Re-Florida Georgia Line

They canceled because they didn't sell any tickets. Covid was just a cover-up. Crowdsourcing, i.e. my readers, hipped me to this.

Not that it's fully explicable, the act had two top ten hits in 2020 and one already in 2021, but to know more I'd have to investigate locations, ticket prices, etc.

Failure in the marketplace is always a complicated story. What makes people stay home is unclear. Yes, now we've got the Delta variant, but Florida Georgia Line is a country act, and country leans right, and it's those on the right who say they're not afraid of the virus.

But Florida Georgia Line had its first hit in 2012, which is almost ten years ago, and it has a strong appeal to adults who may not want to risk a show, then again they're going to see so many acts in the amphitheatres.

But looking at the data, sales of FGL's albums have declined over the years, the act was strongest when it debuted. Then again, in the interim streaming has burgeoned and it's a bit apples and oranges, but the mania is gone, the act is not brand new, people are either fans or they're not, they're going to buy tickets or they're not. Maybe FGL is now seen as a singles act, which have a harder time selling tickets.

But what we do know is some of our biggest heroes obfuscate, lie, to avoid telling the truth, that they're canceling dates because they couldn't sell tickets.

As a matter of fact one of classic rock's legendary artists, with A+ credibility, canceled an arena date saying it was in solidarity with the unions when the truth was tickets just weren't selling.

So there you have it.


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Tour Cancellations

Florida Georgia Line canceled their tour, Garth Brooks too...are they more worried about infections or potentially pissing off their audience?

The only video you must watch this weekend is this:

"Dying in the Name of Vaccine Freedom": https://nyti.ms/2W6usjh

It's a brief documentary on vaccine adoption in the Ozarks. Bottom line, you can't convince those who refuse to get it.

Now if you've been following the news, it appears the Pfizer vaccine will get full F.D.A. approval on Monday, in any event by Labor Day, and what will the unvaxxed say then? IT DOESN'T MATTER! F.D.A. approval was always a straw man, a way to hide their desire to never get the shot. However, the big deal about F.D.A. approval is then businesses will feel more comfortable telling their employees they must be vaxxed, or else.

I'm watching a TV series right now in which a wealthy character, not an alta kacher but someone significantly under fifty, says the key to success is correct information. Sounds so simple, so obvious, but most people don't heed this aphorism. In the information society, an amazing number of facts and insights are available online for free, you just have to spend the time to hoover up the information. However, not just any information, but correct, true information. Then you are powerful. Talk to anybody in business, false information is a drag on your enterprise, it may even kill it. And the truth is, it's no different in society. Furthermore, a good businessman knows how to separate the wheat from the chaff, what is viable and what is not, and listens to experts, all of which are anathema in this self-researched, biased knowledge world we now live in.

So the #1 trending topic on Twitter today was Patagonia. It is detaching from Jackson Hole ski resort, not allowing the shops there to sell its merchandise, because Robert Kemmerer, the resort's owner, cosponsored a fundraiser with Marjorie Taylor Greene, Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows: https://bit.ly/3y6G5U4 The story broke on the ski sites a couple of days ago, but is now being reported by regular news outlets. And if you read the Twitter thread, it's almost all positive, posters saying they're going to go out and buy Patagonia gear.

Same thing happened with Nike and Kaepernick.

It turns out taking a stand is good for business.

This is a complete change from the old thinking, when we lived in a more consolidated market, with three TV networks and top-down information. Today, no one is that big, NO ONE, you're lucky if you have acolytes at all, and you gain them and they adhere to you by taking a viewpoint and sticking to your guns. Then again, like that character said in the above-mentioned TV show, to succeed you've got to have the correct information.

That's the history of America. Gays can get married. We evolve to be together as opposed to apart. Yes, you can stand on the wrong side of history, try to hold the future back, but your base is going to slip through your fingers.

As for me?

Since I've been posting on the unvaccinated I've lost in excess of a hundred subscribers. But those who are e-mailing me who are staying are much more vociferous in their support than in the average e-mail I get. They like that someone is standing up for THEIR position, because to a great degree they feel powerless. This is how you build and maintain a career, by taking sides on the issues, what you believe in, otherwise the bland social influencers with millions of followers would be ruling public opinion, and they're not, and almost all of them have a very short tenure. Have a top ten hit and people might know your name, be a career artist, testing the limits, exploring, bonding to people, and you may never have a top ten hit but you'll be able to play live and be supported playing music for the rest of your life, that's the power of a fan base, and fans are caught by edges, not curves.

Now Florida Georgia Line is a Live Nation act. They can't go on the road without Covid/vaccine restrictions. This is a scenario facing so many of the big acts who are on the fence. Believe whatever you want, but if you're taking the money, you're playing by the promoter's rules.

So what we've learned is the battle isn't about waking up the uninformed, the unvaccinated, but closing the doors on them as a result of their behavior. Just like smoking... Smoke all you want, just don't do it inside, in the office or the club. And sure, people still smoke, but if you're a smoker today the young people, even older people, judge you negatively, there's nothing cool about it. We will get to this point with the unvaccinated if the reasonable, the educated, those with the correct information just do what is right and wait for the disenchanted to wake up and do what is right for not only them, but society. And if they don't want to wake up, it's their choice.

That should be the modern philosophy. If you don't want to get vaxxed, that's absolutely fine. But don't plan on being in a public space. And protest all you want, statistics tell us there are far more pro-vax than anti-vax people, despite the anti-vaxxers being very vocal and the media reporting about them.


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Stephanie Cole

I was reading the class notes.

Go to a college as small as Middlebury and you know everybody, at least those in your year. They put out a publication each annum entitled "New Faces" with pictures of all the freshmen, you can look them up, hell, you can even find these booklets online today, such that you can pin a face to a name, but not always.

Then again, the student body has grown significantly over the past two decades. Now there are 2,580 students instead of the 1,800 when I went, which was a significant increase over the 1,200 of just a few years before. So maybe now you can be anonymous. Or detached and thinking big. With the internet you've got the entire world at your fingertips, you can be a loner in real life, but a star online, everybody can find their group, and this is a good thing, because loneliness kills.

But it didn't used to be this way.

When I went to college there was not only no internet, but no cable TV, only one snowy TV channel and I won't say it was like "Lord of the Flies," but in many ways it was. Groupthink ultimately pulled everyone into wearing the same clothes and behaving in the same way. They'd come from the city in their finery, but in a matter of months the most sophisticated women were wearing overalls and painter's pants, and the men too. The brands weren't Gucci or Chanel, but L.L. Bean and Bass, the maker of the famous Bass Weejun, the ultimate penny loafer. Everybody became downwardly mobile, it was the opposite of today where you use your clothing to signify your place on the totem pole, the goal was to be equal and not to stand out, and to sell yourself on your brain, what was inside, as opposed to outside. Some of this was the ethos of the day, a lot of it was specific to a highly intelligent coterie in a hothouse in rural Vermont.

Not that I knew all this when I applied. All I knew was the campus was the most beautiful extant (testimonials are rampant), the school was coed when Ivies and others were just dipping their toes into coeducation, and the school had its own ski area, closer to campus than any other college/ski area combination.

What's not to like?

Well, it took me a while to figure out.

And it took me a while to figure out what was vaunted, was really insignificant.

Like Winter Carnival. Sounds like a party, right? Well, what it really means is there are some NCAA ski races, a hockey game and a concert. Don't think about getting lucky, almost no one got lucky going to a school where your classmates were akin to brothers and sisters. Then again, so many events that are promoted as paragons of fun, incredible experiences, are not, if you go alone, good luck, if you go with friends maybe you can party.

And when the snow was melting, there was a winter analog. Spring Weekend.

What do I remember about that weekend in April 1971...

Well, going half-drunk to a field where some students with Husqavarnas and other motorcycles I'd never heard of went 'round a dirt track and jumped into the air. And this was before the era of safety codes, there were no barriers, we were right nearby, drinking...that's what you do in the hinterlands, drink, although they now do heroin too. There's a lot going on in the city. There's not much going on in the country. And it's the same damn people every day, and there's little opportunity, and people drink and drug just to get through life. I'd like to tell you that's untrue, but I'd be lying, go live there, you'll see.

And I believe the Saturday night concert was Brewer & Shipley, who were never hip. Then again, knowing the concert business today I realize small college campuses are at the mercy of secondary agents who are at the mercy of primary agents who either want to sell that which no one wants, or fill a date, and the odds of getting good talent at a fair price is nearly nonexistent, so you get an act with some name recognition that no one is really excited about seeing. And students go to the show because they've got nothing better to do. Although there are always those who say they can't afford it, even though tickets are three or four dollars, because appearing poor is a badge of honor at elite institutions, it's especially those who went to name prep schools who say they've got no money.

But instead of national sports activities on Spring Weekend there were amateur events. And as a freshman, I was still game. Hell, I'd even played volleyball in the fall. So when it came time to sign up for the bike race, I was all in.

And I had a new bike.

Every team needed a bike. This was just when ten speeds with dropped handlebars were becoming the thing. Before beach cruisers, before mountain bikes, before electric bikes. And I had a white Peugeot. Cost $92.50. Yes.

But we needed four riders. And two of them had to be women. Where would we get the women?

And this was long before Title IX, long before all women participated in sports. So we were flummoxed, and then one guy said he'd take care of it.

So it was a relay race, on a gray spring day, in the fifties. It's almost always gray in the spring in Vermont, if it's a bluebird day you put on your shorts and go swimming at the quarry, even if it's not even sixty degrees, because they're so damn rare.

And like seemingly every college, Middlebury is on a hill. And the relay race was around campus. And it started right in front of my dorm, at the top of the hill, Hepburn Hall.

I can't remember if I was first or second. I completed my circuit and passed on the bike and as the legs of the race unfolded it was stunning, we appeared to be winning! I was just into participating, I didn't want to sit in my dorm room with a blank face.

And then the bike was passed for the last leg to a girl I'd never met, and she took off like a shot.

But she came back dead last. Walking the bike. The chain had fallen off.

Now to be honest, I wasn't thrilled it was my bike. No one ever takes care of your equipment like you do. But this girl walking my bike from the Chapel to Hepburn Hall had an exhausted, pained expression and couldn't stop talking when she was in earshot. There were only two or three of us still left. And she kept talking, we were having a conversation.

And I was impressed. This was not the typical Middlebury grind, this was not someone repressed and into her look, this was Stephanie Cole.

Made a big impression on me, but I never had another conversation with her again, not for the ensuing three plus years.

But I never forgot the interaction.

Now maybe she was on a different track academically, I'd never seen her in any of my classes. And she didn't seem to hang out with the girls I knew, the ones we had dinner with at the SDUs (Social Dining Units, eventually they were named after donors, but everybody still called them the SDUs). But I always went to the same SDU, because it closed last, you could get dinner until seven long before the 24/7 food service of today's gourmand campuses. You end up in your own rut, actually it's easier than thinking about it.

Now time took its toll on me at Middlebury. At the advent of junior year I realized I'd seen all its tricks, all it had to offer, and what it really was was an educational factory for those who knew how to study, but not much more. Culture? I grew up fifty miles from New York City, forty five percent of these kids had been in the confines of prep schools. The others? They came from all over the country. And when I was done, I got the hell out of there.

To line up a job in Alta, Utah, the only place Middlebury meant anything, the only place it had name recognition.

But that was one of the great things about moving to California. No one asked me my SAT scores, no one asked me where I'd gone to college, to the point where I just started saying "a small school back east." And if they pushed me, they'd still never heard of it. But once the boomers became parents college admissions competition became fierce and there was that Charles Murray incident and more people have heard of Middlebury, but I graduated nearly half a century ago. Seems like yesterday, but it's a long damn time.

Now they mail you the alumni magazine every quarter. It's transparent, they want your money. And most of the publication is stories about the activities of professors and graduates, but at the end of the magazine, there are pages and pages of class notes. Where you can mail in and tell your story.

I intentionally never mailed in. But that does not mean I didn't read the stories.

To a great degree it's bragging. And there are pictures of friends who felt they were superior. But the truth is, you're judging yourself. And them. That's right, how does your life compare to theirs?

And the truth is it took me ten years to get over going to Middlebury. To realize not everybody in America was smart, never mind checking you on your word choices.

And there's a five year reunion. That's just for the hard core.

And then a ten year... I was not in the greatest place, breaking up with my girlfriend, but I never would have flown cross-country to attend anyway.

And they have them every five years thereafter. And they posts lists of the people who go, and pictures too, and that's when you realize very few people actually go to the reunion, and really it's about reconnecting with your friends, and the truth is the friends I made there I still want to have contact with I do.

And as the years go by, fewer and fewer people send in updates. To the point where the class correspondents implore you to. And then you're just like the old classes you saw in the magazine back when you graduated. There were only one or two people testifying, everybody else was silent. Maybe because their story was already written, there was nothing left to brag about, but one thing is for sure, everybody still reads the notes.

And then back in 2013 the magazine did a story on me! It seemed like I'd come full circle, they sent a professional photographer to my house, the article was great and...

Crickets.

I assumed I'd hear from some of my classmates. But no. Because they didn't want to hear that I'd succeeded and they hadn't. They were old enough to have their careers written in stone, but still...they just couldn't be friendly and acknowledging. That's cool, I get it.

But the truth is you never forget your college days. Especially at a place like Middlebury, where no one ever goes home for the weekend, where you're all in it together, they're formative years.

And the fiftieth reunion is right around the corner.

I wasn't planning to go to that one either, but prior to lockdown I was at a party at an actor's house who told me he'd just come back from his fiftieth high school reunion in Minnesota. I asked him why he went. He said his parents were dead, he was never going back to Minnesota, this was the last chance, after this it was over.

So I thought of going to my high school reunion. I've never ever been to any reunion, but it's the fiftieth, now or never. But then I thought about the people I'd see... I couldn't wait to get out of high school, best years of your life? Not for me.

But I'm still reading the damn class notes.

And you read for every year you were there, the three older classes and the three younger ones. And unfortunately, there comes a moment when you can no longer put a face to the name. Happens when you're not paying attention. You know everybody, just like you remember every single class you took, and then they're gone. Sure, you remember those who lived with you in the dorm, your friends, but everybody else? They fade away.

And I used to read the recent classes too. To see what they were up to after graduation. The younger generations are world-beaters in a way we never were.

But now I no longer even do that. Too much time has passed. I realize I might still feel young, like I just graduated from college yesterday, but if the students saw me on campus they'd snicker at the old guy, it's the nature of life.

And since it's the Covid era, the college e-mails you the class notes. You used to have to wait for the print magazine to see them.

And the e-mail came in about a week ago and I kept it, noted it as new, told myself when I had the time I'd dive in, but I never did.

And then it was Friday afternoon, yesterday, and it was now or never. The world slows down on Friday afternoons and I thought I'd tie up all the loose ends, and the last one was the Middlebury class notes.

Which were unsatisfying. Because, like I said, few of my compatriots weighed in.

And it's a PDF, not a physical book, and I get interrupted a few times, but I decide to scroll to the end, I'm a completist.

And that's when I get to the death notices. You always look for those who were in your class.

But they had a special box. For those who'd died in the interim when the magazine was essentially put to bed but not yet published. And in that list was...

Stephanie Cole.

I immediately started Googling, looking for the obituary. And I found quite a long one, which is not always the case.

The picture was not good. Then again, I don't look too good either.

And she was my same age.

And her story...

She'd graduated third in her class in high school. She'd been a ski racer at Middlebury, that I knew, but no one paid attention to NCAA sports when I was in college, I went to one football game because my parents were in town, that was it. Never a basketball game... No one I knew ever went to a competition.

And after graduating she'd taught skiing and then gotten a job with the U.S. Ski Team in Park City. But on the drive out there, she had a bipolar event.

That was the word on Stephanie. I'd asked my bike-racing friends. She had mental health issues.

So she had to give up that job in Utah, and ultimately came back to New Hampshire, had a son and daughter, and worked in libraries.

And then she died.

Oh, of course she did much more than that, but I couldn't get over the fact that she passed. It was all over. That's all they wrote. Done. In the rearview mirror. Whew!

It's starting to happen. My generation is starting to go. And the one thing about baby boomers, they don't think they're ever going to die, they believe biology doesn't apply to them. If they just repeat the mantra, wear hip clothing, maybe even get plastic surgery, they'll be here forever.

But that is patently untrue.

Some people live to be a hundred.

Some not even old enough to collect Social Security, which is not your money, it's an insurance program, to make sure you have some cash in your old age if you run out, which many baby boomers are gonna, because they never saved for the future, were too busy living a high lifestyle, spending all their dough.

But the finality of death. It's eerie.

When it's all over it won't matter I went to Middlebury College. It won't matter what I did. A few people will remember me, and then I'll die. I thought I had my whole life in front of me, and then the hourglass flipped when I wasn't watching and now the sand is pouring and I'm racing to complete, get done, go to the places I always assumed I would but am now realizing I won't.

And it's not even the same world. A number one is not the ubiquitous track it once was. A movie is not something to stimulate your mind and talk about. One tries to keep up, but then at some point you wonder whether you should even bother, you're old, embrace what you had, don't bother trying to grab that which might be meaningless just because it's new.

I'm too old to die young. My obituary won't say I was cut down before my time. And unlike Stephanie Cole, I won't leave any children behind. The lineage ends with me.

This is my life. Most of it has already been written. I can't go back and change it, it's carved in stone. Do I have regrets? ABSOLUTELY! But that's history now.

It's an endless march from now on. My generation, my friends, are going to pass. It's started, it's picking up steam. And some will die from bad behavior, some from accidents, but with most it will be a health issue that they have little control over. Cancer. They'll get sicker and sicker, be a shadow of their former selves, hold on, and then die.

And you don't want to live too long, because then all your friends are gone.

But I wish some of them were still here.

Stephanie Cole Nelson: https://bit.ly/3zcQXkI


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White Lotus

This is the hottest show on television. My inbox has filled up for weeks with people asking me, "Have you seen it?"

I hadn't. But now that it's all over I decided to binge it, to see what all the hoopla is about.

It's very simple, it's on HBO.

Over two decades, HBO has built its credibility to the point where the outlet has the imprimatur of quality, if it's on the service people will check it out, and give it the benefit of the doubt.

But not so much on HBO Max, even though the app comes free with an HBO cable subscription. Not a single person has ever e-mailed me about "Love Life," even after I wrote about it, even though it's the modern "Sex and the City" and if you liked that show you'd love "Love Life."

More people have watched "Hacks," but it still hasn't penetrated the national consciousness.

Proving that HBO is for older people, for those who still watch TV in real time, who see streaming as secondary. As for youngsters, they're never gonna wait week by week for a service to dribble out a show, they can't handle the dissatisfaction of waiting, and neither can I.

So how good is "White Lotus"?

It's good, I wouldn't say very good, somewhere in the B territory if you're into letter grades, maybe with a +, but I find it hard to give it one. Because "White Lotus" is too often slow, and too often predictable.

I know, I know, it's supposed to have the pace of a vacation. But when I think of the foreign series I'm watching now...it rolls right along, it keeps your attention. Not that a show has to be outrageously dynamic to grab your attention and keep you watching. "Six Feet Under" is the best example of this, it's subtle but riveting.

So, the word on "White Lotus" is the people are hateful and someone dies.

Unfortunately, that's the set-up from the very first scene, who dies, and you keep thinking about it, believing you have it figured out, and then you get to the point where you don't really care.

And the truth is Armond is so over the top as to be unbelievable.

SPOILER ALERT

When he steals and keeps the drugs and the girls don't press him on it... I mean really?

As for his devolution into drugs...that's not wholly believable either, ditto his seduction of Dillon.

But having said all of the above, I'd recommend watching "White Lotus" sheerly for the acting. Connie Britton and Steve Zahn are so good it's nearly unbelievable, Britton rings so true, and Zahn supersedes his stoner/dumbass personality to be warm, yet he sometimes moves into the unbelievable too.

But the best thing is the fight between the two parents. Whenever we went on a family vacation there was a fight, always.

And my father was like Zahn, getting reflective, talking about the family and how great it was we could all be there together. And he insisted we all go, no one could be left behind, no excuses, you were in. But sometimes you could bring a friend.

As for the son's exclusion... Welcome to my life. Sydney Sweeney eats up all the atmosphere, like my sister. She talks back to her parents yet needs to be soothed by them and...I felt isolated and misunderstood just watching "White Lotus."

Sydney Sweeney. Her performance is nearly in the league of Britton and Zahn's. She stays true to her character, a child of privilege who is against all the philosophies and actions of her parents, yet enjoys the trappings and never questions the contradiction.

And every character is flawed. Britton is understanding, but she's myopic when it comes to her work. And she wears the pants in the family. Who is in control? Usually the person making the money. You can see why Zahn had the affair, he needed the validation. Which he ultimately gets from Britton, bringing the couple back together, because there's so much invested in the marriage that the couple soldiers on. The poor get divorced, not the upper classes, they realize how much there is to lose, they invested in education, they climbed their way up the business ladder, they're not impulsive in major decisions, they can weigh the consequences, they ultimately hew the line.

As for Shane Patton and his bride Rachel? It's hard to believe Rachel went into the marriage with so little knowledge of Shane and his family, what she was getting into. As for Shane himself... The higher you go on the economic totem pole the more narrow the vision. The rich believe they're entitled to their wealth and that things should always go their way, and when they don't they pout and seek revenge. Never underestimate the power of a rich person to be petty. They cannot handle a chink in their armor, they must appear together at all times, they must come out on top.

The piece-de-resistance is Molly Shannon as Shane's mother. Crashing the honeymoon without thinking about it. Unfortunately Shannon does not wholly ring true, but her words ultimately do. She implores Rachel not to work, to revel in being rich, you don't want to have a job, you're so much more powerful being your own boss sitting on boards and throwing parties. And Shannon says all this with absolutely no self-knowledge. She'll apologize for her behavior at times, but never for her status.

As you can see, "White Lotus" deals with serious issues of wealth and privilege, most people couldn't even afford this trip, which Shane actually says to Rachel.

So the wealth disparities and the political viewpoint of the youngsters is spot-on, but they're not enough to make this series a classic. Then again, maybe the people talking about this show hunger so much for the truth that when they find it they talk about it, since it's not in evidence in the superhero movies and other fictions foisted upon us.

And despite the voice that always begs you not to take Jennifer Coolidge seriously, her performance rings true, as the scion of a rich family who is hobbled by her money and upbringing. Without the traditional challenges of an education and a job, her life is consumed by the misdeeds of her parents and the abuse of alcohol. But at least she knows herself, when she talks about being so needy...nothing turns others off as much as being needy.

So what you've got is a show that's trying to be highbrow that could have focused a bit more on the script than the visuals, which are exquisite. As for the music, I know they were setting the tone, but I could have used less, as well as that constant shot of the waves breaking across the rocks.

But at least HBO is greenlighting stuff like this. We need it. But even more we need the American audience to broaden its horizons, there's so much better stuff out there in the world. But it's not on HBO. And it might have subtitles. And one thing "White Lotus" illustrates is the wealthy want everything to be easy, to be served up to them in a palatable fashion, and that's HBO.


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Underwood & Aldean

"Carrie Underwood's account clicked like on an anti-mask tweet. The outraged reaction shows what happens when country stars are silent on politics.": https://wapo.st/3y1YUrt

Since we canceled Morgan Wallen for ignorance, can we now do the same with Carrie Underwood...and Jason Aldean?

In case you missed the memo, Carrie Underwood "liked" the video of a school anti-masking idiot.

Now if you're paying attention, playing the home game, you know that yesterday Culver City, California, which is where they make so many of the films and TV shows the right hoover up, as well as the left, issued a requirement that all students are required to be vaccinated against Covid-19: https://lat.ms/2UAN1v8 Are the parents up in arms? No, they're CHEERING!

As are most Americans:

"The GOP is losing the argument on coronavirus mandates - The Republican Party has rather clearly marched itself into a minority position, from masks in schools to targeted vaccine medicines": https://wapo.st/2XHanjV

Bottom line? The "freedom" caucus may be very vocal, but they're in a distinct minority, check the stats in the above article. Turns out people are scared and they want to be safe.

And then you've got bozo Jason Aldean marveling that he sees no masks in his audience, meanwhile, Los Angeles is now requiring them:

"L.A. County to require face masks at large outdoor events": https://lat.ms/3subIps

What's the moral of the story?

Move to California, where you have a better chance of riding out the pandemic safely, in a state that is denigrated emotionally but factually is doing quite well, never mind few people actually leaving.

Or, the tide is turning, people everywhere want to be safe.

Or both.

Now you might think this is a non-issue, but I ask you punk, do you feel lucky enough to go on tour in Tennessee and Texas and Florida, with their inane anti-protection statutes? Your audience may sympathize with you, but they can't beat the law, then again some are now fighting it. Jason Isbell said no-go, he just canceled his appearance at a festival in Bristol, on the border of Tennessee and Virginia: https://bit.ly/3xWP7mt

But we're not supposed to draw lines, we're supposed to be all accommodating and kumbaya. But really, when it comes to life and death?

The screws have been tightening, vaccination is required for more activities and in more locations every day. And those who oppose them are becoming pariahs. Funny, I thought abortion would be the issue that rallied people against the right, but history repeats with a twist, in other words the protests against the war in the sixties are now against ignorant-anti-vaxxers and maskers in the twenty first century maybe because these issues affect EVERYBODY! And just like the kids had to wake up their elders to the truth in Vietnam, a great swath of the public is now doing its best to wake up the ignorant re vaccines and masks, doing its best to fight misinformation where it counts, not in cyberspace, but in real life.

This is the story of our age. You might be reading about the Taliban in Afghanistan, but this is what America is truly concerned with, millions who are so ignorant and afraid they refuse to get jabbed for the good of society. Yes, we need you to get a measles shot so we can have herd immunity, anti-vaxxing parents brought an essentially extinct disease back from the graveyard to "save" their kiddies while the rest of us pay the price, I'm supposed to get my MMR update, but I can't right now because of the Covid vaccine and other health issues. Now I'm at risk, this time mainly as a result of the non-efforts of upper middle class people who believe they know better than the government.

Yes, ignorance knows no bounds, it's prevalent on the right and the left, and we must fight it every daman day...talk about rust never sleeping.

Now the truth is the concert business has been tightening show restrictions. Now, on a major tour, the odds of getting in willy-nilly, without vaccination, are very low. But the reins must be pulled even tighter.

Turns out Carrie Underwood was shamed by the public. She needed no pundit, no politico to get the ball rolling. The public is paying attention, this is a major issue, and you don't want to be on the wrong side of it, you don't want to be afraid. Is it really that hard to stand up for safety? Are you really that afraid of a vocal minority? Because when it comes to death, there are no supporters. Look at all the schools that opened and then had to send students home to be quarantined, in one case because a parent sent their infected kid to school. Do you really want to support anti-masking laws in educational institutions? As for that parent, they might as well go into the witness protection program.

The times they are a-changin'. You can stay home and be scared, believe vaccines are a political issue, pull up bogus science online to support your position, but the truth is the tide is going against you, and once again, this is not emotion speaking, this is facts! Time to bite the bullet, get vaxxed and make up an excuse why you didn't do it sooner. Not only for your own health, but for everyone's. And for the evisceration of future variants that present vaccines might be powerless against!


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Ann Wilson-This Week's Podcast

Ann Wilson, vocalist extraordinaire, is the lead singer of Heart.

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

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

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Tuc4F0LCugH4X3ZfLrx5k?si=qFUuVXlbQ4mTPCXWFPAXkQ&dl_branch=1

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast?returnFromLogin=1&

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


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Can't Stop The Rain

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3CRCIE6

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3iXDWWw

It's 1972 all over again.

I've been on a Manassas kick. Happens every once in a while, I need to hear "Johnny's Garden," but this time I started at the top of the double album and as the tracks were playing it occurred to me if this was released today people's minds would be blown, they'd be testifying, the band would be the hippest and most credible in the land. Instead Stephen Stills is nearly a pariah, it's got something to do with "arrogance," even though the Manassas album is really just a part of the CSN continuum, it's just that damn good.

So I just got an e-mail about this new Neal Francis track, as you will remember I testified about him not long ago: https://bit.ly/2WaSQQs

So, I pull it up on Spotify and at first it's good, but not special, and then Derek Trucks STARTS TO WAIL! And then after one time through, I had to play it again, and again.

This is not music made for the hit parade. This is not music made for you to scroll your smartphone to. This is the type of music that infects you and makes you move your feet, it's high energy without pandering, it's all about the music and not the trappings.

Somehow Neal Francis has amalgamated all the elements to create music that's just one step higher than his competitors, the acts on the jam band circuit who can all play but don't entice you with their material. It's not like he's the best singer, nor the best player, but you put it all together, with the arrangement, and you GET IT! If you want to know what it was like going to college in the early seventies, THIS IS IT!

Music was our release. There were no video games, never mind no internet. When you wanted to cut loose, you dropped the needle on a record, turned it up and squeezed out the rest of the world, the noise that was holding you back, you felt you could make it through.

And once the formula became obvious corporate rock came along and killed it. Then again, Francis is closer to southern rock and...Leon Russell. It's hard to listen to Francis's music without thinking about the Master of Space & Time, who'd been around forever, even written hit songs, never mind hit licks, but once the public got a taste of him on the Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour it was all over, Leon even eclipsed Joe Cocker, the man he was lending his skills to as a supporting musician. And like Francis, Russell didn't have the best voice, he wasn't the best player, but when he took all his influences and distilled them into a whole, a cut, the end result was magic, you might not be able to describe it but you could certainly feel it, it was irresistible!

So at first I thought the sound was too trebly, too upper register, but then I switched to Apple Lossless and "Can't Stop the Rain" sounded so much richer, so much better!

Now most of today's tracks you hear once and you get them, but not "Can't Stop the Rain," every time through more is revealed, and the more that penetrates the more you're drawn in, the more you like it, the more you've got to play it.

Derek Trucks has been a phenom since joining the Allman Brothers. But at first he was playing in that classic act, and since then there hasn't been a specific new cut that he shines on, that is irresistible, but on "Can't Stop the Rain" he shines like Duane, coming in from the hinterlands to push Eric Clapton's Dominos over the top, don't forget it's Allman that plays the lick in "Layla."

Not that guitarists mean anything in today's pop world, and it's hard to believe they will in a world where music is made on computers in bedrooms. "Can't Stop the Rain" is the antithesis of this, it's a band, firing on all cylinders, turning into an unstoppable speeding lorry. If you're a young 'un and you hear Derek wail here you won't be able to ignore it, he's so tasteful, yet with an edge, his guitar is incisive, like being pricked with a pin over and over again, but in this case the pinpricks FEEL SO GOOD!

Proving once again you can't make hits on paper. No computer can do this. It takes human beings to conceive of music like this and lay it down. It's about a vision, it's not about building brick by brick, but turning on the amplifiers and wailing, having fun. And no Fortune 500 company will want to sponsor Neal Francis, but he doesn't need one, if he's half as good as this live his rep will grow... Maybe he needs to tour on a double bill with Tedeschi Trucks so Derek can sit in, maybe the two acts could even combine and be a modern day Mad Dogs & Englishmen, bringing that elusive magic back. I'm really feeling it now, I don't want to stop playing the track, I don't want my mood to evaporate, I just want to stay in the cocoon of this concoction of blues, soul and rock and roll...THE ROOTS NEVER GO OUT OF STYLE!


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Mailbag

From: Fred Lager
Re: Americone Dream/Cherry Garcia

Bob, Cherry Garcia was suggested to us by an anonymous postcard from two Dead heads in Portland, Maine. "You know it will sell," they wrote, "because Dead paraphernalia always sells. We are talking good business sense here, plus it will be a real hoot for the fans." The flavor was launched on Washington's birthday, 1987. At the time the Company only had sales of $20 million and was at the start of a national rollout that would unfold over the next two years. With limited marketing dollars it was promoted with small ads in Rolling Stone and Golden Road, the Dead fan magazine. We also printed posters that featured Ben and Jerry, who were big fans of the band, in tie-dyed T-shirts, under the heading "Euphoria Again." Just so there would be no missing the connection, the words "Cherry Garcia" on the pint lid were written in the psychedelic script associated with the band. Press releases heralded the flavor as the first ever named after a musical legend. (At the time we didn't know that a Bing Crosby ice cream had been sold in the fifties.)

We had great debates at Ben & Jerry Board meetings, while the flavor was being developed, as to whether we should seek Jerry and the Dead's permission prior to its introduction. The guys had run into one of the editors of the Dead fan magazine while out in San Francisco on a promotional trip the prior fall and had run the idea past her. She apparently made some calls and then told Ben he should just go ahead and do it. "This kind of stuff is fine with Jerry," she said, "but if you ask, the lawyers will get involved."

Eight of the first pints we produced were sent via FedEx to Garcia in a cooler packed with dry ice. I took the call from Jerry's wife after they were received, and she said he'd enjoyed the ice cream, although we were never certain he had actually eaten any since he had survived a near death diabetic coma in July 1986. His publicist quoted Garcia as saying, "As long as they don't name a motor oil after me, it's fine with me." The lawyers did eventually get involved and an ongoing royalty arrangement was amiably worked out, which continues to this day.

Americone Dream, which you raved about, is Jerry, (as in Ben & Jerry), Greenfield's favorite flavor, so you're in good company.

Fred "Chico" Lager, former CEO, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and author of Ben & Jerry's: The Inside Scoop…How Two Real Guys Built a Business with a Social Conscience and a Sense of Humor

_________________________________________

Subject: RE: The Suzi Quatro Movie

I watched "Suzi Q.", fueled by your recommendation and my teenage memories of that picture in the leather jumpsuit. Like you, I was aware of her from reading music magazines (I was a Rolling Stone/Circus kid), and definitely not for her music, which I never heard. Like the Runaways, Quatro was on my radar for the titillating stories in those magazines, and in the days before ubiquitous porn, that was legit material!

And that's a shame, because while she was not a breakthrough talent, she paid the full retail price in her bid for greatness. If nothing else the doc shows us the side of her that was talented, committed and legit.

Joan Jett has always bugged me. Almost completely bereft of talent--hell, she wasn't the most talented member of the Runaways, and they were a punchline! Compared to Benatar, Nicks, Quatro and so many others its not even a discussion. Like the Grammys, the RRHOF suits respond to the shiniest--or in this case loudest--thing.

Keep the tips coming...

Ted Doyle

_________________________________________

From: Simma Levine
Subject: Re: Jazz Fest Cancels

Thank you.

Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with people. I've been vaxed since March, husband April and daughter (aged 13) since the day they approved use for 12+.

She's at summer camp - coming home Sunday after 7 weeks.

NOT ONE POSITIVE CASE.

Why? Because everyone older than 12 needed to be vaccinated. Her camp was on lockdown - no one (staff or campers) left for the entirety. I sent her with 150 disposable masks.

They were all tested three days prior, rapid tested day of arrival, 3 and 6 days after arrival. Same protocol for session 2.

The best part (aside from no Covid) - all the kids are having a BLAST. And when the camp is together as a whole, they're all masked. In individual bunks and units, unmasked if age appropriate.

The remaining 3 weeks of the summer - not going anywhere. Not even the local (crowded) amusement park. It's more important we all stay healthy so she can go back to school in September.

If camps can figure it out, why can't the concert business.

And.. the unvaccinated are going to destroy our health care system. Their selfish behavior will draw down resources for the truly sick (meaning the ones who vaccinated as soon as they were able). We will be treating the assholes while everyone else will be rationed. That means me, you, and those we love.

Rant over!

Hugs,

Simma

_________________________________________

Subject: Re: Stella

Hi Bob,

Thanks for a very timely and eye-opening piece. Us baby-boomers remember frightening tales of Nazi murderers living free in Argentina in the 50s and 60s. To put it in context it's important to remember that it took Hitler over a decade to achieve absolute power and in the 1933 German election the Nazis received a minority of 43% of the vote before seizing absolute power shortly after.

On my second album (Lost Generation 1975 Produced by Paul Rothchild) I had a song called "Eva Braun" in which I tried to express my fear that fascism could return and my horror that some rock stars were even flirting with Nazi style. I sang "And someday soon I fear they'll sing that song again." And when I watched those torch wielding white-supremacists marching in Charlottesville I was haunted by my own words.

From Paris,

Elliott Murphy

_________________________________________

From: STEVE CHRISMAR
Subject: Re: Skateboarding In The Olympics

Bob,

So, I can't speak for the skiing or skateboarding part of your statement...but I can relate to the line musicians walk to create, make a living, build credibility, and bowing to the corporate calf.

Paraphrasing your quote:
"But in order to play the long term, credibility game, you have to be willing to say no......Do what you feel, not what others tell you to. The audience, people can tell. You can't measure it, but you can feel it."

I was a member of the George Thorogood band during their most successful run (1985-1993). The Stones tour, Bad to the Bone, and Live Aid set those big wheels in motion. I had the job of playing guitar for a major league act, alongside a guy who had the energy and drive to light up a stage with his gift of gab.

To his credit, George also had a singular ability to say no to the powers that be. The label (EMI) constantly tried to get us to invest in stage design (at a cost) , which George declined every time. At another point, EMI also released a single (Treat Her Right), which to their horror, George did not include in any of the New York shows at the time (Meadowland, MSG, and Nassau Colliseum). Not endearing to the label, but.....fuck it.

Now, you might conclude that George maintained his credibility by saying no...contributing to his longevity. And on the surface that would be correct. But ultimately, from my perspective, George passed on the big buy in, but still found himself hungry and at the mercy of the corporates (UPS? Brown to the Bone etc).

I'm not one to judge, and I certainly am grateful to George for the opportunity to stand up next to him for 9 years, but I have to wonder if the sycophantic noise of the crowd is the voice that dictates outcome. George was more terrified of losing his core audience (sound familiar Donald?), than in growing and building a meaningful statement that connected to real people's lives. The creative well ran 'bone' dry. God forbid they'd find out George isn't really Bad to the Bone.......

Years later, I mentioned to Terry Manning that it was disappointing to know George wouldn't allow the creative process into his career and write some good new songs. Terry answered.... 'Maybe he couldn't?"

I'm reminded of one of David Bowie's profound lines.....'It's not really life, it's just the power to charm'

Amen. You live and learn...if you're lucky.

Steve C

_________________________________________

Subject: Re: Billie Eilish-Happier Than Ever

Hey Bob
It's kinda fast food for real these days for almost all artists.

Waaaaay back when I was young the record company developed us, then put out the first record and hoped for some good press and some touring and if you sold 100 thousand records that was amazing.

The second record was looking for more sales more press and bigger touring but THE THIRD RECORD was what had to make it or break it.

In 2006 I could see the biz was in a spiral so I took a gig as a consultant and music director for 19 Ent./ American Idol which was kinda the only game in town.
This was for me when it got weird.

We released a Jordan Sparks record and quickly sold two million records then Boom she was gone. We sold a million David Cook records and at that minute in time he was the most talked about person on the planet and Boom he was gone. Adam Lambert, the most famous guy in the world for a minute then boom gone.
I never thought an artist could sell platinum and then just get dropped.
There is NO artist loyalty anymore.

I myself would buy a new album by a band I loved without hearing a song first...nuts right?

And when I was an artist I couldn't sell a record in America but I did well around the world and had a deal for twelve years.

There was no internet back then so when I would tour a country people were excited to get to see me.

Funny thing is because there was no internet everyone back home had no idea what I was doing for money, I am sure they all thought I was a drug dealer.
In today's world if you are an artist you gotta follow the words of George Clinton....Hit It And Quit It

Stevie Salas

Typos courtesy of Geronimo's Ghost

_________________________________________

From: Peter Noone
Subject: Why?

When the so called British Invasion was starting to form in the early 1960 or more probably the mid 50s, the British "beat groups" could get their whole operation into a van.

Remarkably the Beatles, two roadies and lots of lugging by the fabulous foursome themselves of their amplifiers, their guitars, the pa, the venue provided the two chairs, and their cute little stage suits, all in that van, and when they got to The Liverpool LOCARNO they would unload that van, all hand on deck, set up the gear, go for a pint or a pie or even a cup of tea, and then go onstage and deliver a SHOW. The shows were a cheap and affordable replacement for a big dance band with a brass section, a male singer, two girl singers, who sang every song the audience wanted as the audience did a thing called ballroom dancing and smiling to songs they already knew.

Did you notice Bob, that no one had fireworks, dancers, strippers, castanets, none of the requirements to put on a show. Affordable for everyone.

That was the difference.

We cut the legs off the dance bands by putting together a business model that allowed EVERYONE who fancied "having a go", and imagine The Beatles put together a high energy, I would say perfect show of pure energy and oh oops FUN. They had fun with each other, which is not like Nashville where all the musicals watch each other in awe no mater how good or bad the "bit"

LOOK AT EARLY BEATLES footage and note the fun they are having with EACH OTHER!!

I doubt I will ever see anything quite so inspirational for a teenager as that period when everyone could "have a go" not like Chris Hillman's Rock and Roll star but a let's go play music and have fun …..what sings do you know Albert? I know Cumberland gap the Lonnie Donnegan version. show me the chords..oh it's easy let's get a drunmmer!

And then…."do all Chuck Berry's songs have these same chords? We should do Reelin and a rockin because the Beatles have stopped doing it……

Also notable was the lack of a musical education because this was before The College of music became popular ( I went to one), and like most colleges were never able to teach a patron HOW TO MAKE MONEY? If your mum and dad are paying for your musical agent they are Patrons of the Arts.

I'm a working class English bloke but both my parents were accountants and often asked " Can you make money at this?"

And I was able to say yes I made a few quid and I am able to make the payments on the van, and eat, and unwittingly I became a business man, running a beat group and having more laughs than any of my school friends. Being a persistent little shit served me well and I avoided that child star growing up sad syndrome by not having anyone making all my plans for me. all my child sat friends had one thing in common.. no two .. they were cute and they had a person who booked all th extra ell and hotels creating A very easy to burst bubble of a world where you learn nothing except how wonderful you are for a while.

Nowadays

Isn't the problem nowadays that it is just too expensive to even get started?

I will confess that I never knew anyone back then who didn't know how to play a Lonnie Donnegan song, a Buddy Holly song, had a room room full of rare 78s off their Auntie Celia, and most likely popular music was a fun pastime, and they really wanted to be Robert Fripp and have other Guitarist admire your works.

Recently I saw that a few bands (the new name for a best group), have found themselves in a new situation , wherein they can't afford to tour because they have a thing called an "overhead" aa word created by accountants to justify billing you for the advice you should have lived in every day "since you was born".

I feel quite old when I am not onstage and I notice that musicians are much smarter than the average bloke but junkies are smarter because they need to get $100 bucks a day to pay for their habit and a musician can't?

Sadly Mel and Neil aren't around, so you musicians may have to load your amplifier yourself, maybe your mum can help you get it in the trunk of your Prius, and the club may have a lift so you don't have to carry it down the stairs like the BEATLES and The Stones did. Another new thing will be changing in the men's room which is also used by the employees and they wash their hands before they go back in the kitchen.

Strangely THEY will feel sorry for you, because apparently musicians have no future that's why we don't have a union health plan or a pension. Best marry an actor because they do have plans and never get sick or old. They fade away up in the attic.

Of course your 4 roadies in the matching black teeshirt, black shorts, black socks, black shoes and a flat in Culver City may have to forego the backstage crew vegan food with the rhubarb flavored drinks on ice, but perhaps they will form their own group, and that will leave more room on your $300000 bus.

On the bus you could talk about music and wonder how the flock of Beatles got time to write all those songs and play guitars and drums so well, without a crew to set up the folding chairs, and act as band mummy.

Also, it's worth noting that Big BILL Broonzy and Lightning Hopkins could do a one hour set three times a night without fireworks or a single dancer around.
Even the audience didn't dance.

I was looking at old bills from the early 60s and a few have "next week the Beatles 6 shillings " How could they earn enough to live on that pittance.?

My accountant Dad often said "You have to live within your means"

Never knew what it meant as I have never earned enough money to relax, but the Beatles lived within their means by doing most of the work THEMSELVES. Whilst laughing a lot at each other, and singing harmonies in a van, together, driving around the British Isles together. That's where they got it all from. Sharing with each other. Show me how to play an A-minor 7th Paul….

Notice when they all got posh girlfriends and cars they stopped being a beat group, because they stopped hanging around with each other 18 hours a day.

Me and the hermits followed them around a couple of years later and we stayed in all the same hotels. The one they stayed in in Paddington was a room with six beds and a bathroom down the hallway, and no one was allowed to use the sink except to wash their hands and face and wash their hair before going to EMI Studios together.

One day you should get in a Commer van or a Bedford Dormobile. It's more revealing than the Liverpool tour.

Like when you see the Mayflower. You will ask yourself "Is that all there is" How many men were in it? Blimey………No one would volunteer for that. Their girlfriends or their mums would never allow it and say " you should go solo and let them go on the Mayflower" "you are better than that!

Or

"My Uncle owns a label"

You know all that stuff, and I know there is a band playing somewhere tonight , who will reset the business again, like Nirvana, and they will be sharing all their musical knowledge with each other, not caring what other musicians or friends think about their style.

The dancers will only get a short ride in the van before the equipment is loaded, and they can come and dance with the group on the Grammys!

Meanwhile where is the new beat group playing?

_________________________________________

From: David Jensen
Subject: Re: Vaccination Requirements

My high school gym coach said it ALL decades ago…

"You don't have to dress for gym…But you don't have to graduate either"

Cheers, DJ

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Summer's Almost Gone

It rained in L.A. today. At least enough to get your car dirty. Yes, the air is so bad that when we finally get precipitation all the pollution ends up on your car and you've got to get it washed, it's the exact opposite of climates where it rains on a regular basis.

Not that I saw the rain. I'm not an early riser, but I saw the remnants when I woke up, the wet concrete, the blackened street.

And it's gray. And cool. It hasn't been in the seventies for weeks.

But it's gonna be in the high eighties again soon, you see fall is the hottest time of the year in Southern California, but by then the days are getting shorter and the light...

I always wait for it in August, when the light changes. The sun has fallen in the sky and it's not quite as bright, the light is kind of yellow, and you realize fall is coming.

Now fall in Los Angeles lasts a long time. One can even argue there is no winter, we never get snow. Oh, of course every decade or two there's a dash in Topanga Canyon, at the far reaches of the Valley, but although we see the forties, it's never in the thirties during the day. And therefore it's like an extended beginning of school. When it's still new, when you're still decompressing, before it becomes a complete grind.

Then again, when I used to go to school, and I'm never going back, we never started before Labor Day. School in August? Unheard of. August was still SUMMER!

The summer ended with the Labor Day picnic at Jennings Beach, the Kentucky Fried Chicken and the corn on the cob and the doughnuts. And then you knew in a day or two, you'd be back in school. Although it wasn't an abrupt transition, there was always a down week in which your mother took you shopping for clothes and you went to the discount outlet for supplies and then, you were in the thick of things.

But one thing about August...the water was warm! I remember going on an extended canoe trip on the Allagash. We started in June on Moosehead Lake, in Maine. And we jumped in the water...

One expects the ocean on the north shore of Massachusetts to be cold, but not a lake.

But when the trip was over at the end of July, the water in the lake was not quite tepid, but it was comfortable.

Before that canoe trip I went to summer camp. First day camp, and then three years of overnight camp. There were two sessions, each a month long, July and August, and the first year we went in July but then we learned all the good things happened in August, so we switched months. The Olympics were the highlight of the camp year. And the closing ceremony, with handmade boats on the lake. You didn't want to miss those. But by the last week or two, it would be cold. You'd be huddled under your blanket...you know, when you go into the fetal position and scrunch the blanket around you.

For a while there it seems like summer will never end. And then one day while you're just minding your own business, exalting in the sun and the heat, you realize it's almost gone. Mother Nature has been grinding the gears of the seasons and it's inevitable, days will get shorter and cold will come.

And at first this is a phenomenon. A new school year, looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations. The summer seems so long. But as you get older the calendar speeds up, to the point where when summer begins, you're already contemplating its ending.

But these past two years have been so weird. It's not like I've fully enjoyed the summer, grasped it, gone on vacation, and now it's going to be fall already? September? Really?

And live in L.A. long enough and you yearn to return to the east. A week or two back there cures you of the desire, the day when your plans are canceled because of the rain seals the deal, but the rebirth in the spring is such a thing, and you take advantage of the summer, knowing it will be gone.

In the west we've got higher mountains. But on the east coast, all the snow can melt in a day. You can be skiing one day, and the next day it warms up and rains and the lifts close, it's all over. In the east you've got to get your days in, you never know when the season might end. And so many days are crappy, with bad weather, ice, you've got to take advantage of the good ones. But in the west? The ski season is endless, Mammoth is usually open until July. And ice? It doesn't really exist.

So out west...there aren't these lines of demarcation that there are everywhere else. Everything is available all the time, assuming you're willing to travel. Then again, westerners think nothing of driving for eight or ten hours, that's anathema on the east coast.

So you wake up one day and you realize time is passing.

But it gets even worse, you're being replaced along the way, they keep making new people. I watch these European TV shows with adults and they were born in the seventies, the eighties. Really? It's like I'm already over the hill.

And I also realize so much of what was important to me is not only unimportant to younger generations, they'll never even know about it. And it's all about touchstones, points of familiarity, that's why you can date someone decades younger, even marry them, but it's never completely satiating. You start singing the theme to "Car 54" and they're blank-faced. They know nothing about Toody and Muldoon.

And when the sun is shining brightly most of these thoughts do not go through my head. But when the world starts to die, when the light starts to fade and the grass and the trees begin to wither, I'm reminded, you're only here for a brief period of time and then you're gone, forgotten.

Oh, when you're young you think you're gonna leave your mark. And then you reach an age when you realize it's all a joke, no one will be remembered, and even two thousand years is the blink of an eye in the universe, and it's all about being happy while you're here. And money can buy you love, but get old enough and physical items become irrelevant. Oh, you want food and a roof over your head, but when someone old buys a fancy car to show off, you laugh, because you realize they haven't gotten the memo, they still think these things matter, that we're paying attention, wondering where we are on the totem pole, but we're not. We're just people trying to hang on, looking for our way, for some good times, some laughs, it's all about experiences, and many of those you don't even have to pay for, they can be as simple as playing with a toddler or reading a book on a porch.

Not that I'd give any advice. No one ever listens. Or they buy what you're saying not realizing every individual is different and you've got to find your own way, that's the journey of life, that too many don't take. You don't want to get old and realize you did it their way, instead of your way.

But each generation has to find out for itself. Each generation thinks it's indomitable, infallible, knows everything, until it suddenly realizes it does not. With age comes wisdom, you learn how much you don't know, and you focus on locating yourself in the universe more than your place in the rat race.

But the big wheel keeps on turning, the Earth keeps spinning, the seasons plow on whether you're paying attention or not.

But then one day you notice. And you want to put a drag on the system. But you can't, all you can do is awake and observe. And it's satisfying, but it's also painful.


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Records You Bought And Didn't Like-This Week On SiriusXM

Tune in today, August 17th, 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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Afghanistan

People don't care.

At best it's a high grossing film with hugely declining numbers after opening weekend that never plays on pay cable or a streaming service, that you can seek out if you want to but most people don't make the effort.

This is radically different from Vietnam. I remember watching the exit on television in a world where I never watched television, because there, but by the grace of god, went I.

The draft. You could get your ass shot off in a futile war. Why?

That was the difference. You hit eighteen and you were at risk. All those wankers worried about vaccine cards/databases are babies compared with those of us who had to register for the draft. You couldn't escape. If you were eighteen, they found you. Oh, you could go to Canada, but that was back before most of us had been there and realized how great it was. You were scared.

So, in Vietnam we were holding back Communism. There was even a name for it, the "Domino Theory." If we didn't fight in Vietnam, many more countries would fall to Communism and...

Yes, Communism was the bogeyman back then. We'd seen Khrushchev bang his shoe. We'd seen the wall go up in Berlin. There was the space race. It was us versus them.

And then Reagan solved the problem. WHAT?

Any student of Communism knows that it fell from within, that Reagan had almost nothing to do with it. Just like it's not really Biden's responsibility that Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, it was going to happen, it was just a matter of when we pulled out. In the west we were worried about religious governments and the mistreatment of women, then again, many in the U.S. are auguring for religious government and are involved in the personal health of women while they refuse to be inoculated against a pandemic. Don't try to employ logic, it doesn't apply.

So what was the enemy in Afghanistan? TERRORISM!

Then again, as soon as we invaded, the brass exited for Pakistan.

Then again, the focus was on Iraq, even though Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 9/11. And you wonder why people don't trust the government.

If you'd lived through Vietnam, you were against the incursion into Iraq. I wrote so, I was against it, check it out.

But America had changed. As a result of the Iranian hostage situation at the end of Carter's term. Now, it was all about aggression. Which isn't hard to believe if you listened to the music. The sixties were about peace and love, FM was unformatted, for hipsters, for explorers. But by time we hit the end of the seventies, we had years of formatted aggressive and meat and potatoes rock on FM in every hamlet and burg and this was the music that fed the yahooism of those who never had to face the draft, the bullies who hadn't been anywhere and thought the U.S. was the indomitable greatest country in the world without flaws.

And then it got worse.

Reagan's legacy is really income inequality. Maybe that will be pointed out in generations to come, after his anointment as a saint fades in the rearview mirror. Reagan lowered taxes on the rich and suddenly it was open season, everybody who was about love one another in the sixties was about getting theirs in the eighties. And Clinton just supercharged the whole thing and appeased the right along the way, eviscerating welfare benefits. Now we were not all in it together, now there were the workers and the lazy, the givers and the takers, the rich and the poor, and if you weren't a winner you were a loser, and denigrated by society.

And then came the internet. And suddenly billionaires were everywhere. They weren't just bankers. And along came social media, which put us all in our own hole with our own influences/news. And politics was no longer about making the sausage, but digging in your heels and fighting the other guy, in the case of the Republicans the leaders literally said they wanted to make sure Obama, and now Biden, got none of their ideas passed into law. This way, they could solidify their base like a high school basketball crowd and then...

The crowd took over the asylum. Suddenly, the rich on the right were no longer in control, but the rank and file, who used to be Democrats, but were ignored by the technocrats when globalization came a-calling. And people were pissed. And the Democrats missed it, the Republicans harnessed it, and then realized their traditional values of the unrestricted marketplace run by the elite no longer worked. Turned out the underclass on the right wanted health care just like the left. So what we've got now is a bunch of bloviating elected officials playing to a theoretical base whilst hurting their constituents at the same time. This is DeSantis, this is Abbott. In what other world does the government INSIST on not protecting its people? INSIST on a free-for-all? All in the name of freedom, when the truth is that term used to mean something back in the days of Communism, but now most of Europe is more free than the U.S. and the Taliban may require burkas, but it's an endless culture war in the U.S., we argue whether bakers have to bake cakes for gay weddings. Do people really care about this? No! But these are touch points elected officials believe will rile their base.

Like Benghazi. Quick, ask a Republican to find Benghazi on a map. Quick, ask ANYBODY in the U.S. to find Benghazi on a map! Almost no one can, because they just don't care, it was really a fight about Hillary Clinton, not the people who died over there.

So, the nature of our country has changed, yet the boomers running the nation think it's still the same. That we're horrified, absolutely horrified I tell you, that the Taliban overran Afghanistan in a matter of days and Afghans were crowding the airport. Cool pictures, but what does that have to do with me, the average American citizen? Our airports are chaos. We're fighting over masks on airplanes, duct-taping passengers to their seats, we don't even know how to fight for our own lives. And when we're confronted with the option to do so, to save ourselves, an incredible swath of the nation says no, we'll go unvaxxed and unmasked, screw collateral damage, we need our freedom! It's positively tribal, in many ways no different from Afghanistan!

And the Afghan president was powerless and the Mujahideen were braggarts without portfolio, never mind desire, and the Taliban walked back into power. Not radically different from the Republican takeover of 2016. How come we all assume tech will change constantly but not politics, not the temperature of our country? Then again, elected officials might have heard of TikTok, but they've never used it, and if you don't think the youth have power you don't understand the power of technology, its ability to rally and change minds. In many cases with disinformation.

So, it took twenty years to lose. Not that the outcome wasn't sealed when we started. The movie had played before, with the Russians, who spent almost a decade in Afghanistan and left with their tails between their legs, having accomplished nothing. Why did America think it was different? It never even asked that question. It just thought it was so powerful it could win anywhere. And it took twenty years for the nation to wake up and realize this was not true.

If you want something not to break, don't buy American. They keep telling us manufacturing should come back, but even our iPhones are made in Asia.

I'd never ever buy an American car. Except maybe a Tesla. But even that has me hesitating, because of their poor build quality.

You see Americans are all about lifestyle, they don't want to work too hard, and why should you, when you can't get ahead, when you can't win, when unions have been eviscerated and Jeff Bezos jets into space on the money he made off the backs of overworked warehouse employees? Check the numbers, Amazon is soon to become the biggest employer in America. And sure, that's Bezos's money, legally, but why weren't there higher taxes? And most Americans aren't even invested in the Wall Street game.

It's rigged.

So now we've got talking heads who were arguing about the culture wars yesterday opining about Afghanistan today. The game is bigger than the players. As in the subject is irrelevant, it's just about the endless arguing. And Lorraine Ali, an old rock critic who has become a TV critic for the "Los Angeles Times," has it right when she says these "news" outlets have nobody on the ground in Afghanistan, these far-flung places, so there hasn't been a continuing flow of news and the truth is all these stations quote the "New York Times," which everybody seems to hate because it's self-flagellating in public, trying to work out its woke issues in the light of day when every other outlet has an iron curtain, and doesn't buy into the right wing b.s. Yes, the right wing outlets telling us Trump won... The MyPillow guy has gotten much more coverage than anything happening in Afghanistan, check it out.

Lorraine Ali: "American TV ignored Afghanistan. Until parachuting in to watch it fall": https://lat.ms/3mafPG5

So, this week the spotlight shined on Afghanistan. Assuming you paid attention, and the truth is most people don't, check the TV news ratings, they're minuscule, it was horrifying. But most people probably saw a headline online and then moved on. As for evaluating what this means for America at large? People have lost the power to think. Schools are so worried kids might learn about slavery, or something triggering, that they don't teach students how to analyze, sift the truth from the dross. People are literally INCAPABLE of doing this. So it's all emotion, all the time. And emotion can't compete with facts. Then again, we learned in the last administration that facts are fungible, Kellyanne Conway literally told us that, and now the truth is literally up for grabs.

So, Afghanistan is really far away. Many Americans hate Muslims in principle. People are hurting so much that they want to take care of America first, instead of spending trillions overseas. As for the long term impact...well, get in line, behind climate change and so much more. The young care about the future, but the old are too busy balancing the interests of fossil fuel providers, weighing business consequences, while America continues to drift, like a sailboat with a luffing sail.

Meanwhile, the Delta variant is raging and businesses are getting hurt (that's a fact, you can read it in the "Wall Street Journal") and despite tight Covid restrictions California's economy hummed and the state's coffers are loaded with dough and...

If you can make sense of it you're spending a lot of time paying attention.

But most people don't have either the time or the inclination. Their priority is not Afghanistan, it's not the news, and since the news became entertainment, and we all know it, why should we take it seriously now?

But if you were at home, eighteen years old, worried about being shipped overseas to a place no one you've ever known has been to, and risk getting your ass shot off in a futile war, you'd be very concerned. You'd actually be happy the U.S. pulled out. Because it would mean you were saved. Also, you'd be questioning these foreign incursions. All in the name of humanity, your own safety. But ever since the all volunteer army came into being politicians send our youth overseas to be killed willy-nilly and...

The rest of the populace just say they volunteered for it.

But the truth is so many of them had no other option. They needed the money. Or they saw no viable future. Come on, without a college degree it's almost impossible to get ahead in America. One can say that the army is college for the underclass. They learn discipline, a trade, and hopefully this will pay dividends when they come back to the mainland. But that's quite a risk, one the average American DOESN'T WANT TO TAKE!

So the truth is we've got no investment in Afghanistan, almost none whatsoever, except for the troops who fought and died over there for nothing, just like they did in Vietnam, and sure, we'll get some movies down the line, but that won't replace your legs, never mind your life.

Then again Americans don't even want to protect their own lives, they'd rather play Russian Roulette, go unvaccinated believing that they won't get the Delta variant and end up on a ventilator and possibly die. Yes, you see the losers of this game in the news every damn day and the unvaccinated don't care, do you think they really care about Afghanistan?

We shouldn't have been there, certainly not for this long. But people are so afraid of TERRORISM!

But the real terrorism, cyber-crime, goes unaddressed. Ergo the constant compromise of government computers, never mind cases of ransomware. But we're still busy building infrastructure for a ground war that will never happen while our own infrastructure can't be fixed. Yes, read about the trillions spent in Afghanistan basically for nothing and then think about the pothole that ripped apart your tire and bent your rim. And you wonder why people are angry. We need to focus more from the bottom up as opposed to the top down. We've got to educate, inform and take care of the disadvantaged. We've got to give them opportunity. But we can't, because we're in the midst of a tribal war.

As for the Afghanistan pullout causing a hit to our international reputation...the truth is America has fallen in the eyes of the rest of the world already. Just go somewhere and listen. But no, better to be an ostrich believing a fantasy until it's all over.

Now don't lay that America, love it or leave it, b.s. on me. Of course there are great things in the U.S. And sure, people clamor to come here, but not everybody. Because it's pretty damn good in many countries. And the real reason people come to America is economic opportunity, which we quash at every turn, making sure the poor stay that way and the rich lord over them.

Used to be we could count on artists to lay down truth. Yes, musicians told us the Vietnam War was a bogus effort with huge costs. But today the headlines in music are about brand extension and wealth. It's little different from wrestling. And the movies are about fictional superheroes, there's literally no truth there. There's a vacuum of truth and honesty but it's very clear why that's so because...IT DOESN'T PAY! And life is tough, and unlike in the sixties and seventies you can't survive on minimum wage.

So, this Afghanistan story will blow over, and it won't have legs, except for politicians trotting it out as denigration of Biden, without talking about Bush II and Cheney getting us into this mess, never mind Obama and Trump continuing it. We've got the blame game. Hoping you'll vote for the "innocent," assuming you can vote at all. That's right, in today's America not only can you not make it economically, you can't even vote.

So keep telling us how bad it is in Afghanistan, how poorly it was handled. If you want us to slow down and look can you at least have some nudity, some TikTok clips, have some fan fiction about a superhero coming in to save the day? Because otherwise...WE'RE NOT INTERESTED!

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