Re: The Secret Committees
Although I enjoyed the "debates" involved with picking the alternative category selections, the process was very frustrating. Everyone submits their music to every category hoping for a nomination anywhere. At the beginning, it seemed like the alternative category was the place where things were sent that people didn't want in their category. Later on it seemed as if the rock category took over that role. As Jethro Tull changed things, so did Coldplay when they won the category 2 years in a row in spite of debate over their place in this category. After that, "no more Coldplay" came up often when discussing artists and their work.
There were definitely other issues representative of your post. I remember age discussions about an artist I won't name when his album probably should have even won that category. I couldn't believe it. And then people vote for their friends or personal motives.
Although I'm always happy for my friends that win, I'm also happy as this becomes more and more visible.
Robin Danar
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Saturday, 13 March 2021
The Spy
https://bit.ly/3qDXvnq
The Mossad doesn't always win.
This show debuted on Netflix eighteen months ago. I saw the hype, but you can't watch everything. And for some reason "The Spy" did not have staying power in the national consciousness. Maybe it should have.
It's a true story. That's what makes the whole show work. Sacha Baron Cohen is excellent, but still some of the scenes appear phony, constructed to make a point, but just when you're beginning to wince, you're brought back to some fact and you're hooked again.
This is sixty years ago. Israel was a nascent nation, with few friends it could depend on. So it had to take matters into its own hands. It was literally a matter of life and death.
What would you do for your country? Would you die for it?
So, Noah Emmerich turns the eager Sacha Baron Cohen into a spy, who ultimately infiltrates the highest reaches of the Syrian government and...we know the end from the beginning, that's how the series starts, Cohen has been caught.
Emmerich... He was phenomenal in "The Americans," which you must stream, it's one of the few series that's get better as it goes along, and he can alternately appear likable and hatable, depending upon the role. And although tall and skinny, Emmerich is not beautiful, he's more of an everyman, and therefore we can relate to him.
Now despite being in English, "The Spy" features many Israeli actors, who you will recognize if you're a fan of Israeli television. Yael Etan, who had the uncontrollable hots for older men in "Prisoners of War," is part of the Mossad establishment, and she's all grown up, yet evidences the same edge. Uri Gavriel, from "The Baker and the Beauty," which was too predictable for Felice, she insisted we axe it after two episodes, is now a successful Syrian merchant as opposed to a lower class baker. Neta Riskin is a satisfied upper class wife as opposed to a struggling Orthodox believer in "Shtisel." Yousef Sweid, who you know from "Baghdad Central" and "Unorthodox" plays a Syrian broadcaster. With less money for stars, everybody is a character actor in Israeli productions, it's fun to see them play different roles and be believable.
As for Sacha Baron Cohen...
It's funny, he's not completely believable as Eli Cohen.
But he's totally believable as Kamel Amin Thaabet. It's funny how he ultimately can't separate the two identities.
And unlike the CIA, the Mossad sends its agents into the field for extended periods of time. This is not "The Bureau," where you're there and then you're gone, here you leave and come back and repeat the process.
So, Eli/Sacha is dispatched to Argentina to integrate himself into the Syrian intelligentsia. He plays a Syrian so well! But he keeps pushing the limits. Does he just want success this bad or is it about helping his country? Once again, it's about life and death in Israel.
And once in Syria Eli/Sacha lives the life of a playboy and enjoys it. Fooling all the powers-that-be. That's the power of money. And alcohol. People are susceptible to anybody rich who is nice to them, who gives them perks.
And you don't have to know much Israeli history, or maybe you just have to be a boomer who lived through the '67 war, to know that the Golan Heights were crucial. The Syrians could fire down from the hills on the Israelis, but Eli/Sacha undermines even this advantage.
So you're watching the series, which is only six episodes, it wouldn't work as a movie, and something seems unbelievable but then you realize it's true! And when it was all done I did online research and found...many fewer liberties were taken that I thought. The truth is real life rarely lends itself to drama. There's no natural arc. And a lot of life is just plain boring. So creators juice up the drama. But the hard core elemental drama is enough here. Eli/Cohen always has to worry about being caught.
Now I wouldn't put "The Spy" at the top of your streaming list. But if you've seen so much, especially during the pandemic, and are looking for more, you should definitely check it out.
And unlike so much streaming TV, it sticks with you. It has you pondering... What if your life was on the line on a regular basis. What would you do for your country. People always talk about "first world problems," saying we should save our sympathy for the third world. But there are plenty of problems in the first world too. How far should governments push? And in any event, you're just a cog in the machine, you live, you die and you're replaced. Strange this life.
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The Mossad doesn't always win.
This show debuted on Netflix eighteen months ago. I saw the hype, but you can't watch everything. And for some reason "The Spy" did not have staying power in the national consciousness. Maybe it should have.
It's a true story. That's what makes the whole show work. Sacha Baron Cohen is excellent, but still some of the scenes appear phony, constructed to make a point, but just when you're beginning to wince, you're brought back to some fact and you're hooked again.
This is sixty years ago. Israel was a nascent nation, with few friends it could depend on. So it had to take matters into its own hands. It was literally a matter of life and death.
What would you do for your country? Would you die for it?
So, Noah Emmerich turns the eager Sacha Baron Cohen into a spy, who ultimately infiltrates the highest reaches of the Syrian government and...we know the end from the beginning, that's how the series starts, Cohen has been caught.
Emmerich... He was phenomenal in "The Americans," which you must stream, it's one of the few series that's get better as it goes along, and he can alternately appear likable and hatable, depending upon the role. And although tall and skinny, Emmerich is not beautiful, he's more of an everyman, and therefore we can relate to him.
Now despite being in English, "The Spy" features many Israeli actors, who you will recognize if you're a fan of Israeli television. Yael Etan, who had the uncontrollable hots for older men in "Prisoners of War," is part of the Mossad establishment, and she's all grown up, yet evidences the same edge. Uri Gavriel, from "The Baker and the Beauty," which was too predictable for Felice, she insisted we axe it after two episodes, is now a successful Syrian merchant as opposed to a lower class baker. Neta Riskin is a satisfied upper class wife as opposed to a struggling Orthodox believer in "Shtisel." Yousef Sweid, who you know from "Baghdad Central" and "Unorthodox" plays a Syrian broadcaster. With less money for stars, everybody is a character actor in Israeli productions, it's fun to see them play different roles and be believable.
As for Sacha Baron Cohen...
It's funny, he's not completely believable as Eli Cohen.
But he's totally believable as Kamel Amin Thaabet. It's funny how he ultimately can't separate the two identities.
And unlike the CIA, the Mossad sends its agents into the field for extended periods of time. This is not "The Bureau," where you're there and then you're gone, here you leave and come back and repeat the process.
So, Eli/Sacha is dispatched to Argentina to integrate himself into the Syrian intelligentsia. He plays a Syrian so well! But he keeps pushing the limits. Does he just want success this bad or is it about helping his country? Once again, it's about life and death in Israel.
And once in Syria Eli/Sacha lives the life of a playboy and enjoys it. Fooling all the powers-that-be. That's the power of money. And alcohol. People are susceptible to anybody rich who is nice to them, who gives them perks.
And you don't have to know much Israeli history, or maybe you just have to be a boomer who lived through the '67 war, to know that the Golan Heights were crucial. The Syrians could fire down from the hills on the Israelis, but Eli/Sacha undermines even this advantage.
So you're watching the series, which is only six episodes, it wouldn't work as a movie, and something seems unbelievable but then you realize it's true! And when it was all done I did online research and found...many fewer liberties were taken that I thought. The truth is real life rarely lends itself to drama. There's no natural arc. And a lot of life is just plain boring. So creators juice up the drama. But the hard core elemental drama is enough here. Eli/Cohen always has to worry about being caught.
Now I wouldn't put "The Spy" at the top of your streaming list. But if you've seen so much, especially during the pandemic, and are looking for more, you should definitely check it out.
And unlike so much streaming TV, it sticks with you. It has you pondering... What if your life was on the line on a regular basis. What would you do for your country. People always talk about "first world problems," saying we should save our sympathy for the third world. But there are plenty of problems in the first world too. How far should governments push? And in any event, you're just a cog in the machine, you live, you die and you're replaced. Strange this life.
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The Secret Committees
Blame Jethro Tull.
In 1989 Ian Anderson's successful yet hated band of rotating musicians won the "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards and all hell broke loose. That Grammy was supposed to go to Metallica, for their album "..And Justice for All." And the only people more vocal in their displeasure over perceived abuse than rappers and the hip-hop community are metal and their diehard metalhead fans.
Something had to be done.
And Mike Greene did it. Ergo the so-called "secret committees."
Since the end of Greene's tenure atop the Grammy organization the outfit has been on autopilot, believing that appeasing major labels and CBS means it is on the right path. Meanwhile, the entire nation has been digitized and revolutionized, hip-hop embraced the internet and became dominant and right wing populism took hold. Talk about burying your head in the sand.
Not only do you have to take action to curb past inequities, you must look around the corner to assure you're on top in the coming years. This is how Mark Zuckerberg has won. Facebook purchased WhatsApp when most people in the U.S. had never heard of it, never mind used it, the citizens of the country having never been outside its borders, where WhatsApp was dominant. Zuckerberg also purchased a fledgling Instagram to cement Facebook's power in the social media sphere.
Greene's efforts were laudable. But since he's been gone they've been ripe for abuse.
Kind of like earmarks.
In today's "Wall Street Journal," Katie Porter lobbies for the continued halt of the utilization of earmarks: https://on.wsj.com/2Q0ivbo Which are notorious for allowing representatives to attach local benefits to broad bills. Porter, a woman, famously left-leaning and anti corporate corruption, went into the devil's den to make her case, the aforementioned "Wall Street Journal." Porter wants sunshine on the issue. The Grammys always want darkness.
The problem is, just like with earmarks, the Grammy secret committees have been abused by members for their own benefit. Come on, let's nominate our friend. If you know anything about musicians, it's all about quid pro quo, you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. It's about relationships and favors owed. And in the down ballot categories the benefit of a Grammy nomination, never mind a victory, far exceeds the reward in the major categories, where the performers are usually household names and a Grammy is just a cherry on top. Actually, one could argue winning hurts you. Even Billie Eilish realized this when she mouthed that it not be her who won her umpteenth Grammy. There is backlash. When you're atop the heap there's nowhere to go but down. And sure, the hoi polloi suddenly knew who Eilish was, but her victories hurt her bond with her fans, she was no longer only theirs, and ultimately her credibility and even her career. Forget the chart numbers, if we go to the data of choice, the most accurate in the music business, i.e. Spotify streams, her recent singles have had nowhere near the impact of her previous hits. "My Future" has 179,746,629, "Therefore I Am" has 313,355,435 and "Lo Vas a Olvidar," only 46,456,148. Meanwhile, "Bad Guy" has 1,709,432 and "When the Party's Over" has 1,104,294,539 and "Lovely" has 1,333,036,817. In music you don't want to be too successful, people burn out on you, they hold you to a higher standard, you're a target for abuse.
So, with the continued use of secret committees, the Grammy organization has lost touch with the music landscape. It has become self-serving, contrary to its mission. And it refuses to air its laundry, provide any facts and figures, we must trust the organization to evaluate and potentially fix any irregularities. That's right, in Grammy court you don't even get a hearing! Which is why the Weeknd has pulled his music and possible future performances from the Grammys for all time: https://nyti.ms/30CUJnU Meanwhile, the Weeknd's "snub" and boycott have generated more ink than the awards show itself.
Deborah Dugan blew the whistle on these secret committees. As a result she got fired. Isn't it interesting that she was a woman. As for her replacement...they couldn't find another woman? Harvey Mason, Jr. is another old boy caretaker, taking control of the ship as it is listing. Sometimes radical change is necessary to survive, and stasis, even minor corrections, doom you.
We live in an era of data. You can see anybody's stream count on Spotify.
But the Grammys are opaque.
Then again, music is not like movies. There's no way anyone could possibly know all the music released in a year. As for the preponderance of categories...there's no other awards organization that compares. But you can't eliminate any of them because you're going to hurt the feelings of lifers without purchase in the national mind-set who need these awards to feel good about themselves. Marlon Brando refused to show up for the Oscars, Woody Allen too, when they were favored to win and did! They didn't need a phony victory lap to believe in the quality of their work and their mission as artists.
But we can't draw any lines. The Grammys are just like millennials. Everybody's entitled to a trophy. Unless you're an actual winner. Could it be that Grammy voters have contempt for the Weeknd because he is so successful and they are not?
The Brits, a successful enterprise of the BPI (British Phonograph Industry), whose show has been produced numerous times by Ben Winston, only has ten categories. It's comprehensible. Voters can familiarize themselves with the entrants. Then again, the U.K. has consistently punched above its weight in music, for decades. The only genre they missed out on, that was developed in the U.S., was hip-hop. Ironically the genre that is continually under-recognized by the Grammys.
Radical change is needed.
But the old boy network said Deborah Dugan wanted change too fast.
It's clear who was right.
In 1989 Ian Anderson's successful yet hated band of rotating musicians won the "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards and all hell broke loose. That Grammy was supposed to go to Metallica, for their album "..And Justice for All." And the only people more vocal in their displeasure over perceived abuse than rappers and the hip-hop community are metal and their diehard metalhead fans.
Something had to be done.
And Mike Greene did it. Ergo the so-called "secret committees."
Since the end of Greene's tenure atop the Grammy organization the outfit has been on autopilot, believing that appeasing major labels and CBS means it is on the right path. Meanwhile, the entire nation has been digitized and revolutionized, hip-hop embraced the internet and became dominant and right wing populism took hold. Talk about burying your head in the sand.
Not only do you have to take action to curb past inequities, you must look around the corner to assure you're on top in the coming years. This is how Mark Zuckerberg has won. Facebook purchased WhatsApp when most people in the U.S. had never heard of it, never mind used it, the citizens of the country having never been outside its borders, where WhatsApp was dominant. Zuckerberg also purchased a fledgling Instagram to cement Facebook's power in the social media sphere.
Greene's efforts were laudable. But since he's been gone they've been ripe for abuse.
Kind of like earmarks.
In today's "Wall Street Journal," Katie Porter lobbies for the continued halt of the utilization of earmarks: https://on.wsj.com/2Q0ivbo Which are notorious for allowing representatives to attach local benefits to broad bills. Porter, a woman, famously left-leaning and anti corporate corruption, went into the devil's den to make her case, the aforementioned "Wall Street Journal." Porter wants sunshine on the issue. The Grammys always want darkness.
The problem is, just like with earmarks, the Grammy secret committees have been abused by members for their own benefit. Come on, let's nominate our friend. If you know anything about musicians, it's all about quid pro quo, you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. It's about relationships and favors owed. And in the down ballot categories the benefit of a Grammy nomination, never mind a victory, far exceeds the reward in the major categories, where the performers are usually household names and a Grammy is just a cherry on top. Actually, one could argue winning hurts you. Even Billie Eilish realized this when she mouthed that it not be her who won her umpteenth Grammy. There is backlash. When you're atop the heap there's nowhere to go but down. And sure, the hoi polloi suddenly knew who Eilish was, but her victories hurt her bond with her fans, she was no longer only theirs, and ultimately her credibility and even her career. Forget the chart numbers, if we go to the data of choice, the most accurate in the music business, i.e. Spotify streams, her recent singles have had nowhere near the impact of her previous hits. "My Future" has 179,746,629, "Therefore I Am" has 313,355,435 and "Lo Vas a Olvidar," only 46,456,148. Meanwhile, "Bad Guy" has 1,709,432 and "When the Party's Over" has 1,104,294,539 and "Lovely" has 1,333,036,817. In music you don't want to be too successful, people burn out on you, they hold you to a higher standard, you're a target for abuse.
So, with the continued use of secret committees, the Grammy organization has lost touch with the music landscape. It has become self-serving, contrary to its mission. And it refuses to air its laundry, provide any facts and figures, we must trust the organization to evaluate and potentially fix any irregularities. That's right, in Grammy court you don't even get a hearing! Which is why the Weeknd has pulled his music and possible future performances from the Grammys for all time: https://nyti.ms/30CUJnU Meanwhile, the Weeknd's "snub" and boycott have generated more ink than the awards show itself.
Deborah Dugan blew the whistle on these secret committees. As a result she got fired. Isn't it interesting that she was a woman. As for her replacement...they couldn't find another woman? Harvey Mason, Jr. is another old boy caretaker, taking control of the ship as it is listing. Sometimes radical change is necessary to survive, and stasis, even minor corrections, doom you.
We live in an era of data. You can see anybody's stream count on Spotify.
But the Grammys are opaque.
Then again, music is not like movies. There's no way anyone could possibly know all the music released in a year. As for the preponderance of categories...there's no other awards organization that compares. But you can't eliminate any of them because you're going to hurt the feelings of lifers without purchase in the national mind-set who need these awards to feel good about themselves. Marlon Brando refused to show up for the Oscars, Woody Allen too, when they were favored to win and did! They didn't need a phony victory lap to believe in the quality of their work and their mission as artists.
But we can't draw any lines. The Grammys are just like millennials. Everybody's entitled to a trophy. Unless you're an actual winner. Could it be that Grammy voters have contempt for the Weeknd because he is so successful and they are not?
The Brits, a successful enterprise of the BPI (British Phonograph Industry), whose show has been produced numerous times by Ben Winston, only has ten categories. It's comprehensible. Voters can familiarize themselves with the entrants. Then again, the U.K. has consistently punched above its weight in music, for decades. The only genre they missed out on, that was developed in the U.S., was hip-hop. Ironically the genre that is continually under-recognized by the Grammys.
Radical change is needed.
But the old boy network said Deborah Dugan wanted change too fast.
It's clear who was right.
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Friday, 12 March 2021
Cuomo
This is what happens when elected officials lose touch with the populace.
The only way to fight right wing insanity is through humor.
Today the "Washington Post" did a lengthy story about children trying to bring their mother back from the dark side, from believing in falsehoods, like Trump won the election, etc. Her kids mailed her the facts, she came back with disproven videos. You see there's an entire disinformation network doing its best to keep the truth from citizens while it simultaneously fills their ears with crap. You can check the story out here: https://wapo.st/3thpBGW But it will have no effect, it's like watching four years of MSNBC, I hope it makes you feel good, because it's not going to move the needle.
But John Oliver just might.
Once again, distribution is king. And right now the channel is so overcrowded that great can't surface. Furthermore, the platform of choice is Netflix. If you sell your project to another streaming outlet when Netflix has put in a bid and wants it, we know you're not a true artist. A true artist wants their work to be seen and heard first and foremost. Money is secondary. If we had true artists with stature in today's musical landscape right now there'd be an anti-NFT song climbing the charts. But no, everybody wants to know how they can make that bread too. Remember when Neil Young won the VMA for "This Note's For You"? It wasn't a hit by traditional metrics, but in terms of mindshare...it's got more than almost anything else that was released that year, it's got staying power, that's what happens when you speak the truth, because like Leonard Cohen sang, everybody knows.
So most leftist outlets criticize Tucker Carlson via facts. Not knowing it's all about emotion. And style. The key is to get under Carlson's skin. And if Oliver's takedowns were on cable news or Netflix instead of HBO, you know Carlson would respond soon.
Tucker doesn't respond to the traditional news media, he shrugs off their commentary, by eviscerating the platforms wholesale. But John Oliver, a man who consistently bites the hand that feeds him, every week he seems to take down AT&T, knows how to do it. And the truth is, stunningly, when Oliver makes a statement, there are usually effects. Last week it was about Florida's concerted effort to limit unemployment payments. It's pretty ugly. But the problem is the perpetrators are on record. Yes, you think you're preaching to the choir and nobody knows, but the truth is you're leaving digital bread crumbs that can be followed, one to another.
Watch this Oliver clip: https://bit.ly/3bJtjTq
By time it's over you will no longer debate Dr. Seuss. Oliver lays it out so clearly, and so convincingly, that the case is closed. And in doing so, he nails Carlson. Who does have a thin skin. Remember when he freaked out about the possible release of the address of his Maine vacation house? It was a preemptive false strike: https://wapo.st/3qJ8jQY, but Tucker thought it was true, he was freaked out about being canceled, the same way he canceled Taylor Lorenz this week: https://bit.ly/3tkWYsp But the truth is Carlson is just fighting a culture war so his viewers won't pay attention to the real issues.
And is the real issue Andrew Cuomo's harassment of women?
OF COURSE NOT! It's about Covid-19 and Democratic power. You could take down Andrew Cuomo and a Republican could gain the seat. But Cuomo lied about nursing homes! Well, the truth is most of the public doesn't care about that, they believe Cuomo was on the front line of the pandemic and he cares about them. Republicans are willing to overlook any behavior, all aligned with the Trump doctrine and its adherents, but Democrats are detached from what their voters believe.
We've seen this movie before, in Virginia, with Ralph Northam: https://nyti.ms/30Ct1HZ Caught in a racist photo, Northam refused to step down and Blacks stood behind him, BECAUSE HE WAS GOOD FOR THEM!
But you won't get any of the talking heads, worried about today as opposed to tomorrow game, to bring this up. Wow, this is a great story, we'll get ratings, let's run with it. The bubble-headed bleach blonde comes on at 5. Whoops, can you even say that forty years later, even if it's true?
The Democrats are all about winning the battle and losing the war.
As for due process...
Read this story:
"They Didn't Show THIS On TV! See The Creepy Messages Mia Farrow Sent Woody Allen During Custody Brawl": https://bit.ly/3rVCFBz
Turns out Farrow was sending messages and even posting a sign that Allen was a child molester BEFORE she taped the interview with Dylan that is the linchpin of the HBO series. What are you gonna do with that?
I don't know. But the government refused to prosecute Woody. But we've been convinced public opinion, swayed by the media, trumps the legal system.
Now maybe Woody Allen should be canceled for his relationship with Soon-Yi. But...
Then again, we know Trump did it, but he wasn't convicted, at least not yet, and his constituents don't even believe he did it, CRAZY!
So, did Cuomo do it? Shouldn't we have due process first? And does this automatically disqualify him from office? I'm not saying I endorse the alleged behavior, but we're all flawed, but if that's the case you're excised from the Democratic Party.
The Democrats are losing this war. Just like with "fake news," the right has embraced "cancel culture," twisting its meaning to the detriment of the left.
This is where we are in America today. The penumbra is more important than the core. We consistently lose the plot. Everything's for show. No one is playing the long game.
Before Cuomo is forced out, one must determine not only who will replace him, but the odds a Democrat will win in the next gubernatorial election.
And there's a very good chance this will all blow over before the next election, like with Ralph Northam.
I'm not the only one asking these questions. Turns out the "New York Times" is too: https://nyti.ms/30DPrsd
But we live in an era of groupthink, where everybody's afraid to go against the grain. And then a bloviating bully speaks his truth and gets elected president. Ever think about that? Trump tapped into something, and not all of it was racism.
So, hopefully John Oliver will continue to take on Tucker Carlson, he's done so twice already this season. You know Tucker was not popular in school. He feels inadequate, his hot spots are right under the surface. That's the battle we should be fighting, that's the danger, the right wing. Cuomo is imperfect, maybe he should go.
But maybe he should not.
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The only way to fight right wing insanity is through humor.
Today the "Washington Post" did a lengthy story about children trying to bring their mother back from the dark side, from believing in falsehoods, like Trump won the election, etc. Her kids mailed her the facts, she came back with disproven videos. You see there's an entire disinformation network doing its best to keep the truth from citizens while it simultaneously fills their ears with crap. You can check the story out here: https://wapo.st/3thpBGW But it will have no effect, it's like watching four years of MSNBC, I hope it makes you feel good, because it's not going to move the needle.
But John Oliver just might.
Once again, distribution is king. And right now the channel is so overcrowded that great can't surface. Furthermore, the platform of choice is Netflix. If you sell your project to another streaming outlet when Netflix has put in a bid and wants it, we know you're not a true artist. A true artist wants their work to be seen and heard first and foremost. Money is secondary. If we had true artists with stature in today's musical landscape right now there'd be an anti-NFT song climbing the charts. But no, everybody wants to know how they can make that bread too. Remember when Neil Young won the VMA for "This Note's For You"? It wasn't a hit by traditional metrics, but in terms of mindshare...it's got more than almost anything else that was released that year, it's got staying power, that's what happens when you speak the truth, because like Leonard Cohen sang, everybody knows.
So most leftist outlets criticize Tucker Carlson via facts. Not knowing it's all about emotion. And style. The key is to get under Carlson's skin. And if Oliver's takedowns were on cable news or Netflix instead of HBO, you know Carlson would respond soon.
Tucker doesn't respond to the traditional news media, he shrugs off their commentary, by eviscerating the platforms wholesale. But John Oliver, a man who consistently bites the hand that feeds him, every week he seems to take down AT&T, knows how to do it. And the truth is, stunningly, when Oliver makes a statement, there are usually effects. Last week it was about Florida's concerted effort to limit unemployment payments. It's pretty ugly. But the problem is the perpetrators are on record. Yes, you think you're preaching to the choir and nobody knows, but the truth is you're leaving digital bread crumbs that can be followed, one to another.
Watch this Oliver clip: https://bit.ly/3bJtjTq
By time it's over you will no longer debate Dr. Seuss. Oliver lays it out so clearly, and so convincingly, that the case is closed. And in doing so, he nails Carlson. Who does have a thin skin. Remember when he freaked out about the possible release of the address of his Maine vacation house? It was a preemptive false strike: https://wapo.st/3qJ8jQY, but Tucker thought it was true, he was freaked out about being canceled, the same way he canceled Taylor Lorenz this week: https://bit.ly/3tkWYsp But the truth is Carlson is just fighting a culture war so his viewers won't pay attention to the real issues.
And is the real issue Andrew Cuomo's harassment of women?
OF COURSE NOT! It's about Covid-19 and Democratic power. You could take down Andrew Cuomo and a Republican could gain the seat. But Cuomo lied about nursing homes! Well, the truth is most of the public doesn't care about that, they believe Cuomo was on the front line of the pandemic and he cares about them. Republicans are willing to overlook any behavior, all aligned with the Trump doctrine and its adherents, but Democrats are detached from what their voters believe.
We've seen this movie before, in Virginia, with Ralph Northam: https://nyti.ms/30Ct1HZ Caught in a racist photo, Northam refused to step down and Blacks stood behind him, BECAUSE HE WAS GOOD FOR THEM!
But you won't get any of the talking heads, worried about today as opposed to tomorrow game, to bring this up. Wow, this is a great story, we'll get ratings, let's run with it. The bubble-headed bleach blonde comes on at 5. Whoops, can you even say that forty years later, even if it's true?
The Democrats are all about winning the battle and losing the war.
As for due process...
Read this story:
"They Didn't Show THIS On TV! See The Creepy Messages Mia Farrow Sent Woody Allen During Custody Brawl": https://bit.ly/3rVCFBz
Turns out Farrow was sending messages and even posting a sign that Allen was a child molester BEFORE she taped the interview with Dylan that is the linchpin of the HBO series. What are you gonna do with that?
I don't know. But the government refused to prosecute Woody. But we've been convinced public opinion, swayed by the media, trumps the legal system.
Now maybe Woody Allen should be canceled for his relationship with Soon-Yi. But...
Then again, we know Trump did it, but he wasn't convicted, at least not yet, and his constituents don't even believe he did it, CRAZY!
So, did Cuomo do it? Shouldn't we have due process first? And does this automatically disqualify him from office? I'm not saying I endorse the alleged behavior, but we're all flawed, but if that's the case you're excised from the Democratic Party.
The Democrats are losing this war. Just like with "fake news," the right has embraced "cancel culture," twisting its meaning to the detriment of the left.
This is where we are in America today. The penumbra is more important than the core. We consistently lose the plot. Everything's for show. No one is playing the long game.
Before Cuomo is forced out, one must determine not only who will replace him, but the odds a Democrat will win in the next gubernatorial election.
And there's a very good chance this will all blow over before the next election, like with Ralph Northam.
I'm not the only one asking these questions. Turns out the "New York Times" is too: https://nyti.ms/30DPrsd
But we live in an era of groupthink, where everybody's afraid to go against the grain. And then a bloviating bully speaks his truth and gets elected president. Ever think about that? Trump tapped into something, and not all of it was racism.
So, hopefully John Oliver will continue to take on Tucker Carlson, he's done so twice already this season. You know Tucker was not popular in school. He feels inadequate, his hot spots are right under the surface. That's the battle we should be fighting, that's the danger, the right wing. Cuomo is imperfect, maybe he should go.
But maybe he should not.
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Thursday, 11 March 2021
Ed Bicknell-This Week's Podcast
Most famously the manager of Dire Straits, Ed Bicknell started out as a drummer before becoming an agent and a manager and a drummer once again (you can hear him with the Notting Hillbillies!) Ed takes us all the way from the fifties in the U.K. to the agency world of today, with stops at the Shadows, the Beatles, Gerry Rafferty and so much more. Ed tells a good tale, you'll love hearing the history from him. (Recorded live at the International Live Music Conference.)
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ed-bicknell/id1316200737?i=1000512535921
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2SjCIemyt4JkrAbdu5kpTl?si=5XjECzMwQKyjhLkN3hTP_A
https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/episode/ed-bicknell-82306638
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/The-Bob-Lefsetz-Podcast
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Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ed-bicknell/id1316200737?i=1000512535921
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2SjCIemyt4JkrAbdu5kpTl?si=5XjECzMwQKyjhLkN3hTP_A
https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/episode/ed-bicknell-82306638
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/The-Bob-Lefsetz-Podcast
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Wednesday, 10 March 2021
NFTs
1
We haven't had this spirit here since 1999.
That's when Napster blew up.
But this is different. Napster was about employing technology to benefit users while simultaneously proving to rights holders that their business model was flawed, charging $15 for a CD with one good song on it. NFTs are about the money, pure and simple.
If you remember, in the sixties there was the canard that music should be free, that it belonged to the people. Funny how that was the last breakthrough era in the music business, when art was for art's sake. Sure, hip-hop too was a breakthrough, but that was always based on remuneration.
I'd be lying to you if I said I really know what's going on with NFTs. But one thing is for sure, there's a mania. It started two weeks ago with Grimes netting $6 million and then Mike Shinoda came on board and now it might be completely over, at least when it comes to music. Kings of Leon had to extend the window to purchase, since products did not reach the reserve. So if you're sitting at home now, trying to come up with something to sell, there's a good chance you already missed it.
What do we know about internet fads? They're rarely replicable. Radiohead released "In Rainbows" with a name your own price scheme, but no one could repeat the band's success with it thereafter. This paradigm has been repeated for years. There's not only a first mover advantage, oftentimes the first mover is the only one who gets paid!
But that does not mean there cannot be speculation.
That's the only reason to buy an NFT. For the theoretical ability to sell it at a higher price later. Otherwise, it's just a certificate of authenticity, that means little to anyone, at most the buyer can kvell, assuming anybody's paying attention, in an era where attention is at a premium and even household names are not.
But in an era where nincompoops on the internet run up the price of GameStop, where supposedly savvy people lost a bundle in the dot com crash of twenty years ago, where twelve years ago not only did Wall Street break the economy, it didn't even quite understand the products it was selling, it's not hard to believe there's a mania about selling air. And that's what an NFT is, not much more than air.
2
This is a fast evolving story. Today it's all about the energy used in NFT transactions. Turns out it's staggeringly large. Experts have weighed in previously, but today even Aaron Ross Sorkin did in the "New York Times": https://nyti.ms/3l2cNkO I could walk you through issues of scarcity and mining but unless you're planning to enter the marketplace, you probably don't care. But to make it simple:
"depending on which study you read, the annual carbon emissions from the electricity required to mine Bitcoin and process its transactions are equal to the amount emitted by all of New Zealand. Or Argentina."
That's pretty staggering.
Yet there are many advantages to a digital currency. Once again, I point you to Marc Andreessen's article in the "Times":
"Why Bitcoin Matters": https://nyti.ms/2iyy0Ep
And this is a great illustration why as an amateur, you should be wary of playing with professionals. Andreessen wrote that piece SEVEN YEARS AGO!
But now Bitcoin's time has finally come. And you missed out, buying in at a cheap price.
As Peter Thiel and so many have said, if you want to make bank, go where others are not. Forget being a rapper, create a different kind of music. And remember, conception is not king, execution is. So, an idea that is hiding in plain sight might be viable, it's just that no one has put any effort into executing it.
So suddenly there's a lot of attention on cryptocurrency. Bitcoin rose and then crashed, but then it rose again! That's when people start paying attention. One peak can be ignored, but not two peaks.
3
This is about the blockchain. Just like cryptocurrency, we've been hearing about the blockchain for nearly a decade. But we've never seen a practical utilization thereof, one that matters to us. But, if we can sell things without the banks, without the wait, without exorbitant fees, anywhere in the world, that's a huge benefit. But maybe this applies mostly to PHYSICAL ITEMS not DIGITAL!
Don't forget, digital put a huge crimp in the music business. It thought it was ahead of the game with CDs, but they turned out to be rippable and could be reproduced ad infinitum at no cost. People wanted the files, but they were free. Until Daniel Ek converted the world to an on demand formula, where it was about access as opposed to ownership. In the twenty first century ownership is quaint, in many cases passé. The younger generation not only doesn't want to own a car, members don't even want to get a driver's license! Uber is on demand, without the headaches and costs of ownership.
So ownership is positively retro.
As for previous digital goods, they were instantly usable. Like clothing or weapons in video games. You got a better experience. It's hard to argue you get a significantly better experience from owning an NFT.
4
But look at the prices! John Legere bought an NFT from Steve Aoki for $888,888.88. But there's a physical item attached, a framed representation of the artwork. And that makes the purchase a bit different, it cannot be replicated ad infinitum.
But one also must note that rich people have diversified portfolios. And they win some and lose some. You can only make the big money if you're willing to lose money. Look at Masayoshi Son and Softbank. It's a constant seesaw, giant wins and giant losses and...never forget about the tax write-offs.
5
Once again, music is the canary in the coal mine, where it happens first. Not only is there disruption,, but opportunity. Artists are better off financially than ever before in the history of music. Sounds incredible, but think about it. If you're successful, not only can you make huge bank on streaming services, you can tour at inflated ticket prices in an era where experiences are king and sell tchotchkes, even online, whilst hyping it all for free utilizing internet tools. Don't listen to the naysayers, most are wannabes or has-beens. In the old days they'd never get to play. Or if they won in the old days, they wouldn't be able to sell music today because no one would stock their records in a world of limited shelf space and constant new production.
Those bitching loudest come from furthest outside. Furthermore, most are unsophisticated. Did you take notice of the fact that Grimes is Elon Musk's significant other? Who's yours? Think about it.
So it turns out with the blockchain economic opportunities open for artists. Not that Hollywood has realized this, Tinseltown is still trying to hold back the future as Silicon Valley keeps nudging it forward.
But the truth is we're in a post-distribution disruption era in music. Wherein it becomes about the content. TV streaming platforms are realizing this. That only a few outlets can emerge victorious, so they're ramping up production knowing that new work is the way to fight churn. They also know one hit can make up for a dozen losses. And the hit is almost always different from what came before. Sure, Disney built on "Star Wars" with "The Mandalorian," but who could have predicted the success of "The Tiger King"? Or even "Stranger Things"?
But making TV is expensive, the barrier to entry is much higher than music. But we haven't had a "Tiger King" or a "Mandalorian" in music for a long time, and that's what we are waiting for, NFTs are the sideshow, music is the real item, what everything grows from. Place your effort into making great, innovative music. But that's much harder than playing the NFT game, or the wallstreetbets game. If it's easy, everybody can do it. If it's hard, only a few. And that's where the rewards lie, with hard work.
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-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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We haven't had this spirit here since 1999.
That's when Napster blew up.
But this is different. Napster was about employing technology to benefit users while simultaneously proving to rights holders that their business model was flawed, charging $15 for a CD with one good song on it. NFTs are about the money, pure and simple.
If you remember, in the sixties there was the canard that music should be free, that it belonged to the people. Funny how that was the last breakthrough era in the music business, when art was for art's sake. Sure, hip-hop too was a breakthrough, but that was always based on remuneration.
I'd be lying to you if I said I really know what's going on with NFTs. But one thing is for sure, there's a mania. It started two weeks ago with Grimes netting $6 million and then Mike Shinoda came on board and now it might be completely over, at least when it comes to music. Kings of Leon had to extend the window to purchase, since products did not reach the reserve. So if you're sitting at home now, trying to come up with something to sell, there's a good chance you already missed it.
What do we know about internet fads? They're rarely replicable. Radiohead released "In Rainbows" with a name your own price scheme, but no one could repeat the band's success with it thereafter. This paradigm has been repeated for years. There's not only a first mover advantage, oftentimes the first mover is the only one who gets paid!
But that does not mean there cannot be speculation.
That's the only reason to buy an NFT. For the theoretical ability to sell it at a higher price later. Otherwise, it's just a certificate of authenticity, that means little to anyone, at most the buyer can kvell, assuming anybody's paying attention, in an era where attention is at a premium and even household names are not.
But in an era where nincompoops on the internet run up the price of GameStop, where supposedly savvy people lost a bundle in the dot com crash of twenty years ago, where twelve years ago not only did Wall Street break the economy, it didn't even quite understand the products it was selling, it's not hard to believe there's a mania about selling air. And that's what an NFT is, not much more than air.
2
This is a fast evolving story. Today it's all about the energy used in NFT transactions. Turns out it's staggeringly large. Experts have weighed in previously, but today even Aaron Ross Sorkin did in the "New York Times": https://nyti.ms/3l2cNkO I could walk you through issues of scarcity and mining but unless you're planning to enter the marketplace, you probably don't care. But to make it simple:
"depending on which study you read, the annual carbon emissions from the electricity required to mine Bitcoin and process its transactions are equal to the amount emitted by all of New Zealand. Or Argentina."
That's pretty staggering.
Yet there are many advantages to a digital currency. Once again, I point you to Marc Andreessen's article in the "Times":
"Why Bitcoin Matters": https://nyti.ms/2iyy0Ep
And this is a great illustration why as an amateur, you should be wary of playing with professionals. Andreessen wrote that piece SEVEN YEARS AGO!
But now Bitcoin's time has finally come. And you missed out, buying in at a cheap price.
As Peter Thiel and so many have said, if you want to make bank, go where others are not. Forget being a rapper, create a different kind of music. And remember, conception is not king, execution is. So, an idea that is hiding in plain sight might be viable, it's just that no one has put any effort into executing it.
So suddenly there's a lot of attention on cryptocurrency. Bitcoin rose and then crashed, but then it rose again! That's when people start paying attention. One peak can be ignored, but not two peaks.
3
This is about the blockchain. Just like cryptocurrency, we've been hearing about the blockchain for nearly a decade. But we've never seen a practical utilization thereof, one that matters to us. But, if we can sell things without the banks, without the wait, without exorbitant fees, anywhere in the world, that's a huge benefit. But maybe this applies mostly to PHYSICAL ITEMS not DIGITAL!
Don't forget, digital put a huge crimp in the music business. It thought it was ahead of the game with CDs, but they turned out to be rippable and could be reproduced ad infinitum at no cost. People wanted the files, but they were free. Until Daniel Ek converted the world to an on demand formula, where it was about access as opposed to ownership. In the twenty first century ownership is quaint, in many cases passé. The younger generation not only doesn't want to own a car, members don't even want to get a driver's license! Uber is on demand, without the headaches and costs of ownership.
So ownership is positively retro.
As for previous digital goods, they were instantly usable. Like clothing or weapons in video games. You got a better experience. It's hard to argue you get a significantly better experience from owning an NFT.
4
But look at the prices! John Legere bought an NFT from Steve Aoki for $888,888.88. But there's a physical item attached, a framed representation of the artwork. And that makes the purchase a bit different, it cannot be replicated ad infinitum.
But one also must note that rich people have diversified portfolios. And they win some and lose some. You can only make the big money if you're willing to lose money. Look at Masayoshi Son and Softbank. It's a constant seesaw, giant wins and giant losses and...never forget about the tax write-offs.
5
Once again, music is the canary in the coal mine, where it happens first. Not only is there disruption,, but opportunity. Artists are better off financially than ever before in the history of music. Sounds incredible, but think about it. If you're successful, not only can you make huge bank on streaming services, you can tour at inflated ticket prices in an era where experiences are king and sell tchotchkes, even online, whilst hyping it all for free utilizing internet tools. Don't listen to the naysayers, most are wannabes or has-beens. In the old days they'd never get to play. Or if they won in the old days, they wouldn't be able to sell music today because no one would stock their records in a world of limited shelf space and constant new production.
Those bitching loudest come from furthest outside. Furthermore, most are unsophisticated. Did you take notice of the fact that Grimes is Elon Musk's significant other? Who's yours? Think about it.
So it turns out with the blockchain economic opportunities open for artists. Not that Hollywood has realized this, Tinseltown is still trying to hold back the future as Silicon Valley keeps nudging it forward.
But the truth is we're in a post-distribution disruption era in music. Wherein it becomes about the content. TV streaming platforms are realizing this. That only a few outlets can emerge victorious, so they're ramping up production knowing that new work is the way to fight churn. They also know one hit can make up for a dozen losses. And the hit is almost always different from what came before. Sure, Disney built on "Star Wars" with "The Mandalorian," but who could have predicted the success of "The Tiger King"? Or even "Stranger Things"?
But making TV is expensive, the barrier to entry is much higher than music. But we haven't had a "Tiger King" or a "Mandalorian" in music for a long time, and that's what we are waiting for, NFTs are the sideshow, music is the real item, what everything grows from. Place your effort into making great, innovative music. But that's much harder than playing the NFT game, or the wallstreetbets game. If it's easy, everybody can do it. If it's hard, only a few. And that's where the rewards lie, with hard work.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Tuesday, 9 March 2021
The Most Played Tracks In My iTunes Library-SiriusXM This Week
Playlist: https://spoti.fi/3l0cQNO
Note: The most played track in my iTunes library, with 249 plays, is the acoustic version of James McMurtry's "We Can't Make It Here." The playlist contains the studio version. You can hear the acoustic version here: https://bit.ly/3v3KC9H And you should.
Tune in today, March 9th, 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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Note: The most played track in my iTunes library, with 249 plays, is the acoustic version of James McMurtry's "We Can't Make It Here." The playlist contains the studio version. You can hear the acoustic version here: https://bit.ly/3v3KC9H And you should.
Tune in today, March 9th, 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
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Monday, 8 March 2021
Grammy Ratings
The internet killed MTV.
Have streaming television, social media and on demand music services killed the Grammy telecast?
I'll say yes.
In case you missed the memo, which you probably did, since you obviously missed the show, Golden Globe ratings tanked by 62%.
Now we can say they were hobbled by Covid-19.
Then again, aren't awards shows exhibited in the middle of winter when everybody is supposedly home, a prisoner of their television set?
But people don't tune in for the winners, but for the dresses!
Well, now you can get your fill of fashion online, on demand.
But there are TV and movie stars!
But they're no longer heroes in a world where everybody can be a star and everybody is equal, where no one is perceived as better than anybody else, except by the young nitwits who are not going to sit through a three hour telecast anyway.
The awards telecast is history. At least as a ratings/revenue bonanza. They're predicated on the fact that we care who wins, which we don't, and that we have limited access to the stars, which we don't, if anything they're overexposed. Also, trying to be everything to everybody is a failed paradigm that has been sinking since the advent of cable TV, never mind streaming outlets.
Come on, who wants to watch the Grammy show?
It's not like Trevor Noah sends hearts in the younger demo pitter-pattering. And the older demo doesn't stay up late enough to watch this show. As for those in the middle, Gen-X'ers...they want to see eighties acts, not the fly by night performers of today. As for millennials? They're the generation that grew up with hip-hop, maybe if a show skewed their way they might be interested, but that's not the case.
Furthermore, mainstream music has never meant less. Used to be we all listened to the same acts, watched the same television, but that's history. You can be a fan of a streaming TV show that no one else you know has watched. What are the odds that your favorite act is actually gonna appear on the Grammy telecast? Low.
Give Ben Winston credit, the show skews young, but this is the generation that cares least about TV, that may not even have access to broadcast television, they don't pay for cable and see no need to fiddle with an antenna. As for highlights? Those are available online the next day, if not instantly, you never miss anything in today's connected world, assuming you care to begin with.
MTV had it right with the VMAs, at least back in the beginning, before they were solely hypefests for album drops. Yes, when it becomes solely about promotion the public feels it, is turned off and abandons the enterprise. The show and the viewer must be one. It's a silent pact. Once you're trying to pull the wool over the audience's eyes...and today audiences are more sophisticated than ever. Anyway, MTV knew the awards show format was broken, so they made it about the spectacle, not the awards themselves. We remember Uncle Miltie and RuPaul, not anybody who won that year. Meanwhile, for decades we've been subjected to "Grammy Moments," duets no one is interested in and no one cares about. We live in a coarse, no limit society, when you play it safe no one's interest is piqued, especially when you create content that is insipid.
As for the Grammy organization itself, it has lost all credibility. The voting system is opaque and years of infighting, the Deborah Dugan debacle and excoriation by every hip-hop titan of note has made the whole enterprise smell like doo-doo. In a world of MeToo and Black Lives Matter the Grammys circled their wagons, refused to air their dirty laundry and said they can fix their problems themselves. Yeah, LIKE A POLICE DEPARTMENT!
Used to be we could accept that network television was bland and safe. But no longer. You used to watch HBO for boobies, they called it Skinemax, but now full nudity is available 24/7 via Google...skin is not enough to sell a TV series, you've got to have more. And music is certainly not enough to sell an awards show, it's available everywhere, if anything the problem is we have too much music in our lives, we're overwhelmed with music!
Not that anybody at the Grammys knows any of this.
This is no different from tech, from Clay Christensen's rules in "The Innovator's Dilemma." The only way to survive disruption is to disrupt yourself. And if you don't, you're on your way out, you will be superseded and forgotten.
But CBS has trouble getting eyeballs at all, network TV ratings themselves keep dropping, and the Grammy organization is inured to CBS's cash, that's what keeps the organization alive. That's right, without CBS's money, the Grammys are nothing, they don't stand alone, they're tools of the network and the major labels. Oops, I told the truth! But the truth is the younger generation who the Grammys depend on to watch have known the truth for years already, the Grammys appointment television? Why bother to watch at all!
It's sad. Seeing these alta kachers parade the same formula year after year. It's kinda like those old black and white reefer and sex movies they show in schools. The kids laugh at them, they're completely out of touch. And in case you don't know, the D.A.R.E. campaign was a complete failure.
Now if the Grammys were smart, and forward-looking, which they're is not, it's an old fart organization run by males, they would ask themselves what their mission is. Is it to provide perks for those on the board? To make a TV show? To raise money for charity? Or to shine a light on musical achievement.
That's its true mission, the music.
And the truth is finally the Grammys are somewhat in touch. Yes, wait long enough and the world comes to you. In other words, it's the eighty-odd categories that now matter. The emphasis should be much more on the down ballot awards, they shouldn't be shunted to a separate broadcast. The truth is by exhibiting the work of the supposedly less popular, viewers will be intrigued, because they might actually learn something, might find they're interested in these other genres.
Then again, that still might not work as a TV show, in a world of narrowcasting, maybe the Grammy telecast, assuming there even is one, needs to be broken down into fifteen or thirty minute segments.
And maybe it should not only be about performances. It should be about creativity. Yes, people tune into television when there's STORY! There's no story in the Grammys. It's just awarding the overexposed. How someone made it. Their challenges. That would be interesting.
This is not rocket science, it just requires some of the innovative thinking employed to make great music. It requires a blank sheet of paper. We've lived through two plus decades of technological innovation, yet the Grammy telecast has remained the same... That's a recipe for a DECLINING DISASTER!
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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Have streaming television, social media and on demand music services killed the Grammy telecast?
I'll say yes.
In case you missed the memo, which you probably did, since you obviously missed the show, Golden Globe ratings tanked by 62%.
Now we can say they were hobbled by Covid-19.
Then again, aren't awards shows exhibited in the middle of winter when everybody is supposedly home, a prisoner of their television set?
But people don't tune in for the winners, but for the dresses!
Well, now you can get your fill of fashion online, on demand.
But there are TV and movie stars!
But they're no longer heroes in a world where everybody can be a star and everybody is equal, where no one is perceived as better than anybody else, except by the young nitwits who are not going to sit through a three hour telecast anyway.
The awards telecast is history. At least as a ratings/revenue bonanza. They're predicated on the fact that we care who wins, which we don't, and that we have limited access to the stars, which we don't, if anything they're overexposed. Also, trying to be everything to everybody is a failed paradigm that has been sinking since the advent of cable TV, never mind streaming outlets.
Come on, who wants to watch the Grammy show?
It's not like Trevor Noah sends hearts in the younger demo pitter-pattering. And the older demo doesn't stay up late enough to watch this show. As for those in the middle, Gen-X'ers...they want to see eighties acts, not the fly by night performers of today. As for millennials? They're the generation that grew up with hip-hop, maybe if a show skewed their way they might be interested, but that's not the case.
Furthermore, mainstream music has never meant less. Used to be we all listened to the same acts, watched the same television, but that's history. You can be a fan of a streaming TV show that no one else you know has watched. What are the odds that your favorite act is actually gonna appear on the Grammy telecast? Low.
Give Ben Winston credit, the show skews young, but this is the generation that cares least about TV, that may not even have access to broadcast television, they don't pay for cable and see no need to fiddle with an antenna. As for highlights? Those are available online the next day, if not instantly, you never miss anything in today's connected world, assuming you care to begin with.
MTV had it right with the VMAs, at least back in the beginning, before they were solely hypefests for album drops. Yes, when it becomes solely about promotion the public feels it, is turned off and abandons the enterprise. The show and the viewer must be one. It's a silent pact. Once you're trying to pull the wool over the audience's eyes...and today audiences are more sophisticated than ever. Anyway, MTV knew the awards show format was broken, so they made it about the spectacle, not the awards themselves. We remember Uncle Miltie and RuPaul, not anybody who won that year. Meanwhile, for decades we've been subjected to "Grammy Moments," duets no one is interested in and no one cares about. We live in a coarse, no limit society, when you play it safe no one's interest is piqued, especially when you create content that is insipid.
As for the Grammy organization itself, it has lost all credibility. The voting system is opaque and years of infighting, the Deborah Dugan debacle and excoriation by every hip-hop titan of note has made the whole enterprise smell like doo-doo. In a world of MeToo and Black Lives Matter the Grammys circled their wagons, refused to air their dirty laundry and said they can fix their problems themselves. Yeah, LIKE A POLICE DEPARTMENT!
Used to be we could accept that network television was bland and safe. But no longer. You used to watch HBO for boobies, they called it Skinemax, but now full nudity is available 24/7 via Google...skin is not enough to sell a TV series, you've got to have more. And music is certainly not enough to sell an awards show, it's available everywhere, if anything the problem is we have too much music in our lives, we're overwhelmed with music!
Not that anybody at the Grammys knows any of this.
This is no different from tech, from Clay Christensen's rules in "The Innovator's Dilemma." The only way to survive disruption is to disrupt yourself. And if you don't, you're on your way out, you will be superseded and forgotten.
But CBS has trouble getting eyeballs at all, network TV ratings themselves keep dropping, and the Grammy organization is inured to CBS's cash, that's what keeps the organization alive. That's right, without CBS's money, the Grammys are nothing, they don't stand alone, they're tools of the network and the major labels. Oops, I told the truth! But the truth is the younger generation who the Grammys depend on to watch have known the truth for years already, the Grammys appointment television? Why bother to watch at all!
It's sad. Seeing these alta kachers parade the same formula year after year. It's kinda like those old black and white reefer and sex movies they show in schools. The kids laugh at them, they're completely out of touch. And in case you don't know, the D.A.R.E. campaign was a complete failure.
Now if the Grammys were smart, and forward-looking, which they're is not, it's an old fart organization run by males, they would ask themselves what their mission is. Is it to provide perks for those on the board? To make a TV show? To raise money for charity? Or to shine a light on musical achievement.
That's its true mission, the music.
And the truth is finally the Grammys are somewhat in touch. Yes, wait long enough and the world comes to you. In other words, it's the eighty-odd categories that now matter. The emphasis should be much more on the down ballot awards, they shouldn't be shunted to a separate broadcast. The truth is by exhibiting the work of the supposedly less popular, viewers will be intrigued, because they might actually learn something, might find they're interested in these other genres.
Then again, that still might not work as a TV show, in a world of narrowcasting, maybe the Grammy telecast, assuming there even is one, needs to be broken down into fifteen or thirty minute segments.
And maybe it should not only be about performances. It should be about creativity. Yes, people tune into television when there's STORY! There's no story in the Grammys. It's just awarding the overexposed. How someone made it. Their challenges. That would be interesting.
This is not rocket science, it just requires some of the innovative thinking employed to make great music. It requires a blank sheet of paper. We've lived through two plus decades of technological innovation, yet the Grammy telecast has remained the same... That's a recipe for a DECLINING DISASTER!
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
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Losing Alice
https://vimeo.com/394734657
Pound for pound the Israelis make the best TV.
Canada and the U.K. punch far above their weight in music, but when it comes to TV series, there doesn't seem to be a bad Israeli show, at least not one I've seen.
The best is "Prisoners of War."
But really, for me it all started with "In Treatment," the HBO therapy show that was lifted from the original Israeli series. And when HBO tried to extend it, beyond the initial two seasons of "BeTipul," they failed. You just can't recreate the Israeli ethos.
And what is that exactly?
A world where character is more important than action, where only so much money can be made so you focus on getting it right as opposed to getting rich. Where budgets cannot cover special effects, so it comes down to the script.
Of course "Fauda" has action, but that's not what sells the show, it's Doron and the rest of the characters. It all seems real. They're fighting for a cause, and they could die tomorrow.
And there are so many other shows. "False Flag" on Hulu. "When Heroes Fly" on Netflix. "Srugim." And of course "Shtisel."
I preferred "Srugim" to "Shtisel," but they're both really good. And in "Shtisel" Akiva wants to marry Elisheva, but she's tainted by being a widow two times over, and his family just won't accept her.
Elisheva is played by Ayelet Zurer. Ayelet Zurer is the star of "Losing Alice."
Zurer radiates intelligence, emotion, without even saying much. You're drawn to her, she's beautiful. Until she's paired with Lihi Kornowski in "Losing Alice." Kornowski is young and vibrant and makes Zurer appear to be the housewife she plays. Amazing juxtaposition. You sit there and watch and wonder what attraction really is.
And it works the other way too. Everybody wants to sleep with Gal Toren, who plays movie star David. But the truth is David and Zurer, Alice in this show, are supported by David's mother, who knows no boundaries.
That's a concept that is talked about in psychology that is addressed too infrequently, but when you see it, you immediately recognize it, whether it be in a TV series or real life. There are just certain people who cross lines with impunity, they don't even think about it.
Like Sophie, played by Kornowski. She's young and attractive and manipulative. She gets what she wants. And she doesn't care what it takes to get it. Blurred lines? We're not talking about Robin Thicke here, we're talking about real life.
Every male has experienced this. Someone out of your league shows interest in you. How do you behave? Usually you play along in the moment, and maybe savor the experience a bit thereafter, but you know it was a one time deal.
Unless it's not.
If they approach you again, if they want to continue, how do you deal with this? Some people run away. Some people go further until they freak out and pull the ripcord. Some people go all the way to the end, and ruin their lives or at least put a big dent in them.
Do you fly straight or take risks? Everybody does drugs, should you? Marijuana is essentially legal, does that mean you should smoke too? And if offered cocaine or mushrooms... Where do you draw the line? Some people never cross it, they stay on their side of the fence. They've paid their dues in pursuit of the life where you jump through hoops and you get what you deserve, but then some of these people are tempted. Like doctor Tamir in this show. Or Jeff Bezos. Are these women really interested in you, do you really have a chance?
Mo stayed with John Dean. To everyone's surprise. But usually this is not the case.
Women are smart. And some know their ticket is their looks, and they expire, and they want to make the most of them while they can, like Sophie.
And, like Sophie, there are plenty of people who didn't fit into the system, couldn't get into the right college, couldn't qualify for the course, but that does not mean they're not smart. Oftentimes they're much smarter than the achievers, because street smarts always trump book smarts, every single day.
So will you roll with the cool people to feel cool yourself, even though you're really not, for the adventure, or..?
You could get in trouble. Alice does here. Even if you're not trying, there could be a random police check that could net you.
They're swimming at night and all I hear is my father's voice in my head, DON'T!
Don't ride on the back of cars.
Don't dive into lakes in the dark.
I'm still here, a lot of people who did the above are not. I can still remember the stories growing up, I can still remember where they happened. But I'm neither rich nor famous, whereas people without portfolio came to Hollywood and made it. Yes, some O.D.'ed, like Don Simpson, who no one even talks about anymore. Some bounced from one tragedy to another, ruining their lives, like Jan-Michael Vincent. And you wouldn't get in trouble if you had those roles, if you had the cash and the adulation...but playing it safe you can't get the cash and the adulation.
And where are the boundaries in relationships? That sexy talk between friends, is it just talk or is there really something underneath, that you'd act on if you both weren't married. And if you both weren't married would you be interested in each other anyway?
Truthfully, we're only half way through "Losing Alice." And it's not the best show I've ever seen, but I am hooked, I am not straying, we watched four episodes straight and if Felice hadn't needed to sleep, I'd be on episode five right now.
Genre shows... They dominate streaming services. It's much harder to write real life, real characters, something that reflects regular existence.
Like when you cross a boundary in your marriage and you can't tell your spouse but the telltale heart is beating heavy inside, you can't get your transgression off of your mind, acted so well by David in this show.
And life is boring and presented with a little excitement...are you really going to refrain from dipping your toe in?
Can you balance work and family. What are the costs?
Somehow they nail all this in Israeli shows. Maybe because Israel is a small country, like Canada, like the U.K., unburdened by the hundreds of millions of people in the U.S. who believe they live in the greatest country in the world. But if you're not the behemoth, you pick and choose your entry points. Theoretically everybody can write a script. But can everybody write a good one?
And another pleasure of watching foreign TV is you see the same actors again and again, you'll watch anything they're in. Like Audrey Fleurot, in "A French Village" and "Spiral" and more. And Ayelet Zurer.
The truth is there's a plethora of product out there and very little is great. And with everybody fighting for attention much of the great is hidden.
And "Losing Alice" is on Apple TV+, which everybody seems to have a free subscription to, but the ink goes to the business of the channel as opposed to the shows on the service.
So I've never heard anybody talk about "Losing Alice." I found it doing research. And honestly the fact that it was Israeli was a plus. I didn't even know it had Zurer in it until we watched it.
And like I said, "Losing Alice" is not fantastic, but much of the TV fare is mediocre. Made for a lowbrow audience which believes subtitles are anathema and three-dimensionality is hard to achieve, so why look for it. Most of the series you hear about are lousy, it's just that there's so much money invested the producers hype them, you don't hear about the rest.
So you're on your own.
Tonight we found "Losing Alice."
Just when I was worried we'd hit all the highlights.
P.S. Watch "Losing Alice" in Hebrew, with English subtitles, not the dubbed version.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
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Pound for pound the Israelis make the best TV.
Canada and the U.K. punch far above their weight in music, but when it comes to TV series, there doesn't seem to be a bad Israeli show, at least not one I've seen.
The best is "Prisoners of War."
But really, for me it all started with "In Treatment," the HBO therapy show that was lifted from the original Israeli series. And when HBO tried to extend it, beyond the initial two seasons of "BeTipul," they failed. You just can't recreate the Israeli ethos.
And what is that exactly?
A world where character is more important than action, where only so much money can be made so you focus on getting it right as opposed to getting rich. Where budgets cannot cover special effects, so it comes down to the script.
Of course "Fauda" has action, but that's not what sells the show, it's Doron and the rest of the characters. It all seems real. They're fighting for a cause, and they could die tomorrow.
And there are so many other shows. "False Flag" on Hulu. "When Heroes Fly" on Netflix. "Srugim." And of course "Shtisel."
I preferred "Srugim" to "Shtisel," but they're both really good. And in "Shtisel" Akiva wants to marry Elisheva, but she's tainted by being a widow two times over, and his family just won't accept her.
Elisheva is played by Ayelet Zurer. Ayelet Zurer is the star of "Losing Alice."
Zurer radiates intelligence, emotion, without even saying much. You're drawn to her, she's beautiful. Until she's paired with Lihi Kornowski in "Losing Alice." Kornowski is young and vibrant and makes Zurer appear to be the housewife she plays. Amazing juxtaposition. You sit there and watch and wonder what attraction really is.
And it works the other way too. Everybody wants to sleep with Gal Toren, who plays movie star David. But the truth is David and Zurer, Alice in this show, are supported by David's mother, who knows no boundaries.
That's a concept that is talked about in psychology that is addressed too infrequently, but when you see it, you immediately recognize it, whether it be in a TV series or real life. There are just certain people who cross lines with impunity, they don't even think about it.
Like Sophie, played by Kornowski. She's young and attractive and manipulative. She gets what she wants. And she doesn't care what it takes to get it. Blurred lines? We're not talking about Robin Thicke here, we're talking about real life.
Every male has experienced this. Someone out of your league shows interest in you. How do you behave? Usually you play along in the moment, and maybe savor the experience a bit thereafter, but you know it was a one time deal.
Unless it's not.
If they approach you again, if they want to continue, how do you deal with this? Some people run away. Some people go further until they freak out and pull the ripcord. Some people go all the way to the end, and ruin their lives or at least put a big dent in them.
Do you fly straight or take risks? Everybody does drugs, should you? Marijuana is essentially legal, does that mean you should smoke too? And if offered cocaine or mushrooms... Where do you draw the line? Some people never cross it, they stay on their side of the fence. They've paid their dues in pursuit of the life where you jump through hoops and you get what you deserve, but then some of these people are tempted. Like doctor Tamir in this show. Or Jeff Bezos. Are these women really interested in you, do you really have a chance?
Mo stayed with John Dean. To everyone's surprise. But usually this is not the case.
Women are smart. And some know their ticket is their looks, and they expire, and they want to make the most of them while they can, like Sophie.
And, like Sophie, there are plenty of people who didn't fit into the system, couldn't get into the right college, couldn't qualify for the course, but that does not mean they're not smart. Oftentimes they're much smarter than the achievers, because street smarts always trump book smarts, every single day.
So will you roll with the cool people to feel cool yourself, even though you're really not, for the adventure, or..?
You could get in trouble. Alice does here. Even if you're not trying, there could be a random police check that could net you.
They're swimming at night and all I hear is my father's voice in my head, DON'T!
Don't ride on the back of cars.
Don't dive into lakes in the dark.
I'm still here, a lot of people who did the above are not. I can still remember the stories growing up, I can still remember where they happened. But I'm neither rich nor famous, whereas people without portfolio came to Hollywood and made it. Yes, some O.D.'ed, like Don Simpson, who no one even talks about anymore. Some bounced from one tragedy to another, ruining their lives, like Jan-Michael Vincent. And you wouldn't get in trouble if you had those roles, if you had the cash and the adulation...but playing it safe you can't get the cash and the adulation.
And where are the boundaries in relationships? That sexy talk between friends, is it just talk or is there really something underneath, that you'd act on if you both weren't married. And if you both weren't married would you be interested in each other anyway?
Truthfully, we're only half way through "Losing Alice." And it's not the best show I've ever seen, but I am hooked, I am not straying, we watched four episodes straight and if Felice hadn't needed to sleep, I'd be on episode five right now.
Genre shows... They dominate streaming services. It's much harder to write real life, real characters, something that reflects regular existence.
Like when you cross a boundary in your marriage and you can't tell your spouse but the telltale heart is beating heavy inside, you can't get your transgression off of your mind, acted so well by David in this show.
And life is boring and presented with a little excitement...are you really going to refrain from dipping your toe in?
Can you balance work and family. What are the costs?
Somehow they nail all this in Israeli shows. Maybe because Israel is a small country, like Canada, like the U.K., unburdened by the hundreds of millions of people in the U.S. who believe they live in the greatest country in the world. But if you're not the behemoth, you pick and choose your entry points. Theoretically everybody can write a script. But can everybody write a good one?
And another pleasure of watching foreign TV is you see the same actors again and again, you'll watch anything they're in. Like Audrey Fleurot, in "A French Village" and "Spiral" and more. And Ayelet Zurer.
The truth is there's a plethora of product out there and very little is great. And with everybody fighting for attention much of the great is hidden.
And "Losing Alice" is on Apple TV+, which everybody seems to have a free subscription to, but the ink goes to the business of the channel as opposed to the shows on the service.
So I've never heard anybody talk about "Losing Alice." I found it doing research. And honestly the fact that it was Israeli was a plus. I didn't even know it had Zurer in it until we watched it.
And like I said, "Losing Alice" is not fantastic, but much of the TV fare is mediocre. Made for a lowbrow audience which believes subtitles are anathema and three-dimensionality is hard to achieve, so why look for it. Most of the series you hear about are lousy, it's just that there's so much money invested the producers hype them, you don't hear about the rest.
So you're on your own.
Tonight we found "Losing Alice."
Just when I was worried we'd hit all the highlights.
P.S. Watch "Losing Alice" in Hebrew, with English subtitles, not the dubbed version.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
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