The Social Dilemma

https://bit.ly/3mhcTFq

Distribution is king. Always was and always will be. You want your work on the most available platform, the one with the most eyeballs. And presently that is Netflix.

The purveyance of art used to be based on scarcity. There was only so much, so you could dictate the terms upon which it was consumed. But the internet busted that model and the only creative art form that has adjusted is music. Streaming outlets make everything available, removing the filter from the pipe. If you pay, you can listen. And, if you're willing to listen to ads, you can listen without paying. So, it becomes a matter of getting known, getting attention, amidst the mass of product. Scarcity is history and everyone is affected. The barrier to entry is very low, but it turns out that people all don't want to listen to the same thing. The big may be bigger than the small, but they are nowhere near as big as they used to be.

Same situation in television. Every show on television would have been canceled in the old three network world. You'd see ratings in the twenties and thirties. There was a limited number of shows, and there was a huge audience hungry for shows. But then they got choice, assuming they were willing to pay, cable expanded the channel universe and if you wanted to pay even more you could get premium cable channels, like HBO and Showtime. Actually, deals used to be rampant, as was outright stealing, but then the cable systems all went digital, increasing the number of channels, and discounts went by the wayside and stealing was stanched. And the monopoly distributors, the cable systems, were raking in dough. Their only real competitor was satellite, but now satellite is tanking, because that's not what people want. People want a premium pipe and then they want to layer on their own services, like Netflix and Amazon and... As for the cable providers, they're about to get a competitor in 5G, but the rollout has been slow and different types of 5G have different speeds and the fastest has the smallest reach and problems penetrating obstacles, but 5G causes Covid anyway, right? Or maybe it's cancer. Or both. Just hold on, give it some time, the ills of 5G, however false and fatuous, are about to be amplified as the service grows.

That's what we're talking about here, the spread of disinformation. The amplification of falsehoods. The lack of facts we can all agree on. That's what "The Social Dilemma" is ultimately about, and more.

"The Social Dilemma" is the most e-mailed creative project in my inbox this week. Not a record. The problem with records is they're all niche, none appeal to all, whereas the tech companies have monopolies and we all use their services and we're interested in their effects, since we're addicted.

So, if you follow the movie business, and you probably don't, you're aware that all the studios are holding back their premium product as a result of the relative failure of the release of "Tenet." Seems people are not ready to leave their houses and congregate, at least not in suitable numbers. But the movie business signed its death warrant years ago, studios decided to make fewer and fewer films while being sure they all had worldwide appeal and the pictures lost their edge, and edge is what hooks you, what makes something successful. And the truth is edge inherently contains polarization, there will be people who don't want anything to do with the project, who excoriate it. So, the movie studios have lost their hold on the public consciousness just like the television networks, turns out making everything for all people is a bad business model in a world where there is not scarcity.

Theoretically network television is free, assuming you want to buy an antenna, don't live in a valley or behind a mountain and are not that far from a transmitter. Which is why we got cable to begin with, to eliminate those problems. But it turns out many can live without network TV. Turns out many people can live without cable TV. Yes, cable. Where they go in search of the lowest common denominator and when they find it they run it into the ground. But streaming has a different model. The goal is to get you to keep paying every month, therefore the appeal of a specific show is irrelevant, as long as the smorgasbord of product keeps you drinking from the trough.

So, on Netflix, you have a plethora of product, little of it completely bland, some downright serious, and everybody in America has an account or access thereto. Netflix's reach far outstrips that of Disney+ and Apple+ and HBO Max, its only real competitor is Amazon Prime, with its slow software, lousy interface and lack of hit product. Hit product is what drives subscription, it gives you notice, no different from a hit single selling an album. The hit doesn't have to be compromised, it doesn't have to fit a formula, it just has to appeal to the spreaders of information, that get a conflagration of word of mouth started.

Therefore, the biggest thing in visual entertainment last week was "Away," Netflix's space oddity featuring Hilary Swank. People had access, and word of mouth spread. And despite low RottenTomatoes ratings, the series rose to number one on Netflix, proving that some shows are review-proof, and that being featured on the Netflix homepage is like the endcaps in the record stores of yore, they promote and sell product.

So, this week's story is "The Social Dilemma." It will have much more impact than Bob Woodward's book, much more impact than any music released on Friday, because it's on the biggest platform and it appeals to all people and you can view it on demand. Yes, unless your product is available on demand, you're toast.

So, is "The Social Dilemma" a 10? A triumph? Actually, no, it's imperfect. But that does not mean it's not must-see TV. As a matter of fact, it's the one show everybody needs to see, which is why my inbox is filling up, why word of mouth is spreading, because the film speaks to all of us, our hopes and dreams and our fear and despondence.

The social networks. They're the enemy. Right? But we all use them incessantly. We just need to get Zuckerberg to get in line, just like people think we need to get Daniel Ek in line, and everything will be hunky-dory.

You see the anti-streaming people live in a bubble. Where their false beliefs are amplified. And if you pierce that bubble, even with truth, you're excoriated. Same deal in politics. Social media has caused polarization, that's the game the algorithms play, to keep you addicted they serve you more of what you're already interested in. Which is why you can see people on TV spouting inanities like Antifa is responsible for the wildfires, never mind QAnon.

So what we've got in "The Social Dilemma" is a bunch of talking heads, all with experience in the social media world, many at the true heart of it, having worked for Facebook and Google and Twitter and...telling us about the evils of the product. But if you think you know it all, you'll still learn more. Like the algorithms are out of control, that even Zuckerberg does not have power over them. Yes, we've been hearing about AI forever, and if you read the papers you believe that its implementation is on the horizon. But that is wrong, it's already here. The computer, via machine learning, decides what you see. The programmers input some information, and then the final decisions are made by computers crunching the data.

Not that the programmers do not have power.

The platforms' goal is to keep you addicted, spending time on the services.

Now there's a fictitious scenario playing alongside the talking heads, of a family and how it is intertwined with social media. And one of the interesting things is nobody knows how much they're actually using these services. They think it's an hour a day when it's two and a half. And the turning point was around 2010, when everybody got a smartphone and the social media services were up and running and childhood suicide rates went up.

I'm not anti-screen time. I know, that puts me in the minority, but the fact that we can all connect via our devices eliminates a ton of loneliness, imagine if we had no internet today? Whew, how would you cope in the Covid era. But the truth is, the nature of growing up is many feel insecure and inferior and bullies are rampant and when you're publicly shamed, when someone reaches out and zings you, maybe even someone you don't even know, it hurts. So, you end up putting forth a false image, which evidences happiness 24/7, which has no connection with the real you, assuming you haven't offed yourself already.

So, these platforms are not in control of the content. You provide the content. And based on what sticks, they feed you more of it. And everybody, I mean EVERYBODY gets a different feed, even different Google results, and you wonder why our country has devolved into tribalism.

And it's only gonna get worse. And when you watch "The Social Dilemma" you'll realize how much at fault these platforms are. The issue is not only foreign interference, that's just the cherry on top. Meanwhile, as Roger McNamee says in the movie, the Russians are using Facebook properly, what it's designed for, they're not breaking any rules.

Think about that.

So, we've got Pizzagate and the aforementioned QAnon, laughable on the surface. But in your feed someone you respect amplifies them and suddenly you're in a group of people that all feel the same way and you become a believer.

Let me tell you a story. I had to go to the eye doctor, I lost a contact lens. And the doctor told me about a couple of patients that he had seen that morning. One patient lived in a $22 million dollar house and was ranting and raving that Covid is a hoax. Furthermore, her husband is a physician. But even worse was the cardiologist, who lives nearby, who came in saying she hadn't been able to sleep for seven days. She'd watched the Republican convention and she was so upset...if Biden is elected they're gonna come and take her house! Yes, if the Democrats win she's not gonna have a place to live. The eye doctor had a great comeback, he said he hadn't discussed it with his wife, but he was sure she'd agree...that if the cardiologist's house was taken, she could have theirs. And the cardiologist didn't laugh, she said REALLY?

We could sit down and teach these people the facts, but they won't believe them. It's not only Trump who has eroded credibility, but even more these social networks, where falsehoods are spread as I type this, and they grow, and the truth is those in power don't even have the ability to stop this!

So, social networks are much more of a problem than you've been led to believe. They are contributing to the division of our country. Even more than Trump and Fox News. It's online, on these services, that the stories are amplified and twisted and spread to millions, who never hear another side. And, those in charge don't have the power to stop this, and they don't even want to, because it would mess with their business model of slicing the data ever more thinly to sell it to advertisers.

And the social networks just don't sit back passively, they actively poke you to stay engaged, to not sign off, because then they can learn more about you and sell you more ads. Yes, they've built a profile on your wants and desires that far exceeds your worst nightmare, and they're selling this data. And when Apple said they were going to give iOS users the option to opt out, to not be tracked by Facebook, et al, Mark Zuckerberg had a fit! It was all over the business press, to the point that Apple is delaying this feature. Yes, the social networks' business model is selling your data, and if they don't have it, they're done.

Once again, you probably believe you know all this, all the ills of social media. Trust me, you don't. "The Social Dilemma" will only build in the number of viewers and its impact. And don't expect the government to address the problem, it is always multiple steps behind and those in office don't understand the ins-and-outs, never mind being paid by their donors to overlook problems.

This goes far beyond this year's election, this speaks to democracy!

But it gets even worse. One of the talking heads, Tristan Harris, worked at Google and was so upset at this hoodwinking of the company's users that he spent hours after work writing a manifesto. And when he finally gave it to friends at the company it spread like wildfire, making it all the way to Larry Page's desk. And what happened? NOTHING! That's what people don't understand about modern society. You think if you're on TV your act will break, you'll get a big leg up. No, NOTHING does that anymore, NOTHING! First and foremost you don't reach enough eyeballs, and those who are aware are inundated with a tsunami of product every day, every hour! So, you can drop your album and it can be done in a day, over, never to gain any legs. Which is why Daniel Ek says to release a steady stream of product, to give you a better chance of gaining an audience and keeping listeners engaged and what do music makers say? I DON'T MAKE MUSIC THAT WAY! I MAKE ALBUMS! They're pissing in the wind. The paradigm has shifted, and it's got little to do with Daniel Ek, he's just speaking the truth. But, of course, you can't hear it, because you're in your silo, your friends on Facebook and Instagram are putting logs on the fire, amping you up, yes, we must defend the album, streaming is the devil, we can stop the wheels of progress, to the point where you don't even want to hear an explanation of what is going on.

But "The Social Dilemma" gives you an explanation of what is going on with social media. Watch it.

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The Haves And The Have-Nots

"1% of artists account for 90% of streams says Alpha Data"

https://bit.ly/32j4kSc

It's a racket I tell you. Streaming has ruined the music business. I'm sitting here busting my ass recording and releasing and I'm not making any money. The system is broken. I've been screwed. Spotify is the devil.

But the devil is in the details. That 1%? It represents 16,000 artists!

SIXTEEN THOUSAND ARTISTS?

Last I checked, people could only listen to one track at one time. And sure, they've made more people since the seventies, but not that many.

In the seventies there was a glut of product, it was the talk of the business, how there were now FIVE THOUSAND ALBUMS A YEAR! Up from 2500-3000. How was anybody supposed to get noticed?

In other words, sixteen thousand artists making money every year sounds pretty good. The cycle in the seventies was one album per year...there weren't even 16,000 artists making music every year, at least not recorded and distributed to record outlets.

As for the rest of the acts...

The top 160,000 artists got 99.4% of the streams.

TERRIBLE! Only 160,000 artists a year are making money via streaming. We've got to get the government involved, this is a travesty!

If 160,000 artists are making money via streams, that's a MIRACLE! As for the other 99.4% putting music on the site, the vast majority, each one is a person with a voice and social media access and they can't stop bitching, obfuscating the reality.

Furthermore, the RIAA just released their mid-year statistics: https://bit.ly/32jMFKu Despite the pandemic, despite the devastation of business in America, recorded music revenues WENT UP! By 5.6%. And, AND, streaming now represents 85% of the market as opposed to 80% a year earlier. In other words, STREAMING IS SAVING THE MUSIC BUSINESS!

But don't let the facts get in the way of a good story.

As for the vaunted vinyl revival? Of the $5.7 billion in sales at the retail level, $376 million was attributable to vinyl. Sure, there was a negative impact from the pandemic, but do you get the relative proportions? Sell that vinyl as a souvenir, it's a de minimis part of overall revenue, especially when you consider streaming is all net and vinyl has fixed costs in shipping and manufacturing, never mind discounts at retail.

In other words, the future's so bright you've gotta wear shades. More people are making more money from recorded music than ever before and revenues are going up. LET'S PARTY!

But it's all doom and gloom in the press. Artists are starving. Daniel Ek ruined the business, and by telling the truth, that some acts are making beaucoup bucks on streaming, and that that number is growing, he ended up excoriated by everybody not rich or rich in the past to the point where I doubt he'll be making any pronouncements in the future.

I know, I know, it doesn't FEEL right!

But feel has got nothing to do with facts. Hell, look at politics.

So, you can make music and distribute it cheaply as a result of new tools. You can record on your laptop and distribute via streaming services at almost no cost, whereas in the past recording was expensive and without a deep pocket, i.e. a record company, you were shut out. BUT WHY IS THERE AN EXPECTATION YOU SHOULD MAKE A LIVING!

This drives me crazy. All the ink about starving artists. They never factor in demand. If you start a restaurant and no one comes it's not the public's fault, IT'S YOUR OWN DAMN FAULT! You tweak, you do everything you can to stay in business but chances are you fail. Kind of like the record store owners of yore. The internet ruined their businesses. They were so good at it, recommending records, people loved their shops, but the future came and they ended up on the wrong side, in the past. I thought art was about piercing the barriers of the future, not holding people back.

So, the big get bigger, as the pie increases, as more people subscribe, as revenues go up. And, the business is no longer hit dependent, people want full access to all music all the time, they just don't subscribe and sign off when there's a hot new album.

However, mindshare of hit artists is decreasing. The landscape is broadening. This is a story that is not told because the media and the business itself are focused on a hit mentality. There is no longer just a top forty. Turns out there are a ton of music niches and successful acts in each one of them. Everybody lauded as a star? The Spotify Top 50? The ridiculous, manipulated "Billboard" chart? They're reaching a smaller percentage of the public than ever before. You can ignore Cardi B no problem. You may have never heard the Weeknd. As for "Billboard"'s supposed song of the summer, DaBaby's "Rockstar," most people have never even heard it, never mind like or dislike it. You won't get that sense if you pay attention to media, then again, media is an insulated self-hyping universe.

So, there's money to be made. By a greater number of artists in a greater number of genres, especially when you factor in touring.

But somehow there's a problem.

NO WAY!


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Chris Difford-This Week's Podcast

Chris Difford, of Squeeze. We address the formation of the band and its various iterations, but first and foremost we focus on Chris and his life, both personal and musical, his viewpoints, his choices (and his tenure with Bryan Ferry!) You'll feel like you're truly getting to know Chris, and even if you're not a Squeeze fan you'll enjoy hearing what Chris has to say.

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

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/chris-difford/id1316200737

https://open.spotify.com/search/bob%20lefsetz%20chris

https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=77612900


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The New Oscar Rules

This is what happens when you've got your head so far up your ass all you can see is your navel.

Let's start from the beginning... The Oscars are irrelevant to everybody but those in the fading film industry itself, other than those who come out once a year to complain about this or that.

There, I said it.

How did this happen?

Well, films devolved from art to business. Oh, they were always a business, but along the way studios and directors occasionally created art and therefore gained respectability. But TV threw a monkey wrench in the whole process so the industry went for event pictures. But then it found in the sixties that by tackling stories too outré, too sexy, too deep, too dangerous for TV, people would be drawn to the theatre. Sure, there was still lowbrow stuff purveyed, but it was films like "Bonnie & Clyde" and "The Graduate" and "The Godfather," never mind classic comedies like "Annie Hall," that drove people to the theatre, but even more had America, the world, talking about them.

Those days are through.

Let me catalog the reasons...

Pure greed. Once "Jaws" and then "Star Wars" demonstrated how much money could be made, studios no longer wanted to hit singles, however profitable, they wanted home runs.

Marketing. In an era where it's hard to reach anybody, studios spend upwards of a hundred million dollars trying to reach a potential audience, and they only want to do this if the film has mass appeal, and therefore they don't want to make any "small" pictures.

As a matter of fact, studios cut down production. You can shoot a movie in hi-def on your iPhone, but good luck getting a green light at a studio. So, you post your effort on YouTube, or you make movies and series for streaming services, like Netflix.

Yes, TV has finally killed the traditional movie experience.

But Bob, people still want to go to the theatre! Yes, for a night out, the experience is more important than the film. And the experience, especially in this age of smartphones, can be so distracting as to convince people not to attend. At home, it's quiet. If you want to talk to your spouse, no one complains. And with the standard now a 65" screen, in 4k, home viewing satisfies, never mind that it's on demand, i.e. the picture starts and stops whenever you want it to.

So, Oscar ratings continue to drop. On this one night, they appeal to cineastes, but the industry is supported by lowbrows, and they're not interested in the pictures nominated. Furthermore, the number of cineastes is decreasing, just like the number of symphony fans, they're aging out. It's a circle jerk I tell you. If you win a big award the studio can advertise such, but an Oscar is barely more meaningful than a Grammy, which no longer gives you a sales bounce, which is employed by most musicians as a line on their resumé, to hopefully increase live bookings. Once again, the audience does not care, and the victors rarely comport with the Spotify Top 50, which is what the majority of people are listening to. Then again, the Grammy voters, just like the Oscar voters, have contempt for this popular stuff.

So, the goal is to save the Oscars. Which are out of touch with the film industry itself. And the way to do this is...

Include television.

Like the studios in the sixties and seventies, Netflix and its compatriots give creators free rein, with cash. The only downside is you don't get points, but you get to make your project, which is even more important. No studio wanted to pony up for "The Irishman." And Netflix and its brethren need product. We don't need any movies. The middle man, the theatre owner might, but the public does not. Most people are no longer addicted to the ritual of going to the theatre, but they are addicted to the ritual of consuming deep streaming series.

The film studios have lost their power. Except when they make television. Quick, name a studio head. YOU CAN'T! Unless you're in the industry. But everyone has heard of Ted Sarandos, think about that.

Is there a problem of diversity in films... OF COURSE! But films no longer drive the culture, TV does. It started when there were a million cable outlets, and then HBO started making its own shows, once again to satiate the audience, to keep people subscribed, but no one in Hollywood changed, certainly no one at the Oscars.

What did they do? COMPLAIN! It's no different from the record labels at the turn of the century. But the film business always felt itself superior to the record business, even though it was Warner records that built the cable system, that threw off more cash than the studio. The Oscars could have seen the movie, it was hiding in plain sight, but it refused!

Disruption happens. Adjust, or you're history.

Instead, we got filmmakers complaining about small screens, viewing experiences, as people started watching visual product on their smartphones, yes. Because they wanted the product so bad they couldn't forgo it. This was the silver lining in Napster/file trading...AT LEAST PEOPLE WANTED THE PRODUCT! It's just a matter of how you give it to them and how you charge.

But no, a movie must be something exhibited in a theatre. And, since fewer people are going, we'll raise the price, to more than a streaming television subscription. Yes, Spotify gives you all the music for ten bucks a month, a bargain for the heavy consumer of physical product, but it brought new customers in for more cash than they ever spent and revenues went up, think about that.

So, if the Oscars have new inclusionary rules...

Most creators will shrug their shoulders and ignore them. BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT NOMINATED FOR OSCARS ANYWAY!

As for the studios, they'll game the rules, they won't play by them, after all they've got so much money involved. Furthermore, if the Academy was smart, and it's not, it would have a credit system, so creators/polluters could buy from those not polluting to make their pictures. Yes, if you want to make a picture with white men, you can buy credits from a picture that features a rainbow of color.

And is the Oscar organization the correct one to right this wrong? Of course not! It should be the MPAA, a trade organization, not an awards-giving organization. But the Academy and its Oscars have been criticized so much that the appearance of looking woke is more important than the credibility and gravitas of its underlying product, the awards.

Not that we cannot change names, not that we can't right the wrongs of the past. I point you to this podcast wherein the president of Squaw Valley explains why the ski area needed to change its name:

"Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows President & COO Ron Cohen - The Resort Name 'Belongs In The History Books'": https://bit.ly/2GLm40t

By time you're done listening, you'll agree.

But explain to me why the Oscars need to change... No, explain to me why the studios and the films they make must change! Yes, there is racism and sexism, but once you start messing with creativity, you throw the baby out with the bathwater, it's akin to censorship, there are too many exceptions to the new rules of the Academy.

Below the line, behind the scenes changes...I'm all for them, build the skills and grow the presence of those who've been discriminated against previously. But in a challenged industry do you start messing with what people make? Of course not! For example, once again let's look at the music industry. The aforementioned Warner was so afraid of its partner Interscope, which featured hip-hop stars like Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, that they got rid of it, all to turn down the heat from outside agitators. End result? Interscope went to Universal, creating a linchpin of the now dominant company and Warner faded, never to regain the market share it once had. And yes, hip-hop now dominates the culture.

Recapping... The goals of the Academy are good ones, but the organization is not the right one to establish serious roadblocks in the creative process. And, if the Academy wants to survive, make the Oscars important and meaningful once again, it must include TV, not only films, but series. After all, when you sit down in front of the flat screen you don't say you only want to watch one or the other, then again, I prefer series, because they go deeper.

The Academy is out of touch with the public. Get that, an organization that believes, falsely, it is the epicenter, the driver of popular culture, is clueless as to the wants of its desired audience, and therefore on the way to irrelevance. And the solution is not to narrow the pipeline of product that qualifies, but to broaden it!

Then again, old farts cannot fathom true change. Once again, a movie must be in a theatre and be ninety minutes to two and a half hours long, actually the shorter the better, because exhibitors want to turn the house. But the medium affects the message. The invention of the LP begat the concept album, "Sgt. Pepper," and in the on demand streaming era you can release as much product as frequently as you desire. The streaming giants know this, but it's anathema to the Academy/film studios.

Best to evaluate inclusion and diversity in streaming TV. Where so much product is created you can have more impact. Go where the future is, not the past. Exxon gets dropped from the Dow and the Academy is still concerned with the pollution of internal combustion engines when the entire industry is moving to electric, just ask Volkswagen, the world's largest auto manufacturer, it's all-in. VW got rightly pilloried for the diesel emissions scandal, but it pivoted to do the right thing in the future. It's always about the future, not the past, and the future is not feature films in theatres, sorry. If anything, it's a dying art form.

So, Academy, you messed up. Maybe you should kick out members who are offenders, past and or present. To get in the organization you must adhere to certain rules, qualify. But to try and run herd over an industry that is not beholden to you is like the Baseball Hall of Fame trying to legislate rule changes in the MLB. Believe me, Rob Manfred does not go to Cooperstown to address the game's ills. He doesn't debate how to shorten the game, whether to have automatic walks and the designated hitter in the National League, with the board of that august institution. And yes, you can make it in the MLB and not be in the Hall of Fame, like Pete Rose, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.

But welcome to America, where appearance is more important than reality, where bending to special interest groups is more important than addressing the real problem, where we paint over transgressions and no real change transpires.

Like in a movie.


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The Tom Marshall Podcast

I don't believe in self-promotion. I figure you're hearing from me enough already. Hell, I sent three missives yesterday, and this is the third one today and I know people resent it, they don't want to be overloaded, say it shorter, be to the point, and only write about what they're interested in, which is primarily music.

I'm not writing about politics. Because it's useless. It's no longer about the vote, but counting the votes and the reaction thereto. In other words, the credibility of the vote has been undermined and Trump has undercut the validity of mail-in voting amongst his minions and...

"Exclusive: Dem group warns of apparent Trump Election Day landslide": https://bit.ly/35jXQEU

Read it and weep. There's a very good chance Trump will be ahead on election day and declare victory despite the onslaught of mail-in ballots that could tip the election to Biden that might take days or weeks to count.

Now the "Wall Street Journal" is even on it:

"Will Courts Pick the Next President? - If the election is close, the fallout could make Bush v. Gore look like an ice-cream social": https://on.wsj.com/35hg6yD

But you can't satisfy everybody, no way. And it's a fool's errand to try. Because it's the rough edges of your message that hook people and people don't really know what they want until they experience it. Market research may work in conventional business, but it's worthless in art. And famously Steve Jobs did no market research, he gave the people what they needed, not what they wanted. Oh, you want a litany of ports and a headphone hole on your phone and...if we listened to the public, we'd never get anywhere, because there are those so inured to the past that they cannot fathom any change. You know, the people who won't sign up for a streaming service because they don't want to cough up their credit card. Let's add in ignorance too...people who don't know you can synch Spotify, et al, tracks to the phone, so as long as you've got juice, you can hear them. But don't let the truth get in the way of a belief!

Which is what I did on the Tom Marshall podcast.

Marshall is the lyricist for Phish. And he started a new podcast, entitled "Under the Scales." And if you pay you can get bonus content, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I've seen Phish multiple times, I'm friends with the insiders, of course I'm gonna say yes to this, and over time you learn to say no to most things, especially in this overloaded internet era. Yes, if you want an interview with anybody with a profile the first thing they're going to ask you about is your reach, then who else has done it. I know, I know, it's kind of like only being able to get a job if you've got experience. But in this era where there are a zillion outlets, no one has time to be on all of them and no one has time to read or listen/pay attention to all of them.

But, like I said, I'm there for the Phish community.

But Tom Marshall is trying to build a business. Now Phish fans are notoriously loyal, so maybe there's a way to charge, but I'm anti-charge, because it inherently limits the growth of your business. If you're thinking money before reach you've got it all wrong. And I don't care how much money you're making on your enterprise, unless you're just into the cash, you've made yourself irrelevant if your work is behind a paywall. You charge last, you make money from the penumbra. Then again, what is your end goal, are you a hobbyist or are you playing for all the marbles? When I asked Mac McAnally about pursuit of his solo career, he said he was just not that ambitious, unlike Jimmy Buffett. Jimmy owns his ambition. He wanted it and got it, he wants more and he's getting more. And it's much more difficult to be ambitious than laid back. Because the competition gets stiffer as you move up the food chain, only a few can have huge success.

All this to say if you're on Patreon and you're making bucks, more power to you, it's just that you should know you're in a cottage business with walls, that your business is not going to grow, that you've inherently made yourself irrelevant. If you're not willing to starve, you're never going to make it big in entertainment. Some household names are starving, because they're reinvesting all the proceeds into their art, whether it be creation or live show or... You can get an MBA and write a business plan, but I don't know anybody who has made it as an artist via that route. But I do know people who made it through hard work and determination. If you're not willing to forgo activities, don't start. In other words, if everybody is partying, if everybody but you owns a house, if you're envious, if those are the main draws, change course, you do not belong in the creative world.

Which is all to say that at the end of my interview with Tom, he asked me to create special content for subscribers, he wanted me to talk about my favorite streaming TV shows. Arguably, that was more interesting, at least to me, than everything I'd said previously, but unless you pay you cannot hear it.

So, I said yes to Tom. I've done a lot of this. I don't want to know the questions in advance, I want to come in cold, so maybe we can create some magic, otherwise you leave all the good stuff in the green room.

So, I'm talking to Tom, about Phish and stuff, and then we veer into ticketing. Tom hates Ticketmaster.

So, I explain ticketing, but Tom still doesn't get it.

And here's where there's a fork in the road. You can be nice, get along, or you can tell the truth. But people don't want to hear the truth. And you sever the underlying relationship. But I don't work for the man, I'm not gonna cover up my opinion or the truth, so I double-down. And it's not until deep into the podcast that I realize I've come across as an asshole.

Now that's another reason not to do press. Because the writers are oftentimes uninformed, this may not even be their beat, and you end up educating them and they still get it wrong. It's a complete waste of time. Even at the highest levels, you'd be surprised. But, mainstream press means less than ever before and you can reach people directly so...

Tom asked me to promote the podcast.

Now that's never gonna happen.

Like Maureen Dowd. She only tweets once a week, to promote her column. Doesn't she know this makes her look bad? If you're a fan, you know she's in the paper on Sunday. And she's got no respect for the medium, she's not tweeting about anything else.

And I almost never tweet. Why? I reach so many fewer people than I do by writing a missive, because no one reads Twitter exhaustively, you jump in and jump out, inherently you miss a ton of stuff.

As for Facebook... I didn't want to hear from everybody I grew up with so I never got on it.

As for Instagram... My friend the social media guru convinced me to join. But I hardly post, because it only works if you promote, and I've already got my own thing, this newsletter.

But can you make it if you don't self-promote?

That's an interesting question.

But as I've stated previously, I'm a voracious reader of Twitter. It's where you hear it first, and where you hear it with analysis and attitude. Like today's Covid story re Sturgis, I read that last night on Twitter.

And speaking of Twitter, people started to tweet positively about my Ticketmaster analysis on the Tom Marshall/Under the Scales podcast, and it made me wonder about perception...maybe listeners weren't alienated by what I said, maybe they could discern the truth.

As for alienation, frustration and disgust, I get it all day long. If I listened and obeyed I wouldn't be able to write or do anything at all. And then when I write about feedback from these jerks, the only people who stop writing me are the reasonable ones, even those with a profile. You just can't fight it, you just can't win.

Like with ticketing... THE ACT IS AT FAULT! The act takes ninety to a hundred percent of the gate and the only profit is in the ticketing. And Ticketmaster only gets a sliver of the fees. The rest go to the promoters and the buildings and sometimes even get kicked back to the acts!

BUT THAT DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT!

Tell that to a mathematician, or a scientist. Feel is irrelevant.

So, if you want to hear what I have to say about ticketing and more you can listen to me on this podcast, it's up to you, I won't push you.

https://www.osirispod.com/podcasts/under-the-scales/


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Re-MTV

From: Martha Quinn
Subject: MTV Documentary

Hi Bob!

I hope this email finds you safe and well.

Thank you for the kind words in your piece regarding the MTV documentary.

I've not seen the doc yet but you mention it's the viewpoint from inside the belly of the beast. For the sequel I'd love to see a compendium of views looking at MTV from the outside, an exploration of the profound effect MTV had on an entire generation of fans.

Today when you see the MTV logo it takes no time at all for our brains to process what it represents. Like looking at a grilled cheese sandwich. One second. Boom. Got it. It's hard to remember now, but in 1981 this was far from the case. MTV burst out of left-field like a meteor into an unsuspecting world. One summer night (August 1st to be specific, a night I will always remember) a fiery, mind-blowing, meteoric pop-culture disruptor blasted into our consciousness, changing the lives it touched forever.

You might have seen the (excellent) ZZ Top doc where Dusty Hill, Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard were calling each other the night they first saw MTV, asking each other "how long is this show going to be on??" No one could wrap their minds around what was in the world they were seeing. This extended to us working at MTV, we'd never seen anything like it before either. There were times when I Martha Quinn was late to my job working at MTV because I was home…watching MTV. One more video, just one more, just one more. The videos, the funky spray-painted logo, the unset we called a set, plus commercials with rockers?? Never, ever, ever witnessed before. The marriage of the 24-hour music radio format with television delivered an impact so massive it still reverberates today. I know first-hand how much MTV continues living in people's hearts.

Listeners call in literally every day to my all-80s music radio station (iHeart 80s @ 103-7, KOSF in San Francisco) sharing what MTV meant to them. How they would dash home from school, turn on MTV and watch breathlessly for hours. Entire neighborhoods cramming into the basement of the one house on the block that had MTV. Kids who got jobs after school to help their parents pay for the cable. Stories of screwdrivers jammed into cable boxes to somehow receive MTV. Memories like these are Alive and Kicking. Fans have told me MTV was their solace while serving in the military, or enduring family struggles. Indie music fans have shared the isolation they felt until MTV blew into town showing them they were not alone, there was a tribe that existed for them in the world!

You're so right nothing lasts forever (we can't rewind we've gone too far) but wow what a miraculous We're Not Gonna Take It moment in time. A shared experience that united a generation.

What do you say Bob, want to make the outside-looking-in documentary with me? We'll call it I Got My MTV!

Best Always,

Martha

___________________________________

From: Meg Griffin
Subject: just the facts

Hey Bob..

I've been told you wrote that "Meg Griffin refused to be a VJ".

Allow me to correct that.

I turned down an offer to work at MTV after some comments by Bob Pittman that rubbed me the wrong way.
Compensation they offered was not much to speak of, either.

My heart had always been in radio and shortly after I turned down MTV, Scottso hired me full time at WNEW-FM.

I had left WNEW FM in 1979 to be Music Director and full time host on
WPIX-New York's Rock and Roll From Elvis to Elvis which was a groundbreaking radio station in NYC. When the ownership there decided to dump the format where we mixed the Ramones into Buddy Holly into Devo -and Elvis Costello into Elvis Presley - in favor of going with a format they called Love Songs Nothing But Love Songs, I was outta there. And Scottso asked me back to WNEW FM at just about the same time MTV was launching. I auditioned at MTV and they liked me enough to offer the gig.
I have never regretted turning that job down. It was not a mistake for me.

And I was a VJ at two different eras on VH1.

And way more fun than that, I also hosted as VJ a show called "New Grooves" produced by Campus Network - which aired in some markets on NBC TV, following SNL.

-MG

And that's the truth.

___________________________________

Subject: Re: Mailbag

Just occurred to me that even though Les Garland's contributions to MTV were surely a stellar achievement, I'm pretty sure he'd put being a featured guest interview on Golf Radio right up there in the top 3.

Regards,
Bob Cayne


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Eye Songs-Songs With "Eye" In The Title-This Week On SiriusXM

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3bC9HPH

Pandora: https://bit.ly/3jVoFmI

Tune in today, September 8th, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.

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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The A Word

We just started watching "Borgen."

I know, I know, it's an old show, but it's new to me. Jason Hirschhorn hipped me to the fact that it was finally on Netflix. Oh, I was aware of it, but I'm not buying a TV show, I'm on strike, we already subscribe to too many TV services.

Now if you haven't seen "Borgen," you should. For the lessons. Like "House of Cards." Politics is a game, how do you stay in it? Compromise is key. If you just stand your ground you get nowhere. But if you compromise, your constituents hate you for it. It's a conundrum. But the game-playing, it's akin to all other industries, even walks of life. You see there are bullies and manipulators and the only way they respect you is if you stand up to them, if they can roll over you they just laugh and take further advantage. I know, I know, it's the opposite of what you'd think, but if you want to have respect, you've got to be able to say no. And the work/family balance, and the way the prime minister's husband helps her sort out the issues...I guess too many shows are about murders and war, situations which you'd never experience in real life, but you can identify with "Borgen," I recommend it.

But I can't really recommend "Nobel," which we finished before "Borgen." It's a Norwegian show about the war in Afghanistan and some say there's too much talking and not enough action, not that I'd agree, and it's interesting but it's not absolutely top drawer, put it on your list if you've seen absolutely everything.

But what we watched before "Nobel"...IT WAS FANTASTIC!

"The A Word." My buddy Don Elford in Australia recommended it.

So I immediately researched the reviews. I'm sorry to say, if you recommend something that's got a bad rating on RottenTomatoes, under 80%, the odds of me watching it are about zero. Actually, unless I know you well, the show you recommend must be in the nineties, or high eighties, why waste so much time on subpar viewing, life is short, it's gonna end before you know it, sink your teeth into the good stuff!

"The A Word" had a 93% Average Audience Score and an 89% Average Tomatometer score so we fired it up, it's on Amazon Prime. No, it does not cost extra, if you pay for Prime you can view it for free, and you should.

"The A Word" is in English. So if you hate subtitles, you've got no excuse. But I'd recommend you leave the subtitles on, because the accents can get heavy.

It's shot in the Lake District. It is so beautiful, it will positively blow your mind. I did not know it was so close to Manchester, which I've been to multiple times, I wish I'd made the excursion.

So, living in the Lake District is like living in the country. Not everybody went to college, but everybody finds a way to survive.

Joe is autistic. That's the premise of the show, I'm not giving anything away. But Joe's parents won't accept this, they want to will him to be normal. They believe with just enough attention, he can overcome...once they admit that he's on the spectrum to begin with.

How do they find out? Well, they go to doctors, but really it's the sister-in-law, Nicola, who points to Joe's behavior. Nicola is one of those people who is smart, who is educated, but has no tact, cannot help herself from stating the truth, straightforwardly, sans nuance. You know, the kind you hate. Which Paul and Alison do. But she's right.

And Nicola is married to Alison's brother Eddie, who can't get over the fact that she had an affair.

And Alison and Eddie's father's wife died and he copes by trail-running.

And the music teacher's husband moved on and she misses intimacy and...

I don't want to give too much away. But the point is, these are normal people.

Maybe you have autism in your family, maybe not. But seeing the disappointment when Paul and Alison realize the hopes and dreams they had for Joe won't come true...it's heartbreaking.

But Joe is a music savant. Yes, he lives for eighties ditties, the songs his parents grew up with. If you grew up in the States, you'll know some of them, maybe if you grew up in the U.K. you'll know all of them.

So what we've got here is a family drama. But what makes it so great is the characters are 3-D and they don't always do what you expect them to.

You know American TV shows...it's all kumbaya, everybody loves everybody, everything works out, or if it doesn't someone is a villain who needs to pay the price. But that's not how life works!

I'd love to get into the details with you, but I don't want to ruin anything.

If you're human, if you're in touch with your feelings...

Or, if you're human and you're not in touch with your feelings...YOU SHOULD BE!

"The A Word" does not bludgeon you with messages. These are just people living their lives, dealing with the unexpected, trying to cope.

Alison is beautiful, but during the first season you want nothing to do with her.

This is not American TV. Sure, there are some great U.S. shows but the truth is it's a great big world out there with a lot of great stuff just waiting for you to watch it. Hiding in plain sight, like "Borgen."

Like "The A Word."

https://bit.ly/35eVR4z


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Mailbag

Re: MTV Documentary

Bob, thanks for your comments on my contributions in my time at MTV. It, of course, was a very exciting period of pop culture and I was fortunate to have been given a great opportunity coming from my time at Arista.

I did have a terrific eclectic team at a time when the record industry needed a national platform to help present their priorities. it really worked when the artists and videos matched up with how MTV saw the evolving musical landscape.

Rick, John, Patti, and Amy to name a few, were in many ways the arbiters of the taste and soul of what was going on in music and culture and many times were were able to really help influence some significant breakthroughs at this most exciting time. As the Head of Music programming, I got the credit and the blame for what we did or didn't do for people.

The truth is, Judy and Doug created the tapestry of MTV in the late 80s and early 90s and I am proud to have been a part of it, helping to drive the music and and building an audience that found us the destination for what was new and happening and of course having a great time!

None of realized the importance or power we had at a time of such iconic label executives and visionaries who needed the national radio station that played a mix of everything in a way the US media market never had.

I imagine we all miss those times....

-Abbey Konowitch

________________________________________

Re: The MTV Documentary

MTV Music Television = Les Garland

Thomas Meris

________________________________________

From: chip rachlin
Subject: Re: The MTV Documentary

Bob,

In '81/'82 I was working for Bill Graham when he promoted the Rolling Stones tours in the US and Europe. I remember when the Stones played in New Orleans we gave a ton of tickets and passes to Les Garland for some contest winners. We didn't really know (or care) what MTV was, but it was Les making the request so he got all the AA passes and tickets he needed.

When the European leg was over in the summer of '82 and I was out of work, my old friend Michael Klenfner told me to call Garland about a gig at MTV. "What's MTV I asked?" To make a long story short, I put on my best corduroy jacket and had a meeting with Les in his corner office at 1133 Sixth Avenue. After another job interview with Pittman, Garland called and said I got the job, but I better get a couple of suits as the corduroy jacket wasn't going to cut it.

My life changed that day. Working with Les was demanding but ALWAYS fun and never boring. We could be up all night, til the sun came up and Les would be in the office shaved, smiling and looking like a movie star in his Armani suit.

Those years at MTV we truly had an "All Star" team with Sykes, Sparrow, Judy McGrath, Tom Freston, Rick Krim, Doug Herzog, Brian Diamond and David Cohn among others.

It all changed when MTV went public, but those first few years MTV everything rock & roll was supposed to be.

Can't wait to see the doc.

Chip Rachlin

________________________________________

Re: The MTV Documentary

Irving said he wanted MCA to be the first label to sign the MTV agreement, so we were. Viacom didn't know one fucking thing about the music business; couldn't tell a synch license from a master use license AND thought the record companies should pay their public performance fees! They came up with two concepts that won the day; 1) paying an annual fee, and 2) getting "exclusivity" for 30 days on major videos and non-exclusivity on everything else. Wiped out all the competition overnight. MTV promised to increase payments as their penetration grew and, of course,
offered less when the first deal was up.
The only fun moment in the negotiation came when we all gathered at Irving's estate after some random awards show. Grubman was there, representing everyone. Must have been 50 people in the room when Grubman screams,"Kingie, why are you here"? Everyone turns to see Don King auditing the negotiations. He says, "You guys make boxing look easy".

Lance Grode

________________________________________

RE: MTV


Bob

Your piece on the MTV documentary brought back a long forgotten memory. In the early 80's I produced an album with Joe "King" Carrasco called Wild Party. The album didn't sell much but it did have one significant event attached to it. Joe and I wrote a song called "It's A Party Christmas" which became the 1982 MTV official Christmas Party song and we were invited to do the official video performance. If you watch the whole 3 minutes till the end you can see me with my then 4 year old daughter on my shoulders enjoying the experience. It was all done in good fun and it was.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7_ESWBKZaU

Richard Gottehrer

________________________________________

Re: The MTV Documentary

People love to rewrite history! People love the smell of their own farts! The MTV Documentary producers are rewriting history! I had a front row seat and was the promo weasel bringing Cyndi Lauper,Culture Club,Michael Jackson etc to Les and company! The Michael Jackson/Yetnikoff MTV scenario did not go down as described-I lived it!! Its water under the bridge-history-noone cares anymore since a bunch of corporate veals fucked up the wet dream! Next…..

Harvey Leeds

________________________________________

RE: The MTV Documentary

Bob, I have a feeling I will have enjoyed your review more than the documentary itself. I can already tell if it's only 90 minutes, that's like 90 seconds to someone like me who, from 1982 until 1992 was glued....perhaps not 24/7, but as close to it as possible. Before we got a VCR, I would wait at the top of the hour to see who was coming up & sit there with my cassette recorder to grab the songs I couldn't find at Record Bar or Peaches....that stigma didn't last long as we got a VCR a year or so in & the import/12" section at all the local chains blew up. Those two things went hand in hand, a week absorbing the videos & a weekend surfing all the bins at the stores.

Because of MTV, I can, with some amount of certainty, go on record to say I was the first kid on my block to have the first two Duran Duran LPs (US pressings on the original Harvest label!) before anyone else did. My dad used to have a LP listening night with a buddy of his the first Monday of every month & my first time attending, I brought the Duran Duran records. Talk about bridging a generation gap.

As you might imagine, in 2020, I still support the bands I found thru MTV. Thank you so much for the review, I know I will like it, but want it to go on for so much longer. Each year of the 80's could easily yield an hour each unto itself.

Kevin Andrusia
Orlando, FL

________________________________________

Re: The MTV Documentary

After Polygram/Mercury in Amsterdam made Abracadabra a hit with no help from Capitol, we found ourselves returning to America in 1982 with a number one hit and whirlwind tour. We had no time to get into a video studio to cut an MTV video for the new fledgling TV format so Capitol commissions one of the "up-and-coming" MTV directors and throws together a seamy, cheesy magic act-themed video with a couple still shots of us in there, casts a pretty blonde playing with a rat of all things, and voile', instant MTV video! It's hard to watch even to this day. But in typical Hollywood BS tradition, I think it won an MTV award!

Kenny Lee Lewis

________________________________________

Subject: from Holly Knight....I had more songs in the doc than any one artists

Hi Bob,
The birth of MTV was also a professional birth for me. We were the perfect match. I was there in every sense of the word from the very beginning…at least my songs were. When I saw the doc, it occurred to me that I have more songs in it than any one artist. When I watch it at a screening months ago, I didn't feel old. In fact I felt younger …almost like I was there all over again and it made me smile. I miss those days. Remember Love Is A Battlefield, Better Good To Me, Obsession, The Warrior, Never, Ragdoll, The Best..those are just a few that I wrote - MTV was the best thing that ever happened to me. It was the last decade of reckless abandon, excess. and well yeah in a weird way, even innocence…before consequences hammered down on pop culture…you know AIDS, war, economy..little things like that.

The first time I saw Benatar do her cover of "You Better Run", I knew that I wanted in, that I was going to write something for her. It was time for women to show their angst and fire and men had dominated
that territory for far too long. So I did, not only getting "in" but dominating the airwaves …at least for a good run, until MTV changed ten years in and lost the meaning of the "M" , which actually stood for music.
That's when I stopped watching it.

And then grunge and hardcore alt rock came and went, (which I also liked) and then - along came professional karaoke, i.e. American Idol and "The Voice" and in many ways fucked everything up. ..
Originality … original songs, everything got thrown to the wayside and got replace by "performance".... So what happened? Rock died. And all that progress that we(women) made in the rock arena regressed
and went back into hiding. And I feel bad for Lzzy Hale and Nita Strauss and all the beautiful bad ass women rockers of today because they have no platform now, at least not like when MTV was around and could really make you a star.

And women were empowered back then. They could be really sexy without having to go commando and appear naked or slutty in their videos like they feel the need to do today. As if that's the only way they can get attention. During the MTV days, pure TALENT was sexy and not only that but empowering, and in my opinion trumps everything else…more than image. I'm not saying that image isn't important, of course it is, but it really shouldn't be the number one attraction. And artists like Halsey are already brilliant enough that they don't need to always put their nipples out there to get attention. Sometimes I watch her and other young artist and all I want do is give them a warm bowl of soup and a blanket.

Along with the notion of image…what the hell happened to the song. The art of the song. Melody and lyrics that speak. MTV was chock full of amazing songs that still hold up today. There is a reason that 80s music is more popular than ever now. I can't tell you how much licensing I get for hit shows like GLOW, Schitts Creek, Stranger Things… And even the new generation is starving for what is now referred to as classic rock.

I"m still here…lots of great songwriters from that era are still here. But the business making of music is vastly changed. And your right…MTV was the best thing to happen in music history.
Tell you what, since maybe you would've told the story differently, you might enjoy my memoirs when they come out…because MTV is a big part of the story, part of an era that I rocked out in. Even with my own band DEVICE. I feel very lucky to have been an insider and influencer. It was EPIC !!!

________________________________________

Re: Re-Tom Seaver

Bob - Beside going to games, my favorite memory of him was when, in my early 20's after college, I got a call from one of my parents' friends inviting me to substitute into their regular doubles squash game. No mention of who was in the regular game. So I showed up on time, ducked through the little door and found that my partner was Tom. He was a big dude and as he and I started warming up, I discovered that his hand eye coordination was such that he hit the ball harder than anyone I'd played with before (I had played squash (poorly) in college in a D1 program) - Tom hit the ball so hard it actually sounded different than everyone else's shot, and you had to adjust early in order to try to see it coming in. What an exceptional, enthusiastic, competitive, warm, friendly guy I met that day. Made me confident that he was, in life, exactly the man we saw on the field and on TV interviews. I kept calling him "Mr. Seaver" and he kept correcting me "Mike, it's Tom, we're on the same team!" Truly one of the greats.

Wishing him and his family peace.

Michael Battey

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Subject: Tom Seaver and college days and dating

Hi Bob,
My good friend, Susi Spies, sent me your blog on Tom Seaver. I really enjoyed reading it. When I was a student at USC, I knew Tom. We went out on some dates in a platonic way. Sometimes he would come over to the sorority house and we would just play cards. He was always a warm and kind gentleman—a term not commonly used to describe a college fraternity boy.
I still have a couple of photographs from a Sigma Chi pajama party that we attended! Fun to look back on those days! Later on, when he became well known and successful, I was very happy for him. He deserved it. Sincerely, Suzie Samuelson Cox

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Re: Re-Tom Seaver

I grew up in Fresno, and although a few years younger, was well aware Tom Seaver's exploits.
I recently asked an old friend if he had any memories about Tom.
Yes, his older brother once got a hit off of Tom in Babe Ruth League.
In retrospect, he considered it one of his greatest athletic accomplishments.
Sounds right.
Stay safe.
Michael Wright

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Re-Tom Seaver

People probably don't realize Tom Seaver was a huge classic country music fan. I had no idea until I was promoting George Jones' national tour in February 2000 and we had a stop at the Luther Burbank Center in Santa Rosa.

We were all sitting in the catering room before the show when the venue manager walks over to me and asks if it would be OK to let a local couple who owned a winery come in with a couple of gift bottles and meet George, who of course by this time was a teetotaller. I said "Sure, of course. George doesn't drink but the crew sure does."

Imagine my shock when in walked Tom Seaver and his wife Nancy, whose winery was not too far away. I quickly briefed George and his wife Nancy, who shot a look back at me as if to say, "We know who Tom Seaver is!"

Tom, George and the two Nancys were like kids let loose in the cookie jar, talking with George and the band about life on the road, his favorite Jones songs.... you name it. We posted a picture in Pollstar (I have it in storage somewhere) of the meeting of Geoge Jones and Tom Seaver, two unlikely comrades who both happened to be rednecks, at least when it came to enjoying classic country music. Then it dawned on me: Tom grew up in Fresno, the capital of "Cali-Bama." Of course he was a Jones fan! He likely grew up with Jones, Haggard, and Buck Owens in his record collection.

Brian Martin

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Re: Re-Tom Seaver

I'm just reading your Tom Seaver mailbag and I noticed everyone who wrote you was a guy.

So I thought I'd write you on behalf of the millions of ladies who grew up with and loved the Mets.

My mom was from Boston and a die hard Red Sox fan for life. In the 30's and 40's, she and her friends would go to Fenway a couple of hours before the games to get all the players autographs, except Ted Williams, who she said would not ever sign one. He was a nasty guy.

When she moved to New York with my dad, it was out of the question that we'd be Yankee fans, so I grew up a die hard Met fan.

I can remember being 7 & 8 & 9 and every year, before every game we'd go to, we'd take a big bed sheet, lay it out on the kitchen floor , take our magic markers and make a big banner to take to the game.
One of the great things the Mets did was encourage everyone to make banners when coming to the game. We all wanted our banners to be one of the ones that stood out and would get on TV. A lot of banners made it fun to watch the games regardless of how hapless they were.

After every game, at Shea they'd play "Meet the Mets". The last line was "there's no place left to go but up." We'd all laugh after that line.

No team ever embraced how bad they were like the Mets and some of the best parts about going to the park were the entertainment created at the park to have fun despite how bad they were. They were always loveable and we knew we'd have to be patient and endure how bad they were for a long time, coz at least NY got a national League team back!

No one cared that much about the Giants but the Dodgers stuck a dagger in our hearts when they betrayed Brooklyn and moved to LA (Until we learned decades later that it was Robert Moses who forced the Dodgers out).

Anyway, with Tom Seaver, the owners built a great team & cast of characters around him and we all got to rush home from school and share the collective euphoria of the Mets WINNING!!! They were winning AND they were still lovable!
That's what made it extra cruel when they traded Seaver. Till that moment, they built their whole brand on being loveable.

It took me a long time to forgive them for trading Seaver. Some things just should never happen.

Annie Roboff

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Subject: Re: Rick Beato On Ramble On

Hi Bob, Andy Karp here. Hope you and your family are well, in the middle of this insanity.

Let me tell you this about Rick... He's the shit. I've known him for about two decades, and we worked together on a couple of Needtobreathe records back in the day.

Rick is a die hard music freak like many of us in this space are. He's conservatory trained, can play most instruments that have strings, and a few others too. He has exceptional knowledge of music theory, can write... And above all is a great guy.

People should hire him more often,
to work on their records. Like I've said many times... veteran producers are always one song away from being the hot guy again.

Stay healthy and thanks for supporting talented people.

Best,

Andy Karp.

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From: Steve Lukather
Subject: Re: Rick Beato On Ramble On

Rick Beato is a gift for guitar players and all musicians ! Great player and a sweet guy.
I LOVE all his videos. Inspired and right on and he really CARES about the music he dissects.
Impressive and I have recommended his videos many times.
If you play guitar , dig this guy!

PS The sound is Jimmy's hands! No magic guitar or amp. He is the magic as was all of Zep!

Luke

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From: Jesse Lundy
Subject: Re: Rick Beato On Ramble On

If you love Zep and want to have your mind blown, just give this 4 minutes of "session fragments" (which includes Ramble On) a listen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXIwu0w87XQ

I've seen Zep fans tear up hearing how great this is

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From: Craig Anderton
Subject: Re: Rick Beato On Ramble On

"Sounds. That used to be a big part of making records, getting sounds."

That's because people used to ask "what if?" instead of "how do I"?

Not a diss on Beato, I like his stuff, and you can learn by reverse-engineering a sound. But I have a different mindset. I don't ask "how do I make an acoustic guitar sound like Jimmy Page," but instead, "what if I split the guitar into four different bands, and process each one separately?"

You go down blind alleys sometimes, but you also find sounds no one else has found. Quick example: There's a process called convolution reverb, which essentially creates a sonic mold of a space by sampling it. Pour your sound into the mold of Abbey Road, and it sounds like you were recording at Abbey Road, Pour the sound into a cathedral, and it sounds like you were recording in a cathedral. Convolution creates a realistic room sound, warts and all.

But several months ago I thought...what if I synthesized an imaginary room? One with perfect walls and reflections, an infinitely high ceiling, etc. It took a lot of experimentation, but the end result is that while traditional convolution sounds like a photograph, my "rooms" sound like the audio equivalent of CGI - smooth, even, and "perfect" in a way no physical space can replicate. It's the last piece of the puzzle in creating the kind of imaginary sound quality I want in my productions.

I now sell the synthesized impulses, so that people who hear my reverb sound and ask "how do I" can pay the bucks and get the sound. But if they'd asked "what if," they might have come up with those sounds themselves.

Craig

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From: Lez Zeppelin
Subject: Re: Rick Beato On Ramble On

Hey Bob:

First off, "It's been a long time since we rock and rolled!" Hope this finds you well. Or, at least as well as one can be in the middle of an apocalypse. Your Lef-Letters have been a source of wonderful connection in this disconnected dystopia and they continue to spark and often start my day. It will not surprise you that I had to respond to this particular missive, as this business of finding the Holy Grail — the essence and sound of Jimmy Page's guitar playing — is something that has been my chief occupation for the last sixteen years.

When I first dared to dive into the swirling, magickal world of Pagean (not to be confused with Pagan) studies, I don't think I fully understood the ear-training, patience, practice and whole lotta stubbornness it would require. As you know Lez Zeppelin has always had as its directive, "she-incarnation" rather than imitation. Our quest is the passion, power and spontaneity of Led's live performances. The first step, certainly, is to gather the correct guitars, amplifiers, Echoplexes and pedals - of which there are very few, incidentally. Then comes the business of coaxing and caressing these tools into submission. Not easy, for sure. But, add the impossibility of turning a 200W Plexi amplifier to "11" in today's venues (or is it more accurate to say "yesterday's" venues?) without getting yelled at by the sound engineer and you'll likely need to improvise a bit to find your way to that wild, somewhat noisy beast of a sound.

The studio, however, is a different story. Several years ago, we attempted the utterly insane — to recreate Led Zeppelin's first album from start to finish and to record it in the most authentic way, as Zeppelin did in 1969 — that is, by using all of the same vintage gear they used. Luckily, our producer had access to what we needed and what he didn't have he rounded up from his collector friends. To harness Jimmy's sound, we employed a '59 Tele (actually, I used a '49!), a '61 Danelectro and a Gibson J200, which was Jimmy's acoustic of choice at that time. The amps included vintage Supros, Hi-Watts, Oranges and Vox AC30s — in various combinations. We learned quickly that no two Supros of the same year and model will sound the same, so you have to experiment with a bunch of them. Likewise with the effects. Page didn't use many stomp boxes on this record or on any record or stage, really. So, we had a Vox Wah, which we often left on just for tone; a Roger Mayer Fuzz and Tonebenders; again all of which varied from pedal to pedal.

These were virtually priceless weapons of sonic delight, as authentic as it gets. Yet, this was not quite enough. There was the small issue of how to actually play the parts. And, let me tell you, Bob, you think you know them. But, you don't. And, the more you listen, the more nuances you hear. "Why the hell have I never noticed that before?" you mumble to yourself as some barely audible rhythmic hits hiding under the main track pop out and introduce themselves to your left ear. How important could it be? Well, without it, the song does not remain the same…

All I can tell you, Bob, is that this exercise in obsessiveness, as nutso as it sounds, was one of the craziest and most wonderful musical journeys I've ever taken. When you dig that deeply into an artist's alchemy in order to seek those elements of inspiration, it teaches you to hear and play music in a much more profound way. You realize that the smallest subtleties make huge differences. A single upstroke instead of a downstroke will make a riff sound right or wrong. Finding an exact lead tone by pairing the right guitar through the right amp will give you that crisp Pagey edge that has for so long eluded you. That is, until you realize with horror how little distortion there is on that "authentic" sound. Try playing a guitar solo that runs by at 200 miles a minute using that!

Of course, the real beauty and magick of Led Zeppelin's first album is in the band's execution. Led Zeppelin "I" was, for all intents and purposes recorded live in the studio. And, quickly. The four of them simply played together as only they could do in order to harness lightening-in-a-bottle. Those were the basic tracks. Then, they decorated them, but really, not even that much. So, no matter how closely you nail the sound and the strum, it is that "fifth element," the firefly in the room, that that brings it all to life.

You are right when you say that Jimmy had the inspiration. So, how do we get closer to it? I'm still not exactly sure, but I'm gonna keep trying!
Wholelottalove, Bob!

-Steph Paynes

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From: Rob Evans
Subject: Re: What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits

Fall of 1975 and I had graduated from Indiana University with a math teaching degree and got my first teaching job. Decided to upgrade my 1968 VW bug with a new car. Test drove a few but the car that won me over - during the test drive "Black Water" played on the stereo and it was the cleanest. purest sound I'd ever heard on a car stereo. Immediately bought that 1974 Cutlass Supreme and drove it for the next 7 years. Yep - made the purchase based entirely on the sound of the Doobie Brothers playing on the stereo and never regretted it!!

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Subject: Re: Jimmy Buffett & Mac McAnally-This Week's Podcast

That's awesome! Sidebar... Mac is the person who had a copy of the original Take 6 (Alliance at the time) demo done in Huntsville Alabama. He got it into the hands of Jim Ed Norman who at the time was VP of WB Nashville. Jim Ed came to the our showcase without an invite, thinking we might be this group. He signed us the next day!!

Claude McKnight

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From: j maher
Subject: Jimmy and Mac

Loved the chat with Jimmy and Mac. Mac is so right about Jimmy, I'll tell you a quick story to illustrate what i mean
Late 80's, through the 90's I worked on mega sailing yachts, one of which was 108' "Gleam" for a guy named Tommy Taylor. He knew Jimmy, they both had places in St Barths, Seaplanes, and yachts. As you can imagine, Buffett songs were playing ALL THE FUCKING TIME! Every time people came for a sail....can you play "son of a son of a sailor"? Made us want to puke...
Fast forward to the mid to late oughts, the boat is now named "Avalon" owned by Tommy's son, Jason, and we're invited every spring to sail in a mega-yacht regatta in St. Barths called the St. Barths Bucket. One year at the Friday night dock party, in front of many 100; plus super yachts, an impromptu show pops up. Maybe there's 100 people, mostly yacht crew letting off steam after a hard days sailing. And whaddya know, it's Jimmy! And Mac, and most of the band.
And did they put on a show. It wasn't long before everybody was singing along (me included) and it was plain to see, that this guy absolutely loved what he was doing. He was singing "Cheeseburger in paradise" like it was the first time he'd ever sung it. I was blown away.
Been a Buffett fan ever since.
Later that night, we're strolling down the waterfront passing by a local hang-out, and we here some singing One of our crew says who's butchering the Buffett song? We go in, and it's Jimmy and a local guy, and they are lit, and they are just butchering the songs, but they, ( and the rest of us!) are having so much fun!
It;s no wonder he has such a loyal following.

More podcasts, please... they're great!

All the best

Jay

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Subject: Re: Salford Sunday

Great piece, Bob.
Richard Thompson is not only an uncompromising and thoroughly original musical genius, but one of the most influential and sadly under appreciated artists of the last 50 years.
Let's not forget that he joined Fairport when he was just 18 and the work he did with that band-especially the recordings with the equally brilliant Sandy Denny- is among the best and most important in all of late 60's British rock.
In fact, their seminal album, "Liege and Lief" basically created British folk rock all by itself.
And despite his sometimes dour and soft spoken public persona, he's one of the nicest, friendliest and modest musicians I've ever met.
Back in the early 90's, I created and executive produced a national acoustic college radio series and Richard appeared on one of our In studio sessions to promote his superb "Rumour and Sigh" album.
After performing 4 songs solo; perfectly without a single missed note, I asked him to perform "Farewell Farewell" which Sandy sang so exquisitely on Liege and Lief.
Without a moments hesitation Richard launched into an almost 8 minute version of "Willie of Winsbury" the centuries old traditional UK folk song for which he had rewritten new lyrics for the Fairport recording.
That was almost 30 years ago but his talent and graciousness was so thoroughly amazing and affecting that I remember it as if it were last week.
I still have the recording in my iTunes library and listen frequently.
Richard Thompson is a musician's musician and, like most of the truly great ones, one who never stops making music . And he's also a remarkably kind and generous human being.
Stephen Dessau

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Subject: Re: Hits

This is gold, Bob. When I was about 24, I had had enough of WANTING a job at a record label, and I committed myself to making it happen. I was bartending at an oyster house in Vancouver, BC - meeting all kinds of influential people. This was the late 90's. I told myself that I'd keep my ears open for music industry talk over the bar. Sure enough, maybe months later, I overheard two guys talking shop about music. I asked - "how do I get into the record business?" One of them said, "I work at Nettwerk and he works at EMI." He told me that I "could volunteer at Nettwerk and if I proved myself, I'd get hired." I could start Monday. This was literally my dream job. Not just to work at a label - but I wanted to work at Nettwerk. I really admired the label and I still love labels.

So - starting that Monday, I showed up 3-4 times a week for the whole day, for about 3 months straight - packing CD singles into envelopes to send to MD's and PD's across the country. Doing the entry level work. Making mental notes about who these people were. I got hired doing much of the same work I had been doing as a volunteer, but I'd always had an interest in radio and in songs. My mentor at Nettwerk was Gary McDonald (Frontside) who ran the promo team at Nettwerk. He told me - don't dress like a major label guy. Don't wear expensive clothes and drive a fancy car - because the people who you want to add your track are making less than $30k a year - and those people are the ticket. Words of wisdom.

After learning to work music departments across the country, Gary left to start Frontside and I took over the promo team. After that, I wound up working for the distributor, EMI Music Canada, and I already knew them all! I already had the relationships, and the credibility - and EMI already had a plan for me. I really felt validated.
Did the song I love the most off the album get chosen as a single? Not always - but I knew when to ask for a light rotation - or a spin a day on the drive - and how to not get hooked into getting a coveted heavy rotation when most of the spins would be in the overnight. Nice try. I knew how to do the math. And I also knew when I had a stiff. And the MD needed to know that I knew it was a stiff - or I would lose my credibility. If the song I'm working is going to get into a respectable rotation - what's getting pulled? There's never room for one more. I'd say things like - "This song here has 1,100 spins to date - are you burning it to the ground or is that maybe the slot I can take?" All the while I was a promo guy but I really was a sales guy - trying to sell my songs to anyone who would play it. I loved the game and I was great at it.

Always remember that radio's number one priority is to take you to the commercial break. Can your song keep them tuned in until the next commercial break?
I miss the music industry a lot sometimes but the idea of getting back in at the level I was at - well - I've moved on. I still love discovering talent though - and would love to produce a single or an album some day. I'll plug my YouTube interviews with Canadian talent if you'll allow. https://youtu.be/1gUgggIkrXc

Daryl Faulkner

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Any thoughts on the massive changes going on in the music industry as it relates to the instruments that people play and the MASSIVE increase in people starting to play, write and record music and sticking with it? Despite all that's going on in the world and the economy, there are more people turning to learning a stringed instrument (guitar and bass) then ever before, not to mention the massive increase in people learning to play. Further, the home recording gear business is also experiencing unprecedented growth. At Fender alone we've got nearly a million people signed up on Fender play.

Between the massive increase in new players combined with the social disruption and the resulting inspiration that will come from it, along with the established artists and players hopefully wood shedding and writing and recording inspired new stuff, I hope it means a real abundance and improved quality of new great music to come out in the years to come.

Love your stuff.

Edward Bud Cole
President - APAC
Fender Music

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From: Randy Dawson
Subject: Re: After The Gold Rush-50th Anniversary

Bob, when I went to high school in the early seventies in Peterborough Ontario there was a teacher at PVCS who saw me in the hallway one day..she was obviously close to retirement..she stopped me and said she had heard that I was into singing and playing guitar...I was only sixteen at the time..she asked if I knew about Neil's music..i said of course, i love his stuff.. she told me that she used to babysit Neil Young in Omemee which is about twenty minutes west of Peterborough. He used to ask her repeatedly if she would take him Down By The River..she always had to remind him that she was not allowed to take him without his parents' permission..That was a stunning revelation...we all wish he would move back to Canada but he is up here more often than anyone knows..my lady friend even got to drive his car in Omemee one time when he was amused that she did not know about his music...it don't get more down home than Ol' Neil..hahah...All the Best man!

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From: George Johns
Subject: Re: After The Gold Rush-50th Anniversary

I'm from Winnipeg, Bob, and had a group called the Jury back when Burton Cummings was with the Deverons, Randy Bachman was with Chad Allen and the Expressions, and Neil Young was with the Squires.
We all had records out but Neil left town because as he said, "I'll never be a big deal in Winnipeg." Well, he kinda is. :-) Geo

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From: Karen Gordon
Subject: Re: After The Gold Rush-50th Anniversary

God, I loved that album.

Such great songwriting

I played that thing to death.. sitting in my room with the smallest stereo..

Neil was also 'from' Winnipeg, my home town. At least he'd lived there and gone to school there for a while and for, me a kid from Winnipeg, who felt it was the end of the world, the idea that you could escape and be as cool as Neil was everything.

WInnipeg is also where, according to legend, Neil met Stephen Stills at a groovy campus-area folk club called The Fourth Dimension.

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From: Tom Rush
Subject: Chuck Morris

I'm listening to your podcast with Chuck Morris. You ask him "Why does Denver have such a great music scene?" And he gives a long answer about the great venues, and the radio stations, blah, blah, blah. The answer is much more simple: Denver has a great music scene because of Chuck Morris. Period. He started with a small club, Ebbet's Field (fond memories!), and went from there. He provided places for musicians to PLAY. It's that simple. Thank you Chuck!

Tom Rush

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From: Brent Fedrizzi
Subject: FW: Chuck Morris-This Week's Podcast

Hi Bob-hope you are doing well. Just finished listening to the Chuck Morris Podcast. Of course after sitting next to Chuck for 23 years, both Don and I were fact checking him the entire session!

Everything seems to check out….I think…and his speed of delivery is clipping right at supersonic as usual.

Have a great Labor Day Weekend.

Brent Fedrizzi

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From: Tom Gillam
Subject: Re: Chuck Morris-This Week's Podcast

Bob,
This interview is ABSOLUTELY THE BEST AND MOST ENTERTAINING I've heard from you so far...maybe ever! Chuck is so engaging, you can feel his love of music and honestly he seems the kind of guy you'd want to have dinner and drinks with and just let him talk. I could listen to him for hours! Great job Sir a home run for sure!!

Cheers
Tom Gillam
Austin TX.

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From: Steve Lukather
Subject: Re: Humble Pie 1970

Live at the Fillmore really woke me up to Peter Frampton. He is one of the most original voices on guitar, he sounds even better now but then no one had heard someone like him before or since, and he has an amazing voice and writes amazing tunes and... Is a very old friend.
Our sons are pals..

Anyway when I was a kid Marriot's voice and Frampton's lead playing .. sounding so much different than the eras other great players ...he was using modes and things other players didn't have and his tone.. What an amazing live tone with no BS.
He has not lost a step even though he is fighting a battle of his own.

I went to all the shows in LA when they played. The whole band was great - tight and the voice.. no one sounded like Steve Marriott and live he was even better.
That is a REAL live album. No fixes etc...
THIS is the some of the amazing music off the 70's that inspired me and all my pals growing up. It still sounds every bit as good today!

Humble Pie lives! Frampton lives! .. and best to all of them.

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From: Mick Brigden
Subject: Re: Humble Pie 1970

It was good to see your post today with Humble Pie 1970 in the subject line. The Pie deserve to be recognized for their musical prowess, their individuality and most of all their amazing live shows both with Peter and Clem. The early albums were earthier and spacier but Rocking The Fillmore, Smoking and Eat It delivered the live energy with more than a few well crafted songs, for example 30 Days In The Hole on Smoking, Black Coffee on Eat It and Gilded Splinters on Fillmore. Clem and Peter were very different guitar players to be sure but Clem was no slouch and brought his unique blues styling to the already formidable rhythm guitar of Steve (so unheralded but so good ) and Greg and Jerry's big fat grooves. But most of all as you say, Steve was one of the greatest rock vocalists (or even maybe soul vocalists) of all time. I have worked with many great artists and every one of them counts Steve and Humble Pie as the the bar to reach for when you go in front of an audience...Thanks Bob

Mick Brigden
Humble Pie Tour Manager 1972-1975

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From: Ian Lee
Subject: Re: Humble Pie 1970

I turn bands onto The Pie on every tour I drive. The Live 73 record is one of the greatest live albums ever. It's Clem era and they absolutely rip.
Jerry Shirley is the most under appreciated drummers in rock history. His pocket is as perfect and unique as Bonham. Nobody has as good a between song banter as Steve Marriott. Like a southern gospel preacher.
Check the 73 Live album.
Cheers

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From: alan childs
Subject: Re: Humble Pie 1970

Bob,

Thank you Thank you thank you.You made my year !!!! I'm the guy that sat out by the side doors of the Fillmore East with my ear to the door listening to Humble Pie the first time they played there. I didn't have enough money to get in ,and i needed train fare to get back to Brooklyn. I was already a fan from listening to Town & Country and As Safe As Yesterday Is. Beside the fact that Steve Marriott was an amazing singer, and Greg Ridley the bass player sang his ass off as well, Peter Frampton made the band a bit different from most bands coming out during those years. Also Jerry Shirley the drummer ,played in the vain of Kenny Jones from the Small Faces ,where Marriott came from. Where most British guitar players at that time were highly influenced by Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton was not. He was way more melodic and seemed to be influenced by jazz guitar players. He fused jazz style gtr with rock gtr, which gave him a very original voice. Funny you mentioned "One Eye Trouser Snake Rumba' & "Earth & Water Song". Those were my two favs from that first A&M record. Lets not forget "I'm Ready" was on that as well, and went onto to be an important track on the Live at the Fillmore album. I remember playing 'Earth & Water Song" for an hour straight. My Mom came into my bedroom and asked me to please play something else. hahahahaha. So yes, Humble Pie meant a lot to me. I did see one of the Rockin The Fillmore nights and Humble Pies next gig out on Long Island. They played a club called OBI (Oak Beach Inn) My friend Chucky knew i loved Humble pie. The night of the OBI gig, Chucky told me he'd pick me up to go out to see Pie. it was about an hour away. Chucky did not own a car and was too young to drive. Low and behold, Chucky was waiting for me in the parking lot. He stole a car. At the club, after the first act finished, i made my way to the Men's room. As i was about to enter, the door opposite opened and it was Steve Marriott. I was star struck ( 19 yrs old i was ) Steve actually invited me in for a slice of pizza. hahahaha. There i was ,a 19 yr old punk eating pizza with the whole band. It lasted for 2 or 3 mins when i was asked to leave so the band can get ready to go on. Lets fast forward 16 years . I was a working drummer in NYC. i've already played with John Waite,Julian lennon and too many to list now. I get a call from David Bowie's people. I'm in shock because I had a few of Bowie's Lps.I was a fan. They asked if I was interested in playing with him. They told me Peter Frampton was playing guitar for the tour with David. Carmine Rojas and Carlos Alomar ,both have played with David before, helped get me into the band. So imagine how i felt that very first rehearsal meeting David & Peter. WOW. On tour, I did mention to Peter that I loved Humble Pie, but I never was able to really tell him how much those albums meant to me. Thanks for mentioning "The Stealer , Free Paul Rogers and Paul Kossoff. Thank you Bob. I still listen to those lps. it's slim pickens these days. peace, Alan Childs

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From: Michael Fagien
Subject: RE: Humble Pie 1970

Hi Bob,

I recently did a podcast with Peter. Though I gravitated towards a career in jazz, Humble Pie and Peter Frampton were formidable in my appreciation for great music. Like you said, those tracks reached me…

During the podcast, Peter and I discussed his current blues album, All Blues, which, as the title would seem to promise, features a version Miles Davis' "All Blues." Though neither Frampton or Humble Pie are ever used in the same sentence as jazz, Peter was eager to be interviewed by a jazz magazine for the first time. I also learned that Peter has been suffering from a debilitating autoimmune disease.

Through the years, I've learned that musicians' stories are often as engaging and entertaining as their music. Aside from an affinity for blues music that Frampton sometimes showcased during his tenure in Humble Pie, it would seem unlikely that the man who later became a teen idol at the age of 26 (after famously appearing shirtless on the cover of Rolling Stone in 1976) and who is best-known as a purveyor of pop ballads like "Baby, I Love Your Way" and "I'm In You" would have any regard for jazz. But as Peter told me, "I was in a band before The Herd called The Preachers, and the leader of that band gave me a bunch of albums on a Friday and said, 'We're rehearsing Tuesday. I want you to learn all these.' There was Kenny Burrell, Jimmy Smith, a very young George Benson playing with Jack McDuff, I believe, The Jack McDuff trio. Then I started listening to Joe Pass. My father introduced me to Django Reinhardt when I was 8 years old. It was a foregone conclusion that (jazz) would sink in at some point."

When I asked Peter about his version of "All Blues," featuring Larry Carlton, he confessed, "I guess people will say, 'He does what on this album?' But I've often said that if you told me that I could only listen to one album for the rest of my life … it would be Kind of Blue. There's no guitar on it, but it's one of those albums that's just got a mood that draws you in. For me and (other) musicians, I think, there's just so much to learn there and so much to love about every note and every chord and every phrase that's played on that album. No one's going berserk and shredding on that album; it's just playing the right notes at the right time over a wonderful new chord that they've just changed to. That's what just pulls me in. … I just gravitated towards that one, and I thought, "We've bitten off more than we can chew here." It's a testament to my band. We came in the studio that day — we'd all listened to it many times — and jammed on it.

When I asked Peter if he ever met or played with Miles, he replied remorsefully that he hadn't, then added, "I would've loved to. Yeah, I doubt whether he ever thought of me in that way. He probably just thought of me as this guitarist standing there in satin pants."

Michael Fagien
JAZZIZ

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From: Richard Griffiths
Subject: Re: Humble Pie 1970

Paul Kossoff is one of the most underrated guitarists EVER!
I got so lucky when I started work, booking bands, on my 19th birthday.
A manager called John Glover.came into our office and wanted us to start booking Amazing Blondel. John had run Island Artists and was one of the greats. Now ,it so happened ,I was a big AM fan ,so I booked them all over the country. This was in the days when every college in UK had gigs. I booked them 5 nights a week.
John also managed John Martyn. Another totally under appreciated talent. I started to book JM.
Then John says to me, leave Terry King Associates and start your own agency with me and my partner Rob Wynn. So I did.
He then tells me he's got Paul Kossoff to start a new band. BackStreet Crawler. Go book them! My hero!
The first gig was a festival in Holland. I went on the bus with the band, minus Kossoff. He was flying in the next day. But he didn't. The band went crazy and we got so drunk, they started throwing TVs out the hotel window.
The police arrived. We ended up in jail for the night! My one and only time!
Phil Carson, who ran Atlantic UK ,came and bailed us out.
BST made an album. I booked an arena tour. I picked up a new band from Australia to be the support.AC/DC.
They flew in to London ,but while they were in the air , Kossoff died of a heart attack.
The rest is history.
I will never forget the privilege I had watching Paul Kossoff play live. He was fucked up, but he was a genius.
Sorry for the rambling but I'm on vacation and the Rose at lunchtime was great!

________________________________________

From: Doug Scott
Subject: Re: Today's America

"People want to participate. This is the failure of Quibi. Passivity is for old folks, or for long form when you're worn out."

This is Twitch. Participation is at its core. Streamers shouting out chat, acknowledging subs and donations, all live. And Esports pretty much lives there (per the next paragraph). I'm super interested in how it is relevant for musicians.

Full disclosure: I work at Twitch. But, that said, it's a huge opportunity for the musicians who embrace interactivity with their fans. If you aren't interested in interacting with your fans then you won't succeed on live streaming. But if you are it actually might be a profound path forward for those musicians. I think we all know that there is a core of users that provide the vast majority of most artists income. It's obviously not coming from streaming payouts (unless you are massive) and even most live revenues get siphoned off. Real longevity comes from your core fans. The ones who will stick with you forever and end up spending thousands of dollars over their lifetime of fandom. Twitch is a direct connection to them with awesome direct payment mechanisms. There are a ton of musicians that make over $100K in net payments annually from their Twitch streams. And that is with a few hundred concurrents, not thousands or tens of thousands. Almost none of them are major label artists. What they are are great at live streaming. I think that a new generation of musicians will find a way to create in new ways, no label required, and build very successful careers with live streaming being a (or the) key component of how they generate revenue. All that music fans really want is a connection to the musicians that they love.

________________________________________

Subject: Re: OnlyFans

Just last week, a relative reached out, distressed that her adult daughter had joined OnlyFans.

"Have you seen the site she is using to promote provocative pics of herself?!"

"Maybe I listen to too many true crime podcasts, but I believe this is dangerous."

"And she has a child."

"She's letting guys pay to see her body. And it's dangerous."

"It's very upsetting and worrying. She is making herself way too vulnerable."

I think you're right to drawn a line between amateur porn and OnlyFans.

I consider myself to be liberal and open minded about these things, and believe adults should be able to do whatever they want, as long as they don't hurt others, but honestly, I'm not thrilled to see a family member being part of the "giant opportunity" that is OnlyFans.

Daniel Strickland
San Francisco, CA

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Re: The Vow

Vancouver was the perfect petri dish for Raniere. A city that proudly trumpets her pop atheism, all the while trying to find community where there is unfortunately only network and cliques. Anyone who has lived there can tell you that it's not surprising that so much of NXIVM found a secondary hub in Vancouver. People like to say they don't believe in anything, but everyone worships something, and whether it's Landmark, or Lulu Lemon's in-house "dream board" practices, or a sex cult being run by an Amway reject who sprouts basic first day talk therapy, Vancouver will attach to it as a replacement for more traditional beliefs. Still, I can't understand why nobody thought a guy who touted Albany as the "new Rome of the new world" was completely full of it.

Trevor Risk

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Re: The MTV Documentary

I didn't know Martha Quinn was an MTV DJ, but I sat next to her at a private dress rehearsal show of Styx' Paradise Theater in Chicago. I said I didn't watch much TV and did not have CATV on my planet. She was nice, even sitting next to an idiot.

Jeffrey Wehrmeister

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