Tom Petty At The Hollywood Bowl

He's the last rock star.

And he's finally comfortable in his own skin.

He used to have attitude, a chip on his shoulder. He kept his distance. He needed to express his anger.

Now he knows what he's achieved and he can accept our love and the end result is satisfaction and transcendence.

I'm not like my fellow baby boomers. I cannot go see the aged acts again and again. I saw them when they were new, when they were in their prime, on the comeback tour, the one after that...

And now I'm done.

Oh, there are exceptions. But when I see the usual suspects at the shed I wince. This is commerce, not art.

But Petty's different.

What is a rock star?

Someone who doesn't fit in, who has to do it his way, who labors in the trenches until he finally breaks through.

And refuses to sell out.

That's one of the reasons rock died. Everybody's taking money from the corporation, doing privates, hoovering up cash. And that might make you rich, but it leaves you empty inside, and the audience can tell, because those on stage are our hopes and dreams, our best selves, we need not only something to believe in, but something to direct us. We've gone off the rails but want to get back on. They kept chugging down the line.

But now the only one left is Tom Petty. The rest have dyed their hair and gotten plastic surgery and are selling nostalgia. It's no wonder one of the best tracks last night was the new one. Because you've got to grow or die. You've got to hone your chops or lose them. If you see the tour as an endless grind to make your nut you're really no different from a factory worker, and there aren't that many of them left. You can do the same thing night after night, tour after tour, or you can change it up.

Petty's catalog is so deep he doesn't have to play "The Waiting." "Listen To Her Heart." "Don't Do Me Like That." He can dig deep and surprise us.

But this is the first time he looked outward, to the audience, included them, as if he finally accepted it was good to be king.

And a benevolent one at that. Who never gave up his mischief, but wanted to keep his subjects happy.

But L.A. audiences are notoriously subdued. And outside it can be hard to feel the noise, it escapes into the atmosphere. And boomer acts have boomer audiences, with frail knees, who would rather sit than stand.

But Petty was having none of that.

He came out and marveled at the assembled multitude. Insisted the house lights go up so he could see us. Told us we were gonna have a night. Where did this loquacious man come from?

Then he and the Heartbreakers lit into "Rockin' Around (With You)."

Leon Russell had already peaked. Shelter Records was on the decline. And even the most casual observer knew it would be difficult for an act on that label to break through.

And Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers didn't. They were seen as a derivative Byrds-influenced act with a touch of punk, maybe since Tom wore a leather jacket on the cover of the debut album, so they went to the U.K. where they gained traction, since they got none here.

But then there was a live version of "Breakdown," with that inimitable descending riff, with a slow talking mid-section, and KROQ, when it was still a free format station, started to play it and a buzz was begotten.

They were up and coming in a world where the scene was in Los Angeles. More new wave, before that became something different in the U.K., more power pop than the punk of CBGB's. Petty's outfit was one of many.

Not the last remaining enterprise it is today.

So I went to see them at the Whisky. And it was not about shenanigans, only the music, and it was good, and the second album delivered but we did not expect the band to become superstars, as they did with "Damn The Torpedoes."

And then after a walk in the wilderness, they returned with the MTV smash "Don't Come Around Here No More," a left field hit if there ever was one.

Then there were the triumphant solo albums, and the two tracks added to the end of the "Greatest Hits" package and that was song number two, "Mary Jane's Last Dance." This was when riff rock was in the toilet, but from "I Want To Tell You" to "Smoke On The Water" to "Mary Jane's Last Dance," it's what reaches and motivates us most, that line played loudly that eliminates all other thoughts in one's brain, that makes one feel powerful, that makes one believe one can win.

Yup, our music was optimistic, even when it was pessimistic. It fueled our hopes and dreams.

And much earlier than I anticipated, believing it would be saved for the encore victory lap, Petty lit into "I Won't Back Down," which seems to have become the anthem of America. Ain't it always the truth. Songs by outsiders are misinterpreted and appropriated and misused by the mainstream, like the Boss's "Born In The U.S.A.," but the dirty little secret is the less demonstrative, less talkative Petty has even more impact than Springsteen. Springsteen's got a couple of anthems, Petty's got a slew, Springsteen's for a devoted cult, but Petty is for everyone.

And then came...

The Los Angeles anthem.

That's right, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were formed in Santa Monica, when it was still downtrodden, the burg upon the shore.

But it's the rest of the city that comes alive in "Free Fallin'."

"It's a long day, living in Reseda"

The Valley is not as downtrodden as it once was, especially now that you've got to be rich to live on the Westside, but the truth is Reseda is little different from Gainesville, Petty's hometown. It's flat and suburban and youth have nothing better to do than to get in trouble.

"All the vampires, walkin' through the Valley
Move west down Ventura Boulevard"

Sunset may be more famous. But these days, more happens on Ventura, the business street of the San Fernando Valley, that's endless, with restaurants, shops, car dealers, we keep hearing from right wingers how their tiny hamlets are the real America, but if you want to see the U.S. tried and true, drive down Ventura, not that I'm giving it a thumps up, but it's us, with its mini-malls and nail salons and supermarkets, it grew organically, just like the U.S., it's a mumbled jumbled mixed up world that needs to be wiped clean and rebuilt.

But this will never happen.

"I wanna glide down over Mulholland"

There's no cheap real estate on the road that bifurcates the city, atop the hills, separating West L.A. and Hollywood from the Valley. If you've never been here, drive up here first. Wind your machine through the curves. You'll see why it's a car culture, as well as seeing the landscape, the mountains, the valleys and the ocean.

And this is everyday life in SoCal. You can read about it elsewhere, listen to the record, but when Petty's playing it here, you can only stand up, thrust your arm in the air and sing at the top of your lungs...

"And I'm free, free fallin'
Yeah I'm free, free fallin'"

You know what that's like, why you go to the show, not so you can shoot selfies and tweet, but so you can bond with the act and its music. The assembled multitude was standing, singing, praying to the god of song and its creator, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

And a slow song from "Wildflower" turned into a rave-up.

And the title track from that album was prefaced by Petty's comment that he hoped he didn't screw it up.

He did not. He picked it on his acoustic guitar perfectly.

And here's where we stop and credit Mike Campbell and lifer Benmont Tench. And newbie Ferrone. And prodigal son Blair. And quasi Heartbreaker Thurston. And the backup singers known as the Webb Sisters. This is strange, not only are the original members alive and kicking, playing their hearts out (except for Stan, of course, all families have one outcast, one member they can't get along with), Benmont and Tom were kids together. Campbell was playing a Japanese electric in a bad neighborhood when Petty said he was gonna be in his band FOREVER! Most people come to L.A. and forget their roots, shed their friends, become someone different, phony, untrustworthy, but Tom and the Heartbreakers are friends, a gang, and despite Jeff Lynne sitting right by me and getting up with a few numbers left he did not grace the stage, because that would be sacrilegious, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers don't need no cherry on top, because they are the entire sundae, ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, nuts, they bring their own maraschino, and it's enough. MORE THAN ENOUGH!

So Tom told stories. Conducted the impossibly tight band. The big screen flashed images from their career, not only their lives, but our own.

And then they turned up the amps and we heard "Refugee" and "Runnin' Down A Dream" and the legendary closer, "American Girl."

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is an American band.

Some act from Detroit claimed that title forty odd years ago, but they splintered and could not follow it up.

But Tom and his pickers and players and singers have grabbed that mantle and keep rollin' down the track, and it's forty years later, and although they claim they might stop, don't believe it, they're stoking the engine and...

Last night we were in the passenger car as engineer Petty turned up the throttle and took us on the ride of our life.

But the stunning thing is he does this night after night, gig after gig.

That's why he's the last of the rock stars.

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What's Goin' On?

What kind of crazy fucked up world do we live in where a late night TV host takes a stand, risking the alienation of his audience, which the medium lives by, advertising driving not only profits, but cancellation, but musicians are silent?

One in which the President gets into an east coast/west coast rap feud with the young leader of a renegade nation and we all could die in the aftermath.

I can't wait to wake up and see the shenanigans. I'm refreshing my news apps constantly throughout the day, hell, it just broke that John McCain is thumbs-down on Graham-Cassidy. I'm following the news like I used to follow music. But that was before "Rolling Stone" was for sale and Jeff Bezos bought the "Washington Post."

Now this risk of Jimmy Kimmel's is important. He did what was right.

We haven't done what is right in the music business since 1969. Back when Country Joe sang "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die" at Woodstock. Now it's nearly fifty years later and the Vietnam War is on PBS but nobody under thirty donates to that outlet and Ken Burns is seen as over-the-hill and you might say today's younger generation is not afraid of dying, but Biggie did, and Tupac too. That's what happens when unstable people take the law into their own hands.

Like Trump and Kim Jong Un.

Now the truth of it is is that late night TV ratings are abysmal. Hell, there's even little virality, usually. Fallon is in the rearview mirror. He's Johnny Mathis in the era of the Beatles. Maybe the Four Seasons, with a few hits left in him, whereas...Colbert is Brian Wilson without the mental illness. He had hits in late night but then faltered when the revolution came but then got game. But Jimmy Kimmel? The guy who starred in the "Man Show"? Howard Stern's best friend? Isn't he MARGINAL?

That's what you don't understand about today's environment. You do the work and then the system blows you up. You can't premeditate it, it doesn't stick. Kinda like Taylor Swift's new singles. A lot of ink and then...nothing. Because when you work it the system plays along but the public does not. But when you're true to yourself and resonate, you go nuclear.

You can't premeditate art. You've got to do it for yourself. Get aligned with your inner tuning fork and you never know what will happen. The records by the usual suspects committee can be toppled, if those outside the system are willing to take a risk.

And no, don't e-mail me your protest song. That's not the point. These things blow up by THEMSELVES! And they're irrelevant unless they're ubiquitous. That's another thing working against music, it's all about the niche, and if you expect the labels to break the logjam you probably own Clive Davis's "Greatest Hits," but the last I checked, he never wrote a note, never recorded a record, that's left to the ARTISTS!

Will someone capture the zeitgeist and make us all pay attention?

I'm not confident, this has not happened in years.

But the world situation hasn't been this bad in years.

Now you can't please everybody and you're gonna be prone to backlash. The right wing controls the debate, with their inane claim that the Emmy ratings were down because the show was too political, anti-Trump, when the truth is the ratings for the VMAs were down, all the awards shows, because the younger generation ain't tuned in to appointment TV and many people just don't care.

They're pushing back all the time.

And those in the arts are afraid.

But not Jimmy Kimmel. Not Stephen Colbert. Not people who were famous for NOT taking a side. Which side was Johnny Carson on? Who knows? But that's why musicians many years his junior dominated the conversation, despite there being only three networks.

So, perusing the Spotify Top 50 or reading the front page of the "New York Times"?

It's no contest.

And like the dear departed Leonard Cohen once sang...

Everybody knows.

We've got to shelve the endless self-congratulatory singing of "Hallelujah" and go with this much more appropriate song.

Meanwhile, we sit back while the NFL blackballs Colin Kaepernick as its ratings tank, what, are we living in the sixties once again? Where the old men in charge are out of touch and the young people have to rise up?

So far, it's only the women who are taking a stand, against bro culture in Silicon Valley.

But there are much bigger targets.

Then again, the Senators are reacting to deep pocket donors pissed that the ACA still stands, and you expect me to be interested in the ramblings of nincompoops in "Rolling Stone"?

Not gonna happen.


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Glass Animals At The Shrine

"You just wanna know those peanut butter vibes"

So, the Shrine is full. Well, in the corners of the upper deck there were a few spare seats. But the rest were filled by a demo born in the nineties, the late nineties, the crowd was in the neighborhood of 19 and 20, a bit older, AND EVERYONE KNEW THE RECORD BY HEART!

The band took the stage, sans canned tracks and production, and hands went into the air and a roar emanated from the assembled multitude. HOW DID THEY ALL KNOW?

Aren't we supposed to be living in a hip-hop world? Check the statistics, by no measure are Glass Animals stars.

"Gooey" went to #26 on rock radio back in 2014.

"Life Itself" went to #21 in the same ghetto last year.

Their first album, 2014's "Zaba," peaked at #177 with a grand total of 136,000 sold.

"How To Be A Human Being," released last year, made it to number 20.

And it's not like they're burning up the charts in the U.K. The first album went to #92, the second to #23.

"Gooey" has 97 million streams on Spotify, nothing to sneeze at, but there are acts with more plays who can't sell anywhere near this number of tickets.

"Life Itself" is at 34 million.

But data seems irrelevant to those in attendance.

And who were they?

Not millennials. They don't even remember Napster. They're not burdened by history whatsoever. Scratch them and I'd say they like hip-hop too, but Glass Animals is closer to alternative, closer to the English music of the eighties than the urban sound of today.

But the band is a raging success.

And either you know it or you don't.

I was the oldest attendant, by far. And the point is we're experiencing a schism, between the old and the new. The boomers are seeing the classic acts, and the youngsters have completely disconnected. But if you were there tonight watching Glass Animals...

No way you could say they were bad.

Actually, what you'd say is...SAME AS IT EVER WAS!

Remember being young, knowing the album by heart and needing to see the band in concert?

That's what it was like.

A swarm of bumping, bending bodies, entranced by the music.

You'd think it was the seventies.

But there was a different act on stage.

I still don't know how they know. But they do.

We were debating this all night. Theories were posited. "Gooey" had a long time on the radio, then again, none of the tracks peaked. Maybe listeners found the band by looking at Related Artists on Spotify.

Now we used to have a whole level of bands like this. But we read about them in magazines, there were only a few thousand albums a year. But now there are triple digit thousands released a year, it's a great morass, the history of music is at your fingertips, it's a singles world, but these fans had gone deep and knew the band's oeuvre completely.

Then again, music is portable. Once you're interested it's available 24/7. We had to go back to our dorm rooms.

So this show was definitely about the music, about the vibe, but the lead singer, Dave Bayley, is an AMAZING front man. Getting up on the furniture and twisting to the tunes like only a white boy can do with the music inside him, not soulfully, but as if he was beamed in from another universe.

He knelt, he climbed into the audience, but he wasn't working too hard, he was not trying to convince us, he just seemed to be following his own muse, he got the party started, and we partied!

But this was not a festival gig, where it was about the audience. Everybody was bonding with the band. Looking at the stage, usually sans phones, they wanted to be in the trance.

It was so peculiar. Finding something fully-baked that most people are unaware of. Greta Van Fleet tops the Active Rock chart and only have 4.8 million streams of their biggest song, but with even less success on traditional metrics Glass Animals is selling more tickets. Sure, they've been around longer, but...

What is happening here?

These were not scenesters. These were college students. Taking a Thursday night off. They were not dressed to the nines. And at least half of the audience was women. Then again, the biracial guy behind me mouthed every single word. Sure, L.A. is multicultural and multiracial, but physically the groups are separated, yet they're all here together at this alt-rock show?

I wanted you all to come and see. All you pooh-poohing today's music. You would have gotten it, you would have been wowed.

It was refreshing. It was exciting.

For all the hype in the media, all the "stars" saying LOOK AT ME, there are still acts focusing on vision and execution who are not working it, not putting themselves in our faces 24/7, who are leading with their music.

And it's not me-too.

Glass Animals doesn't sound exactly like anything else out there. You can hear the roots, but how it's put together...

"I can't take this place, I can't take this place
I just wanna go where I can get some space"

Isn't that what music used to represent? An alternative, a refuge? Before it became about commerce, bucks? The music released you, set you free, made you feel all gooey inside, made you feel like someone else felt what you felt.

We felt it tonight at the Shrine.

P.S. On wax, "Gooey" is good, live it was transcendent. We're used to bands unable to replicate their hits. But on the road Glass Animals has polished the track, it's got an energy absent on the recording, the entire audience turned into Gumbys when this played.

P.P.S. The first encore was Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy." Yup, that's an oldie by this audience's standards.

"Truth be told
I've been here, I've done this all before"

At the Fillmore East, at emporia where the bands were known by the attendees and seemingly nobody else, before AOR radio anointed hits and then MTV made them ubiquitous.

"I'd say I told you so but you just gonna cry
You just wanna know those peanut butter vibes"

YOU DO!


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Niall Horan At The Palladium

Richard told me it was an UNDERPLAY!

I sauntered into the Palladium expecting attendance to be sparse and the people who were there to be kids. But the place was packed and those in attendance were way past puberty, not that there was not screaming involved, but average age was 19 or 20, what was happening here, weren't teen phenoms supposed to be time-stamped, to have their era and then be done, like the Cassidy brothers, Bobby Sherman and New Kids On The Block?

But no, Niall Horan has a #2 record, soon to be #1, how did this happen?

The audience is in control. That's what Barnett told me. Used to be radio was the arbiter. But now the public gets a voice. Turns out they're still into 1D. And those streaming numbers force the hand of radio and other old line gatekeepers.

Not that the starmaker machinery is not involved.

That's what people don't buy, the same ones paying attention to the press and the scuttlebutt. Saying major labels are over, you can make it on your own and streaming is the devil. Did you read today's RIAA report? Revenue is up 17%! A far cry from the last decade when it was all doom and gloom, and paid on demand streaming is 43% of the total, far outnumbering downloads and physical.

The future's so bright you gotta wear shades.

So Richard and Harry allowed Niall to make the record he wanted to. Which is a backlash against the overbearing label shenanigans the Mottola era inaugurated, never mind the reign of Clive Davis. The team was established and the record was recorded but they did argue about the single, which took 17 mixes to get right, because today it is all about the single, and if it's not right you're screwed.

And then Niall went around the world twice promoting himself and his new music. They told me he was good at it, remembered names, and I took this with a grain of salt until I was on the stairs after the show and he said "Hi Bob." Hell, there are musicians I've known for decades who make like they don't know me, ones I've written superlative stuff about, but this guy I met in passing as part of a group remembers me? I didn't believe it. I thought he was prompted. But no, Niall just told me Richard had mentioned that I was gonna be there last night.

Whew!

People want to work with nice people. Talent isn't enough.

And you work harder than a financial wizard, with a hell of a lot more jet lag. Niall shrugged when I queried whether he was burned out, he said he'd been around the globe seven times so far, hell, he just celebrated his 24th birthday in Japan! Staying up all night drinking until the English football came on.

When he's not playing golf, that's how he blows off steam. When he's unavailable on the links.

And the label meshed with management and worked radio and the usual suspects, it's a juggernaut, I tell you!

And now is where you pooh-pooh the whole damn thing, saying the music sucks, but the truth is Niall's solo work is closer to Neil Young than Nas, and it ain't just kiddie ditties, it's more...rock and roll. With melody.

Yup, young people are gonna save this world. Everything old is new again. Niall loves the Eagles, and you may hate them, but the Eagles had superb songwriting skills, with melodies and choruses, and so does Niall. Not making a direct comparison, it's just that what goes for rock today is oftentimes too self-referential, such a reaction to what once was that you can't understand it unless you're deep in the rabbit hole. Put on Niall's new album at a dinner party and everybody will enjoy it. Songs with meaning you can sing along with, what a concept!

And right now Spotify is dominated by hip-hop. Because those were the early adopters. And as you can see the joke is on the pooh-poohers, because it's streaming that's driving revenue. Will other genres make an impact?

That's an interesting question.

Hip-hop has culture, never underestimate the story.

But Niall has 1D story.

And those fans know every word and sing along.

And come in droves.

There'll be a shed tour next year, but demand far outstrips that. But if you want credibility, you've got to act in a credible way.

Think about this, as you were glued to the past streaming won.

Now, youngsters not burdened by your baggage are gonna reinvent the business with the building blocks of your youth and succeed.

What's the problem?

THERE IS NONE!


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Re-Broadchurch/Television

@Lefsetz thanks for mentioning #HeroineNetflix in your newsletter. I'm glad Jan, Necia and Judge Keller inspired you

Elaine M. Sheldon

http://www.elainemcmillionsheldon.com

via Twitter Web Client from West Virginia

______________________________________

Just a quick note on Black Mirror for anyone who hasn't watched yet.

Don't start with S.1 E.1 - watch it after watching EVERYTHING else!  (And you still may not like it.)

Best,
Stephen Bray

______________________________________

Early fan of the show. The leads are both terrific actors and the plots are absorbing. I understand the female lead will become the new "Dr. Who," so she's probably unavailable for future seasons.

Regards,
Rick Pardo

______________________________________

So Glad that the 2nd Season of Broadchurch is great!  I saw the 1st Season and loved it.  I guess I just missed the announcement of the 2nd Season.
I, too was late to Breaking Bad - only so much time - but I have Season 5&6 left to watch.

Best Always,

Ritch Esra

______________________________________

BLACK MIRROR IS tough. But awesome. It hits too close to home for me to be able to watch it any time in comfort.

Did you watch

The Whitney Houston doc?
Five came back on Netflix?
White Gold?

Jason Hirschhorn

______________________________________

Such a good series!  So glad you discovered Broadchurch! Couldn't stop telling people about it last year.  So good!
Fox made a US version - didn't last and I didn't bother watching the US version.  It's just never as good. 

Best,

Adam Lewis

______________________________________

If you liked Broadchurch you've GOT to see Happy Valley created by Sally Wainwright with Sarah Lancashire and James Norton as the most complex "hero/villain" pairing of the last decade.  It's astounding writing and acting and even more nuanced than Broadchurch.  Season 1 is spellbinding. Season 2 has way too much mumbling and is oftentimes impossible to understand.  

Once you've watched that, then you need to check out 2 more Sally Wainwright shows:

Scott and Bailey - another female driven cop show that takes awhile to unfold but is just amazing TV

Last Tango In Halifax - which is one of the most inventive family dramas I've ever watched.  

Jan and I were glued to Sally Wainwright for weeks and weeks.  I was totally addicted.  

Bob Ezrin

______________________________________

"The Fall" and the first two years of "Narcos" -- both excellent

Tom Werman

______________________________________

Love Broadchurch! But do yourself a favor and do NOT watch Grace Point, the American remake — with David Tennant in the same role, but with a not-so-good American accent. The story was dumbed down, the drama artificially tweaked (as if it needed more drama). Mercifully, it was terminated after one season.

Steve Hochman

______________________________________

A big 'AMEN' on Charlotte Rampling.  With Tom Courtenay in the amazing '45 Years'…and BBC's 'London Spy' were fab.

Hugo Burnham

______________________________________

Hey Bob,
If you support your local PBS station and have the PBS app you can stream the new Ken Burns Vietnam War series in its entirety. We're binge-watching it now.  

Steven Page

Ps - there's a season 3 of Broadchurch. Bought it on iTunes - always a last resort. 

______________________________________

Broadchurch was really good. So was the first season of the Northern Ireland based "The Fall" (Gillian Anderson) - but only the first season. Unfortunately we're running out of undiscovered gems on alternative media and running into heaps of mediocrity...all over again. jjw (Justin Williams)

______________________________________

Watch all of black mirror. I guarantee it spurs at least three separate new topic emails from you. It is amazing 

Brian Rucker

______________________________________

You'll get a lot of recs from this -- The Fall, Happy Valley, River, Paranoia -- all great, but try Shetland. 

Jeffrey Slate

______________________________________

I think you'd like "Rake" (Netflix).

Older series (2010-16).  Australian. I just finished it.

Came to me word of mouth, recently, not highly rated, loved it.
 
Like your perspective(s). Thanks.

Bill Wroton

______________________________________

Check out "American Vandal" on Netflix

Netflix original Satire on crime documentaries, i.e. Making a Murderer

-Tom Mudd

______________________________________

Ditto on Burns. You're the third time today Ive experienced someone praising "Heroin(e)"....

Wallace Sanders

______________________________________

I would posit that the star of broadchurch is Olafur Arnalds' beautifully minimal and meaningful soundtrack. That guy has a bright future.

David Kirsh

______________________________________

I have watched Broadchurch since day one.  The second season is as good as the first!
 
Maria

______________________________________

Nothing against Ms. Rampling, but the real star of Broadchurch is Olivia Colman.

Have you checked out "Happy Valley" on Netflix yet?
If not, you should...I promise you'll get hooked.

Yasmine F. Khalil

______________________________________

Seasons 1 and 2 of Broadchurch are absolutely brilliant. Season 3 (the final season) was good, but it did that thing American TV shows try to do in final seasons/episodes: wrap up every loose end. And it felt a little formulaic in that regard, especially compared to the first two seasons.

Two more English shows I can highly recommend: 

Happy Valley (cut from a similar cloth as Broadchurch, a shade or two rougher 'round the edges)
Detectorists (the smallest, quietest show you'll ever see. A bunch of misfits that find each other over the shared bond of metal detecting. Now more than ever, we all need someone. This show hammers that point home. 

Patrick Berkery

______________________________________

Broadchurch is best watched with (English) subtitles. Also, there are so many red herrings, it could have been filmed in a delicatessen. Love it, though. 

Keep up the good work! 

Harold Lepidus

______________________________________

So you haven't seen season 3? Another doozy! 

B. Haynes

______________________________________

It's funny you mention that TV is the new music, when I first heard about Broadchurch by reading a newsletter from the U.K. Folk musician Karine Polwart. There was a beautiful line she highlighted from the show, "Grief is just love with no home," around which she wrote a song. 

Maybe we need to teach screen writers to be top liners to come up with more meaningful music!

Michael Hinckley

______________________________________

Broadchurch- the first season especially was riveting- Especially the Brooding Scot detective!  Check out Vera with Brenda Blethyn- British TV  IS far superior- characters more than a millimeter, beautiful locales with actresses who look real and have something to say/ portray, and the twist is a challenge to see if you can beat them to the punch! 

Sue Quigley

______________________________________

If you do go to Darren Aronofsky's new movie, I'd love to hear your impression.
I'm 61. As a long time lover of movies, especially on the big screen, I will tell you that it is the FIRST time in my entire life that I have ever advised ALL people to NOT go to a movie.  Not in a boycotting way. I had such a hard time describing my experience in that movie …but I do think it "sort of" hurt me.  Weird. So, I will love hearing your impression if you end up going… ..and maybe you shouldn't… …'cause maybe it will hurt you!

Julie Helmrich

______________________________________

Hey Mister...on Netflix, there's a Finnish (that's right, I said Finnish) slightly odd police procedural set in Northern Finland, just across the border from St. Petersburg, Russia.  It's Called Bordertown. It can be a bit difficult to place because there are others named that as well.  Nicely shot, well-acted and written and worthy of bingeing. 

The best, 

Steven Anders

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bordertown_(Finnish_TV_series)

______________________________________

Hey Bob, love this post! I was just performing at a music festival in Dorest (End of the Road Festival)
and so took a day trip to West Bay where Broadchurch was filmed - the coastline is as amazing 
as it looks on the show. I concur about the actors on the show - you'd never see Olivia Colman as the lead
in a US drama but she's brilliant of course. Imagine all the US actors who don't get good roles because they're not
conventionally beautiful!

Cheers
Clare Bartholomew

______________________________________

Love this post. And yes the female police officers in British shows like Broadchurch and Happy Valley look like female police officers; a bit bulky, not a ton of makeup, and in clothes and shoes that you can actually catch a suspect in! It feels real. 

Marika Cahn

______________________________________

Spot on, Bob. My wife and I binge watched the first series of Broadchurch, and couldn't wait for more. When series two debuted on ITV, we downloaded them week by week so we wouldn't have to wait for it to finally air here in the States. Did the same with series three. And despite my David Tennant fandom (he was The Doctor, after all) I just couldn't root for the inevitably bad US remake of the first series. The Brits do TV way better than we do. 

Luke Easter

______________________________________

Hey Bob, I agree and it's so hard to make decisions from Australia where we have to circumvent geoblocking with a VPN for Amazon, HBO, Netflix and Apple.  If you subscribe to Netflix natively here, you only get 30% of the content avaialable in the US.  I get HBO through my Apple id and Showtime through Amazon Prime which would normally block me.

My tip for a hilarious show (though I'm only through the first season of 5, is Episodes, combining British humour with American showmanship.  Also on Netflix, catch the doco Barbecue done by a couple of friends of mine about meat meeting fire in 12 countries.

All the best

Phil Tripp

______________________________________

re:Black Mirror - Just skip straight to the episode "San Junipero", it won two Emmys last night and I haven't been able to extoll the brilliance of it often enough since watching a year ago. You will be moved in your humanity and you will want to write about it. Or not. Cheers

Trevor Simpson

______________________________________

Glad you are enjoying Broadchurch.  It's great to see a little English show making waves in the US. You are in for a treat with season 3 which tackles sexual assault in a really intelligent and affecting way.  It has some of the best acting I have ever seen on TV.  Season 2 might ultimately disappoint but don't miss Season 3, which is a belter.  

From Andrew Harting 

______________________________________

The music in Broadchurch is a character in the show. Olafur Arnalds is a brilliant young post classical composer from Iceland. His artistic and musical expression beyond the program are worth visiting, and extremely cutting edge to traditional classicalists. 

In his case, he hasn't gotten it wrong, he has gotten it so right that can do whatever he wants, and does, with innovation. Look under the current and you'll see that music still makes shows and films what they are. 

Cheers,
Ryan David Hawk 

______________________________________

If you like Broadchurch, you may also like Longmire (Montana), Shetland (Scotland) and Hinterland (Wales).  Cop procedurals in really fascinating locales.  I enjoy them. 

Kyle Baker

______________________________________

Inquiring minds need to know: which episode of Black Mirror?

Suggested eps: "The Entire History of You," "San Junipero," and "Be Right Back"

Bart Clareman

______________________________________

I'm sure you're going to get a thousand Breaking Bad emails. I'll be #1,001. I too was late to the game and just watched it late this past winter. I'm a daily commuter to NYC via the Long Island Rail Road. When Netflix started to make content available for download earlier this year it changed my life. It took a drab commute filled with scrolling through Instagram to one filled with amazing art. Albeit the first thing I downloaded was Sausage Party (and laughed my ass off in front of people on the train)! Yes I could read a new book every other week but that's gets old. So after being sold on Breaking Bad by a friend, I dove in. I binged that entire series in a month and a half soley during my morning and evening commute. It is the most perfect show I've ever seen. Now I know what all the fuss and awards were about!  And after that you need to watch Better Call Saul. It will help fill the void that ending Breaking Bad will leave in your life. And you get all the players back - Saul (obv.), Mike, Tuco, Gus. It's great. Glad you're hooked!! 

Rob DiFondi

Ps - you've been so spot on about money and class these days. Slogging through the upper middle class on Long Island ain't easy. Especially with three kids! It takes a small fortune just to keep my family alive and the lights on in the house. It's a shame. 

______________________________________

Thank you for the recognition of Broadchurch.  It's amazing, though I sadly admit I haven't seen season 3 yet.  (I guess that's one thing that winter in Chicago is good for!)  One of Broadchurch's differentiators to me is the pacing.  It's not nearly as frantic and loud as most Americans prefer, but instead it's quiet and calm and just as chilling and suspenseful, maybe even more so because of it.   David Tennent and Olivia Coleman are incredible in it.  (The new female Dr. Who also features in the first series.)

Speaking of Olivia Coleman and other great British shows, you might like The Night Manager, the BBC/AMC co-produced show based on the novel by John LeCarre.  Olivia Coleman, Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, and Tom Holland were all outstanding.  It's current on Amazon.   Which leads you to that great John LeCarre based movie Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Netflix, I think) with a dozen or more great British actors, young and old, including Benedict Cumberbatch, which then leads you on to the BBC/PBS show Sherlock.   (Netflix)

I don't watch much TV, but when I do, it tends to be British.  Can you tell?

I started reading your newsletter after it was recommended to me by some Nashville music folks.  I've really enjoyed your behind the scenes looks at music past and present, and your consideration of the future of music and other medium as well.  Keep doing what you are doing, sir!

Angela Buikema
Westmont, IL

______________________________________

Broadchurch is good. 
But way better, right next to the Soprano's is…..PEAKY BLINDERS!!!
The best I've ever seen.
Starring a host of British greats; Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, etc….
Must see TV.

Stu Cohen

______________________________________

I made the switch to British TV a couple of years ago. Now, since I can watch YouTube on my main TV, I've actually moved on to watching British TV game shows. Sad! 
But if you really want to relax, watch the Brit-show, "Escape To The Country". Each week the host tries to find a couple their new dream home in the UK countryside. It's full of 10 acre homesteads with 4 bedroom houses for $400k. You'll be sleeping soundly with restful dreams before the opening credits are done (and there's free healthcare!)
 
Best,
John Zambetti

______________________________________

Fox produced a US version the first season "Gracepoint"

David Tennant played the detective in BOTH versions and Anna Gunn fresh off Breaking Bad played Det. Ellie Miller.

Only lasted one season here and then you could pick up the ITV version.

Ole Olson

______________________________________

I believe there are 3 seasons of the British show so far. America grabbed the meme and produced one version of Broadchurch with Anna Gunn in the female lead and David Tennant reprising his role here. Americans can f**k up a wet dream. Not watchable.

Robert Tussey

______________________________________

You're on.  TV is the game these days.  You did miss the train on BB only because everyone was talking about it and of all the things to check out, that would be THE one.  You will enjoy Better Call Saul as a segue once your done.

Broadchurch was good but this season isn't killing me, although Charlotte Rampling is the anti Jane Fonda (how scary was that on the Emmy's which I saw for all of 15 minutes).

BEST OF SHOW; for english shows.  HAPPY VALLEY, the first season is a monster, second really holds up.  Small town in central England.  If the first episode doesn't hook you, I'll send you money.  Sarah Lancashire is the most famous female star in the UK.  She plays a constable and is brilliant, the story is great and the bad guy (pure evil) is the vicar from Broadchurch.  One of my faves of all time.  You need to use CC because it is pretty hard to follow without subtitles.

I finally binged on Narcos and I get the popularity, and it's good but not in the top five.

John Brodey

______________________________________

Did you watch the pig episode of Black Mirror? Most fans of the show know to tell people to not watch that one within your first few hours with the show. 

Every month you see elements of society moving closer and closer to the not so distant future portrayed in Black Mirror. My wife stopped watching because it truly is a difficult show to get through in some episodes. The future is dark but fascinating. 

Of course, the one episode overwhelming deemed uplifting compared to the rest won the Emmy. It was fantastic 

It makes you see the twisted future of things like AI, AirPods, Uber Ratings, Peloton....

Just watch...and save Season 1, Episode 1 until after you are already hooked.

Jon Bahr
CD Baby

______________________________________

She (Charlotte Rampling) was in the last season of Dexter. 

Ed Lopez

______________________________________

Here are some great Black Mirror episodes 

S3: shut up and dance*, San junipero 
S2: white Christmas*, be right back, white beat
S1: Entire History of you*
*= my personal favourites 

Hope you can get into it

Guy Elderfield

______________________________________

If you like Broadchurch you might try The Tunnel. Very good.

Phil Brown

______________________________________

'black mirror' best episodes are 1x3 'the entire history of you' (absolute favorite), 3x1 'nosedive', 2x1 'be right back', and the Christmas special 'white christmas' (second favorite)
 
episode 3x4 'san junipero' got a ton of internet buzz (and Emmy) but was a bit overrated
 
worth watching as the consumer technology scenarios have been prescient
 
-tom wigg

______________________________________

In LOVE "Broadchurch"! I've watched it twice, start to finish. And the female lead (can't recall her name) is wonderful. She also has a prominent role in "The Night Manager" with Hugh Laurie and Tom Hiddleston, yet another amazingly good British series - better than 99% of the "Bond" movies. Hiddleston was also great in that recent Hank Williams flick, and did all his own singing. Or so I'm told.

And you absolutely must watch an Australian series called "Rake," on Netflix. My all-time favorite Netflix series. It's light, funny, deep, and fantastic, the acting is superb across the board, and the lead actor is a force of nature!

Thanks. I value your opinions even if I don't always agree with them!

Jesse McRae

______________________________________

I dream that HBO will make a Sopranos reboot show with a young Tony and his crew just getting started as new fresh gangsters. 

But only if they could do it as high quality and well written as the original, and find a cast that's magic.   

Kinda like the Godfather flashbacks in II. 

A fella can dream

Dan Millen

______________________________________

Australia has some fabulous series too - at least on Canadian Netflix - The Code with Lucy Lawless and 4 seasons of Rake - great acting and interesting stories

Dr. Cyril Kesten
Professor of Education
Faculty of Education
University of Regina
Regina, SK S4S 0A2

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Re-Lululemon

Try the ABC (anti ball crushing--yes, really--that's what they are called) black pants.  Amazing travel gear. A zippered pocket for passport. I have three pair for the road. No jeans. These are too comfy and functional. 

Why did we ever wear tight jeans that hurt our gonads?? 

Kim Bullard

_________________________________

Get the Men's Lululemon ABC Pant. They have pockets, belt loops, zip fly, and everything, like a normal pair of pants. They look like traditional pants, but feel amazing. Black, khaki, and more colors available. 

Derek Murawski

_________________________________

The pants are 100% worth it too. 

Conor O'Phelan

_________________________________

So funny. I felt  the same way when a friend of mine recommended lulu pants for men.  The abc  pants are awesome ! I wear them as golf pants, workout pants and going out pants . Keep up the good work . Love the letter and loved hearing you on the wrap up show.  

Todd Appelbaum

_________________________________

Good Afternoon;

Try their ABC pants. I believe it stands for Anti Ball Crushing - of course I could be wrong. Great pants for travel...and they don't wrinkle. Light as hell and dry quickly. Cost roughly $150 CDN.

Thanks for all that you do.

Respectfully...

Sascha Tukatsch

_________________________________

I live in Vancouver, where Lululemon was born and it's a religion here. You are either lover of the brand and all it's new agey-Gwyneth Paltrow marketing or you scoff at it. But I'm a man in the middle, I've owned one item of theirs, the black ABC pants, for years and I love them. Good fit, quality and comfort. 

If you're after a dressy/casual pair of do everything pants, try them. I got mine maybe 4 years ago and they are still going strong. 

Cheers

Aidan Mouellic 

_________________________________

There is way more out there than Lululemon.
 
My wife looks great in Betabrand - https://www.betabrand.com/womens/pants/

Cary W. White

_________________________________

Lol. Wearing my lululemons right now. 

jennirizarry

_________________________________

ha ha! my girlfriend bought me a pair of lululemon shorts because she hated my old, ripped, paint-stained nike ones. i was opposed to both the brand and the cost. i already had perfectly serviceable gym shorts! now i have 2 pairs of black knee-length lulu's. love em and wear them all the time.

Ryan Brown

_________________________________

I've been a yoga teacher for years and 10 years ago people would make fun of me wearing my yoga pants, now the same people are wearing them. It's funny how people jump on the band wagon once something is 'cool'.

Yogaroots

_________________________________

What do you need, Bob? We have one in Saskatoon and have for a loooonng time. Lots of selection.
And Lululemon was started by your favorite people- Canadians! 

Todd Devonshire

_________________________________

B- Lululemon has deep snowboard roots.
(Chip Wilson) first founded Westbeach snowboard outerwear company in the early 90's. Sold the trademark decades ago and the current CEO for Lululemon is Laurent Potdevin, who use to be the president of Burton Snowboards back in the 90's & 2000's

Joel Gomez

_________________________________

Man, l just discovered yoga pants too. Have been wearing the ones from target. Made for women but they feel great.

Thanks for the Lulemon tip. Do the men's version have proper pockets? 

Landry Butler

_________________________________

Another advantage to being a girl. With ankle length yoga pants, you can
tart them up with a fancy top, cool shoes and go ANYWHERE.

Randi Swindel

_________________________________

I do Pilates — real Pilates — four times a week. It's the perfect exercise for the beat up aged athlete. Bad shoulders, degenerative spine condition, elbow, hips and knee, but I can do Pilates like a pro. My tip for you at Lululemon is by the time you figure out that their shorts or long pants are your favorites it's too late to go back and get more. They don't repeat themselves. After this happened to me twice I've learned to buy two pair just to be safe. T-shirts who cares? I''ve got hundreds.

Geoffrey Cushing-Murray

_________________________________

Check out Mizzen and Main. They make dress shorts and chino's for men in the same material. I live in them. Also, expensive, but worth it. No only comfortable, but they never wrinkle! No need to dry-clean.

I think the stretchy fabric is the future of all clothes.

- Brett Andrews

_________________________________

Prana.  I don't like all of their clothes but their pants and shorts fit me perfectly and they take back clothes which you feel are defective, no questions asked. They make you loyal.  

Same thing for Blundstone boots.  I had a pair I bought in 2006. Soles started to disintegrate. I called this year to see about sole replacement...not looking for a handout. They ended up sending a new pair of boots to me. After 11 years of hard use!  

None of this stuff is cheap but well worth it.

Jeff Sackman

_________________________________

Damn. You had me SOLD on the Yoga Shorts until I went to the website and found that they didn't have them in Fat Guy sizes. 

In the words of Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Ain't That A Bitch.

Mark Edwards Edelstein

_________________________________

Bob, try Birddogs.com. You're welcome.


John A. F. Smith

_________________________________

Last July, as I was preparing for shoulder surgery in August, I was in need of (as you well know) long pants without buttons, zippers, or belts that I could wear for about 8 weeks while my arm was in the brace yet still look presentable at work.  And even more importantly, still being able to dress myself and use the restroom with my uninjured left arm.   When my sister said "you should try Lululemon" I laughed.   She said don't laugh, go there.   I did and was I ever pleased.  The 3 pair of long pants in different colors and weights that I now own are my favorites.   I wore them in August and September in the Atlanta heat, yet they were always cool.   I wear them now when I coach hockey on the bench and they are always warm.   Throw in the free alterations for my 29 inch inseam and I too am a believer.

Sincerely,

Tim McNamara

_________________________________

You are so funny. This made me laugh but for all the right reasons. 

I have the same shorts and my wife is a health coach and yogie so 
I know Lulu. And hear the debate around the rise vs fail of "Athleisure" on MSNBC.

Also LOVING my Allbirds and gifted a few pair so thanks for that tip. And
bought a pair of Olukai based on the mail bag comments. Your rants are
now the Lefsetz Fashion Blog.

Hope to connect with you at Aspen Live.

Cheers,

John Digger Pelaez

_________________________________

The inventor of yoga pants deserves a Nobel Peace Prize...or atleast a Nobel Pimp Prize. It's like an art gallery of asses walking around everywhere. Don't know how any man can be angry in a world with yoga pants...

Coley 

_________________________________

another $270 thanks to Bob...looking forward to jeans alternative @ work.
thanks Bob!

Gary W. Mendel

_________________________________

Bob, Wait till you try their underwear!!!!  Even better than the shorts.  Jim Rodgers

_________________________________

Expensive, overly-promoted hipster yoga pants for LA anorexic women...sorry Lululemon is out...found real women yoga pants after much searching on Amazon...infamous Calvin Kleins...$37.50...I own a dozen pair and live in them...looks great...who would a guessed I am "style" hilarious and ridiculous...I have a "dungaree" history too...but too much discomfort in the "camel toe" zone....black yoga pants will see me to the next life...Pat Britton

_________________________________

Hahah, welcome to the good side! I was with an artist today at the AOL Build Series studios in NYC, and our publicists and label guy were all wearing sneakers and talking about how comfort is everything these days. It's true, especially in NYC! 

Sara Sopher
This Fiction

_________________________________

Gee, Bob…you convinced me…I wanted to order some of the oants but they only go up to size 40. NFG for fat, old guys like me (hello size 44).

*sigh*…Steve Z

_________________________________

LuluLemon is the future. This is your new pant.

https://shop.lululemon.com/p/men-pants/Discipline-Pant/_/prod5020219?rcnt=10&N=88b&cnt=14&color=LM5245S_1966

?Lynn Crosswaite?

_________________________________

Lululemon is good but pricey. But there's a company called Uniqlo from Japan that makes much more affordable gym-inspired, comfortable street clothes. I'm more familiar with their stores in Singapore, HK and KL but I can also vouch for the Manhttan stores. I HATE clothes shopping but Uniqlo is actually fun. You can shop online, but I believe the retail experience would convert any guy who doesn't like buying clothes.

Keith Brown

_________________________________

Ha! I frickin' get it! I went from Armani Suits, Zegna Suits and would even occasionally splurge on an Brioni sport coat! Now I sold all that pretentious bullshit, and I spend less on that to spend more on Lululemon! Buy the pants! The more you have, the more difficult it is to get dressed everyday based on the possibility of choices. The stuff is undeniably awesome and addicting. Like Hendrix- which, by the way, Happy Birthday Jimi!

Greg A. LeVine
Rockit Artists
Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

_________________________________

This company is for shirts what Lulu is for pants. The shirts have nylon and
spandex built in but don't look like it. Also not cheap, but worth it.

https://stateandliberty.com/pages/about-us

Martin Smith

_________________________________

I work for lululemon, at our distribution center in Columbus, Ohio!  
Prior to working here, I only knew about the see through stretchy pants!  Well, now I am a believer in our products. You need to try the ABC pants (Anti Ball Crushing), they are 4-way stretch, look like "slacks", but you can wear them for work or a golf game, or church, or a night out!  I even do quick workouts in them!

Thanks for the positive review, and I think once you put on our pants and shirts, you will want to fill your wardrobe, I have!

Jamie Rogerson
Manager, Outbound Logistics - USA

_________________________________

$88 ????  Yikes, ain't no shorts worth that.  I only buy pants, shirts, shorts, fleece etc. at Uniqlo, just as hip and comfortable at a third the price.

John Brodey

_________________________________

I really liked this RealLifeMag article about the yoga pants craze, which I'm all in on. :)

"Athleisure offers a physical feeling that corresponds to how we are expected to feel about work, merging work and play, effort and pleasure."

http://reallifemag.com/pajama-rich/

Julie Young

_________________________________

Hellz yes, Lululemon! I was a reluctant convert- 'thought they were for the overbreds. But then I happened on their leggings in the Nulux fabric. No binding, rolling or sagging. My legs are cooler with them on than off- and I live in Austin, TX! 

Lulu might have missed on a few designs, but who cares? 

And personally, streamlined comfort is couture. Those are cute shorts. 

-Lauri Pearson

_________________________________

Secret tip: buy them directly in China via Aliexpress. I ordered 2 casual business stretch pants for only USD 30,- They are so good that I ordered another 2.
So now I have 4 comfortable stretch pants in different colors for USD 60,-
I am 1.81 m, weight 84 kg. Size 36 is on the spot!
That's what the Internet is for.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/SYT-New-Arrival-Mens-Casual-Business-Pant-Stretch-trousers-regular-Straight-Pant-Black-Blue-Khaki-Big/32810542995.html?spm=2114.search0203.3.211.VCNM2e&s=p&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_1_10152_10065_10151_10068_10209_9866_10084_10083_10080_10304_10307_10082_10081_10301_10177_10110_10137_10111_10060_10112_10113_10155_10114_10154_10056_10055_10054_10312_10313_10059_10314_10315_100031_10099_10078_10079_10210_10103_10073_10102_10052_10053_10142_10107_10050_10051,searchweb201603_1,ppcSwitch_5_ppcChannel&btsid=76d55c4d-0b3e-4e3c-aa7c-160df31e83a8&transAbTest=ae803_2

Nico Aarts

_________________________________

Preach, Bob.

I wear Lululemon pants just about every day. I'm a cyclist - not a
clicky-shoes guy, but I ride my bike to work in SF every day - and I
took notice when they came out with a men's design called ABC. That's
"anti-ball-crushing." They are nice, business-casual pants with a
little bit of stretch and a flattering fit. But they have a panel in
the crotch that's extra stretchy, more breathable, and has an extra
cross-stitch for durability so you don't shred them on your bike seat.
If you ride a bike in regular pants, you've always wanted a cut that's
more forgiving on the jewels. Now, everyone makes "bike commuter
pants," from Levis down to the specialty urban commuting clothing
brands. I've tried them all (my job is to report on consumer
products). But these Lululemon ABCs... I rave about them to the men in
my circle of friends, and 90 percent of the time, they didn't even
know Lulu makes men's stuff. I've endured some snickers. I've also
converted a couple of dudes. And I've bought three pairs for myself.

Michael Calore

_________________________________

Hi Bob.  Always love your letters. 

This article just popped into my inbox this morning.  For your reading pleasure.  Shari

'Lululemon aims for a progressive take on masculinity"
http://strategyonline.ca/2017/09/19/lululemon-aims-for-a-progressive-take-on-masculinity/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=lululemon-aims-for-a-progressive-take-on-masculinity&_u=w2Rs8RkbcsM%3d

Shari Siskind

_________________________________

Yes! My wife finally convinced me to buy a pair of shorts (she always said their clothes were very comfortable, but I resisted because I thought they were overpriced...at least for me). Now they're my favorite shorts!

Matt Burnett

_________________________________

Now my life is complete, when I can wear the same shorts as Bob Lefsetz. :)

But seriously, I randomly bought a pair of Prana (expensive!) pants in Portland on a whim and wish all my clothes felt this good to wear. I'm seriously considering pulling a Steve Jobs and just wearing one outfit for life. 

The upside of hipsterisms' obsession with user design. Let's hope this trend lives on. 

Steve Sullivan

_________________________________

Hi bob, loved reading your note below and want to introduce you to Joe Kudla who is CEO of a men's activewear clothing company that you should check out.  Their sweats for men are unbelievable. And Mraz and I happen to be investors, but they're crushing it in retail at a number of national accounts, huge ecommerce numbers, and all my friends and clients who we've turned on to them are evangelists and repeat buyers.  Check it out.
https://www.vuoriclothing.com

Word,
Bill Silva

_________________________________

So Larry David

Still going to check them out though!

Stephen T. Jenkins



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More Mighty

bemighty.com

It works!

Now I grew up in the dark ages. When music ruled the world, our idea of tech was a component stereo and nobody I knew applied to business school.

So today I drove today to Culver City to the Mighty offices. Well, "office," in a loft above another startup, in the Helms Bakery area. If you had told me back in the seventies that one day Culver City would be hip, I'd have laughed, after I went to see a movie in Westwood, after watching tumbleweeds roll down the Third Street Promenade. And those locations might mean nothing to you, but the truth is all the action is happening in the cities, which is why the younger generation is here. San Francisco, Brooklyn, Los Angeles?

Well, Mighty has a CTO up north, but the business is based down here. And you might say you can be anywhere these days, and I'd agree with you, but only halfway. The truth is life is about people, and despite video-conferencing and all the modern communications techniques, there's nothing like up close and personal.

So Anthony Mendelson, the majordomo of Mighty, is 33, he got his MBA at UCLA's Anderson School of Management, as did his compatriot, the other Anthony, Lu, and new hire Lachelle.

It's always about your network. Just ask a musician. Know nobody and you're nowhere.

So everybody had history. Anthony #1 worked at Google in ad tech. Where he met Rich. Lachelle worked at Unilever before business school. They all paid their dues. Which is quite a contrast to today's music business where pre-teens without portfolio believe they should be household names overnight. And even if you break through, like Rebecca Black, with "Friday," you're usually thrown on the scrapheap shortly thereafter.

You see all the smart people are not in music. Where some baby boomer runs the label and you do the grunt work. Where there's adherence to old paradigms, where radio rules. Just ask a label head, they pray at the altar of over-the-air, it's insane.

So, where do the smart people go?

Tech.

And smart people are taking over the world. Doesn't matter if Trump is President, if he's elected by his lauded "uneducated," you can't mess with someone who's gone to school and learned how to analyze, how to put the pieces together, which is the key these days, since you can look up all the facts online.

So, all the creativity is in tech. Which the musicians hate. As they replicate old, tired sounds and expect us to be interested.

So Anthony Mendelson had an idea. He got a team and raised some money and went on Kickstarter, where he asked for 300k and got nearly a million.

And that's when the hard part started. Not only did they have to design and manufacture the product, they had to make a deal with Spotify!

That's right, they broke the rules, something that's anathema in today's music business. They raised capital and sold the product on air.

They needed Spotify to say yes.

That took a long time. Negotiating.

And when the streaming giant put its thumb up, there were issues. Of compatibility between Spotify's software and Mighty's, which is why you cannot shuffle quite yet, although it's coming along quickly.

As for voice control...

That's in version 2, about a year off. Yup, the new product sells at the old price and the old product's price is dropped, just like Apple.

Anyway, the clock is running. Kickstarter was back in 2/16. The product didn't launch until 7/17, but the team said they'd give the cash back if they couldn't launch.

Now you'd say iPods are history. You can use your Apple Watch. But a Mighty is much cheaper, at $85.99. And how did they come to that price? There's a calculator you use. Why are these people so smart and everybody in the arts so dumb? It'd be one thing if the artists were just that, but scratch one and you'll find they want to sell clothing, perfume, concentrate on everything but their own work, while the truth is these educated youngsters can run circles around them.

And the stunning thing is set-up was seamless. You download the app, go through the prompts, and voila!, it works, right out of the box. It's glitchless, although the transfer of songs from Spotify is slow, and if you crank the music up to the max you'll get some distortion, but...

We keep hearing about the downtrodden. People say they hate school. And I don't want to sound like a Republican here, I believe in a safety net, maybe even a universal income, but if you want to have cash to buy these goodies, you've got to climb the ladder.

So, let that be a warning to you.

Now, back to the product.

You go through the prompts, and then you can synch playlists. You can't shuffle the songs in those playlists, not yet, but you push a button and a voice comes on to tell you you've switched to the next playlist, its name is spoken.

And the rest is...intuitive. Forward and backward buttons, up and down volume buttons, and a pause/play button at the center.

And one other thing, it takes a while to power up. But for a 1.0 product, it's pretty impressive.

But not as impressive as the team.

So, if you don't want to carry your phone around. If you want to jog or ski or hike or... The Mighty is tiny and water resistant, and the next iteration will be waterproof, and on one hand you say the product is redundant, but the truth is your phone now costs a grand, is heavy and a specialized accessory...

Might be just the trick.

Check it out.

P.S. You don't have to use Bluetooth headphones, although I can't see why you wouldn't. And the headphone jack is how you charge the Mighty, via a USB port.

P.S. Here's the team: https://bemighty.com/pages/our-story

P.P.S. And here's the Crunchbase: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mighty-4#/entity That's right, millennials are all about transparency, and when they take over the music business it will be to everybody's advantage.

P.P.P.S. Next step is a series A, the initial round was from angel investors. That's right, these people know how to do this, they learned this in school. And I'm not sure a school can teach you how to be an artist, I actually think schools can drum the inspiration out of you, but when it comes to business...

P.P.P.P.S. I just got this note from Anthony Mendelson:

"I'm glad that you're up and running!

Re: audio quality, Mighty's codec is similar to what you'd find in current iPhones. We allow users to adjust Spotify audio quality by navigating to the Connections tab (bottom left), clicking the Spotify logo at the top of the screen, then clicking Download Quality. High and Extreme sound better but reduce battery life. Users also want the ability to adjust EQ settings - we're working on that right now.

Our next big software update will include shuffle mode and the ability for Mighty to wake itself up and update your playlists overnight, no manual effort required. Want to chat again before we make that release?

Thanks again for stopping by."


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Broadchurch

Everyone just wants to talk television. Everywhere I go. They used to ask if you'd heard this or that, records and artists were top of mind, now we all just want to sit in front of the big screen.

And not go to the theatre.

I'd love to see Darren Aronofsky's new pic. But if you think I'm gonna make an appointment you're still watching Must See TV, now that Don Ohlmeyer is dead and Seinfeld is on Netflix. Things change. And whereas the sixties and seventies (maybe even the eighties!) were about music, the twenty first century is positively about television.

"The Sopranos" was the Beatles. And like that band, they can never get back together, because Tony/James Gandolfini, is dead. You think you want Led Zeppelin to get back together, but you really don't. Oh, the kids will enjoy it, before they go back to their hip-hop, and the out of it oldsters who weren't there the first time will go to crow and get a notch in their belt, but fans will be disappointed, because you can't go back, you can never go back, you can't marry your high school sweetheart after reconnecting on Facebook and you can't run the mile like you used to and if you think you can, you're delusional.

So we forage for things to watch.

Now I don't sit in front of the screen much. Because we're all time-challenged. The idea of flipping from channel to channel is anathema, and I don't want to waste any precious moments, but if there's something worth seeing...

It's like going to the movies in the seventies.

Only in this case, the critics are irrelevant. Unless they're aggregated on Rotten Tomatoes. How often have I opened the paper to find the latest Netflix show denigrated and then watched it and enjoyed it? But usually, it's word of mouth.

You know the biggest word of mouth show?

"Black Mirror," but I can't say I loved the episode I watched. I'm planning to give it another try. When I finally finish "Breaking Bad," now that I've caught up with "Broadchurch."

That's right, I didn't catch "Breaking Bad" the first time through. Sling arrows all you want, but no one's seen everything, even though there are many fewer shows than records.

But after "Broadchurch" I watched a Netflix show I highly recommend, this documentary "Heroin(e)," about the opioid crisis. Three women in West Virginia trying to make a difference. You'll wonder about your life choice, chasing the buck, first and foremost it's about meaning. And when you do your best to help other people, you're fulfilled.

Now why is it that English shows are always better than American ones? With exceptions, of course, like the aforementioned "Sopranos." Is it because everyone doesn't have to be beautiful, because the productions are not over the top, because the stories are real?

All of that and more.

"Broadchurch" is a genre show. I.e. murder and trial. But it's well-nuanced. And it's ITV, not BBC, so there are fade-outs for commercials. But you watch it and you get hooked.

I want to be hooked. I want to go down the rabbit hole. I want to be taken away from this everyday life, the endless pings on my iPhone, I ironically want to live life by experiencing it through others.

Now my sister recommended this show. And when I started to mention it, after viewing a few episodes, I was stunned who had seen it. It's like music in the sixties and early seventies, an alternative universe that gets little publicity, but drives the culture. Sure, you might see a review, but then it disappears.

And I prefer Netflix and Amazon. Because I don't want to tune in every night to see Ken Burns's documentary on Vietnam, I don't want to even DVR it, I just want to dive in and go on a ride, episode after episode. Why has Hollywood got it so wrong? Dribbling out product. Refusing to make films day and date online. The record business learned, if you try and protect profits, play to the usual suspects, you're dead. Labels played to Tower Records and then the chain went under. They played to radio and then Spotify broke records. No one I know goes to the movies, other than my mother and her aged cronies, who became addicted back in the thirties. You make your impact online, via streaming. And when your product finally comes to TV... HBO premiered "La La Land," I'm not even gonna bother, that's so last year.

Now the star of the second season of "Broadchurch" is Charlotte Rampling, yes the sexy ingenue I saw at a midnight screening of "The Night Porter" in Westwood. She's on a comeback tear. And she's had no plastic surgery.

And she's more beautiful for it.

American actresses get nipped and tucked to appear young, to get gigs, and we can't help but look at them and point out the deficiencies. Plastic surgery is a crapshoot, and the odds of winning are about those in Vegas, i.e. not good. But Rampling looks her age and has gravitas, she's lived a life, she's not chasing a dream, SHE'S LIVING THE DREAM!

Now on one hand I hate these whodunits. Because you're hooked and there's a twist.

But it's life in the Dorset area that is so riveting. A small town in the U.K. where everybody knows each other and everybody is imperfect and the attorney wants a shag and the barristers, even women, wear wigs and...

Police don't normally work to music. And the law is boring.

But life is fascinating.

Art, when done right, reflects life, it gives us insight into the human condition.

How can TV get it so right and music get it so wrong?


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Yoga Pants

I get it.

I read about a year ago that yoga pants were eclipsing jeans, that's what "Bloomberg Businessweek" said, and they rarely get it wrong.

This was confusing. Wasn't Lululemon on the verge of bankruptcy, having made clothing that was too sheer, where you could see women's derrieres?

Although I always found stretchy material to be somewhat see-through, undies visible, but I didn't think too much about it. I mean the pants were on the market for months, it took that long for people to figure out there was a problem?

I'm a jeans and polo shirt kind of guy. That was a big breakthrough in high school, the ability to wear jeans to class. But back then we called them "dungarees." And by time I was a senior you could learn sans socks. But jeans were our uniform. I preferred Lee, never Wrangler, sometimes Levi's.

And then the designer jean tsunami hit and lifted all boats. I bought pairs of Chemin de Fers, never Sasson, but definitely Guess. Jeans were forever...

Until yoga pants.

Now let me tell you, we men have no problem with yoga pants. Once we figured out what they were. The way they hugged your curves. But I don't pay attention to fashion, I read about yoga pants before I could pick them out in the wild. And then I had Felice point them out to me, nice, but I didn't care.

Until we went to Lululemon.

They opened a store in Vail, right across the street from the condo. Felice wanted to visit, I tagged along. I didn't even KNOW they made men's stuff, but waiting while Felice shopped I tried stuff on.

And decided to buy a pair of shorts.

It was a whim, something you do on vacation. I could wear them in Vail, nobody would notice, there'd be no cred at risk.

But now I wear them all the time.

That was my first pair, which the cleaning lady burned with an iron. Melted, that is. And she was apologetic, but there was no point in excoriating her, I'd just buy another pair.

But you couldn't get them.

I thought this was a fashion issue, whatever you like they stop manufacturing, but they were out of stock!

Now the model I wear is just above the knee. But they didn't even have the short-shorts available. That's right, this year in Vail the store was wiped clean. But the clerk was a maven, he was going to open a store in Oklahoma in days. He checked inventory. They had one color in Santa Monica, a few online. And I meant to buy them immediately...

But I didn't.

And Santa Monica was wiped out and they had one color available online so I clicked.

And now I can't take them off. BECAUSE THEY'RE SO COMFORTABLE!

I know, I know, you're supposed to look good, that's what it's all about, especially in Los Angeles. But first and foremost you've got to FEEL good, at least I do.

The material is soft and stretchy, it doesn't irritate my skin. Since I've gotten my new pair I've worn them every day, for weeks. (Of course I wash them, don't even think otherwise.) And I regret when I have to wear long pants, and am thinking that maybe I should buy some long pant Lululemons (no, the men's are not hip-hugging).

So either you're in the know or you're not. Either you get what I'm talking about or you don't.

Once upon a time you had to dress in black, that was the rock and roll ethos. Before rock died and everybody listened to different music and didn't care about what you were wearing. The older you get you realize no one is really paying attention to you, unless you're famous, and I'm not, and if you are they love you until they hate you and then you're nobody and irrelevant once again.

So I guess you'd call this a sales pitch.

But it's really a testimonial.

Lululemon is not cheap.

But like divorce, IT'S WORTH IT!

The Works Short - WARPSTREAM 11": http://bit.ly/2y9DsSU


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The Sale Of Rolling Stone

"Rolling Stone, Once A Counterculture Bible, Will Be Put Up for Sale": http://nyti.ms/2w2e2pv

"And sooner or later
Everybody's kingdom must end"

"The King Must Die"
Elton John

That's where I found out about Elton, "Rolling Stone," but Elton soldiers on, "Rolling Stone" is headed for the dumper. Like "Men's Journal," sold to "The National Enquirer"'s David Pecker, which in one issue under its new owner lost all credibility, lacked any soul, any lengthy riveting article of the stripe that used to make the subscription worthwhile.

Now I can reminisce, about me and the mag, cheering for it and its outsider status and then watching as it became mainstream along with its coverage of Patty Hearst.

But the future is in front of us. And anybody who continues to look back, is doomed.

That's what Jann Wenner did. He kept satiating an old audience that fell off and failed to cater to a new audience that just didn't care.

Who is the cultural guru of the last twenty years of the twentieth century?

It wasn't anybody in radio, which followed trends.

And it wasn't anybody at the record companies, which stopped investing in careers and went for flash.

I'll argue it was one man, with a team of sometimes unheralded charges, and that's Tom Freston, who ran MTV Networks.

You see Freston realized you've got to burn the past to enter the future. Something that Wenner didn't even try until way too late, shortening its best feature, its record reviews, to compete with "Blender"'s bits before it was revealed that Felix Dennis's music magazine fudged its circulation numbers, and then bit the dust.

Or, as the bard so often lauded by Wenner once sang...

"He not busy being born is busy dying"

The original VJs were the biggest stars in youth culture, even bigger than the musicians featured in the videos they played.

But what did Freston and his team do?

FIRED THEM!

They were too old. MTV made a conscious decision to appeal to the same young demo consistently.

And the outlet learned that videos got lousy ratings, MTV started airing half hour shows, the game show "Remote Control," and the reality series "The Real World." And the oldsters bitched but the youngsters ate it up.

And then Sumner Redstone blew out Tom Freston, after handing Tom the reins of Viacom.

And what happened?

Viacom tanked.

Meanwhile, Freston invested in "Vice" and overseas TV outlets and looks like a seer.

Jann Wenner looks like a self-satisfied blowhard.

This is not about the UVA debacle. This is not about the decline in print advertising. This is about a man who refused to believe the future was coming.

Now let's credit Jann. He started "Rolling Stone." There were competitors, but they all failed. The power of the individual can never be underestimated.

But Steve Jobs eliminated the floppy and legacy ports.

And "Rolling Stone" refused to go online and looked no different than it ever was, as it turned into "Mojo," albeit with crappier writing.

You can live on your heritage in the arts. Copyrights have value.

But not in tech. And not in news. You have to look forward, you have to destroy your past to have a future.

And Jann Wenner was living in the past.

Now don't lament the sale and the eventual irrelevance. Because the magazine is already irrelevant. Music does not drive the culture, the oldster players don't do anything new of value and although Matt Taibbi is a star, he's in a ghetto of blah, like having Einstein preaching to six year olds.

Taibbi will continue. As did Tom Wolfe, as for Hunter Thompson...he just burned out, but he's certainly radiating.

But those were different days. when talent was revered and seen as bigger than the executive. But in the moneyed culture of today it's the business person who is considered to be a rock star, with their riches and perks, and the artists take a back seat. Furthermore, the artists try to imitate the business people, and if you think this is untrue you're unaware seemingly every successful artist invests in startups and has a perfume and clothing line and it would be enough to depress you if you weren't scrambling to put food on the table to begin with.

We need to believe in something.

Once we could in "Rolling Stone."

Now we can't.

There's a vacuum.

Won't anybody fill it?


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