https://www.bird.co
I saw two on my walk to the grocery store. All I had to do was scan the QR code and away I'd go.
But I didn't.
They say that California is passe. That it's too expensive to live here. That we have Blue Stateitis. Used to be California was a paradise, a Garden of Eden, the final destination. Now, if you pay attention to the media, it's a disaster.
But it's not.
Everything cool still starts in California. Can you say TESLA? Can you say APPLE? Can you say BIRD?
Huh, what's a Bird?
It's a motorized scooter.
But it's not one of those RAZRs, it's not for kids, it's for adults, and a couple of months ago everywhere you were in Santa Monica you started to see people riding down the sidewalks, as if they were getting their trips for free, as if the sidewalk was the new Disneyland, WHAT WAS GOING ON?
First and foremost, Bird didn't ask permission. You cannot ask permission in today's world. You do your business and then you pay the penalty, assuming you've got any traction at all. We learned this from Napster. And the funny thing is the violators are the enemy until they're embraced. They'll sue you and then befriend you. Kinda strange, but that's the way it is.
So they litter Bird scooters everywhere. And you can pull up the app and find one, or bump into one, and when you're ready to ride, you scan the code with your phone and pay a buck plus 15 cents a minute. But this is not a monetary proposition, this is about pushing your own personal envelope, are you ready to take a risk?
Now the one thing you'll notice is helmets are required but no one ever wears one, even though Bird will send you one for free, FOR FREE I TELL YOU! Because people think they're immune, it's the same kind of thinking that has folks refusing to buckle up when they're close to home, as if that protects them from being injured. You don't want a brain injury, it's worse than any broken bone, but since the scooters only go 15 MPH, people somehow think they won't fall, or that drivers will act responsibly.
Yes, you're supposed to stay in the road or on the bike lane, but no one ever does, everybody's on the sidewalk.
And it seems like a novelty until you think... It's about the last mile. Getting from public transportation to your front door.
Now the new Metro is on the other side of the freeway. And in between it and me is the worst neighborhood in Santa Monica. I'm not gonna walk through it long after dark. But if I could ride a Bird... Of course, I could call an Uber, but if the Bird is just sitting there, waiting, I wouldn't have to stand alone in the shadows.
Now after launching without permission Bird ultimately paid a six figure fine, but I'd say it was worth it, because of the publicity. Suddenly, those out of the loop are paying attention.
But really, the greatest sales pitch is the scooters themselves.
Now they started a bike rental program in Santa Monica, but the bikes are heavy, they look like industrial products no one would want to ride. Whereas the scooter is incredibly light. And you don't have to pedal.
So maybe you have no idea what I'm talking about, that's right, trends start in California, and the irony is tech is moving down south from Silicon Valley.
But living is expensive.
And traffic is horrendous.
Yet there's no place I'd rather be. Where no one's in your business and you feel like you're on the cutting edge in a land where you can ski and surf on the very same day.
But you don't believe that.
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Saturday, 3 March 2018
Friday, 2 March 2018
The Champion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgknAaKNaMM
http://spoti.fi/2I17aPB
Sometimes you can overthink it.
"The Champion" was so busy tying into media, being the anthem for both the Super Bowl and the Olympics, that it missed the mark. The track is nowhere in the Mediabase country chart and although it has 8 million and change Spotify streams, it's an also-ran on that service.
So what happened?
First and foremost, "The Champion" is a stone cold smash. Very today. A great follow-up to Katy Perry's "Roar." But today that's not enough, you need a push, you need a spotlight.
Country is still driven by radio. Unlike hip-hop, which is driven by the internet. And although Ludacris is featured, he's long in the tooth in an era where Migos triumphs and Eminem sinks like a stone. And radio is a gatekeeper, it reacts to the label, wanting to know if a track is a priority. It looks for reaction, totes up all the data and THEN adds a cut.
But "The Champion" is not only a country smash, it's a crossover hit. It should be on Top Forty. But Top Forty is more moribund than a pack of baby boomers, it doesn't want to mess with the formula, but he not reinventing himself is being left behind. Which is kind of the story of this track, it's not what you expect, it's not beholden to country precepts, it's positively now, with hip-hop influences, but if you're playing to traditional media like print and TV it's a long hard slog to the top.
But that push just started.
Now the original video, that opened the Super Bowl, resonates not at all. You can see it here: http://bit.ly/2GSQ5XG Carrie's all glitzy, there's an emphasis on football and the essence of the cut is sacrificed, you don't want to be beholden to the game, you don't want to be supporting the sport, hell, look at Justin Timberlake, is anybody talking about him since? It's a fine line doing tie-ins, you think you're gaining a new audience, but chances are it doesn't care, you want active users, not looky-loos, you look like you sold out, you look like a joke.
So in this Super Bowl video Carrie looks like the "Idol" winner she is, overdressed and overprimped, a vehicle for a song. I'm not sure who she is appealing to, certainly not the younger generation that drives tracks like this.
But in the clip that dropped today...
Now the Super Bowl video has 550,151 views.
And the lyric video, which was released even earlier, on January 11th, has 6,622,126, not bad if you're a nobody, a stiff if you're somebody.
It's the same song, the one hasn't even cracked the country Top 40, but now...
In this new clip Carrie is positively down home, dressed in jeans, like you and me, you get to see Ludacris, maybe this is the start of the phenomenon.
However, they broke the cardinal rule of video, YOU NEED TO SEE IT AGAIN AND AGAIN!
And really, once is enough for this clip.
But the song.
It jumped out of the Spotify Hot Country playlist, that's how I discovered it.
This is not art, this is closer to commerce, but they NAILED IT! If you don't think this is a hit, you don't know what a hit IS!
Meanwhile, she drops a video and the word is out, that's the internet world we now live in, an echo chamber where everybody touts the same facts sans analysis. But this does create awareness.
"I'll be the last one standing
Two hands in the air, I'm a champion
You'll be looking up at me when it's over
I live for the battle, I'm a soldier, yeah"
Never forget Queen rode this same concept to immortality. Sure, with a touch of irony, but that was back when musicians were still seen as outsiders, before they'd sold out to corporations.
"I've been working my whole life
And now it's do or die"
That's how we all feel before we get in the ring, whether it be the test, the gym, the board room... We psyche ourselves up, and nothing inspires us as much as music.
"They say that every champion is all about his principles"
Inspirational. That's the essence, the honesty music used to rest upon.
Then again, in this paint-by-number song that doesn't wholly ring true.
Then again, this is our present world.
So, is Capitol gonna make this a hit?
WE'LL SEE!
P.S. We live in a world of cross-pollination, this is one thing the musical artists have right, country tracks have no problem featuring rappers. Music is bringing us together, it's leading that way.
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http://spoti.fi/2I17aPB
Sometimes you can overthink it.
"The Champion" was so busy tying into media, being the anthem for both the Super Bowl and the Olympics, that it missed the mark. The track is nowhere in the Mediabase country chart and although it has 8 million and change Spotify streams, it's an also-ran on that service.
So what happened?
First and foremost, "The Champion" is a stone cold smash. Very today. A great follow-up to Katy Perry's "Roar." But today that's not enough, you need a push, you need a spotlight.
Country is still driven by radio. Unlike hip-hop, which is driven by the internet. And although Ludacris is featured, he's long in the tooth in an era where Migos triumphs and Eminem sinks like a stone. And radio is a gatekeeper, it reacts to the label, wanting to know if a track is a priority. It looks for reaction, totes up all the data and THEN adds a cut.
But "The Champion" is not only a country smash, it's a crossover hit. It should be on Top Forty. But Top Forty is more moribund than a pack of baby boomers, it doesn't want to mess with the formula, but he not reinventing himself is being left behind. Which is kind of the story of this track, it's not what you expect, it's not beholden to country precepts, it's positively now, with hip-hop influences, but if you're playing to traditional media like print and TV it's a long hard slog to the top.
But that push just started.
Now the original video, that opened the Super Bowl, resonates not at all. You can see it here: http://bit.ly/2GSQ5XG Carrie's all glitzy, there's an emphasis on football and the essence of the cut is sacrificed, you don't want to be beholden to the game, you don't want to be supporting the sport, hell, look at Justin Timberlake, is anybody talking about him since? It's a fine line doing tie-ins, you think you're gaining a new audience, but chances are it doesn't care, you want active users, not looky-loos, you look like you sold out, you look like a joke.
So in this Super Bowl video Carrie looks like the "Idol" winner she is, overdressed and overprimped, a vehicle for a song. I'm not sure who she is appealing to, certainly not the younger generation that drives tracks like this.
But in the clip that dropped today...
Now the Super Bowl video has 550,151 views.
And the lyric video, which was released even earlier, on January 11th, has 6,622,126, not bad if you're a nobody, a stiff if you're somebody.
It's the same song, the one hasn't even cracked the country Top 40, but now...
In this new clip Carrie is positively down home, dressed in jeans, like you and me, you get to see Ludacris, maybe this is the start of the phenomenon.
However, they broke the cardinal rule of video, YOU NEED TO SEE IT AGAIN AND AGAIN!
And really, once is enough for this clip.
But the song.
It jumped out of the Spotify Hot Country playlist, that's how I discovered it.
This is not art, this is closer to commerce, but they NAILED IT! If you don't think this is a hit, you don't know what a hit IS!
Meanwhile, she drops a video and the word is out, that's the internet world we now live in, an echo chamber where everybody touts the same facts sans analysis. But this does create awareness.
"I'll be the last one standing
Two hands in the air, I'm a champion
You'll be looking up at me when it's over
I live for the battle, I'm a soldier, yeah"
Never forget Queen rode this same concept to immortality. Sure, with a touch of irony, but that was back when musicians were still seen as outsiders, before they'd sold out to corporations.
"I've been working my whole life
And now it's do or die"
That's how we all feel before we get in the ring, whether it be the test, the gym, the board room... We psyche ourselves up, and nothing inspires us as much as music.
"They say that every champion is all about his principles"
Inspirational. That's the essence, the honesty music used to rest upon.
Then again, in this paint-by-number song that doesn't wholly ring true.
Then again, this is our present world.
So, is Capitol gonna make this a hit?
WE'LL SEE!
P.S. We live in a world of cross-pollination, this is one thing the musical artists have right, country tracks have no problem featuring rappers. Music is bringing us together, it's leading that way.
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CMA Foundation Kerfuffle
"Mike Huckabee Resigns From CMA Foundation Board Following Outcry in Nashville": http://bit.ly/2F6yLRG
If only the Grammys reacted this swiftly to the abomination of their awards show, with the secret committee refusing to nominate the past year's most successful act, Ed Sheeran and voters refusing to acknowledge hip-hop in the big categories and Neil Portnow's dis of women.
In a single day, the CMA Foundation backed down.
Illustrating the power of protest in 2018. Illustrating that in many ways Nashville is hipper, more au courant, more in touch with the country than Hollywood.
That's right, country music is seen as backward, with red-leaning fans. But instantly, the bigwigs of Music City, with everything to lose, stood up to the appointment of Mike Huckabee to the CMA Foundation board.
Huh?
Isn't this the same guy the right lauds? Who is all over Fox News? Whose daughter is the spokesperson for the President?
This is astounding, from beginning to end.
What we're seeing here is a silent majority, left-leaning citizens, who are sick and tired of their country being hijacked by right wing fanatics inured to money and power. Used to be no one was paying attention, people thought they could have no impact, but since #MeToo and Parkland the game has been changed. The downtrodden feel power.
Meanwhile, those in power are CLUELESS!
Donald Trump ain't gonna serve out his term.
Want edification?
Watch the Netflix show: "Dirty Money" Episode 7 "The Confidence Man": https://www.netflix.com/title/80118100
In it you'll find the financial trail. After the debacle in Atlantic City, Trump couldn't raise a dollar from a traditional bank. So he got in bed with nogoodniks, people with shady backgrounds, Russians. Forget Putin's interference in the election process, turns out Trump has so many skeletons in his closet he could form the Crypt Kicker Five. And when this becomes the main debate, and it will, he's gonna cave, say he's sick of the blowback and resign or Republican Congresspeople will say he has to go, that's how it happened with Nixon.
And who is leading the charge?
THE MEDIA!
Primarily traditional newspapers like the "New York Times" and the "Washington Post," denigrated by the right wing, ignored by so many, but their stories are defining the dialogue, it'd be like being a hip-hop hater in today's society, you are the fringe element, not everybody else.
The wheels of justice move slowly. The wheels of D.C. even slower than that.
But in the past two weeks everything is moving ever more quickly.
And it's all coming from the bottom up instead of the top down.
The CMA Foundation saw it as coup. Right wing politico with a background in music education...
It's like hiring a rich and powerful abuser. Homey don't play that no more.
So, you had a backroom appointment that the relatively unknown board thought would pass without scrutiny.
But those days are through.
But at least give the CMA Foundation kudos for backing down.
And I don't want to hear it's a witch hunt, and I don't want to hear it's McCarthyism, let's just call it a CORRECTION! Akin to equal rights. Then again, those have been chipped away under the rubric of the whites being penalized. But last I checked we lived in a society, made up of all ethnicities and colors. And the truth, as that comedian once said, we've all got an LGBTQ member of our family, sometimes we don't even know it, but they're there, and they're in our schools and our government and they cannot be penalized.
No, you do not have the right to buy an assault rifle at a young age and go shooting willy-nilly. Just like you don't have the right to get in your car and start smashing into people. But at least you need a license to get behind the wheel.
But the truth here is there's a moving of the needle.
People are no longer afraid to speak their truth.
That's what's great about America, that freedom.
Used to be people were afraid of consequences. But no longer.
And they're standing up for what the majority believe in. Forget finance, forget government, I'm talking the rank and file, you and me. Sure, some are Trump supporters, some want AR-15s, some love Huckabee...BUT MOST DON'T!
So now music organizations will think twice before backroom dealings that penalize members.
And for one small moment, music is leading again.
Now all we need is one of the acts these protesters manage to take what has heretofore been seen as an uncomfortable, unpopular stand that might hurt their brand but is really truth that most people resonate with.
That's right, too many acts have played it safe.
But now it's time for music to catch up. Women and children are leading. WHERE ARE THEIR ANTHEMS?
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If only the Grammys reacted this swiftly to the abomination of their awards show, with the secret committee refusing to nominate the past year's most successful act, Ed Sheeran and voters refusing to acknowledge hip-hop in the big categories and Neil Portnow's dis of women.
In a single day, the CMA Foundation backed down.
Illustrating the power of protest in 2018. Illustrating that in many ways Nashville is hipper, more au courant, more in touch with the country than Hollywood.
That's right, country music is seen as backward, with red-leaning fans. But instantly, the bigwigs of Music City, with everything to lose, stood up to the appointment of Mike Huckabee to the CMA Foundation board.
Huh?
Isn't this the same guy the right lauds? Who is all over Fox News? Whose daughter is the spokesperson for the President?
This is astounding, from beginning to end.
What we're seeing here is a silent majority, left-leaning citizens, who are sick and tired of their country being hijacked by right wing fanatics inured to money and power. Used to be no one was paying attention, people thought they could have no impact, but since #MeToo and Parkland the game has been changed. The downtrodden feel power.
Meanwhile, those in power are CLUELESS!
Donald Trump ain't gonna serve out his term.
Want edification?
Watch the Netflix show: "Dirty Money" Episode 7 "The Confidence Man": https://www.netflix.com/title/80118100
In it you'll find the financial trail. After the debacle in Atlantic City, Trump couldn't raise a dollar from a traditional bank. So he got in bed with nogoodniks, people with shady backgrounds, Russians. Forget Putin's interference in the election process, turns out Trump has so many skeletons in his closet he could form the Crypt Kicker Five. And when this becomes the main debate, and it will, he's gonna cave, say he's sick of the blowback and resign or Republican Congresspeople will say he has to go, that's how it happened with Nixon.
And who is leading the charge?
THE MEDIA!
Primarily traditional newspapers like the "New York Times" and the "Washington Post," denigrated by the right wing, ignored by so many, but their stories are defining the dialogue, it'd be like being a hip-hop hater in today's society, you are the fringe element, not everybody else.
The wheels of justice move slowly. The wheels of D.C. even slower than that.
But in the past two weeks everything is moving ever more quickly.
And it's all coming from the bottom up instead of the top down.
The CMA Foundation saw it as coup. Right wing politico with a background in music education...
It's like hiring a rich and powerful abuser. Homey don't play that no more.
So, you had a backroom appointment that the relatively unknown board thought would pass without scrutiny.
But those days are through.
But at least give the CMA Foundation kudos for backing down.
And I don't want to hear it's a witch hunt, and I don't want to hear it's McCarthyism, let's just call it a CORRECTION! Akin to equal rights. Then again, those have been chipped away under the rubric of the whites being penalized. But last I checked we lived in a society, made up of all ethnicities and colors. And the truth, as that comedian once said, we've all got an LGBTQ member of our family, sometimes we don't even know it, but they're there, and they're in our schools and our government and they cannot be penalized.
No, you do not have the right to buy an assault rifle at a young age and go shooting willy-nilly. Just like you don't have the right to get in your car and start smashing into people. But at least you need a license to get behind the wheel.
But the truth here is there's a moving of the needle.
People are no longer afraid to speak their truth.
That's what's great about America, that freedom.
Used to be people were afraid of consequences. But no longer.
And they're standing up for what the majority believe in. Forget finance, forget government, I'm talking the rank and file, you and me. Sure, some are Trump supporters, some want AR-15s, some love Huckabee...BUT MOST DON'T!
So now music organizations will think twice before backroom dealings that penalize members.
And for one small moment, music is leading again.
Now all we need is one of the acts these protesters manage to take what has heretofore been seen as an uncomfortable, unpopular stand that might hurt their brand but is really truth that most people resonate with.
That's right, too many acts have played it safe.
But now it's time for music to catch up. Women and children are leading. WHERE ARE THEIR ANTHEMS?
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Thursday, 1 March 2018
You Spend To Win
The two biggest stories this week are Malone/Liberty taking control of iHeart and Comcast bidding for Sky.
Cash is king, and Malone/Liberty use it to buy/invest when the chips are down. That's how they gained control of not only Sirius XM, but Pandora and now it looks like iHeart. Funny how the king of cable is now gonna control radio.
The second is Comcast's bid for Sky. This is gonna put a monkey wrench in the Fox/Disney deal, delaying, possibly imploding the sale, meaning that the app/streaming vehicle Disney plans to launch is even farther in the future.
Meanwhile:
"Netflix Eyeing Total of About 700 Original Series in 2018": http://bit.ly/2CQ140U
You play for dominance. You launch early/first and then run like hell so your competitors can never catch up.
This is what happened in streaming music. Looked like YouTube was the problem, but check the stats, most songs are streamed more on Spotify. Meanwhile, Google has yet to come up with a pay service that is appealing to people. Come on, you want me to pay to get rid of ads before videos when I'm already experiencing them? When your music service has no other subscribers than myself? This is the Microsoft hubris, believing that just by launching MSN it could kill AOL. We'll endure ads before cat videos. As for music, we're going elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Amazon buys the Ring Door Bell. Illustrating that Apple is so far behind it's toast. Not only did Apple pioneer Siri/voice control, it kept talking about the smart home and now it's dominated by Amazon. Will Amazon buy Spotify? Spotify is certainly not a standalone company, not unless it diversifies in heretofore unknown ways. But Amazon has a music offering that's quite good and doesn't want to lay down $20 billion, maybe Google should do this.
As for Apple, it should buy Netflix yesterday, it's the only company that can afford it. Instead, it's playing for short term stock price, like all the other corporations benefiting from the new tax law. They'll do stock buybacks, they won't invest in their future.
But back to Netflix.
Hollywood is so dumb. It felt that without movies Netflix would fail. Meanwhile, Netflix just doubled down on series production. And we live in a TV world, I'm probably not gonna even bother to watch the Oscars, why, I haven't seen most of the movies. The Oscars used to be a tribal rite, but despite the hype most people no longer care, they're too busy watching Netflix.
So we keep hearing these breakthrough companies are hemorrhaging money, unprofitable, meanwhile they race straight to the bank, taking a page out of Bezos's playbook. You keep investing and investing until your competition is so far behind you own the marketplace. Meanwhile, traditional companies seem categorically unable to do this. Look at news. Newspapers cut their overhead to the point they're pamphlets and news is now owned by the NYT, WSJ and WaPo period. You double down in times of turmoil, you don't circle the wagons, it's no different from buying the dip.
So Netflix is gonna be so big no one can compete. Because people don't like to PAY! There's a myth that people will subscribe to this service and that. But there's nothing I can't miss in today's marketplace, despite all the hype about the "Handmaid's Tale" I'm not paying for Hulu, no way, I'm paying for too much else. As for my $200 cable bill... Cable companies are hated as much as record companies in the nineties, we're just dying to screw them. And when mobile goes to 5G, watch out.
So if you want to succeed in the new world, play by the new rules, invent the new game. This is how hip-hop succeeded. It didn't complain about free music and theft, it embraced streaming, now it dominates.
We see this paradigm executed over and over again.
But since the media is controlled by the same old farts running the legacy companies new entities are denigrated based on old metrics and when they ultimately triumph the collective mass throws its arms in the air and says WHO KNEW?
The public.
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Cash is king, and Malone/Liberty use it to buy/invest when the chips are down. That's how they gained control of not only Sirius XM, but Pandora and now it looks like iHeart. Funny how the king of cable is now gonna control radio.
The second is Comcast's bid for Sky. This is gonna put a monkey wrench in the Fox/Disney deal, delaying, possibly imploding the sale, meaning that the app/streaming vehicle Disney plans to launch is even farther in the future.
Meanwhile:
"Netflix Eyeing Total of About 700 Original Series in 2018": http://bit.ly/2CQ140U
You play for dominance. You launch early/first and then run like hell so your competitors can never catch up.
This is what happened in streaming music. Looked like YouTube was the problem, but check the stats, most songs are streamed more on Spotify. Meanwhile, Google has yet to come up with a pay service that is appealing to people. Come on, you want me to pay to get rid of ads before videos when I'm already experiencing them? When your music service has no other subscribers than myself? This is the Microsoft hubris, believing that just by launching MSN it could kill AOL. We'll endure ads before cat videos. As for music, we're going elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Amazon buys the Ring Door Bell. Illustrating that Apple is so far behind it's toast. Not only did Apple pioneer Siri/voice control, it kept talking about the smart home and now it's dominated by Amazon. Will Amazon buy Spotify? Spotify is certainly not a standalone company, not unless it diversifies in heretofore unknown ways. But Amazon has a music offering that's quite good and doesn't want to lay down $20 billion, maybe Google should do this.
As for Apple, it should buy Netflix yesterday, it's the only company that can afford it. Instead, it's playing for short term stock price, like all the other corporations benefiting from the new tax law. They'll do stock buybacks, they won't invest in their future.
But back to Netflix.
Hollywood is so dumb. It felt that without movies Netflix would fail. Meanwhile, Netflix just doubled down on series production. And we live in a TV world, I'm probably not gonna even bother to watch the Oscars, why, I haven't seen most of the movies. The Oscars used to be a tribal rite, but despite the hype most people no longer care, they're too busy watching Netflix.
So we keep hearing these breakthrough companies are hemorrhaging money, unprofitable, meanwhile they race straight to the bank, taking a page out of Bezos's playbook. You keep investing and investing until your competition is so far behind you own the marketplace. Meanwhile, traditional companies seem categorically unable to do this. Look at news. Newspapers cut their overhead to the point they're pamphlets and news is now owned by the NYT, WSJ and WaPo period. You double down in times of turmoil, you don't circle the wagons, it's no different from buying the dip.
So Netflix is gonna be so big no one can compete. Because people don't like to PAY! There's a myth that people will subscribe to this service and that. But there's nothing I can't miss in today's marketplace, despite all the hype about the "Handmaid's Tale" I'm not paying for Hulu, no way, I'm paying for too much else. As for my $200 cable bill... Cable companies are hated as much as record companies in the nineties, we're just dying to screw them. And when mobile goes to 5G, watch out.
So if you want to succeed in the new world, play by the new rules, invent the new game. This is how hip-hop succeeded. It didn't complain about free music and theft, it embraced streaming, now it dominates.
We see this paradigm executed over and over again.
But since the media is controlled by the same old farts running the legacy companies new entities are denigrated based on old metrics and when they ultimately triumph the collective mass throws its arms in the air and says WHO KNEW?
The public.
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Wednesday, 28 February 2018
The Ryan Seacrest Story
This is about the money.
If Ryan Seacrest was not the face of E!, was not the producer of "Keeping Up With The Kardashians," would the outlet take this stand?
I don't know what happened here. I was not there. But all I know is the word of women, especially when they're not rich and powerful, is not believed by men in charge of making financial/network/legal decisions.
That team that cleared Seacrest... How many women were on it?
And what was the standard? Was the standard that he didn't do it, or that it couldn't be proved? Believe me, there's a world of difference, that's what the public does not understand about the legal system. Just because someone is guilty, that does not mean they're prosecuted, never mind convicted.
So we've got this story of the stylist...
I've got to ask, why would she make it up? Why would she bring it up now? What exactly is her motivation?
Seacrest says cash. And where there's a hit there's a writ, get famous and lowlifes come out of the woodwork, but why now, why would this woman wait all this time?
Furthermore, she sacrificed her career. She changed industries.
But no, we've got to sustain the life of the rich and famous, read on TMZ about who Seacrest is dating, hear about how fabulous he is. Furthermore, it's been well-documented that so many of the rich and famous have lost touch with reality and believe they're untouchable.
Once again, I've got no personal knowledge here, but I do know we live in changed times.
Due process. Yup, that's the standard we lived by forever, wherein men harassed and abused women and got away with it. And if you made enough noise they wrote you a check and sent you away and told you you could not play. Which is why so many women just shut up.
And the HR department reported to the same men who offended.
So now we've got women who are using the media to spread their stories and men are claiming how this is unfair. No, this is payback for generations of abuse.
There is a continuum of behavior, and there should be a continuum of punishment, but we've got to develop that. Meanwhile, pent-up anger is dominant. And even men who've been accused by multiple women deny, believing if they just stonewall they can triumph in the end. So are we supposed to believe Seacrest's denial?
"Rolling Stone" prints the stories of more women harassed by Charlie Walk and the exec just says it didn't happen. It's like living in Russia, where Putin denies, denies, denies, watch "Icarus," your head will spin. So when another man says he didn't do it, we tend not to believe him.
But it's too late for Ryan, the court of public opinion has turned against him.
Women are talking about ignoring him at the Oscars. Believe me, we're just hours away, a day or two at most, from E! pulling Seacrest from the telecast, because this is gonna be bad TV, this is gonna hurt the brand, and it's all about the brand.
And Seacrest's brand is the milquetoast host. And when you're everywhere you've got to be squeaky clean. And if you're not...it's no defense that everybody is doing it. And so many are sick of Seacrest, they'd be glad to see him go.
So Fox stood by O'Reilly and Ailes for so long because they were cash cows. The corporation kept paying and paying for fear of hurting Fox. The irony is, the men's absence hasn't seemed to hurt the outlet at all, and O'Reilly has disappeared into the ether. Proving that E! has more power than it thinks it does, no one really cares if it's Ryan Seacrest interviewing stars on the red carpet. Then again, E! is challenged in the cable melt-down, when we all go to streaming services is E! gonna survive? Probably not.
As for ABC and "Idol"...
They've got too much invested, they've already shot footage, they're hoping it will all blow over.
But where there's smoke there's fire.
Now we've got another worker corroborating the stylist's story.
So Seacrest is a victim of all the males who came before him, a President whose bad behavior is caught on tape who then denies it. Denials ring hollow.
Best to say you did it, say you were out of your mind, and then wait for other bad actors to steal your thunder and then sneak back in when the time is right. That's what Louis C.K. seems to be doing. You never read about him anymore, he admitted his crime and will ultimately come back, just like Mel Gibson, just you wait.
But Brett Ratner??
The more you deny, the bigger pariah you become. Can you say Lance Armstrong?
Yup, that's the society we live in, where men lie again and again.
Sure, the Duke lacrosse players were innocent, but just like women don't shoot up schools, it's not usually the women harassing, and more claims of harassment are true than false.
So unless you're truly innocent, you're better off owning it. Who's gonna come out of the woodwork next re Ryan Seacrest? You know we haven't heard the end of it.
And once again, we're supposed to believe that this stylist just made it all up, with the underwear and the penis...
It's the court of opinion that rules America. Too many skate free, but when you're a public figure and the winds turn against you...
Be afraid, be very afraid.
Ryan Seacrest is toast.
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If Ryan Seacrest was not the face of E!, was not the producer of "Keeping Up With The Kardashians," would the outlet take this stand?
I don't know what happened here. I was not there. But all I know is the word of women, especially when they're not rich and powerful, is not believed by men in charge of making financial/network/legal decisions.
That team that cleared Seacrest... How many women were on it?
And what was the standard? Was the standard that he didn't do it, or that it couldn't be proved? Believe me, there's a world of difference, that's what the public does not understand about the legal system. Just because someone is guilty, that does not mean they're prosecuted, never mind convicted.
So we've got this story of the stylist...
I've got to ask, why would she make it up? Why would she bring it up now? What exactly is her motivation?
Seacrest says cash. And where there's a hit there's a writ, get famous and lowlifes come out of the woodwork, but why now, why would this woman wait all this time?
Furthermore, she sacrificed her career. She changed industries.
But no, we've got to sustain the life of the rich and famous, read on TMZ about who Seacrest is dating, hear about how fabulous he is. Furthermore, it's been well-documented that so many of the rich and famous have lost touch with reality and believe they're untouchable.
Once again, I've got no personal knowledge here, but I do know we live in changed times.
Due process. Yup, that's the standard we lived by forever, wherein men harassed and abused women and got away with it. And if you made enough noise they wrote you a check and sent you away and told you you could not play. Which is why so many women just shut up.
And the HR department reported to the same men who offended.
So now we've got women who are using the media to spread their stories and men are claiming how this is unfair. No, this is payback for generations of abuse.
There is a continuum of behavior, and there should be a continuum of punishment, but we've got to develop that. Meanwhile, pent-up anger is dominant. And even men who've been accused by multiple women deny, believing if they just stonewall they can triumph in the end. So are we supposed to believe Seacrest's denial?
"Rolling Stone" prints the stories of more women harassed by Charlie Walk and the exec just says it didn't happen. It's like living in Russia, where Putin denies, denies, denies, watch "Icarus," your head will spin. So when another man says he didn't do it, we tend not to believe him.
But it's too late for Ryan, the court of public opinion has turned against him.
Women are talking about ignoring him at the Oscars. Believe me, we're just hours away, a day or two at most, from E! pulling Seacrest from the telecast, because this is gonna be bad TV, this is gonna hurt the brand, and it's all about the brand.
And Seacrest's brand is the milquetoast host. And when you're everywhere you've got to be squeaky clean. And if you're not...it's no defense that everybody is doing it. And so many are sick of Seacrest, they'd be glad to see him go.
So Fox stood by O'Reilly and Ailes for so long because they were cash cows. The corporation kept paying and paying for fear of hurting Fox. The irony is, the men's absence hasn't seemed to hurt the outlet at all, and O'Reilly has disappeared into the ether. Proving that E! has more power than it thinks it does, no one really cares if it's Ryan Seacrest interviewing stars on the red carpet. Then again, E! is challenged in the cable melt-down, when we all go to streaming services is E! gonna survive? Probably not.
As for ABC and "Idol"...
They've got too much invested, they've already shot footage, they're hoping it will all blow over.
But where there's smoke there's fire.
Now we've got another worker corroborating the stylist's story.
So Seacrest is a victim of all the males who came before him, a President whose bad behavior is caught on tape who then denies it. Denials ring hollow.
Best to say you did it, say you were out of your mind, and then wait for other bad actors to steal your thunder and then sneak back in when the time is right. That's what Louis C.K. seems to be doing. You never read about him anymore, he admitted his crime and will ultimately come back, just like Mel Gibson, just you wait.
But Brett Ratner??
The more you deny, the bigger pariah you become. Can you say Lance Armstrong?
Yup, that's the society we live in, where men lie again and again.
Sure, the Duke lacrosse players were innocent, but just like women don't shoot up schools, it's not usually the women harassing, and more claims of harassment are true than false.
So unless you're truly innocent, you're better off owning it. Who's gonna come out of the woodwork next re Ryan Seacrest? You know we haven't heard the end of it.
And once again, we're supposed to believe that this stylist just made it all up, with the underwear and the penis...
It's the court of opinion that rules America. Too many skate free, but when you're a public figure and the winds turn against you...
Be afraid, be very afraid.
Ryan Seacrest is toast.
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Moe Shalizi
He's the manager of Marshmello.
WHO?
That's exactly the point, you can manage an act that does double digit millions, drive a Lamborghini and live in a multimillion dollar house and most people have no clue who you or your act are.
Except for the fans.
I met Moe at a dinner at Jake Udell's house. It was them and me and the manager of Logan Paul, before the YouTube star shot himself in the foot.
Anyway, at that dinner Jeff, Logan's manager, went on about being in front of your audience each and every day. That if they're not watching you, they're watching someone else. Moe went home and sent a message to his team. They had seven digits of YouTube subscribers but they were only putting up a clip a month. They too wanted to have one a day.
So they've got a cooking show. A minute and a half long. It's not like Marshmello is a chef, but his fans tune in for everything he does, so once a week he lays out a recipe and they focus on the markets where he's hot, like Indonesia, Singapore and Brazil. Marshmello tops the cooking charts because of his rabid fanbase. This is not your daddy's music business, after all, Moe is only 27 years old!
There's a ton of data out there, how do you utilize it?
So Moe becomes Marshmello's manager. Only the act's not called that then. And the DJ starts making a new type of music, more mellow, and the two put their heads together and come up with the concept, Moe comes up with the name. That's right, a great manager is creative too.
And then they put the stuff on SoundCloud and Skrillex becomes a fan and...
Marshmello has no label. He jumped from SoundCloud to Tunecore, he puts his own music out. Not that the labels don't come calling, they offer double digit million offers, but Marshmello is already making that money himself, so why does he need them? But as a result of these interactions Marshmello has worked with Khalid and Selena Gomez, because when you're hot the opportunities arise, and people are giving to get.
So Marshmello doesn't rely on terrestrial radio, certainly not before he started working with these household names.
And his audience doesn't watch the "Today Show" or late night TV, what can the major provide? After all, Moe already has a tight relationship with Apple and Spotify, Marshmello gets playlisted.
This is the paradigm shift. Non-pop acts who are developed outside the system and when the big boys come calling, they say no. Used to be you had to say yes, you couldn't reach the audience, but now you can reach the audience better than the major. They use spray paint, you employ a brush and touch them one by one.
And there's so much money to be made.
And you have to stay loyal to your core, Marshmello has a deal with Hostess, it's a natural, but has turned down so many branding offers for fear it will muddy the waters.
Sound like the sixties?
You see no one has a hold on today's music scene. We just hear about hip-hoppers and bitching rockers. But in between there are so many opportunities. Marshmello sold out three Shrines, that's 15,000 tickets!
And all this is on my mind because I just interviewed Moe for the podcast. It'll be a couple of weeks until it is up, but I'm both energized and feel inadequate. On one hand, I'm doing it right, writing constantly. On another, I'm not working the socials and playing the YouTube game. If you've got a presence, if you've got fans, there are many ways to make a buck, not only recorded music. But you've got to think outside the box. And seemingly only the young people are able to do this.
http://bit.ly/2aNmMr1
"Cooking With Marshmello" (they even have Spanish versions!): http://bit.ly/2HVCPCi
"Silence" 466,508,150 streams: http://spoti.fi/2GU20nw
"Wolves" 360,608,759 streams: http://spoti.fi/2oxwPrl
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WHO?
That's exactly the point, you can manage an act that does double digit millions, drive a Lamborghini and live in a multimillion dollar house and most people have no clue who you or your act are.
Except for the fans.
I met Moe at a dinner at Jake Udell's house. It was them and me and the manager of Logan Paul, before the YouTube star shot himself in the foot.
Anyway, at that dinner Jeff, Logan's manager, went on about being in front of your audience each and every day. That if they're not watching you, they're watching someone else. Moe went home and sent a message to his team. They had seven digits of YouTube subscribers but they were only putting up a clip a month. They too wanted to have one a day.
So they've got a cooking show. A minute and a half long. It's not like Marshmello is a chef, but his fans tune in for everything he does, so once a week he lays out a recipe and they focus on the markets where he's hot, like Indonesia, Singapore and Brazil. Marshmello tops the cooking charts because of his rabid fanbase. This is not your daddy's music business, after all, Moe is only 27 years old!
There's a ton of data out there, how do you utilize it?
So Moe becomes Marshmello's manager. Only the act's not called that then. And the DJ starts making a new type of music, more mellow, and the two put their heads together and come up with the concept, Moe comes up with the name. That's right, a great manager is creative too.
And then they put the stuff on SoundCloud and Skrillex becomes a fan and...
Marshmello has no label. He jumped from SoundCloud to Tunecore, he puts his own music out. Not that the labels don't come calling, they offer double digit million offers, but Marshmello is already making that money himself, so why does he need them? But as a result of these interactions Marshmello has worked with Khalid and Selena Gomez, because when you're hot the opportunities arise, and people are giving to get.
So Marshmello doesn't rely on terrestrial radio, certainly not before he started working with these household names.
And his audience doesn't watch the "Today Show" or late night TV, what can the major provide? After all, Moe already has a tight relationship with Apple and Spotify, Marshmello gets playlisted.
This is the paradigm shift. Non-pop acts who are developed outside the system and when the big boys come calling, they say no. Used to be you had to say yes, you couldn't reach the audience, but now you can reach the audience better than the major. They use spray paint, you employ a brush and touch them one by one.
And there's so much money to be made.
And you have to stay loyal to your core, Marshmello has a deal with Hostess, it's a natural, but has turned down so many branding offers for fear it will muddy the waters.
Sound like the sixties?
You see no one has a hold on today's music scene. We just hear about hip-hoppers and bitching rockers. But in between there are so many opportunities. Marshmello sold out three Shrines, that's 15,000 tickets!
And all this is on my mind because I just interviewed Moe for the podcast. It'll be a couple of weeks until it is up, but I'm both energized and feel inadequate. On one hand, I'm doing it right, writing constantly. On another, I'm not working the socials and playing the YouTube game. If you've got a presence, if you've got fans, there are many ways to make a buck, not only recorded music. But you've got to think outside the box. And seemingly only the young people are able to do this.
http://bit.ly/2aNmMr1
"Cooking With Marshmello" (they even have Spanish versions!): http://bit.ly/2HVCPCi
"Silence" 466,508,150 streams: http://spoti.fi/2GU20nw
"Wolves" 360,608,759 streams: http://spoti.fi/2oxwPrl
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Tracks
http://spoti.fi/2F2MYz5
The first rule of recommendation is you send me something you think I will like, not that YOU like!
"Best Friend"
Sofi Tukker
I know, I know, it was in the commercial for the iPhone X, but Strasburg iMessaged me about this yesterday and I pulled it up and felt the sense of recognition and then the bass started to burble and I was hooked, that's the power of a subwoofer. First and foremost, music must be hooky, it must lodge itself in your brain to the point it turns into aural dope, without it you cannot function, you want to put it on endless repeat to get the high.
You can analyze this to death but you'd be missing the point, it's how it makes you FEEL!
25,343,067 streams on Spotify
"Wanna be my new friend? We got a lot in common
We can talk 'bout nothin', shoot the shit, we got shit to shoot"
Took me a few times to catch these lines. Shooting the shit, that's my favorite thing to do in life, after skiing, ahead of reading, maybe behind. That's what bonds people to you, makes you friends, SHOOTING THE SHIT!
"Be Mine"
Ofenbach
This original iteration has got 123,482,751 streams on Spotify.
It's subtle, like a drive late at night in a Mercedes through a tunnel in Paris, but not speeding like Lady Di and Dodi. You're somnambulant, yet alive. You know that late night feeling, when you believe you're the only one awake and proud of it.
There's a plethora of remixes of this cut on Spotify, check them out, just let them play, you'll be in the mood.
"Katchi"
Ofenbach vs. Nick Waterhouse
This is a bit faster, late afternoon going to the next destination.
This has got 52,722,596 streams.
"Feel It Still"
Offenbach Remix
What I like about Spotify is they list the act's most popular tracks, you can see the play counts, so you can see what everybody else has gotten excited about. But sometimes I click on a track and get busy doing something else and Spotify slips into the next track and I get hooked on that. This is a remix of Portugal. The Man's gigantic hit but it's just a little bit different and resonates on its own level.
"Come To Me"
Ofenbach Remix
I'll be honest, I don't know the 2013 Lily & Madeline original. Which got 3,438,171 Spotify streams in its initial incarnation, whereas this Ofenbach remix has 31,718,046.
This was the next track after "Feel It Still." It's a bit ethereal and otherworldly, it reminds you of nothing in today's crazy, mixed-up, shook-up world, which is maybe why it feels so good... It's a world in which music is not mindless, but the alterna...
And after that, came...
Ofenbach's remix of Robin Schulz's "OK" featuring James Blunt. Hell, I thought Blunt was a one hit wonder, deep in the past, but "OK" was a huge hit overseas this past year and made it to #1 on the U.S. Dance Club chart, which is equivalent to being #1 in Bismarck, North Dakota, i.e. almost no one heard it. This is the world we presently live in, one in which hip-hop gets all the press, the rockers complain and everybody else is ignored, but when you listen to this and the other Ofenbach tracks you get excited about music without feeling like you're slumming it, this is not calculated pop and it gets your body moving while setting your mind free and you wonder how you can hear more stuff like this.
I'm privileged to have people e-mail me about this stuff, but if you're on the outside, not deep in the scene, it's just too overwhelming, there's just too much choice.
Every time I pull up Ofenbach on Spotify I go deep, I never click off, suddenly it's an hour later and I'm still listening to them.
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The first rule of recommendation is you send me something you think I will like, not that YOU like!
"Best Friend"
Sofi Tukker
I know, I know, it was in the commercial for the iPhone X, but Strasburg iMessaged me about this yesterday and I pulled it up and felt the sense of recognition and then the bass started to burble and I was hooked, that's the power of a subwoofer. First and foremost, music must be hooky, it must lodge itself in your brain to the point it turns into aural dope, without it you cannot function, you want to put it on endless repeat to get the high.
You can analyze this to death but you'd be missing the point, it's how it makes you FEEL!
25,343,067 streams on Spotify
"Wanna be my new friend? We got a lot in common
We can talk 'bout nothin', shoot the shit, we got shit to shoot"
Took me a few times to catch these lines. Shooting the shit, that's my favorite thing to do in life, after skiing, ahead of reading, maybe behind. That's what bonds people to you, makes you friends, SHOOTING THE SHIT!
"Be Mine"
Ofenbach
This original iteration has got 123,482,751 streams on Spotify.
It's subtle, like a drive late at night in a Mercedes through a tunnel in Paris, but not speeding like Lady Di and Dodi. You're somnambulant, yet alive. You know that late night feeling, when you believe you're the only one awake and proud of it.
There's a plethora of remixes of this cut on Spotify, check them out, just let them play, you'll be in the mood.
"Katchi"
Ofenbach vs. Nick Waterhouse
This is a bit faster, late afternoon going to the next destination.
This has got 52,722,596 streams.
"Feel It Still"
Offenbach Remix
What I like about Spotify is they list the act's most popular tracks, you can see the play counts, so you can see what everybody else has gotten excited about. But sometimes I click on a track and get busy doing something else and Spotify slips into the next track and I get hooked on that. This is a remix of Portugal. The Man's gigantic hit but it's just a little bit different and resonates on its own level.
"Come To Me"
Ofenbach Remix
I'll be honest, I don't know the 2013 Lily & Madeline original. Which got 3,438,171 Spotify streams in its initial incarnation, whereas this Ofenbach remix has 31,718,046.
This was the next track after "Feel It Still." It's a bit ethereal and otherworldly, it reminds you of nothing in today's crazy, mixed-up, shook-up world, which is maybe why it feels so good... It's a world in which music is not mindless, but the alterna...
And after that, came...
Ofenbach's remix of Robin Schulz's "OK" featuring James Blunt. Hell, I thought Blunt was a one hit wonder, deep in the past, but "OK" was a huge hit overseas this past year and made it to #1 on the U.S. Dance Club chart, which is equivalent to being #1 in Bismarck, North Dakota, i.e. almost no one heard it. This is the world we presently live in, one in which hip-hop gets all the press, the rockers complain and everybody else is ignored, but when you listen to this and the other Ofenbach tracks you get excited about music without feeling like you're slumming it, this is not calculated pop and it gets your body moving while setting your mind free and you wonder how you can hear more stuff like this.
I'm privileged to have people e-mail me about this stuff, but if you're on the outside, not deep in the scene, it's just too overwhelming, there's just too much choice.
Every time I pull up Ofenbach on Spotify I go deep, I never click off, suddenly it's an hour later and I'm still listening to them.
--
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Tuesday, 27 February 2018
Mailbag
Subject: Re: Jason Flom-This Week's Podcast
(To Whom It May Concern)
And Thank God... You Give A Shit As Much As You Do...
Bob...
Steven Tyler Here
And a Big Fan of YOU... Whose Not afraid To Lend The Family Parrot... To The Town Crier
Thank You for your Hats Off and Respectful Cudo's to (Jason Flom)... The Man is Truly All That… Plus... take a look at his Instagram...He is so on Point...People Like He and You Who Speak Up About There Own Beliefs Are Todays Hero's
This Is A Dolby Generation...
I Only Hope The Audience Is Listening.......ST
_____________________________________
From: Paul Adams
Subject: Re: Angela
Hey Bob,
I know how you love it when folks with a dog in the fight point stuff out to you but I wondered if you saw the connection between two recent tracks you felt worthy of special mention. Both The Lumineers "Angela" and Jade Bird's "Lottery" were produced by Simone Felice up in the Catskills NY. "Angela" also being a co-write with the artist and Simone.
Yes, Simone is a producer client of mine but we're both thrilled to read your kind words about tracks he's worked on so thought it fun to make the connection for you.
Hope you're well Sir and keep talking up the music!
Pau..
_____________________________________
From: Ben Nesvig
Subject: Re: ODESZA
Yes! I've always liked ODESZA, but came to love ODESZA after A Moment Apart.
ODESZA sounds even better live. Check out their song Line of Sight on Kimmel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiLwFPQ2ObA
Also, the videos from their current tour are excellent. They've made me regret not seeing them when they were in town. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rcTBslwSWA
Ben
_____________________________________
From: Doug Scott (Zynga)
Subject: Re: [Bulk] ODESZA
We licensed "Across The Room" for synch with our TV ad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCTp9EW4tyE) for the launch of Words With Friends 2 back in November. The song was perfect because it can appeal across generations and genders, just like the game does. As you said, there is something about Odesza that is immediately familiar but also feels new.
Best,
Doug
_____________________________________
Subject: Re: The Joke
Hi Bob,
"The Joke" is incredible. The strings you mentioned were composed and conducted by our client Paul Buckmaster and it was one of his final arrangements before he passed away last year. Brandi was one of the artists he was most proud of working with and I know he would agreed with you here.
Anne Zogby
McDaniel Entertainment
_____________________________________
From: Candace Carter
Subject: Re: ODESZA
Their manager Adam Foley used to work in the Charlottesville Red Light office. He originally managed Pretty Lights. Then he moved to LA's Red Light office and that's where I became acquainted with him. This was when EDM was at it's peak, and when Odesza released their popular album, In Return. You might have heard Say My Name ft. Zyra but didn't realize it was them. They've always had their own sound even within the electronic world. Anyways a short time passed and Adam left LA. I wasn't sure where he went but a little later I tried to leave too - trying to tip toe out of the industry. But as I was driving through America trying to find answers using Kerouac's road map, I was in Wyoming mid day and saw Adam post a picture of the mountains in Jackson. It felt too synchronous to not reach out to him, so I did, and he offered a place to stay for the night. I changed my route and drove the night through the snow to Jackson. When I arrived, I didn't know what to expect and if conversation would be awkward, but I was welcomed into a nice quaint home with a beer and light conversation in front of the television. I was given the guest room for the night and treated with respect and kindness. In the morning, I noticed the small office nook where all the work was done for Odesza, and the home set adjacent to the side of the mountains where Adam often skied. After a walk through the town and a local breakfast, I took to the road again towards Montana, and Adam set me up with a place stay in Hope, Idaho - a beautiful place I never heard of. We lost contact since then, but what I always admired about Adam was that he recognized LA wasn't for him at the time, wasn't afraid to leave, and still manages artists successfully in the mountains he loves, or where ever he is now.
- Candace
_____________________________________
Subject: Re: My Dad
This is marvelous Bob! So evocative! I feel like I can truly picture your dad's shit-eating grin and the ease and joy with which he was gliding around.
It reminded me of my paternal grandfather, (a first generation Italian and master baker) and how he'd take my sister and I skating at his local rink in Brockton, MA.
I never quite mastered ice skating, though I did spend plenty of time pushing myself along with one leg and the other forward for what seemed like hours on a frozen cranberry bog five minutes from our house in Scituate.
We'd skate around a bit as best we could, but the best part was simply watching my grandpa, with his dapper hat and scarf, hands behind his back and a bemused grin, smoothly and effortlessly skating around to Sinatra and Dean Martin pumped through the echo-y old rink's speakers. The look of bliss and pride on his face as he'd do little twirls and skate backwards knowing how much it impressed us will stay with me for the rest of my life.
Thanks for sharing this intimate portrait Bob.
Martin Ferrini - Petaluma, CA
_____________________________________
From: derek sumisu
Subject: Re: My Dad
beautiful bob! such a wonderful story.
for me, that dad moment came around xmas one year, around 1985. i would have been 16. all of my extended family was at our house and it was properly festive. all my cousins were obsessed with my drum set, which was facilitated by my dad co-signing my first loan. everyone young and old would take a whack at it and be crappy. my dad came over, sat down, put his drink on the floor tom and proceeded to bash out a wipe out-esque solo while the entire family, me included, went slack jawed in awe! i had never seen him play before. when i asked what was up, his reply was; 'i played trombone in the high school band.'
what?? that was too crazy. i'm still not sure how he translated trombone into drums in one flawless step.
a dad can do some incredible stuff that never ceases to amaze a kid at any age!
thanks for the lovely reminiscence! it gave me a chance to remember that story about my dad, who died from cancer a few years ago.
derek...
_____________________________________
Subject: RE: My Dad
I was 6 when dad died.
I remember he came home from work one night with a 2 pack of chiclets in his pocket for me.
End of story.
And so I cherish every minute of the time I share with my 2 kids who are now 24 and 21.
Mark
_____________________________________
Subject: Re: My Dad
One of my favorite anecdotes about my own Dad, which uncovered a side of him I never knew, took place around 14 years ago, the evening after I got my vasectomy. I was speaking to my father on the phone and mentioned that I was feeling a bit tender after getting this procedure. Whereupon he replied "oh yes, I had one of those".
I had no comeback, I couldn't believe what I had just heard from my then 76 year old father (he's now a spry 90 years old).
After a few seconds, sensing my disbelief, if not discomfort (in more ways that one), Dad added:
"don't worry son, it was after you were born".
Best regards,??
Lon J. Hall
_____________________________________
Subject: Re: My Dad
Bob, I love that story. There is a flip side. My dad broke his ankle trying on those metal clip on skates trying to teach my sister to skate. It cost his a few weeks off work and ended up being on of my best memories. I got to the hospital with him and help him limp around.
Frank Higginbotham
_____________________________________
From: Tracie Beer
Subject: My thoughts on #metoo
How do we stay focused on a topic today?
Metoo today, gunlaws tomorrow, School Security today...news seems some disposable these days.
#metoo
So many emotions have risen since this #metoo movement has started. I've been a product of sexual harassment for basically my entire life. Starting at the young age of roughly 8 years old... & for men out there that think woman sometimes ask for it by misleading garments I don't recall my Tom & Jerry pajamas being that provocative. Unless he also had a cat & mouse fetish?
I was lucky I was quick enough to not have gotten raped by this man. I freed myself out of his disgusting claws. I didn't know what the hell he was doing but I certainly knew it wasn't right! 40 years later I can remember it like it was yesterday.
People have become curious on why females don't speak up for years about some of their accusations. The answer is, it just seems easier. You have to live with the risk of destroying families & friendships. Getting questioned about embarrassing details. Then there's the judgment of others. Did it really happen? Is she attention seeking? "I can't imagine he'd do that, he seems like such a nice guy."
When you do decide to actually get real & discuss what happened to you it also gets very uncomfortable for everyone as well. Always a Debbie Downer moment so easier to just not discuss it sometimes.
Nobody ever knows how to respond & there's nothing that can be said that ever makes it easier.
Being sexually assaulted is something that lives with you your entire life. Like everything in life, memories come & go but always find there way back into your life.
The decision of remaining quiet for the sake of it being easier makes things essentially harder for future generations.
It's like giving the predator a hall pass. A stamp of approval to allow them to do this to someone else. When your innocence & trust gets robbed from you it certainly sets a tone for years to come if not your entire life. So speak up.
The sexual harassment carried on to my teenage years. Everything from a man in the movies fondling himself sitting next to me in my young 20's and my boss pinning me up against the wall is his office. Telling me I was so hot and fantasizes about me when he fucks his wife. You know his wife, the woman who sits next to me everyday for the 2 years prior to that happening.
I felt so gross not telling her what a creep she was married to but they had 2 young babies at home! So I should be the brunt of them growing up in a broken home or risk possibly getting fired? Sometimes woman are actually aware of there loved ones behavior but #themtoo look a blind eye because it seems easier...
As a woman now in her 40's it's carried on in my current life as well. Wether it be music industry people suggesting we meet at their hotel for a drink and making stupid comments like "it's just skin" to just shout outs on the street "mmmmm,mmmmm" "damn girl" caveman type calls from the wild. Under the age of my daughter being 18 years old I was told by men in the industry my daughter was hot/sexy and that they can see where she got it from. I was even once told they wanted to see me in person first before committing to my daughters career in hopes my daughter wasn't going to turn out to be an unattractive adult. It's all just male ego thinking they're better and most likely having small shriveled up ____, I'd assume!
Do these type of men not have mothers, sisters or daughters? How do they find that to be acceptable behavior? Is this how they want the woman in their lives treated? Were they literally raised by wolves?
I get woman are beautiful & desirable. I see it's all day long... but have some grace, class & self control.
For the most part Harvey Weinstein's case jump started this #metoo movement. Ironically he's one of the few that has actually admitted publicly he has a problem and is seeking help... others still on the deny,deny,deny bandwagon!
Not being a hardcore feminist I never want to offend anyone by saying this but I am sure there are plenty of misconstrued, exaggerated unfair stories out there being told to discredited someone's reputation
but I always believe to some degree where there is smoke there is fire.
Do I think things in the work field have become a little too serious with rules, 100%. I am not offended being told I look lovely today or that you care for my outfit but the lady next to me might find it offensive and inappropriate which I appreciate as well. There will always be a degree of double standards between sexes. Both fair and unfair. Clearly as humans we need rules or else society would be much more barbaric than it is now.
I really hope whoever is reading this talks to their sons when parenting about having respect for woman & teaches them locker room convo is unacceptable behavior.
If you've experienced a #metoo experience don't be afraid to share it with your children. They need to see it can happen to anyone, even their Mom.
If you're a father to a boy lead by example. Child are mirror images of you and pick up on your conduct and behavior. So no high fives about grabbing them by the p---y!!
Will sexual harassment ever stop? Unfortunately not. That's unrealistic... but speaking up & standing up for yourself can and will diminish millions of future victims.
Tracie
(To Whom It May Concern)
And Thank God... You Give A Shit As Much As You Do...
Bob...
Steven Tyler Here
And a Big Fan of YOU... Whose Not afraid To Lend The Family Parrot... To The Town Crier
Thank You for your Hats Off and Respectful Cudo's to (Jason Flom)... The Man is Truly All That… Plus... take a look at his Instagram...He is so on Point...People Like He and You Who Speak Up About There Own Beliefs Are Todays Hero's
This Is A Dolby Generation...
I Only Hope The Audience Is Listening.......ST
_____________________________________
From: Paul Adams
Subject: Re: Angela
Hey Bob,
I know how you love it when folks with a dog in the fight point stuff out to you but I wondered if you saw the connection between two recent tracks you felt worthy of special mention. Both The Lumineers "Angela" and Jade Bird's "Lottery" were produced by Simone Felice up in the Catskills NY. "Angela" also being a co-write with the artist and Simone.
Yes, Simone is a producer client of mine but we're both thrilled to read your kind words about tracks he's worked on so thought it fun to make the connection for you.
Hope you're well Sir and keep talking up the music!
Pau..
_____________________________________
From: Ben Nesvig
Subject: Re: ODESZA
Yes! I've always liked ODESZA, but came to love ODESZA after A Moment Apart.
ODESZA sounds even better live. Check out their song Line of Sight on Kimmel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiLwFPQ2ObA
Also, the videos from their current tour are excellent. They've made me regret not seeing them when they were in town. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rcTBslwSWA
Ben
_____________________________________
From: Doug Scott (Zynga)
Subject: Re: [Bulk] ODESZA
We licensed "Across The Room" for synch with our TV ad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCTp9EW4tyE) for the launch of Words With Friends 2 back in November. The song was perfect because it can appeal across generations and genders, just like the game does. As you said, there is something about Odesza that is immediately familiar but also feels new.
Best,
Doug
_____________________________________
Subject: Re: The Joke
Hi Bob,
"The Joke" is incredible. The strings you mentioned were composed and conducted by our client Paul Buckmaster and it was one of his final arrangements before he passed away last year. Brandi was one of the artists he was most proud of working with and I know he would agreed with you here.
Anne Zogby
McDaniel Entertainment
_____________________________________
From: Candace Carter
Subject: Re: ODESZA
Their manager Adam Foley used to work in the Charlottesville Red Light office. He originally managed Pretty Lights. Then he moved to LA's Red Light office and that's where I became acquainted with him. This was when EDM was at it's peak, and when Odesza released their popular album, In Return. You might have heard Say My Name ft. Zyra but didn't realize it was them. They've always had their own sound even within the electronic world. Anyways a short time passed and Adam left LA. I wasn't sure where he went but a little later I tried to leave too - trying to tip toe out of the industry. But as I was driving through America trying to find answers using Kerouac's road map, I was in Wyoming mid day and saw Adam post a picture of the mountains in Jackson. It felt too synchronous to not reach out to him, so I did, and he offered a place to stay for the night. I changed my route and drove the night through the snow to Jackson. When I arrived, I didn't know what to expect and if conversation would be awkward, but I was welcomed into a nice quaint home with a beer and light conversation in front of the television. I was given the guest room for the night and treated with respect and kindness. In the morning, I noticed the small office nook where all the work was done for Odesza, and the home set adjacent to the side of the mountains where Adam often skied. After a walk through the town and a local breakfast, I took to the road again towards Montana, and Adam set me up with a place stay in Hope, Idaho - a beautiful place I never heard of. We lost contact since then, but what I always admired about Adam was that he recognized LA wasn't for him at the time, wasn't afraid to leave, and still manages artists successfully in the mountains he loves, or where ever he is now.
- Candace
_____________________________________
Subject: Re: My Dad
This is marvelous Bob! So evocative! I feel like I can truly picture your dad's shit-eating grin and the ease and joy with which he was gliding around.
It reminded me of my paternal grandfather, (a first generation Italian and master baker) and how he'd take my sister and I skating at his local rink in Brockton, MA.
I never quite mastered ice skating, though I did spend plenty of time pushing myself along with one leg and the other forward for what seemed like hours on a frozen cranberry bog five minutes from our house in Scituate.
We'd skate around a bit as best we could, but the best part was simply watching my grandpa, with his dapper hat and scarf, hands behind his back and a bemused grin, smoothly and effortlessly skating around to Sinatra and Dean Martin pumped through the echo-y old rink's speakers. The look of bliss and pride on his face as he'd do little twirls and skate backwards knowing how much it impressed us will stay with me for the rest of my life.
Thanks for sharing this intimate portrait Bob.
Martin Ferrini - Petaluma, CA
_____________________________________
From: derek sumisu
Subject: Re: My Dad
beautiful bob! such a wonderful story.
for me, that dad moment came around xmas one year, around 1985. i would have been 16. all of my extended family was at our house and it was properly festive. all my cousins were obsessed with my drum set, which was facilitated by my dad co-signing my first loan. everyone young and old would take a whack at it and be crappy. my dad came over, sat down, put his drink on the floor tom and proceeded to bash out a wipe out-esque solo while the entire family, me included, went slack jawed in awe! i had never seen him play before. when i asked what was up, his reply was; 'i played trombone in the high school band.'
what?? that was too crazy. i'm still not sure how he translated trombone into drums in one flawless step.
a dad can do some incredible stuff that never ceases to amaze a kid at any age!
thanks for the lovely reminiscence! it gave me a chance to remember that story about my dad, who died from cancer a few years ago.
derek...
_____________________________________
Subject: RE: My Dad
I was 6 when dad died.
I remember he came home from work one night with a 2 pack of chiclets in his pocket for me.
End of story.
And so I cherish every minute of the time I share with my 2 kids who are now 24 and 21.
Mark
_____________________________________
Subject: Re: My Dad
One of my favorite anecdotes about my own Dad, which uncovered a side of him I never knew, took place around 14 years ago, the evening after I got my vasectomy. I was speaking to my father on the phone and mentioned that I was feeling a bit tender after getting this procedure. Whereupon he replied "oh yes, I had one of those".
I had no comeback, I couldn't believe what I had just heard from my then 76 year old father (he's now a spry 90 years old).
After a few seconds, sensing my disbelief, if not discomfort (in more ways that one), Dad added:
"don't worry son, it was after you were born".
Best regards,??
Lon J. Hall
_____________________________________
Subject: Re: My Dad
Bob, I love that story. There is a flip side. My dad broke his ankle trying on those metal clip on skates trying to teach my sister to skate. It cost his a few weeks off work and ended up being on of my best memories. I got to the hospital with him and help him limp around.
Frank Higginbotham
_____________________________________
From: Tracie Beer
Subject: My thoughts on #metoo
How do we stay focused on a topic today?
Metoo today, gunlaws tomorrow, School Security today...news seems some disposable these days.
#metoo
So many emotions have risen since this #metoo movement has started. I've been a product of sexual harassment for basically my entire life. Starting at the young age of roughly 8 years old... & for men out there that think woman sometimes ask for it by misleading garments I don't recall my Tom & Jerry pajamas being that provocative. Unless he also had a cat & mouse fetish?
I was lucky I was quick enough to not have gotten raped by this man. I freed myself out of his disgusting claws. I didn't know what the hell he was doing but I certainly knew it wasn't right! 40 years later I can remember it like it was yesterday.
People have become curious on why females don't speak up for years about some of their accusations. The answer is, it just seems easier. You have to live with the risk of destroying families & friendships. Getting questioned about embarrassing details. Then there's the judgment of others. Did it really happen? Is she attention seeking? "I can't imagine he'd do that, he seems like such a nice guy."
When you do decide to actually get real & discuss what happened to you it also gets very uncomfortable for everyone as well. Always a Debbie Downer moment so easier to just not discuss it sometimes.
Nobody ever knows how to respond & there's nothing that can be said that ever makes it easier.
Being sexually assaulted is something that lives with you your entire life. Like everything in life, memories come & go but always find there way back into your life.
The decision of remaining quiet for the sake of it being easier makes things essentially harder for future generations.
It's like giving the predator a hall pass. A stamp of approval to allow them to do this to someone else. When your innocence & trust gets robbed from you it certainly sets a tone for years to come if not your entire life. So speak up.
The sexual harassment carried on to my teenage years. Everything from a man in the movies fondling himself sitting next to me in my young 20's and my boss pinning me up against the wall is his office. Telling me I was so hot and fantasizes about me when he fucks his wife. You know his wife, the woman who sits next to me everyday for the 2 years prior to that happening.
I felt so gross not telling her what a creep she was married to but they had 2 young babies at home! So I should be the brunt of them growing up in a broken home or risk possibly getting fired? Sometimes woman are actually aware of there loved ones behavior but #themtoo look a blind eye because it seems easier...
As a woman now in her 40's it's carried on in my current life as well. Wether it be music industry people suggesting we meet at their hotel for a drink and making stupid comments like "it's just skin" to just shout outs on the street "mmmmm,mmmmm" "damn girl" caveman type calls from the wild. Under the age of my daughter being 18 years old I was told by men in the industry my daughter was hot/sexy and that they can see where she got it from. I was even once told they wanted to see me in person first before committing to my daughters career in hopes my daughter wasn't going to turn out to be an unattractive adult. It's all just male ego thinking they're better and most likely having small shriveled up ____, I'd assume!
Do these type of men not have mothers, sisters or daughters? How do they find that to be acceptable behavior? Is this how they want the woman in their lives treated? Were they literally raised by wolves?
I get woman are beautiful & desirable. I see it's all day long... but have some grace, class & self control.
For the most part Harvey Weinstein's case jump started this #metoo movement. Ironically he's one of the few that has actually admitted publicly he has a problem and is seeking help... others still on the deny,deny,deny bandwagon!
Not being a hardcore feminist I never want to offend anyone by saying this but I am sure there are plenty of misconstrued, exaggerated unfair stories out there being told to discredited someone's reputation
but I always believe to some degree where there is smoke there is fire.
Do I think things in the work field have become a little too serious with rules, 100%. I am not offended being told I look lovely today or that you care for my outfit but the lady next to me might find it offensive and inappropriate which I appreciate as well. There will always be a degree of double standards between sexes. Both fair and unfair. Clearly as humans we need rules or else society would be much more barbaric than it is now.
I really hope whoever is reading this talks to their sons when parenting about having respect for woman & teaches them locker room convo is unacceptable behavior.
If you've experienced a #metoo experience don't be afraid to share it with your children. They need to see it can happen to anyone, even their Mom.
If you're a father to a boy lead by example. Child are mirror images of you and pick up on your conduct and behavior. So no high fives about grabbing them by the p---y!!
Will sexual harassment ever stop? Unfortunately not. That's unrealistic... but speaking up & standing up for yourself can and will diminish millions of future victims.
Tracie
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Rick Mueller-This Week's Podcast
He's President North America of AEG Presents. He started off as a fan, became a drummer, ran the concert program at UCSB and ended up working for Bill Graham Presents in SF and then LN in L.A. and now AEG.
So, if you want to know how to climb the ladder in the concert business...
All the money is on the road, but it's the label people who are still venerated, which is kind of questionable. Rick's been doing it for decades. He signs and steers tours as well as scouting for new venues. Not that he doesn't have an entire team helping him out, but if you want to know what's going on in the touring world today...
LISTEN!
TuneIn: http://tun.in/tims2F
Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/Daukrs3i6urf3yxtgtwdb3w7eju?t=Rick_Mueller-The_Bob_Lefsetz_Podcast
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bob-lefsetz/rick-mueller-12
Overcast: https://overcast.fm/+LBr-U71lM
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So, if you want to know how to climb the ladder in the concert business...
All the money is on the road, but it's the label people who are still venerated, which is kind of questionable. Rick's been doing it for decades. He signs and steers tours as well as scouting for new venues. Not that he doesn't have an entire team helping him out, but if you want to know what's going on in the touring world today...
LISTEN!
TuneIn: http://tun.in/tims2F
Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/Daukrs3i6urf3yxtgtwdb3w7eju?t=Rick_Mueller-The_Bob_Lefsetz_Podcast
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bob-lefsetz/rick-mueller-12
Overcast: https://overcast.fm/+LBr-U71lM
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Monday, 26 February 2018
The Joke
Spotify: http://spoti.fi/2Clkijj
YouTube: http://bit.ly/2oym7A7
This rubbed me the wrong way the first time through.
The second I tolerated it.
The third I LOVED IT!
That's the power of radio, that's the power of repetition. But every time they play an oldie on the Spectrum I flip the switch, I know where to get that stuff, I'm hungry for the new, but too many of those on the Americana playlists on the streaming services are tune-outs, BUT NOT THIS!
And there's the conundrum. People are making new music but most of the potential audience is not hearing it. Hell, although Brandi Carlile's album just came out this month, this lead track, "The Joke," has been out since November, with YouTube views far under a million. HOW CAN THIS BE?
Brandi is someone whose name has been bandied about for years. But that's today's market, either you make an immediate splash or you get down into the weeds and do your work, make fans one by one, waiting for the big break that may not ever come, even though you're getting bigger. I mean are we ever going to hear "The Joke" on the Spotify Top 50, on Top Forty radio? Probably not. Top Forty is not what it once was, now it's all hip-hop/urban, there's very little pop. As for Spotify, that chart is what people are actually listening to, so it's hard to get started if you're not already famous or working in popular genres.
And the problem with Americana/AAA is the audience. Aged and insular. So proud of their acts that they don't want to share them, and they don't want to embrace new technologies. Believe me, the audience for "The Joke" is much wider than it's gonna be, unless Brandi Carlile gets one of those TV moments, like Sugarland or Kellie Pickler. When all eyes are upon you and you deliver...
But most acts never get a chance, even though they're already good.
Now I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that this track was produced by Shooter Jennings and Dave Cobb, the Don Was of his generation, specializing in getting the essence of his acts on wax. Funny, we've become so inured to Svengali producers we've forgotten the greats don't leave their fingerprints but allow their charges to shine.
So "The Joke" starts quiet, with piano and strings, the antithesis of today's modern music, it's alive, it breathes, it stretches out.
And Brandi's not belting, she's not a TV contestant, she's servicing the song, not overpowering it.
And then there's that change, too much of today's music is repetitive beats. Brandi's alternately climbing the song mountain and taking a detour and then...
Comes the big anthemic chorus, with its unexpected triumphant ending.
And then the strings and everybody else in the kitchen sink chimes in and you're hooked.
And she starts singing again. With the drums starting to pound and you remember what music once was, this is like the seventies, someone taking the form but stretching it. This is not shoegazer music, one thing's for sure, Brandi can SING! And like a Lowell George production the track breathes, there's not too much on it.
"Let 'em laugh while they can
Let 'em spin, let 'em scatter in the wind
I have been to the movies, I've seen how it ends
And the joke's on them"
Remember when music was the other, the refuge for those who just didn't fit in, who couldn't march in the preordained steps, who had a different vision, before we all became automatons marching to the dollar beat?
That's what's going on here.
This is music to wake up your inner power. Not some Katy Perry ditty.
And when the strings come back in and the song ramps up you feel powerful, you're standing, conducting the band, a star in your mirror, feeling with this song in your ears you can conquer the world.
You might just.
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YouTube: http://bit.ly/2oym7A7
This rubbed me the wrong way the first time through.
The second I tolerated it.
The third I LOVED IT!
That's the power of radio, that's the power of repetition. But every time they play an oldie on the Spectrum I flip the switch, I know where to get that stuff, I'm hungry for the new, but too many of those on the Americana playlists on the streaming services are tune-outs, BUT NOT THIS!
And there's the conundrum. People are making new music but most of the potential audience is not hearing it. Hell, although Brandi Carlile's album just came out this month, this lead track, "The Joke," has been out since November, with YouTube views far under a million. HOW CAN THIS BE?
Brandi is someone whose name has been bandied about for years. But that's today's market, either you make an immediate splash or you get down into the weeds and do your work, make fans one by one, waiting for the big break that may not ever come, even though you're getting bigger. I mean are we ever going to hear "The Joke" on the Spotify Top 50, on Top Forty radio? Probably not. Top Forty is not what it once was, now it's all hip-hop/urban, there's very little pop. As for Spotify, that chart is what people are actually listening to, so it's hard to get started if you're not already famous or working in popular genres.
And the problem with Americana/AAA is the audience. Aged and insular. So proud of their acts that they don't want to share them, and they don't want to embrace new technologies. Believe me, the audience for "The Joke" is much wider than it's gonna be, unless Brandi Carlile gets one of those TV moments, like Sugarland or Kellie Pickler. When all eyes are upon you and you deliver...
But most acts never get a chance, even though they're already good.
Now I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that this track was produced by Shooter Jennings and Dave Cobb, the Don Was of his generation, specializing in getting the essence of his acts on wax. Funny, we've become so inured to Svengali producers we've forgotten the greats don't leave their fingerprints but allow their charges to shine.
So "The Joke" starts quiet, with piano and strings, the antithesis of today's modern music, it's alive, it breathes, it stretches out.
And Brandi's not belting, she's not a TV contestant, she's servicing the song, not overpowering it.
And then there's that change, too much of today's music is repetitive beats. Brandi's alternately climbing the song mountain and taking a detour and then...
Comes the big anthemic chorus, with its unexpected triumphant ending.
And then the strings and everybody else in the kitchen sink chimes in and you're hooked.
And she starts singing again. With the drums starting to pound and you remember what music once was, this is like the seventies, someone taking the form but stretching it. This is not shoegazer music, one thing's for sure, Brandi can SING! And like a Lowell George production the track breathes, there's not too much on it.
"Let 'em laugh while they can
Let 'em spin, let 'em scatter in the wind
I have been to the movies, I've seen how it ends
And the joke's on them"
Remember when music was the other, the refuge for those who just didn't fit in, who couldn't march in the preordained steps, who had a different vision, before we all became automatons marching to the dollar beat?
That's what's going on here.
This is music to wake up your inner power. Not some Katy Perry ditty.
And when the strings come back in and the song ramps up you feel powerful, you're standing, conducting the band, a star in your mirror, feeling with this song in your ears you can conquer the world.
You might just.
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ODESZA
http://spoti.fi/2wNpyYH
I heard them on the Sirius XM Spectrum. The vocalist was Leon Bridges. The song was entitled "Across The Room" and it was hooky and anthemic and I needed to hear it again. So I pulled it up on Spotify and did some research and learned that ODESZA had played Staples Center. HOW DID I NOT KNOW?
Last week I was talking to Chris Zarou, manager of Logic, he told me to promote the album they'd wrapped a bus in the album artwork and dropped in on fans across the country. I WAS UNAWARE! Even though I knew that George Thorogood criss-crossed the country to promote an album decades back.
Peter Paterno remarked that Metallica sold out stadiums across the world last summer and no one knew. Furthermore, their double album did good business. BUT NO ONE KNEW!
Welcome to the new world, where you're in your own vertical and you may never break out. And this is so confounding for those of us who were brought up in the old world, where you climbed the ladder to world domination. But now it's impossible to reach everybody, but you can do excellent business reaching just your core audience. After all, Logic is going on an arena tour. Then again, that's the power of the single, "1-800-273-8255" was everywhere, and Rick Mueller says a single is now enough to sell tickets, you can listen to his story on tomorrow's podcast.
But that Leon Bridges cut is from an ODESZA album, and stunningly, it's playable throughout, with peaks, it reminds me of the mood of Air's "Moon Safari" from twenty years back, an electronic-based LP that you can put on in the background and drift away, dobie gray.
"Across The Room" has got this languorous groove, with a simple melody, and then it explodes into "State Of Independence" majesty, whether it be the Donna Summer original or the Moodswings remake, I guess Quincy Jones was right about the influences, I only wish he'd refused to apologize, what kind of world do we live in where someone can't speak their truth with impunity.
Then I was intrigued and wanted to hear the Regina Spektor cut, a woman whose name was on everybody's lips a few years back and seems to have fallen off. But "Just A Memory" could bring her back.
But it was the cut after that which was my favorite, "Divide," featuring Kelsey Bulkin... WHO?
I fired up the Google Machine and it turned out I had not missed the memo, she was not already famous, she had a career, but was just stepping to the mic with ODESZA, to create this song that sounded like it was being pulled by a Zamboni that was alternately waxing and stuttering.
How is this happening? How is this palatable, exquisite music sitting right alongside the hip-hop nation and getting so little attention even though so many know about it, after all ODESZA is second to closing at this year's Coachella.
That's the world we now live in, one in which greatness can be hiding in plain sight.
Thank god Howard Stern was on vacation, thank god I stumbled upon this.
But even more it rekindled my belief in music. This was not retreads, this was something new, not something just made in the mold of the old, and it was GOOD!
You take the building blocks and you try to push the envelope. And today you can be college students in Washington with laptops and start a career and make it to the zenith without the usual suspects.
And it's not only rappers who are collaborating.
ODESZA will either float your boat or it won't. If you're a fan of Little Steven's Underground Garage you might pooh-pooh it, wonder where the guitars are.
If you're a fan of Lithium or Octane you'll wonder where the edge is.
Then again, if you're old enough you'll remember when we could love different kinds of music, when we could love AC/DC and Joni Mitchell.
But ODESZA is neither. It's certainly reminiscent of what came before, but it's definitely brand new.
After you get hooked, put "A Moment Apart" on when hosting a party, it won't be long before people ask WHAT'S THAT?
LIKE ME!
P.S. ODESZA's "Corners Of The Earth" was featured in NBC's promo for the Olympics: https://vimeo.com/250332775
P.P.S. ODESZA's "Sun Models" (feat. Madelyn Grant) has 99,666,143 streams on Spotify. The tracks from "A Moment Apart" are all in seven digits.
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I heard them on the Sirius XM Spectrum. The vocalist was Leon Bridges. The song was entitled "Across The Room" and it was hooky and anthemic and I needed to hear it again. So I pulled it up on Spotify and did some research and learned that ODESZA had played Staples Center. HOW DID I NOT KNOW?
Last week I was talking to Chris Zarou, manager of Logic, he told me to promote the album they'd wrapped a bus in the album artwork and dropped in on fans across the country. I WAS UNAWARE! Even though I knew that George Thorogood criss-crossed the country to promote an album decades back.
Peter Paterno remarked that Metallica sold out stadiums across the world last summer and no one knew. Furthermore, their double album did good business. BUT NO ONE KNEW!
Welcome to the new world, where you're in your own vertical and you may never break out. And this is so confounding for those of us who were brought up in the old world, where you climbed the ladder to world domination. But now it's impossible to reach everybody, but you can do excellent business reaching just your core audience. After all, Logic is going on an arena tour. Then again, that's the power of the single, "1-800-273-8255" was everywhere, and Rick Mueller says a single is now enough to sell tickets, you can listen to his story on tomorrow's podcast.
But that Leon Bridges cut is from an ODESZA album, and stunningly, it's playable throughout, with peaks, it reminds me of the mood of Air's "Moon Safari" from twenty years back, an electronic-based LP that you can put on in the background and drift away, dobie gray.
"Across The Room" has got this languorous groove, with a simple melody, and then it explodes into "State Of Independence" majesty, whether it be the Donna Summer original or the Moodswings remake, I guess Quincy Jones was right about the influences, I only wish he'd refused to apologize, what kind of world do we live in where someone can't speak their truth with impunity.
Then I was intrigued and wanted to hear the Regina Spektor cut, a woman whose name was on everybody's lips a few years back and seems to have fallen off. But "Just A Memory" could bring her back.
But it was the cut after that which was my favorite, "Divide," featuring Kelsey Bulkin... WHO?
I fired up the Google Machine and it turned out I had not missed the memo, she was not already famous, she had a career, but was just stepping to the mic with ODESZA, to create this song that sounded like it was being pulled by a Zamboni that was alternately waxing and stuttering.
How is this happening? How is this palatable, exquisite music sitting right alongside the hip-hop nation and getting so little attention even though so many know about it, after all ODESZA is second to closing at this year's Coachella.
That's the world we now live in, one in which greatness can be hiding in plain sight.
Thank god Howard Stern was on vacation, thank god I stumbled upon this.
But even more it rekindled my belief in music. This was not retreads, this was something new, not something just made in the mold of the old, and it was GOOD!
You take the building blocks and you try to push the envelope. And today you can be college students in Washington with laptops and start a career and make it to the zenith without the usual suspects.
And it's not only rappers who are collaborating.
ODESZA will either float your boat or it won't. If you're a fan of Little Steven's Underground Garage you might pooh-pooh it, wonder where the guitars are.
If you're a fan of Lithium or Octane you'll wonder where the edge is.
Then again, if you're old enough you'll remember when we could love different kinds of music, when we could love AC/DC and Joni Mitchell.
But ODESZA is neither. It's certainly reminiscent of what came before, but it's definitely brand new.
After you get hooked, put "A Moment Apart" on when hosting a party, it won't be long before people ask WHAT'S THAT?
LIKE ME!
P.S. ODESZA's "Corners Of The Earth" was featured in NBC's promo for the Olympics: https://vimeo.com/250332775
P.P.S. ODESZA's "Sun Models" (feat. Madelyn Grant) has 99,666,143 streams on Spotify. The tracks from "A Moment Apart" are all in seven digits.
--
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My Dad
Did I tell you about the time my father roller skated?
He was the least athletic man I knew. I threw better than he did at six years old. He came home with baseball gloves for him and me, kind of a toy one for my hand, but it wasn't long before we switched and I had the adult glove and I was pitching into one of these devices that had a net and a rubber band and shot the ball back at you. This was about the same time they had automatic putting machines. You putted into a device akin to a dustpan and then it pushed the golf ball back to you. That was the technological revolution of the sixties. We listened to our records on vinyl and the breakthrough was transistors and the thought that we could take all of our music with us...was not even on our minds.
And we never roller skated growing up. Maybe because it wasn't flat where we lived. Hilly compared to the traditional suburb, but not mountainous. And the roads were made from this newfangled concoction akin to the new math, something they used for about a decade and then abandoned, a combination of rocks, oil and sand that was mucky and sticky for days and then the top layer of rocks was pushed to the sides and the uneven surface was supposedly better for traction but it was hell for roller skates, never mind the skateboards that were fashionable for about a year around 1965.
And mostly we were ice skaters. Back when the lakes used to freeze over. Although I do remember going to a semi-outdoor rink, actually a rink with a roof, in Westport on the Post Road where they played records when you went in a circle, I distinctly remember hearing "96 Tears," but mostly we went on the lake and the pond and we listened to the news to see if the ice was safe and it was often questionable/borderline and on the lake it was bumpy and on the ponds you could see the cracks and we were always worried about falling through but we ice skated, we never roller skated.
But we had those adjustable skates in the house, you know, the ones with heels and toes that you put over your shoes. I never remember using them, but I remember playing with them inside, I was fascinated by their adjustability, and the key. And I hated that Melanie song when it finally hit but by that time I was in college and roller skating was the furthest thing from my mind.
But they had an annual roller skating party at the Jewish Community Center, aka the JCC. In 1962 they built a new one, and a couple of years back, they tore down that one and replaced it with an old folks home and live long enough you realize nothing is forever, especially you.
But in the old JCC...the one in downtown Bridgeport, the one where we went to play basketball on Saturday night, once a year there was a roller skating party. Some company brought in skates and I wouldn't participate, because my foot was small and I'd have to wear white skates. I know, I know, sounds ridiculous now, but when you're that little these things are important, you want to be seen as a MAN! I'd sit and sulk on the sidelines, although the last year I eventually donned the white skates halfway through and had a good time but I was so busy trying not to fall that I don't remember much else.
And then when the JCC moved uptown, into the new building, there were no more skating parties, we had to save the floor of the gym. Progress always comes with a cost, no one ever worried about the gym floor in the old building.
And by time the nineties rolled around I went to visit my younger sister in Minneapolis, the home of RollerBlades, and I tried them out. They were actually easier, with only one row of wheels, but in the seventies, there was a roller skating revival, it even made it into movies, and the epicenter was Venice Beach, but I never partook. I'd ride my bike down to the boardwalk and see the skaters in action, but it was not a casual endeavor but more of a cult, and I'm not a joiner by nature, I'm not beaming as a member of a group.
And like I told you, my dad was unathletic.
He told us he was on the high school tennis team, that he'd even won a letter, but when the tennis boom hit in the seventies and we got on the court and he was so terrible he finally admitted he was the manager, that's how he'd gotten his letter.
But he could ski, and loved to. He took one lesson and was on the slopes for years. He eventually took a couple of privates at Bromley, but ultimately he forced his way down the mountain, in a modified snowplow/parallel system he was very proud of. But there was that one time in Aspen...
In case you don't know, the most serious part is at the bottom of the hill, and my dad came over a ridge and lost control and wiped out an entire snow fence, put up for the annual race, and a course worker snidely yelled YOU JUST FINISHED THE ROCH CUP! My father thought this was hysterical and brought it up on a regular basis, he could laugh at himself. Funny, I just realized that. He took so much so seriously, but he had a wild sense of humor, he was constantly cracking jokes.
And then my older sister went to graduate school in Los Angeles and my family came out to visit and we went to the beach and they were renting skates.
Like I said, I always passed. Furthermore, I was now in my twenties without experience and I knew if you fell on skates, you got hurt, scraped by the concrete. But everybody else wanted to do it...
And at this point they had beige skates, unisex, they worked for everybody.
My father put down his credit card and we all started picking skates. But while I was trying to find the right size, when I'd finally found a pair and was lacing up, I looked up and my dad was skating in circles, he was doing tricks! Everything he'd told us about his youth had come true, he could really roller skate, like he'd been born on wheels, like it was the most natural thing ever. I'm worried I'm gonna fall on my ass and he's striding down the boardwalk like he's auditioning for a movie.
I can see my dad, with that shiteating grin on his face, oh, he always swore, the s-word was part of his everyday vocabulary, rolling down the boardwalk without a care in the world, believing the world was his oyster.
And at that moment...
It was.
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He was the least athletic man I knew. I threw better than he did at six years old. He came home with baseball gloves for him and me, kind of a toy one for my hand, but it wasn't long before we switched and I had the adult glove and I was pitching into one of these devices that had a net and a rubber band and shot the ball back at you. This was about the same time they had automatic putting machines. You putted into a device akin to a dustpan and then it pushed the golf ball back to you. That was the technological revolution of the sixties. We listened to our records on vinyl and the breakthrough was transistors and the thought that we could take all of our music with us...was not even on our minds.
And we never roller skated growing up. Maybe because it wasn't flat where we lived. Hilly compared to the traditional suburb, but not mountainous. And the roads were made from this newfangled concoction akin to the new math, something they used for about a decade and then abandoned, a combination of rocks, oil and sand that was mucky and sticky for days and then the top layer of rocks was pushed to the sides and the uneven surface was supposedly better for traction but it was hell for roller skates, never mind the skateboards that were fashionable for about a year around 1965.
And mostly we were ice skaters. Back when the lakes used to freeze over. Although I do remember going to a semi-outdoor rink, actually a rink with a roof, in Westport on the Post Road where they played records when you went in a circle, I distinctly remember hearing "96 Tears," but mostly we went on the lake and the pond and we listened to the news to see if the ice was safe and it was often questionable/borderline and on the lake it was bumpy and on the ponds you could see the cracks and we were always worried about falling through but we ice skated, we never roller skated.
But we had those adjustable skates in the house, you know, the ones with heels and toes that you put over your shoes. I never remember using them, but I remember playing with them inside, I was fascinated by their adjustability, and the key. And I hated that Melanie song when it finally hit but by that time I was in college and roller skating was the furthest thing from my mind.
But they had an annual roller skating party at the Jewish Community Center, aka the JCC. In 1962 they built a new one, and a couple of years back, they tore down that one and replaced it with an old folks home and live long enough you realize nothing is forever, especially you.
But in the old JCC...the one in downtown Bridgeport, the one where we went to play basketball on Saturday night, once a year there was a roller skating party. Some company brought in skates and I wouldn't participate, because my foot was small and I'd have to wear white skates. I know, I know, sounds ridiculous now, but when you're that little these things are important, you want to be seen as a MAN! I'd sit and sulk on the sidelines, although the last year I eventually donned the white skates halfway through and had a good time but I was so busy trying not to fall that I don't remember much else.
And then when the JCC moved uptown, into the new building, there were no more skating parties, we had to save the floor of the gym. Progress always comes with a cost, no one ever worried about the gym floor in the old building.
And by time the nineties rolled around I went to visit my younger sister in Minneapolis, the home of RollerBlades, and I tried them out. They were actually easier, with only one row of wheels, but in the seventies, there was a roller skating revival, it even made it into movies, and the epicenter was Venice Beach, but I never partook. I'd ride my bike down to the boardwalk and see the skaters in action, but it was not a casual endeavor but more of a cult, and I'm not a joiner by nature, I'm not beaming as a member of a group.
And like I told you, my dad was unathletic.
He told us he was on the high school tennis team, that he'd even won a letter, but when the tennis boom hit in the seventies and we got on the court and he was so terrible he finally admitted he was the manager, that's how he'd gotten his letter.
But he could ski, and loved to. He took one lesson and was on the slopes for years. He eventually took a couple of privates at Bromley, but ultimately he forced his way down the mountain, in a modified snowplow/parallel system he was very proud of. But there was that one time in Aspen...
In case you don't know, the most serious part is at the bottom of the hill, and my dad came over a ridge and lost control and wiped out an entire snow fence, put up for the annual race, and a course worker snidely yelled YOU JUST FINISHED THE ROCH CUP! My father thought this was hysterical and brought it up on a regular basis, he could laugh at himself. Funny, I just realized that. He took so much so seriously, but he had a wild sense of humor, he was constantly cracking jokes.
And then my older sister went to graduate school in Los Angeles and my family came out to visit and we went to the beach and they were renting skates.
Like I said, I always passed. Furthermore, I was now in my twenties without experience and I knew if you fell on skates, you got hurt, scraped by the concrete. But everybody else wanted to do it...
And at this point they had beige skates, unisex, they worked for everybody.
My father put down his credit card and we all started picking skates. But while I was trying to find the right size, when I'd finally found a pair and was lacing up, I looked up and my dad was skating in circles, he was doing tricks! Everything he'd told us about his youth had come true, he could really roller skate, like he'd been born on wheels, like it was the most natural thing ever. I'm worried I'm gonna fall on my ass and he's striding down the boardwalk like he's auditioning for a movie.
I can see my dad, with that shiteating grin on his face, oh, he always swore, the s-word was part of his everyday vocabulary, rolling down the boardwalk without a care in the world, believing the world was his oyster.
And at that moment...
It was.
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