're not dropping. And even the inside shots are not dropping, what a block by James!
And just when it looked like it was over...
It was not.
Now if you read today's "New York Times" you learned that basketball is the sport of millennials, because it's personality focused.
"The N.F.L. markets the shield."
"The M.L.B. markets the franchises."
"...and the NBA markets the players."
This is how music got screwed up, when the executives became bigger than the acts, when they thought they knew more, hell, they STILL think they know more.
But they don't.
Just because you're in charge of the checkbook that does not mean you're talent. All these enterprises run on talent, and the caretakers seem to forget this, while they milk the company dry with their zillion dollar salaries.
But the players start from scratch. You can be a star in college and still not make it in the NBA. Hell, you can be NBA-worthy and get hurt. So if you're on the court, not only do you deserve to be, you get RESPECT!
And you're in incredible physical shape and you're running and the action never stops.
Watching tonight I finally realize the scuttlebutt is right. Baseball is too slow and there's not enough action in football. How do I know this is true? Because I found it nearly impossible to put my devices down to watch the game. I don't even bother to watch baseball, who has the time? There are so many other exciting things to do. As for football... That's for oldsters and meatheads. It'll die about the same time as electric motors replace internal combustion engines in cars. Oh, it's coming, sooner than you think. But you believe the past is forever.
But it's not.
That's the story of the internet era. Keep one eye on the future, otherwise you're gonna get wiped out. Keep trying to reinvent yourself. Embrace new platforms and ideas. The landscape is forever changing.
But the basketball rules remain the same.
That's one thing wrong with football, they keep tweaking the rules. But in the NBA..?
We live in an era where the individual is king. No one is faceless. But the NFL and MLB want to live in the past. Meanwhile, the NBA runs on Twitter, when the fans of baseball and football keep pooh-poohing the service.
But back to the game...
Durant took it over when it looked like it was over.
And then Steph Curry stepped to the line and put a stake in Cleveland's heart. Hell, it's hard to rattle a guy who's sunk thirty straight, make that thirty two.
And I'm lying on the bed with a smile on my face. I don't want it to go seven games, I don't want the Cavaliers to win even one. I want the Warriors to run the table, I want to see it in the record books, a record that can't be beaten. I want to embrace a team of individuals who came together to win. I want to feel part of something in an alienating world where you always feel left out.
I WANT THE WARRIORS TO WIN!
"Sure, He's Good at Basketball, but How Are His Twitter Skills?": http://nyti.ms/2sVmS6D
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Re-Despacito
Bob,
Thanks so much for writing about this song and about Luis Fonsi. I worked on 3 albums for Fonsi in the 2000's and was his A&R on this record. A few years back I wrote you saying that Latin is where the next creative movement and the future superstars are going to come from. I've believed this for years. It's like what Hip Hop was to mainstream culture in the late 80s and early 90s. Give Fonsi and Universal credit for a few things that most artists don't do.
1. He worked with unknown producers. He didn't go the obvious route. Andres Torres & Mauricio Rengifo are brilliant, and Fonsi took a chance on them. Their production is not an accident.
2. We were patient. We went through half a dozen if not more versions of the song until we got it right. We knew it was a hit when it was on an acoustic guitar…Obviously no one knew it was going to be this big. But if you have a special song on your hands, take care of it.
On a side, This weekend the Staples Center saw 2 shows by Gloria Trevi and Alejandra Guzman. Packed houses, but you'll never hear about it in the mainstream. You won't hear about Romeo Santos selling out Yankee Stadium, or about La Santa Cecilia playing at the Hollywood Bowl…
People either don't know or forget The United States has the second largest Spanish speaking population in the World, Only second to Mexico… But we also watch Alec Baldwin on SNL, listen to NPR, go to basketball games (I'm a hockey fan personally), attend Coachella, and like Bruno Mars (I know he's Puerto Rican, but I bet half your readers don't). Point is this bicultural existence has started to manifest itself into something new and original, just like Hip Hop & Rock and Roll once did. This is only the beginning because the talent pool is deep and the different musical genres that come out of Latin America, the caribbean, Mexico and Spain are incredibly diverse and practically endless.
Cheers,
Sebastian Krys
______________________________________
C'mon Bob get a clue when it comes to the world. Spanish music has always been global. Second to the King's English, Spanish is the world's most dominant language. The world south of Miami has twice as many people as North America. Also, Eastern Europe countries outside of Spain and Portugal understand the language too. he music had always been and always will be massive.
The US program directors are the only ones that don't get it. They program by superstars instead of superhits these days.
2 of the top 10, if not top 5 most followed playlists on Spotify are Viva Latino and Baile Reggaeton. It means the world loves latin music based on population alone. A billion phones down there. So Despacito was a phenomenon before Bieber. He just supercharged it into the American mainstream. Which turns into sales on top of free YouTube views.
65 Million people in the US are Latino or of Latin descent too, regardless of the f..king wall. A song like this only brings it to the forefront. And to the money.
I have built a career on songs that cross both borders. Between Frankie J, Baby Bash, Pitbull and now Play N Skillz, we will continue to make these. Only hoping we run across a "Despacito".
We aren't going anywhere.
Signed
A poor Mexican guy from Texas
Charles Chavez
______________________________________
Thanks for writing this piece on "Despacito". I do a lot of work in this space and as you say, this is a hit record. I have known Luis Fonsi since he started and have recorded on just about every album he's ever made from day 1. He has been at it for a long time. He's a great songwriter, has an amazing voice and may be an even better guy. Works hard and is authentic. He's the real deal in the Latin pop world. Very proud that he's getting international props.
All the best..........Dan Warner
______________________________________
We, the public that keeps up on things, lost care for this track when Justin tried to perform it live and disrespectfully blah blah'd through it. Sure, maybe it is #1 but I assure you, it should be for less time than Macarena. Then again, I constantly discount the dumb kids that don't understand the world and what is happening in it. I love a good pop song. I hate blah blah blah.
http://www.spin.com/2017/05/justin-bieber-despacito-blah-blah-blah-video/
Janelle Haubach
______________________________________
I've been loving this tune for the past 6 or 7 weeks now; and no, it's certainly not because I'm, what did you call it, a Belieber?? But it's just such an undeniably fresh sound, sweeps over you like one of those waves Brian Wilson wrote about half a century ago. And oddly enough, I was just listening to something that came to me from a 3rd party, an actual ROCK act, but they worked with one of the credited producers on "Desparcito", one Andre Torres. And damn, it's got that same freshness all over some of the songs, even though they're honest-to-god ROCK songs! Who woulda thunk it possible??
Take care,
Barry Lyons / Rent A Label
______________________________________
Bob I'm going to respect fully disagree with you on this one. While it's true that video is well-made the song is average at best. Very dated and who even cares about Daddy Yankee. So though no one is disputing its success I'm chalking this one up to an oddball abnormality in the music business. Just my two cents
Johnny Vieira
______________________________________
Reggaeton is a Latin genre that has exploded in the last 7 years. First it was Daddy Yankee other central american urban artists. Lately Shakira, Luis Fonsi, Enrique Iglesias, -read Latin pop- have started producing Raggaeton because it is where the hits really are.
When I was 18 and going to clubs (I live in Mexico) , music would be all EDM and a little Rap, all in English. Raeggeton is now the top of charts and club music, all the way: edm and rap are mostly fill-in music in the Latin world. Where I'm getting at is that this is good music, mostly family-friendly and trendy, so it is played everywhere, unlike edm and rap. So my guess would be you will be this is a huge hit, but others will continue to come.
- David Gzz from Monterrey, Mx
______________________________________
Spot on summary of the impact. We saw this track on late night TV in Florence a few weeks ago. My wife and I started dancing immediately. Massive tune. Return of the music video, or at least, the fedora.
James Veil
______________________________________
Check out "No Me Doy Por Vencido"..it is my favorite Fonsi song..he is the loveliest guy in the world…and has paid all the dues and done the hard work for a long time all over the Spanish speaking world. This is his time and it could not happen to a better dude.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hRGBcr_gJc
https://open.spotify.com/track/1eLRga2SlL8WNMe3IbwP3q
Clyde Lieberman
______________________________________
Best song of my Spring in Paris watching pop videos to get away from CNN
Best best best w/out Bieber. Even an oldie like me could not resist dancing around. Great music. I was kinda pissed that Bieber was added to US version but I did understand the value to Radio but the original is waaaayy better. It was addictive!
And then there's also SUBEME LA RADIO by Enrique Iglesias. Irresistible!!! At least they won't have to add Bieber ??. There are a few more I'll look to see if they transfer but they probably won't.
There a few more but I'll leave that alone. It's fun to hear these songs the past few years before they break in the US. I don't think the daft punk song with Julian Casablancas of 3 years ago made it big here but I listen to it constantly.
Just my thoughts.
KATHY ROWE
______________________________________
The Latino makeup in the Major Markets guarantees more hit crossover artists & records now & forever. It's not a fad - it's a fact!
"Despacito" is not a novelty record by any means. And with Bieber and Scooter's smarts to plug into first, the EDM movement and then the Latin Crossover movement - made it an even bigger record and is very organically bridging Latin Crossover into the Mainstream. There is no stopping this momentum.
Great Piece - As Always Bob! - Keep it Goin'
Terry Anzaldo
______________________________________
Happy to be out of touch for more than 2 decades, when I stopped listening to radio. I'm just not interested in kids music or 'the biggest hit of the last 3 hours' anymore. I'd rather spend my time digging deeper into the endless treasure trove that exists between The Carter Family and Sunn 0))).
But if you still want to follow every single viral hit, power to you. Whatever makes you happy.
Cheers,
Marcel Burgstad
The Netherlands
______________________________________
Don't forget the original 'Volare' or the original 'Sukiyakii' to name a few foreign language 1's of the swinging 60's!
Jimi LaLumia
______________________________________
Zuleyka Rivera - Miss Universe 2006 and former partner of NBA Dallas Mavericks Jose Juan Barea.
Nice article, thanks!
Joel Sanchez Berlingeri
v
Think this was shot with a drone, not a helicopter. Probably a GoPro 1080 HD camera.
Dave Logan
______________________________________
Zumba helped - it is also a huge dance craze,
Best,
Leanne Ungar
______________________________________
Spanish radio has done a great job of keeping Despacito their own. In addition to the Bieber-less Reggaeton version (the original), there is a salsa version. In NY, the Salsa version appears to have garnered the most airplay since the pop version hit. DY isn't on it.
Lois Aronow
______________________________________
422 million people in South America. 46 million in Spain. 10 million in Portugal. 127 million in Mexico. 42 million in Central America. 3 million in Puerto Rico. 650 million total. It's a whole other market you and me know little about.
It's a catchy track with and without Justin.
B. Bremer
______________________________________
Watched half the video. Not to my taste. Cultural exclusion. There are zero white people in the video
Regards
Thaddeus
______________________________________
My son and his Colombian girl friend were all over this up here in T O.
Olie Kornelsen
______________________________________
Thank you for writing this and acknowledging this was a hit before Beiber. Carlos Perez is the video director and a friend of mine, very talented. I've been working in the Latin industry for 14 years. It was time this happened and there will be more to come! Reggaeton is a genre loved by many more people other than Latinos...like dancehall, which is mostly in patois, which other than Jamaicans or other Caribbeans don't fully understand, it's infectious it's about the music, the dancing, the culture. This song had all the right components to become the global hit it is. ??
Loren Medina
______________________________________
Hi Bob
As a puertorican born and raised in PR this achievement has special pride. Both Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee have been mastering their talents for decades. Daddy Yankee had the monster hit "Gasolina" which was huge in Latin America and Europe. He is one of the Godfathers of the reggaeton movement which is akin to the hip hop of Latin America. Fonsi has been a crooner in PR, Caribbean, Latin and Central America and Europe. This means that 2/3rds of the planet already knew of these two. Together it just exploded.
My wife was the one who turned me on to the song it's infectious. Then while watching the Telemundo we saw it was the song for the soccer "futbol" COPA ad. Now it was on its way to go global.
At a time when things are so f..ked up on my island this song brings a smile and hope to our people. For an island that's only 100 x 35 I am proud of our musical legacy and it keeps on growing and giving to the world.
Welcome to the puertorican lifestyle. That's how we roll. I guarantee you, at every party this song will play and yes we'll dance "despacito".
Gracias
Emilio J Torres-Requena
Gasolina https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGKrc3A6HHM
______________________________________
You're actually wrong about the success of Despacito.
The success of the original came from Latin American cell providers including spotify in their plans which raised the # of subs dramatically. You can see now the increase in Spanish speaking subs across all charts. Then when the song started to move into the top 50 charts Bieber and his team saw it.
Jahan Karimaghayi
Founder Benchmob
______________________________________
Bob, this video and song may be getting a lot of play, but this isn't really that unique. If you've ever spent any time in Miami over the past 15 years, there's songs like this playing all the time. I doubt you'll see this song have much more staying power than your usual Marc Anthony or Enrique Iglesias song. I worked with a couple of Miami rock bands over the past few years and penetrating mainstream American music with Spanish is incredibly hard. These bands were indies with lots of potential, but they couldn't play much outside the south Florida market. The Pachanga music festival in Austin is doing a great job of getting American bands with Latin influences together, but the fact that you've probably never heard of Pachanga shows just how little these circles overlap.
Leonardo Dosoretz
______________________________________
So glad you wrote about this, Bob. This is a solid hit. A real one. And, not a first. Deserving of your virtual ink.
One of the names worth mentioning here is Alejandro Sans. This song is what it is because of him. Not new to the scene, but every bit as fresh as when he first hit the scene.
It's incredible to me that all things Latino have been obscured by the "new dialogue" in America where being Latino is a bad thing, yet, we are the ones building the new American economy with jobs, job creation, and an infusion of youth this country desperately needs. Look at the stats (http://latinodonorcollaborative.org/data/). This is not about immigration - it is about US-born Latinos who choose to be American Latinos and patriots...but that's a hard story to tell right now for the obvious (and sad) reasons.
But, back to the music. This is a bona-fide hit - a great piece of music, a great video, and a great, uplifting feeling. Sans and DY are a good combo. But, make no mistake, this is a hit because of Sans.
Thanks for giving it the sunlight it well deserved. Check out the article in the Washington Post…it's a good one.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/06/02/americas-number-one-song-isnt-in-english-that-doesnt-happen-often/?tid=ss_mail&utm_term=.ad6c3f229941
Best,
Alex Lopez Negrete President, CEO
Lopez Negrete Communications
______________________________________
Another key is that the ladies LOVE this song man.
If it makes the girls move, how are any guys not gonna watch that.
Plus it's not an eye roller how a lot of popular songs tend to be due to corny production.
The track's got a sensual pace, but keeps the thick modern club thump, and allows the beat to breath in between, unlike so much of that EDM stuff you can't grind to! (Why everyone still thinks they feature on an EDM beat is beyond me)
Bottom line if it makes a woman move, (not teens) its a hit.
"It's a man's world, but it would be nothing without a woman." after all.
Ps. Vibe reminds me of Kevin Lyttle - Turn Me On (2004) a bit.
Best,
Danny, DJ from San Diego, CA
______________________________________
Good morning Bob,
Thank you for this. I've been addicted to this song for a while and was wondering if it would come up in your Newsletter. I'm glad the Bloomberg article gives credit to Fonsi, who's been successful in the business and well known in latin America for years. I remember hearing "No me doy por vencido" in Mexico in 2009 -it was everywhere, and he had already been signed for about ten years at that point. As for Bieber, it's no secret many Canadian and American artists want in on the latin audience -hence Beyonce's "Si yo fuera un chico", Usher and Drake's stints with Romeo Santos (these go both ways though -I'm sure Romeo Santos benefitted from the extra audience from Usher/Drake R&B fans)...
Here's an interesting article about the politics of reggaeton (more specific to the mix between pop and reggaeton, the negative connotation reggaeton had for a long time, its ties with race, and how it has slowly taken over the latin music market):
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/05/despacito/527403/
Also, another tune you may enjoy (by Maluma, another latin hit-maker):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_jHrUE5IOk
Best,
Lena Lgd
______________________________________
Hi, Mr. Lefsetz.
This is the new Blurred lines? Just what was the old Blurred Lines, "The Bird Is the Word" by the Trashmen? That's about how long "Lines" stayed around and I expect no more longevity from this piece that my Italian relatives would call "Disgradziade" - Disgraceful. Not worthy of God's grace. I love this word! - rather than "Despacito".
And OK, I'll take another look and listen to "Despacito". If you say it's cool then maybe I'm missing something.
Thanks for all you do and best regards,
Steve Silverman
Glens Falls, NY
______________________________________
oh c'mon this is bullshit , is like saying all the great rock songs from the 60's sound the same... definitely not the kind of music I want my daughter to listen to ... don't you think it is so appealing to the masses because the great audio production ?? and then the labels take care of the marketing
Gabriel Wiernik
______________________________________
Biebs! Talk about your cultural appropriation. Elvis cops Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog" and the cycle of theft continues...
Cameron Dilley
______________________________________
Hi Bob,
I love music from all over the world. That's why this old Baby Boomer discovered Despacito months ago, thanks to the CBC music app.
Check it out -- and, while you're at it, check out the French-language CBC music app, ICI Musique (Music is Here.) Both are free and available on iTunes and for Android. I don't think there is any equivalent in the USA. (See links below)
Anyway, Despacito has been on my pool playlist (I have a waterproof shuffle) since March.
Although I am a Canadian, I have to say that the Bieber cover TOTALLY blows. The original has heat. It has beat. It has joy. It has life. It has sex.
Bieb's cover is the musical version of corn flakes with too much milk and sugar.
It reminds me of the 50s when the music/radio business would get Pat Boone or some other white crooner to cover the rocking, bluesy, down'n'dirty African-American originals, or when Hollywood takes a European hit movie and adds a bunch of explosions and car chases in a remake.
As we say in Greek, FEH!
Antonia Zerbisias
______________________________________
Same boring 4 chords on 100's of pop hits Recorded over the last 30 years.
Nothing new and the public falls for this over and over and over.
Nicely dressed but at the end of the day,
Just the same old shit
See Axis of Awesome, 4 chords.
Ho hum
John French
______________________________________
Mr. Lefsetz,
Big fan.
Respectfully, a few additional factors which you left out. One, the song belongs to Luis Fonsi, not Daddy Yankee. Luis remains on the track but some of his vocals were replaced on the record by Justin. Daddy Yankee's rap remains on the record. DY is known as the King of Reggaeton, a genre of music which currently dominates Spanish language music across the board but particularly streaming, to your point. It is a relatively new genre created within the last twenty years or so.
Second, Justin embarrassed himself by mocking the song only a few weeks after releasing his remix. Below is video where he "forgets" the lyrics. I"d argue he never actually knew them. You're correct in that the song isn't a novelty like Macarena was. It's part of a movement to break into the mainstream. Justin recognized the strength of the Spanish-language market when J Balvin remixed his song in Spanish and Justin came out to perform with him at Staples. And now, the game has changed.
http://www.complex.com/music/2017/05/justin-bieber-forgot-the-lyrics-to-despacito
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10IKRNNfCGU - Sorry remx with J Balvin
Best,
David Ortiz
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Thanks so much for writing about this song and about Luis Fonsi. I worked on 3 albums for Fonsi in the 2000's and was his A&R on this record. A few years back I wrote you saying that Latin is where the next creative movement and the future superstars are going to come from. I've believed this for years. It's like what Hip Hop was to mainstream culture in the late 80s and early 90s. Give Fonsi and Universal credit for a few things that most artists don't do.
1. He worked with unknown producers. He didn't go the obvious route. Andres Torres & Mauricio Rengifo are brilliant, and Fonsi took a chance on them. Their production is not an accident.
2. We were patient. We went through half a dozen if not more versions of the song until we got it right. We knew it was a hit when it was on an acoustic guitar…Obviously no one knew it was going to be this big. But if you have a special song on your hands, take care of it.
On a side, This weekend the Staples Center saw 2 shows by Gloria Trevi and Alejandra Guzman. Packed houses, but you'll never hear about it in the mainstream. You won't hear about Romeo Santos selling out Yankee Stadium, or about La Santa Cecilia playing at the Hollywood Bowl…
People either don't know or forget The United States has the second largest Spanish speaking population in the World, Only second to Mexico… But we also watch Alec Baldwin on SNL, listen to NPR, go to basketball games (I'm a hockey fan personally), attend Coachella, and like Bruno Mars (I know he's Puerto Rican, but I bet half your readers don't). Point is this bicultural existence has started to manifest itself into something new and original, just like Hip Hop & Rock and Roll once did. This is only the beginning because the talent pool is deep and the different musical genres that come out of Latin America, the caribbean, Mexico and Spain are incredibly diverse and practically endless.
Cheers,
Sebastian Krys
______________________________________
C'mon Bob get a clue when it comes to the world. Spanish music has always been global. Second to the King's English, Spanish is the world's most dominant language. The world south of Miami has twice as many people as North America. Also, Eastern Europe countries outside of Spain and Portugal understand the language too. he music had always been and always will be massive.
The US program directors are the only ones that don't get it. They program by superstars instead of superhits these days.
2 of the top 10, if not top 5 most followed playlists on Spotify are Viva Latino and Baile Reggaeton. It means the world loves latin music based on population alone. A billion phones down there. So Despacito was a phenomenon before Bieber. He just supercharged it into the American mainstream. Which turns into sales on top of free YouTube views.
65 Million people in the US are Latino or of Latin descent too, regardless of the f..king wall. A song like this only brings it to the forefront. And to the money.
I have built a career on songs that cross both borders. Between Frankie J, Baby Bash, Pitbull and now Play N Skillz, we will continue to make these. Only hoping we run across a "Despacito".
We aren't going anywhere.
Signed
A poor Mexican guy from Texas
Charles Chavez
______________________________________
Thanks for writing this piece on "Despacito". I do a lot of work in this space and as you say, this is a hit record. I have known Luis Fonsi since he started and have recorded on just about every album he's ever made from day 1. He has been at it for a long time. He's a great songwriter, has an amazing voice and may be an even better guy. Works hard and is authentic. He's the real deal in the Latin pop world. Very proud that he's getting international props.
All the best..........Dan Warner
______________________________________
We, the public that keeps up on things, lost care for this track when Justin tried to perform it live and disrespectfully blah blah'd through it. Sure, maybe it is #1 but I assure you, it should be for less time than Macarena. Then again, I constantly discount the dumb kids that don't understand the world and what is happening in it. I love a good pop song. I hate blah blah blah.
http://www.spin.com/2017/05/justin-bieber-despacito-blah-blah-blah-video/
Janelle Haubach
______________________________________
I've been loving this tune for the past 6 or 7 weeks now; and no, it's certainly not because I'm, what did you call it, a Belieber?? But it's just such an undeniably fresh sound, sweeps over you like one of those waves Brian Wilson wrote about half a century ago. And oddly enough, I was just listening to something that came to me from a 3rd party, an actual ROCK act, but they worked with one of the credited producers on "Desparcito", one Andre Torres. And damn, it's got that same freshness all over some of the songs, even though they're honest-to-god ROCK songs! Who woulda thunk it possible??
Take care,
Barry Lyons / Rent A Label
______________________________________
Bob I'm going to respect fully disagree with you on this one. While it's true that video is well-made the song is average at best. Very dated and who even cares about Daddy Yankee. So though no one is disputing its success I'm chalking this one up to an oddball abnormality in the music business. Just my two cents
Johnny Vieira
______________________________________
Reggaeton is a Latin genre that has exploded in the last 7 years. First it was Daddy Yankee other central american urban artists. Lately Shakira, Luis Fonsi, Enrique Iglesias, -read Latin pop- have started producing Raggaeton because it is where the hits really are.
When I was 18 and going to clubs (I live in Mexico) , music would be all EDM and a little Rap, all in English. Raeggeton is now the top of charts and club music, all the way: edm and rap are mostly fill-in music in the Latin world. Where I'm getting at is that this is good music, mostly family-friendly and trendy, so it is played everywhere, unlike edm and rap. So my guess would be you will be this is a huge hit, but others will continue to come.
- David Gzz from Monterrey, Mx
______________________________________
Spot on summary of the impact. We saw this track on late night TV in Florence a few weeks ago. My wife and I started dancing immediately. Massive tune. Return of the music video, or at least, the fedora.
James Veil
______________________________________
Check out "No Me Doy Por Vencido"..it is my favorite Fonsi song..he is the loveliest guy in the world…and has paid all the dues and done the hard work for a long time all over the Spanish speaking world. This is his time and it could not happen to a better dude.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hRGBcr_gJc
https://open.spotify.com/track/1eLRga2SlL8WNMe3IbwP3q
Clyde Lieberman
______________________________________
Best song of my Spring in Paris watching pop videos to get away from CNN
Best best best w/out Bieber. Even an oldie like me could not resist dancing around. Great music. I was kinda pissed that Bieber was added to US version but I did understand the value to Radio but the original is waaaayy better. It was addictive!
And then there's also SUBEME LA RADIO by Enrique Iglesias. Irresistible!!! At least they won't have to add Bieber ??. There are a few more I'll look to see if they transfer but they probably won't.
There a few more but I'll leave that alone. It's fun to hear these songs the past few years before they break in the US. I don't think the daft punk song with Julian Casablancas of 3 years ago made it big here but I listen to it constantly.
Just my thoughts.
KATHY ROWE
______________________________________
The Latino makeup in the Major Markets guarantees more hit crossover artists & records now & forever. It's not a fad - it's a fact!
"Despacito" is not a novelty record by any means. And with Bieber and Scooter's smarts to plug into first, the EDM movement and then the Latin Crossover movement - made it an even bigger record and is very organically bridging Latin Crossover into the Mainstream. There is no stopping this momentum.
Great Piece - As Always Bob! - Keep it Goin'
Terry Anzaldo
______________________________________
Happy to be out of touch for more than 2 decades, when I stopped listening to radio. I'm just not interested in kids music or 'the biggest hit of the last 3 hours' anymore. I'd rather spend my time digging deeper into the endless treasure trove that exists between The Carter Family and Sunn 0))).
But if you still want to follow every single viral hit, power to you. Whatever makes you happy.
Cheers,
Marcel Burgstad
The Netherlands
______________________________________
Don't forget the original 'Volare' or the original 'Sukiyakii' to name a few foreign language 1's of the swinging 60's!
Jimi LaLumia
______________________________________
Zuleyka Rivera - Miss Universe 2006 and former partner of NBA Dallas Mavericks Jose Juan Barea.
Nice article, thanks!
Joel Sanchez Berlingeri
v
Think this was shot with a drone, not a helicopter. Probably a GoPro 1080 HD camera.
Dave Logan
______________________________________
Zumba helped - it is also a huge dance craze,
Best,
Leanne Ungar
______________________________________
Spanish radio has done a great job of keeping Despacito their own. In addition to the Bieber-less Reggaeton version (the original), there is a salsa version. In NY, the Salsa version appears to have garnered the most airplay since the pop version hit. DY isn't on it.
Lois Aronow
______________________________________
422 million people in South America. 46 million in Spain. 10 million in Portugal. 127 million in Mexico. 42 million in Central America. 3 million in Puerto Rico. 650 million total. It's a whole other market you and me know little about.
It's a catchy track with and without Justin.
B. Bremer
______________________________________
Watched half the video. Not to my taste. Cultural exclusion. There are zero white people in the video
Regards
Thaddeus
______________________________________
My son and his Colombian girl friend were all over this up here in T O.
Olie Kornelsen
______________________________________
Thank you for writing this and acknowledging this was a hit before Beiber. Carlos Perez is the video director and a friend of mine, very talented. I've been working in the Latin industry for 14 years. It was time this happened and there will be more to come! Reggaeton is a genre loved by many more people other than Latinos...like dancehall, which is mostly in patois, which other than Jamaicans or other Caribbeans don't fully understand, it's infectious it's about the music, the dancing, the culture. This song had all the right components to become the global hit it is. ??
Loren Medina
______________________________________
Hi Bob
As a puertorican born and raised in PR this achievement has special pride. Both Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee have been mastering their talents for decades. Daddy Yankee had the monster hit "Gasolina" which was huge in Latin America and Europe. He is one of the Godfathers of the reggaeton movement which is akin to the hip hop of Latin America. Fonsi has been a crooner in PR, Caribbean, Latin and Central America and Europe. This means that 2/3rds of the planet already knew of these two. Together it just exploded.
My wife was the one who turned me on to the song it's infectious. Then while watching the Telemundo we saw it was the song for the soccer "futbol" COPA ad. Now it was on its way to go global.
At a time when things are so f..ked up on my island this song brings a smile and hope to our people. For an island that's only 100 x 35 I am proud of our musical legacy and it keeps on growing and giving to the world.
Welcome to the puertorican lifestyle. That's how we roll. I guarantee you, at every party this song will play and yes we'll dance "despacito".
Gracias
Emilio J Torres-Requena
Gasolina https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGKrc3A6HHM
______________________________________
You're actually wrong about the success of Despacito.
The success of the original came from Latin American cell providers including spotify in their plans which raised the # of subs dramatically. You can see now the increase in Spanish speaking subs across all charts. Then when the song started to move into the top 50 charts Bieber and his team saw it.
Jahan Karimaghayi
Founder Benchmob
______________________________________
Bob, this video and song may be getting a lot of play, but this isn't really that unique. If you've ever spent any time in Miami over the past 15 years, there's songs like this playing all the time. I doubt you'll see this song have much more staying power than your usual Marc Anthony or Enrique Iglesias song. I worked with a couple of Miami rock bands over the past few years and penetrating mainstream American music with Spanish is incredibly hard. These bands were indies with lots of potential, but they couldn't play much outside the south Florida market. The Pachanga music festival in Austin is doing a great job of getting American bands with Latin influences together, but the fact that you've probably never heard of Pachanga shows just how little these circles overlap.
Leonardo Dosoretz
______________________________________
So glad you wrote about this, Bob. This is a solid hit. A real one. And, not a first. Deserving of your virtual ink.
One of the names worth mentioning here is Alejandro Sans. This song is what it is because of him. Not new to the scene, but every bit as fresh as when he first hit the scene.
It's incredible to me that all things Latino have been obscured by the "new dialogue" in America where being Latino is a bad thing, yet, we are the ones building the new American economy with jobs, job creation, and an infusion of youth this country desperately needs. Look at the stats (http://latinodonorcollaborative.org/data/). This is not about immigration - it is about US-born Latinos who choose to be American Latinos and patriots...but that's a hard story to tell right now for the obvious (and sad) reasons.
But, back to the music. This is a bona-fide hit - a great piece of music, a great video, and a great, uplifting feeling. Sans and DY are a good combo. But, make no mistake, this is a hit because of Sans.
Thanks for giving it the sunlight it well deserved. Check out the article in the Washington Post…it's a good one.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/06/02/americas-number-one-song-isnt-in-english-that-doesnt-happen-often/?tid=ss_mail&utm_term=.ad6c3f229941
Best,
Alex Lopez Negrete President, CEO
Lopez Negrete Communications
______________________________________
Another key is that the ladies LOVE this song man.
If it makes the girls move, how are any guys not gonna watch that.
Plus it's not an eye roller how a lot of popular songs tend to be due to corny production.
The track's got a sensual pace, but keeps the thick modern club thump, and allows the beat to breath in between, unlike so much of that EDM stuff you can't grind to! (Why everyone still thinks they feature on an EDM beat is beyond me)
Bottom line if it makes a woman move, (not teens) its a hit.
"It's a man's world, but it would be nothing without a woman." after all.
Ps. Vibe reminds me of Kevin Lyttle - Turn Me On (2004) a bit.
Best,
Danny, DJ from San Diego, CA
______________________________________
Good morning Bob,
Thank you for this. I've been addicted to this song for a while and was wondering if it would come up in your Newsletter. I'm glad the Bloomberg article gives credit to Fonsi, who's been successful in the business and well known in latin America for years. I remember hearing "No me doy por vencido" in Mexico in 2009 -it was everywhere, and he had already been signed for about ten years at that point. As for Bieber, it's no secret many Canadian and American artists want in on the latin audience -hence Beyonce's "Si yo fuera un chico", Usher and Drake's stints with Romeo Santos (these go both ways though -I'm sure Romeo Santos benefitted from the extra audience from Usher/Drake R&B fans)...
Here's an interesting article about the politics of reggaeton (more specific to the mix between pop and reggaeton, the negative connotation reggaeton had for a long time, its ties with race, and how it has slowly taken over the latin music market):
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/05/despacito/527403/
Also, another tune you may enjoy (by Maluma, another latin hit-maker):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_jHrUE5IOk
Best,
Lena Lgd
______________________________________
Hi, Mr. Lefsetz.
This is the new Blurred lines? Just what was the old Blurred Lines, "The Bird Is the Word" by the Trashmen? That's about how long "Lines" stayed around and I expect no more longevity from this piece that my Italian relatives would call "Disgradziade" - Disgraceful. Not worthy of God's grace. I love this word! - rather than "Despacito".
And OK, I'll take another look and listen to "Despacito". If you say it's cool then maybe I'm missing something.
Thanks for all you do and best regards,
Steve Silverman
Glens Falls, NY
______________________________________
oh c'mon this is bullshit , is like saying all the great rock songs from the 60's sound the same... definitely not the kind of music I want my daughter to listen to ... don't you think it is so appealing to the masses because the great audio production ?? and then the labels take care of the marketing
Gabriel Wiernik
______________________________________
Biebs! Talk about your cultural appropriation. Elvis cops Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog" and the cycle of theft continues...
Cameron Dilley
______________________________________
Hi Bob,
I love music from all over the world. That's why this old Baby Boomer discovered Despacito months ago, thanks to the CBC music app.
Check it out -- and, while you're at it, check out the French-language CBC music app, ICI Musique (Music is Here.) Both are free and available on iTunes and for Android. I don't think there is any equivalent in the USA. (See links below)
Anyway, Despacito has been on my pool playlist (I have a waterproof shuffle) since March.
Although I am a Canadian, I have to say that the Bieber cover TOTALLY blows. The original has heat. It has beat. It has joy. It has life. It has sex.
Bieb's cover is the musical version of corn flakes with too much milk and sugar.
It reminds me of the 50s when the music/radio business would get Pat Boone or some other white crooner to cover the rocking, bluesy, down'n'dirty African-American originals, or when Hollywood takes a European hit movie and adds a bunch of explosions and car chases in a remake.
As we say in Greek, FEH!
Antonia Zerbisias
______________________________________
Same boring 4 chords on 100's of pop hits Recorded over the last 30 years.
Nothing new and the public falls for this over and over and over.
Nicely dressed but at the end of the day,
Just the same old shit
See Axis of Awesome, 4 chords.
Ho hum
John French
______________________________________
Mr. Lefsetz,
Big fan.
Respectfully, a few additional factors which you left out. One, the song belongs to Luis Fonsi, not Daddy Yankee. Luis remains on the track but some of his vocals were replaced on the record by Justin. Daddy Yankee's rap remains on the record. DY is known as the King of Reggaeton, a genre of music which currently dominates Spanish language music across the board but particularly streaming, to your point. It is a relatively new genre created within the last twenty years or so.
Second, Justin embarrassed himself by mocking the song only a few weeks after releasing his remix. Below is video where he "forgets" the lyrics. I"d argue he never actually knew them. You're correct in that the song isn't a novelty like Macarena was. It's part of a movement to break into the mainstream. Justin recognized the strength of the Spanish-language market when J Balvin remixed his song in Spanish and Justin came out to perform with him at Staples. And now, the game has changed.
http://www.complex.com/music/2017/05/justin-bieber-forgot-the-lyrics-to-despacito
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10IKRNNfCGU - Sorry remx with J Balvin
Best,
David Ortiz
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Mailbag
RE: One Love Manchester On Spotify
Bob,
Thank you for writing about the music. But writing about the music, without commenting on the artist, artists and executives who made this happen leaves out a huge part of the story. And the story is about how artists and our industry can rally together in times of need, where music is the only medicine, the only salve, the only chain to link us all together and remind us of our humanity , not our differences.
This event started with a brave, committed, shaken but resolved, empowered young woman named Ariana Grande, who pulled on every ounce of compassion, soul and strength to do this. That strength was shored up by the outpouring of love and support from every artist in our industry who called and wrote to her, artists from every genre, age and country. Imploring her to stay strong. From that compassion and strength came her voice , which said I have to go back to Manchester, before I go back on the road.....
A cavalry of great industry execs then came together, led by a vision that Ariana and Scooter Braun had. Scooter called in the everyone on the Ariana team and everyone he had a relationship with to produce an amazing show. Live Nation's David Zedeck , Dennis Desmond, great promoters Simon Moran, and Melvin Benn called on every member of their teams and with the help of a number of local authorities, an incredible event came together in 7 days. No egos, no credits, no " look what I did". Their incredible unsung heroes, Ari's road team lead by Roshad Ismail and Omar worked 7 days straight with no sleep, her band worked nonstop for 5 days, no sleep to learn all the artists music flawlessly. Huge thanks you and props should go to all of them!!!
But in the end, it is about 3 groups of people, the City of Manchester fans; the incredible artists who participated, and Ariana Grande. The pure emotion, the honest connection, the tears, the smiles , the energy, the pure power of music are hard to put into words. I could single out every artist, they were all amazing in their own ways...( I hope people will go on line and watch each clip)...
Three moments defined the day.....Ariana singing with the children's choir and that young girl holding on to Ari for life itself, the police officer dancing with a group of children.....and Ariana singing "somewhere over the rainbow". In that moment, we all got to travel to that magical place that only music can take you.
An amazing effort, that made me so proud of our industry.... proud of the selflessness of great and caring artists; and so proud of an amazing 23 year old woman who found strength beyond her years to do her part to change the world.
Rob Light
_______________________________________
From: Robert Kyncl
Re: One Love Manchester On Spotify
Bob -
FYI - YouTube was there for Scooter and Scott from the second they came up with it. And the labels/pubs were helpful and supportive. Everyone came together to champion the moment...including here, in America. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9yak899MUs :)
They, and the artists, did a wonderful thing, as you wrote.
R
_______________________________________
From: BERTON AVERRE
Subject: Re: Chris Stein Mailbag
Bob, it's funny what Chris Stein said, because the first time our band went to New York, we visited Mike in the studio with Blondie. And the one thing I remember is Jimmy Destri saying the two things he had to thank Mike for was a healthy bank account and a permanent ringing in his ear.
Mike was a blast to work with. Very happy to hear he's doing well.
P.S. I'm trying to remember if the EMT 250 was the unit we called R2D2.
_______________________________________
From: Steve Lukather
Subject: Re: June 1970 Playlist
ALL This music changed my life and I played most of these songs in bands when I was a kid of 12-13.
All I cared about was music.
When I was a kid and I fucked up in school or whatever... my parents took away my guitar and use of the record player.
I asked for the beating instead!
It was a different era...
I remember clearly Picking up the needle of my parents record player To learn all Erics parts and solos.. not to mention all the rest of these timeless gems. Some heavy lessons there!
This was not music .. this was soul Food!
And .. I learned all of the Cream solos too!
Some things will last forever.
Thanks Eric and ...Thank you to every musician on every single one of these records for without you I would have never dreamed one day I would have a career in music thanks to the lessons learned dissecting these records and and learning from all these artists... real ones !!
Respect
Luke
_______________________________________
Re: June 1970 Playlist
Bob
We had a number one in that exact month. With a list that long, not even worth a mention?
Robb Royer
(Note: "Make It With You" was released in June, but didn't go to number one until August, I loved it back then, but today I prefer Bread's "Diary."
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Bob,
Thank you for writing about the music. But writing about the music, without commenting on the artist, artists and executives who made this happen leaves out a huge part of the story. And the story is about how artists and our industry can rally together in times of need, where music is the only medicine, the only salve, the only chain to link us all together and remind us of our humanity , not our differences.
This event started with a brave, committed, shaken but resolved, empowered young woman named Ariana Grande, who pulled on every ounce of compassion, soul and strength to do this. That strength was shored up by the outpouring of love and support from every artist in our industry who called and wrote to her, artists from every genre, age and country. Imploring her to stay strong. From that compassion and strength came her voice , which said I have to go back to Manchester, before I go back on the road.....
A cavalry of great industry execs then came together, led by a vision that Ariana and Scooter Braun had. Scooter called in the everyone on the Ariana team and everyone he had a relationship with to produce an amazing show. Live Nation's David Zedeck , Dennis Desmond, great promoters Simon Moran, and Melvin Benn called on every member of their teams and with the help of a number of local authorities, an incredible event came together in 7 days. No egos, no credits, no " look what I did". Their incredible unsung heroes, Ari's road team lead by Roshad Ismail and Omar worked 7 days straight with no sleep, her band worked nonstop for 5 days, no sleep to learn all the artists music flawlessly. Huge thanks you and props should go to all of them!!!
But in the end, it is about 3 groups of people, the City of Manchester fans; the incredible artists who participated, and Ariana Grande. The pure emotion, the honest connection, the tears, the smiles , the energy, the pure power of music are hard to put into words. I could single out every artist, they were all amazing in their own ways...( I hope people will go on line and watch each clip)...
Three moments defined the day.....Ariana singing with the children's choir and that young girl holding on to Ari for life itself, the police officer dancing with a group of children.....and Ariana singing "somewhere over the rainbow". In that moment, we all got to travel to that magical place that only music can take you.
An amazing effort, that made me so proud of our industry.... proud of the selflessness of great and caring artists; and so proud of an amazing 23 year old woman who found strength beyond her years to do her part to change the world.
Rob Light
_______________________________________
From: Robert Kyncl
Re: One Love Manchester On Spotify
Bob -
FYI - YouTube was there for Scooter and Scott from the second they came up with it. And the labels/pubs were helpful and supportive. Everyone came together to champion the moment...including here, in America. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9yak899MUs :)
They, and the artists, did a wonderful thing, as you wrote.
R
_______________________________________
From: BERTON AVERRE
Subject: Re: Chris Stein Mailbag
Bob, it's funny what Chris Stein said, because the first time our band went to New York, we visited Mike in the studio with Blondie. And the one thing I remember is Jimmy Destri saying the two things he had to thank Mike for was a healthy bank account and a permanent ringing in his ear.
Mike was a blast to work with. Very happy to hear he's doing well.
P.S. I'm trying to remember if the EMT 250 was the unit we called R2D2.
_______________________________________
From: Steve Lukather
Subject: Re: June 1970 Playlist
ALL This music changed my life and I played most of these songs in bands when I was a kid of 12-13.
All I cared about was music.
When I was a kid and I fucked up in school or whatever... my parents took away my guitar and use of the record player.
I asked for the beating instead!
It was a different era...
I remember clearly Picking up the needle of my parents record player To learn all Erics parts and solos.. not to mention all the rest of these timeless gems. Some heavy lessons there!
This was not music .. this was soul Food!
And .. I learned all of the Cream solos too!
Some things will last forever.
Thanks Eric and ...Thank you to every musician on every single one of these records for without you I would have never dreamed one day I would have a career in music thanks to the lessons learned dissecting these records and and learning from all these artists... real ones !!
Respect
Luke
_______________________________________
Re: June 1970 Playlist
Bob
We had a number one in that exact month. With a list that long, not even worth a mention?
Robb Royer
(Note: "Make It With You" was released in June, but didn't go to number one until August, I loved it back then, but today I prefer Bread's "Diary."
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Tuesday, 6 June 2017
Despacito
It's the new "Blurred Lines," but the role of Emily Ratajkowski is played by Zuleya Rivera, and she keeps her clothes on!
But that does not mean you can take your eyes off her.
What am I talking about?
Yesterday's number one track on Spotify's Global Top 50. Only this version features Justin Bieber playing the role of Daddy Yankee on the original, but the track was a monster before Biebs got involved.
How did this happen?
Broadband. We forget that the internet fostered Napster, which started first on college campuses, because of students' high speed connections, and then when broadband invaded homes we got YouTube, which now even streams in 4k, if you've got a 5k iMac you can see the difference, assuming you've got something close to the 200 mbps in my household. Technology begets unforeseen benefits. And we're never going backwards, so we might as well go forwards! We need investment, we need foreign minds. And now we've got this foreign hit, well, Luis Fonsi was born in the now financially-challenged Puerto Rico, but he was brought up in Orlando, I learned that in the "Bloomberg Businessweek" article and if you're a student of business, you need to subscribe, hell, the app is free on your phone, Bloomberg is the gold standard in business features, the "New York Times" is the best for breaking news, and the WSJ has forfeited its place at the pinnacle, turning itself into a general interest paper for right wingers when what I want is stories on corporations and trends and, like I just said, you now get that with "Bloomberg Businessweek."
I was just perusing last week's issue, arguing for inclusion in the Paris climate accord, trumpeting the success of John Schnatter, founder of Papa John's pizza, and containing a lengthy expurgation on the success of "Despacito."
I missed it. Until yesterday. When trying to stay current I played the Spotify US Top Fifty and immediately got it. That's the culture we live in, the one of the one listen smash, no one's got time for more.
And I get this remix's success, it's got Bieber, his audience is gonna seek out everything he does, which means if you're not a Belieber you may be clueless, but that's the world we now live in, where there's so much information, so many niches, that we've got huge blind spots, even in our wheelhouses.
And I get it, the combo of catchiness and Biebs gives you a hit. To the tune of nearly seven million streams on Spotify PER DAY! And a cume of 350 odd million.
BUT IT WAS A HIT BEFORE ALL THIS!
Released on January 13th of this year, the YouTube clip, sans Bieber, got 5 million views in 24 hours and as of this writing has 1,815,356,185 views. THAT'S NEARLY TWO BILLION! Which puts it at number 17 on the all time chart. But when you add in the additional 275,525,473 views of the Bieber remix, that puts it at number 8 all time, AHEAD OF TAYLOR SWIFT'S BLANK SPACE!
So I decided to pull it up, the original iteration, the one with 1.8 billion views.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJQP7kiw5Fk&utm_source=phplist5884&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Despacito
First I was stunned by the quality. In the heyday of MTV we did not get HD, and my computer monitor is larger than my TV of the eighties. And driving all those pixels was...
My broadband connection.
The mood is set, there's beautiful blue water and a gorgeous landscape and island life and a smiling Fonsi and then...
She appears. For only a brief moment.
Then there's a stunning helicopter shot of the village.
And then the song hits its stride and the former Miss Universe starts to walk and YOU GET IT IMMEDIATELY!
But that's not all. There's the dancing, the energy, the clip contains all the elements of the less salacious rap videos of yore, but with a lot more fun and a track not dominated by beats. And you wonder, is this a one-off, or are we at the beginning of a trend, is America ready to embrace Latin culture, don't laugh, all those rednecks are rap fans now...
This is not a novelty like the "Macarena," and in a world where you cannot get ahead economically the lifestyle depicted in the clips looks so APPEALING!
Credit the record company for spending to get the clip right, we are truly in a new era of video, where the only gatekeeper is the audience, you just put it up on YouTube and...
You still hit a headwind. Bieber didn't hear the track until April, when he decided he wanted to appear on it. But still, it's only #9 on the Mediabase Top 40 and #9 on Rhythmic and #31 on Hot AC. Proving, once again, that streaming is far ahead of radio and you know what happens when a format falls behind, it has its lunch eaten.
But still, this is a hit record, just like "Dominique," sung in French, back in 1963, only now the world is both smaller and bigger. We live in a global village, but we're inundated with music. But Latinos have risen in status and even if there's not another crossover hit imminently, "Despacito" shows you've got to pay attention.
Listen to the Bieber version, which is almost entirely in Spanish, here:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3Gq2Dme9nesdgoqNNlcN8O?utm_source=phplist5884&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Despacito
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72UO0v5ESUo&utm_source=phplist5884&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Despacito
I dare you not to get it. And if you don't, that probably means you're out of touch with today's music business, which focuses on hooks and immediacy and skews pop.
And be sure to read the "Bloomberg Businessweek" article:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-01/a-spanish-song-at-no-1-all-it-took-was-justin-bieber?utm_source=phplist5884&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Despacito
And be sure to know, "Despacito" is the biggest hit in the world RIGHT NOW!
Bloomberg app: https://www.bloomberg.com/mobile/bloomberg/?utm_source=phplist5884&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Despacito
But that does not mean you can take your eyes off her.
What am I talking about?
Yesterday's number one track on Spotify's Global Top 50. Only this version features Justin Bieber playing the role of Daddy Yankee on the original, but the track was a monster before Biebs got involved.
How did this happen?
Broadband. We forget that the internet fostered Napster, which started first on college campuses, because of students' high speed connections, and then when broadband invaded homes we got YouTube, which now even streams in 4k, if you've got a 5k iMac you can see the difference, assuming you've got something close to the 200 mbps in my household. Technology begets unforeseen benefits. And we're never going backwards, so we might as well go forwards! We need investment, we need foreign minds. And now we've got this foreign hit, well, Luis Fonsi was born in the now financially-challenged Puerto Rico, but he was brought up in Orlando, I learned that in the "Bloomberg Businessweek" article and if you're a student of business, you need to subscribe, hell, the app is free on your phone, Bloomberg is the gold standard in business features, the "New York Times" is the best for breaking news, and the WSJ has forfeited its place at the pinnacle, turning itself into a general interest paper for right wingers when what I want is stories on corporations and trends and, like I just said, you now get that with "Bloomberg Businessweek."
I was just perusing last week's issue, arguing for inclusion in the Paris climate accord, trumpeting the success of John Schnatter, founder of Papa John's pizza, and containing a lengthy expurgation on the success of "Despacito."
I missed it. Until yesterday. When trying to stay current I played the Spotify US Top Fifty and immediately got it. That's the culture we live in, the one of the one listen smash, no one's got time for more.
And I get this remix's success, it's got Bieber, his audience is gonna seek out everything he does, which means if you're not a Belieber you may be clueless, but that's the world we now live in, where there's so much information, so many niches, that we've got huge blind spots, even in our wheelhouses.
And I get it, the combo of catchiness and Biebs gives you a hit. To the tune of nearly seven million streams on Spotify PER DAY! And a cume of 350 odd million.
BUT IT WAS A HIT BEFORE ALL THIS!
Released on January 13th of this year, the YouTube clip, sans Bieber, got 5 million views in 24 hours and as of this writing has 1,815,356,185 views. THAT'S NEARLY TWO BILLION! Which puts it at number 17 on the all time chart. But when you add in the additional 275,525,473 views of the Bieber remix, that puts it at number 8 all time, AHEAD OF TAYLOR SWIFT'S BLANK SPACE!
So I decided to pull it up, the original iteration, the one with 1.8 billion views.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJQP7kiw5Fk&utm_source=phplist5884&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Despacito
First I was stunned by the quality. In the heyday of MTV we did not get HD, and my computer monitor is larger than my TV of the eighties. And driving all those pixels was...
My broadband connection.
The mood is set, there's beautiful blue water and a gorgeous landscape and island life and a smiling Fonsi and then...
She appears. For only a brief moment.
Then there's a stunning helicopter shot of the village.
And then the song hits its stride and the former Miss Universe starts to walk and YOU GET IT IMMEDIATELY!
But that's not all. There's the dancing, the energy, the clip contains all the elements of the less salacious rap videos of yore, but with a lot more fun and a track not dominated by beats. And you wonder, is this a one-off, or are we at the beginning of a trend, is America ready to embrace Latin culture, don't laugh, all those rednecks are rap fans now...
This is not a novelty like the "Macarena," and in a world where you cannot get ahead economically the lifestyle depicted in the clips looks so APPEALING!
Credit the record company for spending to get the clip right, we are truly in a new era of video, where the only gatekeeper is the audience, you just put it up on YouTube and...
You still hit a headwind. Bieber didn't hear the track until April, when he decided he wanted to appear on it. But still, it's only #9 on the Mediabase Top 40 and #9 on Rhythmic and #31 on Hot AC. Proving, once again, that streaming is far ahead of radio and you know what happens when a format falls behind, it has its lunch eaten.
But still, this is a hit record, just like "Dominique," sung in French, back in 1963, only now the world is both smaller and bigger. We live in a global village, but we're inundated with music. But Latinos have risen in status and even if there's not another crossover hit imminently, "Despacito" shows you've got to pay attention.
Listen to the Bieber version, which is almost entirely in Spanish, here:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3Gq2Dme9nesdgoqNNlcN8O?utm_source=phplist5884&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Despacito
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72UO0v5ESUo&utm_source=phplist5884&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Despacito
I dare you not to get it. And if you don't, that probably means you're out of touch with today's music business, which focuses on hooks and immediacy and skews pop.
And be sure to read the "Bloomberg Businessweek" article:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-01/a-spanish-song-at-no-1-all-it-took-was-justin-bieber?utm_source=phplist5884&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Despacito
And be sure to know, "Despacito" is the biggest hit in the world RIGHT NOW!
Bloomberg app: https://www.bloomberg.com/mobile/bloomberg/?utm_source=phplist5884&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Despacito
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June 1970 Playlist
http://spoti.fi/2rJtzti
"Easy Now"
Eric Clapton
From the initial solo LP, right after Delaney & Bonnie's "On Tour" and "Comin' Home." This is the first track that resonated with me.
Clapton didn't become a superstar until 1974, when "I Shot The Sheriff" became a cultural staple, on all radio bands and formats.
Oh no, don't get your knickers in a twist. I know, I know, you're a hipster who was listening to the Bluesbreakers. And of course, we all went to see Cream, didn't you? But that was a band. And sure, "Layla" was a monster, but the band name was Derek and the Dominos, and it was all about the FM, which not everybody was listening to, but by '74, the two band radio had infiltrated most cars and there were aftermarket units galore and they did.
"Let It Rain"
Eric Clapton
The closing cut from that magical initial solo LP when Eric sang all the songs instead of Jack Bruce. The sound of the intro, the changes, it's hard to believe this was the sound of the day back then when you listen to what passes for success today. Furthermore, the rockers that are left are either playing something harder or more obscure. Being lyrical and melodic, somehow that's gone out of fashion.
"After Midnight" and "Blues Power"
Eric Clapton
I preferred the latter, but it's the former that had more impact, more staying power, this was before we had any idea who J.J. Cale was.
"Only You Know And I Know"
Dave Mason
The opening cut from "Alone Together," an unheralded masterpiece instantly purchased by fans of Traffic's second album, you dropped the needle and could not believe how solid it was. This song was on the aforementioned Delaney & Bonnie album, "On Tour," but this take far exceeded that one, it's the acoustic guitar and the subtlety.
"'Cause you know that I mean what I say
So don't go and take me the wrong way"
Such a jaunty track with such chiaroscuro lyrics. But as Dave sings:
"I don't mean to mislead you
It's just my craziness coming through
But when it comes down to just two
I ain't no crazier than you"
Remember when it was a badge of honor to admit your flaws?
Don Henley said it even better, years later, in "Not Enough Love In The World"...
"I'm not easy to live with
I know that it's true
You're no picnic either, babe
That's one of the things I loved about you"
From back when our rock stars gave us insight into life.
"Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave"
Dave Mason
The best cut on "Alone Together," it's six minutes and two seconds long and it never drags, you never want it to be over, it's hypnotic, the kind of stuff we loved sitting in our bedrooms listening to over and over and over again.
"World In Changes"
Dave Mason
As I said, there's not a clunker on "Alone Together," be sure to listen to "Look At You Look At Me" as well as "Waitin' On You" and "Sad And Deep As You," hell, listen to the whole thing.
But it's the mood of this number that eats at your soul.
"Empty Pages"
Traffic
The last song on the first side of what was supposed to be a Steve Winwood solo album, it's the changes and the organ that penetrated me, this is the number I got into first, you can still see Winwood live, and he's as good as he ever was.
"John Barleycorn (Must Die)"
Traffic
When every song didn't sound the same, when bands showed breadth, seeing Steve sing this at the Fillmore was TRANSCENDENT!
"That Would Be Something"
Paul McCartney
"Band On The Run" is McCartney's best solo album. But the forgotten underrated initial LP is the second best. Overlooked because it coincided with the breakup of the Beatles, with "Let It Be" on its heels, the intimacy will haunt you.
"Every Night"
Paul McCartney
My favorite song on the LP, it's the vocal. It's subtle and meaningful.
"Teddy Boy"
A story song, like the ones on the White Album.
I missed this LP, and then I went with a co-counselor to his fraternity house at Cornell and toked up an listened to this over and over again and got it. If you've never listened to "McCartney" put it on and let it go a couple of times and you'll be sold.
"Days Of 49"
Bob Dylan
From the excoriated "Self Portrait," this is the cut I needed to hear from the double LP, it wasn't even written by Dylan, but it sounded like it was.
"Hesitation Blues"
Hot Tuna
From the initial LP, the opening cut, the best, even though the act really hit its stride with its third album, "Burgers." This got a lot of attention, after all they were in Jefferson Airplane!
"I've Got A Feeling"
The Beatles
The opening cut on side two of "Let It Be," it's my favorite track on the LP, it seems to be made without worrying about the rough edges, as a band, trying to capture the energy, knowing that's more important than perfection.
And as good as McCartney's emotive vocals are, and the stinging guitar, what puts it over the top is Lennon in the bridge...
"Everybody had a hard year
Everybody had a good time"
How many times have I sung this in my head? It's the world-weariness of John, the all-knowingness, the wisdom, the resolution, he's so comfortable in his skin!
"See My Way"
Blodwyn Pig
The ethereal vocal, the horns, the changes, this is a one listen get.
"Dear Jill"
Blodwyn Pig
The best track on "Ahead Rings Out," but I must say I didn't really get it until I heard it in "Almost Famous."
"Love Like A Man"
Ten Years After
The best cut on "Cricklewood Green," the band's best album, which coincided with their triumph in the Woodstock movie, for a moment there they were superstars. This is an indelible riff, with a great change, do young kids get this?
Great marijuana music.
"50,000 Miles Beneath My Brain"
Ten Years After
You either got the memo or you didn't, either you smoked dope and listened to albums or you didn't. All these years later, this is my favorite track on "Cricklewood Green." Alvin Lee is dead and forgotten, but when I listen to these tracks he seems totally alive, in their own way they don't seem dated at all.
"Morning Morgantown"
Joni Mitchell
The opening cut off "Ladies Of The Canyon," from before she was a star, this was a quantum leap beyond her two first LPs. This number literally sounded like waking up in the morning.
"The Arrangement" and "Rainy Night House"
At this point, these are my two favorite cuts on "Ladies Of The Canyon," somehow you got the notion you were stuck in the middle of Joni's story, and it was just you, her and the person she was singing about, you truly felt like you knew her.
"Conversation"
Joni Mitchell
Ever been in love with someone who's involved with someone else?
I'm not talking from a distance. I mean the two of you are friends, even more than that. You touch a bit, but what you really want to do is reach over and kiss them. They complain about their relationship, you share intimacies they don't, but you're paralyzed, you feel the way Joni does in this song, elated and frustrated all at the same time.
"Country Road"
James Taylor
The first cut that got me on "Sweet Baby James," from back when he was still a cult artist, when I saw him at the Capitol in Port Chester and there were a hundred or so people there, when he still played solo, before "Fire And Rain" became ubiquitous on the radio.
"Delta Lady"
Leon Russell
From the initial solo LP.
He's gone now, but once upon a time, in the spring of '70, this was a revelation, it took Joe Cocker's version up a notch. And when you saw him lead "Mad Dogs & Englishmen" it was a revelation! But although those gigs were in the spring, the double live album didn't come out until the end of the summer...
"Coming Into Los Angeles"
Arlo Guthrie
It was the summer of Woodstock.
The festival happened in August '69, but the movie didn't come out until April 1970 and the triple album the following month, but the film played all summer, people went multiple times, to revel in not only the music, but the culture.
It was a turning point, the final division between the oldsters and the youngsters. We had our music, our dope and each other.
"Coming into Los Angeles
Bringin' in a couple of keys"
Either you knew what Arlo was singing about or you didn't.
"Sgt. Pepper" came out in 1967, but it wasn't until the seventies that albums truly triumphed, when singles died and everybody shifted over from AM to FM.
June 1970 wasn't the apex of the transition, but a head of steam was being built, it was happening.
The deal was sealed with "Stairway To Heaven."
But that was eighteen months away.
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"Easy Now"
Eric Clapton
From the initial solo LP, right after Delaney & Bonnie's "On Tour" and "Comin' Home." This is the first track that resonated with me.
Clapton didn't become a superstar until 1974, when "I Shot The Sheriff" became a cultural staple, on all radio bands and formats.
Oh no, don't get your knickers in a twist. I know, I know, you're a hipster who was listening to the Bluesbreakers. And of course, we all went to see Cream, didn't you? But that was a band. And sure, "Layla" was a monster, but the band name was Derek and the Dominos, and it was all about the FM, which not everybody was listening to, but by '74, the two band radio had infiltrated most cars and there were aftermarket units galore and they did.
"Let It Rain"
Eric Clapton
The closing cut from that magical initial solo LP when Eric sang all the songs instead of Jack Bruce. The sound of the intro, the changes, it's hard to believe this was the sound of the day back then when you listen to what passes for success today. Furthermore, the rockers that are left are either playing something harder or more obscure. Being lyrical and melodic, somehow that's gone out of fashion.
"After Midnight" and "Blues Power"
Eric Clapton
I preferred the latter, but it's the former that had more impact, more staying power, this was before we had any idea who J.J. Cale was.
"Only You Know And I Know"
Dave Mason
The opening cut from "Alone Together," an unheralded masterpiece instantly purchased by fans of Traffic's second album, you dropped the needle and could not believe how solid it was. This song was on the aforementioned Delaney & Bonnie album, "On Tour," but this take far exceeded that one, it's the acoustic guitar and the subtlety.
"'Cause you know that I mean what I say
So don't go and take me the wrong way"
Such a jaunty track with such chiaroscuro lyrics. But as Dave sings:
"I don't mean to mislead you
It's just my craziness coming through
But when it comes down to just two
I ain't no crazier than you"
Remember when it was a badge of honor to admit your flaws?
Don Henley said it even better, years later, in "Not Enough Love In The World"...
"I'm not easy to live with
I know that it's true
You're no picnic either, babe
That's one of the things I loved about you"
From back when our rock stars gave us insight into life.
"Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave"
Dave Mason
The best cut on "Alone Together," it's six minutes and two seconds long and it never drags, you never want it to be over, it's hypnotic, the kind of stuff we loved sitting in our bedrooms listening to over and over and over again.
"World In Changes"
Dave Mason
As I said, there's not a clunker on "Alone Together," be sure to listen to "Look At You Look At Me" as well as "Waitin' On You" and "Sad And Deep As You," hell, listen to the whole thing.
But it's the mood of this number that eats at your soul.
"Empty Pages"
Traffic
The last song on the first side of what was supposed to be a Steve Winwood solo album, it's the changes and the organ that penetrated me, this is the number I got into first, you can still see Winwood live, and he's as good as he ever was.
"John Barleycorn (Must Die)"
Traffic
When every song didn't sound the same, when bands showed breadth, seeing Steve sing this at the Fillmore was TRANSCENDENT!
"That Would Be Something"
Paul McCartney
"Band On The Run" is McCartney's best solo album. But the forgotten underrated initial LP is the second best. Overlooked because it coincided with the breakup of the Beatles, with "Let It Be" on its heels, the intimacy will haunt you.
"Every Night"
Paul McCartney
My favorite song on the LP, it's the vocal. It's subtle and meaningful.
"Teddy Boy"
A story song, like the ones on the White Album.
I missed this LP, and then I went with a co-counselor to his fraternity house at Cornell and toked up an listened to this over and over again and got it. If you've never listened to "McCartney" put it on and let it go a couple of times and you'll be sold.
"Days Of 49"
Bob Dylan
From the excoriated "Self Portrait," this is the cut I needed to hear from the double LP, it wasn't even written by Dylan, but it sounded like it was.
"Hesitation Blues"
Hot Tuna
From the initial LP, the opening cut, the best, even though the act really hit its stride with its third album, "Burgers." This got a lot of attention, after all they were in Jefferson Airplane!
"I've Got A Feeling"
The Beatles
The opening cut on side two of "Let It Be," it's my favorite track on the LP, it seems to be made without worrying about the rough edges, as a band, trying to capture the energy, knowing that's more important than perfection.
And as good as McCartney's emotive vocals are, and the stinging guitar, what puts it over the top is Lennon in the bridge...
"Everybody had a hard year
Everybody had a good time"
How many times have I sung this in my head? It's the world-weariness of John, the all-knowingness, the wisdom, the resolution, he's so comfortable in his skin!
"See My Way"
Blodwyn Pig
The ethereal vocal, the horns, the changes, this is a one listen get.
"Dear Jill"
Blodwyn Pig
The best track on "Ahead Rings Out," but I must say I didn't really get it until I heard it in "Almost Famous."
"Love Like A Man"
Ten Years After
The best cut on "Cricklewood Green," the band's best album, which coincided with their triumph in the Woodstock movie, for a moment there they were superstars. This is an indelible riff, with a great change, do young kids get this?
Great marijuana music.
"50,000 Miles Beneath My Brain"
Ten Years After
You either got the memo or you didn't, either you smoked dope and listened to albums or you didn't. All these years later, this is my favorite track on "Cricklewood Green." Alvin Lee is dead and forgotten, but when I listen to these tracks he seems totally alive, in their own way they don't seem dated at all.
"Morning Morgantown"
Joni Mitchell
The opening cut off "Ladies Of The Canyon," from before she was a star, this was a quantum leap beyond her two first LPs. This number literally sounded like waking up in the morning.
"The Arrangement" and "Rainy Night House"
At this point, these are my two favorite cuts on "Ladies Of The Canyon," somehow you got the notion you were stuck in the middle of Joni's story, and it was just you, her and the person she was singing about, you truly felt like you knew her.
"Conversation"
Joni Mitchell
Ever been in love with someone who's involved with someone else?
I'm not talking from a distance. I mean the two of you are friends, even more than that. You touch a bit, but what you really want to do is reach over and kiss them. They complain about their relationship, you share intimacies they don't, but you're paralyzed, you feel the way Joni does in this song, elated and frustrated all at the same time.
"Country Road"
James Taylor
The first cut that got me on "Sweet Baby James," from back when he was still a cult artist, when I saw him at the Capitol in Port Chester and there were a hundred or so people there, when he still played solo, before "Fire And Rain" became ubiquitous on the radio.
"Delta Lady"
Leon Russell
From the initial solo LP.
He's gone now, but once upon a time, in the spring of '70, this was a revelation, it took Joe Cocker's version up a notch. And when you saw him lead "Mad Dogs & Englishmen" it was a revelation! But although those gigs were in the spring, the double live album didn't come out until the end of the summer...
"Coming Into Los Angeles"
Arlo Guthrie
It was the summer of Woodstock.
The festival happened in August '69, but the movie didn't come out until April 1970 and the triple album the following month, but the film played all summer, people went multiple times, to revel in not only the music, but the culture.
It was a turning point, the final division between the oldsters and the youngsters. We had our music, our dope and each other.
"Coming into Los Angeles
Bringin' in a couple of keys"
Either you knew what Arlo was singing about or you didn't.
"Sgt. Pepper" came out in 1967, but it wasn't until the seventies that albums truly triumphed, when singles died and everybody shifted over from AM to FM.
June 1970 wasn't the apex of the transition, but a head of steam was being built, it was happening.
The deal was sealed with "Stairway To Heaven."
But that was eighteen months away.
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