https://spoti.fi/2zF5UyR
I've been listening to music and answering my e-mail.
I started off listening to the Spotify Top 50, and a few songs in I wondered who this music was made for. It's all surface with no soul, made to be played in the background. As for the vaunted Taylor Swift...this is what all the critics are raving about? It seemed like she was busy studying the business trying to figure out how to make a strategic strike. As for working with Jack Antonoff...he's not only a producer, he's a writer and Taylor's not the only one to use him, so uniqueness is difficult. As for these tracks, Taylor's voice is not in service to them, it'd be like having Judy Collins making a record with Max Martin. And so what you end up with is something catchy that does not penetrate, it's not made to do that, it's made to satiate the crowd, whereas Taylor triumphed originally by connecting one to one, opening her heart to the equally wounded, who adopted her first.
So I switched to Release Radar, and the first track was an amalgamation of artists as disparate as Andra Day, Gary Clark, Jr. and...CHUCK D? And Sheryl Crow. Sounds atrocious doesn't it? BUT IT'S NOT!
I've got a love/hate relationship with Sheryl Crow. I was not a fan of "Tuesday Night Music Club," but everyone said she couldn't do it all by her lonesome, but eventually she triumphed with "The Globe Sessions," where she was totally in charge and it was great, sales were boosted by highly produced videos, but the music was totally listenable.
And then "Soak Up The Sun" was just too obvious. And I guess I had a problem with the facelift. She was selling honesty, I figured it would be best to age naturally. But she did have a hit, and then the bottom fell out not only for Sheryl Crow but the sound she was selling, anybody who was not rapping, to the point where you can release a new album and we don't even know about it. Hell, Sheryl put out a live album last year and I just found out about it when I went to her page on Spotify, see what I mean?
Oh yeah, one more thing, "Safe and Sound," premiered in Jimmy Iovine's 9/11 concert, when we were all ensconced in our homes afraid to go anywhere. When you "get" a song the first time through you know it's something special, when you can sing it to yourself after hearing it only once, when you wait for it to come out on wax...actually I had to steal the file on Macster, that's how much I had to hear it.
But that was nearly two decades ago, before the streaming revolution, before it became all hip-hop all the time, before you could tour playing your old hits but the crowd went to the bathroom when you played something new.
Now there's been a ton of print hype on Sheryl's new record, about the collaborators, her saying it's her last...yeah, right, even Sinatra could not retire, players don't give up until they can't play anymore, it's in their blood.
But liking "Story of Everything," the track referenced above, I clicked over to the new album, "Threads," and the second song, entitled "Live Wire," with Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples had that roots rock, gut-punching honest sound Bonnie specializes in. It was good, even though it shouldn't be, haven't we heard enough of these collaboration albums before, didn't it become a cliche? But the game with "Threads" is almost all the songs are new! A twist on the formula.
"Tell Me When It's Over," featuring Chris Stapleton had the vibe, the feel of one of his tracks, you know, laid back, but penetrating, the kind that starts your head nodding and...
Joe Walsh wails on "Still The Good Old Days."
I can't say that Sheryl's vocal always fits the track, but I'm nearly stunned. What should be nostalgic crap is anything but. Sure, she's a brand name, but that's what gets you attention in today's world. If you're a dyed-in-the-wool rocker, ever liked Sheryl Crow, you should check "Threads" out. It suffers from digital reproduction, it'd be best on vinyl, but crank it up and feel it.
But back to the e-mail. I came across a missive from my number one country guru, the guy who got me into modern country, the subject line said: "New Track -Its gonna be big"
And it will be.
I pulled up Parker McCollum's "Pretty Heart," released only two days ago, and as soon as it hit the chorus, I got it, this was definitely gonna be a hit.
This is what too many musicians don't understand, they want acclaim, they want an audience, they believe the system is rigged against them, but the truth is they don't know how to write a hit.
What makes "Pretty Heart" a hit is the chorus. It gets into your system immediately. After that the groove resonates, as do the lyrics.
I tried to do research on Parker, but there was not much info. I couldn't figure him out. He'd put out indie albums previously and...
I went back to the e-mail, and it said:
"He will sell 3000 tickets tonight in Waco, TX
He has 128,000 followers on twitter
This was all built before the label got involved
This is 1st Universal Records Signing release"
Ah, I've got it now, it sounds like a major label record, it's not gonna change the world, but I had a yearning to find out what garnered Parker McCollum so much attention. I went to Spotify and played "Hell of a Year," with 8,362,572 streams, and it's the opposite of "Pretty Heart," it's much less produced, and totally genuine, you can resonate. And "Meet You In The Middle" was just as strong. So this guy is for real, he's writing his own songs, he decided to do it himself, and he built his own fan base, illustrating it doesn't only happen in hip-hop.
--
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--
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-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Saturday, 31 August 2019
Friday, 30 August 2019
Bryan Ferry At The Greek
It was incredible.
If live music were always this good, I'd go every night!
Now this was an older hipster crowd, who knew every lick from way back when and came to pay fealty to Bryan and hear the tunes once again. This was not the Stones crew, down and dirtier, this was people with some cash who listened to KROQ back when it was free-format, who are not casual music fans, but BELIEVERS!
They started with "India," from "Avalon." It was eerie, almost like they were tuning up, the stage was dark, and then from the side of the stage emerged the most debonair man in music, who spills it all out in his songs, but utters almost nothing on stage.
And then the music switches, they're playing THE MAIN THING! My favorite track from "Avalon," which I can listen to ad infinitum, it's the mood, the groove. You're cruising along the rails into the future, still aware of your past, you see people outside the window, but they don't matter, you've got a job to do, even if nobody notices the results, you've got to be the best you, you're inspired, you're nearly smiling, maybe you're having intercourse, maybe you're in the cocoon of your car, maybe you're sitting in front of the stereo speakers, but if you were alive back then, after Roxy Music reunited, you've got the music in you, the two of you are as one.
Now "Manifesto" had a hit, at least by FM standards, "Dance Away," but it was not as great as what had come before.
"Flesh and Blood" was better, there was no hit, but the album contained the exquisite "Oh Yeah," one of the most heart-touching tracks of all time, and "Over You," as well as some covers, like Ferry had done on his solo LPs.
Then came "Avalon." HUH? There was no hit, no track that obviously stood out, but if you were a fan of the band you played it and about the third or fourth time through it became your favorite album, you never burned out on it.
Now when you go to a live show today...it's usually a production, choreographed, not only dancing but lights, musical triggers. It may be seamless, but it's not quite real.
And then there are bands that specialize in rough, it's more about the energy, the attitude, getting it perfect is not the goal.
And then there's Bryan Ferry.
We never had acts like this in the U.S. That only came out at night, dressed to the nines, playing music best listened to after dark. To tell you the truth, if I tried to describe it, I couldn't, but last night they were playing it, like an orchestra, everybody knew their part and it all came together.
Let's see, Tom Vanstiphout picked out some incredible leads, he carried the band impeccably. But he was overshadowed by the man to his left, none other than CHRIS SPEDDING! He's now 75, he occasionally sits down, he can't fit in that leather suit he wore during the "In Your Mind" tour, but believe me, HE CAN STILL PICK!
The audience knew who he was, you've got to see the greats now, there is little time left. And Spedding is not flashy, he adds accents, but when it was his turn to wail, HE DID!
And Tawitha Agee was one of two backup singers, you should have heard her sing the ethereal wails at the end of "Avalon," it was just like the record, but it was better, because it was live...you were touched, brought back to '82, feeling fully alive, glad you lived through the era, not pissed at all you're getting long in the tooth, you just couldn't believe the sound!
And Tawitha had Fonzi Thornton next to her, doing an equally good job on the backup vocals.
Neil Jason held down the bass, as he did on the "Avalon" LP and "Boys and Girls."
Luke Bellen was Neil's counterpart in the rhythm section, he played drums.
And Richard Cardwell played the keyboards, but he stayed up on his riser all night, he was never the center of attention, like Jorja Chalmers and Marina Moore.
Moore is a violinist.
At this point we're used to women as singers, as bass players, watching Marina inspired, illustrated the opportunities for girls in the future.
But the star of the band, who also played keyboards, like Bryan himself, was saxophonist Jorja Chalmers.
I finally got it.
You see there are women who can only date musicians, because their music speaks through them, if you're not a player, you've got no chance.
But I'm a guy. I've never found someone to invest my hopes and dreams in that way. Sure, there are singers like Joni Mitchell, but that's different. Jorja doesn't sing, she's a player. Imagine Eddie Van Halen with a sax. Although Jorja moves around more.
Lithe in her jeans, Jorja pranced around the stage, traded licks with Spedding, she was nearly the star. You wondered, how did this woman have the music in her?
Now we get to the material.
Sure, Bryan played his showstopper, "In Every Dream Home A Heartache," which starts slow and quiet and then erupts.
And "Slave To Love" also slays.
And we all sang along to "Love Is The Drug"...remember hearing that on the radio, with that door slam? Or maybe you listened in your dorm room, but you, like the Greek Theatre audience, know it by heart, you too would stand and shimmy and sing along like the assembled multitude.
But the first surprise was "Can't Let Go," with its L.A.-centric lyrics.
"It's a winding road from Cuesta Way
Down Sunset to the beach
Though Canoga Park is a straight safe drive
It's too far out of reach"
I remember listening to "The Bride Stripped Bare," in law school, wishing I was anywhere but there, maybe cruising in a car with Bryan Ferry.
But the shocker was "If There Is Something."
Bryan said he was gonna play something from the first album, and this was in the latter part of the show, I figured this was the time for "Virginia Plain," which was not on the original English album, but was added to the U.S. LP.
"If There Is Something" was the track that got me into Roxy Music, made me buy their first album. I was standing in a record shop in London during the summer of '72, and it was dark and thrilling because there is no shrinkwrap and you can check out the entire LP.
And "If There Is Something" makes a great big switch, from jaunty to meaningful, it changes groove, there's a predominant violin.
And "If There Is Something" is a long song, over six minutes, I figured there was no way they were going to play all of the long outro.
But just when it looked like they had finished, Jorja strode to the front of the stage and played the melody on her sax. It was over the top, a band firing on all cylinders. Yes, remember when there were bands on stage? Who had to rehearse to get it right? Obviously Bryan had schooled these players, maybe they pushed it up a notch because they were in L.A.
But this was more of an ensemble than a band. Playing cohesively. Sure, players got to show their chops, but the cumulative effect was overpowering and overwhelming.
And there was a smattering of twenty and thirtysomethings. Bryan Ferry is not the kind of act experiencing a renaissance, starting over with the younger generation, he's more for thinking people, who have a few miles on their souls. But I swear, anybody of any age, even if they'd never heard this music before, would be entranced by the sound, by the magic. It was all about the music, which locked on to you immediately, grabbed hold of you to the point where you didn't want to check your phone, you didn't want to break the mood. The audience was hypnotized, everybody in their own mind, paired with the music, there was no way you could let go.
And the show stopped with "Let's Stick Together," the Wilbert Harrison number Ferry covered on one of his solo albums. And it's funny to hear Bryan, with his unique, high voice, sing R&B, but that's why it's so endearing.
So, the mood has been broken, they're rocking out, we're all dancing.
And then Bryan blows some kisses and...THAT'S IT!
No encore!
I haven't seen that in eons. It's usually a choreographed part of the show, the act comes back, even if there's almost no applause, and plays their hit or a cover, riding the energy.
But Bryan was truly gone.
Now "To Turn You On" was the first song to reveal itself to me on "Avalon."
"I could show you in a word
If I wanted to"
Feeling your power, knowing that your charm cannot be resisted.
"A window on a world
With a lovely view"
Of Central Park. On a dark day, when you're warm inside, but you can see the city moving on this miserable day.
"Is it raining in New York
On Fifth Avenue
And off Broadway after dark
Love the lights don't you
I could walk you through the park
If you're feeling blue
Or whatever
Spring summer whenever
Winter through fall
I'd do anything to turn you on
Anything to turn you on"
And if you're not turned on listening to the tune, you're thinking of being. This is not juvenile, but positively adult. This is the life you want to lead.
And "To Turn You On" was in the middle of the second side. I lifted the needle to play it again and again, but eventually I let it slip and got into "True To Life," jauntier than what came before, and then the spacy coda entitled "Tara," as if you're in the Middle Ages, pondering the distance.
And when you flipped the record over, you were powerless, you had to let the music continue, what you heard was the instantly inviting "More Than This."
"It was fun for a while
There was no way of knowing
Like a dream in the night
Who can say where we're going"
That sums it up. We went expecting a few hit tunes, nostalgia, but even though the songs were old the music was newer than a track dropped on Friday. It was like classical repertoire, the song is just a start, it's about the performance thereof. Bryan and his band did not always hew exactly to the record, they occasionally changed the rhythm, they were not going through the motions, this music could not have been more alive.
And that's why I mentioned all the band members, because they contributed nearly as much as Bryan Ferry himself.
I can't expect hearing more than this.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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If live music were always this good, I'd go every night!
Now this was an older hipster crowd, who knew every lick from way back when and came to pay fealty to Bryan and hear the tunes once again. This was not the Stones crew, down and dirtier, this was people with some cash who listened to KROQ back when it was free-format, who are not casual music fans, but BELIEVERS!
They started with "India," from "Avalon." It was eerie, almost like they were tuning up, the stage was dark, and then from the side of the stage emerged the most debonair man in music, who spills it all out in his songs, but utters almost nothing on stage.
And then the music switches, they're playing THE MAIN THING! My favorite track from "Avalon," which I can listen to ad infinitum, it's the mood, the groove. You're cruising along the rails into the future, still aware of your past, you see people outside the window, but they don't matter, you've got a job to do, even if nobody notices the results, you've got to be the best you, you're inspired, you're nearly smiling, maybe you're having intercourse, maybe you're in the cocoon of your car, maybe you're sitting in front of the stereo speakers, but if you were alive back then, after Roxy Music reunited, you've got the music in you, the two of you are as one.
Now "Manifesto" had a hit, at least by FM standards, "Dance Away," but it was not as great as what had come before.
"Flesh and Blood" was better, there was no hit, but the album contained the exquisite "Oh Yeah," one of the most heart-touching tracks of all time, and "Over You," as well as some covers, like Ferry had done on his solo LPs.
Then came "Avalon." HUH? There was no hit, no track that obviously stood out, but if you were a fan of the band you played it and about the third or fourth time through it became your favorite album, you never burned out on it.
Now when you go to a live show today...it's usually a production, choreographed, not only dancing but lights, musical triggers. It may be seamless, but it's not quite real.
And then there are bands that specialize in rough, it's more about the energy, the attitude, getting it perfect is not the goal.
And then there's Bryan Ferry.
We never had acts like this in the U.S. That only came out at night, dressed to the nines, playing music best listened to after dark. To tell you the truth, if I tried to describe it, I couldn't, but last night they were playing it, like an orchestra, everybody knew their part and it all came together.
Let's see, Tom Vanstiphout picked out some incredible leads, he carried the band impeccably. But he was overshadowed by the man to his left, none other than CHRIS SPEDDING! He's now 75, he occasionally sits down, he can't fit in that leather suit he wore during the "In Your Mind" tour, but believe me, HE CAN STILL PICK!
The audience knew who he was, you've got to see the greats now, there is little time left. And Spedding is not flashy, he adds accents, but when it was his turn to wail, HE DID!
And Tawitha Agee was one of two backup singers, you should have heard her sing the ethereal wails at the end of "Avalon," it was just like the record, but it was better, because it was live...you were touched, brought back to '82, feeling fully alive, glad you lived through the era, not pissed at all you're getting long in the tooth, you just couldn't believe the sound!
And Tawitha had Fonzi Thornton next to her, doing an equally good job on the backup vocals.
Neil Jason held down the bass, as he did on the "Avalon" LP and "Boys and Girls."
Luke Bellen was Neil's counterpart in the rhythm section, he played drums.
And Richard Cardwell played the keyboards, but he stayed up on his riser all night, he was never the center of attention, like Jorja Chalmers and Marina Moore.
Moore is a violinist.
At this point we're used to women as singers, as bass players, watching Marina inspired, illustrated the opportunities for girls in the future.
But the star of the band, who also played keyboards, like Bryan himself, was saxophonist Jorja Chalmers.
I finally got it.
You see there are women who can only date musicians, because their music speaks through them, if you're not a player, you've got no chance.
But I'm a guy. I've never found someone to invest my hopes and dreams in that way. Sure, there are singers like Joni Mitchell, but that's different. Jorja doesn't sing, she's a player. Imagine Eddie Van Halen with a sax. Although Jorja moves around more.
Lithe in her jeans, Jorja pranced around the stage, traded licks with Spedding, she was nearly the star. You wondered, how did this woman have the music in her?
Now we get to the material.
Sure, Bryan played his showstopper, "In Every Dream Home A Heartache," which starts slow and quiet and then erupts.
And "Slave To Love" also slays.
And we all sang along to "Love Is The Drug"...remember hearing that on the radio, with that door slam? Or maybe you listened in your dorm room, but you, like the Greek Theatre audience, know it by heart, you too would stand and shimmy and sing along like the assembled multitude.
But the first surprise was "Can't Let Go," with its L.A.-centric lyrics.
"It's a winding road from Cuesta Way
Down Sunset to the beach
Though Canoga Park is a straight safe drive
It's too far out of reach"
I remember listening to "The Bride Stripped Bare," in law school, wishing I was anywhere but there, maybe cruising in a car with Bryan Ferry.
But the shocker was "If There Is Something."
Bryan said he was gonna play something from the first album, and this was in the latter part of the show, I figured this was the time for "Virginia Plain," which was not on the original English album, but was added to the U.S. LP.
"If There Is Something" was the track that got me into Roxy Music, made me buy their first album. I was standing in a record shop in London during the summer of '72, and it was dark and thrilling because there is no shrinkwrap and you can check out the entire LP.
And "If There Is Something" makes a great big switch, from jaunty to meaningful, it changes groove, there's a predominant violin.
And "If There Is Something" is a long song, over six minutes, I figured there was no way they were going to play all of the long outro.
But just when it looked like they had finished, Jorja strode to the front of the stage and played the melody on her sax. It was over the top, a band firing on all cylinders. Yes, remember when there were bands on stage? Who had to rehearse to get it right? Obviously Bryan had schooled these players, maybe they pushed it up a notch because they were in L.A.
But this was more of an ensemble than a band. Playing cohesively. Sure, players got to show their chops, but the cumulative effect was overpowering and overwhelming.
And there was a smattering of twenty and thirtysomethings. Bryan Ferry is not the kind of act experiencing a renaissance, starting over with the younger generation, he's more for thinking people, who have a few miles on their souls. But I swear, anybody of any age, even if they'd never heard this music before, would be entranced by the sound, by the magic. It was all about the music, which locked on to you immediately, grabbed hold of you to the point where you didn't want to check your phone, you didn't want to break the mood. The audience was hypnotized, everybody in their own mind, paired with the music, there was no way you could let go.
And the show stopped with "Let's Stick Together," the Wilbert Harrison number Ferry covered on one of his solo albums. And it's funny to hear Bryan, with his unique, high voice, sing R&B, but that's why it's so endearing.
So, the mood has been broken, they're rocking out, we're all dancing.
And then Bryan blows some kisses and...THAT'S IT!
No encore!
I haven't seen that in eons. It's usually a choreographed part of the show, the act comes back, even if there's almost no applause, and plays their hit or a cover, riding the energy.
But Bryan was truly gone.
Now "To Turn You On" was the first song to reveal itself to me on "Avalon."
"I could show you in a word
If I wanted to"
Feeling your power, knowing that your charm cannot be resisted.
"A window on a world
With a lovely view"
Of Central Park. On a dark day, when you're warm inside, but you can see the city moving on this miserable day.
"Is it raining in New York
On Fifth Avenue
And off Broadway after dark
Love the lights don't you
I could walk you through the park
If you're feeling blue
Or whatever
Spring summer whenever
Winter through fall
I'd do anything to turn you on
Anything to turn you on"
And if you're not turned on listening to the tune, you're thinking of being. This is not juvenile, but positively adult. This is the life you want to lead.
And "To Turn You On" was in the middle of the second side. I lifted the needle to play it again and again, but eventually I let it slip and got into "True To Life," jauntier than what came before, and then the spacy coda entitled "Tara," as if you're in the Middle Ages, pondering the distance.
And when you flipped the record over, you were powerless, you had to let the music continue, what you heard was the instantly inviting "More Than This."
"It was fun for a while
There was no way of knowing
Like a dream in the night
Who can say where we're going"
That sums it up. We went expecting a few hit tunes, nostalgia, but even though the songs were old the music was newer than a track dropped on Friday. It was like classical repertoire, the song is just a start, it's about the performance thereof. Bryan and his band did not always hew exactly to the record, they occasionally changed the rhythm, they were not going through the motions, this music could not have been more alive.
And that's why I mentioned all the band members, because they contributed nearly as much as Bryan Ferry himself.
I can't expect hearing more than this.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
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Thursday, 29 August 2019
Any Major Dude Will Tell You
https://spoti.fi/2ZnQGh6
This must be just like living in paradise.
And I don't want to go home.
Yesterday all my numbers were in the zone, other than glucose, but I hadn't been fasting, and this is the first time since I was diagnosed with CML Leukemia back in 2009, but to tell you the truth for the last year I haven't been taking the Gleevec, that's a new policy, you can go off until the leukemia comes back, which could be up to two years, but as short as...tomorrow.
And this has been a great boon. Primarily because my hemoglobin is in the normal range, and it hasn't been in a decade, and for a while there it went so low I thought twice about climbing stairs.
And when I was done, I checked in with the map programs, and they all agreed to go up Roscomare instead of taking the 405 from the hospital, so I did.
Now cell service is notoriously spotty up there, so I switched to my music library, because I wanted to hear my WAZE prompts via my new head unit, and while I was cruising up the hill, I heard this David Lee Roth song, my favorite from his solo career, you remember the rock climbing video, or maybe you don't, but during that era Steve Vai replaced Eddie Van Halen and his guitar screamed, but it...still wasn't Eddie.
But David Lee Roth is one of the great frontmen of all time, and he'll tell you so, and he carries this track. And "Just Like Paradise" is rock par excellence, you know, you crank it up and it squeezes out the rest of the world and makes you feel good.
And I was feeling good. It was not only the numbers, it was the weather.
Now fall in L.A. is not like fall on the east coast, the light changes, it gets a bit colder, and that's it! Those November days, those rainy days, they don't exist! Forget summer, if you really want to get the L.A. bug come in the fall. And cruise up and down the canyons. You'll be closed.
And yesterday driving through the twists and turns I was feeling like nothing could mess with me, I was only a speck in the world but inside my automobile everything was groovy.
Now I've been listening to Yacht Rock on SiriusXM, Richie Beilenson, the man with the hookup, told me to check out the stations in the 300s, which I could now receive.
There's a cool cover channel. Another one featuring the music of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but the station I've been listening to the most is...
Yacht Rock!
You know, that music which has been denigrated, made for wimps, unlistenable to hipsters.
But this is not the way it used to be, once upon a time most of these acts were revered with hits. Then again, not Starbuck and Rupert Holmes, but the Doobies...
And Steely Dan.
I was driving down the 405 on my way to UCLA and I heard "Any Major Dude Will Tell You." And suddenly the words were clear, even if they weren't fully comprehensible, but I loved when Fagen sang them. This is the antithesis of the pejorative. If Steely Dan is yacht rock, sign me up for a cruise.
Actually, today, on the Yacht Rock channel, I finally got Pablo Cruise's "Love Will Find A Way."
Now dedicated readers will know I love "Watcha Gonna Do" and "A Place In The Sun." Actually, I had to buy their third album, also entitled "A Place In The Sun," just to hear those two numbers.
I can wax rhapsodic about "A Place In The Sun," but I already have. There's the flourish in the opening, like the gates are being opened for the queen. And then that guitar picking, all this is in the intro, the vocal doesn't even begin until a minute in, and then Bud Cockrell sings with exuberance! Actually, the number appears in "An Unmarried Woman," the Mazursky movie starring Jill Clayburgh, she's now alone but her mood is turning, she's dancing around the kitchen with her daughter, to "A Place In The Sun."
And "Watcha Gonna Do?" follows "A Place In The Sun" on the LP, a one-two punch I never got much beyond, yup, I loved those Pablo Cruise cuts, but nothing more, I found "Love Will Find A Way," too sappy, an effort in search of a hit, but today...that guitar got to me, just like in "Pretzel Logic."
Yup, when I got home I put that album on.
I didn't buy "Can't Buy A Thrill." Nick had it, I'd play it every time I went to his dorm room, I could not hear "Do It Again" enough. But the LP was on ABC and I only had so much money and...
The second album has only been considered a classic in hindsight, it didn't have a big radio song and it looked like the act was over.
And then came "Rikki Don't Lose That Number."
It's that intro, after the spacy bass. We're instantly in the groove, and Fagen starts to testify. As if he was in your dorm room after midnight telling the story, and you were privileged to hear it, since he was so much cooler than you.
And stunningly, "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" became a hit!
Yup, that was the criterion back then, placement on the AM. Not everybody had an FM tuner in their car, crossing over made you gigantic, before AM cratered and MTV saved the music business.
So I bought "Pretzel Logic." Because it was one of my bonus records from the Record Club of America, which made no sense to the point it went out of business shortly thereafter.
But the LP had so much surface noise. Now the Record Club of America had the right to press its own discs, so was that the problem? Then again, ABC records always sounded trashy too.
And "Rikki" was the only hit from "Pretzel Logic. And the rest of the numbers didn't sound like anything else, literally. And the album was so short, 34 minutes when everybody was going longer, and I can't say I loved "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo," it was just too jazzy for me, but the rest of the numbers had a place in my brain.
Got to tell you, the first track that resonated, other than "Rikki," was "Barrytown," which I've never ever heard anybody talk about.
And then "With A Gun." and "Night By Night." Remember when that happened? You liked a song on a side and you let the album play through to the point another track ultimately revealed itself to you.
And "Any Major Dude Will Tell You" was smooth and in the pocket and could be played on the radio, but I never heard it, even though it was the b-side of "Rikki."
But what gripped me listening to "Pretzel Logic" was the title tune. Oh, I always liked it, it's the groove, which has your body moving immediately. But listening on Deezer Elite through my Genelecs all these years later, what gripped me and tossed me over the top, was the guitar playing. I figured it was Larry Carlton, he plays in this style, every note articulated and clear and then running together, but with soul.
My whole body was moving, it's moving now, remembering that era when you played an electric guitar as opposed to working the turntables, and we knew the players and they were exalted.
It turned out to be Skunk Baxter!
I really had no idea he was this good. I mean I knew he was good, but he's so right, so perfect, you've got to put him in the top tier! And then he switched to the Doobies and ultimately took a complete left turn into defense consulting. I've got to give Skunk credit, he was self-taught in this area, and to be accepted at the elite level, that's quite an achievement, but we've lost an axeman of the highest rank, then again, there's no place for these gunslingers anymore.
Except on Yacht Rock.
--
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--
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-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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This must be just like living in paradise.
And I don't want to go home.
Yesterday all my numbers were in the zone, other than glucose, but I hadn't been fasting, and this is the first time since I was diagnosed with CML Leukemia back in 2009, but to tell you the truth for the last year I haven't been taking the Gleevec, that's a new policy, you can go off until the leukemia comes back, which could be up to two years, but as short as...tomorrow.
And this has been a great boon. Primarily because my hemoglobin is in the normal range, and it hasn't been in a decade, and for a while there it went so low I thought twice about climbing stairs.
And when I was done, I checked in with the map programs, and they all agreed to go up Roscomare instead of taking the 405 from the hospital, so I did.
Now cell service is notoriously spotty up there, so I switched to my music library, because I wanted to hear my WAZE prompts via my new head unit, and while I was cruising up the hill, I heard this David Lee Roth song, my favorite from his solo career, you remember the rock climbing video, or maybe you don't, but during that era Steve Vai replaced Eddie Van Halen and his guitar screamed, but it...still wasn't Eddie.
But David Lee Roth is one of the great frontmen of all time, and he'll tell you so, and he carries this track. And "Just Like Paradise" is rock par excellence, you know, you crank it up and it squeezes out the rest of the world and makes you feel good.
And I was feeling good. It was not only the numbers, it was the weather.
Now fall in L.A. is not like fall on the east coast, the light changes, it gets a bit colder, and that's it! Those November days, those rainy days, they don't exist! Forget summer, if you really want to get the L.A. bug come in the fall. And cruise up and down the canyons. You'll be closed.
And yesterday driving through the twists and turns I was feeling like nothing could mess with me, I was only a speck in the world but inside my automobile everything was groovy.
Now I've been listening to Yacht Rock on SiriusXM, Richie Beilenson, the man with the hookup, told me to check out the stations in the 300s, which I could now receive.
There's a cool cover channel. Another one featuring the music of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but the station I've been listening to the most is...
Yacht Rock!
You know, that music which has been denigrated, made for wimps, unlistenable to hipsters.
But this is not the way it used to be, once upon a time most of these acts were revered with hits. Then again, not Starbuck and Rupert Holmes, but the Doobies...
And Steely Dan.
I was driving down the 405 on my way to UCLA and I heard "Any Major Dude Will Tell You." And suddenly the words were clear, even if they weren't fully comprehensible, but I loved when Fagen sang them. This is the antithesis of the pejorative. If Steely Dan is yacht rock, sign me up for a cruise.
Actually, today, on the Yacht Rock channel, I finally got Pablo Cruise's "Love Will Find A Way."
Now dedicated readers will know I love "Watcha Gonna Do" and "A Place In The Sun." Actually, I had to buy their third album, also entitled "A Place In The Sun," just to hear those two numbers.
I can wax rhapsodic about "A Place In The Sun," but I already have. There's the flourish in the opening, like the gates are being opened for the queen. And then that guitar picking, all this is in the intro, the vocal doesn't even begin until a minute in, and then Bud Cockrell sings with exuberance! Actually, the number appears in "An Unmarried Woman," the Mazursky movie starring Jill Clayburgh, she's now alone but her mood is turning, she's dancing around the kitchen with her daughter, to "A Place In The Sun."
And "Watcha Gonna Do?" follows "A Place In The Sun" on the LP, a one-two punch I never got much beyond, yup, I loved those Pablo Cruise cuts, but nothing more, I found "Love Will Find A Way," too sappy, an effort in search of a hit, but today...that guitar got to me, just like in "Pretzel Logic."
Yup, when I got home I put that album on.
I didn't buy "Can't Buy A Thrill." Nick had it, I'd play it every time I went to his dorm room, I could not hear "Do It Again" enough. But the LP was on ABC and I only had so much money and...
The second album has only been considered a classic in hindsight, it didn't have a big radio song and it looked like the act was over.
And then came "Rikki Don't Lose That Number."
It's that intro, after the spacy bass. We're instantly in the groove, and Fagen starts to testify. As if he was in your dorm room after midnight telling the story, and you were privileged to hear it, since he was so much cooler than you.
And stunningly, "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" became a hit!
Yup, that was the criterion back then, placement on the AM. Not everybody had an FM tuner in their car, crossing over made you gigantic, before AM cratered and MTV saved the music business.
So I bought "Pretzel Logic." Because it was one of my bonus records from the Record Club of America, which made no sense to the point it went out of business shortly thereafter.
But the LP had so much surface noise. Now the Record Club of America had the right to press its own discs, so was that the problem? Then again, ABC records always sounded trashy too.
And "Rikki" was the only hit from "Pretzel Logic. And the rest of the numbers didn't sound like anything else, literally. And the album was so short, 34 minutes when everybody was going longer, and I can't say I loved "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo," it was just too jazzy for me, but the rest of the numbers had a place in my brain.
Got to tell you, the first track that resonated, other than "Rikki," was "Barrytown," which I've never ever heard anybody talk about.
And then "With A Gun." and "Night By Night." Remember when that happened? You liked a song on a side and you let the album play through to the point another track ultimately revealed itself to you.
And "Any Major Dude Will Tell You" was smooth and in the pocket and could be played on the radio, but I never heard it, even though it was the b-side of "Rikki."
But what gripped me listening to "Pretzel Logic" was the title tune. Oh, I always liked it, it's the groove, which has your body moving immediately. But listening on Deezer Elite through my Genelecs all these years later, what gripped me and tossed me over the top, was the guitar playing. I figured it was Larry Carlton, he plays in this style, every note articulated and clear and then running together, but with soul.
My whole body was moving, it's moving now, remembering that era when you played an electric guitar as opposed to working the turntables, and we knew the players and they were exalted.
It turned out to be Skunk Baxter!
I really had no idea he was this good. I mean I knew he was good, but he's so right, so perfect, you've got to put him in the top tier! And then he switched to the Doobies and ultimately took a complete left turn into defense consulting. I've got to give Skunk credit, he was self-taught in this area, and to be accepted at the elite level, that's quite an achievement, but we've lost an axeman of the highest rank, then again, there's no place for these gunslingers anymore.
Except on Yacht Rock.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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--
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Joel Selvin-This Week's Podcast
Long time music critic for the "San Francisco Chronicle," Sammy Hagar once gave Joel's phone number out at a show, and then Selvin co-wrote the Red Rocker's #1 best-selling book, "Red: My Uncensored Live In Rock." An expert in the San Francisco scene, Selvin authored a book about Altamont, as well as writing books about Bert Berns and the latter day Dead. Tune in to hear this raconteur's stories.
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1eYFaBMKfzlEY8SDl7qDhn
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/joel-selvin/id1316200737?i=1000448081326
https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=63547737
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Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1eYFaBMKfzlEY8SDl7qDhn
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/joel-selvin/id1316200737?i=1000448081326
https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=63547737
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Wednesday, 28 August 2019
VMA Ratings Hit An All Time Low
https://bit.ly/2NBe5EA
The biggest winner Monday night? SEBASTIAN MANISCALCO! No one saw his tone-deaf monologue panned in every publication known to man. And the truth is, his audience agrees with him, millennials/Gen-Z are wankers.
But the millennials/Gen-Z don't care.
Welcome to 2019, where there is no mass audience, no consensus on what's cool, hip or great, where we're all deep in our own silos and the only people who don't get it are the media and the purveyors.
That's right. If hip-hop were as big as the media says it is, it would dominate the Pollstar chart. But the truth is that's ruled by old rockers, not even pop acts. There has never been such a disconnect between what is selling tickets and what dominates radio and recordings.
Yup, a teen might stream a track ad infinitum on Spotify, but his or her parents, his or her older siblings, his or her himself, are going to see the legends before they croak, paying high prices and purchasing merch.
And there are developing acts on the Pollstar chart too. And festivals like LOCKN' where Trey plays with Derek, wailing on "Little Wing," and the attendees are satiated and couldn't care less what's #1, even if they know what it is. (https://bit.ly/2zoC9SS)
So they give a party featuring the latest and greatest Spotify wonders, mixing in some ancient hip-hop to boot, and it turns out no one cares, at least not in numbers. Oh, MTV is touting great social numbers, but they are not revealing them, which means they can't be THAT good.
Don't the kids want to see Taylor Swift?
NO! Her FANS want to see Taylor Swift! So far, no track off of "Lover" has been a hit, and despite reviewers lining up to praise the album, most people just don't care. Taylor came up in a different era, when singular dominance was possible, but now it is not.
And we live in a participatory culture. People want to make videos to Lil Nas X's music, but they've got no desire to see him live. And Shawn Mendes is not the star he's made out to be, ditto Lizzo. Oh, they're successful, but they're just niche!
Yes, we can blame MTV for steering away from music.
Yes, we can say that millennials are on demand viewers, and appointment TV is anathema.
Yes, we can say there is awards show fatigue.
The truth is everything we based our industry on has faded away, so the old purveyors are doubling-down, trying to save themselves, when the truth is they're just headed for the dumper.
Like theatre owners. Netflix is eating their lunch. The owners refuse to show Scorsese's "The Irishman" because the streaming giant won't give them a three month window.
But Netflix not only has "The Irishman," but the new Soderbergh and Baumbach movies. In other words, Netflix has the adults of cinema, the creators and the viewers, leaving the theatre owners with superheroes and the very occasional comedy. Yup, that's all that sells. Hell, adult/indie/foreign box office was abysmal over the summer. So the real auteurs have moved on to television, where the audience is. Meanwhile, theatre owners are like the labels during the Napster era. What is end game? You've got to focus on end game.
The music business has flipped. The real stars, the career artists, are made on the road. The major labels are just interested in the evanescent, overpaying for a hit du jour with traction online. Hell, they don't even know how to develop a non-rock artist.
As for Interscope and Billie Eilish...kudos, there are always exceptions, but the truth is she's a youth phenomenon, hell, at least even Alanis Morissette was 21 and wrote her own material with "Jagged Little Pill."
And some of the road acts don't even put out albums, or do so occasionally. They realize their bond is with their audience, not the middlemen, i.e. radio and streaming services.
But anybody with a gig, anybody with money, is afraid of the future, they don't want to see their world decline. Therefore, they say Elizabeth Warren is unelectable. WHY? Because they don't want to lose something!
And Shari Redstone reunites CBS and Viacom and Wall Street swoons! But CBS cannot succeed as a standalone streamer and Viacom is a collection of junk.
But this is the same Street that's anti-Tesla not realizing that they're betting against the future, that the world has already decided to go electric, and it was Musk that was pushing the envelope, and it is Tesla that has the supercharging stations and better battery technology. Hell, if they sell it/merge, there's a pretty penny involved, but no, the Street is too focused on today's numbers, short-termism, and the media trumpets its viewpoint.
Awards shows are dead. There are just too many and the awards are meaningless. As for tuning in to tweet...that's passe.
We've learned that nothing is dominant these days, that it's nearly impossible to get any story out, that the only people paying attention are those who were already paying attention.
Furthermore, if you grow, it will start online, not on TV or in mainstream media.
This leaves tons of questions.
Old people don't like questions.
But the future is dark and murky, but it does come, and the spoils go to those who figure it out.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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--
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The biggest winner Monday night? SEBASTIAN MANISCALCO! No one saw his tone-deaf monologue panned in every publication known to man. And the truth is, his audience agrees with him, millennials/Gen-Z are wankers.
But the millennials/Gen-Z don't care.
Welcome to 2019, where there is no mass audience, no consensus on what's cool, hip or great, where we're all deep in our own silos and the only people who don't get it are the media and the purveyors.
That's right. If hip-hop were as big as the media says it is, it would dominate the Pollstar chart. But the truth is that's ruled by old rockers, not even pop acts. There has never been such a disconnect between what is selling tickets and what dominates radio and recordings.
Yup, a teen might stream a track ad infinitum on Spotify, but his or her parents, his or her older siblings, his or her himself, are going to see the legends before they croak, paying high prices and purchasing merch.
And there are developing acts on the Pollstar chart too. And festivals like LOCKN' where Trey plays with Derek, wailing on "Little Wing," and the attendees are satiated and couldn't care less what's #1, even if they know what it is. (https://bit.ly/2zoC9SS)
So they give a party featuring the latest and greatest Spotify wonders, mixing in some ancient hip-hop to boot, and it turns out no one cares, at least not in numbers. Oh, MTV is touting great social numbers, but they are not revealing them, which means they can't be THAT good.
Don't the kids want to see Taylor Swift?
NO! Her FANS want to see Taylor Swift! So far, no track off of "Lover" has been a hit, and despite reviewers lining up to praise the album, most people just don't care. Taylor came up in a different era, when singular dominance was possible, but now it is not.
And we live in a participatory culture. People want to make videos to Lil Nas X's music, but they've got no desire to see him live. And Shawn Mendes is not the star he's made out to be, ditto Lizzo. Oh, they're successful, but they're just niche!
Yes, we can blame MTV for steering away from music.
Yes, we can say that millennials are on demand viewers, and appointment TV is anathema.
Yes, we can say there is awards show fatigue.
The truth is everything we based our industry on has faded away, so the old purveyors are doubling-down, trying to save themselves, when the truth is they're just headed for the dumper.
Like theatre owners. Netflix is eating their lunch. The owners refuse to show Scorsese's "The Irishman" because the streaming giant won't give them a three month window.
But Netflix not only has "The Irishman," but the new Soderbergh and Baumbach movies. In other words, Netflix has the adults of cinema, the creators and the viewers, leaving the theatre owners with superheroes and the very occasional comedy. Yup, that's all that sells. Hell, adult/indie/foreign box office was abysmal over the summer. So the real auteurs have moved on to television, where the audience is. Meanwhile, theatre owners are like the labels during the Napster era. What is end game? You've got to focus on end game.
The music business has flipped. The real stars, the career artists, are made on the road. The major labels are just interested in the evanescent, overpaying for a hit du jour with traction online. Hell, they don't even know how to develop a non-rock artist.
As for Interscope and Billie Eilish...kudos, there are always exceptions, but the truth is she's a youth phenomenon, hell, at least even Alanis Morissette was 21 and wrote her own material with "Jagged Little Pill."
And some of the road acts don't even put out albums, or do so occasionally. They realize their bond is with their audience, not the middlemen, i.e. radio and streaming services.
But anybody with a gig, anybody with money, is afraid of the future, they don't want to see their world decline. Therefore, they say Elizabeth Warren is unelectable. WHY? Because they don't want to lose something!
And Shari Redstone reunites CBS and Viacom and Wall Street swoons! But CBS cannot succeed as a standalone streamer and Viacom is a collection of junk.
But this is the same Street that's anti-Tesla not realizing that they're betting against the future, that the world has already decided to go electric, and it was Musk that was pushing the envelope, and it is Tesla that has the supercharging stations and better battery technology. Hell, if they sell it/merge, there's a pretty penny involved, but no, the Street is too focused on today's numbers, short-termism, and the media trumpets its viewpoint.
Awards shows are dead. There are just too many and the awards are meaningless. As for tuning in to tweet...that's passe.
We've learned that nothing is dominant these days, that it's nearly impossible to get any story out, that the only people paying attention are those who were already paying attention.
Furthermore, if you grow, it will start online, not on TV or in mainstream media.
This leaves tons of questions.
Old people don't like questions.
But the future is dark and murky, but it does come, and the spoils go to those who figure it out.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
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Monday, 26 August 2019
Re-Popeyes Fried Chicken Sandwich
Bob: Yes, you are totally correct re Popeyes Fried Chicken Sandwich! THEY KILL!! We travel 20 minutes north of our home to the nearest location in Canoga Park and upon entry to "the line", we get those WTF are you doing here looks! Furthermore, the people working there should be working some other place where giving a crap doesn't matter! And, in closing, The Popeyes sandwich beats the hell outta going to Jersey Mikes Steak joint, ordering a large philly-steak sandwich and opening the bun to try to find the meat! Madone!
Jerry Sharrell
________________________________________
Although I have not tried Popeye's new chicken sandwich, I can probably say that it won't impress me because I don't care for Popeye's chicken. To me, it's more breading than it is chicken!
Kentucky Fried Chicken -ORIGINAL - will ALWAYS be the BEST!! Unfortunately, their stores are rapidly disappearing; many have teamed with Taco Bell and / or Pizza Hut, so there is still some hope. Here in Philly, there aren't many left; sometimes I even have to drive to the suburbs. But I'll be buying it until it's gone (and Bob, you were NEVER more right about that Cole slaw!).
The only other chicken that could even get an honorable mention was that from Chicken George, from Church's Chicken, and from Roy Rogers (big surprise) -- all of which, except from Roy Rogers, are long gone.
As a side note, if you remember the commercials for Kentucky Fried Chicken from back in the day, Colonel Sanders was always a person with dignity as he plugged his delicious fried chicken. Nowadays, the commercials treat him like a joke -- he was NEVER that. How sad this is. Welcome to the many disappointments and humiliations of the present day.
Marie Davenport
________________________________________
Diane's mom, Martha Jean "The Queen" Steinberg (Google her) had a friend who owned a Pioneer Chicken franchise in the valley and we used to get free buckets from"Bobby" to feed our young family. Swanson's is a perfect comparison. Greasy, encrusted, cocktail party appetizer level. Nasty !
(But the price was right)
Kenny Lee Lewis
________________________________________
Went to our local Popeye's yesterday - sign at the drive-thru said that sammy would "be back soon" - I queried Joseph and he told me the whole story, complete with meme citations.
HOWEVER, I left when the order-taker told us our order would "be a while"; maybe it's just this one Colfax location, but the endless wait, even to order, was once too often after a couple years of slow, sloppy service. Not goin' back.
John Hughes
________________________________________
My teenage sons are fast food chicken experts. They have not sampled the new Popeyes yet, but they swear by Chick-fil-A.
Jon Healey
________________________________________
There are lines, even at the drive thru, and I'm still waiting to speak to someone who has actually eaten this little bit of heaven.
Chick-fil-A sucks but the sandwich is pretty good. Popeye's is good but you can't get in the store to try the sandwich. Guess I'll eat a salad and read about it.
Jim Warren
________________________________________
Fast food has never had as much buzz online as it has now. It seems like it's become a weekly occurrence that the entirely of the internet fixates on a new menu offering from one of the top dogs amongst the national fast food chains. This online discourse increasingly drives sales, never more so than the Beatlemania surrounding the Popeye's chicken sandwich. Perhaps it's because fast food provides a sense of comfort and regularity to our fragmented and chaotic modern timeline. People need comfort more than anything these days, and delicious, cheap and universally available food provides it more than any form of art at this point in time.
Mike Kilfoyle
________________________________________
The Pioneer chicken just north of Pico and Westwood across from Juniors was awesome in the 60's and 70's. Tough choice between Hickoryburger at Apple Pan or Pioneer Chicken
santa rosa art
________________________________________
I think Popeye's stinks.
First visit, takeout at request of my elderly mother. Order fouled up. Second visit, asked for a shrimp special advertised on a banner outside the joint. "That's not until next week." There's no dates on the banner. Third visit, again for my mother. I showed the guy at the counter what I wanted from an ad. Order fouled up.
My sister tried to get their basic chicken on Mother's Day. 11:30 am. "Sorry, we don't have any chicken." It's a chicken place that just opened for the day. Parking lot nearly empty.
Not going back. Maybe the other locations have competent management but I don't intend to find out.
Chip Cox
________________________________________
BTW, the sandwich is awesome.
David Murphy
________________________________________
Btw, the sandwich IS that good. Of course we've had it. Foodies have to have whatever the new food is first, like in the must- have -that -new -album first, before anyone days. And now that Popeye's delivers via pretty much all of the take out delivery services, we can have that sandwich brought to us. And so, we did. Yeah, the spicy is better.
Regards
Amy Krakow
________________________________________
I liked that article about the Popeyes sandwich as well. That's what we need in America. The highbrow crossing the street to meet the lowbrow.
Regardless. The better item at Popeyes is the red beans and rice side with a biscuit. Way better than chicken
And since you name checked all American burger. ( I remember )
Hit up Astro burger in weho. Will take you back
t g
________________________________________
Funny you should mention this Bob, I came across this post from someone the other day and it was too good not to share:
"Okay let me break it down for the people who haven't had a chicken sandwich from either Chick-Fil-A or Popeye's.
Chick-Fil-A sandwich tastes like it was cooked by a white woman named Sarah who grew up around black people. The flavor is definitely there, but Sarah cares about your cholesterol so she's careful about the breading and grease content.
Popeye's sandwich tastes like it was cooked by an older black lady named Lucille that serves on the usher board and has 12 grandkids that call her "Madea". Madea don't give a shit about your cholesterol because God's in control.
I hope this helps."
-Zach Ziskin
________________________________________
Greetings from Popeyes at Washington square mall on MLK Blvd in Roxbury, Boston!
On a Sunday afternoon at lunchtime following church services, a Popeyes is filled with churchgoers, moms with kids, neighborhood teen-titans and twenty, thirty, forty, fifty somethings hip to the game, along with Washington square mall security (making rounds shaking their heads at sight of the long lines), and some new rare faces - Boston university and college bro's and hipsters — who clearly have been following the IG memes, media storm, all packed in a car to follow their tastebuds to Popeyes in the hood, courtesy of iPhone Waze app directions "2 miles away / 20 minutes!"
But get this Bob, they don't put signs in the front windows "sorry, our famous chicken sandwiches are sold-out!!!!!" Instead, they just make an announcement every five minutes and 1/3 of the line starts cursing, 'OMG!!! That's effen bullshit!!! ... X&;$);):/' And, they storm out the joint! The other 2/3 of folks just stay in line.
Next to me in line is a slim fresh dressed young black man who looks cool enough to work at Roc Nation or Live Nation Urban as soon as he graduates college (probably Berklee College of Music) says to me:
"you can't mess with black folk chicken! I been having this damn sandwich all summer long and now the Popeyes PR people in Louisiana put a press campaign out using indie influencers, comedians and memes and they relaunch the sandwich a week ago and two days later they sellout everywhere. Supply and demand! Profits are up $25M in additional sales at the counter! But, personally I'm pissed because they did bad business. Plus, we here waiting in line for a damn half hour because they make all the Uber Eats orders first.. next time I'm ordering this on Uber Eats.. nice meeting you Ice!!" BOOM
So there it is. Popeyes wins the supply and demand hype game and gives a rare home cookin Rucker Park style summer slam dunk to the boring-fast-food-no-taste-no-culture-industry!"
Jeremiah Younossi
________________________________________
I filmed the food scientist Warren LeRuth for our first Great Chefs TV series back in 1980. The founder of Popeye's Chicken in New Orleans, Al Copeland, hired Warren to assist in the frying process as well as develop their biscuit. It has never changed.
The new owners have just incorporated it into a sandwich.
John Shoup
________________________________________
Popeye's chicken is the best without the sandwich. I have had a number of nationally renowned chefs agree with me too. The Washington post did a taste test of all the fried chicken sandwiches out there and they also concluded that the Popeye's sandwich was the best.
You better go check it out!
Tom Hedtke
Ps... KFC and Church's are grease city
________________________________________
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.firstwefeast.com/eat/2016/01/chefs-love-popeyes
Old news that Popeyes is great - chefs been saying that for long time now :-)
And Pollo Campero is great in LA - they provided fried chicken in the green room at Levitt LA and it ROCKED
Willie Bauer
________________________________________
I tried the Popeye's chicken sandwich weeks ago out of random curiosity. Maybe there was some advertisement, I don't recall. I like Chick Fil A (or, as my Nanny always called it, Chick a Fil) because the chicken itself actually tastes good and it's not dry. I decided to try Popeye's because I love their spicy fried chicken and their seasoned fries and they contrast Chick Fil A's weak points which are mostly soggy breading and tasteless fries. Also, why won't Chick Fil A put condiments on the sandwich for you? That's bizarre. If you want to eat on the go, you have to stop and park to put your condiments on. I don't get it.
I had a problem ordering the chicken sandwich at Popeye's because I wanted to order it like their chicken dinners, with side but no drink. It so happens I was going home and had stuff to carry in and didn't want to juggle the drink. The poor guy who was trying to take my order simply could not comprehend ordering a chicken sandwich and fries, but no drink. It was a ridiculous ordeal. Once I got it home, the sandwich tasted good, as expected. Chicken was battered and fried nice and crispy but the meat was still tender and juicy, which was a great change from Chick Fil A's soggy breading.
The reason I haven't bought the Popeye's sandwich again is because once I'm at Popeye's I'd rather have a dinner with spicy dark meat pieces (thighs are the best--more meat than a leg and super tender and juicy), fries and a buttery biscuit. Frankly, this obsession people have with chicken breast makes no sense to me. White meat is generally dry as a bone and doesn't have nearly the flavor that the dark meat has.
It's pretty sad that it's some kind of revolution when a fast food chain manages to serve chicken that tastes decent and isn't dry like cardboard. It's a super-low bar. No shit, I got a chicken sandwich at Wendy's a few weeks ago that was so overcooked it was inedible. WTF?
Amy Primeaux
Houston, TX
________________________________________
There's a Popeyes down the street from me on Laurel Cyn. I drove by the other night and there were cars lined around the block like in n out. I had no idea why. Now I know. Thanks.
Greg Haptor
________________________________________
Check out the Shake Shack Chick N Shack sandwich. Tried it a while back as a I've been cutting back on red meat and I haven't had anything else there since. It's prefect :)
Fred Goldring
________________________________________
I went to three different Popeye's today and each one was sold out. I don't know what's more disappointing the fact that they were sold out or the fact that I succumbed to traveling to three separate locations. Needless to say, I am bummed!
Noah Sheer
Def Jam Recordings
________________________________________
Everyone knows Popeyes soooooo much better than kfc. Roscoes , not for sandwich but for fried my favorite in LA
George Drakoulias
________________________________________
It's a really good chicken sandwich.
My wife who never eats anything that is fried even said it was amazing.
Chick-fil-a clearly lost in this fight.
Best
Jon O'Keefe
________________________________________
In Atlanta, it's insane! Like cars wrapped around the building and down the street at EVERY popeyes. Signs saying "2 sandwishes (yes, spelled sandwishes, lol) per car" and people not being able to get out for 15-20 minutes.
This should be a wake-up call for popeyes. Sales will be through the roof this quarter, but they're not gonna be able to continue the onslaught of people without better customer handling. CFA is militant about their drive through. Popeyes employees would probably tell people the fryer's down after an hour if they could.
Brian Martin
________________________________________
And Doctor John, the Night Tripper, used to do Popeyes jingle…
Steve Greene
________________________________________
Hey Bob - I caught that story last week as well and thought, at least I need to try it. Not even knowing where my local Popeyes is I went to Yelp to locate one... the descriptions and reviews of the restaurant and service was enough to dissuade this diner. I guess I'll never know what I missed!
Robert (Bob) Piña
________________________________________
Hardee's fried chicken from the early 90s. Yes, they have it on the menu now, but as is everything...it is NOT the same.
When this chicken was released, I knew people that would buy it by the pound, freeze some and bag some for leftovers. It was THAT good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UBljwzblRM
Another Hardee's fried chicken commercial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvHUEQ7Bulk
And those biscuits... Mmmmmmmm
Thank you,
Bill Seipel
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Jerry Sharrell
________________________________________
Although I have not tried Popeye's new chicken sandwich, I can probably say that it won't impress me because I don't care for Popeye's chicken. To me, it's more breading than it is chicken!
Kentucky Fried Chicken -ORIGINAL - will ALWAYS be the BEST!! Unfortunately, their stores are rapidly disappearing; many have teamed with Taco Bell and / or Pizza Hut, so there is still some hope. Here in Philly, there aren't many left; sometimes I even have to drive to the suburbs. But I'll be buying it until it's gone (and Bob, you were NEVER more right about that Cole slaw!).
The only other chicken that could even get an honorable mention was that from Chicken George, from Church's Chicken, and from Roy Rogers (big surprise) -- all of which, except from Roy Rogers, are long gone.
As a side note, if you remember the commercials for Kentucky Fried Chicken from back in the day, Colonel Sanders was always a person with dignity as he plugged his delicious fried chicken. Nowadays, the commercials treat him like a joke -- he was NEVER that. How sad this is. Welcome to the many disappointments and humiliations of the present day.
Marie Davenport
________________________________________
Diane's mom, Martha Jean "The Queen" Steinberg (Google her) had a friend who owned a Pioneer Chicken franchise in the valley and we used to get free buckets from"Bobby" to feed our young family. Swanson's is a perfect comparison. Greasy, encrusted, cocktail party appetizer level. Nasty !
(But the price was right)
Kenny Lee Lewis
________________________________________
Went to our local Popeye's yesterday - sign at the drive-thru said that sammy would "be back soon" - I queried Joseph and he told me the whole story, complete with meme citations.
HOWEVER, I left when the order-taker told us our order would "be a while"; maybe it's just this one Colfax location, but the endless wait, even to order, was once too often after a couple years of slow, sloppy service. Not goin' back.
John Hughes
________________________________________
My teenage sons are fast food chicken experts. They have not sampled the new Popeyes yet, but they swear by Chick-fil-A.
Jon Healey
________________________________________
There are lines, even at the drive thru, and I'm still waiting to speak to someone who has actually eaten this little bit of heaven.
Chick-fil-A sucks but the sandwich is pretty good. Popeye's is good but you can't get in the store to try the sandwich. Guess I'll eat a salad and read about it.
Jim Warren
________________________________________
Fast food has never had as much buzz online as it has now. It seems like it's become a weekly occurrence that the entirely of the internet fixates on a new menu offering from one of the top dogs amongst the national fast food chains. This online discourse increasingly drives sales, never more so than the Beatlemania surrounding the Popeye's chicken sandwich. Perhaps it's because fast food provides a sense of comfort and regularity to our fragmented and chaotic modern timeline. People need comfort more than anything these days, and delicious, cheap and universally available food provides it more than any form of art at this point in time.
Mike Kilfoyle
________________________________________
The Pioneer chicken just north of Pico and Westwood across from Juniors was awesome in the 60's and 70's. Tough choice between Hickoryburger at Apple Pan or Pioneer Chicken
santa rosa art
________________________________________
I think Popeye's stinks.
First visit, takeout at request of my elderly mother. Order fouled up. Second visit, asked for a shrimp special advertised on a banner outside the joint. "That's not until next week." There's no dates on the banner. Third visit, again for my mother. I showed the guy at the counter what I wanted from an ad. Order fouled up.
My sister tried to get their basic chicken on Mother's Day. 11:30 am. "Sorry, we don't have any chicken." It's a chicken place that just opened for the day. Parking lot nearly empty.
Not going back. Maybe the other locations have competent management but I don't intend to find out.
Chip Cox
________________________________________
BTW, the sandwich is awesome.
David Murphy
________________________________________
Btw, the sandwich IS that good. Of course we've had it. Foodies have to have whatever the new food is first, like in the must- have -that -new -album first, before anyone days. And now that Popeye's delivers via pretty much all of the take out delivery services, we can have that sandwich brought to us. And so, we did. Yeah, the spicy is better.
Regards
Amy Krakow
________________________________________
I liked that article about the Popeyes sandwich as well. That's what we need in America. The highbrow crossing the street to meet the lowbrow.
Regardless. The better item at Popeyes is the red beans and rice side with a biscuit. Way better than chicken
And since you name checked all American burger. ( I remember )
Hit up Astro burger in weho. Will take you back
t g
________________________________________
Funny you should mention this Bob, I came across this post from someone the other day and it was too good not to share:
"Okay let me break it down for the people who haven't had a chicken sandwich from either Chick-Fil-A or Popeye's.
Chick-Fil-A sandwich tastes like it was cooked by a white woman named Sarah who grew up around black people. The flavor is definitely there, but Sarah cares about your cholesterol so she's careful about the breading and grease content.
Popeye's sandwich tastes like it was cooked by an older black lady named Lucille that serves on the usher board and has 12 grandkids that call her "Madea". Madea don't give a shit about your cholesterol because God's in control.
I hope this helps."
-Zach Ziskin
________________________________________
Greetings from Popeyes at Washington square mall on MLK Blvd in Roxbury, Boston!
On a Sunday afternoon at lunchtime following church services, a Popeyes is filled with churchgoers, moms with kids, neighborhood teen-titans and twenty, thirty, forty, fifty somethings hip to the game, along with Washington square mall security (making rounds shaking their heads at sight of the long lines), and some new rare faces - Boston university and college bro's and hipsters — who clearly have been following the IG memes, media storm, all packed in a car to follow their tastebuds to Popeyes in the hood, courtesy of iPhone Waze app directions "2 miles away / 20 minutes!"
But get this Bob, they don't put signs in the front windows "sorry, our famous chicken sandwiches are sold-out!!!!!" Instead, they just make an announcement every five minutes and 1/3 of the line starts cursing, 'OMG!!! That's effen bullshit!!! ... X&;$);):/' And, they storm out the joint! The other 2/3 of folks just stay in line.
Next to me in line is a slim fresh dressed young black man who looks cool enough to work at Roc Nation or Live Nation Urban as soon as he graduates college (probably Berklee College of Music) says to me:
"you can't mess with black folk chicken! I been having this damn sandwich all summer long and now the Popeyes PR people in Louisiana put a press campaign out using indie influencers, comedians and memes and they relaunch the sandwich a week ago and two days later they sellout everywhere. Supply and demand! Profits are up $25M in additional sales at the counter! But, personally I'm pissed because they did bad business. Plus, we here waiting in line for a damn half hour because they make all the Uber Eats orders first.. next time I'm ordering this on Uber Eats.. nice meeting you Ice!!" BOOM
So there it is. Popeyes wins the supply and demand hype game and gives a rare home cookin Rucker Park style summer slam dunk to the boring-fast-food-no-taste-no-culture-industry!"
Jeremiah Younossi
________________________________________
I filmed the food scientist Warren LeRuth for our first Great Chefs TV series back in 1980. The founder of Popeye's Chicken in New Orleans, Al Copeland, hired Warren to assist in the frying process as well as develop their biscuit. It has never changed.
The new owners have just incorporated it into a sandwich.
John Shoup
________________________________________
Popeye's chicken is the best without the sandwich. I have had a number of nationally renowned chefs agree with me too. The Washington post did a taste test of all the fried chicken sandwiches out there and they also concluded that the Popeye's sandwich was the best.
You better go check it out!
Tom Hedtke
Ps... KFC and Church's are grease city
________________________________________
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.firstwefeast.com/eat/2016/01/chefs-love-popeyes
Old news that Popeyes is great - chefs been saying that for long time now :-)
And Pollo Campero is great in LA - they provided fried chicken in the green room at Levitt LA and it ROCKED
Willie Bauer
________________________________________
I tried the Popeye's chicken sandwich weeks ago out of random curiosity. Maybe there was some advertisement, I don't recall. I like Chick Fil A (or, as my Nanny always called it, Chick a Fil) because the chicken itself actually tastes good and it's not dry. I decided to try Popeye's because I love their spicy fried chicken and their seasoned fries and they contrast Chick Fil A's weak points which are mostly soggy breading and tasteless fries. Also, why won't Chick Fil A put condiments on the sandwich for you? That's bizarre. If you want to eat on the go, you have to stop and park to put your condiments on. I don't get it.
I had a problem ordering the chicken sandwich at Popeye's because I wanted to order it like their chicken dinners, with side but no drink. It so happens I was going home and had stuff to carry in and didn't want to juggle the drink. The poor guy who was trying to take my order simply could not comprehend ordering a chicken sandwich and fries, but no drink. It was a ridiculous ordeal. Once I got it home, the sandwich tasted good, as expected. Chicken was battered and fried nice and crispy but the meat was still tender and juicy, which was a great change from Chick Fil A's soggy breading.
The reason I haven't bought the Popeye's sandwich again is because once I'm at Popeye's I'd rather have a dinner with spicy dark meat pieces (thighs are the best--more meat than a leg and super tender and juicy), fries and a buttery biscuit. Frankly, this obsession people have with chicken breast makes no sense to me. White meat is generally dry as a bone and doesn't have nearly the flavor that the dark meat has.
It's pretty sad that it's some kind of revolution when a fast food chain manages to serve chicken that tastes decent and isn't dry like cardboard. It's a super-low bar. No shit, I got a chicken sandwich at Wendy's a few weeks ago that was so overcooked it was inedible. WTF?
Amy Primeaux
Houston, TX
________________________________________
There's a Popeyes down the street from me on Laurel Cyn. I drove by the other night and there were cars lined around the block like in n out. I had no idea why. Now I know. Thanks.
Greg Haptor
________________________________________
Check out the Shake Shack Chick N Shack sandwich. Tried it a while back as a I've been cutting back on red meat and I haven't had anything else there since. It's prefect :)
Fred Goldring
________________________________________
I went to three different Popeye's today and each one was sold out. I don't know what's more disappointing the fact that they were sold out or the fact that I succumbed to traveling to three separate locations. Needless to say, I am bummed!
Noah Sheer
Def Jam Recordings
________________________________________
Everyone knows Popeyes soooooo much better than kfc. Roscoes , not for sandwich but for fried my favorite in LA
George Drakoulias
________________________________________
It's a really good chicken sandwich.
My wife who never eats anything that is fried even said it was amazing.
Chick-fil-a clearly lost in this fight.
Best
Jon O'Keefe
________________________________________
In Atlanta, it's insane! Like cars wrapped around the building and down the street at EVERY popeyes. Signs saying "2 sandwishes (yes, spelled sandwishes, lol) per car" and people not being able to get out for 15-20 minutes.
This should be a wake-up call for popeyes. Sales will be through the roof this quarter, but they're not gonna be able to continue the onslaught of people without better customer handling. CFA is militant about their drive through. Popeyes employees would probably tell people the fryer's down after an hour if they could.
Brian Martin
________________________________________
And Doctor John, the Night Tripper, used to do Popeyes jingle…
Steve Greene
________________________________________
Hey Bob - I caught that story last week as well and thought, at least I need to try it. Not even knowing where my local Popeyes is I went to Yelp to locate one... the descriptions and reviews of the restaurant and service was enough to dissuade this diner. I guess I'll never know what I missed!
Robert (Bob) Piña
________________________________________
Hardee's fried chicken from the early 90s. Yes, they have it on the menu now, but as is everything...it is NOT the same.
When this chicken was released, I knew people that would buy it by the pound, freeze some and bag some for leftovers. It was THAT good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UBljwzblRM
Another Hardee's fried chicken commercial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvHUEQ7Bulk
And those biscuits... Mmmmmmmm
Thank you,
Bill Seipel
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Songs You Hated And Now Like-SiriusXM This Week
Tune in tomorrow, Tuesday August 27th, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.
Phone #: 844-6-VOLUME, 844-686-5863
Twitter: @lefsetz or @siriusxmvolume/#lefsetzlive
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If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app: siriusxm.us/LefsetzLive
(Thanks to @JBrutonMusic for the inspiration!)
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Sunday, 25 August 2019
The Popeyes Fried Chicken Sandwich
I discovered it in the "New Yorker."
Every day I do my back exercises, takes about half an hour, and while I do them I struggle to read my iPhone, otherwise I'm bored, I don't want to waste time.
And it's at this time that I go through the round of my news apps. I'm especially hooked on the WaPo and the "London Times," because I don't get these in print. And the paper is better in print. Oh, there's less news, and it's late, but you find stories you missed, that round out your view of the world.
And to be honest, I'm checking the news apps all day long, I'm addicted, in a good way. It's not FOMO, it's just that I dig it, now you can feel like a participant, you're always up to date, ready to play. Of course this leaves you as the information source for your friends, you end up a lecture series, which is not satisfying, but every once in a while there's a subject I've got to broach.
Like the Popeyes chicken sandwich.
I've never eaten there. I guess I got turned off when Kentucky Fried Chicken went off the rails. When the skin came detached from the meat. You've got to know, once upon a time KFC was the new thing. My father would buy a bucket, along with that dynamite cole slaw, and take it to us at the beach after work. I can still taste it. KFC was a staple, there was always a bucket at the Labor Day picnic (along with ears of corn drenched in salt water and cooked over a charcoal grill).
Now when I moved to L.A., there was Pioneer Chicken, all over the place, and it was really bad. Some people still testify about the failed chain, but there are people who reminisce about Swanson's TV Dinners too.
My local fast food chain of choice was the All American Burger. Ate tons of those. But then they went by the wayside and I got wary of all that fried food, fast food and...
Then I read an article about the Popeyes chicken sandwich.
Now for a while there, Jack In The Box had a killer chicken sandwich. And then there was Carl's Jr.'s (why "Jr."?, I always wondered that) barbequed chicken sandwich, which was actually a piece of chicken, but the former was fried and I lost my taste for the latter, and yes, I've had Gus's, but to tell you the truth, I want to live, I'm watching my heart.
But now it's taking everything in my power to not drive to Popeyes.
So if you're a "New Yorker" person, a couple of years back they released a new app, "NYerToday," that features specialized content each and every day.
Now the truth is the "New Yorker" has very little virality, it's mostly an echo chamber. Oh, occasionally they break news, or deliver insight, a la the recent Al Franken article, that spreads, but that's rare. I never hear anybody talking about the articles in NYerToday, and to tell you the truth, oftentimes they're written from an intellectual spot high above the real world and are out of touch with the essence of life. But this article in NYerToday intrigued me, it was entitled: "Popeyes Chicken Sandwich Is Here To Save America": https://bit.ly/31QL6Al
Now like a lot of great writing, the article starts off in left field, you don't know how this anecdote is gonna fit in. But that gets you hooked, in a world where online writing is all about the facts, and it's believed that no one reads past the first paragraph, if that.
And I'm wondering just how a sandwich from a low rent fast food joint could have that much impact.
But then the writer, Helen Rosner, starts to explain.
Raquelle Smith, a NYC food writer, is quoted as saying "That Popeyes sandwich had me in my feelings. That's probably the most emotion I've shown all year. The chicken is perfectly fried! The breading isn't falling off. You get crunch in every bite. (The bun is) 'a buttery cushion,' (the sauce) takes it over the top. Is it healthy? NO! But dammit don't it taste good. It's truly a gift from the heavens."
Then Ms. Rosner herself testifies "The salt, the fat, the sharpness, the softness - together, they're what flavor scientists might describe as 'high amplitude,' a combination so intense and so perfectly balanced, that they meld into one another to form a new, entirely coherent whole."
Remind you of anything?
Jon Landau saying he'd seen the future of rock and roll, rocketing Bruce Springsteen into the public consciousness.
Yup, music criticism used to inspire. It made you buy records. It wasn't snarky, it was enthusiastic. And it wasn't dry analysis, the writer's personality/enthusiasm came through, actually you got to know the writers themselves, they were not bland, replaceable personalities!
Then the article described a Twitter war, between Chick-fil-A and Popeyes. With the latter taking the high road and benefiting from it.
And we all hate Chick-fil-A, at least the "New Yorker" readers do, but everyone who's had one, which does not include me, TESTIFIES!
But supposedly Popeyes' was better. Could that really be true? I mean how good could a fried chicken sandwich be?
Pretty damn good.
But if you wanted one, you had to line up, they sold out, there was mania.
Oh yeah, right. This is just a humorous "New Yorker" article.
But I open the papers the following day and both the WSJ and NYT have articles, drier than the "New Yorker,"'s but testifying to the same mania, and analyzing the business success and the social media impact and these articles would have had no sticking power if I hadn't read the "New Yorker" article first, which was a story, with soul.
So I went from ignorant to a laughing outsider to becoming aware of the biggest fad in America right now overnight.
Last night I brought it up. I got blank stares in most cases, but then some who were in on it testified! The lines! Yet no one had actually eaten the sandwich.
So yes, there's mania, yes, there's virality, but at the heart of it seems to be a damn good sandwich.
Kinda like music, where we specialize in hype and the product is substandard, to the point where you no longer even have to check it out. Hell, you don't want to waste an hour listening to crap, you'll wait until there's a consensus that you must tune in.
But there's little mainstream consensus in music today. No product, no song, no record, that cuts across all lines and attracts all our attention.
And the more you read about the Popeyes chicken sandwich, it does not appear it's just a publicity stunt. It was a new product with a little promotion that stuck. And grew because Popeyes' competitors were anxious.
And they say Twitter is irrelevant.
Now with food, it's not one and done, it's not a movie, but what a record should be. Something you revisit again and again when you get the hankering for it.
But once again, now that's food and not music.
We're all on the outside until we're suddenly made aware and brought to the inside. All the usual tricks no longer work. Billboards, TV ads, we've been trained to ignore them. But when something is news without promotion, when a story gains virality, all based on the underlying product, we cannot look away, it's like a car wreck, we're glued to the story.
America is glued to the Popeyes chicken sandwich.
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Every day I do my back exercises, takes about half an hour, and while I do them I struggle to read my iPhone, otherwise I'm bored, I don't want to waste time.
And it's at this time that I go through the round of my news apps. I'm especially hooked on the WaPo and the "London Times," because I don't get these in print. And the paper is better in print. Oh, there's less news, and it's late, but you find stories you missed, that round out your view of the world.
And to be honest, I'm checking the news apps all day long, I'm addicted, in a good way. It's not FOMO, it's just that I dig it, now you can feel like a participant, you're always up to date, ready to play. Of course this leaves you as the information source for your friends, you end up a lecture series, which is not satisfying, but every once in a while there's a subject I've got to broach.
Like the Popeyes chicken sandwich.
I've never eaten there. I guess I got turned off when Kentucky Fried Chicken went off the rails. When the skin came detached from the meat. You've got to know, once upon a time KFC was the new thing. My father would buy a bucket, along with that dynamite cole slaw, and take it to us at the beach after work. I can still taste it. KFC was a staple, there was always a bucket at the Labor Day picnic (along with ears of corn drenched in salt water and cooked over a charcoal grill).
Now when I moved to L.A., there was Pioneer Chicken, all over the place, and it was really bad. Some people still testify about the failed chain, but there are people who reminisce about Swanson's TV Dinners too.
My local fast food chain of choice was the All American Burger. Ate tons of those. But then they went by the wayside and I got wary of all that fried food, fast food and...
Then I read an article about the Popeyes chicken sandwich.
Now for a while there, Jack In The Box had a killer chicken sandwich. And then there was Carl's Jr.'s (why "Jr."?, I always wondered that) barbequed chicken sandwich, which was actually a piece of chicken, but the former was fried and I lost my taste for the latter, and yes, I've had Gus's, but to tell you the truth, I want to live, I'm watching my heart.
But now it's taking everything in my power to not drive to Popeyes.
So if you're a "New Yorker" person, a couple of years back they released a new app, "NYerToday," that features specialized content each and every day.
Now the truth is the "New Yorker" has very little virality, it's mostly an echo chamber. Oh, occasionally they break news, or deliver insight, a la the recent Al Franken article, that spreads, but that's rare. I never hear anybody talking about the articles in NYerToday, and to tell you the truth, oftentimes they're written from an intellectual spot high above the real world and are out of touch with the essence of life. But this article in NYerToday intrigued me, it was entitled: "Popeyes Chicken Sandwich Is Here To Save America": https://bit.ly/31QL6Al
Now like a lot of great writing, the article starts off in left field, you don't know how this anecdote is gonna fit in. But that gets you hooked, in a world where online writing is all about the facts, and it's believed that no one reads past the first paragraph, if that.
And I'm wondering just how a sandwich from a low rent fast food joint could have that much impact.
But then the writer, Helen Rosner, starts to explain.
Raquelle Smith, a NYC food writer, is quoted as saying "That Popeyes sandwich had me in my feelings. That's probably the most emotion I've shown all year. The chicken is perfectly fried! The breading isn't falling off. You get crunch in every bite. (The bun is) 'a buttery cushion,' (the sauce) takes it over the top. Is it healthy? NO! But dammit don't it taste good. It's truly a gift from the heavens."
Then Ms. Rosner herself testifies "The salt, the fat, the sharpness, the softness - together, they're what flavor scientists might describe as 'high amplitude,' a combination so intense and so perfectly balanced, that they meld into one another to form a new, entirely coherent whole."
Remind you of anything?
Jon Landau saying he'd seen the future of rock and roll, rocketing Bruce Springsteen into the public consciousness.
Yup, music criticism used to inspire. It made you buy records. It wasn't snarky, it was enthusiastic. And it wasn't dry analysis, the writer's personality/enthusiasm came through, actually you got to know the writers themselves, they were not bland, replaceable personalities!
Then the article described a Twitter war, between Chick-fil-A and Popeyes. With the latter taking the high road and benefiting from it.
And we all hate Chick-fil-A, at least the "New Yorker" readers do, but everyone who's had one, which does not include me, TESTIFIES!
But supposedly Popeyes' was better. Could that really be true? I mean how good could a fried chicken sandwich be?
Pretty damn good.
But if you wanted one, you had to line up, they sold out, there was mania.
Oh yeah, right. This is just a humorous "New Yorker" article.
But I open the papers the following day and both the WSJ and NYT have articles, drier than the "New Yorker,"'s but testifying to the same mania, and analyzing the business success and the social media impact and these articles would have had no sticking power if I hadn't read the "New Yorker" article first, which was a story, with soul.
So I went from ignorant to a laughing outsider to becoming aware of the biggest fad in America right now overnight.
Last night I brought it up. I got blank stares in most cases, but then some who were in on it testified! The lines! Yet no one had actually eaten the sandwich.
So yes, there's mania, yes, there's virality, but at the heart of it seems to be a damn good sandwich.
Kinda like music, where we specialize in hype and the product is substandard, to the point where you no longer even have to check it out. Hell, you don't want to waste an hour listening to crap, you'll wait until there's a consensus that you must tune in.
But there's little mainstream consensus in music today. No product, no song, no record, that cuts across all lines and attracts all our attention.
And the more you read about the Popeyes chicken sandwich, it does not appear it's just a publicity stunt. It was a new product with a little promotion that stuck. And grew because Popeyes' competitors were anxious.
And they say Twitter is irrelevant.
Now with food, it's not one and done, it's not a movie, but what a record should be. Something you revisit again and again when you get the hankering for it.
But once again, now that's food and not music.
We're all on the outside until we're suddenly made aware and brought to the inside. All the usual tricks no longer work. Billboards, TV ads, we've been trained to ignore them. But when something is news without promotion, when a story gains virality, all based on the underlying product, we cannot look away, it's like a car wreck, we're glued to the story.
America is glued to the Popeyes chicken sandwich.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
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