Better Call Saul

They're never gonna let you be a member of the club.

What did they say in school, your mistake is gonna go on your permanent record?

I binged "Breaking Bad." I checked out an episode when the mania hit, after it was on Netflix, and I didn't get it. I still think "The Sopranos" is the best drama ever on television. As for "The Wire"? I tried, but I couldn't get into it. Tried again recently, but it's so dated and...

I only binge. I do not watch from week to week. I decide on a show and I go deep. This is satisfying, to get to know the characters, and there's no waiting, I can watch as many episodes as I want in a row, cruise from season to season.

And usually I watch these series out of time, as in the buzz is off. I guess it's part of my identity. I was never a member of the cool group. I always wanted things for my own. And when everybody is talking about a series, when everybody owns it, they don't want to hear your take, especially if it does not coincide with that of the group. I like my stuff personal, just for me.

But eventually we binged "Breaking Bad," got into it. To tell you the truth, I liked "The Americans" better, but I don't mean that as a put-down of "Breaking Bad."

"Breaking Bad" is weird. It's shot fast and flat in a world where network television spends more money on the image than the story, where it's all about beautiful people doing fake things. But the people in "Breaking Bad" were not classically beautiful, they were just people living their lives. As for Walter White...he took the road less taken and ended up a teacher as opposed to rich. And when someone is rich, they're envied in our society, they're better than us. I was having a conversation with someone last week and they put me down in the most obtuse of ways. I know it had more to do with them than me, but I also couldn't get over the fact that this person made seven figures, and that'd be quite a reach for me.

But being a regular person is not enough. Everybody wants to be rich and famous, who you are is nearly irrelevant.

And then there are those too scared to veer from the beaten path, who do what their parents tell them to do, become doctors and lawyers and then are pissed when the risk-takers supersede them in society.

But it's different from the seventies. In the seventies you could take some time to figure out who you wanted to be. Now, anybody with a brain is on a path. Because they don't want to fall on the lesser side. One where you can't make ends meet and opportunities are few. Where the the DNC and Democratic elites have contempt for you. Be sure, the people who have money in today's society worked hard for it, grubbed grades, toiled around the clock, and they don't have sympathy for those who did not. Furthermore, with morals out the window it's no longer about the common good, but the personal good. I can rationalize my behavior and as long as it puts food on the table, I'm good. Like this other person in the music business who acted like a Mafia Don, also in the seven figure club, who when confronted with his bad behavior told me "I'm just trying to feed my family." When he made enough money to feed his whole neighborhood.

So when these series end you feel hollow, you want more, and in the case of "Breaking Bad" there was more, the prequel, "Better Call Saul."

Now I've followed Bob Odenkirk for a long time, but I never did cotton to "Mr. Show" and I figured he was just another comedian looking to pay the rent, acting for the bucks, until I saw him in "Breaking Bad." He owns the screen. And he owns the screen in "Better Call Saul."

In addition to being flat in image, these two Vince Gilligan shows have their own pace, which is slow, akin to real life. You have to get into the rhythm, you too have to slow down, if you're looking for a hit of adrenaline, these shows are not for you. But if you watch them, they're extremely rewarding.

Now by time I was ready, by time I finished "Breaking Bad," there were already three seasons of "Better Call Saul," which I hoovered right up.

And I was eager for the fourth, but it was on AMC, as in weekly TV.

I caught the first three, but then I got busy and missed a few and then went to on demand and...THEY ELIMINATED THE NEXT EPISODES! And this is crazy, I'm paying for cable, why should I get screwed, the series wasn't finished, but you could no longer see episodes four and five, and I need to see everything in order, I take my series seriously.

And I wasn't gonna buy it. That's an insult. Actually, the entire TV industrial complex is an insult. Did you ever check how many streaming services there are? Read about a series and find out you don't get that service. And I used to pay for each and every cable station because I wanted instant access, to be able to survey the entire culture, but in today's world where nobody can know everything, I refuse to sign up for so many apps. The distributors think they're winning, but they're actually losing. The record business realized this. And put all the content in one place for one price. Which they used to call cable, but now it's even worse! It feels like there will be as many streaming services as shows! Forget Amazon, Netflix and Hulu, never mind AppleTV+, Disney+ and CBS All Access. How about MHz, or Sundance Now or BritBox or Mubi or... Once again, distribution is king, if you're not on one of the popular streaming services, your work will never be seen, at least not in quantity. As for viewers? This is today's America, where the customer is thought of last, even though the customer rules. This is how Trump got elected and Bernie Sanders may get the nomination, because there are more screwed than screwers.

And to be honest, when I picked up with episode four of "Better Call Saul" this week I couldn't remember much of what happened in the three previous episodes, but I wasn't gonna go back and watch them, I soldiered on.

Now what you've got to know is Jimmy McGill, aka Saul Goodman, played by Bob Odenkirk, is a nogoodnik. He can't fly straight, he's always hustling, he's always getting in trouble. And his older brother is a prince, a legendary attorney who is hobbled by his phobias. We're all imperfect, we've all got flaws, whether we show them to another or not. And it's the most rich and powerful who are the most tortured, because they cannot share their troubles because they are afraid of getting judged. Forget the actors and musicians who go to rehab, who air their dirty laundry, that's a marketing tool. But for not only the billionaires, for not only the rich and famous, but for the stockbrokers and attorneys and doctors, they too believe in a hierarchy and they don't want to fall down a few pegs, possibly permanently.

So Jimmy tries to change his spots but he can't. He loves the game too much. He's first and foremost a salesman.

Ever sell?

It depletes you. Because if you care about your customers, you fall down the food chain. You've got to sell what you don't want to, you've got to overcharge, you've got to be fake, you've got to lie, all to put food in your mouth. And salespeople rule the world. What did they call it, Steve Jobs's "reality distortion field"?

And Jimmy's got a girlfriend, who is also an attorney, who vacillates between being the good girl and the bad, between working for the bank and the indigent. Most of us are conflicted. Few of us are singular, we always wonder if we should be doing something else, if we're wasting our time, if the hourglass is gonna run out of sand.

But Jimmy's girlfriend Kim Wexler, played by Rhea Seehorn, stands by Jimmy. Oh, when he pushes the limits really far, she winces, but she maintains the bond, does not have one foot out the door...

You see she's thrilled by Jimmy's personality, who he is.

So many are good on paper. But we're attracted to those with a spark, who can make things happen, who can educate us, who help us have fun. And that's Jimmy.

Not that Kim sacrifices everything, not that she blindly follows Jimmy. As for sharing an office...

So, the season is ending. We're gonna find out if Jimmy is gonna get his law license back.

And suddenly there's a boardroom meeting, at the law firm of Chuck, Jimmy's deceased brother.

You're not sure if this is a flashback, you're not sure what is going on.

But then you realize they're giving out scholarships, in Chuck's name.

And when the voting comes in, the three ass-kissers, the three world-beaters, triumph.

But Jimmy has a problem with this. What about the girl who made a mistake, is that gonna haunt her forever?

Spoiler alert!

So, she doesn't get it. But Jimmy tracks her down, and gives this high school student a piece of his mind, life instruction. Instead of being all fake, telling her "good try," Jimmy says she's never gonna be a member of the club, they're never gonna let her in, but if she digs down deep and does it her way, she can succeed, at even a higher level than her tormentors.

Hmm...

Jimmy also tells her to cut corners.

But the truth is the hustlers take over the world.

Those with the pedigree get mowed right over. It's those hobbled by a mistake, who didn't grub for grades, who did not go to the best college, who were not a member of the group, who change society.

Shawn Fanning was not rich and he did not go to Harvard.

You see you dismiss these people at your peril. You don't learn everything in books, and intelligence is not only revealed in paper tests.

The outsiders are incentivized.

And it's not only a matter of education, but being a member of the group. Which is why outsiders like Mark Zuckerberg won. He was never the cool insider. So many of these tech bros were not.

But they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, they pushed the envelope when most people couldn't even see it. Those investing in tech companies today...they're weak also-rans. Unless you're willing to put it all on the line out beyond the limits, you're not changing society, and you're probably not even getting rich.

And just like Jimmy McGill, so many of these tech bros (and most are male) are clueless as to where the moral line is. Since they were not a member of the group, they don't know how to abide by the rules of society. They love being rich and powerful, because now they can grab some of those perks that were off limits to them before. Kind of like Mike Bloomberg, did you see today's "Washington Post" article? "Mike Bloomberg for years has battled women's allegations of profane, sexist comments": https://wapo.st/2STMkIy It may have been years ago, it may not affect his chances, but this is a great illustration of an outsider nerd bucking the system to gain success and then act imperiously in unaccepted ways.

So, the new season of "Better Call Saul" starts next week. I guess I'll set the DVR, but I hate forwarding through the commercials, and I hate waiting a week. I'd say I'll just wait until it hits Netflix, but I do realize that'll be at least a year, they wait that long, until a new season is airing, before they give you the previous one.

They make it hard.

But that's today's reality, today's world. They make it hard. They don't care about you, they want to make it hard for you to succeed. If you're pissed and you don't accept the short end of the stick and decide to do something about it, you're on the road to success.

Just ask Jimmy McGill.

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Bloomberg's Past

"Why Is Bloomberg's Long History of Egregious Sexism Getting a Pass?-The surging Democratic presidential candidate has fielded some 40 sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuits": https://bit.ly/3bBTtWf

The rich are different from you and me...THEY'RE ENTITLED!

Sure, Trump did it, but that's a FALSE EQUIVALENCY! Democrats are the big tent party, embracing women, people of color, the blue collar, they're enlightened, at least until the last twenty five years, which is why Republicans are winning, they've got a more singular audience, white, and they're speaking directly to them, meanwhile the Democratic leaders keep telling us they're offended, but they're drinking from the same trough.

Ain't that America, where you're nobody until you're somebody, and when you're somebody you skate, paying for your offenses like a road manager with a roll of hundys until your ego becomes so self-inflated you believe you can run the government better than those with experience, because after all, YOU'RE RICH!

Forget whether Bernie Sanders loses or wins, now you can see why he has a constituency. And just like despite the "booming economy" there are those without jobs outside the unemployment statistics, never mind the underemployed, there are dyed-in-the-wool lefties who aren't bothering to vote because they believe it makes no difference, that the leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties are more similar than different.

My favorite take on this is from the film "Milk"...you cannot win unless you give the people HOPE!

It's not only income inequality, there's social inequality, which often goes with said wealth:

"Bloomberg Pursues Wealthy Donors, but Not Their Checkbooks-Michael Bloomberg has sworn off taking money from other people for his presidential campaign. But in private, he is courting rich Democrats, potentially posing a challenge for his moderate rivals.": https://nyti.ms/38mrgke

Yup, Michael Bloomberg wants to steal the nomination with his cash.

Come on, he carpet bombs us on TV and then Instagram. Sure, Trump is uncontrollable, but does it really come down to our billionaire versus their billionaire?

Which is why taking the corporate cash is such a downer. It contributed to Hillary's downfall and Mayor Pete...do you think he's speaking for you? Then you must be RICH!

The record business thought it had everything under control. It was selling overpriced CDs with one good track, raking in the dough. It discontinued the single. And then...Napster.

And what did the industry do? Look into the future and make peace?

No, it SUED!

Don't you get it, the DNC is just like the record companies. It wants to hold on to what it's got, keep its power rather than adjust to a new reality. Meanwhile trying to scare us into its vision by saying..."You remember McGovern, right?" Even though 1972 was a different era and McGovern was never a strong candidate. And then telling us we're unsophisticated and don't know enough, as in we don't understand it's about coattails, and therefore you need a nominee who can generate this, ignoring the fact that their vaunted Obama lost so many governorships and state legislatures during his term. Which is why we've got the war on abortion and the eradication of voting rights. But no, this gang says to trust them, WHY?

And the labels thought they had a closed system, built on radio. And then rappers gave it away for free on Soundcloud, became the darlings of Spotify, and now the tail is wagging the dog, labels sign acts AFTER they've proven themselves with hits. The whole model has changed, labels don't find talent, they BLOW UP talent, mostly via their relationships with the dying terrestrial radio and network television. Talk about preparing for the future...

Meanwhile, the labels are run by overpaid seven figure oligarchs and everybody who has not been fired, whose position has not been eliminated, is paid bupkes.

The problems are all the same. The people are getting the short end of the stick, and they've got no power. Supposedly they can elect officials who will speak for them, but it doesn't happen on the Democratic side. Give credit to the Republicans, speaking for their gerrymandered districts.

It is not business as usual. This is why the Democrats lose, they don't realize the landscape has changed, never mind changing themselves. Just because they didn't inherit their wealth, went to college and worked hard for their riches, that does not make them better than the rest of us. Be accused of sexual harassment and lose your job, but if you're the seven figure Neil Portnow you're not even put on leave, if you're Bloomberg you just write a check and move on. ISN'T THIS EXACTLY WHAT WE HATE ABOUT TRUMP?


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Weekday Update

Buy Rihanna lingerie and get stuck with a fifty dollar monthly subscription without knowing it.

That's this week's biggest music business story:

"Rihanna's Lingerie Line Accused of Deceptive Marketing-A consumer group claims that the buzzy Savage x Fenty line 'ensnares consumers into unwanted monthly charge.' The company disputes the accusation." https://nyti.ms/2wg2T9P

Read the article, which has almost no legs, CNN followed up two days later, but "Elle" and E! are just promoting the clothing, as if there's no scam.

And believe me there is. This is a false equivalency headline. The company's excuse is as lame as the dog ate my homework.

Yup, you buy $20 leggings and you get hooked into a fifty dollar subscription, and it ain't easy to get rid of it.

Does this speak to Rihanna's credibility?

OF COURSE, SHE HAS NONE!

That's what the internet era has wrought, everybody's got an agenda and everybody's trying to get rich and word is spread that people don't care but they do!

That's why Bernie Sanders is so successful.

That's this week's big political story, how Bernie won in New Hampshire yet the media didn't feature his victory, just said how well Buttigieg and Klobuchar did. AND THIS IS THE LEFT WING MEDIA! As for the right, Fox took Bernie's side, and by time they were through with the left wing media it was hard not to agree with them.

But the media and the pundits and the DNC have an agenda too...THEY WANT TO KEEP THEIR JOBS!

It's all about ratings, not truth. And since we all have different news sources, no one is holding anybody to account.

Except for the public.

There's this fiction, referenced above, that the public does not care, BUT IT DOES!

Today's big story is Michael Bloomberg's meme factory on Instagram:

"Michael Bloomberg's Campaign Suddenly Drops Memes Everywhere-A campaign of sponsored content for the candidate flourished suddenly on Instagram. A new outfit, called Meme 2020, is behind it.": https://nyti.ms/37ozeIj

Seems brilliant in conception, but...people on social media will hype anything if you pay them, and the entire nation runs on social media (that's why we argue about it, if you're not on Twitter or Facebook or Instagram or WhatsApp or even Snapchat, you probably already made up your mind who you're voting for).

Which brings us to the Bezos story. Talk about a man who is out of touch with the public.

Bezos wanted to repeat the Tesla exercise, wherein Elon Musk got various localities to bid against each other to give incentives for Tesla to locate in their burgs.

"Behind Amazon's HQ2 Fiasco: Jeff Bezos Was Jealous of Elon Musk-Determined to meet Bezos's demand for Tesla-size government handouts, the HQ2 team became victims of their own hubris.": https://bloom.bg/2SscbrT

But Bezos didn't realize Amazon was not Tesla, and that there would be blowback.

That's also the story of today, how the rich and the media are out of touch with the hoi polloi. And when Amazon pulled out of New York, you had all the big swinging dicks saying the public was ignorant, but now the public is on the side of their New York brethren, it's the elite that are on the losing side.

Which brings us to Trump. Believing if he won on impeachment, he was home free. But now Barr has turned against him.

So what you see is identity management is becoming very important in the internet age, when all the players, the ten percenters being the worst, say this is not the case.

This is why Bernie is winning. He refuses to play the game.

As for all the negative press, Bernie said he doesn't bother to call the reporters on their birthdays. Yup, insiders manipulate the game. They hire pros who advise them. And it all used to be hidden, but now the internet has shed light on these practices, even though it's hard to get the word out, as in the Rihanna example above.

You've got to be able to say no.

It's turning into the classic rock era all over again.

A musician can never be as rich as a techie or a banker, impossible unless they invest themselves, like Bono and Guy Oseary. You see these people are not in entertainment to make a statement, but to get rich, to gain power, not knowing the power comes from the art.

So what we've got now with Bernie is a public uprising.

And a concomitant reaction.

When the truth is Bernie is a band and he has fans. Does Mike Bloomberg have any fans? None I've found, certainly not outside of New York, certainly not any who are not already wealthy and want to protect that wealth.

There were few Hillary Clinton fans.

Few Kerry fans.

Few Al Gore fans.

And they all lost. They looked good on paper, but they could not get the public excited about them.

This is how the old guard screws up. It wants incremental change at best. It wants one of its own. And the public? Could care less, and doesn't want to be pushed around.

Bill Clinton was a baby boomer, young and hip.

Obama promised hope.

Joe Biden promises a return to the past, which is why he's being decimated in the primaries. No one wants middle of the road, no one wants safe, they want to BELIEVE!

And if you triangulate and leave emotion out, focusing on math, you're screwed.

Now I'm not saying Bernie Sanders is gonna get the nomination.

But I will say if Pete or Amy had won the press would have excoriated Bernie, said he was toast.

And how excited are people about Pete and Amy?

Pete's power peaked a year ago. Amy's has yet to arrive.

People in the music business know all about this. You put your efforts behind a star, and if you're smart, it takes a long time to make it, you've got to percolate in the market before you break through.

Which is why so many acts in the Spotify Top 50 cannot sell a ticket, and acts like Breaking Benjamin sell out arenas, albeit not in New York and L.A:

"The Chart-Topping Rock Band You've Never Heard Of-Breaking Benjamin has gained a huge following between the coasts but is largely invisible to everyone but its fans": https://on.wsj.com/2HmSawt

Don't complain the article is behind a paywall, information wants to be expensive as well as free, and frequently it's the most expensive information that is the most important and worthy.

That's the amazing thing about the internet age, you don't have to know anybody to get a leg up. Almost all the information is available online, the tools of production too. So, even though nitwits are creating TikTok videos, there's a whole slew of motivated individuals employing all this information to change the world.

And the world is changing.

Is the Barr statement one and done?

Maybe.

But how do you lose a Presidency?

Very slowly, then all at once.

Trump doesn't realize there's a limit, that you can only push it so far before there's a backlash.

Susan Collins is a joke, and may now be toast, and should be, because if you've got no backbone in today's society, we've got no use for you. Take a stand and stick to it. The four prosecutors who ankled their jobs illustrate this.

You get a choice, you can either be part of the sausage factory or exist outside of it. To live outside the law you've got to be honest.

And they hate Bernie Sanders because he didn't play the game. That's why the compromised Hillary Clinton complained about him. She sold out, she did what was expedient, he should too.

As for the primary turnout? An irrelevant metric. Most Democrats will vote for whomever wins the nomination. It's about getting out the vote, not trying to convince people who voted for Trump last time.

So, as you can see, there's too much news to keep up with. And the cycle is so fast, it appears things get lost in the shuffle. But they don't, just like Bloomberg's faux pas which are coming out now that he's a contender, never mind that he didn't release his tax returns when he was mayor, talk about a Republican in Democratic clothing.

So the people are pissed. On both sides. That's what this election is about. Who is gonna catch the Hail Mary pass.

Music has got the distribution figured out, it's just the content that needs attention.

Television has got the content, but do the distributors truly believe we're gonna sign up for all those streaming apps?

No one is thinking about us.

But we're in control. As long as we keep paying attention and speak our truth and vote, whether it be on the ballot or with cash.


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Al Schmitt-This Week's Podcast

Al Schmitt is a legendary sound engineer who has worked with everybody from Frank Sinatra to Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney to Steely Dan and scores more. Furthermore he produced Jefferson Airplane's "Volunteers" and Jackson Browne's "Late For The Sky." Al even has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, right outside Capitol Records, where he prefers to work to this day. Listen to hear Al's story.

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6LkJAQ1TjQ1BA2bLfAh0HZ

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/al-schmitt/id1316200737?i=1000465480395

https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=67312995


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New Hampshire Lessons

DELIVER WHEN THE SPOTLIGHT IS UPON YOU

Amy Klobuchar went from zero to hero in one debate, with just a couple of lines. Proving that you must ride the tiger until your moment arrives.

The dirty little secret is talent is secondary to perseverance and the ability to shine at the right time. Most people are not made for the stage. Furthermore, you are not born to it. Most people get mic fright, it's only through repeated experience that you get good at anything.

Turns out it had nothing to do with whether she was a woman or not, what she looked like or not, but what she said. I wasn't a huge fan, but when she referenced FDR and said she was on our side and would fight for us, it resonated. Yup, she was a middle class woman, without the benefit of riches or stunning looks, who did the work, paid her dues, and was ready when everybody was paying attention.

Oh, there you go again Bob, talking about women's looks.

But the truth is it's always about looks. Do you know any of the naturally beautiful? Their lives are completely different from the rest of ours. They get endless opportunities, they can screw up and survive, they're picked first. And just like Albert Brooks says in "Broadcast News," looks fade, but very slowly, life is long, high school is not the end of time, if you continue to play you have a chance of winning, when many others have opted out or made excuses or...

At the end of the day, it's about relatability. And watching Klobuchar I realized she wasn't that different from me, I could relate to her.

And she was honest when it counted. Standing up to Bernie's socialism.

This is where the educated and moralistic can emerge victorious, by having principles and hewing to them. This is the opposite of the sausage-makers, the yes-men, the people who view their career as a game, wherein you know enough people and smile and are duplicitous and you move up the food chain. That's what's wrong with America. And never forget, America was built on the saga of the rugged individual, the lone wolf, the cowboy, and that ethos still stands.

THE MEDIA IS CLUELESS

Can you say JOE BIDEN?

Just because they say it, just because they wish it to be true, that does not make it so.

Come on, have you followed Joe Biden's career? His fake smile, the hair plugs, the mistakes he made in previous campaigns to his detriment? Thinking he could win is like thinking the guy on the bench is the key to the World Series.

And he's from Delaware, the land of the banks and corporations.

As for his vaunted appeal to people of color... Why? Do the math on this for me please.

Not that Biden can't be a good communicator. I was watching CNN after last Friday's debate and they showed a clip of Biden wherein he connected to people who had experienced cancer, he pounded morality, said he told his kids they could never criticize someone for something they could not change, like their looks. But Joe could never be this person when everybody was paying attention. He only started to fight when the tables turned, and then he looked desperate.

MOMENTUM IS EVERYTHING

It's no different with a record. Either it's hustling its way up the chart or... If it stops climbing, it's probably over. And momentum begets more momentum. Pete Buttigieg isn't radically different from how he was before Iowa, it's just that he did well there, giving himself the imprimatur of electability, which is a flawed concept established by those who want to steer the election to their benefit. Come on, if you win a number of primaries, why is it you cannot win the national election? And there was a statistic in yesterday's paper, showing more blue people read the "Wall Street Journal" than red. Everything is not cut and dried, everything is murkier than it seems.

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE DELUSIONAL

Or, as the justifiably reviled Peter Thiel might say, don't fight fights you can't win. All these marginal candidates, what were they thinking?

Marianne Williamson has a long history of employing attention/media to build and embellish her career. She knew she had no chance of being elected, but she got what she wanted out of the experience.

Michael Bennet?

As for Andrew Yang, did you read the expose on how he ran his company, how he was insensitive to women? He spoke English no one else could, even youngster Mayor Pete, Yang knows technology, it's just that he was not vetted deeply enough, just like Trump. People bought the b.s. Yang was a guy who believed he was entitled. Who was confident. Who could give up the Ivy League leg-up to go his own way because he deserved it. I buy the ideas, but not the man.

As for Tulsi Gabbard... You were in the military, so? Bush II and Trump were not, and they got elected, military service ain't what it's cracked up to be, people don't care that much, especially in the era of the all volunteer army, where most people with any cash refuse to go. Tillman died. Mayor Pete uses his service as a resume builder. Come on, when you look at Pete, do you believe him? Or do you think his brain is churning before he says anything.

IT'S A LONG RACE

Elizabeth Warren was ahead, she'll drop out soon because she'll have no money. You don't want to peak too soon, and you don't want to screw up when people are watching. Just like Klobuchar's one debate performance boosted her campaign, Warren's killed it, when she was asked directly how she was gonna pay for Medicare-for-all over and over again and refused to answer. It looked like a kid telling his teacher why he didn't do his homework...and the interesting thing is Warren was a teacher!

MONEY CHANGES EVERYTHING

Biden can't raise it, he'll soon be gone.

Bloomberg has an unlimited supply, he ain't goin' nowhere.

CHARACTER IS EVERYTHING

I know, I know, this doesn't apply to Trump, but to beat him you've got to be the antithesis. There's a belief that you've got to fight the Republicans on their turf their way. And the Republicans have been laughing to victory for decades. The Republicans punch and the Democrats cry. The Republicans say the news is bogus and the Democrats accept the polls saying Trump is stronger after impeachment. Let me see, if the polls were wrong about Biden and Buttigieg, why should they be right about Trump? You run your own race, once you start changing for the game, being impacted by others, you're toast. This is what happened to Warren, saying she'd delay the implementation of Medicare-for-all.

EVERYTHING'S A JOKE UNTIL THE PEOPLE VOTE

It's like listening to a record company hype you on an act, or the film industry telling you about the future success of a movie.

Then you wait until it's released and instantly you know what's going on, especially in the movie business, you just go to Rotten Tomatoes and look at the numbers. Spotify can tell if an album is a stiff in a matter of hours, based on the skip rates.

Old school thinking is all about spin, say it to the point people will believe it and accept it as true.

New school thinking is launch and refine, start small and win in the end. Like Google, like Amazon.

PEOPLE WILL SURPRISE YOU

We keep hearing about AI, but the truth is people are unpredictable mammals, that's what makes life interesting.

Bernie Sanders should have been toast, he was too old, had a heart attack and was a Jewish socialist from Vermont. But he resonated with people. This is something that cannot be quantified, it's a feeling. And elections are more about feelings than facts. It's just like love...the person who looks good on paper, even in pictures, if there's no simpatico it's no-go. We hear about love at first sight, but more often it's love after a while, suddenly the light turns on.

MEDIA HAS AN AGENDA

We were taught to love and respect the media.

I'm not talking about fake news here, I'm not echoing Trump's statements, all I'm saying is media is run by people, who are human, with flaws and agendas. Just because you read it in the paper, that does not mean it's true. Didn't you learn that in elementary school?

Then again, school is supposed to teach you the power of analysis, which too many Americans lack, they accept what they're told at face value.

A rich person knows everything is negotiable, even at the department store.

A poor person pays the price.

Success comes to those who can divine the psyche of others. But that does not prevent people from trying to spin.

But we've seen that exercise too many times, the spin machine is worn out.

But there's no national database of facts, so everybody employs their own.

What we know is the election process is way too long, and way too expensive. And the frontrunners often are not. You play the game, do not let the game define you.


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Bloomberg

What kind of crazy, fucked-up world do we live in where Steve Bannon knows more about the Democratic party than the DNC?

Did you watch Bannon on Bill Maher last Friday?

You should.

Of course there's a lot of insane drivel, but don't forget it was Bannon who got Trump elected, somehow he had his finger on the pulse of America more than Hillary Clinton and her minions.

So, let me get this straight, the party of the people, of labor, of the underdog, of the big tent, is gonna nominate a Republican oligarch to be President?

Come on, the Democrats rail incessantly against billionaires, income inequality, they want a seat at the table and now they're going to get behind a man who represents everything they're against because they think he can beat Trump?

Bloomberg cannot win enough delegates to secure the nomination on the first vote. The math is against him. If Mike Bloomberg wins thirty percent of the delegates on Super Tuesday, a good number, he has got to win sixty four percent of all delegates thereafter in order to pull himself over the threshold, a near impossibility. That's math, Nate Silver did it. But the Democrats run on emotions, they tend not to go deep, unlike the right, they just go with what feels right, which is why they often lose the debate and the war.

Bloomberg is the man for African-Americans! Yup, Mayor Pete, who couldn't even keep peace in his own damn city, is discounted because he can't appeal to black people. But what about Mr. Stop & Frisk?

Now that Bloomberg has bought his way into the race, proving that billionaires are anathema to the process, the spotlight is finally upon him. Let's see him wiggle his way out of this one. He flipped for the nomination. Isn't that why Bernie is surging, since he's been true to his beliefs, been saying the same damn thing for decades?

And you wonder why people don't vote. They've given up hope!

As for Donald Trump, that was a protest vote, by people who felt the government was not working for them. Sure, he was on TV, sure he was supported by white supremacists, sure he had a lot of billionaires on his side, but there were not enough of the foregoing for him to emerge victorious. Talk to your friends, calmly, you'll be surprised who voted for the Donald. But you're so busy hating on them you won't listen to them. Hillary promised business as usual, more of the same, Trump promised change. Forget the truth, the 2016 election is history, even though Trump and Fox News keep squaring off against Hillary, it's now 2020, and the concomitant feeling is happening on the left. And what do the DNC and the media want to do? SHUT IT DOWN!

This is why Republicans win. The Democratic elites feel they're better than the rank and file, they don't want to know them and they don't want to hang with them. They want to stand behind the velvet rope before they fly private. So, a group of insurgents is fighting for the heart and soul of the Democratic party and what do these insiders do? MAKE SURE IT CAN'T HAPPEN!

The media has been excoriating Bernie since Iowa. It just can't be. How can a septuagenarian socialist Jew who just had a heart attack be ahead? This has got to be stopped. Biden faded, so let's push Mayor Pete, the boy wonder, and if that doesn't work we'll let Michael Bloomberg buy the election! Yup, that appeals to college students and laborers. Let's put all our faith in someone we hate, just to beat someone we hate even more.

But it gets even worse. ANY Democrat can beat Donald Trump. Not only do the polls say this, so does Rachel Bitecofer. Who? The woman who called the 2018 election correctly when no one else did.

There are almost no independents.

I say this all the time. People are afraid to admit they're Republicans. Just ask them..."When did you last vote for a Democrat?" They'll be scratching their head, and then they'll say..."Well, I'd consider one." But they don't. Furthermore, the same thing exists on the left, independents who always vote Democratic. So instead of fifteen or twenty percent of the public being swing voters, Bitecofer believes it's really just six or seven percent. So, it's not about playing to the middle, trying to pull people over the transom to your side, but rather rallying your party, circling the wagons, getting out the vote.

Look at Bitecofer's numbers. By turning off the Bernie fans and nominating Hillary third party candidates surged, denying Hillary the Presidency. Do you think it can't happen again? That's what the DNC is attempting by trying to trip up Bernie through any means possible.

Oh, there's that word "socialist." Truth is America is already socialist, can you say Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security? Trump wants to cut the social safety net, how well do you think that's gonna resonate with people, especially those on the right who were against Obamacare but wanted the government to keep its hands off their Medicare. Let's see, you work your whole life knowing there's a pot of money at the end that will help you survive and now the insiders are gonna take it away from you? Never gonna play.

And it's sixty five degrees in Antarctica yet climate change is not a big issue?

The economy is burgeoning but you can't make ends meet on your low-paying service job income?

Bernie is speaking English, that's why he's got traction.

Of course Bill Maher is afraid of socialism, he owns a piece of the Mets!

Everybody with money is freaking out, afraid they're going to lose something, which is why they're getting behind Bloomberg. Yup, when the going gets tough everybody wants to save themselves and their lifestyles, they'll sacrifice you in a heartbeat. Which is how we got into this mess.

So if the Democrats rally around their candidate, whomever it might be, according to Bitecofer, they'll win. But by rewriting the debate rules in midstream, speaking of the bad acts of the "Bernie Bros," what are the odds these people are gonna rally around Bloomberg?

And let's say Bloomberg gets elected, do you really think he's going to undercut his fellow oligarchs, turn against his class, suddenly become a bleeding-heart liberal after stop and frisk? ARE YOU NUTS?

Of course I'd rather elect Bloomberg than Trump. But I don't believe he'll fix the endemic problems of this nation, the can will just be kicked further down the road. We need radical change. Isn't that what the last twenty five years have been all about? Did you miss the memo on mattresses in a box, electric cars, glasses via mail, everything shipped to your home, the internet itself? We've been through a wrenching transition, and the truth is some people profited handsomely, and many did not. As for those who did not, the winners keep telling them they've got a computer in their pocket, they've got the means of creation at their fingertips, if they too just put their nose to the grindstone they could win. Meanwhile, best to let the winners run the table and rule.

HOGWASH!

Steve Bannon on Bill Maher (watch at 6:45 and then wind back to 4:25: https://bit.ly/38lqh3L

Nate Silver on Bloomberg: https://53eig.ht/2vmJH9S

"An Unsettling New Theory: There Is no Swing Voter-Rachel Bitecofer's radical new theory predicted the midterms spot-on. So who's going to win in 2020?": https://politi.co/2Szy9YV


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Your Favorite Winter Song-SiriusXM This Week

Tune in today, Tuesday February 11th, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.

Phone #: 844-6-VOLUME, 844-686-5863

Twitter: @lefsetz or @siriusxmvolume/#lefsetzlive

Hear the episode live on SiriusXM VOLUME: siriusxm.us/HearLefsetzLive

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app: siriusxm.us/LefsetzLive


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(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again

The Purple Disco Machine remix is a hit.

Word was this song was a loser. Most people didn't even know there was a new song in "Rocket Man." And even though I was invited to multiple screenings I did not go, because I'm not into fantasy, I'd rather keep my memories intact, the ones I grew when Elton John went from instant hit newcomer to album after album of killer material.

And, of course, Elton burned out after "Blue Moves" and Geffen could never achieve the same success he had on Uni.

Yes, he had hits, he was on MTV, but the songs did not quite resonate the same way until 1989's "Sleeping With The Past," with a return to greatness with "Club At The End Of The Street," which could fit on any early seventies album, and the haunting "Blue Avenue."

But Elton moved on to the Great White Way and Africa, with great success, but it appeared he was done on the hit parade. 2004's "Peachtree Road" delivered, but it was out of time. Elton was too old, the scene was too pop and hip-hop, and it was mostly ignored.

Like everything else that doesn't fit the niche.

It's so hard to get noticed if you're not pop or hip-hop, especially if you're over forty, it's like you don't even exist.

And here comes "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again."

Like I said, word was bad. But I was in an Elton mood, so I pulled up the cut on Amazon Music, its ULTRA HD tier is genius, and...

So was the track.

Huh?

This didn't make sense. Everybody had dismissed this cut as a throwaway, tacked on to the movie, an injection of something new that you did not need to hear.

And if you listen to the original, that's the truth.

But somehow that's not what came up on Amazon Music. I searched on "Elton John" and I got the Purple Disco Machine remix of "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again." I looked at my phone to do research, because this couldn't be, this track was too good to be dismissed.

That's when I found out the version I was listening to was not the original.

Which I then pulled up.

It misses. It's not that it's bad, it's just that you don't need to hear it again, it doesn't stick to your bones, there's no magic enticing you, getting you addicted, it sounds like a track that would play over the credits.

But not the remix.

I went back to it. And I still got it.

It was that guitar sound, the walk, the slurp, it's hard to listen to the Purple Disco Machine take and not get up and dance, it's the essence of music, something that immediately grabs you and won't let go, puts a smile on your face, reinforces the feeling that life is worth living and that when done right music delivers a hit you cannot get anywhere else.

Purple Disco Machine...did I miss a memo? I mean I'd never heard of it, which turned out to be just one guy anyway. He had some success in the electronic music world, but he was no Deadmau5, he was not a household name, but today almost no one is a household name, and if you're not deep into a scene you've got no idea what's going on.

Now the skinny jean and black leather jacket crowd will scoff that this is disco. Then again, so is Prince's "Dirty Mind," his best effort if you ask me. Actually, there's been more disco since the demolition back in '79, seems like the disco beat is everywhere, even though this is called "house."

Music is like pornography, you know it when you hear it. When done right, it's inexplicable, it just reaches you. A musicologist can analyze it, but the truth is the people who made it don't have those skills, they've just got the music in them.

Now there's no place on radio for Purple Disco Machine's remix of "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again," but it could be a bar mitzvah/wedding staple.

Sure, the song won an Oscar, but I don't expect any bounce.

Yet I'm bouncing as I listen to Purple Disco Machine's remix of "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again." It's got that same feeling as "Philadelphia Freedom," and isn't that what we're looking for from music, TO BE SET FREE?

P.S. I love tracks that you can play over and over again, for hours. Yup, every once in a while one comes along, it puts me in a mood, I put it on endless repeat and revel in the feeling. I don't want to turn the Purple Disco Machine remix off, I don't want to lose that feeling, OH, WHAT A FEELING!

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2Hedu7q

YouTube-

Purple Disco Machine remix: https://bit.ly/38iQTSS

Original: https://bit.ly/2tREiaA


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Oscar Ratings Tank

"TV Ratings: Oscars Fall to All-Time Lows": https://bit.ly/2UHNauq

I didn't watch.

Who needs to see a throng of self-important lefties revel in their fabulousness while they promote their fatuous work?

Yes folks, movies have become baseball in a land of football that is being challenged by soccer.

In other words, the theatrical experience doesn't hold a candle to the home/flat screen one and series are much more appealing than two hour snoozefests and shoot-em-ups.

So it's not only the paywall of theatres, it's also the form, it doesn't fit today's world where if you're into something, you want to go deep, if you stop and smell the coffee you don't want a cup, but the whole pot.

Used to be the Oscars were a religious experience, at least for me. I'd gather with friends in front of the screen, which was much smaller back then, and there would be no talking as we watched the shapers of culture vie for victory, even though Woody Allen refused to attend because he believes competition in the arts is pointless, which is true, but everything needs to be quantified in today's society, no matter how fallacious the judging.

Movies drove the culture. We wanted insight into those in front of the camera and behind. We learned the lingo. We knew the studio heads (quick, name one today!) and had to go to the theatre not only for the experience, but in order to participate in conversation at parties.

But then the producers went solely for the bucks and everybody we knew stopped going and we did too. Talk to friends, either they go all the time or not at all. I'm in the latter category, it just takes too much time, and I hate the audience and the timing...I want to watch when I want to watch, we live in an on-demand culture, that's what streaming is all about!

As for rallying around the set with your brethren...

We call that the Super Bowl. And it's about the ads and the ability to discuss the halftime presentation more than the game, if the game is good it's a bonus. The Super Bowl is now a national holiday, if you're not invited to a party you feel like a loser.

But the mainstream media did not get the memo that things have changed. The L.A. "Times" has its inane "Envelope" section, puff pieces published to satisfy clients that their publicists are doing the work.

And then there are the endless ads in both the aforementioned L.A. "Times" and "New York Times." Who are these for? Oh, I get it, oldsters who still get the physical newspaper, the same ones who won't vote for women and people of color.

Not that I think sexism or racism or even politics are the reasons people don't watch, but the fact that THEY HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIES!

There, that's the number one problem. Believe me, if they premiered a new movie every Friday night on a streaming service I'd watch it, because I'd want to be part of the conversation, feel like I belong in a culture where we're all on our own avenue.

That's why awards show ratings are going down, they're out of time, just like variety shows and westerns. We don't want to be glued to the screen in an era where we avoid commercials at all costs, come on, you use an ad-blocker don't you? You should, your web pages will load that much faster! And Amazon is so cluttered with ads you can't even find what you're looking for anymore. Never mind Google, with all its paid ads on top.

But ain't that America, where you sell, sell, sell.

But movies used to be different. Before it was all about the tie-ins, the sponsorships, the merch. When you oversell you deplete desire.

And the content in the awards shows? People with personal trainers and plastic surgery acting like everything they say is so important while they break for a musical number almost no one has heard to fill in the broadcast.

Want me to watch? Make it like the original Academy Awards, just the awards, twenty minutes, half hour top. I'd watch that, but I'm not dedicating an evening only to find out I consumed empty calories and want all that time back.

And it's true that if anything happens, we'll find out about it immediately online, if we care, and we can consume the entire show in a matter of minutes, if that long. Kinda like SNL.

But no one wants to mess with the formula, no one wants to blow the show up.

Or the movie business itself, other than Netflix, which can't stop being excoriated by the wankers who produce and attend this fiasco.

Netflix will make your movie. Netflix will green light you. Because that's the agreement they have with their audience, you pay us and we make a cornucopia of new stuff. And they know it's about mass and niche. As in you need a mass of subscribers but many verticals of product. If they only made supernatural and superhero programming, I'd unsubscribe, but I can watch "Narcos" (coming back this week!) and "Money Heist" and a bunch of personal stuff I dig, like the films of the Duplass brothers, who are at least trying to reflect reality, where we all reside the last time I checked.

Oh, there's a business in making two-dimensional dreck for international consumption by youngsters and nitwits, but it's kinda like terrestrial radio, it gets the biggest slice of an ever-decreasing pie. So, these Marvel movies make more than any other ones, but most of us never bother to go to the movies anymore, we've been ignored and we checked out.

And don't tell me about the grosses... If you want to talk about grosses, let's talk video games, which can be a billion in a matter of days!

Everyone thinks their world is forever.

And long after the innovators are deceased, people without the same drive or understanding prop up the carcass until it dies. Yup, everything dies. Thomas Cook, Atari, 3-D...everything gigantic is a fad these days, everybody stops to look at the train-wreck and then they mash the pedal and continue to drive on by.

The record labels fought the internet for a decade.

The book business refuses to acknowledge the internet exists. They got prices raised on e-books and sales dropped but piracy has now gone through the roof! They're repeating the music business debacle twenty years later, they thought they were immune when the truth is they were just ignorant: scroll down to "Book pirates are like termites: harmless as individuals, devastating in groups.": https://bit.ly/3btTprJ

The movie business killed its essence when money became more important than story, they hollowed out the essence to the point where most people no longer care.

Furthermore, these big swinging dicks, and most do have dicks, refuse to play in the real marketplace, streaming television, where you find out instantly whether people want to watch your product or not. Just like oldsters decry music streaming, where it's not that you're getting screwed on payments, but just that most people don't want to listen to your music!

But the great thing about life is it keeps on rolling along, and the will of the people always wins, especially in an era where the tools of construction have been commoditized, where you can create and market on a shoestring. Sure, a lot of dreck has been produced, but not all of it is junk. When you try to narrow the pipe, the mole pops up elsewhere, in a world where there's endless shelf space and instant access to everything.

Come on, if the movies were launched on streaming services day and date they once again would be topics of discussion by everybody. But who wants to pay to see "Parasite" today, when everybody who went previously will put you down.

And how can you trust an industry that lauds "The Irishman"? We were subjected to endless stories about its production, its story, its actors, and the final product smells like a turd, overlong with little arc, like a typical Scorsese pic. But no, Marty is a genius, he cannot be crapped on. The insiders and critics are just like those guys in skinny jeans who used to tell you your music was crap and you had to listen to theirs. Now the hoi polloi no longer care, and speaking of the general public, I can't find a single person who thought "The Irishman" was great, and when ballots were secret, the truth came out, it won no awards.

Yup, impeachment came and went nearly instantly, but we had to hear about the turgid "Irishman" for years, intensely for the last half of 2019 until up to now. No wonder the mainstream media is losing credibility.

Now I used to wait for these flicks to hit the flat screen. But then I found out it was too late, there was other stuff to watch. More people have talked to me about "Chernobyl" and "Succession" than any flick in a theatre this year, and I haven't even made it around to them, right now I'm into the third season of "Trapped" on Amazon, an Icelandic noir/mystery series that is too slow for the fast and furious movie theatre but plays just right on the flat screen.

I'm inundated with suggestions. And when something is good, I can dig my teeth in deep, sometimes seven or eight seasons! I truly get to know the characters. "Spiral" is better than any movie I've seen in years.

But in today's America you can never go backward, you can never lose a thing you've got, which is why the left wing elites are agitating for Bloomberg, because he's one of them. Bernie? He'll blow it all up, they'll pay more money, they'll have to get in the pit with the rest of us, fighting it out.

But it won't happen in a movie theatre and it won't happen watching the Oscars, because they're HISTORY!


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