The Split

https://bit.ly/3gVU5Lw

We just finished this last night and I can't believe I have to wait another year for the third and final season to find out what happens with the characters, I'm invested!

Actually, I'd never heard of "The Split." But my buddy Don Down Under recommended it, and when I looked it up on RottenTomatoes the Critics Rating was 75%, but the Audience Score was 91%, so I was intrigued. Normally I like it the other way, a higher Critic score. But anything with a number in the nineties is worth checking out.

So we did.

The thing you have to know about "The Split" is it stars Nicola Walker, one of the best actresses in the U.K. The acting in "The Split" is phenomenal, a cut above everything on network and most on cable, and the outfits! I'm not into fashion whatsoever, but even I was moved by the clothing, especially what the women wear. I was calculating the cost in my head, wondering if attorneys could really afford it, and I ultimately decided they could, but the stylist deserves kudos, I only wish this person could outfit me. Never mind so many business people in the public eye. The right colors, the right fit, they make all the difference.

So what you've got here is a series about family law, i.e. divorce.

Practicing law is boring and oftentimes unsatisfying. There's a scene where the law association has a mixer and I about puked, the thought of hanging around with people discussing legal issues was a huge turnoff. But if it had been music issues...

But these attorneys are really into their jobs. Furthermore, they're really into the money, getting clients, boosting the charges, gaining revenue and prominence. It's offensive. I guess I see law as a service, and once you focus on business, the clients take a back seat.

Not that the attorneys in this show are bad at the law, quite the contrary, they're excellent! Nicola Walker's Hannah is a superstar, but sans the superstar trappings. Too often people become winners in their field and they've got to tell you all about it, they hire PR people to plant stories, it becomes offensive. But Hannah is just doing the work, confidently.

We learn that she has gotten out from under the thumb of her mother Ruth, at the family firm, Defoes, which has been in business for over a century. And Deborah Findlay as Ruth is at first off-putting and offensive, radiating no sexuality, you almost wonder if she's a man, but as the series evolves you realize not only is she a great attorney, she's a great advisor, she's the one keeping the family together, if only every family had a matriarch like this. On some level, Ruth is too involved, but when her kids touch the third rail, she calmly counsels them, instead of freaking out they should see what's important and save it, as opposed to throwing it out and ruining their lives. In America youth is idolized, if you're old you're made fun of, but then you watch Ruth and you realize that's what we need over here, more respected Ruths.

And Ruth has three children, the aforementioned Hannah, and Nina and Rose. Hannah ultimately has to oversee everything, she's responsible, even though she can never arrive anywhere on time. One of the progeny always plays this role, of herding cats. They don't want to take on the duty, but they're fearful if they don't chaos will ensue. It's draining, with no acknowledgement, but if they don't do it no one will.

Rose is the youngest, the baby of the family, and she acts like it. Every once in a while someone in the show is called on their crap, they're being artificially nice, they're complaining, and then they're busted. And the busting is frequently done by Nina. Nina is the middle child. Beautiful, like Hannah she followed in her mother's footsteps, she became an attorney, not that she loves the work, as a matter of fact she's not quite sure what her life is about. Nina is in her mid-thirties yet she can't sustain a relationship, even though she's not averse to having sex. But she's also a drinker, and when she drinks...she says the unsayable. Both things everyone knows and those they don't. She shocks everybody with her statements. And you've got to give her credit for being honest, she's not duplicitous, which we ultimately find Hannah is, but in real life most people, especially successful people, know the boundaries and observe them.

Nathan is Hannah's husband. They met in law school. They've got three children. He's a nice guy. But maybe that's not attractive enough.

Christie went to law school with them and it turns out...he could never get over Hannah, she's the one he wanted and still wants.

Hmm... That's what's great about this show, it gets the emotions, the feelings right. You'd be stunned how many people, especially men, have never gotten over their young loves, fantasize about them, believe if they could just reconnect with them their lives would work.

And they also get divorce right. If you've ever been divorced, you know it's completely different from how it's portrayed in the media. There's a deep connection between the two of you and then someone breaks the bond. Let me be clear here, anybody who tells you a divorce is mutual is lying through their teeth, they're afraid of telling the truth, for fear of looking guilty if they were the responsible party, or fear of looking like a sad sack if they were caught unawares.

Furthermore, there's a breaking point in every breakup. Something that is said that pushes the other over the line. Whether you're married or just living together, you have a fight and then someone says something and you realize...there's no coming back from this. You can try to patch it up, but it's over.

So, other than Rose, all the major characters are attorneys, and they're all family law attorneys, which is radically different from being a corporate or business attorney. First and foremost, it's oftentimes hard to make a big buck because most people can't afford to pay it! Yes, divorce is paid for by the clients, who rarely have deep pockets, unlike the corporation, you can only charge so much. Which is one reason why Zander, the managing partner, is always looking to snare high profile clients, who can afford to pay. But it also switches the focus, because in family law, it's about the people. It's rarely about the people in other avenues of practice. Sure, people might feel the end result, but divorce and its attendant processes speak to the heart of your identity, the center of your life, what you are living for, your bond to your spouse and your family, assuming you've got children. This show portrays this so well. You think your career is important, just wait until the tree of your home life is shaken, suddenly you have trouble functioning in business, you now realize we're all equal, just people on the planet, and if our people life, our regular life, isn't working, then nothing is. Which is one reason why the uncoupled often overwork. Because if they have to look at the four walls, they go crazy.

So there are two seasons, each only six episodes long. And the travails of the main characters are the focus, but threaded throughout are family law disputes, and the truth is we can relate to all of them. The child who gets into a bad relationship. The abusive husband. What's the right course of action, how do you cope with this? Now many people don't, but those with money can afford these family lawyers to help them effect a reasonable solution.

Now to tell you the truth, at the beginning of the second season, maybe even at the end of the first, the show devolves a bit, to the point where you just think it's a classy "L.A. Law," maybe even "Ally McBeal." But there's not the ridiculous, unbelievable humor. But everybody seems to be in crisis, almost to the point where you shake your head. But then it gets back on track, maybe because the acting is so damn good.

I love these shows. If you're interested in people more than business, if you're into reality more than fantasy, "The Split" is for you.

Then again, too many people are afraid to dig into the issues, which is why most won't go see a psychotherapist, and many can only talk about the external, everything but themselves. Men are the worst, which is why conversations with women are usually more rewarding. They're less worried about the totem pole and more interested in their feelings, and how people interact, and that's what this show is all about.

Now "The Split" is on Hulu. Or if you're a Sundance subscriber, you can watch it there too. And the truth is if something's not on the big three, Netflix, Amazon and HBO, many people don't have access. (Yes, Disney has a ton of subscribers, but it's mostly about kid and fantastical content, I had a free subscription, I never bothered to renew it, there was nothing I wanted to see.) So you might be intrigued but the hurdle to watching is just too much.

And that's too bad.

You want to connect with real life? Watch "The A Word" or "Bonus Family" or "The Split." The truth is "The Split" is not quite as good as the other two, but quality shows in this vein are rare, but when we find one we want to connect with other like-minded people, to tell them about it, to discuss it after they see it.

Let's talk after you watch "The Split."

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TikTok Deep Dive

"How TikTok Chooses Which Songs Go Viral - The app's hits seem to emerge organically, but the success of artists like Megan Thee Stallion reveals a highly managed curation process": https://bloom.bg/3e6C9Mo

This is the most important music business article you will read all year, well at least the year that's already transpired. And what stuns me is NO ONE e-mailed it to me, NO ONE!

Remember twenty years ago, in the days of file-trading, when music was disrupted and the news was everywhere? When something happened and it was blasted into every nook and cranny instantly? Those days are through. "Billboard" is a complete joke. Mediocre writers pointed towards the consumer as opposed to the professional. As for "Rolling Stone," behind a paywall sans its classic writers, its trajectory seems to be one towards death, then again, this was ensured when the magazine aged with its users as opposed to focusing on the demo, like MTV.

And the demo is young.

You might not be listening to the young music, but all the innovation takes place amongst the youth first. The youth were file-trading, the youth put videos on YouTube and audio on Soundcloud, the youth embraced smartphones and their possibilities and it's the oldsters who followed in their wake. And if you want to know what's going on right now...read this article.

There's an attendant podcast: https://www.bloomberg.com/foundering which you should listen to if you listen to podcasts, it's much more informative than the true crime b.s. spreading throughout the podcast universe, and maybe it's because its host, Shelly Banjo, has been following the TikTok story for THREE YEARS!

That's the problem with most news, it's written by reporters, getting the story as opposed to living the story. Then again, if you want to know what is really happening oftentimes you have to turn to business publications, which "Billboard" used to be and Bloomberg is now. Bloomberg did go mass, but it pulled back and decided to focus on business news only, and if you get one magazine, subscribe to "Bloomberg Businessweek." The latest issue also contains an article on Kevin Liles, but you can skip that, you don't learn much, but Shelly Banjo tells us EVERYTHING!

So on the podcast you have a teen TikTok creator talking about activity. Beyonce posted her baby reveal on Instagram and got a million likes in twenty four hours. Sounds pretty good, right? WRONG! This girl said she and the other TikTok stars get three million likes AN HOUR!

It's always the same, the news is controlled by oldsters who continue to miss the plot. Like with video games, whose numbers far outstrip both music and movies, but they still don't get respect.

So why should you read the above article... TO LEARN THAT IT'S ALL MANIPULATED! TikTok is not only a platform, it's essentially a manager, in deep contact with its stars, it'll even give them money. But even better, TikTok tells them how to stay atop the charts, it tells creators which songs are priorities, to make videos for them so these creators can continue to dominate and grow bigger. As for the priorities...those are heavily-influenced by the major labels. The perception that TikTok is a passive platform is patently wrong. You get lucky, you get a million views...unless you get in touch with the TikTok ecosystem (actually, unless they get in touch with you) you're one and done. It's a professional business, and if you're not a professional, forget it.

So if you listen to the podcast you'll hear about the founder, Zhang Yiming, who's the opposite of a Silicon Valley star, who basks in the attention. Turns out you can't even find Zhang, he's elusive. And Banjo opines that if Zhang were American, he'd be as big as Zuckerberg, but since he's Chinese...

You'll be stunned when you hear about the Chinese operation. First and foremost, they live in a 9-9-6 world. That means you work nine a.m. to nine p.m., six days a week. And it's not like America, where the dumb get traction, where we had an inane do-nothing president who still thinks he won an election he lost, no, in China they're looking forward. It's America a few decades back. But too many think we can win via trade wars, no, we can win by paying attention!

As for the aforementioned Zuckerberg, TikTok is the platform that is eating his lunch. Facebook kicked the tires, they weren't interested, they believed they could duplicate Musical.ly if it gained traction.

But that was before Musical.ly sold to Bytedance. Bytedance paid a fortune, many people believed the company overpaid, but sometimes you have to do that to gain market share, to get ahead. Oh, Bytedance tried to compete with Musical.ly, BUT IT COULDN'T! Turned out the Musical.ly algorithm was just too strong, just too good, not that it's not being tweaked constantly, for he not busy being born is dying, like all those acts complaining about streaming payouts as opposed to wholeheartedly embracing the new business model.

As for that new business model... This is a time when many will get out, TikTok is a game-changer.

Used to be acts were broken on radio. Then they were broken on Spotify and radio came next. Now they're broken on TikTok and then they spread to streaming and radio. And how did TikTok achieve this? VIA CONSUMER PARTICIPATION! Exactly what the oldsters fought for decades, in many cases are still fighting. But that skateboarding cranberry juice swigging Idahoan brought Fleetwood Mac to the youngsters, adding longevity to the act, never mind enlarging its grosses.

And all this has been happening under the radar. There's a whole ecosystem, building new stars.

And while you're at it, read Jon Caramanica's story in today's "New York Times" which talks about acts making multiple versions of the same song, without even bothering to make an album. Yes, it's about the song.

"Who Needs an Album? Just Keep Remaking the Song! Recent hits by SpotemGottem and Lil Nas X show the power of extending the life of a single track, album be damned.": https://nyti.ms/3gTwR8D

And if you want to go even deeper, read Connie Bruck's article about Ari Emanuel in the latest "New Yorker":

"Ari Emanuel Takes On The World - Hollywood's most tenacious agent tries to remake himself as a mogul": https://bit.ly/3vCuziD

Bruck wrote the definitive statement about Michael Milken and Drexel Burnham Lambert, "The Predators' Ball," and this Ari Emanuel article is incredibly well-researched, but much less insightful than the TikTok one in Bloomberg. Sometimes you're so focused on where you've been that you can't see where you're going, which is why the "New Yorker" article ultimately falls flat.

But the "Bloomberg Businessweek" article, it's positively now. And unlike Ari, it's not about business shenanigans so much as creation, the arts. Sure, art intersects with business, but most people don't want to talk to Ari Emanuel, they'd rather watch TikTok. And never forget, disruption happens from the bottom up, so WME can be disrupted too.

But reading this article you have to ask...have you been disrupted? It's not simple anymore, you just can't make a record and hire a PR person to spam it to radio and other outlets. First and foremost, no one is paying attention, you can't reach anybody! Today you've got to be a creator but you've also got to understand the systems, how they work, where they're going.

It turns out today the people make the hits. And where they make them is on TikTok. But TikTok ultimately decides what is a hit.

So what if you're making oldster music?

Think about how you can connect with the audience, how you can reach people.

Then again, not one single person has told me about this "Bloomberg Businessweek" article and it's genius, so insightful, better than anything about music in newspapers or online. You're now hipped, you're a member of the club, but let me forewarn you, it will be both insightful and depressing, inspirational and overwhelming, but you can't turn back the clock, this is where we are. China is building infrastructure at a pace we can't even contemplate. TikTok ate Zuckerberg's lunch. The ball keeps moving, the government missed WhatsApp and they missed TikTok, elected officials think they can quash something already embedded in the culture...not that TikTok deserves to go, rather we've got to act like the Chinese, we've got to take the best and IMITATE IT! There's so much we need to imitate from around the world, let's start with universal health care. It's these foundational elements that are letting the rest of the world improve and accelerate and that are holding the U.S. back. Free child care gives a boost to the economy, because suddenly all mothers and fathers can work. If you think it's about saving money on the front end, please don't have any power, please get out of the way, because one great idea, implemented by a believer(s) can change the world.

Like TikTok!

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Jimmy Kimmel-This Week's Podcast

Jimmy Kimmel is just funny. Add his superior intellect and you know why he's successful. Furthermore, he makes you feel included, like his best friend. We cover Jimmy's roots in Brooklyn as well as Las Vegas, his radio career, his discovery as a TV personality by Fred Silverman to "Win Ben Stein's Money," "The Man Show," Crank Yankers" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Jimmy pulls no punches, either on his TV show or in this podcast. Even if you don't watch, you should listen, to get a feel for the playing field, to hear how someone makes it!

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

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/id1316200737

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/The-Bob-Lefsetz-Podcast

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2ijDs1tX2oN0DJlnqj1k1u?si=PJqufthPRL-3EKnmaofzXw


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Re-The Frank Zappa Movie

I think every American who's been following the news lately, and even those who haven't, should take the time to read the lyrics of Trouble Comin' Every Day, from the Freak Out album.
This tune and these lyrics are what made me a Zappa fan early on.

R Lowenstein

_________________________________

I loved Zappa when I saw it at the Belcourt Theater last year, the same theater I saw Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words in 2016. I've been a fan since Phish turned me onto his music in the late 90s via their cover of "Peaches in Regalia." ALL of my friends knew I was a Zappa head because the music stuck out to them with its distinct mix of serious compositions and Zappa's lyrics written with his brand of irreverent humor. There are no musical artists like him in the 21st century that combine his artistic talent and willingness to speak his mind regardless if it jibes with mainstream public opinion.
Agreed that any and all music and counter-culture heads need to see this doc.

-Stu Walker

_________________________________

Thanks for the heads up on this.
There is a song on the 1966 Mothers Of Invention "Freak Out" LP titled "Trouble Every Day" that I've been listening to a lot lately for its biting lyrics and driving force. It could have been written an hour ago, and it would still be more current as anything out there, yet, it's 45 years old. On the liner notes Frank says " It was written during the Watts riots as it developed. I shopped it briefly all over Hollywood but no one would touch it…everybody worries so much about not getting any air play. My, my."
The lyrics are riveting and disheartening; we've come so far, but so little has changed.
Music only had one Frank Zappa, a contemporary madman well versed in all music, fierce and funny plus a hundred other adjectives. I once represented him in a deposition; in the middle of a response to a question he looked at the opposing counsel and remarked, "Your tie reminds me of Red Norvo's mallets". Brilliant.

Fred Ansis

_________________________________

We opened for the Mothers of Invention on two separate, short residences. Of course, it was great! The band was a truly cool collection of people, very approachable and totally into what they were doing.

At one point, Gail bought a six-month-old Moon Unit into the dressing room, and we all oohed and aahed over the cute kid. Didn't think about it much until years later, when I was looking at MTV and she was...all grown up.Time flies.

Craig Anderton

_________________________________

As a doc filmmaker I was intensely jealous when I heard Alex Winter was on the Job. And the film he made was not the film i would have made. But I'm so glad he made it. It's not a bio pic by any stretch. And as you say it doesn't even try to be comprehensive.
Think of We're Only in it For the Money. There's a gorgeous solo piano piece that you wish would go on forever when suddenly Suzie Creamcheese says "I don't do publicity balling for you anymore". A piano chord and then "The first word in this song is discorporate - it means to leave your body".
There are fragments and hints of this compositional beauty on every MOI LP through to One Size Fits All. Maybe beyond. Frustrating because you wish they would go on forever. But then you realize that Frank had so much to say as an artist and composer, and somehow intuited that he was not going to have enough time to get it all out there. This is what the structure and form of the Winter movie seems to be. Compelling stories and music, glued together with mini collages of Frank's half realized musings. It was such an appropriate approach. Loved it. Still jealous.

Michael McNamara
Toronto

_________________________________

So I've watched the movie: very good. And saw him and the Mothers of Invention 3-4 times; can't remember exactly, it was the 60s. The first time I saw them was my first time time attending a rock concert. I was 16 years old and the concert was at a local university in western NY where I lived. They were joined by their special friends: Tom & Jerry (aka Simon & Garfunkel). Another time, saw them at the local symphony hall with another pair of special guests: the two singers from the Turtles. Some of the most memorable times of my life. I support your recommendation.

William Hultman

_________________________________

The movie was great and educational.
I always get asked if I'm related
And I always say:
"No, but I am in the music business and I did get to meet Frank's children Dweezil and Moon at a record release party for Extreme"
So thank you for the article,
and I also wanted to thank you for the article you did on my band Open Skyz and our album of the same name.
Regards,
Gerard Zappa
(Valentine/ Open Skyz/ Steve Augeri Band )

_________________________________

Spot on! This doc came out at almost the exact same time as the Bee Gees doc, and it provides an amazing juxtaposition to that piece of promotional garbage. The Frank doc was open, honest and true to the artist's vision. The Bee Gees doc was overseen by Barry and, as such, was as vapid as most of their music. Yet, everyone seemed to be praising the shit out of it. There was little honesty and depth to it, it played more like a Hallmark movie than anything else. Thanks for shining a light on the real deal; it is truly an inspiring film.

Iain Taylor

_________________________________

True, very much an impressionistic view of Zappa. I like how they didn't get too caught up with Frank's music, more about his motivation, and his scintillating intellect. I saw it at a cinema when it came out here in February. I was the only soul in the theatre.

My first big concert was Frank in Sydney in '73, it was quite mind altering, I was 14. They don't make 'em like Frank anymore... Brendan

Brendan Gallagher

_________________________________

Great Piece Bob. You're so right - The greats don't conform.
He was an iconoclast. BTW, I guess I was one of the few WHO DID SEE IT on PPV last fall and absolutely loved it.

Best Always,

Ritch

_________________________________

I was particularly moved by the notion that everything else, family and friends included, came second to him realizing the goal of witnessing others performing his compositions. Just to hear out loud what was in his head. And... that vault!!! Sweet Jesus!!! Be a little bit Frank if you've got it in ya.

Keep it up, Bob.

Terry Gottschalk

_________________________________

Indeed Zappa was one of a kind. A true original. He was my teenage idol and he continued to be my hero through all my life. He was true to himself and he never compromised.
A true musical genius. He had so much more to give us. I miss him every day.
I'm glad I was part of the kickstarter project. This project was the closest I could get to him. My name with many others was immortalized in his book and in the end credits of the documentary. Thank you Alex Winter for this great tribute featuring a true Master.
Jean Anfossi
Music For Productions

_________________________________

Glad for the head's up about this being on Hulu. Tempted to rent it on a streaming service just to generate some income for the film makers.

Zappa had a run of brilliant records through the early 80s. After that, he had his moments, but Them or Us and You Are What You Is, to choose just two, lacked some of the inspiration that drove his great records before that. Brilliant musicianship, but the songs weren't quite there. I liked the later symphonic stuff a lot, but I don't know enough about that kind of music to judge if he was innovative there.

I'm a couple years younger than you and Zappa was in my pantheon of satirists who were truly heroic. He, Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Richard Pryor--they offended people and made them think. They offended me sometimes. Boy, you sure don't want to offend these days. That attitude will kill satire.

Joseph Taylor

_________________________________

The one and only time I got to see Zappa live in concert was in March of 1988. A magical evening, as he brought his satirical Broadway the Hard Way tour to Chicago's palatial Auditorium Theatre. Zappa loved to skewer anything and everything musically. His target was the disgraced preacher Jimmy Swaggert. Using a medley of Beatles songs and his lyrics, Zappa proceeded to eviscerate the televangelist in song. Best surprise of all - he mentioned meeting this guy at the Grammy's - a Mr. Sting. Yes that Sting,
whom he brought onstage, and they played "Murder by Numbers," a Police song. Even better, he tossed some Zeppelin and Allman Brothers into the mix. I took my wife, who is not the world's biggest concert goer, and she still talks about that show.

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/frank-zappa/1988/auditorium-theatre-chicago-il-5bd0ef74.html

Steve Leventhal
SRN Broadcasting

_________________________________

I was working for Bob Jones at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1969. On Saturday, the main act, on at 8 PM, was Erroll Garner. I don't know if you were there but they had music all day, starting at around noon, so...at noon on that Saturday, the Mothers went on. I was watching from stage left and from the first note, I was transfixed. I had heard their records but the records were NOTHING like the live show. I think it was eleven guys (it was a long time ago) playing the most intricate, muscular, fantastic music I'd ever heard. Nothing clever or edited like the LPs. I doubt either Bob or George Wein had heard them before booking them because I am certain they would have realized this was a primetime outfit. They only got 45 minutes but the crowd went wild and all of us were left wanting WAY more.

That Zappa guy was somethin'.

Gregory Prestopino

_________________________________

Frank Zappa was the reason I became a full time musician. The way he controlled his art and viewed it as an ongoing work always resonated with me since I was twelve. And thus, forty years later (I'm 60 now) I'm still writing and recording, creating a vast catalog of interconnected music that few will ever hear. And I couldn't care less. Through the digital outlets and what ever venues I will play in the future I believe my music will reach those it needs to reach. Though I've never conformed to any particular trend in the music world I never saw that as a big deal. I just do what comes naturally and the universe sort of takes care of the rest. And thanks to FZ, at least I don't feel alone going down this solitary path. His presence still looms over me and guides me. As he would say: "Anything anytime anywhere for no reason at all." Yup.

Thanks Bob for letting others know of this movie. Frank Zappa is inspirational in any generation.

Kindest regards,
JT

_________________________________

How did you get into Frank Zappa? For me, it was an article in Hit Parader magazine. In the mid 1960s, when I was in junior high, Hit Parader was not what you expected from a magazine whose main feature was the printed lyrics of top 40 songs. Hit Parader had interviews with Pete Townshend (pre-Tommy, and pre-Sell Out), Otis Redding, Frank Zappa, and other artists whose only broadcasting outlet was on the fledgling FM radio stations that could no longer simulcast the programming of its AM counterparts. These so-called "underground" stations could play tracks and album sides that AM would never touch. Hit Parader and FM radio is how our fellow NYC junior high outcasts discovered "Freak Out" with its epic "Return of the Son of Monster Magnet", the doo-wop satires, the background story behind "Trouble Coming Every Day". We became fans forever. The rest of the early albums on Verve sealed the deal.

Stuart Taubel
M.C. Mentholyptus Productions

_________________________________

I'm 65 and discovered Zappa back in 1968....First purchase was 'Weasels Ripped My Flesh'...saw him live 4 times and each time gained some insight of what the fu** was going on with me and the world..Today my copies of 'Freak Out', 'Only In It' 'Lumpy Gravy' etc. are among the ony material possessions I consider truly valuable, documents of who I am, what I believe...After Frank died, I never cried, back in the Fall after seeing Zappa, I cried like a fountain, delayed grieving is better than no grieving at all... Thanks the article, I'm with you all the way buddy, you nailed it! As I have often said/texted to a 32 year old friend of mine...."Think More Zappa, Less Kanye"...

All the best,

Chris O'Shea
Cascade, CO

_________________________________

First heard Zappa (other than Valley Girl) my first week in the dorm my freshman year in college. It lead me down a rabbit hole of discovery of so much other music. It seemed to be what Zappa intended through his writing and interpretation of many musical styles, the level of musicianship and general lack or fear or care of what others thought.

Neal Bookspan

_________________________________

Great perspective around the flick and the man.

I discovered Zappa at age 14 through "We're Only In It For The Money," as a child of boomers who discovered music through the lens of The Beatles. "Who was this freak who ripped off Sgt. Peppers?!" - Little did I know what I was in for!

For folks who are intimidated by his seemingly endless catalogue and archive (as you noted- he created THAT MUCH) i'd suggest the album/concert film "Does Humor Belong In Music?" from the mid-1980s. It neatly encapsulates his expansive "brand" (Frank's rolling in the grave at the sound of anyone referring to him as a brand) of genre-mutating, anti-iconoclast, hilarious yet virtuosic self-depracation.

Who knows what Frank would have to say had he lived through the culture-war political theatre nonsense permeating from the political and corporate media establishment?! Maybe we'd have some REAL influential influencers, not brand-whoring vanity-chasing money-grabbers. What would a Frank song ripping on influencers sound like?!? Good grief... we'll never get that and we'll see another human like Frank.

Now, on to Hulu!!

Dylan Muhlberg

_________________________________

Saw it in the theater last Fall and loved it...

My journey with Frank began as a pre-teen in Texas in the latter half of the 60's. My brother told me about a new show that came on the am radio station at midnight...KONO Koncepts. I tuned in that night and the first song I heard on my little transistor radio was "Who are the Brain Police?". Imagine being 10 and up late in a dark bedroom when someone sings

"What will you do when the label comes off,
And the plastic's all melted,
And the chrome is too soft?"

It blew my mind and we bought the compilation "Mothermania" not too long afterward and played the shit out of it...it's a very heavy record with a good deal of juvenile humor mixed in.
I got to see him perform twice in later years and he didn't disappoint.
I implore everyone to list to "Trouble Every Day"...it could have been written yesterday and needs to be heard today.

"You know something people
I'm not Black
But there's a whole lots a times
I wish I could say I'm not white"

Too true

Bill Lambrecht

_________________________________

As soon as this came out my wife and I paid to stream it. And it is a fantastic document of the times.
High School in New Rochelle NY '67-69 was all "Susie Creamcheese" and "Brown Shoes Don't Make It" for my misfit friends and I.
So we would go off to the city, hang out in the Village, and 3 or 4 times we caught The Mothers at The Garrick Theater.
The audience would straggle in at night, and then at some time or other the band would gather on the stage, and then launch into the MOST amazing music, everything from Frank's doo-wop songs to half hour free jams to "The Planets" by Holst. It was performance theater at its finest, it seemed often like total chaos but you knew that Zappa was in control the whole time, and you went along for the ride.

IN 1976 I moved to Los Angeles, and continued to follow Zappa's career. A few of my musician friends rotated through Frank's bands, every one of them saying it was the most challenging music they ever had to play or memorize.
Yes, there are some albatross items in the catalog (1000 Motels, anyome?) but there is so much brilliance there.

George Kahn

_________________________________

We need a big dose of Frank right now! Someone who can provoke, challenge and make fun of us at the same time. Can you imagine what he would of made of the Trump phenomenon, as well as the feckless opposition? He would have wrapped it up in amazing music and arrangements. It sure would be great to chew on that.
His music has provided me with endless enjoyment. Had he lived, I suspect he would have been unable to resist commenting on our current societal absurdities. I think he went down a rabbit hole with his Synclavier compositions toward the end of his life, but would have come back in a big way to set us straight if he could have seen where we're at now. The film is a great overview of his life and work and will hopefully inspire our "next" Zappa, if we should be so lucky.
Kyle Peterson
Seattle

_________________________________

Hi Bob! The Vietnam War ended in 1975, but in the middle of one night, in 1973, a rumor went around Boulder's University of Colorado campus that the war had ended. People were outside dancing, shouting, and celebrating. I put my stereo speakers up to my dorm room window, turned up my Marantz amplifier to maximum, and blasted Frank Zappa's "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama" for all to hear. It somehow expressed the feeling. Not necessarily in the words. But sort of. (Great instrumentals in the middle of that one too.)

There was also a great small club in Boulder called Tulagi, where, that same year, I saw Bonnie Raitt, Randy Newman, Muddy Waters. I went to the bathroom during one of the shows, and in the urinal next to me was Mothers of Invention drummer Jimmy Carl Black ("The Indian of the Group," as he called himself). He was quite drunk but communicative. "Some people say fuckin' is better than pissin'," he said. "But I don't know. . . ."

I don't know if you were the only man left on shore after the sixties, but I look forward to the documentary.

--jeffrey ainis

_________________________________

Thanks for the tip on the Zappa movie. Frank was the first rock star I ever met. My friend Tom Smith and I were working at a Top 40 station in Flint, Michigan in 1974 and Zappa and The Mothers were in town for a show. Frank's incredible live album "Roxy And Elsewhere" had just been released. Against all logic, Tom had been assigned to do an interview with Frank that night after the show. He was justifiably nervous and borderline terrified at the prospect and begged me to accompany him to the interview. We attended the soundcheck and the show which was basically a 90-minute non-stop virtuoso performance. The band was incredibly tight and Frank commanded the stage from start to finish. After the show, we were escorted backstage where we greeted Frank who was reclined in a chair eating blueberry pie from a plastic cup. It only took a couple questions from Tom to signal Frank that Tom knew little about his career or his music. The whole episode was awkward and painful to watch as Frank's patience steadily wore thin. I kept my mouth shut and suffered along with my pal. After Tom fumbled through his last question, Frank made a point that connected with me and I innocently commented, "I know what you mean." There was a deathly pause as Frank turned to me, affixed a cold stare and said with most condescending tone I've ever felt, "You couldn't possibly know what I mean." With the smite completed, he polished off the cup of blueberry pie as we said goodnight, thankful to get out of there alive. Twenty years later, Dweezil Zappa was visiting my station (WLUP/Chicago) for an interview and I shared the story with him. He laughed out loud and said, "Yeah, that sounds like my dad. He loved doing that."

Dave Logan

_________________________________

I went to Berklee in 2004 after being a high school rock star. Well, more like a high school member of The Wrecking Crew. Anytime there was music to be made, I was there with my bass. But I was influenced by jam bands that were popular where I grew up around the ski hills in the Poconos and stuff on the radio. It wasn't 2 months after moving to Boston that I got tipped off to Zappa. It changed my life. Literally every $15 I acquired for maybe a year went to buying a new FZ record until six had them all. Maybe the only other thing that educated me as deeply was listening to Prince rehearsal tapes, hearing him build shit until it was great...much like Frank rehearsals!

In 2008, I hosted the first show on the Berklee radio station that was broadcast from the incredible studio complex they built after, essentially, a closet. The feeling was that it was a new era for the station...the next evolution. I got to hit the button when we switched signals to the new room, and the first thing I played was "My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama". I couldn't think of anything better to plant a flag in the ground. Billy Bob Thornton once said that Zappa's guitar playing came at you like razor blades. It sure fucking does, and that's what I wanted to put out there.

I did it for like 5 years. I'm a junkie for all the genres, but Zappa is just special. I always kept him, at the very least, in the sidecar. Then I moved to Nashville and started playing. I still buy every new Zappa release, but it's not a passion. This is where you come in, Bob: I trained, I took his musical, philosophical, and social lessons and moved into my adult life. You'll never REALLY notice it in me playing or producing Nashville stuff, but everything I do is informed in some way by Frank.

FZ hated a lot of aural entertainment out there, but he's always been right when he said, "Music is the best!" Damn right it is.

Matt O'Donnell

_________________________________

I think a lot of people "had a Zappa period" when you found out about his music and dove in and listened to nothing but for months on end. i know i did, and you're right.

the movie reminded me that Frank changed me. He inspired something inside of me that i think is inside all of us.

He inspired me to be free.

Did i start an avant garde, free jazz band? nope. i like Cheap Trick too much. I ended up wanting to be the Replacements or Guided By Voices.

Would Frank have cared that i like power pop? i doubt it.

Would he care to know he gave me the gift of freedom? I hope so.

i think the high point of this story is Frank standing up for all of our freedoms to say what we want. He fought for free speech and nobody has since.

It's a stark contrast to watching Zuckerberg testify. The opposite of someone fighting for Our free speech.

The hope of the internet was the freedom Frank fought for, i think.

i wonder if Frank would have fought Twitter shutting down Trump. I kind of think so.

Would Barking Pumpkin and that amazing claymation be at the forefront of NFTs and cryptocurrency? I'd like to think so.

i'm not saying i would vote for Trump and invest in Bitcoin. my IQ is higher than that :)

i played drums and bought a bunch of tour buses so i could stay free. I bitch about social media fucking everything up and i don't trust governments.

I think things are basically spiritual, which i don't think Frank could see. You pointed out that the film didn't show "how he learned to write music" Maybe he didn't "learn" Maybe he just knew. Maybe it's spiritual and he was reincarnated, Bach or Tesla or Rockefeller. I think YOU miss those points in YOUR columns all the time Bob.

and i still love you. i don't care who you vote for. i don't care if i don't agree with you. i care that you feel free enough to say what you think.
I'm sure we all have Frank to thank for that.

best
ian lee. a guy with some tour buses

_________________________________

I so appreciate your review of the Frank Zappa documentary.
I was 8 and over at a friend's house and we were goofing off hanging out and doing something that bothered his older brother and he came in and shoved Freak Out in my hands and said "Listen you little shit you don't know nothing now go home and listen to this record." I did.
Frank's take on racism/relations from when, 1965?, 'Trouble Every Day, is still as relevant as ever, 50+ years later.
It's a few months later and I see an ad for the Mother's Fan Club, United Mutations, in the back of my Marvel comic and I send it away.
I get a questionnaire with this wonderful packet and I fill it out and, on the back, write him a fairly lengthy letter. I think I was bitching about my parents. Frank actually writes back. Sadly, that letter is gone into the ethers but I remember well what he said which was, " Look kid I'm not Ann Landers, don't bitch to me, go to the library and educate yourself."
They say when the student is ready the teacher will appear. I actually took him at his word and began to do just that and have been doing it ever since. Frank's influence on my life was massive and you captured it well.
He also said something along the lines of "Drugs are stupid" that I didn't listen to. I needed to find some pain.
Eventually recovery set me on the path to understand, grow, amend and leave my regrets behind.
Alex Winter rocks. He's a leading documentarian and I recommend his take on 'The Panama Papers'.
Sincerely
Jimmy Cioe

_________________________________

The Frank Zappa documentary is one of the very best and most moving films I've ever seen. I spent $6.99 to watch it and would have spent $100.00. It's that good, that compelling, and that important.

Unless you are an avid fan, you probably don't know that much about Frank Zappa. I know I didn't. To me Frank was this far out guy who played quirky music with alluring lyrics that made you think. I never listened that much to his albums but admired and had the utmost respect for what he did. He was the thinking man's rock artist.

But it turns out he was so much more than that. He was a brilliant composer reimagining how music might be created, and beyond all The Mothers of Invention music, he also wrote a copious amount of some of the most amazing pieces written for a 36-piece orchestra.

In the beginning, the music Frank and The Mothers of Invention did was so unconventional they couldn't get a foothold in Southern California. People there seemed to only want to hear the familiar sounds, musical styles, and types of songs they were used to. Moving to New York, they found an audience with more open minds, while playing a residency at the Garick Theater. In 1967, doing a show there almost every night, Frank and The Mothers were able to work on their craft, try new stuff out, and really perfect their art. I'm thinking that's the reason why I may not have been properly introduced to The Mothers' music, and Frank's aesthetic. Growing up in L.A., they simply weren't around for me to see them. Frank and the band happened in New York, where friends of mine today tell me they used to go see The Mothers of Invention all the time.

I was lucky enough to meet Frank in the early 70's and hear some of his experimental electronic music. One of my buddies, a disc jockey named Martin Perlich, had an interview show on KMET-FM in Los Angeles called "Electric Tongue." One day he told me he was going up to Frank's house to interview him and asked if I wanted to come along. I was very intrigued and, of course, said yes.

Frank lived with his family, wife Gail and two children at the time, daughter Moon Unit and son Dweezil. Frank answered the door to his now legendary house, by himself—no manager, no assistants. He invited us in and immediately my mind was blown. All of the walls were painted a deep purple and the thick wall-to-wall carpet was a shocking bright orange--you felt like you were inside an impressionist painting. Over the fireplace was a huge mural of a '59 Chevy with flames coming out of side exhaust pipes.

We sat down in the living room and Martin put his small tape recorder on the coffee table between a couch and a couple of chairs to do the interview. I did not know at the time how much Zappa had been influenced by classical music and composers. And Zappa didn't know that my friend Martin, aside from being an FM rock DJ, was well steeped in classical music and could go toe to toe with him on the subject.

And toe to toe they went, until Frank said, "You're getting into some deep stuff right there unless you want to get into a big philosophical discussion." "I do," pressed Martin. "For a teenage radio station…you kiddin' me?" Martin, forged onward, "I'll kid you."

Martin could be very intense, and so could Zappa. They started to talk about deep classical music philosophies and composers and before long had a big disagreement about one of them. That disagreement got heated and turned into a bull-blown argument resulting in loud voices as they began to talk over one another.

I'd never seen anything like it. Usually, DJ's tread lightly around rock stars, not wanting to rock the boat. These guys were now yelling at each other, and over a classical composer!

It was getting close to noon and I was getting hungry. On the coffee table there was a plate of chocolate chip cookies under a glass dome. Losing my willpower, I interrupted the argument. "Hey guys, sorry to interrupt, but Frank…could I have a cookie?" Turning towards me, still in a rage, he yelled, "YES, you can have a fucking cookie!!" Then he went back to arguing with Martin.

Eventually, they both calmed down and had quite a productive interview. Towards the end things got much more lighthearted when the kids ran into the room. Zappa gave them big hugs and it was nice to see some normalcy in what appeared to be a very weird household. Of course, normal only lasted a few seconds until he called them by their names.

Frank, now in a much more lighthearted mood asked us if we wanted to hear the latest music piece he'd been working on. Thrilled, we followed him down the stairs to the basement (on the way, I was able to snatch a second much-needed cookie). The Zappa house had a pretty large basement where Frank had some recording equipment and shelves of recorded tapes. What he played us that day was one of the most amazing pieces of music I've ever heard.

Frank had put contact microphones on every instrument of a 36-piece orchestra. So, when you heard that instrument, you only heard the electronic tactile sound it made without all the usual overtones that you hear from violins, woodwinds, etc. Hearing all these different odd electronic sounds in the context of a classical music piece was indescribable. In fact, it was music like his hero, French composer Edgard Varese had described, music being like a mass of organized sounds or noises. The only thing I could think of was that it sounded like "ant music"—like watching the hustle bustle of ants going in and out of their anthill home but organized, each with a purpose. Just incredible.

We had easily spent half a day with Frank and I felt like I'd fallen down Alice in Wonderland's rabbit hole—engulfed by the weirdest surroundings, meeting weird characters, and listening to some of the most far-out music I'd ever heard.

When we walked out the front door our eyes had to adjust to the light, and also to the normalcy of the outside world—tress, the sky, cars going by. We had been visiting a completely other universe.

There is so much to learn watching this documentary--it's a MUST SEE for any music person, Zappa fan or not. I don't think I've been more moved by any other rock dock.

PS. If you are interested, the Martin Perlich interview is available on YouTube—sans argument and me asking for a cookie.

Paul Rappaport

_________________________________

Bob.. Thank you soooooo much for your epic review of Zappa. Made me so emotional. Made me cry.

You rock.

Xo

Ahmet Zappa

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Mailbag

From: Richard Griffiths
Subject: Jim Steinman

I was so sad to read about the passing of Jim Steinman this week. I feel privileged that I got to work with him and could call him my friend.

Bat Out Of Hell is one of the top 10 selling albums of all time, here in the UK. Over 50 million worldwide. I can still picture in my mind the performance Meatloaf did Two out of Three Ain't Bad on the Old Grey Whistle test back in 1977, with Steinman in band .
I was hooked from that moment.

In 1983 I was running Virgin Music in London, and I heard this song on the radio. Total Eclipse of the Heart, by Bonnie Tyler. I knew it was a smash. I did some digging on publishing situation, and found out it was available. I got in touch with his lawyer, who came back with the question,"Jim Steinman wants to know what you know about Jim?" To which I replied "I know more about Jim Steinman than Jim Steinman knows about Jim Steinman!"

I was invited to fly to NY and meet with Jim and his manager David Sonnenberg.

We met early evening in Jim's apartment on the east side. He came in, shook my hand and said "Do you like red wine?" I told him I did and from that moment a wonderful business and personal relationship grew.

In 1988, the last thing I signed to Virgin in London, before I went to run the LA office, was a concept album of a four girl band called Pandora's Box. It was a total stiff.

However years later, 1995, I'm the President of Epic in NY and we were just starting to have success with Celine Dion. I'm in an AnR meeting with her manager and Paul Berger from Sony Canada. We've been playing all sorts of songs and Paul says, "We need a big power ballad to show how amazing Celine's voice is" I told them to wait a minute while I went to find something I wanted to play them. I came back with the cassette of Pandora's Box and played them It's All Coming Back to Me Now. The rest is history!

I don't think Jim Steinman has ever really been fully recognised for being the unique genius that he was.

And one of the greatest dinner guests you could ever hope for.
RIP Jim.

_______________________________________

Subject: Re: Steve Cropper-This Week's Podcast

Dear Bob,

"Legend" - possibly the most overused term in the modern entertainment industry, but Steve is the real deal!

I was 21, and working for a UK promoter, on a tour for the Blues Brothers Band. I'd managed to sell every date on the tour. 2000-5000 seat theatres.

At the last minute, our tour manager got sick, and I was thrown in at the deep end. I turned up at Gatwick to meet 15 musicians with nothing but an itinerary (home made) and a tour bus. Quite an induction for my first ever tour!

Fortunately for me, I didn't actually know that much about them - Steve Cropper, Duck, Eddie Floyd, my great (late) friend Alan Rubin.

I soon realised after a day or two on a tour bus (and copious amounts of fried chicken later) who these guys really were.

We would watch a video (old VHS) on the bus and every time we put something on, Steve would say "yeah, watch this one, I have a song in it."!

I was wet behind the ears, but ended the tour with dozens of stories about Otis, James Brown, a who's who of legendary musicians.

People often comment on how people are "wonderful human beings" etc, but in Steve's case, it's 100% true - I don't think I've ever encountered a more genuine and kind hearted individual. We checked his share prices every morning at breakfast, and he would never let me pay for anything, even though it was me who was the TM.

It's a rare commodity that someone has his abundance of talent and such a beautiful personality to boot.

Best Wishes from Scotland

Dave Rogers

_______________________________________

From: Edward Stasium
Subject: Re: Strange Brew

Hey Bob,

LOVE 'Strange Brew'

Albert King recorded and released 'Oh Pretty Woman' as a single in August 1966.

'Strange Brew' was recorded in April of 1967.

Please check out the guitar, especially the solo at 1:13

Influence!

Cheers… Ed

https://open.spotify.com/track/1rFzuTL45nzwhcXMVW5Cr4?si=d0229b2fc0684d86

_______________________________________

From: Lewis Gersh
Subject: Re: Slava Rubin-This Week's Podcast

Bob,

I led the first VC round into Indiegogo when it was only the three founder team, we had a great moment that speaks volumes of Slava and the team. They had pitched me early on and I was very interested but as a deal it wasn't ready yet, so I referred them to a renowned valley "Sherpa" who helps coach promising startups get prime time financing ready. Eventually, I did go to terms to lead the first round and it was not an easy sell, we were fielding many objections to "crowdfunding". Suddenly mid-round magic hit, metrics started taking off, literally up and to the right, and the round becomes way oversubscribed. Then Slava calls, some investors I had referred had then referred others who then counter-offered against my term sheet, more money and higher valuation. My reaction on the call was coaching Slava his first obligation as a founder is always to do what's best for the company and it's shareholders, and if it means throwing my deal under the bus, I will be very disappointed, but supportive. I told him he also has to wonder about the character of the guys undermining my deal which is what got them to the table in the first place. Slava said throwing my deal under the bus is NOT what they want to do, but they would like more money in the round and don't want the dilution. I said ok, how about we split the difference, you choose the amount off additional capital and we will raise the valuation to offset half the dilution for it - founders and investors equal on the impact. Slava, Danae and Eric agreed, virtual handshake bonded, and we began a relationship of loyalty/trust that was infinitely more valuable and resonated through the culture of Indiegogo. And it's great to see that culture has continued to proliferate. Cheers.

_______________________________________

From: William Goldsmith
Subject: Re: Patreon/Substack

Hi Bob,

My direct experience says you are totally right on this. Many of my peers in the Internet radio space went the subscription-only route years ago. Others went with the freemium model. Of the dozen or so independent webcasters with any kind of sizeable audience, only three (Radio Paradise, Accuradio & SOMA) kept their streams freely available -- Accuradio with advertising, Radio Paradise & SOMA relying on voluntary support.

I don't know how well Accuradio is doing (unless you're Facebook or Google, selling advertising is a really hard way to make money these days). Both RP & SOMA are still thriving -- with passionate, loyal, larger-than-ever audiences that support us, even though we are much more low-key about that sort of thing than public FM stations.

A couple of the others are still around, with audiences that have shrunk to a small fraction of what they once were. The rest are long gone.

I have no doubt that our experience (like yours) translates directly to any endeavor where the relationship between creators and their fans is important. Mess with that relationship -- by adding friction to it of any kind or via heavy-handed attempts to monetize or manipulate it -- at your peril.

---
Bill Goldsmith
Radio Paradise
www.radioparadise.com

_______________________________________

Subject: Re: Where Are The Record Companies?

The "show must be paused" initiative was taken seriously by Record Store Day. We stopped and reassessed everything that we could influence and are now making a concerted effort to empower Black owned record stores. In doing so we discovered that just as recently as about 10 years ago there were around 100 Black owned record stores. Today there are about 25.

We are doing two volumes of Record Store Day vinyl records we call "Songs For You," with tracks kindly donated from H.E.R., Roberta Flack, Freddie Gibbs, Run The Jewels and fourteen others. Our goal is to raise money, support and awareness for these Black owned business.

While working on this project, the one recurring theme in my conversation with the owners of these Black owned record stores is the positive impact that they have on local organizations, schools, community sports teams, etc. All of which they pretty much do on their own as there is little or no support coming from record companies anymore as it has been pretty much lost with the advent of streaming.

The net result is money is literally streaming out of the neighborhoods with nothing left behind for the community. Zero. Nothing for libraries, nothing for schools, nothing for the local sports team, nothing for the churches.

For the "Songs For You" project, we went out to ask for help and Vans/Off The Wall took a stand and gave Record Store Day the financial and critical support needed to make it possible.

https://www.vans.com/rsd

I hope this inspires someone else out there to do what they think is right in the space they work in, with the people they work with. That's all any of us can do.

Michael Kurtz
Co-founder, Record Store Day

_______________________________________

From: Hilary Rosen
Subject: Re: Where Are The Record Companies?

This is not the industry of old. We stood up didn't we? We fought. We gave executives and artists platforms on voting, on censorship, on gun control, on racism, on LGBTQ and feminism. We had agendas bigger than ourselves that was reflected in the music. But it requires leadership. People need authentic and passionate leadership. I think the industry is currently led by good people with good hearts and open minds who understand that we are in fraught times and speaking out is risky and potentially loaded with repercussions they can't always control. And they worry that the responsibility to get it right feels too big to step out. But it's a choice.

Hilary Rosen
Vice Chair
SKDKnickerbocker

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Vaccinations

1

I don't know anybody with polio.

Back in the fifties, before parents became their children's best friends, when if you refused to toe the line you were hit, almost all of us were abused children by today's standards, we were inundated with mantras, repeated over and over again, what to do, what not to, what to watch out for... These were not meditation mantras, that concept hadn't even flown on the radar yet, these were akin to warnings, our parents didn't want us subjected to the horrors of what came before.

Like polio.

Little kids notice all irregularities, all imperfections, all differences. That person with the foreign accent? They were a Holocaust survivor, if you looked, but don't let them catch you doing so, you could see the numbers tattooed on their arm. This was back when people still believed the Holocaust happened and tattoos were anathema, on drunken sailors who'd had a wild night out. Despite letting us leave the house without supervision, our parents wanted us to be safe. There was never any question about this. And the government had the last word. No one questioned health, science... As a matter of fact JFK had us all exercising, it was a new world and we youngsters were going to leave our mark!

Now when you're a little kid there's nothing you hate more than an injection. They call it a "jab" in the U.K., but over here they were always referred to as a "shot." And you'd refuse to go for your annual checkup if you were going to get one. At least I did, I'd place my feet firmly on the floor, I'd start to cry, I'd have to be dragged and...I wondered when the shots would stop, they always seemed to have a new one. But the Sabin vaccine was oral.

At this point I've got no fear of needles, I've been poked so many times I got over it. The truth is back in '76 I got mononucleosis, and had my blood drawn constantly, you get to the point where it's no big thing. I still get my blood drawn on a regular basis, but now it's for leukemia as opposed to mononucleosis, and sometimes the phlebotomist misses the vein, but it's never too terrible. When my younger sister Wendy got shots, they froze your arm, they sprayed it. It didn't make any sense to me that it worked, maybe it was all psychological, but no one ultimately refused their shots... You needed that tetanus booster, what if you stepped on a rusty nail? Well, today's supervised kids probably never will, but the free range children of the past, we had to be protected from the ills of the world.

But not any longer.

So in third grade word spread that we were gonna get the polio vaccine. This didn't make sense to me, I'd already gotten the shot at the doctor, there was no need to get it again. But no one would listen to me, so I lined up and like everybody else I swallowed a plastic spoonful of pinkish liquid and I was covered. Didn't make sense to me, that something you drank could protect you, but it had no side effects, it was painless, and no one didn't take it. As a matter of fact, it was macho to take it, you didn't want to refuse. But today macho equates with bullying and parents believe they can protect their children from every negative consequence, but the truth is bad behavior has just gone underground, it hasn't gone away.

2

The vaccine didn't work for me, I've got no antibodies.

The truth is I take Rituxan, and that's the one drug that interferes with the efficacy of the vaccine. Rituxan wipes out all your B-cells, for six months, and it's your B-cells that create antibodies. There's a 36 times reduction in the efficacy of the vaccine for people who take Rituxan. I was tested, more than once, I've got none, antibodies that is. Maybe I've got some T-cell protection, but no one knows for sure, so I'm still home, at this point it's been over a year.

Now maybe I'll have B-cells by July 1st. Rituxan is strong for six months and then fades, but not all at once, it could take two years. As for being vaccinated a second time...no one knows if this is a reasonable route. As a matter of fact, nobody knows much, and I've talked to all the experts. As for the pemphigus foliaceus, the skin condition that requires the Rituxan, it makes it easier to get Covid-19 and harder to get over it. So, I don't want to get it. You might think you'll recover, no big deal, but I know too many people who've died, I'm playing it safe.

Now Regeneron, the company that produces those antibodies that helped save Trump, says they now can be used preventively. Yes, they've tested it, it's given via injection. But they haven't tested it with immune-compromised individuals, and there's a shortage of the drug anyway, never mind having it approved for this use.

So I'm left waiting.

Now everybody could wear a mask and Covid-19 would be wiped out in about a month. But masks are now an issue of freedom, that state senator in Alaska wouldn't even wear one, and is now banned from the airline.

Or, everybody could get vaccinated.

Trump did, get vaccinated that is, but he won't campaign for all his minions to do so.

So...

You can deny the existence of Covid-19, live your life willy-nilly and get it and be deathly sick like Ted Nugent.

Or you could up your odds of survival by getting a vaccine. Who wouldn't take this route?

Oh, all the individuals smarter than the scientists. Even worse, they've all got some "doctor" or website supporting their position. Forget that pregnant women have gotten the vaccine, those with cancer too, these healthy individuals are convinced they're at risk and they won't let anything invade their body. But if they get the virus, they'll be trying to use all their connections to get the Regeneron antibodies. But we no longer care about the individual in America, we don't care if you die. But the truth is you might, and the party, your tribe, will march on without you.

3

West Virginia is paying young people to get vaccinated, a hundred bucks. Hopefully this will help, the governor says this is cheaper than continuing to test, but most people aren't concerned with the math, we live in a country where how you feel is the most important thing, damn facts.

So how did masks and vaccines become a political issue anyway?

You want to argue about taxation, I get it, you've got a different opinion. But if we're trying to save your life and you refuse to do so? How do you argue with that?

And in today's world you can't change anybody's mind. Confront them with facts and they just dig in deeper. Then again, everybody's scared. And they think there's no one to protect them, so they cling to their tribe, it feels better to be part of a group.

And today's news is all about the census, no one can fathom why birth rates have fallen. IT'S SIMPLE! It's too damn expensive to raise a kid these days! Now if you know economics, a country can only continue to thrive if it replenishes its population at a relatively high rate. If not, the country turns into Japan, supporting oldsters and in stasis economically. In other words, if there are fewer births, the people with all the money, the billionaires, will make less. But they're scared just like the anti-vaxxers, they want to hold on to the money they've got. Everybody's cowering under the umbrella, waiting for a deluge every day. Is that any way to live?

Not that you can live on your emotions and instincts alone. Apple is building a campus in North Carolina, but the truth is to get a job there, one of thousands, you need a degree, which eliminates so many, who rail against the system in the name of protecting their freedom.

We've got to get everybody in the nation vaccinated. Hell, look at me, I've got cancer and pemphigus and I survived the shots easily with no permanent side effects. But it's the healthy they're going to negatively impact, kill... What happened to science?

As for your freedom...what if it affects everybody else, what if it affects me?

I just can't understand it. I lined up for that Sabin vaccine, polio was eradicated in my generation. If it weren't for the drug Gleevec, a medical breakthrough, I'd be dead right now. And if I were still alive, the itching from my skin condition would have me on the brink of suicide, but Rituxan takes care of that.

The truth is you can refuse to get shots, you can refuse to go to the doctor, and you know what is going to happen? YOU'RE GONNA DIE!

Beth Stern, Howard's wife, is as skinny as they come, but she's on the verge of diabetes, based on her diet. She wouldn't have known this if she didn't go to the doctor and get a blood workup. Beth has the ability to adjust her behavior, but if you're ignorant, like Warren Zevon, refuse to see the doctor, you're gonna have a very short lifespan, the kind they used to have decades ago, before all the medical breakthroughs. Sure, someone might live to ninety, but it would be a very rare occurrence, unlike today.

Somehow authority has been undermined, along with science. If you know a lot you're to be laughed at. And the worst thing is to hang it out alone, you must be a member of the group or you'll be excoriated.

And the truth is online you can find a website to defend any position, and probably a whacko professional too. This is how we got into this climate science mess. They can find some expert who says change is not happening so you must ignore the plethora of those who say it is!

The truth is there's no center, no backbone to America anymore. No shared beliefs. We can't come together on anything, because somehow that's sacrificing, even if it's to your benefit.

I know I'm not gonna change any minds, the people who need to wake up probably aren't even reading this. But I've lived through history, I've seen the benefit of vaccines. As for vaccines causing autism...one ridiculous doctor fakes results and then Jenny McCarthy refuses to accept the truth so even people with brains take her side?

Kennedy was all about the best and the brightest.

Now it's about the worst and the dumbest.

What a country.


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Paul Simon-The Solo Years-SiriusXM This Week

Tune in tomorrow, April 27th, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.

Phone #: 844-6-VOLUME, 844-686-5863 

Twitter: @lefsetz or @siriusxmvolume/#lefsetzlive

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

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

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Oscar Ratings

"Oscar Ratings Crash To All-Time Low; Viewership Falls Under 10M For First Time Ever": https://bit.ly/3eyc9IL

This is what happens when you lose touch with your audience.

Confronted with a decline in awards show ratings the TV industry has singled out once in a lifetime events as the cause. Nothing could be more untrue. If anything, Covid-19 would make people more prone to watching. They just don't want to watch this.

And this situation reminds me of the record companies. Who felt that Napster was all about people stealing, refusing to acknowledge the flaws inherent in their business model. It's hard to think back to an era where the public had to pay fifteen bucks for one good track on a lengthy CD, but that is what was going on in the nineties, and as soon as the public found an alternative, people exercised it.

Same deal with visual entertainment. There are no ads on Netflix. And it's about story. Who wants to watch self-congratulatory two-dimensional actors for three plus hours? Well, we've got our answer, not many.

The show had no gravitas. That was it's only traditional pull. That you were peeking inside an exclusive event. But if you attended last night's soiree at Union Station...you couldn't wait to go out for a smoke, to the bathroom, to sit there for all that time was akin to being at an endless religious service, and just like most people no longer believe in God, most people don't believe in movie stars either.

The Oscars had a chance to change the paradigm, but the organization refused to do so. As for the minor differences from previous shows...you have to address the carcass, otherwise you're doomed.

So what have we learned?

The masses won't watch anything with commercials. And no one DVRs live events (well, except for a de minimis number of diehards we can ignore). So we've got the worst of both worlds here, endless commercials in a one time event that has no delayed viewing interest and no repeatability.

Movie stars are now small. Sure, there are inane youngsters caught up in the "glamour" and the outfits, but that's a very small percentage of the population.

Everything is niche these days, and if you try to go broad, you lose the essence.

Lead or play to the audience. It wasn't like last night's show was a must-see extravaganza, testing all limits, destroying what came before for something new. No one who didn't see last night's show felt they missed anything. If it's a live event, it must be special, it must be like the concerts of yore, if you weren't there, you missed something.

The audience must feel it is involved, that it has something at stake, otherwise it's just a show. As for caring who wins... That game was eviscerated with the MTV Video Music Awards back in the eighties. It's about the show, not the awards. And everyone forgets who won anyway, unless they do something outrageous during their acceptance speech.

There was no train-wreck value, nothing you couldn't take your eyes from. They do call it "show" business, but there was no show involved. Some of the criticism was that it felt like a banquet at the end of a business convention, I must say that's true.

But the problem runs deeper, the movies have lost touch with their hold on America. If the business is one of moving the culture, then green light more of those pictures. Instead, there are a few highbrow pics trotted out for these awards shows that most of the public ignores and never sees. As for Frances McDormand saying we need to see "Nomadland" on the big screen... Why? It already played. And is available on demand on Hulu. What could be better? Go to the theatre, why?

Just like music must be heard on an overpriced CD. Doesn't the Academy realized the public has moved on to something better?

As for where it's moved, Clayton Christensen said the disruptor is always cheaper and inferior, but good enough. But then it gets better and supersedes the original. In other words, TV used to be crappy, cheap but crappy. Now Netflix is cheap and better than the movies, and the only people who don't understand this are those in the Academy!

This is fascinating to watch. The problem was never diversity, the problem was the product.

Yes, I hate to say this, but last night's show could be relabeled the Woke Awards. I've got no problem with boosting women and people of color, but if you watched the show that seemed to be its focus, overcompensating to the point of losing touch with America. This is what happens when you listen to criticism and adjust. Everyone who plays online knows that you don't do that, certain people can never be satisfied. More women and people of color on both sides of the camera? Excellent! "Black Panther" showed there is an untapped demand. But last night's show was more like an Oberlin reunion than a Saturday night at the multiplex.

And Questlove... He's the Dave Grohl of hip-hop. Safe and lovable. Can't they get anybody else, as opposed to the usual suspect?

And if you know a great swath of the public is turned off by the performers' politics, why did you start off with them?

I'm not saying to tone it down so much as to understand the arc, entice your audience and hold on to it.

Then again, none of this can be said because the woke police have made it so no one can comment on certain issues. Men can't weigh in on rape. White people can't talk about issues of color. There's a prescribed agenda, a set of rules everyone must adhere to, irrelevant of their inner beliefs. This is how the Democrats lost control of D.C. Trump came along and said the unsayable, spoke to the underrepresented. Forget that his opinions were heinous, forget that he was the worst president of all time, not only not addressing the big issues, but pushing the nation backwards, the truth is he tapped into dissatisfaction, which Hillary certainly did not. I don't want to litigate the past, unlike Fox News, but what Hillary was promising was four more years of what we already had, and that was not appealing to great swaths of the population. Which is the same thing we've got with this Oscar telecast. No matter how much they tell us it's different, we tune in and it's the same damn show, one we've rejected previously.

The truth is it's unfixable. As a result of being on network TV with advertising, as long as the Academy wants that check, the telecast is doomed. As for playing to the one who pays the bills... Look how well that turned out in the music business, the labels were driven by their relationships with retail...and then retail ceased to exist, turned out the customers didn't want to go to a store to purchase overpriced CDs.

But the public does want to pay for music, just in a different way. Streaming has escalated recorded music revenue. People will pay attention if you modernize your product and its distribution.

But the truth is on streaming services the single rules, not the album. And acts drop a lot more product. The systems of old no longer apply. And the labels have been dragged into the future, even though the aged artists keep complaining that someone moved their cheese, as if we could go back to a business model that did not work for customers.

Movies... It turns out people want more of them, which is why Netflix with its doubled-down production slate satiates the public.

Turns out people want long form series.

Turns out documentaries can triumph, they just cannot be preachy.

Is there a market for superhero/cartoon movies? Of course, but the truth is the hip-hop/pop of the Spotify top 50 is shrinking in market share.

Thus we have the great bifurcation, between what was and what is, between yesterday and today. There hasn't been a generation gap this big since the sixties, but the self-satisfied baby boomers believe they're inherently hip and know it all and are in touch.

For twenty years now everything's been up for grabs, all institutions and systems have been in play. Why should it be any different for the movies?

The second most interesting story of the show was how Chadwick Boseman didn't win. Turns out the producers couldn't fathom this, placed the Best Actor award at the end for a feel good finish. But it turns out the producers were out of touch with the voters, and Anthony Hopkins won. This is not the way the Oscars are supposed to work, the sentimental favorite is supposed to win.

But the most interesting story of the Oscars telecast is the horrible ratings, a 58% decline overall, a 64.2% decline in the cherished 18-49 demo.

The 18-49 group doesn't remember an era when the Oscars were a must-see, they don't even remember an era when going to the movies was a must-do!

If this were a sports team, the public would be up in arms, people would lose their jobs.

But the Oscars is like politics, always behind the times, fighting the last war, to the point where the public has given up. Yes, the parties lose and then they just do the same damn thing over again the next time. As for the congresspeople continuing to pay fealty to Trump... Let me see, did anybody watching 1/6 truly believe it was a safe rally where no one was hurt and all the bad actors were antifa members? We're supposed to disbelieve our eyes and ears? This works for some people, after all, 9.85 million people actually watched this show.

But most didn't.

Play to them.

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Oscars/Grammys/Film/Music

Why isn't there a concomitant examination of music?

I'm positively stunned at the amount of coverage the Oscars are getting. Especially for a show everyone has agreed no one will see. Bill Maher said it best...

"Every year I write down my Oscars predictions. This year I predict I'm not going to watch."

The coverage is a reflection of the myopia of mainstream media, which believes if it cares about it, everyone else will. This is the great bifurcation which truly gained steam about ten years ago, between those who get their "news" from newspapers and TV and those who get it online, oftentimes via social media and "word of mouth." The end result is we live in a world where facts are fungible and no one can agree on the truth, but rather than address this problem, the mainstream media feels if it doubles-down, it can just convince people to care, to pay attention, when the truth is they don't. To put it another way, we haven't had that spirit here since 1999.

As for the outsized focus on film...

In 2019, U.S. box office revenues were $11.4 billion.

In 2019, U.S. recorded music revenues were $11.1 billion.

Furthermore, you can add on another $28 billion for the live music business, which doesn't have a film equivalent. Then again, visual entertainment has streaming television revenues.

But let's go back to box office. Traditionally, the exhibitors retain 50% of the gross, which means $5.7 billion flowed back to rights holders.

In music, streaming outlets retain 30% of the gross, which means $7.7 billion flowed back to rights holders. So why does music get no respect?

If you look to history, the Warner cable system was built on the back of the Warner music labels, which were throwing off tons of cash. Not that we ever hear about that.

But we do hear about the decline in recorded music revenue this century. Yes, music was the canary in the coal mine for digital disruption, but although it was a wrenching transition, music figured it out, via streaming, and now revenues are consistently going up. As for film? It's still wrestling with digital disruption. Do we release the films day and date on streaming services? Do we have one outlet where everyone can pay one price and see all the content online?

Even worse, we've got a cadre of oldsters complaining that films must be seen in theatres, when that ship sailed in the music business, finally no one is complaining that music must be listened to on CD. Remember all the arguments about the sound of MP3s? Well, it turned out most people could not tell the difference, and presently there's a move to higher resolution streaming. As a matter of fact, for a low price you can stream better than CD quality via Amazon Music Ultra HD. And finally, the oldsters' complaints are fading in music.

But not in film.

The irony is that as music playback systems have gotten worse, film's have gotten better. And I'm not talking about the theatre experience, which is arguably worse, no comfy seat in a stadium arrangement can overcome of smartphone use and talking, never mind sticky floors, but you can buy a 65" plus OLED TV that renders an astounding picture, ironically the same one all the filmmakers employ. And, you can watch on demand, as in when you want to. Why is it the film business believes it can dictate our habits when everything else is on demand, at our fingertips instantly? I.e. the film starts at 7:30. You've got to leave your house, budget time to park, buy tickets, go to the bathroom, watch trailers and...if you get there late, tough noogies.

Yet the music business is consistently seen as a second class citizen.

So for months we've endured a debate as to the wokeness and content of today's films.

That's not an issue in music, Black music dominates the charts.

As for awards... If you think awards matter, an Oscar or a Grammy, you don't know how many broke, out of work, no longer remembered people have won each.

As for executives... Strides need to be made, but the truth is today's major labels are oftentimes just the end point, the acts are developed by people of color and managed by people of color. That does not mean progress cannot be made in the executive ranks, but a little perspective would help here, not that you ever want to mix truth into the story...

But what blows my mind is all this debate re the content of film. There's no debate about the content of music!

Film is expensive. A collaborative effort. Resulting in story that even a five year old can debate.

Music can be extremely inexpensive, made by one person in their bedroom, and even the biggest hits...about the most you can say about them is "it had a good beat, I could dance to it."

Then again, music has started to imitate film, at the elite level anyway. Marketing is so expensive that the major labels put out less product than ever before and want to do their damnedest to ensure they're hits. To the point where records are made by committee, and constantly reworked, remixed in an effort to have success, when the truth is music is best when it has that je ne sais quoi of lightning captured in a bottle.

But, in movies people are complaining about the content. Either it's too serious or not mindless enough. As if movies could truly parallel life, when the truth is that's music's skill.

But music is in a bad place.

Music is purely commercial. Art is secondary. True, the Oscars might have nominated a bunch of highbrow stuff the hoi polloi have not seen, but we don't have an equivalent layer of product in music, that which demands respect but got little commercial traction. Instead in music the focus is always on the vapid mainstream, repetitive sans meaning. In music, a forty year old fake drum sound, i.e. the Roland 808, dominates today. Which is kind of like insisting all films be shot in black and white. But there's no uproar. Except from the audience, the truth is new music has lost its hold on the public, most people don't care, which is why the hits have less market share on Spotify than they have previously, you don't need to know them. As for the petty wars and triumphs...that's fodder for fans and gossip rags, nobodies arguing about nothing, and too often it's about money not art.

But criticize a successful act/record at your peril. If it made money, it cannot be bad. At least the highbrows bitch about high concept cartoon/superhero flicks, but they don't bother to even weigh in on the dreck sold to the listening audience.

And in both cases, film and music, all the heat now rises from the bottom. Yes, it's the unfettered individuals online who garner all the attention. Film/the Oscars has not even figured out how to harness the power of TikTok, never mind YouTube and Instagram and Snapchat. As for the music business, all it can do is sign that which is successful online. The truth is the major labels don't grow anything anymore, they just cherry-pick that which is flowering. Which is why the execs are faceless. These are bean counters, marketers not conservators of the soul of America. It's even worse in film, not one single executive is known by the masses. As for power? Neither of them have any, music or film executives, in the general landscape. That's owned by Mark Zuckerberg, Google, Reed Hastings... And all of these tech titans have bigger mindshare than the product itself, never mind those who green light it.

But ain't that America, where debate must be easy and only the elites are entitled to an opinion. Yes, those with any cultural power pooh-pooh the masses as know-nothings. But if that is so, why do they keep pushing the envelope online?

Now it used to be that change was always in the offing, but income inequality killed that. The best and the brightest will not go into the arts. And if they do, the focus is on the bottom line, not the content, because he with the greatest number of bucks is...the greatest. But we used to revere those who didn't sell so well, but impacted us with their art.

Those days are through.

The tail has wagged the dog in the arts for decades, it's just the ancient industries and the boomers who run them have refused to acknowledge this. Furthermore, the companies they run are long in the tooth public enterprises that no executive has a significant ownership interest in, it's all about short term gain. So is it any wonder the product reflects this?

As for those commenting... The truth is they don't really care, it's only once a year, when awards season comes along, and the truth is the "unknown" social media stars online have much more overall influence.

Things will get better when the boomers pass.

But until then we've got twentieth century mores in a twenty first century world. And you wonder why these industries and their awards shows continue to miss the target...


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