Tune in Saturday August 19th to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.
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Friday, 18 August 2023
Mailbag
Subject: From Tamara re Lahaina fires
My son is eight years old and lives to surf Breakwall & Harbor breaks in Lahaina. He does the HSA competitive circuit. My daughter is 3 and a half and just two weeks ago she stood up on her own board. She likes to sing to the big waves. They also skateboard at the Lahaina Skate Park where our community hosts Friday Night Skate with free food and gear for anyone who comes. We live in old town Lahaina, one block from Front Street. We ran out with the shirts on our backs. We made it out. Hundreds did not. Our homes are ash. Our town is gone. We were locked into an inferno.
There has been a lot of faulty reporting on this, so I'd like to give you what I experienced, and as a former journalist I take my facts very serious.
We live on Wainee Street. One block from Front Street across from the historic Prison. At 4am our power went out due to hurricane winds. Power goes out a lot in Lahaina. So this is not unusual. We gathered our friends to come have lunch because we have a generator an no one has power. We had 15 people at our house. Earlier in the day we were told there was a fire but it was 100% contained. I never got that alert. Some friends did. The winds got so bad that our fence flew off, pieces of our roof. Still no alerts. Then we smelled smoke we walked outside and within seconds it was in our backyard. We grabbed the kids and ran with the shirts on our backs. I was driving the car with my son and two boys we watch out for who live at the homeless shelter. The fire was chasing us from behind. We got to the main road and it was gridlock. A power line was down blocking the way out. Again. No sirens. No evacuations. No one directing traffic. Fire rushing at us. When we finally through we saw three workers with chainsaws cutting the pole to pieces to unblock the road. Only three workers! People who left after we did not get out. Unconfirmed deaths from the police we know is hundreds. Families burned alive in their cars. We reunited the shelter boys with their mom and siblings the next day. She told us some people at the shelter had no transportation and just waiting for the fire to get them. This is what I saw. This is what happened to me and my family and community. Everyone knows Front Street. What you don't know is that a few blocks up is lower income housing, a homeless shelter, generational hawaii homes. This is Hawaiian land. We must keep Lahaina in Hawaiian hands. I'm in the board of a local non profit. We've gotten in emergency supplies. We have been to ground zero. We have seen the cadaver dogs looking for bodies. We know a firefighter who said they lost water pressure during the fire and could not get water to fight the flames that day.
What happened is criminal. What is happening now is criminal too. Land grabs. Barricades. Blocked access.
People are angry. Rebuilding will be Herculean. But we are Lahaina Strong. I want to give a special shout out to my friends in the music business who have come through for me, you know who you are and I'm forever grateful.
There are many organizations to give to. I only ask that you give to a Hawaiian organization not a multi national one. The one I'm on the board of a small and focused on underprivileged youth. Manamentors.com. We will take care of the kids of Lahaina the best we can and partner with real community leaders and get them emergency supplies and hope.
Mahalo
Tamara Conniff
____________________________________
Subject: Colonoscopy
Hi Bob,
A few weeks back you were advising everyone to get a colonoscopy. I had been putting it off for ten years. I turned 60 on July 7th and finally got one. And what I thought was bleeding hemorrhoids was Stage 2 Rectal Cancer. My Oncologist said every one thinks they have bleeding hemorrhoids. Fortunately, my wife works in administration at the cancer center of a local hospital. So everything has been moving along at lightning speed. I've had my scans, it hasn't spread. But I'm looking at chemotherapy for three months then surgery. I should recover completely. But if I'd gotten my first colonoscopy at 50, all of this could have been avoided, because this tumor started as a polyp. Which is much easier to deal with then a 3 inch tumor. One of the Oncology nurses who has been employed 30 years at the hospital told me she's seeing colorectal cancer in adults as young as 30 now, unheard of in years past. I'd advise every adult over 30 to get checked. . Yes, the colon prep is annoying and aggravating, but what's one day in the context of the rest of your life?
A Colonoscopy Evangelist,
Sean Brown
Asheville, NC
____________________________________
Subject: Re: Not Everybody Has Talent
I love you Bob. Right on the money. I haven't done any sets for about 3 months. You can bet that the Chateaux and all the other clubs will be seeing me do my stuff for five minutes at at a time to get my sea legs. Often I do sit in the back of a club watching comedians of all different types of experience. And usually I say to myself, who encouraged this? Either because they're not funny or just plain vanilla. Like everyone else. When I do see someone with a true comedic voice, taking risks, it's thrilling. I'm hopeful every time someone hits the stage. Here's a thought. Don't follow your dreams, do what you're great at. And if you're oh so lucky, your dreams are what you're great at.
All my best,
Jeff Garlin
(Comedian of some notoriety)
____________________________________
Subject: RE: Not Everybody Has Talent
Hi Bob,
You are spot on regarding Steven Wright's talent and humor. Steven was in a couple of classes with me at Emerson College in Boston in the 1970s. Several fellow students thought he was weird, while I found him clever and humorously understated. Being understated in comedy is hard to sell unless you are seriously good at it. He is.
In one class, I heard Steven behind me talking to himself about buying a cordless extension cord and not knowing where he left it. He was working on his act. That's what talent does. He had to exercise a thought that had just come to him.
Other talented and successful comedy classmates, Denis Leary and Eddie Brill, were louder and bigger than life. That was the perfect contrast for Wright. He had his own lane, which helped when he hit the road on the comedy club circuit.
He still cracks me up.
Don Thomas
____________________________________
From: David Sutton
To: Bob Lefsetz
Subject: Re: Lucinda Williams At The Ford
Hey Bob
My P-bass you mentioned at the Lucinda gig reminded me of when I first got it on Christmas morning when I was 16. It was brand new and I remember seeing my reflection perfectly when I opened the case. I try not to think of all that paint in my bloodstream.
David Sutton
From: Bob Lefsetz
To: David Sutton
?Funny, I got e-mail saying it was a replica, bought worn down/used!!
From: David Sutton
To: Bob Lefsetz
Had they only noticed the other parts of the bass that only a young player would regretfully do to it …….having to put on a generic replacement neck after pounding out the frets on the original neck for his obligatory Jaco Pastorius phase. As well as adding a 3 lb replacement bridge which makes it the heaviest bass I've ever strapped on….
Def NOT a newer "relic" bass.
David Sutton
____________________________________
From: Peter Noone
Subject: Re: Play Live
Sometimes if you are already a star it is even more difficult to stop the people dancing.
The main difference today is the lack of enthusiasm for live music, which can't be photographed
When I was a teenager I went to the twisted wheel in manchester and the Spencer Davis group backed two American girls and at around 3 am Steve Winwood came out with a12 string and played and sang Georgia on my mind and just like seeing the Beatles for the first time in a field in Urmston I knew…..live was and is always the truth in music, unless you have midi running you.
____________________________________
Subject: Bill Payne
Thanks for giving us a chance to hear from Bill Payne. In addition to being an amazing presence behind a keyboard, he is a very nice guy who genuinely loves music. My band, Several Dudes, reformed a few years ago to keep alive the memory of a bandmate, Nick Stevens, who was hit and killed while cycling. We have been writing new music and raising money for cycling safety advocacy.
Our fallen bandmate's wife sent us his old lyric notebook which included lyrics to a song called Your Heart. At the top of the page was a posta it note where he wrote: "Dude. New Tune. Very Little Feat". We went all in on the Little Feat vibe when we wrote the music and somehow got it to Bill Payne. Bill replied that he loved the tune and had to be on it. Two days later he sent us perfect piano and organ parts and simply asked that we make a donation to one of his favorite charities - Feeding America. The world needs more Bill Payne's!
Devon Engel
Scottsdale, Arizona
____________________________________
From: Dave Frey
Subject: Re: Music Burgeons
Hi Bob,
I that hope you're well. Just got around to reading this one and wanted to share an opinion I agree with. When my son was 17-days old he was hospitalized for about a week with a stomach condition that was cured. He had an excellent doctor (Dr Lee) who was well versed in both Eastern and Western medicine and I learned he was also involved in early-human sensory development studies with the university. I got to know him and shared that there were some concerning challenges (at the time) with the rapid decline of bundled physical music products. He reassured me that music wasn't going anywhere, ever. Though not scientifically proven his theory was that because sound is our first and oldest sense that there's a tremendous amount of unconscious / subconscious activity connected to it. In his opinion sound is turned on in the womb at at 6-months because it's also tied to balance and that babies are at a size where being upright is helpful. Not that many are consciously aware of it but music is a big memory trigger too. When I hear "Happy Together" I'm right back at Jarvis Street Beach, summer of 67 with Dick Biondi on WLS blasting out of every transistor radio. Good times. Dr Lee also said that research was proving there's a core human connection to sound. Fore-instance a person can feel "at home" by sounds they may know little about. Like the sound of the LIRR instead of the El, robins instead of starlings, the wind off of Lake Michigan instead of the Mississippi, all that. Again, I hope that you're well and keep up the good work.
All the best - Dave
____________________________________
From: Robin Ruse-Rinehart
Subject: Jerry Moss
OK I'm outing my 20-something self as clueless but I love this story: I was a film/TV production person until there were back to back strikes of actors and writers in the early '80s. I was lucky to get a job as the receptionist at Irving Azoff's Front Line Management, where one of my first tasks was to update the Rolodex (!).
I called A&M Records and innocently asked, "Is Jerry Moss still with your company?".
The switchboard operator waited a beat and replied, "What do you think the 'M' stands for?".
Pretty sure I was the best laugh on La Brea that day!
Robin
____________________________________
Subject: Re: The Kesha/Dr. Luke Story
As the music editor of The Times, I think it's worth me pointing out to you and to your readers that this particular story is what we call a "subscriber exclusive," which is a designation we often give to deeply reported, investigative stories. It's true that these "subscriber exclusives" may attract less overall readers than stories that can be accessed more easily, but they also prompt new readers to become subscribers, which is why we package them that way. In fact, the Dr. Luke/Kesha story brought in more new subscribers to the LAT than any other story the paper published in the past 30 days, a testament to the great journalism of Harriet Ryan and Matt Hamilton.
Best,
Craig Marks
____________________________________
Subject: The Ladder
Bob:
Overall, The Ladder was really good advice for artists with the exception of #6.
As a nobody ex-manager I am biased, but I have to stick up for all the young nobody managers you're throwing under the bus with their clients.
Outside of being an artist, being a manager is the toughest gig in the business bar none.
How did all the big managers get to where they are? It's simple: they managed big artists.
For all the hard work that goes into managing, a lot of the success is luck—right artist at the right time.
As a manager you can do all the right things and your clients don't succeed. An artist can have a manager who does a lot wrong and still have success.
Almost all of my former clients were managed somebodies before me, but those somebodies were not able to get the major label deals, publishing deals, tours, syncs, commercial radio play, press, and playlists that I got for my clients. I stopped managing in 2018 before TikTok and other short form video platforms that power today's marketing exploded, so I didn't have experience with that.
If you're an artist with a young nobody manager who is smart, resourceful, ambitious, has your best interest at heart and is moving your career forward, don't fire them when the bigtime manager tries to poach you. If your young nobody is all of the above, they'll learn what they don't know and make the connections they need to make to help your career.
In my time working for big management companies and managers before going out on my own, I saw many artists leave their nobodies with the thought that this somebody was going to make them a star like his or her other big clients. In every case it didn't happen. At the first sign of trouble or a downturn in the artists' careers, those somebodies checked out and eventually decided that the up-and-coming artists weren't the right fit.
Also, there's so much more to managing than making deals and marketing. Anticipating and solving problems is a huge part of the job as is the psychology of working with creative and, many times, sensitive human beings—not to mention all the organizing and planning it takes to make sure all aspects of an artist's career run smoothly. Yes, experience helps with all of this, but it's not a prerequisite for navigating these complexities successfully.
I will agree that not signing a contract with a nobody is good advice. I never had contracts with artists. Some bigtime managers don't either.
If your manager is busting their ass for you and getting results, don't leave because you think there's greener grass on the other side. You just might just find yourself in a drought.
Seth Keller?SKM ARTISTS
____________________________________
Subject: Re: Don't Boast
??????????????????????????????Amen!
This has probably happened to you in some form or fashion, or probably a lot.
I'm at a gig or in public I'm hanging out with "Guy Dudenband" ??????????????????????????????whom I just met through a friend, he doesn't know me from Joe schmoe, we're talking about life, music, the Sox, just shooting the shit like new bros.
Then up comes drunken sceneguy ??????????????????????????????and he slobbers out "oh wow you met Dan, he is Mr booking guy he should book your band!"
And suddenly the conversation that was going so nicely turns into "what can you do for me we've played here and here and we really want to play ??????????the house of blues can you get us that gig?"
And the other variation, the neighbor's cousin who plays in a crappy cover band. "You should talk to Dan he works in the music business."
All my close friends and circle are all under specific instructions to never tell anyone what I do without my permission.
Seriously.
When I meet someone new and they ask me what I do I tell them I work in the toy department or that I'm in logistical consulting until I sus out whether they have an uncle who plays in a band.
Dan Millen
____________________________________
Subject: Re: Don't Boast
I've been in sales for over 20 years. Early on the best piece of advice I was given was, "You were born with two ears and one mouth, use them proportionately." So many salesmen talk themselves out of a deal because they can't shut their mouths. All of these egomaniacs are like this in their private lives too and most of what they boast about isn't even true.
Neil Johnson
____________________________________
Subject: Re: Don't Boast
Single biggest lesson I ever got in business was from an old school sales manager. He pinned a note to the inside of my blazer that simply said STFU. I learned to, over time, and it's paid dividends ever since.
You got two ears and one mouth for a reason.
Listen twice as much as you speak.
Michael Leonard
____________________________________
Subject: Re: Don't Boast
This is spot on. I've tour managed some famous artists, and I can't tell you how many times they were more engaged with the handful of people that were actually mindful and confident enough to steer the conversation in a direction other than their music. Their hobbies, their childhood, where they grew up, etc… that's where the artist was engaged.
Do you know how we knew that conversation engaged the artist? Because the artist talked about those conversations once we left the venue and we're on our bus to the next town. All the other conversations? Nobody remembers.
Trinidad Sanchez III
____________________________________
Subject: Re: Don't Boast
…a good ol' country bus driver once told us…"if you gotta tell you are…ya' ain't".
Mitchell Fox
____________________________________
Subject: Re: Don't Boast
Man, this one REALLY hit home. As a session musician in LA, it was always a delicate balancing act of trying to let people know you have some credit and credentials while also not looking like you're name dropping. This is especially true when meeting someone above your pay grade, like a more established player, producer, manager, etc.
I learned this lesson even before I moved to LA when I sat next to the guitar player from my favorite band in the world at a wedding reception in upstate NY. In fact, I asked if the seat was taken before I sat down, so I got permission to join the table. Then, another fan came over and talked this guy's ear off for 10 minutes, and he only left when the reception was starting. The guitarist looked exasperated, and I leaned over to him and asked him sympathetically "that's got to happen to you a lot huh?" He answered "Yeah" with a look that gave all the frustration of his emotions. "A lot!" He added.
Lesson learned. Even though I was a massive fan and was just about to move to LA, I didn't speak a word about music to him. Only when it came up in conversation did I mention my plans. My discretion, and my date getting along with his wife, was the reason I left the reception with his home phone number…given to me unsolicited.
During my time in LA as a session player, I had perfected my "7 second elevator introduction". If it was a musician above my station and I wanted to meet them cold, I'd walk up to them directly, look them in the eye, extend my hand and say "Hi ______. I'm Christopher Maloney. (Casually say) I've worked with (drop two good names here), and I just want to tell you that I like (say honest compliment about them)."
This did a few things. They knew I wasn't just a fan and that I had SOME credibility, but then I immediately turned the attention to them and gave them a sincere compliment from a contemporary (or at least I'd hope they'd see it that way). They'd always say thank you, and then I'd immediately ask a non-music question that could get a conversation started. I could tell by their response to this quick interaction whether or not they wanted to continue speaking to me. If so, cool. If not, I'd say "anyway, I just wanted to say a quick hi. I appreciate talking to you".
It was the same whether I'd be cold calling managers to get on a tour, producers to record on a track or any other interaction.
This worked everyone except for meeting John Entwistle at NAMM. He gripped my extended hand with one arm while simultaneously pulling me past him with his other. I didn't even get my first name out before I was behind him and he was ten feet away. It was the coolest move I'd ever seen, though my friends that witnessed it never let me live it down.
Anyway, your advice was spot on!
-Christopher Maloney
www.practicewarriors.com
____________________________________
Subject: Re: Don't Boast
One time my band got to open for One Republic on tour. Ryan Tedder threw a BBQ in the parking lot after the second or third show. We were all a bit intimidated, being the baby band & first of three, but I mustered up the courage to ask him if he needed help with the grill. My brother is a chef, I told him. We talked about cheeseburgers for 30 minutes and it was delightful. Didn't bring up music once.
Zac Taylor
____________________________________
From: LEO MUNTER
Subject: Re: Don't Boast
Bob-
I remember when I was hanging with George Harrison and Ringo and we began talking about our mutual friend Bob Dylan. George said, "Ya know, I was telling Eric (Clapton) just the other day that I always remember Bob's advice to me. Bob said, 'No one likes a name dropper!'"
Yes. Bad look. No one cares!!!
Leo
My son is eight years old and lives to surf Breakwall & Harbor breaks in Lahaina. He does the HSA competitive circuit. My daughter is 3 and a half and just two weeks ago she stood up on her own board. She likes to sing to the big waves. They also skateboard at the Lahaina Skate Park where our community hosts Friday Night Skate with free food and gear for anyone who comes. We live in old town Lahaina, one block from Front Street. We ran out with the shirts on our backs. We made it out. Hundreds did not. Our homes are ash. Our town is gone. We were locked into an inferno.
There has been a lot of faulty reporting on this, so I'd like to give you what I experienced, and as a former journalist I take my facts very serious.
We live on Wainee Street. One block from Front Street across from the historic Prison. At 4am our power went out due to hurricane winds. Power goes out a lot in Lahaina. So this is not unusual. We gathered our friends to come have lunch because we have a generator an no one has power. We had 15 people at our house. Earlier in the day we were told there was a fire but it was 100% contained. I never got that alert. Some friends did. The winds got so bad that our fence flew off, pieces of our roof. Still no alerts. Then we smelled smoke we walked outside and within seconds it was in our backyard. We grabbed the kids and ran with the shirts on our backs. I was driving the car with my son and two boys we watch out for who live at the homeless shelter. The fire was chasing us from behind. We got to the main road and it was gridlock. A power line was down blocking the way out. Again. No sirens. No evacuations. No one directing traffic. Fire rushing at us. When we finally through we saw three workers with chainsaws cutting the pole to pieces to unblock the road. Only three workers! People who left after we did not get out. Unconfirmed deaths from the police we know is hundreds. Families burned alive in their cars. We reunited the shelter boys with their mom and siblings the next day. She told us some people at the shelter had no transportation and just waiting for the fire to get them. This is what I saw. This is what happened to me and my family and community. Everyone knows Front Street. What you don't know is that a few blocks up is lower income housing, a homeless shelter, generational hawaii homes. This is Hawaiian land. We must keep Lahaina in Hawaiian hands. I'm in the board of a local non profit. We've gotten in emergency supplies. We have been to ground zero. We have seen the cadaver dogs looking for bodies. We know a firefighter who said they lost water pressure during the fire and could not get water to fight the flames that day.
What happened is criminal. What is happening now is criminal too. Land grabs. Barricades. Blocked access.
People are angry. Rebuilding will be Herculean. But we are Lahaina Strong. I want to give a special shout out to my friends in the music business who have come through for me, you know who you are and I'm forever grateful.
There are many organizations to give to. I only ask that you give to a Hawaiian organization not a multi national one. The one I'm on the board of a small and focused on underprivileged youth. Manamentors.com. We will take care of the kids of Lahaina the best we can and partner with real community leaders and get them emergency supplies and hope.
Mahalo
Tamara Conniff
____________________________________
Subject: Colonoscopy
Hi Bob,
A few weeks back you were advising everyone to get a colonoscopy. I had been putting it off for ten years. I turned 60 on July 7th and finally got one. And what I thought was bleeding hemorrhoids was Stage 2 Rectal Cancer. My Oncologist said every one thinks they have bleeding hemorrhoids. Fortunately, my wife works in administration at the cancer center of a local hospital. So everything has been moving along at lightning speed. I've had my scans, it hasn't spread. But I'm looking at chemotherapy for three months then surgery. I should recover completely. But if I'd gotten my first colonoscopy at 50, all of this could have been avoided, because this tumor started as a polyp. Which is much easier to deal with then a 3 inch tumor. One of the Oncology nurses who has been employed 30 years at the hospital told me she's seeing colorectal cancer in adults as young as 30 now, unheard of in years past. I'd advise every adult over 30 to get checked. . Yes, the colon prep is annoying and aggravating, but what's one day in the context of the rest of your life?
A Colonoscopy Evangelist,
Sean Brown
Asheville, NC
____________________________________
Subject: Re: Not Everybody Has Talent
I love you Bob. Right on the money. I haven't done any sets for about 3 months. You can bet that the Chateaux and all the other clubs will be seeing me do my stuff for five minutes at at a time to get my sea legs. Often I do sit in the back of a club watching comedians of all different types of experience. And usually I say to myself, who encouraged this? Either because they're not funny or just plain vanilla. Like everyone else. When I do see someone with a true comedic voice, taking risks, it's thrilling. I'm hopeful every time someone hits the stage. Here's a thought. Don't follow your dreams, do what you're great at. And if you're oh so lucky, your dreams are what you're great at.
All my best,
Jeff Garlin
(Comedian of some notoriety)
____________________________________
Subject: RE: Not Everybody Has Talent
Hi Bob,
You are spot on regarding Steven Wright's talent and humor. Steven was in a couple of classes with me at Emerson College in Boston in the 1970s. Several fellow students thought he was weird, while I found him clever and humorously understated. Being understated in comedy is hard to sell unless you are seriously good at it. He is.
In one class, I heard Steven behind me talking to himself about buying a cordless extension cord and not knowing where he left it. He was working on his act. That's what talent does. He had to exercise a thought that had just come to him.
Other talented and successful comedy classmates, Denis Leary and Eddie Brill, were louder and bigger than life. That was the perfect contrast for Wright. He had his own lane, which helped when he hit the road on the comedy club circuit.
He still cracks me up.
Don Thomas
____________________________________
From: David Sutton
To: Bob Lefsetz
Subject: Re: Lucinda Williams At The Ford
Hey Bob
My P-bass you mentioned at the Lucinda gig reminded me of when I first got it on Christmas morning when I was 16. It was brand new and I remember seeing my reflection perfectly when I opened the case. I try not to think of all that paint in my bloodstream.
David Sutton
From: Bob Lefsetz
To: David Sutton
?Funny, I got e-mail saying it was a replica, bought worn down/used!!
From: David Sutton
To: Bob Lefsetz
Had they only noticed the other parts of the bass that only a young player would regretfully do to it …….having to put on a generic replacement neck after pounding out the frets on the original neck for his obligatory Jaco Pastorius phase. As well as adding a 3 lb replacement bridge which makes it the heaviest bass I've ever strapped on….
Def NOT a newer "relic" bass.
David Sutton
____________________________________
From: Peter Noone
Subject: Re: Play Live
Sometimes if you are already a star it is even more difficult to stop the people dancing.
The main difference today is the lack of enthusiasm for live music, which can't be photographed
When I was a teenager I went to the twisted wheel in manchester and the Spencer Davis group backed two American girls and at around 3 am Steve Winwood came out with a12 string and played and sang Georgia on my mind and just like seeing the Beatles for the first time in a field in Urmston I knew…..live was and is always the truth in music, unless you have midi running you.
____________________________________
Subject: Bill Payne
Thanks for giving us a chance to hear from Bill Payne. In addition to being an amazing presence behind a keyboard, he is a very nice guy who genuinely loves music. My band, Several Dudes, reformed a few years ago to keep alive the memory of a bandmate, Nick Stevens, who was hit and killed while cycling. We have been writing new music and raising money for cycling safety advocacy.
Our fallen bandmate's wife sent us his old lyric notebook which included lyrics to a song called Your Heart. At the top of the page was a posta it note where he wrote: "Dude. New Tune. Very Little Feat". We went all in on the Little Feat vibe when we wrote the music and somehow got it to Bill Payne. Bill replied that he loved the tune and had to be on it. Two days later he sent us perfect piano and organ parts and simply asked that we make a donation to one of his favorite charities - Feeding America. The world needs more Bill Payne's!
Devon Engel
Scottsdale, Arizona
____________________________________
From: Dave Frey
Subject: Re: Music Burgeons
Hi Bob,
I that hope you're well. Just got around to reading this one and wanted to share an opinion I agree with. When my son was 17-days old he was hospitalized for about a week with a stomach condition that was cured. He had an excellent doctor (Dr Lee) who was well versed in both Eastern and Western medicine and I learned he was also involved in early-human sensory development studies with the university. I got to know him and shared that there were some concerning challenges (at the time) with the rapid decline of bundled physical music products. He reassured me that music wasn't going anywhere, ever. Though not scientifically proven his theory was that because sound is our first and oldest sense that there's a tremendous amount of unconscious / subconscious activity connected to it. In his opinion sound is turned on in the womb at at 6-months because it's also tied to balance and that babies are at a size where being upright is helpful. Not that many are consciously aware of it but music is a big memory trigger too. When I hear "Happy Together" I'm right back at Jarvis Street Beach, summer of 67 with Dick Biondi on WLS blasting out of every transistor radio. Good times. Dr Lee also said that research was proving there's a core human connection to sound. Fore-instance a person can feel "at home" by sounds they may know little about. Like the sound of the LIRR instead of the El, robins instead of starlings, the wind off of Lake Michigan instead of the Mississippi, all that. Again, I hope that you're well and keep up the good work.
All the best - Dave
____________________________________
From: Robin Ruse-Rinehart
Subject: Jerry Moss
OK I'm outing my 20-something self as clueless but I love this story: I was a film/TV production person until there were back to back strikes of actors and writers in the early '80s. I was lucky to get a job as the receptionist at Irving Azoff's Front Line Management, where one of my first tasks was to update the Rolodex (!).
I called A&M Records and innocently asked, "Is Jerry Moss still with your company?".
The switchboard operator waited a beat and replied, "What do you think the 'M' stands for?".
Pretty sure I was the best laugh on La Brea that day!
Robin
____________________________________
Subject: Re: The Kesha/Dr. Luke Story
As the music editor of The Times, I think it's worth me pointing out to you and to your readers that this particular story is what we call a "subscriber exclusive," which is a designation we often give to deeply reported, investigative stories. It's true that these "subscriber exclusives" may attract less overall readers than stories that can be accessed more easily, but they also prompt new readers to become subscribers, which is why we package them that way. In fact, the Dr. Luke/Kesha story brought in more new subscribers to the LAT than any other story the paper published in the past 30 days, a testament to the great journalism of Harriet Ryan and Matt Hamilton.
Best,
Craig Marks
____________________________________
Subject: The Ladder
Bob:
Overall, The Ladder was really good advice for artists with the exception of #6.
As a nobody ex-manager I am biased, but I have to stick up for all the young nobody managers you're throwing under the bus with their clients.
Outside of being an artist, being a manager is the toughest gig in the business bar none.
How did all the big managers get to where they are? It's simple: they managed big artists.
For all the hard work that goes into managing, a lot of the success is luck—right artist at the right time.
As a manager you can do all the right things and your clients don't succeed. An artist can have a manager who does a lot wrong and still have success.
Almost all of my former clients were managed somebodies before me, but those somebodies were not able to get the major label deals, publishing deals, tours, syncs, commercial radio play, press, and playlists that I got for my clients. I stopped managing in 2018 before TikTok and other short form video platforms that power today's marketing exploded, so I didn't have experience with that.
If you're an artist with a young nobody manager who is smart, resourceful, ambitious, has your best interest at heart and is moving your career forward, don't fire them when the bigtime manager tries to poach you. If your young nobody is all of the above, they'll learn what they don't know and make the connections they need to make to help your career.
In my time working for big management companies and managers before going out on my own, I saw many artists leave their nobodies with the thought that this somebody was going to make them a star like his or her other big clients. In every case it didn't happen. At the first sign of trouble or a downturn in the artists' careers, those somebodies checked out and eventually decided that the up-and-coming artists weren't the right fit.
Also, there's so much more to managing than making deals and marketing. Anticipating and solving problems is a huge part of the job as is the psychology of working with creative and, many times, sensitive human beings—not to mention all the organizing and planning it takes to make sure all aspects of an artist's career run smoothly. Yes, experience helps with all of this, but it's not a prerequisite for navigating these complexities successfully.
I will agree that not signing a contract with a nobody is good advice. I never had contracts with artists. Some bigtime managers don't either.
If your manager is busting their ass for you and getting results, don't leave because you think there's greener grass on the other side. You just might just find yourself in a drought.
Seth Keller?SKM ARTISTS
____________________________________
Subject: Re: Don't Boast
??????????????????????????????Amen!
This has probably happened to you in some form or fashion, or probably a lot.
I'm at a gig or in public I'm hanging out with "Guy Dudenband" ??????????????????????????????whom I just met through a friend, he doesn't know me from Joe schmoe, we're talking about life, music, the Sox, just shooting the shit like new bros.
Then up comes drunken sceneguy ??????????????????????????????and he slobbers out "oh wow you met Dan, he is Mr booking guy he should book your band!"
And suddenly the conversation that was going so nicely turns into "what can you do for me we've played here and here and we really want to play ??????????the house of blues can you get us that gig?"
And the other variation, the neighbor's cousin who plays in a crappy cover band. "You should talk to Dan he works in the music business."
All my close friends and circle are all under specific instructions to never tell anyone what I do without my permission.
Seriously.
When I meet someone new and they ask me what I do I tell them I work in the toy department or that I'm in logistical consulting until I sus out whether they have an uncle who plays in a band.
Dan Millen
____________________________________
Subject: Re: Don't Boast
I've been in sales for over 20 years. Early on the best piece of advice I was given was, "You were born with two ears and one mouth, use them proportionately." So many salesmen talk themselves out of a deal because they can't shut their mouths. All of these egomaniacs are like this in their private lives too and most of what they boast about isn't even true.
Neil Johnson
____________________________________
Subject: Re: Don't Boast
Single biggest lesson I ever got in business was from an old school sales manager. He pinned a note to the inside of my blazer that simply said STFU. I learned to, over time, and it's paid dividends ever since.
You got two ears and one mouth for a reason.
Listen twice as much as you speak.
Michael Leonard
____________________________________
Subject: Re: Don't Boast
This is spot on. I've tour managed some famous artists, and I can't tell you how many times they were more engaged with the handful of people that were actually mindful and confident enough to steer the conversation in a direction other than their music. Their hobbies, their childhood, where they grew up, etc… that's where the artist was engaged.
Do you know how we knew that conversation engaged the artist? Because the artist talked about those conversations once we left the venue and we're on our bus to the next town. All the other conversations? Nobody remembers.
Trinidad Sanchez III
____________________________________
Subject: Re: Don't Boast
…a good ol' country bus driver once told us…"if you gotta tell you are…ya' ain't".
Mitchell Fox
____________________________________
Subject: Re: Don't Boast
Man, this one REALLY hit home. As a session musician in LA, it was always a delicate balancing act of trying to let people know you have some credit and credentials while also not looking like you're name dropping. This is especially true when meeting someone above your pay grade, like a more established player, producer, manager, etc.
I learned this lesson even before I moved to LA when I sat next to the guitar player from my favorite band in the world at a wedding reception in upstate NY. In fact, I asked if the seat was taken before I sat down, so I got permission to join the table. Then, another fan came over and talked this guy's ear off for 10 minutes, and he only left when the reception was starting. The guitarist looked exasperated, and I leaned over to him and asked him sympathetically "that's got to happen to you a lot huh?" He answered "Yeah" with a look that gave all the frustration of his emotions. "A lot!" He added.
Lesson learned. Even though I was a massive fan and was just about to move to LA, I didn't speak a word about music to him. Only when it came up in conversation did I mention my plans. My discretion, and my date getting along with his wife, was the reason I left the reception with his home phone number…given to me unsolicited.
During my time in LA as a session player, I had perfected my "7 second elevator introduction". If it was a musician above my station and I wanted to meet them cold, I'd walk up to them directly, look them in the eye, extend my hand and say "Hi ______. I'm Christopher Maloney. (Casually say) I've worked with (drop two good names here), and I just want to tell you that I like (say honest compliment about them)."
This did a few things. They knew I wasn't just a fan and that I had SOME credibility, but then I immediately turned the attention to them and gave them a sincere compliment from a contemporary (or at least I'd hope they'd see it that way). They'd always say thank you, and then I'd immediately ask a non-music question that could get a conversation started. I could tell by their response to this quick interaction whether or not they wanted to continue speaking to me. If so, cool. If not, I'd say "anyway, I just wanted to say a quick hi. I appreciate talking to you".
It was the same whether I'd be cold calling managers to get on a tour, producers to record on a track or any other interaction.
This worked everyone except for meeting John Entwistle at NAMM. He gripped my extended hand with one arm while simultaneously pulling me past him with his other. I didn't even get my first name out before I was behind him and he was ten feet away. It was the coolest move I'd ever seen, though my friends that witnessed it never let me live it down.
Anyway, your advice was spot on!
-Christopher Maloney
www.practicewarriors.com
____________________________________
Subject: Re: Don't Boast
One time my band got to open for One Republic on tour. Ryan Tedder threw a BBQ in the parking lot after the second or third show. We were all a bit intimidated, being the baby band & first of three, but I mustered up the courage to ask him if he needed help with the grill. My brother is a chef, I told him. We talked about cheeseburgers for 30 minutes and it was delightful. Didn't bring up music once.
Zac Taylor
____________________________________
From: LEO MUNTER
Subject: Re: Don't Boast
Bob-
I remember when I was hanging with George Harrison and Ringo and we began talking about our mutual friend Bob Dylan. George said, "Ya know, I was telling Eric (Clapton) just the other day that I always remember Bob's advice to me. Bob said, 'No one likes a name dropper!'"
Yes. Bad look. No one cares!!!
Leo
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Thursday, 17 August 2023
John Gosling
Spotify playlist: https://tinyurl.com/3ttbckuy
You probably don't know who he is, or should I say was.
I'm reading this terrible book about the Stones' girlfriends, "Parachute Women." The writer said Chris Jagger was Mick's older brother. I winced, everybody knows Chris is the younger brother. Then again, the author Elizabeth Winder was born in 1980, long after Chris's eponymous solo album was released in 1973, and made a dent in the chart, however minimal. I bought it, there was actually a good track on it, but that's what we did back then, we wanted more.
So, Winder makes the case that Mick and Keith were relative choirboys, and it's Anita Pallenberg who corrupted them, who made them who they are. Interesting take, at least I thought so until the book became so gossipy that I wondered where the writer got her information, asked myself if she made it all up. And now I think I'm going to stop reading, after the Chris faux pas. As my old friend Tony Wilson said, how are they gonna trust you on the big things when you can't even get the little things right?
And surfing on TikTok I saw a clip of Marc Maron on Howard Stern talking about revering Keith, patterning his look after him. And this reminded me of when we used to do this, back when we were impressionable. And we were all impressionable once, but we seem to have grown out of that. The older you get, the more you realize everybody is the same. And when you see old rockers holding on desperately to their fame it rubs you the wrong way. Getting plastic surgery, wearing a wig. Got to give Robert Plant credit for refusing to trade on his role in Led Zeppelin, he allows himself to look old and ragged, and he keeps exploring musically, testing limits, whereas so many of his contemporaries are locked in amber.
But the weird thing is the classic rockers are dropping on a regular basis these days. To the point where it's barely news, a blip on the radar screen. As for Jerry Moss... Kudos to his achievements, a great effort, he deserves all the respect, but at this point I give him credit most for living for 88 years, that's quite a milestone, a full life. And Moss got into horse-racing, he was not stuck in who he was. But many don't have his money, and have fewer opportunities. Their fame burned bright for a limited period of time, and oftentimes it was someone else in the band who got all the press. And so many don't live as long.
Ray Davies... For decades there was a mania of respect. But that's mostly in the rearview mirror now, as his fans have aged. So many of the acts that made their bones in the sixties and seventies are rarely talked about these days, especially in an era where rock does not dominate.
And the interesting thing about Davies and his Kinks is that they had three distinct eras, all of interest and value. The original sixties hits, then the theme/story/play/concept albums, and then the comeback on Arista. All different, but with a through line.
John Gosling didn't come along until 1970's "Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One," and lasted through 1978's "Misfits," the best of the Arista years. And Gosling wasn't a writer, although he was an occasional backup singer, but he was an integral part of the Kinks back then. Mostly when the act was in the wilderness, in the RCA years, but the band's fans kept him alive.
Now they recently remastered "Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One." But it was a stiff then and it's not like it's garnered a whole new life. The album was the follow-up to 1969's "Arthur," a concept album lumped in with "Tommy," that got attention and airplay. "Lola" was a semi-hit, it barely made it into the top ten, but it has survived more than those more commercially successful, based on its merit. But the album was a stiff. I know, because I bought it as a cut-out. The label expected more.
And then the Kinks decamped for RCA, a terrible outlet. And although there was a good amount of press, "Muswell Hillbillies" was commercially unsuccessful. If you're a fan you remember "Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues," "Holiday" and "Skin and Bone," the latter a highlight of the live show, but the rest of the public is ignorant as to these cuts. But the opening track, "20th Century Man," has survived.
"I was born in a welfare state
Ruled by bureaucracy
Controlled by civil servants
And people dressed in grey
Got no privacy, got no liberty
'Cause the twentieth century people
Took it all away from me"
And shortly after this verse, at 3:30 in the song, John Gosling sits on the organ and it's indelible, adds a texture, a meaning, a special sauce to the song. What started out as an acoustic number is now a rollicking rock track.
The following album, 1972's "Everybody's in Show-Biz" is not as good. It's a double-album, and the second disc, which is live, is satisfying, but to say the studio LP is uneven is a bit charitable. However, its closing cut is a stone cold classic. You never heard it on AM radio, but you know it by heart, it became an FM standard.
"You can see all the stars as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard
Some that you recognize, some that you've hardly even heard of
People who worked and suffered and struggled for fame
Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain"
John Gosling's organ might have just been flavoring in "20th Century Man," but his keyboards are integral in "Celluloid Heroes," they're the bed, they make the track legendary.
Gosling's organ plays the same part in "Soap Opera"'s closing track "You Can't Stop the Music" as it does in "20th Century Man," it adds flavoring. It's there, with its added texture, the cut would not be as magical without it.
1977's "Sleepwalker" was the comeback, the first on Clive Davis's Arista, Clive did well by the Kinks, he got them back on track without compromise. Despite the airplay for the title cut and the opener "Life on the Road," the best tracks are on side two, the opener "Juke Box Music" and the closer "Life Goes On."
"Juke Box Music" is a complete surprise, kind of like "One of the Boys," the second side opener on Mott the Hoople's "All the Young Dudes." It's an in-your-face rocker, you didn't think either band still had it in them.
"She sings along with all the saddest songs
And she believes the stories are real
She lets the music dictate the way that she feels"
That's how it was. The music was not superfluous, it was not secondary, but primary, it rode shotgun, it influenced us.
And 'Life Goes On" is quieter and more meaningful, but in both John Gosling is a member of the band, he's in there, this is not a solo effort, Gosling is there adding flavor once again.
And then there's the highlight of "Misfits," "A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy."
"There's a guy in my block, he lives for rock
He plays records day and night
And when he feels down he puts some rock 'n' roll on
And it makes him feel all right
And when he feels the world is closing in
He turns his stereo way up high"
This is the best song about the experience of being a rock fan extant. The music was both our leader and our escape, it got us through. John Gosling is all over this.
And, of course, Gosling lays the bed for the great second side opener, "Permanent Waves," back in an era when perms were prevalent, when they peaked.
And then Gosling was gone. He was replaced on the follow-up, 1979's "Low Budget," which cemented the Kinks' status as an arena act. Yes, the Kinks were back on top. However, some thought they were starting to play to a lowest common denominator.
As for Gosling... He ultimately opened a music shop and then became a music teacher. And ultimately he formed the band the Kast Off Kinks made up of former Kinks playing the band's repertoire. And then he died, just the other day, at 75.
Gone. Kaput. More than a decade younger than Jerry Moss. A footnote. But not a loser. After all, Gosling was trained at the Royal Academy of Music.
But none of the above songs was the one that went through my brain when I heard Gosling passed, that was "Money Talks."
After "Everybody's in Show-Biz" came "Preservation Act 1," which was even worse, it seemed mostly superfluous. There was "Sitting in the Midday Sun," but not much more. And then, half a year later came "Preservation Act 2," an unnecessary purchase if there ever was one. I mean who needed more? But the reviews were exceptionally good. In some cases raves. Not that there were any significant sales, there was no airplay, but I decided to buy it and dive in. It's the best of the concept/play albums. The highlights are legion, the story is comprehensible, there's constant magic, I drove cross-country listening to the four sides, I own "Preservation Act 2" in my heart.
And there are so many great cuts, I especially love the closer "Salvation Road," which is akin to the aforementioned closer of "Soap Opera," "You Can't Stop the Music."
And then there's "Scrapheap City" and "Nobody Gives" and "Second-Hand Car Spiv," not that I knew what a spiv was when I purchased the LP, Ray Davies was never afraid of employing British colloquialisms.
There's the killer "He's Evil" followed by "Mirror of Love" on the second side, a one-two punch.
And on the first side, there's "When a Solution Comes" and "Shepherds of the Nation."
But in between them could be my favorite Kinks song ever, "Money Talks."
"Show me a man who says he can live without bread
And I'll show you a man who's a liar and in debt
There's no one alive who can't be purchased or enticed
There's no man alive who wouldn't sell for a price
Money talks and we're the living proof
There ain't no limit to what money can do
Money talks, money talks"
And that's only the beginning, the song continues to drop wisdom and insight. It's a marvel. It's an encapsulation of life on this lonely planet, from the outside, from an artist, that's the artist's responsibility, to reflect truth back upon society so it sees itself, can possibly understand itself.
"Show me an upright respected man
And I'll have him licking my boots when I put money in his hand"
Money rules the world, even more than it did in '74, today people are slaves to the green gold.
"Money buys you time and people listen
Money can buy a smile and make life worth living
If you're ugly money can improve you
I just couldn't face the world without mazuma
Money talks, money talks"
It most certainly does. And if you've got it you can parade your name all over the news, show up in social media. Be a whore, um, influencer, selling your soul on social media. Money trumps everything these days. People admit it. That's how sick our society is.
But at least there used to be a contrary opinion. Appealing to people's better instincts, through their brains. Yes, the Kinks wanted you to think, not that hard, but if you were mindless you didn't get it.
And most people didn't get "Money Talks." Almost nobody even heard it. The only time I heard it on the radio was decades later, on SiriusXM. "Money Talks" is not a standard. It's a lost classic. But I don't think it will resurface, the song is too rough, too edgy, anything but easily palatable. "Money Talks" is closer to Nirvana than its corporate rock brethren back in the seventies.
I not only know "Money Talks," I sing it to myself on a regular basis. I quote it all the time. And...
"Money Talks" starts with an indelible waterfall John Gosling piano part, it sets the stage. And then continues as part of the assembled multitude.
I'm sure "Preservation," both "Acts 1&2," is still in the red. "He's Evil" has 240,450 streams on Spotify, but nothing else on "Act 2" breaks 100,000. And although cuts from "Act 1" have more streams, confoundingly, none breaks a million.
But the cuts are all there, they live on. To be sampled, to be discovered, there to enrich you when you're ready. Pay might be low, but if the old days persisted this music would be lost to the sands of time, no store would stock such poor-selling product.
So, unlike the business titans of the past, John Gosling's legacy lives on. His playing is positively alive in recordings. And he doesn't need the money anyway, he's dead. And when it all ends, what are you going to be remembered for? Probably nothing. But artists march into the wilderness, hone their chops and try to lay down their truth.
The Kinks did this.
And John Gosling was part of the band. A group's power depends on the skills and attitudes of its members.
So John Gosling reached me. And others who don't even know who he was. But to me...
He's the guy banging the keys at the beginning of "Money Talks."
And more.
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You probably don't know who he is, or should I say was.
I'm reading this terrible book about the Stones' girlfriends, "Parachute Women." The writer said Chris Jagger was Mick's older brother. I winced, everybody knows Chris is the younger brother. Then again, the author Elizabeth Winder was born in 1980, long after Chris's eponymous solo album was released in 1973, and made a dent in the chart, however minimal. I bought it, there was actually a good track on it, but that's what we did back then, we wanted more.
So, Winder makes the case that Mick and Keith were relative choirboys, and it's Anita Pallenberg who corrupted them, who made them who they are. Interesting take, at least I thought so until the book became so gossipy that I wondered where the writer got her information, asked myself if she made it all up. And now I think I'm going to stop reading, after the Chris faux pas. As my old friend Tony Wilson said, how are they gonna trust you on the big things when you can't even get the little things right?
And surfing on TikTok I saw a clip of Marc Maron on Howard Stern talking about revering Keith, patterning his look after him. And this reminded me of when we used to do this, back when we were impressionable. And we were all impressionable once, but we seem to have grown out of that. The older you get, the more you realize everybody is the same. And when you see old rockers holding on desperately to their fame it rubs you the wrong way. Getting plastic surgery, wearing a wig. Got to give Robert Plant credit for refusing to trade on his role in Led Zeppelin, he allows himself to look old and ragged, and he keeps exploring musically, testing limits, whereas so many of his contemporaries are locked in amber.
But the weird thing is the classic rockers are dropping on a regular basis these days. To the point where it's barely news, a blip on the radar screen. As for Jerry Moss... Kudos to his achievements, a great effort, he deserves all the respect, but at this point I give him credit most for living for 88 years, that's quite a milestone, a full life. And Moss got into horse-racing, he was not stuck in who he was. But many don't have his money, and have fewer opportunities. Their fame burned bright for a limited period of time, and oftentimes it was someone else in the band who got all the press. And so many don't live as long.
Ray Davies... For decades there was a mania of respect. But that's mostly in the rearview mirror now, as his fans have aged. So many of the acts that made their bones in the sixties and seventies are rarely talked about these days, especially in an era where rock does not dominate.
And the interesting thing about Davies and his Kinks is that they had three distinct eras, all of interest and value. The original sixties hits, then the theme/story/play/concept albums, and then the comeback on Arista. All different, but with a through line.
John Gosling didn't come along until 1970's "Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One," and lasted through 1978's "Misfits," the best of the Arista years. And Gosling wasn't a writer, although he was an occasional backup singer, but he was an integral part of the Kinks back then. Mostly when the act was in the wilderness, in the RCA years, but the band's fans kept him alive.
Now they recently remastered "Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One." But it was a stiff then and it's not like it's garnered a whole new life. The album was the follow-up to 1969's "Arthur," a concept album lumped in with "Tommy," that got attention and airplay. "Lola" was a semi-hit, it barely made it into the top ten, but it has survived more than those more commercially successful, based on its merit. But the album was a stiff. I know, because I bought it as a cut-out. The label expected more.
And then the Kinks decamped for RCA, a terrible outlet. And although there was a good amount of press, "Muswell Hillbillies" was commercially unsuccessful. If you're a fan you remember "Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues," "Holiday" and "Skin and Bone," the latter a highlight of the live show, but the rest of the public is ignorant as to these cuts. But the opening track, "20th Century Man," has survived.
"I was born in a welfare state
Ruled by bureaucracy
Controlled by civil servants
And people dressed in grey
Got no privacy, got no liberty
'Cause the twentieth century people
Took it all away from me"
And shortly after this verse, at 3:30 in the song, John Gosling sits on the organ and it's indelible, adds a texture, a meaning, a special sauce to the song. What started out as an acoustic number is now a rollicking rock track.
The following album, 1972's "Everybody's in Show-Biz" is not as good. It's a double-album, and the second disc, which is live, is satisfying, but to say the studio LP is uneven is a bit charitable. However, its closing cut is a stone cold classic. You never heard it on AM radio, but you know it by heart, it became an FM standard.
"You can see all the stars as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard
Some that you recognize, some that you've hardly even heard of
People who worked and suffered and struggled for fame
Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain"
John Gosling's organ might have just been flavoring in "20th Century Man," but his keyboards are integral in "Celluloid Heroes," they're the bed, they make the track legendary.
Gosling's organ plays the same part in "Soap Opera"'s closing track "You Can't Stop the Music" as it does in "20th Century Man," it adds flavoring. It's there, with its added texture, the cut would not be as magical without it.
1977's "Sleepwalker" was the comeback, the first on Clive Davis's Arista, Clive did well by the Kinks, he got them back on track without compromise. Despite the airplay for the title cut and the opener "Life on the Road," the best tracks are on side two, the opener "Juke Box Music" and the closer "Life Goes On."
"Juke Box Music" is a complete surprise, kind of like "One of the Boys," the second side opener on Mott the Hoople's "All the Young Dudes." It's an in-your-face rocker, you didn't think either band still had it in them.
"She sings along with all the saddest songs
And she believes the stories are real
She lets the music dictate the way that she feels"
That's how it was. The music was not superfluous, it was not secondary, but primary, it rode shotgun, it influenced us.
And 'Life Goes On" is quieter and more meaningful, but in both John Gosling is a member of the band, he's in there, this is not a solo effort, Gosling is there adding flavor once again.
And then there's the highlight of "Misfits," "A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy."
"There's a guy in my block, he lives for rock
He plays records day and night
And when he feels down he puts some rock 'n' roll on
And it makes him feel all right
And when he feels the world is closing in
He turns his stereo way up high"
This is the best song about the experience of being a rock fan extant. The music was both our leader and our escape, it got us through. John Gosling is all over this.
And, of course, Gosling lays the bed for the great second side opener, "Permanent Waves," back in an era when perms were prevalent, when they peaked.
And then Gosling was gone. He was replaced on the follow-up, 1979's "Low Budget," which cemented the Kinks' status as an arena act. Yes, the Kinks were back on top. However, some thought they were starting to play to a lowest common denominator.
As for Gosling... He ultimately opened a music shop and then became a music teacher. And ultimately he formed the band the Kast Off Kinks made up of former Kinks playing the band's repertoire. And then he died, just the other day, at 75.
Gone. Kaput. More than a decade younger than Jerry Moss. A footnote. But not a loser. After all, Gosling was trained at the Royal Academy of Music.
But none of the above songs was the one that went through my brain when I heard Gosling passed, that was "Money Talks."
After "Everybody's in Show-Biz" came "Preservation Act 1," which was even worse, it seemed mostly superfluous. There was "Sitting in the Midday Sun," but not much more. And then, half a year later came "Preservation Act 2," an unnecessary purchase if there ever was one. I mean who needed more? But the reviews were exceptionally good. In some cases raves. Not that there were any significant sales, there was no airplay, but I decided to buy it and dive in. It's the best of the concept/play albums. The highlights are legion, the story is comprehensible, there's constant magic, I drove cross-country listening to the four sides, I own "Preservation Act 2" in my heart.
And there are so many great cuts, I especially love the closer "Salvation Road," which is akin to the aforementioned closer of "Soap Opera," "You Can't Stop the Music."
And then there's "Scrapheap City" and "Nobody Gives" and "Second-Hand Car Spiv," not that I knew what a spiv was when I purchased the LP, Ray Davies was never afraid of employing British colloquialisms.
There's the killer "He's Evil" followed by "Mirror of Love" on the second side, a one-two punch.
And on the first side, there's "When a Solution Comes" and "Shepherds of the Nation."
But in between them could be my favorite Kinks song ever, "Money Talks."
"Show me a man who says he can live without bread
And I'll show you a man who's a liar and in debt
There's no one alive who can't be purchased or enticed
There's no man alive who wouldn't sell for a price
Money talks and we're the living proof
There ain't no limit to what money can do
Money talks, money talks"
And that's only the beginning, the song continues to drop wisdom and insight. It's a marvel. It's an encapsulation of life on this lonely planet, from the outside, from an artist, that's the artist's responsibility, to reflect truth back upon society so it sees itself, can possibly understand itself.
"Show me an upright respected man
And I'll have him licking my boots when I put money in his hand"
Money rules the world, even more than it did in '74, today people are slaves to the green gold.
"Money buys you time and people listen
Money can buy a smile and make life worth living
If you're ugly money can improve you
I just couldn't face the world without mazuma
Money talks, money talks"
It most certainly does. And if you've got it you can parade your name all over the news, show up in social media. Be a whore, um, influencer, selling your soul on social media. Money trumps everything these days. People admit it. That's how sick our society is.
But at least there used to be a contrary opinion. Appealing to people's better instincts, through their brains. Yes, the Kinks wanted you to think, not that hard, but if you were mindless you didn't get it.
And most people didn't get "Money Talks." Almost nobody even heard it. The only time I heard it on the radio was decades later, on SiriusXM. "Money Talks" is not a standard. It's a lost classic. But I don't think it will resurface, the song is too rough, too edgy, anything but easily palatable. "Money Talks" is closer to Nirvana than its corporate rock brethren back in the seventies.
I not only know "Money Talks," I sing it to myself on a regular basis. I quote it all the time. And...
"Money Talks" starts with an indelible waterfall John Gosling piano part, it sets the stage. And then continues as part of the assembled multitude.
I'm sure "Preservation," both "Acts 1&2," is still in the red. "He's Evil" has 240,450 streams on Spotify, but nothing else on "Act 2" breaks 100,000. And although cuts from "Act 1" have more streams, confoundingly, none breaks a million.
But the cuts are all there, they live on. To be sampled, to be discovered, there to enrich you when you're ready. Pay might be low, but if the old days persisted this music would be lost to the sands of time, no store would stock such poor-selling product.
So, unlike the business titans of the past, John Gosling's legacy lives on. His playing is positively alive in recordings. And he doesn't need the money anyway, he's dead. And when it all ends, what are you going to be remembered for? Probably nothing. But artists march into the wilderness, hone their chops and try to lay down their truth.
The Kinks did this.
And John Gosling was part of the band. A group's power depends on the skills and attitudes of its members.
So John Gosling reached me. And others who don't even know who he was. But to me...
He's the guy banging the keys at the beginning of "Money Talks."
And more.
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Don't Boast
If you're telling me how great you are, how you did this or that, what you own, where you've been...my eyes start to roll into the back of my head. That's how you tell someone is an amateur, if they don't stop telling you how great they are.
You'll know this if you ever encounter those at the top. Who are typically more warm and gentle than those at the bottom. Their accomplishments speak for them. If you're a public figure and you're telling us what you've achieved, you're just demonstrating your insecurity. You think you're winning, but you're not.
I know that the music business, many businesses, are based on salesmanship, but you have to know when to sell and how. If you're a full-force bundle of energy your words bounce right off others, they stop listening. First and foremost people want to know who you are, that you're likable, that you're interested in them. Want someone to be your friend? Ask them questions, listen to them. And this does not only work in business, the number one complaint of women TikTok daters is the guy only talked about himself, that he didn't ask them a single question. Doesn't matter how good-looking they are, how much money they've got, they don't want to go on another date.
If you're telling someone you know this person or know that person to embellish your image, you're losing. Unless asked, hold this information back. Or maybe add an anecdote about the third party that further illuminates the conversation. There's a podcaster who can't stop telling us that she knows this or that tech person, that she just spoke to them yesterday. I thought it was only me, but my nephew says he refuses to listen to any podcast she hosts, because she's intolerable. And the amazing thing is she doesn't seem to know this.
Once you've made it, don't keep reminding us that you've done so. We know. Or we're not worth impressing in the first place.
And you've got to know, how ever much money you've got, wherever you think you've been, there are people who have more and have done more... Don't try to compete, it makes you look small. Makes you look like you play in a backwater where this works. However, don't be a sycophant. Those who've achieved can smell this, and they stay away. Or lose respect. Those at the top can hear a contrary opinion more than those at the bottom, because they've already made it, and they know that to continue to be on top they've got to constantly learn, adjust and take risks. So, if you can add insight, they treasure it. If someone is shouting your opinion down, that means they're not really in control, not really a player, they're too uptight about their place in the firmament.
Where you went to school... Who your parents are... Especially in the music business, no one cares. It's a fluid society wherein a CV means ever less. Sure, an Ivy League degree might help you on Wall Street, in consulting, at Procter & Gamble, but it's actually a turn-off in the music business. Because if you bring it up it demonstrates that you think you're better and entitled, when in truth everybody starts from the same line. Look at the music business, MBAs are scarce, certainly compared to other industries. And have respect for those who've been doing it. It might look easy to you, yet it's anything but. You want to be a concert promoter. Are you familiar with building rebates? Without them you almost definitely won't turn a profit. Don't think you know more. Which is different from offering insight, analysis.
If you're backstage, if you meet someone by chance, and you start telling them what you've achieved, they tune out, go on autopilot, ask themselves how long they have to stand there until they can move on. Oftentimes they brush you off. If the person you want to impress is silent, you're in trouble. You may think they're listening, but usually they're judging, negatively.
Be secure in your achievements. And know if you've got none, odds are no one is interested in listening to what you have to say. And rather than go up and introduce yourself, have someone else do so, someone the object of your affection already knows, already respects.
If you meet a rock star don't tell them how much you love their music, or maybe just employ a line, but then ask them about their hobby, what they're interested in. If you're that much of a fan, you know what that is. They love to wax rhapsodic on these non-music topics, because no one ever asks them about them, or cares what they really have to say about them. And ask deeper questions, to show you are listening. If you are listening you are one step ahead, then someone can see you as a friend, and they have to see you as a friend before they see you as a possible business partner.
And certainly don't waste anybody's time. If the big muckety-muck has been talking to you for a while, excuse them, let them off the hook, let them go. They respect this. Because you demonstrate understanding of their position. The bigger the person, the more time-challenged they are. You do not want to use up more than your allotted time. If you're dominating the person, not letting them go, they'll never want to talk with you again. And you'd be surprised how well people remember those who are friendly and express interest. Much more than the salesman trying to push something upon them.
So, you own a flashy car. They might own five.
You might have flown private. They own a plane. And then there was that article in the "Times" saying not to boast about your jet, because someone else might have five. Yes, there's always someone further up the totem pole, be wary of trying to impress them with what you've got.
And also learn to say no. If they invite you somewhere, offer to include you, give them an out. It shows respect. If they really want you, of course you'll come. And even though they're rich, offer to pay, they're never going to let you, but it shows you understand the game, they're sick of being ripped-off, always opening their wallet. Then again, if they're on an expense account everybody knows they're not really paying anyway.
Learning how to interact with the rich and famous and powerful is a skill unto itself. You can learn it, but you have to be open to it. I know people who refuse to bring certain others to meetings because they won't shut up. You don't want to be excluded, you want to be included.
Subtlety pays dividends. Leave the boasting to the acts, but even that's a bad look in most cases. But if you're behind the scenes, in business, you've got a career too. You want to ingratiate yourself, be a member of the club, and by selling yourself for inclusion 24/7 you'll end up out.
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You'll know this if you ever encounter those at the top. Who are typically more warm and gentle than those at the bottom. Their accomplishments speak for them. If you're a public figure and you're telling us what you've achieved, you're just demonstrating your insecurity. You think you're winning, but you're not.
I know that the music business, many businesses, are based on salesmanship, but you have to know when to sell and how. If you're a full-force bundle of energy your words bounce right off others, they stop listening. First and foremost people want to know who you are, that you're likable, that you're interested in them. Want someone to be your friend? Ask them questions, listen to them. And this does not only work in business, the number one complaint of women TikTok daters is the guy only talked about himself, that he didn't ask them a single question. Doesn't matter how good-looking they are, how much money they've got, they don't want to go on another date.
If you're telling someone you know this person or know that person to embellish your image, you're losing. Unless asked, hold this information back. Or maybe add an anecdote about the third party that further illuminates the conversation. There's a podcaster who can't stop telling us that she knows this or that tech person, that she just spoke to them yesterday. I thought it was only me, but my nephew says he refuses to listen to any podcast she hosts, because she's intolerable. And the amazing thing is she doesn't seem to know this.
Once you've made it, don't keep reminding us that you've done so. We know. Or we're not worth impressing in the first place.
And you've got to know, how ever much money you've got, wherever you think you've been, there are people who have more and have done more... Don't try to compete, it makes you look small. Makes you look like you play in a backwater where this works. However, don't be a sycophant. Those who've achieved can smell this, and they stay away. Or lose respect. Those at the top can hear a contrary opinion more than those at the bottom, because they've already made it, and they know that to continue to be on top they've got to constantly learn, adjust and take risks. So, if you can add insight, they treasure it. If someone is shouting your opinion down, that means they're not really in control, not really a player, they're too uptight about their place in the firmament.
Where you went to school... Who your parents are... Especially in the music business, no one cares. It's a fluid society wherein a CV means ever less. Sure, an Ivy League degree might help you on Wall Street, in consulting, at Procter & Gamble, but it's actually a turn-off in the music business. Because if you bring it up it demonstrates that you think you're better and entitled, when in truth everybody starts from the same line. Look at the music business, MBAs are scarce, certainly compared to other industries. And have respect for those who've been doing it. It might look easy to you, yet it's anything but. You want to be a concert promoter. Are you familiar with building rebates? Without them you almost definitely won't turn a profit. Don't think you know more. Which is different from offering insight, analysis.
If you're backstage, if you meet someone by chance, and you start telling them what you've achieved, they tune out, go on autopilot, ask themselves how long they have to stand there until they can move on. Oftentimes they brush you off. If the person you want to impress is silent, you're in trouble. You may think they're listening, but usually they're judging, negatively.
Be secure in your achievements. And know if you've got none, odds are no one is interested in listening to what you have to say. And rather than go up and introduce yourself, have someone else do so, someone the object of your affection already knows, already respects.
If you meet a rock star don't tell them how much you love their music, or maybe just employ a line, but then ask them about their hobby, what they're interested in. If you're that much of a fan, you know what that is. They love to wax rhapsodic on these non-music topics, because no one ever asks them about them, or cares what they really have to say about them. And ask deeper questions, to show you are listening. If you are listening you are one step ahead, then someone can see you as a friend, and they have to see you as a friend before they see you as a possible business partner.
And certainly don't waste anybody's time. If the big muckety-muck has been talking to you for a while, excuse them, let them off the hook, let them go. They respect this. Because you demonstrate understanding of their position. The bigger the person, the more time-challenged they are. You do not want to use up more than your allotted time. If you're dominating the person, not letting them go, they'll never want to talk with you again. And you'd be surprised how well people remember those who are friendly and express interest. Much more than the salesman trying to push something upon them.
So, you own a flashy car. They might own five.
You might have flown private. They own a plane. And then there was that article in the "Times" saying not to boast about your jet, because someone else might have five. Yes, there's always someone further up the totem pole, be wary of trying to impress them with what you've got.
And also learn to say no. If they invite you somewhere, offer to include you, give them an out. It shows respect. If they really want you, of course you'll come. And even though they're rich, offer to pay, they're never going to let you, but it shows you understand the game, they're sick of being ripped-off, always opening their wallet. Then again, if they're on an expense account everybody knows they're not really paying anyway.
Learning how to interact with the rich and famous and powerful is a skill unto itself. You can learn it, but you have to be open to it. I know people who refuse to bring certain others to meetings because they won't shut up. You don't want to be excluded, you want to be included.
Subtlety pays dividends. Leave the boasting to the acts, but even that's a bad look in most cases. But if you're behind the scenes, in business, you've got a career too. You want to ingratiate yourself, be a member of the club, and by selling yourself for inclusion 24/7 you'll end up out.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Grace Potter-This Week's Podcast
Grace Potter has a new album, "Mother Road," inspired by her cross-country drives during Covid. From Waitsfield to Topanga, we cover it all!
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/grace-potter-121240732/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grace-potter/id1316200737?i=1000624749775
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5vI3qPZxwaz6viFj4gfACD?si=S3z5GV7yTsucXwi53M_7Zw
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/b4449b46-53f6-46f8-8355-315c8212b5cc/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-grace-potter
https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/episode/grace-potter-306428686
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Listen to the podcast:
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-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/grace-potter-121240732/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grace-potter/id1316200737?i=1000624749775
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5vI3qPZxwaz6viFj4gfACD?si=S3z5GV7yTsucXwi53M_7Zw
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/b4449b46-53f6-46f8-8355-315c8212b5cc/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-grace-potter
https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/episode/grace-potter-306428686
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Tuesday, 15 August 2023
The Niche
"What Happens When a Pop Star Isn't That Popular? - Pop's middle class enjoys loyal online fan bases. For these artists, pop stardom isn't a commercial category, but a sound, an aesthetic and an attitude.": https://tinyurl.com/bdcd3x6y
That's a free link, and you should click on it.
As for the Kesha/Dr. Luke story, if you don't subscribe directly to the L.A. "Times" you can still read it as part of the Apple News: https://tinyurl.com/3z9hzrpe
If you're on TikTok or Instagram, you'd think that Bebe Rexha is a big star. Rexha has 8.4 million followers on TikTok and 11 million on Instagram. And for weeks there's been a debate about her weight. Rexha's retort has been that she has PCOS, which notoriously causes weight gain, and she is doing the best she can. So Rexha is both humanized and humiliated, still an object of hate. But that's social media. However, when it comes to charts, Rexha is challenged.
And despite the Top Ten being published every week in news outlets, it's only oldsters and those in the business who care about charts, the fans care not a whit. They're fervent believers willing to take on all comers, defending the object of their affection, such that one might get a skewed view of the overall marketplace.
Just like Trumpers.
If you were aware during Watergate the Trump indictments are a head-scratcher. News for a day and then they disappear. And on Fox, it's not even the main story. In a world where Hillary Clinton is President and Hunter Biden the Democratic Minority Leader of the House, there are more important fish to fry. But you can't tell a Fox fan, a Trumper, any different. But how many Trumpers are there?
This is where media falls down. Basing its info on polls that have been notoriously inaccurate for nearly a decade. Why trust them now?
Trumpers are a niche. Even if you give them 35% of the Republican electorate. But the Democrats are deathly afraid, and non-biased media too, because if they say anything anti-Trump, their inbox is going to go wild.
That's right, decry Trump and you'll be flooded with incoming. Praise Biden and some of these same people will blow back, but the Biden voters, the Democrats? They're not that active, they don't see a need to defend Joe, or any of the Dems, as much as the Trumpers need to defend Donald.
So if you're in the maelstrom, you'd better have perspective, or you're going to get it all wrong.
Like I said, on social media Bebe Rexha is a queen. And she is, just to a very small number of people. And it's the same with Trump.
As for the Trumpers...
They ain't gonna show up in person. They learned their lesson on January 6th. They want to be vocal, but they don't want to go to jail. Those days are through. It's easy to bloviate online, yet to put your person at risk is a no-no. But the Donald doesn't even understand this himself. He doesn't know he's living in a past era. If he really wanted to win he'd adjust his message, but vengeance excludes all contrary input, actually, all input other than exacting revenge is excluded. In other words, despite being told again and again that Donald Trump is in touch with the public, just the opposite is true.
But still, if he shows up, the crowd will go wild.
Well, there are acts you've never heard of that sell out Madison Square Garden, that's how fervent fans can be these days. And people need to believe, to make their lives work. As for truth? That train left the station long ago.
But non-Trump media keeps wincing, keeps adding right wing commentary, all to appease a right that will never be satisfied. If you're going to deal with these people at all you must go on the offensive, but the only people who know this are those who interact with the right wing each and every day. You think teaching is easy, but talk to a teacher, just keeping order is a big problem, controlling the classroom is a skill unto itself. Unless you're there, you don't know.
So...
The wheels of justice turn slowly, but they turn. Right now Donald Trump is sh*tting bricks. This ain't some civil b.s., this is criminal, if he loses he could go to jail. And his constituents can't help him. It's not like they're going to revolt in the streets, they tried that, and once bitten, twice shy.
So really, you should laugh at Trump. Laugh at his minions. You see they're on a losing path. They're desperate. Kind of like those Japanese soldiers still fighting the war years afterward. They may think the battle is continuing, but it's over, the public has moved on.
Don't be scared, just vote. If you do, it's no contest. And it turns out the Democrats are motivated, that's what we learned in Ohio. Being in the public eye for all these years, giving us a look at his shenanigans, most people are scared of giving Trump control of anything. But the news is like Chicken Little, always telling us the sky is falling.
And reporting on Trump's so-called defenses.
Let the circle jerk itself. You're never going to penetrate it. They're going to say it's free speech. That's like you're four year old saying he didn't know not to eat all the cookies in the jar. The kid is desperate, they'll say anything. But you don't set up a court and hear the defense, because it's obvious. Just like Trump's crimes are obvious, they were in plain sight, January 6th was on television, and if you think that's peaceful, how about we do it at your house?
Forget these people, they've forgotten us. And their goal is to jet back to a past that was worse for everybody and is never returning anyway.
And they've got their statistics, which like Bebe Rexha's are in a vacuum. Jason Aldean's song going to number one! Well, most people don't even listen to the radio and you can live quite easily not knowing a single song in the Spotify Top 50. This is not the Beatles, the song is not ubiquitous, there's a hard core that know it, and that's it.
Kind of like this Oliver Anthony "Rich Men North of Richmond" kerfuffle. A tempest in a teapot. Maybe if you're in the business, you've seen the story. But otherwise, no one knows. And if you pay attention, like with the Aldean song, you come across offensive lyrics:
"Well god, if you're 5'3" and you're 300 pounds
Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds"
Now let me see... The red state people are all skinny, and those in the city are fat. Actually, percentage-wise the opposite is true. In other words, to be a fan of this song you've got to be self-hating. And just like every family has a gay person, every family has an obese person, maybe all of the people. Where is fat-shaming a good look?
Once again, once you pierce the bubble you find there's nothing there. But the right wing agitators keep throwing up this crap and making the left crazy, which is exactly what they want. No, Oliver Anthony is not a new hit artist, he's a brief moment in time, ultimately meaningless, because almost nothing sticks these days, to have a career means to pay untold dues that most people don't want to. Even if you have a hit it's forgotten. But we should pay attention to this bigot?
I don't think so.
But all those on the left are up-in-arms. As if their agitation will make a difference. The first rule of internet hate is don't respond, that's exactly what the haters want. But those with keyboards on the left never seem to have learned this, while they keep telling us to put the smartphone down. Pick it up, the more you're on the more you win. Hell, the most revered person in the music business today is the internet marketer. If you can penetrate the morass and reach the people you're king, or queen. But you're hearing just the opposite from those who made their bones in the last century.
The "New York Times," the "Washington Post," they're on the back foot, constantly playing defense. Don't they understand that the only thing that will satiate their haters is if they shut down the entire enterprise? Hell, if I listened to all my haters I wouldn't write at all, which is exactly what they want. And the haters are more vocal than the lovers, always.
But we'd better not indict Trump, his numbers will go up, people will attach ever more tightly to him. In what world have you ever seen this? Sure, his hard core, who were never going to give up the fight, might embrace him more, but no one else sees Trump being indicted and says "He's my man!" but the old school bloviators keep telling us the wolf is at the door, and Trump is commanding an ever-growing army. Yeah, just like Putin in Ukraine. Everyone thought he was going to win in a second, but here we are many seasons later, and he's far from victory. Furthermore, even more of what's behind the curtain has been revealed. Putin is holding on by a thread.
But Putin is proffering disinformation. Like the educational system of Florida. But if people truly loved DeSantis's policies he'd be trouncing Trump, but the guy is cold and offensive and the closer you look the more you're disgusted.
Just like abortion. Dodd revealed the culpability of the Supreme Court. It single-handedly undercut their credibility, just like lawyers in Watergate. Lawyers haven't regained their status, and it's fifty years later. The Supreme Court is vulnerable, seen as a bunch of self-dealing doofuses who can't even judge their own lives properly.
Turns out people want abortion rights, and they'll come out to fight for them.
In other words, the left is winning. As Trump and the nincompoops dug their hole ever deeper, the rest of us woke up. And we're saying NO MAS! That's the one thing we all agree on.
So how about a news reset. How about the end of fearmongering. How about making fun of Trump and his people. How about owning this great country of ours instead of getting down in the gutter with these agitators who just want to tear down the government. Yeah, just wait until there's a natural disaster in their backyard, they'll be looking for a federal handout. And their hero Elon Musk digs his own grave each and every day. He's another one we should ignore. Leave him in his own backwater.
But first and foremost pull back and see the landscape.
Musk dented Twitter and it's never recovered. And sure, Threads is no replacement, but if you think we need Twitter/X, you think that tech could never survive without Steve Jobs. I mean there's no lack of information. And what's important will get out, it always does.
And social media is a nightclub, it's hip and successful and then it goes bankrupt. It's a moment in time. Everybody realizes it's no longer cool and they go somewhere new. But Elon Musk doesn't understand cool, and the world runs on cool. And Donald Trump is not cool. Nor is white nationalism. However much they press, their platform is a bad look.
So just ignore the Trumpers. Don't argue with them. And if they can't shut up, stay away from them. And if they continue to talk, just laugh. They want you to engage, don't. Supersede them, live above them.
Because they're niche.
And to win in this country you've got to be mass. And Trump is losing followers each and every day.
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That's a free link, and you should click on it.
As for the Kesha/Dr. Luke story, if you don't subscribe directly to the L.A. "Times" you can still read it as part of the Apple News: https://tinyurl.com/3z9hzrpe
If you're on TikTok or Instagram, you'd think that Bebe Rexha is a big star. Rexha has 8.4 million followers on TikTok and 11 million on Instagram. And for weeks there's been a debate about her weight. Rexha's retort has been that she has PCOS, which notoriously causes weight gain, and she is doing the best she can. So Rexha is both humanized and humiliated, still an object of hate. But that's social media. However, when it comes to charts, Rexha is challenged.
And despite the Top Ten being published every week in news outlets, it's only oldsters and those in the business who care about charts, the fans care not a whit. They're fervent believers willing to take on all comers, defending the object of their affection, such that one might get a skewed view of the overall marketplace.
Just like Trumpers.
If you were aware during Watergate the Trump indictments are a head-scratcher. News for a day and then they disappear. And on Fox, it's not even the main story. In a world where Hillary Clinton is President and Hunter Biden the Democratic Minority Leader of the House, there are more important fish to fry. But you can't tell a Fox fan, a Trumper, any different. But how many Trumpers are there?
This is where media falls down. Basing its info on polls that have been notoriously inaccurate for nearly a decade. Why trust them now?
Trumpers are a niche. Even if you give them 35% of the Republican electorate. But the Democrats are deathly afraid, and non-biased media too, because if they say anything anti-Trump, their inbox is going to go wild.
That's right, decry Trump and you'll be flooded with incoming. Praise Biden and some of these same people will blow back, but the Biden voters, the Democrats? They're not that active, they don't see a need to defend Joe, or any of the Dems, as much as the Trumpers need to defend Donald.
So if you're in the maelstrom, you'd better have perspective, or you're going to get it all wrong.
Like I said, on social media Bebe Rexha is a queen. And she is, just to a very small number of people. And it's the same with Trump.
As for the Trumpers...
They ain't gonna show up in person. They learned their lesson on January 6th. They want to be vocal, but they don't want to go to jail. Those days are through. It's easy to bloviate online, yet to put your person at risk is a no-no. But the Donald doesn't even understand this himself. He doesn't know he's living in a past era. If he really wanted to win he'd adjust his message, but vengeance excludes all contrary input, actually, all input other than exacting revenge is excluded. In other words, despite being told again and again that Donald Trump is in touch with the public, just the opposite is true.
But still, if he shows up, the crowd will go wild.
Well, there are acts you've never heard of that sell out Madison Square Garden, that's how fervent fans can be these days. And people need to believe, to make their lives work. As for truth? That train left the station long ago.
But non-Trump media keeps wincing, keeps adding right wing commentary, all to appease a right that will never be satisfied. If you're going to deal with these people at all you must go on the offensive, but the only people who know this are those who interact with the right wing each and every day. You think teaching is easy, but talk to a teacher, just keeping order is a big problem, controlling the classroom is a skill unto itself. Unless you're there, you don't know.
So...
The wheels of justice turn slowly, but they turn. Right now Donald Trump is sh*tting bricks. This ain't some civil b.s., this is criminal, if he loses he could go to jail. And his constituents can't help him. It's not like they're going to revolt in the streets, they tried that, and once bitten, twice shy.
So really, you should laugh at Trump. Laugh at his minions. You see they're on a losing path. They're desperate. Kind of like those Japanese soldiers still fighting the war years afterward. They may think the battle is continuing, but it's over, the public has moved on.
Don't be scared, just vote. If you do, it's no contest. And it turns out the Democrats are motivated, that's what we learned in Ohio. Being in the public eye for all these years, giving us a look at his shenanigans, most people are scared of giving Trump control of anything. But the news is like Chicken Little, always telling us the sky is falling.
And reporting on Trump's so-called defenses.
Let the circle jerk itself. You're never going to penetrate it. They're going to say it's free speech. That's like you're four year old saying he didn't know not to eat all the cookies in the jar. The kid is desperate, they'll say anything. But you don't set up a court and hear the defense, because it's obvious. Just like Trump's crimes are obvious, they were in plain sight, January 6th was on television, and if you think that's peaceful, how about we do it at your house?
Forget these people, they've forgotten us. And their goal is to jet back to a past that was worse for everybody and is never returning anyway.
And they've got their statistics, which like Bebe Rexha's are in a vacuum. Jason Aldean's song going to number one! Well, most people don't even listen to the radio and you can live quite easily not knowing a single song in the Spotify Top 50. This is not the Beatles, the song is not ubiquitous, there's a hard core that know it, and that's it.
Kind of like this Oliver Anthony "Rich Men North of Richmond" kerfuffle. A tempest in a teapot. Maybe if you're in the business, you've seen the story. But otherwise, no one knows. And if you pay attention, like with the Aldean song, you come across offensive lyrics:
"Well god, if you're 5'3" and you're 300 pounds
Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds"
Now let me see... The red state people are all skinny, and those in the city are fat. Actually, percentage-wise the opposite is true. In other words, to be a fan of this song you've got to be self-hating. And just like every family has a gay person, every family has an obese person, maybe all of the people. Where is fat-shaming a good look?
Once again, once you pierce the bubble you find there's nothing there. But the right wing agitators keep throwing up this crap and making the left crazy, which is exactly what they want. No, Oliver Anthony is not a new hit artist, he's a brief moment in time, ultimately meaningless, because almost nothing sticks these days, to have a career means to pay untold dues that most people don't want to. Even if you have a hit it's forgotten. But we should pay attention to this bigot?
I don't think so.
But all those on the left are up-in-arms. As if their agitation will make a difference. The first rule of internet hate is don't respond, that's exactly what the haters want. But those with keyboards on the left never seem to have learned this, while they keep telling us to put the smartphone down. Pick it up, the more you're on the more you win. Hell, the most revered person in the music business today is the internet marketer. If you can penetrate the morass and reach the people you're king, or queen. But you're hearing just the opposite from those who made their bones in the last century.
The "New York Times," the "Washington Post," they're on the back foot, constantly playing defense. Don't they understand that the only thing that will satiate their haters is if they shut down the entire enterprise? Hell, if I listened to all my haters I wouldn't write at all, which is exactly what they want. And the haters are more vocal than the lovers, always.
But we'd better not indict Trump, his numbers will go up, people will attach ever more tightly to him. In what world have you ever seen this? Sure, his hard core, who were never going to give up the fight, might embrace him more, but no one else sees Trump being indicted and says "He's my man!" but the old school bloviators keep telling us the wolf is at the door, and Trump is commanding an ever-growing army. Yeah, just like Putin in Ukraine. Everyone thought he was going to win in a second, but here we are many seasons later, and he's far from victory. Furthermore, even more of what's behind the curtain has been revealed. Putin is holding on by a thread.
But Putin is proffering disinformation. Like the educational system of Florida. But if people truly loved DeSantis's policies he'd be trouncing Trump, but the guy is cold and offensive and the closer you look the more you're disgusted.
Just like abortion. Dodd revealed the culpability of the Supreme Court. It single-handedly undercut their credibility, just like lawyers in Watergate. Lawyers haven't regained their status, and it's fifty years later. The Supreme Court is vulnerable, seen as a bunch of self-dealing doofuses who can't even judge their own lives properly.
Turns out people want abortion rights, and they'll come out to fight for them.
In other words, the left is winning. As Trump and the nincompoops dug their hole ever deeper, the rest of us woke up. And we're saying NO MAS! That's the one thing we all agree on.
So how about a news reset. How about the end of fearmongering. How about making fun of Trump and his people. How about owning this great country of ours instead of getting down in the gutter with these agitators who just want to tear down the government. Yeah, just wait until there's a natural disaster in their backyard, they'll be looking for a federal handout. And their hero Elon Musk digs his own grave each and every day. He's another one we should ignore. Leave him in his own backwater.
But first and foremost pull back and see the landscape.
Musk dented Twitter and it's never recovered. And sure, Threads is no replacement, but if you think we need Twitter/X, you think that tech could never survive without Steve Jobs. I mean there's no lack of information. And what's important will get out, it always does.
And social media is a nightclub, it's hip and successful and then it goes bankrupt. It's a moment in time. Everybody realizes it's no longer cool and they go somewhere new. But Elon Musk doesn't understand cool, and the world runs on cool. And Donald Trump is not cool. Nor is white nationalism. However much they press, their platform is a bad look.
So just ignore the Trumpers. Don't argue with them. And if they can't shut up, stay away from them. And if they continue to talk, just laugh. They want you to engage, don't. Supersede them, live above them.
Because they're niche.
And to win in this country you've got to be mass. And Trump is losing followers each and every day.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Monday, 14 August 2023
The Kesha/Dr. Luke Story
"What really happened between Kesha and Dr. Luke": https://tinyurl.com/2s47yjmc
This is the "Hit Men" of its day.
But nobody seems to know this, because nobody seems to have read it, and you can't unless you subscribe to the "Los Angeles Times," which nobody seems to do anymore, the paper having shrunk itself down to near irrelevance.
This story launched online six days ago. Was in print yesterday, on the front page. How many e-mails do you think I've gotten about it? ZERO!
But if you want to know how the music business really works you should read it.
It's about the money, it's always about the money. And most people don't know it's about the money, because they're employees, they don't know what it's like to run a company, they're not exposed to the shenanigans of those who start and run enterprises. Because if you don't have sharp elbows, you're going to be taken out.
So...
If you read the above article, you'll conclude Dr. Luke never raped Kesha. That it was all a ruse to get out of her contract. That she signed with full representation.
Leverage. There it is, your first deal will be crappy. Unless you're somebody, and probably you're not.
And how talented are you anyway? Sans Dr. Luke, Kesha's career has faltered, but Lukasz Gottwald has ultimately had more hits.
Everybody came to her defense. Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift gave her $250,000. And Dr. Luke might not be the most lovable guy around, but that's different from raping someone. But don't let the facts get in the way of a good story.
This is the "Rolling Stone"/UVA story of its day. A "Rolling Stone" reporter made up a rape story, the truth came out and heads rolled. Well, the editor of "Rolling Stone" at least. What will be the aftermath of this L.A. "Times" Kesha/Dr. Luke story?
Nothing.
If you want to know how the music business really works, read this article. Forget all those websites giving you false hope. All the nobodies noddering about nothing. At the elite level, it's business, with a lot of dollars involved. And you need no degree to be in the music business, on either side of the recording console. Having said that, most of the winners are whip-smart, street smart.
As for the legal system... The wheels of justice turn very slowly, but they do turn. And you can say whatever you want, get your minions agitated, but that does not mean you'll skate. This is the story we're seeing with Trump right now, this is the story of Kesha and Dr. Luke.
As for the final settlement... Dr. Luke got no money, because Kesha is probably near judgment-proof and it would cost him millions more to find whatever she has and to get it. So what he got from Kesha was...
"Only God knows what happened that night."
Hmm... You're suing and you don't know what happened? And there's no evidence?
How about the attorneys who took this case.
And Kesha switched managers... The talent will always screw you.
As for Kesha's mother... Let's just say she's a piece of work.
This is the music business today. People trying to get rich and famous with no CV. But you probably don't know what a CV is anyway, which proves the point.
Music is one of the rare enterprises where no qualifications are necessary, everybody can play. But not everybody can be successful.
As for the public? It's completely ignorant, not knowing that most of the acts it reveres are two-dimensional people built into stars by the machine. It was always this way, you always need people to prop you up, to grease the skids, to get you and keep you on your way, but whether the underlying "artist" is truly talented...that waxes and wanes. This is not the sixties and seventies, and the eighties were dominated by MTV and CDs, the big money era began. And we presently live in the blockbuster era. If you want to be in the Spotify Top 50, you have to align yourself with the people in this article, or those similar to them.
I was absolutely riveted reading this story, and I already knew it! Because it was all there, the way the music business really works. And I'm the only one who seems to have read it.
Nothing shows up in the Google News, NOTHING! As for music news outlets, this story is too hot to touch, and in a world where everything passes, why take the risk.
Do I know exactly what happened that night? No. But I did read this article, and if you do you'll draw your own conclusion, but I'd be stunned if you come out believing that Dr. Luke raped Kesha.
But if you don't read it, it doesn't exist.
Dr. Luke is still a pariah.
I'm not saying Kesha isn't entitled to work, isn't entitled to get the best deal possible. But I am saying that false accusations can impede a career, and it might take years for the truth to come out, and that's too late.
If a tree falls in the forest...
If a tree falls in Los Angeles...
This story is just a microcosm of the world we live in. Where truth is fungible and the public can be convinced something is true when it may not be.
Once again, READ THIS!
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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This is the "Hit Men" of its day.
But nobody seems to know this, because nobody seems to have read it, and you can't unless you subscribe to the "Los Angeles Times," which nobody seems to do anymore, the paper having shrunk itself down to near irrelevance.
This story launched online six days ago. Was in print yesterday, on the front page. How many e-mails do you think I've gotten about it? ZERO!
But if you want to know how the music business really works you should read it.
It's about the money, it's always about the money. And most people don't know it's about the money, because they're employees, they don't know what it's like to run a company, they're not exposed to the shenanigans of those who start and run enterprises. Because if you don't have sharp elbows, you're going to be taken out.
So...
If you read the above article, you'll conclude Dr. Luke never raped Kesha. That it was all a ruse to get out of her contract. That she signed with full representation.
Leverage. There it is, your first deal will be crappy. Unless you're somebody, and probably you're not.
And how talented are you anyway? Sans Dr. Luke, Kesha's career has faltered, but Lukasz Gottwald has ultimately had more hits.
Everybody came to her defense. Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift gave her $250,000. And Dr. Luke might not be the most lovable guy around, but that's different from raping someone. But don't let the facts get in the way of a good story.
This is the "Rolling Stone"/UVA story of its day. A "Rolling Stone" reporter made up a rape story, the truth came out and heads rolled. Well, the editor of "Rolling Stone" at least. What will be the aftermath of this L.A. "Times" Kesha/Dr. Luke story?
Nothing.
If you want to know how the music business really works, read this article. Forget all those websites giving you false hope. All the nobodies noddering about nothing. At the elite level, it's business, with a lot of dollars involved. And you need no degree to be in the music business, on either side of the recording console. Having said that, most of the winners are whip-smart, street smart.
As for the legal system... The wheels of justice turn very slowly, but they do turn. And you can say whatever you want, get your minions agitated, but that does not mean you'll skate. This is the story we're seeing with Trump right now, this is the story of Kesha and Dr. Luke.
As for the final settlement... Dr. Luke got no money, because Kesha is probably near judgment-proof and it would cost him millions more to find whatever she has and to get it. So what he got from Kesha was...
"Only God knows what happened that night."
Hmm... You're suing and you don't know what happened? And there's no evidence?
How about the attorneys who took this case.
And Kesha switched managers... The talent will always screw you.
As for Kesha's mother... Let's just say she's a piece of work.
This is the music business today. People trying to get rich and famous with no CV. But you probably don't know what a CV is anyway, which proves the point.
Music is one of the rare enterprises where no qualifications are necessary, everybody can play. But not everybody can be successful.
As for the public? It's completely ignorant, not knowing that most of the acts it reveres are two-dimensional people built into stars by the machine. It was always this way, you always need people to prop you up, to grease the skids, to get you and keep you on your way, but whether the underlying "artist" is truly talented...that waxes and wanes. This is not the sixties and seventies, and the eighties were dominated by MTV and CDs, the big money era began. And we presently live in the blockbuster era. If you want to be in the Spotify Top 50, you have to align yourself with the people in this article, or those similar to them.
I was absolutely riveted reading this story, and I already knew it! Because it was all there, the way the music business really works. And I'm the only one who seems to have read it.
Nothing shows up in the Google News, NOTHING! As for music news outlets, this story is too hot to touch, and in a world where everything passes, why take the risk.
Do I know exactly what happened that night? No. But I did read this article, and if you do you'll draw your own conclusion, but I'd be stunned if you come out believing that Dr. Luke raped Kesha.
But if you don't read it, it doesn't exist.
Dr. Luke is still a pariah.
I'm not saying Kesha isn't entitled to work, isn't entitled to get the best deal possible. But I am saying that false accusations can impede a career, and it might take years for the truth to come out, and that's too late.
If a tree falls in the forest...
If a tree falls in Los Angeles...
This story is just a microcosm of the world we live in. Where truth is fungible and the public can be convinced something is true when it may not be.
Once again, READ THIS!
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
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