Tune in Saturday September 30th to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.
Phone #: 844-686-5863
Twitter: @lefsetz
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Friday, 29 September 2023
Mailbag
From: Andy Gould
Subject: Re: Sweet Sounds Of Heaven
Well said Bob, having heard the track 9 times, I think I now believe in time travel just for 7 and a half minutes I was back on the floor of my first flat (apartment ) reading liner notes and getting lost in the music and thinking I have to be part of this business, these moments are now few and far between but I am so glad when they happen and unlike the first track I feel like the kid waiting in line at the local record shop can't wait for it to come out
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Subject: Re: Eric Johnson-This Week's Podcast
Eric is one of the finest to ever pick up a guitar and truly one of the nicest guys in this business!
Great singer/ songwriter too!
I have always been in awe of abilities!
Huge fan!
Luke
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Subject: Paul Shaffer
Loved the podcast with Shaffer! I was a high school student in East Lyme, CT. from 83-87, and would tape (VCR) "Late Night" every night. At first it was just to listen to the band play in and out of commercials and play with the musical guests, (a tip from my Dad) but then, naturally, became a fan of the show. I used to watch their orginal song/video "Dress Cool" over and over! Flash forward to 2000 and I was on the show with Vertical Horizon performing "Everything You Want". As you said, there was hardly any interaction with Dave, but talking with Paul beforehand and getting a positive nod from Anton as we finished and went into commercial was more than enough approval for me! Even if the set was cold as f*ck! Thanks for the flashback!
Ed Toth
Doobies
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From: Marty Walsh
Subject: Re: Katy Perry Sells Catalog
Bob, my brother Dan Walsh wrote a song called Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City. Bobby Blue Bland cut it in the 70s. Lots of artists did. Then his writing partner decided to sell his rights, Dan didn't. Next up, in 2009 Jay Z cuts it and puts in the American Gangster trailer. Since then it has been used so many times its unbelievable how much my bro has made and he's been out of the biz since the mid 80's. It's still being used all the time. To quote my brother "If you have a dead body in an alley in a film or TV show that's the song that's playing.
For working songwriters never sell.
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Subject: Re: Katy Perry Sells Catalog
Bob: The most thrilling, fulfilling professional years of my life was working as right hand man to Howie Richmond and David Platz, founder/owners of TRO/Essex Music. The catalog they built as an international music publisher remains legendary and, to this day, family owned. When I joined the organization in 1976 based in London, Platz' wife presented me with a "welcoming" gift—a handmade needlepoint embroidered with the unofficial business motto they lived and thrived by: "Never Sell A Copyright".
All best,
Burt Berman
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From: Ralph Covert
Subject: Re: Katy Perry Sells Catalog
Exactly right, Bob.
I played a long game early in my career, and released my own albums long before that was a thing. Maybe it hurt me, but I don't think so. I controlled and still own all my masters and publishing for my solo work and with The Bad Examples. My friends who signed big deals and did big tours don't have sh*t. I never got huge, but I never got kicked out on the curb.
I tried something different with Ralph's World, and signed a traditional record deal with a smart indie label, Minty Fresh, and their marketing was very effective in building the value of the that catalog, which was then sold to Disney for a cool million (none of which I saw, of course!). And that deal with Universal/Disney was an education in that way of doing business, good and bad.
In my case, I got lucky, and years after I had left Disney I had the opportunity to purchase my Ralph's World catalog at a discount (masters, publishing, videos, the works)… you're damn straight right I remortgaged my house and bought it. It's over ten years ago, and I've made my money back multiple times over since then.
How do these artists not get it?! It's exactly like trading the goose for a basket of golden eggs. Shiny? Sure. Smart? Hell no.
Thanks for all you do, and keep shouting the truth. Maybe a few folks will listen…
Best,
Ralph
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Subject: Re: Trump/Fraud
Hi Bob
As always, you hit the mark.
My Dad owned a small grocery store in a suburb of Cleveland and his older partner owned a Cadillac Deville. He would never drive it to the store, instead driving an old Ford. I remember him telling me that you never show your customers your luxury items.
Best regards
Bill Berger
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From: Jim Koplik
Subject: Re: E-Mail Of The Day
When I was a student at The Ohio State University I started my own concert business. Someone in my dorm put a swastika on my door. Growing up in New Rochelle, a suburb of New York, I had never felt anti semitism before. I was very shaken as I didn't know who did it and what could happen next. I have privately lived with that fear for 56 years now but living in New York and Connecticut I never felt the sting of anti semitism again, thankfully. I just don't understand why people hate me. Jews are regular people. Atleast I think so.
Jimmy Koplik
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From: Ellie Ovsenik
Subject: Re: Unbelievable
When I worked at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland a few years ago I oversaw all social and digital media. It's ok to criticize the new classes and tell us that rap doesn't belong with rock - discourse is good! What's not ok are the racist tirades that filled our inboxes, comment threads, DMs, etc. any communication channel, we received it. Razor blades in the mail, phone calls to the main line, the threats were almost as predictable as the class favorites.
I should have reached out and informed every single employer whose employees sent emails from their work addresses, but I was scared of retribution.
Our security team trained us in active shooter drills every year and I tell you what, it's the only place I've ever worked where I felt like I might need to call on that training someday. I worked there when a bomb threat was called in.
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From: Jesse Lundy
Subject: Re: David Sedaris At The Vilar
We get to work with David in Philly, when he plays Keswick. My wife and I pick him up at his hotel and drive him to the theater and get some time to chat...he's really a great guy and interested in YOUR life and who you are. The books, the shows...totally the best. But it's refreshing when you realize the act is like that.
Last time he told a story about signing books and the random things he writes in fans' books, such us "Go back to Whore Island" which slays me
Totally the real deal
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From: Gary Lang
Subject: RE: Oliver Anthony/Rich Men North Of Richmond
"Very few people in America are truly independent. They almost always vote one way or the other."
That's what the data says. From Ezra Klein's book, "Why We're Polarized": "In his important paper "Polarization and the Decline of the American Floating Voter," Michigan State University political scientist Corwin Smidt found that between 2000 and 2004, self-proclaimed independents were more stable in which party they supported than self-proclaimed strong partisans were from 1972 to 1976.13 I want to say that again: today's independents vote more predictably for one party over the other than yesteryear's partisans. That's a remarkable fact."
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Subject: RE: John Gosling
Hi Bob,
Sorry to learn about John Gosling but your email sent me on a trip down memory lane to my brush with greatness. I was in a band in the early '70s and we played a lot of Kinks covers from the Lola and Muswell Hillbilly era. I was the keyboard player and you are right, John Gosling's unique style added much to the Kinks sound and for me was difficult to emulate. My band mate Glen was a Kinks super fan and we would attend many of their concerts. On one occasion we trekked up from LI to see them I think to Hartford bearing gifts we hoped to give Ray Davies. Glenn brought a book he thought Ray would enjoy and since I was in the throws of starting a boutique men's shirt company I boxed up two shirts and enclosed a note telling Ray how much I enjoyed what he did and wanted to reciprocate with what I did. Glenn had a sense of where to hang outside the theater and sure enough a limo pulled up and Ray emerged. We said hello and gave him our gifts half expecting that they would be abandoned in some back stage dressing room. Well some weeks later they were playing at MSG but I couldn't go. The day after the concert my friends who had attended told me that Ray came on stage after one of his wardrobe changes wearing one of my shirts. Even though I was sorry I didn't get to see it I was really excited. Cut to some months later and Preservation Act 2 was released and there on the album cover is Ray wearing the other shirt, a polka dot one, embellished with one of his signature bow ties. My shirt company is long gone but that cover remains.
Jay Fortunato
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From: Jermaine Fray
Subject: 90's Hip Hop and Entertainment
Just some venting after I watched a couple of new music videos.......... I still tap into music in my 40's. Formerly a laid off Big Studio Engineer. Reading your letter that pissed people off. Here we go.........
I was there for , arguably, the Golden Age of Hip Hop, the 90's. Jay Z was underground , Radio didn't care, Ralph McDaniels' Video Music Box forced MTV to play it, and the F'ing Wu Tang Clan. Hip Hop and Black Entertainment Culture , on the whole, taught us Black People that we are smart, historic, educated, enlightened, tough, gritty, creative and passionate. You had choices, Public Enemy or NWA. The Roots or Mobb Deep. A Tribe Called Quest or Tupac. The Cosby Show, Boyz n The Hood, Menace to Society, Love Jones,White Men Can't Jump, Spike Lee, John Singleton, Mario Van Peebles, BET..........etc.....Too much to add...These and Many others set the foundation of Black Culture we now know today.
Is the Culture in a Great place after the setup? Hell No. Many of our so-called leaders capitalized, sold off companies, made millions and a few billions, and now throw their money in our faces every time they can. A few bullsht non-profits and PR statements help no one. The music is still popular, but complete garbage made for streaming and social media hits. We're probably in less control than we were then.
I know I'll be labeled a Hater, Too Old, Bitter and all the typical statements. But drive through the Hood and then look at some REAL stats and ask yourself, has anything changed here?
JFray
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From: Marty DeHart
Re: The Death of Radio
Hi Bob,
Long time reader, always look forward to your missives and enjoy your insights.
I'd say Oliver Anthony is not a harbinger of things to come, he's a beneficiary of what's already been happening outside the tired outlines of the big labels/Billboard charts/radio play paradigm. "Rich Men North of Richmond" got a ton of play in the YouTube reaction community.
A significant way the work of label-less independent artists is being disseminated is through exposure on YouTube reaction channels. The big labels automatically copyright strike reaction videos to their music so reactors can't show those videos much less monetize them (thereby denying their artists free exposure to potentially huge new audiences, but whatever). Independent artists understand that it's a mutually beneficial relationship and thus allow such content creation with their music along with monetization.The big reactors have massive reach, and when they put up an artist's track it gets heard by a very large number of people. Truly huge artist fan bases are being built this way. It's occured to me that the better reaction channels are in many ways performing the curation function that radio programmers and DJs used to give their listeners.
The most notable example of this symbiotic dynamic is Ren, who blew past a million subscribers on his YT channel recently and has a very active and very devoted fan base of millions all over the world. Most of this fan base discovered his music via a reaction channel. He hasn't been able to tour due to health issues, and thus this ardent following has been built *entirely* via his presence on social media, mostly YouTube with its long form format, but also Instagram and Tik Tok. Ren's the standout, but others are following this path to success, too -- the widely popular independent rapper NF comes to mind.
This explosion in new great music has totally reinvigorated my interest in the current scene. I thought my days of experiencing the thrill of discovering exciting new artists were dead and gone, but I'm massively happy to be wrong. I'm your age, by the way.
Regards,
Marty DeHart
Nashville, TN
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From: Charlie Brusco
Re: Jimmy Buffett
April 22, 1974 Lauderdale Arena Florence, AL ... Lynyrd Skynyrd / Jimmy Buffett / the Outlaws
... Buffett was playing solo acoustic and standing by the side of the stage while the Outlaws were killing it with Green Grass and High Tides. Thirty minutes later he was on stage and between cries of "get the f*ck off the stage and SKYNYRD" he said ... "I got 15 minutes left and then I get paid and you get Skynyrd and we will all be happy". He came off with a smile on his face and said to Ronnie Van Zant "they're ready".
RIP Jimmy Buffett
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Subject: JIMMY BUFFETT
A safe bet many artists will add MARGARITAVILLE to their set list this weekend. For many, it may have been the first song they worked out on their first guitars.
My old boss, Louie Messina, used to say an act was either "an artist or performer but very rarely both."
Jimmy Buffett was one of those exceptions and if agent Howard Rose caught you spelling his last name with only one 't" in advertising in those early days there would be hell to pay!
One of Howard's guys, Steve Smith, was our agent for the Pittsburgh Civic Arena in the 1980s when we promoted many of our own shows. Big stable included Elton, Chicago, Heart…all Arena Rock big hitters. Steve called for one of those "booking favors" but it was really a setup for a long, long run. We booked Jimmy, who all thought of as a one-hit wonder, at the 3,000 Syria Mosque. As Bogart said, it was the beginning of a wonderful relationship.
Smith correctly predicted that we would double Jimmy's attendance every time we did him. Yep, sold out the Mosque. Played the next year in the roof open setup at the Arena for 6,000. Did 12,000 the next year at the Pittsburgh amp, Star Lake, which I moved over to run. Sold out 22,000 the next year. Did a double sell out the next. On to PNC Park for sellouts.
You could argue Buffett made amps what they are…they were the seminal singular act every summer. One year he took a European vacation. We all took a big hit.
We don't much like Cincinnati in Pittsburgh. Been some bad blood with the Reds and Bengals. But at River Bend there, the whole Buffett thing was said to start. Thanks Cincy. And R.I.P. Jimmy.
Tom Rooney
P.S.
We can't think of Jimmy Buffett without thinking of The Iguanas….because the combination may have saved our careers.
We had the first night of two JB shows at Star Lake Amp in Pittsburgh in the mid-90s suddenly shrouded in darkness at intermission between the two acts (Iguanas travelling with him and doing a roving parking lot pre-show). Lightning hit our main transformer as we stood helpless backstage pleading with the local weather service to give us good news. Nope. Mark Susany, our electrician, figured a way to get the Iguanas parking lot generator hooked up and JB did the coolest unplugged show before 24,000 strong.
Next day corporate memo comes out. Jimmy's agent, Howard Rose, demanded every one of our dozen Pace amps have backup generators on hand. That memo went to every shed in the country. I bet those babies were back ordered for a while.
When in the mid 80s we did our first Buffett show, the agent for Rose, Steve Smith, assured the margaritas would multiply. 3,000 sold out at the old Syria Mosque. Then in the cut down Pittsburgh Civic Arena. Then 12,000 at Star Lake. Then 24K, then two sellouts.
Smith cited Cincinnati's River Bend amp as the water source for all this madness. Up the Ohio River 300 miles, we picked up on that in Pittsburgh.
Jimmy kept going and going and I asked a close friend of his why he kept hitting the road. The man had no ego. He dined with us minions and stagehands backstage. "He's supporting the people who were with him when no one knew him. He's out there for them to have their livelihood. Every guy in the band on the crew. Just Jimmy!"
It was a sad "Come Monday" Labor Day weekend when we lost a great one.
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From: Tom Clark
Subject: Re: Re-Jimmy
Saw Jimmy a few times out here on Maui… one of my favorite lines…"nice to be playing a place where the palm trees are SUPPOSED to be here…"
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From: Rik Shafer
Subject: Re: Gary Wright
Bob,
They are dropping like flies.
Now it's Gary Wright.
Made me flashback to probably 1961 or 62. Gary was a year or two ahead of me in high school in Tenafly, New Jersey. He was a big cheese in school because he played killer piano. Jerry Lee Lewis stuff. Everybody wanted to play with him. Me included.
Never got the chance.
His sister Lorna was a really good singer and gorgeous to boot. Everybody was in love with her, including me. Through friends, I got to go out with her a couple of times, she sang some background vocals for a minute and a half in a band I played and sang in.
At that point, Gary was playing B3 with a blues/jazz band and it was cool. I remember going out with Lorna and some mutual friends, we saw Gary at a local club and then all of a sudden he disappeared and ended up in England. That worked out OK for him.
From time to time I ran into Jersey friends who had connected with him over the years and hung to his house and jammed. To a man they all told me he was a really decent guy.
He also made good records.
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From: Dr Koretz
Subject: Re: Cracked Tooth
Hi Bob---
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I'm a dentist and a loyal subscriber and I feel your pain. I've probably treated many of your email subscribers.
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I hear your story quite often and I feel your frustration. But taking care of your teeth is a good investment and is money well spent.
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Teeth work for you 24/7/365, They help you smile, which is your initial calling card and your first impression to your friends. They help you eat and chew your food, which is one of the great pleasures in life. You grind them. You clench them. They even are in action overnight, when you subconsciously grind and clench.
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Other than your heart, they're one of the only body parts ALWAYS in action. Science has shown oral health is a reflection of your overall health and ignoring dental health contributes to cardiac disease, dementia, and more.
Ignore your teeth and they'll go away. Only floss the ones you want to keep. All corny but true.
?
And you can't name any other possession of yours that you've used as often for 70 YEARS that you haven't replaced or repaired.
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But sadly the price of dental treatment is an issue. Medicare and/or the US Government hasn't come up with a great plan to cover the failing teeth of an aging population. It's an issue that should be addressed but probably is low on the list of things to do.
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What doesn't make sense to me is patients will spend $1500 on Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift tickets and ignore their teeth. They'll keep a late model car they don't use in their garage, grandma's jewelry they don't wear in their vault, go on a $5000 7-day vacation and come home with just Instagram posts, buy expensive snow skis they only use during winter..........but not take care of their teeth and complain about dental fees?
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I know you just turned 70 and you're confused as to how long you may live. But if you can't eat pain free and enjoy all that good food you so look forward to, what good is hanging around?
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Put down those new skis you use occasionally and GO ENJOY that white clam pizza at Frank Pepe Pizzeria with your new teeth!
And hopefully the government will come up with a plan so the haves AND have nots can enjoy their golden years with good dental health.
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Good luck with your credit card bill. And enjoy using the points you earn from your dental work on your next ski vacation.
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Dr. James Koretz
NYC
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Subject: Re: Cracked Tooth
As my dad used to say, "leap and the net will appear".
Jonathan Plotkin
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Subject: Re: Re-Costco
Hello Bob,
I don't think I saw anyone talking about the .97! When a product does not sell good enough, they need to liquidate! The .97 at the end of a product means it will soon be discontinued! Its amazing everything you see a .97 you must buy it! Example I bought the Chipotle superfood bowl on aug 24th , (After I tried a free sample) and it was 14.99. Then in September it was at 5.97 so I bought 5 boxes. 2 days ago, they put it at 2.97 , this rarely happens, it usually all goes on the first mark down! So, 1 just stopped at the consumer service desk and they reimbursed me all the difference, 30$!
This is the 2nd best thing at Costco... If a product goes on sale within 30 days of your purchase, they reimburse you the difference!
Your Welcome !
From a self-Proclaimed Costco lover since 1996
Marianik Giffard
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From: Michael Patterson
Subject: Re: The Modern Music Business
My girlfriend was discussing a friend who had 25 million streams, and to her surprise, I responded by saying, "that's not a lot of streams." This is a common reaction I have when artists tell me they have 10k streams. It amazes me that people struggle to grasp the significant difference in size when it comes to numbers.
My friend does programming at one of the country's most influential radio stations. We debated whether bands would prefer to have 25 million streams on Spotify or 5 drive time spins on KROCK. Without a doubt, we agreed that the bands should chose the spins on KROCK. Those spins, just like the streams, only matter if there is a proper plan in place, and most of the artist with low spins on stream don't have proper promotion and marketing plans in place. I'm tired of making records with people who release records without a proper runup to a release date or marketing.
The goal is to have records that change the world, and/or become "hits." It's crazy to me that artist spend all their money making the record and then hire a $100 per week social media person and a $500 a month PR person, FOR ONE MONTH, spend 0 on marketing (!!!!!) then wonder why no one hears their album. I'm SICK OF SPENDING MY TIME MAKING RECORDS ONLY FOR THE ARTIST TO F*CK IT UP! Like, I f*cking sick of it. I can do a better job releasing their record, and maybe I should as it's in my best interest for people to hear the art I help create.
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From: Don Bartlett
Subject: Re: The Modern Music Business
Are you familiar with "Keep the Wolves Away" by Uncle Lucius? Killer story. They had a bit of a good following down here in Texas back in the day but ultimately they got older, had kids and van touring got old so they broke up in 2018. A couple years later the singer got a text that their song was featured on Yellowstone. He didn't even know that the show was. (He had given away 1/2 the publishing to their old label way back when, so they were the ones who approved the sync) They didn't have a website or any socials, but suddenly the song had 100M plays on YouTube and 75M streams. It hasn't slowed down much 4 years later, either....check out the comment section on the video. This isn't the bullsh*t gaming of the numbers you see so often these days, it's real people connecting with a song. The song ended up being certified gold, then platinum. And they got back together and now they're touring again and doing good business.
And here's the best stroke of luck I've ever heard of. Because of the writers strike, CBS is airing Season 1 of Yellowstone on Sunday nights...first time it's been on network tv. The episode that features the song airs 10/1. Right as the band starts their fall tour. Not sure what sort of karmic bank account they're drawing on to get this sort of good fortune, but it must be substantial.
Good placements happen all the time, but still fun so see what happens when a good placement meets a great song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYdvxBxHX2U
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Subject: Re: Class Act (And Thicker Than Water)
Hi Bob,
A story about Tapie that few people know.
My close friend spent 18 months in jail for covering up for Tapie in the Adidas takeover. When he came out, Tapie gave him a plum salary and a Mercedes for a fictive assignment.
Many years later, he was dining in a restaurant with bankers for a proposed venture when Tapie came in with friends and sat down at the other end. My friend gave a note to the waitress for Tapie. Tapie replied with a "Join me at the bar". They caught up briefly. My friend told him about the bankers and his idea for the new venture.
Later, while leaving the restaurant, Tapie walked up to my friend's table and gave him a piece of paper: "This is my mobile number. Call me if you need anything. I'll always be there for you." His banker friends were totally impressed. Tapie was a legend!
The next day, my friend dialed Tapie to thank him. "The number you dialed does not exist."
Achille Forler
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From: Kelsee Becker
Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
His summer 2024 presale started today and it includes 2 shows at Fenway, 2 at MSG and 1 at Hollywood Bowl. He sold out red rocks a few months ago. He was playing 500 cap venues Nov/Dec 2021, it's wild! I feel like the build up really came with the release of the deluxe edition of his current album + the biweekly collab songs coming out since then
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Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
Bob,
Great seeing this on Noah Kahan. I was doing press at this year's Boston Calling Fest in May. Huge headliners - Foo Fighters, The Lumineers, Paramore. Foo Fighters were finally there after a few years of cancels and hard times. Day 2 was by far the biggest crowd I've ever seen at BC, and I believe the most tickets they've ever sold. I'm talking thousands more than Day 1. At one point I had the opportunity to walk the grounds. I asked everyone I saw who they were looking forward to seeing. Every single person said "Noah Kahan." This was The Lumineers, Alanis day.
Noah's set was incredible. It was like the perfect, giant campfire sing-along, where everyone attached to these personal songs that took on a personal meaning coming out of the past few years.
I was then backstage interviewing Mt. Joy later on, and ran into Noah after his set. We had a brief chat and he could not have been more kind to everyone he spoke with. Being from New England, he was just filled with gratitude that you could not help to notice and appreciate. It was so refreshing. And you know what.... that type of authentic attitude is working.
Noah then came out with the Lumineers and performed a Jason Isbell classic with Wes. It was awesome, and Isbell thought so too (tweeted about it).
This week, Noah Kahan announced his 2nd date playing Fenway Park for the summer of 24. We'll all be here forever.
-Jeff Gorra / Artist Waves.
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Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
hey Bob.....yeah, this kid is quite a story. I am a tour publicist for Rounder Records, and when I went to start on his fall tour dates a few months ago, I saw two things immediately--1) Ruston was the support act for Noah Kahan, who I had never heard of, and 2) most of the shows were already sold out!
I was like "who the f*ck is this guy??" and found him on spotify. I listened to some tracks and they were very good but his streaming numbers are sick--of the top 10 songs on it now, there is one song with almost a quarter of a billion streams, seven songs with 8-figure streams, and two with "just" 7-figure streams (and both of those were released in the last 10 days or so!).
the other thing I'll tell you is that the more you listen, his songs just grow on you like a fungus. you can tell the guy is singing from experience--the emotion just pours out and connects in a powerful way....and that's what music is supposed to do. and he's only 25!
Mike Farley
Michael J. Media Group LLC
Rounder/Concord Records tour press
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Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
Hi Bob,
I appreciate this one! I'd been hearing him on XM Coffeehouse…a channel I really love. I'd recently gotten into XM because I have a road trip coming up. I realized from your subject line, "oh, that guy! I love that guy!" But I didn't realize he was getting big already!?!? That's good news. He's a great artist, as are all the ones XM's Coffeehouse plays.
I couldn't agree me. All the old paradigms are broken. I spent 20+ years in radio—a place where Coffeehouse couldn't have endured, much less gotten off the ground. After a month of being stuck on this music channel, I'm starting to dig more into the artists and they're all really good. Some have been around a while. I didn't even realize The Japanese House had a new album before I started listening to XM.
And they say women over 40 "don't like new music." Ha! But again, all the old paradigms are broken. Noah probably doesn't *need* the boost but he deserves it. I do like his music. I guess I'm a fan because I felt my heart skip a beat to see him get some recognition. ??
And as I complete this email, Stick Season has started playing on the channel…
Heather Larson
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From: Darren Herman
Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
Bob-
Wow - I saw the subject line and completely shifted from doing my "work" to reading your note. I'm a long time reader of yours and this piece on Noah Kahan hits home. Noah is special to me - it's the FIRST act my daughter (13 yrs) came home with last summer and said, "dad, listen." I listened and the whole home fell in love with Noah. We were fortunate to see him at Mansfield (Xfinity Center) a few weeks ago and it was incredible to hear the entire crowd sing almost every lyric of every song. He mentioned how special it was to play in his backyard - and you can see the gratitude on his face. Stick Season is a fantastic album but the more I dive into his older music, the more I enjoy it. Dial Drunk and False Confidence are on my constant rotation these days.
Thank you for highlighting Noah.
Darren
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From: Mark McLaughlin
Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
How the hell has Noah Kahan been off my radar? Thanks for the introduction. I guess "he has been at it for years" but geeze, he is an old man in a 26 year old body. I'm an instant fan and I will be seeing him live now when he comes to Asheville.
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From: Alex Crothers
Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
And he's from Vermont! Im his local promoter in Vermont. We've been working with Noah as a headliner since 2018. We've sold out every show (10) at Higher Ground and two large outdoor shows this summer. The only show that didn't sell out was a singer-songwriter showcase competition he played in 2017 where he came in 3rd place! Noah's success is well-earned. And, as is often the case with these stories, he's got a great team behind him with Drew Simmons/Ryan Langlois and Joe Atamian/Paige Maloney.
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Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
I never heard of him until he landed on the Xfinity Center Schedule in Mansfield, MA, last summer. He sold it out. Of the 19,500, 80 percent were 18 to 25-year-old women, singing every note to every song. He just announced his second show at Fenway Park next summer!
Brian Quinn
Last Dance Production
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From: Richard Young
Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
Ticket demand is off the charts too. Try to find a ticket at face value right now. Or better yet, look at second market. Even in secondary markets!
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From: Steven Anderko
Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
Bob,
About 5, 6 weeks ago, my 15 year old daughter (who's a swiftie) played a tune of his and I was into it. She also was hooked right away with Morgan Wallen.
Their songs are on heavy rotation at home (Sonos)!
Steve
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Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
Bob:
I'd never heard of Morgan Wallen before last week, when I got a call to be stagecrew at his show here in Ottawa. Several dozen friends and I got called by the union to unload two dozen semis with his gear in them (and his picture on the outside) and put everything together.
The unload, setup, teardown, and load-out were fine. The touring guy I worked with mostly (hi Dario!) was excellent, as was every other member of the crew I came in contact with. I told him he shouldn't expect miracles just 'cause I had long grey hair and beard; I haven't actually been doing this for 50 years solid. His reply was "No worries, I started in April myself." He was cheerful, knowledgeable, and observant; a treat to work with/for.
If Mr. Wallen can attract and retain people like that on his *touring* crew, riding a bus every night to a new place to have a show, he's *really* a natural.
Dave O'Heare
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From: Joe Greenwald
Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
Same thing I happening (not the same level but def a good one) with one of my guys Charles Wesley Godwin, im way too biased to even tell you how great I think he is (the audience will do that) but its the same thing, all songs written from the heart from him to the audience and we went from a Third and Lindley in Nashville just 2 years ago barely to two sold out Rymans (and could have put a third up) in one day. Give it a listen, I think you will like. Musicians (and fans) win when this kind of energy takes over.
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Subject: Re: Angry
It's great that the Stones are writing and releasing new music. Angry? Meh. Nothing new here.
What can millionaire rockstars be angry at, taxes? The Beatles did that.
Love interest? How can you relate to Joe Biden having sex?
If the Stones want to release albums and tour, good for them.
I hope I can still do that 14 years from now. I won't be a millionaire but it's fun making music and playing songs for fans. There's nothing better. If you've never done that, it's hard to understand. Applause rings for days. If you can find a job where at the end of the day you get a standing ovation, take it. Priceless. I'll do it until I can't, it stops being fun, or people don't buy tickets.
Steven Gustafson
10,000 Maniacs
est 1981
Subject: Re: Sweet Sounds Of Heaven
Well said Bob, having heard the track 9 times, I think I now believe in time travel just for 7 and a half minutes I was back on the floor of my first flat (apartment ) reading liner notes and getting lost in the music and thinking I have to be part of this business, these moments are now few and far between but I am so glad when they happen and unlike the first track I feel like the kid waiting in line at the local record shop can't wait for it to come out
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Subject: Re: Eric Johnson-This Week's Podcast
Eric is one of the finest to ever pick up a guitar and truly one of the nicest guys in this business!
Great singer/ songwriter too!
I have always been in awe of abilities!
Huge fan!
Luke
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Subject: Paul Shaffer
Loved the podcast with Shaffer! I was a high school student in East Lyme, CT. from 83-87, and would tape (VCR) "Late Night" every night. At first it was just to listen to the band play in and out of commercials and play with the musical guests, (a tip from my Dad) but then, naturally, became a fan of the show. I used to watch their orginal song/video "Dress Cool" over and over! Flash forward to 2000 and I was on the show with Vertical Horizon performing "Everything You Want". As you said, there was hardly any interaction with Dave, but talking with Paul beforehand and getting a positive nod from Anton as we finished and went into commercial was more than enough approval for me! Even if the set was cold as f*ck! Thanks for the flashback!
Ed Toth
Doobies
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From: Marty Walsh
Subject: Re: Katy Perry Sells Catalog
Bob, my brother Dan Walsh wrote a song called Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City. Bobby Blue Bland cut it in the 70s. Lots of artists did. Then his writing partner decided to sell his rights, Dan didn't. Next up, in 2009 Jay Z cuts it and puts in the American Gangster trailer. Since then it has been used so many times its unbelievable how much my bro has made and he's been out of the biz since the mid 80's. It's still being used all the time. To quote my brother "If you have a dead body in an alley in a film or TV show that's the song that's playing.
For working songwriters never sell.
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Subject: Re: Katy Perry Sells Catalog
Bob: The most thrilling, fulfilling professional years of my life was working as right hand man to Howie Richmond and David Platz, founder/owners of TRO/Essex Music. The catalog they built as an international music publisher remains legendary and, to this day, family owned. When I joined the organization in 1976 based in London, Platz' wife presented me with a "welcoming" gift—a handmade needlepoint embroidered with the unofficial business motto they lived and thrived by: "Never Sell A Copyright".
All best,
Burt Berman
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From: Ralph Covert
Subject: Re: Katy Perry Sells Catalog
Exactly right, Bob.
I played a long game early in my career, and released my own albums long before that was a thing. Maybe it hurt me, but I don't think so. I controlled and still own all my masters and publishing for my solo work and with The Bad Examples. My friends who signed big deals and did big tours don't have sh*t. I never got huge, but I never got kicked out on the curb.
I tried something different with Ralph's World, and signed a traditional record deal with a smart indie label, Minty Fresh, and their marketing was very effective in building the value of the that catalog, which was then sold to Disney for a cool million (none of which I saw, of course!). And that deal with Universal/Disney was an education in that way of doing business, good and bad.
In my case, I got lucky, and years after I had left Disney I had the opportunity to purchase my Ralph's World catalog at a discount (masters, publishing, videos, the works)… you're damn straight right I remortgaged my house and bought it. It's over ten years ago, and I've made my money back multiple times over since then.
How do these artists not get it?! It's exactly like trading the goose for a basket of golden eggs. Shiny? Sure. Smart? Hell no.
Thanks for all you do, and keep shouting the truth. Maybe a few folks will listen…
Best,
Ralph
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Subject: Re: Trump/Fraud
Hi Bob
As always, you hit the mark.
My Dad owned a small grocery store in a suburb of Cleveland and his older partner owned a Cadillac Deville. He would never drive it to the store, instead driving an old Ford. I remember him telling me that you never show your customers your luxury items.
Best regards
Bill Berger
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From: Jim Koplik
Subject: Re: E-Mail Of The Day
When I was a student at The Ohio State University I started my own concert business. Someone in my dorm put a swastika on my door. Growing up in New Rochelle, a suburb of New York, I had never felt anti semitism before. I was very shaken as I didn't know who did it and what could happen next. I have privately lived with that fear for 56 years now but living in New York and Connecticut I never felt the sting of anti semitism again, thankfully. I just don't understand why people hate me. Jews are regular people. Atleast I think so.
Jimmy Koplik
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From: Ellie Ovsenik
Subject: Re: Unbelievable
When I worked at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland a few years ago I oversaw all social and digital media. It's ok to criticize the new classes and tell us that rap doesn't belong with rock - discourse is good! What's not ok are the racist tirades that filled our inboxes, comment threads, DMs, etc. any communication channel, we received it. Razor blades in the mail, phone calls to the main line, the threats were almost as predictable as the class favorites.
I should have reached out and informed every single employer whose employees sent emails from their work addresses, but I was scared of retribution.
Our security team trained us in active shooter drills every year and I tell you what, it's the only place I've ever worked where I felt like I might need to call on that training someday. I worked there when a bomb threat was called in.
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From: Jesse Lundy
Subject: Re: David Sedaris At The Vilar
We get to work with David in Philly, when he plays Keswick. My wife and I pick him up at his hotel and drive him to the theater and get some time to chat...he's really a great guy and interested in YOUR life and who you are. The books, the shows...totally the best. But it's refreshing when you realize the act is like that.
Last time he told a story about signing books and the random things he writes in fans' books, such us "Go back to Whore Island" which slays me
Totally the real deal
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From: Gary Lang
Subject: RE: Oliver Anthony/Rich Men North Of Richmond
"Very few people in America are truly independent. They almost always vote one way or the other."
That's what the data says. From Ezra Klein's book, "Why We're Polarized": "In his important paper "Polarization and the Decline of the American Floating Voter," Michigan State University political scientist Corwin Smidt found that between 2000 and 2004, self-proclaimed independents were more stable in which party they supported than self-proclaimed strong partisans were from 1972 to 1976.13 I want to say that again: today's independents vote more predictably for one party over the other than yesteryear's partisans. That's a remarkable fact."
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Subject: RE: John Gosling
Hi Bob,
Sorry to learn about John Gosling but your email sent me on a trip down memory lane to my brush with greatness. I was in a band in the early '70s and we played a lot of Kinks covers from the Lola and Muswell Hillbilly era. I was the keyboard player and you are right, John Gosling's unique style added much to the Kinks sound and for me was difficult to emulate. My band mate Glen was a Kinks super fan and we would attend many of their concerts. On one occasion we trekked up from LI to see them I think to Hartford bearing gifts we hoped to give Ray Davies. Glenn brought a book he thought Ray would enjoy and since I was in the throws of starting a boutique men's shirt company I boxed up two shirts and enclosed a note telling Ray how much I enjoyed what he did and wanted to reciprocate with what I did. Glenn had a sense of where to hang outside the theater and sure enough a limo pulled up and Ray emerged. We said hello and gave him our gifts half expecting that they would be abandoned in some back stage dressing room. Well some weeks later they were playing at MSG but I couldn't go. The day after the concert my friends who had attended told me that Ray came on stage after one of his wardrobe changes wearing one of my shirts. Even though I was sorry I didn't get to see it I was really excited. Cut to some months later and Preservation Act 2 was released and there on the album cover is Ray wearing the other shirt, a polka dot one, embellished with one of his signature bow ties. My shirt company is long gone but that cover remains.
Jay Fortunato
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From: Jermaine Fray
Subject: 90's Hip Hop and Entertainment
Just some venting after I watched a couple of new music videos.......... I still tap into music in my 40's. Formerly a laid off Big Studio Engineer. Reading your letter that pissed people off. Here we go.........
I was there for , arguably, the Golden Age of Hip Hop, the 90's. Jay Z was underground , Radio didn't care, Ralph McDaniels' Video Music Box forced MTV to play it, and the F'ing Wu Tang Clan. Hip Hop and Black Entertainment Culture , on the whole, taught us Black People that we are smart, historic, educated, enlightened, tough, gritty, creative and passionate. You had choices, Public Enemy or NWA. The Roots or Mobb Deep. A Tribe Called Quest or Tupac. The Cosby Show, Boyz n The Hood, Menace to Society, Love Jones,White Men Can't Jump, Spike Lee, John Singleton, Mario Van Peebles, BET..........etc.....Too much to add...These and Many others set the foundation of Black Culture we now know today.
Is the Culture in a Great place after the setup? Hell No. Many of our so-called leaders capitalized, sold off companies, made millions and a few billions, and now throw their money in our faces every time they can. A few bullsht non-profits and PR statements help no one. The music is still popular, but complete garbage made for streaming and social media hits. We're probably in less control than we were then.
I know I'll be labeled a Hater, Too Old, Bitter and all the typical statements. But drive through the Hood and then look at some REAL stats and ask yourself, has anything changed here?
JFray
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From: Marty DeHart
Re: The Death of Radio
Hi Bob,
Long time reader, always look forward to your missives and enjoy your insights.
I'd say Oliver Anthony is not a harbinger of things to come, he's a beneficiary of what's already been happening outside the tired outlines of the big labels/Billboard charts/radio play paradigm. "Rich Men North of Richmond" got a ton of play in the YouTube reaction community.
A significant way the work of label-less independent artists is being disseminated is through exposure on YouTube reaction channels. The big labels automatically copyright strike reaction videos to their music so reactors can't show those videos much less monetize them (thereby denying their artists free exposure to potentially huge new audiences, but whatever). Independent artists understand that it's a mutually beneficial relationship and thus allow such content creation with their music along with monetization.The big reactors have massive reach, and when they put up an artist's track it gets heard by a very large number of people. Truly huge artist fan bases are being built this way. It's occured to me that the better reaction channels are in many ways performing the curation function that radio programmers and DJs used to give their listeners.
The most notable example of this symbiotic dynamic is Ren, who blew past a million subscribers on his YT channel recently and has a very active and very devoted fan base of millions all over the world. Most of this fan base discovered his music via a reaction channel. He hasn't been able to tour due to health issues, and thus this ardent following has been built *entirely* via his presence on social media, mostly YouTube with its long form format, but also Instagram and Tik Tok. Ren's the standout, but others are following this path to success, too -- the widely popular independent rapper NF comes to mind.
This explosion in new great music has totally reinvigorated my interest in the current scene. I thought my days of experiencing the thrill of discovering exciting new artists were dead and gone, but I'm massively happy to be wrong. I'm your age, by the way.
Regards,
Marty DeHart
Nashville, TN
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From: Charlie Brusco
Re: Jimmy Buffett
April 22, 1974 Lauderdale Arena Florence, AL ... Lynyrd Skynyrd / Jimmy Buffett / the Outlaws
... Buffett was playing solo acoustic and standing by the side of the stage while the Outlaws were killing it with Green Grass and High Tides. Thirty minutes later he was on stage and between cries of "get the f*ck off the stage and SKYNYRD" he said ... "I got 15 minutes left and then I get paid and you get Skynyrd and we will all be happy". He came off with a smile on his face and said to Ronnie Van Zant "they're ready".
RIP Jimmy Buffett
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Subject: JIMMY BUFFETT
A safe bet many artists will add MARGARITAVILLE to their set list this weekend. For many, it may have been the first song they worked out on their first guitars.
My old boss, Louie Messina, used to say an act was either "an artist or performer but very rarely both."
Jimmy Buffett was one of those exceptions and if agent Howard Rose caught you spelling his last name with only one 't" in advertising in those early days there would be hell to pay!
One of Howard's guys, Steve Smith, was our agent for the Pittsburgh Civic Arena in the 1980s when we promoted many of our own shows. Big stable included Elton, Chicago, Heart…all Arena Rock big hitters. Steve called for one of those "booking favors" but it was really a setup for a long, long run. We booked Jimmy, who all thought of as a one-hit wonder, at the 3,000 Syria Mosque. As Bogart said, it was the beginning of a wonderful relationship.
Smith correctly predicted that we would double Jimmy's attendance every time we did him. Yep, sold out the Mosque. Played the next year in the roof open setup at the Arena for 6,000. Did 12,000 the next year at the Pittsburgh amp, Star Lake, which I moved over to run. Sold out 22,000 the next year. Did a double sell out the next. On to PNC Park for sellouts.
You could argue Buffett made amps what they are…they were the seminal singular act every summer. One year he took a European vacation. We all took a big hit.
We don't much like Cincinnati in Pittsburgh. Been some bad blood with the Reds and Bengals. But at River Bend there, the whole Buffett thing was said to start. Thanks Cincy. And R.I.P. Jimmy.
Tom Rooney
P.S.
We can't think of Jimmy Buffett without thinking of The Iguanas….because the combination may have saved our careers.
We had the first night of two JB shows at Star Lake Amp in Pittsburgh in the mid-90s suddenly shrouded in darkness at intermission between the two acts (Iguanas travelling with him and doing a roving parking lot pre-show). Lightning hit our main transformer as we stood helpless backstage pleading with the local weather service to give us good news. Nope. Mark Susany, our electrician, figured a way to get the Iguanas parking lot generator hooked up and JB did the coolest unplugged show before 24,000 strong.
Next day corporate memo comes out. Jimmy's agent, Howard Rose, demanded every one of our dozen Pace amps have backup generators on hand. That memo went to every shed in the country. I bet those babies were back ordered for a while.
When in the mid 80s we did our first Buffett show, the agent for Rose, Steve Smith, assured the margaritas would multiply. 3,000 sold out at the old Syria Mosque. Then in the cut down Pittsburgh Civic Arena. Then 12,000 at Star Lake. Then 24K, then two sellouts.
Smith cited Cincinnati's River Bend amp as the water source for all this madness. Up the Ohio River 300 miles, we picked up on that in Pittsburgh.
Jimmy kept going and going and I asked a close friend of his why he kept hitting the road. The man had no ego. He dined with us minions and stagehands backstage. "He's supporting the people who were with him when no one knew him. He's out there for them to have their livelihood. Every guy in the band on the crew. Just Jimmy!"
It was a sad "Come Monday" Labor Day weekend when we lost a great one.
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From: Tom Clark
Subject: Re: Re-Jimmy
Saw Jimmy a few times out here on Maui… one of my favorite lines…"nice to be playing a place where the palm trees are SUPPOSED to be here…"
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From: Rik Shafer
Subject: Re: Gary Wright
Bob,
They are dropping like flies.
Now it's Gary Wright.
Made me flashback to probably 1961 or 62. Gary was a year or two ahead of me in high school in Tenafly, New Jersey. He was a big cheese in school because he played killer piano. Jerry Lee Lewis stuff. Everybody wanted to play with him. Me included.
Never got the chance.
His sister Lorna was a really good singer and gorgeous to boot. Everybody was in love with her, including me. Through friends, I got to go out with her a couple of times, she sang some background vocals for a minute and a half in a band I played and sang in.
At that point, Gary was playing B3 with a blues/jazz band and it was cool. I remember going out with Lorna and some mutual friends, we saw Gary at a local club and then all of a sudden he disappeared and ended up in England. That worked out OK for him.
From time to time I ran into Jersey friends who had connected with him over the years and hung to his house and jammed. To a man they all told me he was a really decent guy.
He also made good records.
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From: Dr Koretz
Subject: Re: Cracked Tooth
Hi Bob---
?
I'm a dentist and a loyal subscriber and I feel your pain. I've probably treated many of your email subscribers.
?
I hear your story quite often and I feel your frustration. But taking care of your teeth is a good investment and is money well spent.
?
Teeth work for you 24/7/365, They help you smile, which is your initial calling card and your first impression to your friends. They help you eat and chew your food, which is one of the great pleasures in life. You grind them. You clench them. They even are in action overnight, when you subconsciously grind and clench.
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Other than your heart, they're one of the only body parts ALWAYS in action. Science has shown oral health is a reflection of your overall health and ignoring dental health contributes to cardiac disease, dementia, and more.
Ignore your teeth and they'll go away. Only floss the ones you want to keep. All corny but true.
?
And you can't name any other possession of yours that you've used as often for 70 YEARS that you haven't replaced or repaired.
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But sadly the price of dental treatment is an issue. Medicare and/or the US Government hasn't come up with a great plan to cover the failing teeth of an aging population. It's an issue that should be addressed but probably is low on the list of things to do.
?
What doesn't make sense to me is patients will spend $1500 on Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift tickets and ignore their teeth. They'll keep a late model car they don't use in their garage, grandma's jewelry they don't wear in their vault, go on a $5000 7-day vacation and come home with just Instagram posts, buy expensive snow skis they only use during winter..........but not take care of their teeth and complain about dental fees?
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I know you just turned 70 and you're confused as to how long you may live. But if you can't eat pain free and enjoy all that good food you so look forward to, what good is hanging around?
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Put down those new skis you use occasionally and GO ENJOY that white clam pizza at Frank Pepe Pizzeria with your new teeth!
And hopefully the government will come up with a plan so the haves AND have nots can enjoy their golden years with good dental health.
?
Good luck with your credit card bill. And enjoy using the points you earn from your dental work on your next ski vacation.
?
Dr. James Koretz
NYC
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Subject: Re: Cracked Tooth
As my dad used to say, "leap and the net will appear".
Jonathan Plotkin
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Subject: Re: Re-Costco
Hello Bob,
I don't think I saw anyone talking about the .97! When a product does not sell good enough, they need to liquidate! The .97 at the end of a product means it will soon be discontinued! Its amazing everything you see a .97 you must buy it! Example I bought the Chipotle superfood bowl on aug 24th , (After I tried a free sample) and it was 14.99. Then in September it was at 5.97 so I bought 5 boxes. 2 days ago, they put it at 2.97 , this rarely happens, it usually all goes on the first mark down! So, 1 just stopped at the consumer service desk and they reimbursed me all the difference, 30$!
This is the 2nd best thing at Costco... If a product goes on sale within 30 days of your purchase, they reimburse you the difference!
Your Welcome !
From a self-Proclaimed Costco lover since 1996
Marianik Giffard
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From: Michael Patterson
Subject: Re: The Modern Music Business
My girlfriend was discussing a friend who had 25 million streams, and to her surprise, I responded by saying, "that's not a lot of streams." This is a common reaction I have when artists tell me they have 10k streams. It amazes me that people struggle to grasp the significant difference in size when it comes to numbers.
My friend does programming at one of the country's most influential radio stations. We debated whether bands would prefer to have 25 million streams on Spotify or 5 drive time spins on KROCK. Without a doubt, we agreed that the bands should chose the spins on KROCK. Those spins, just like the streams, only matter if there is a proper plan in place, and most of the artist with low spins on stream don't have proper promotion and marketing plans in place. I'm tired of making records with people who release records without a proper runup to a release date or marketing.
The goal is to have records that change the world, and/or become "hits." It's crazy to me that artist spend all their money making the record and then hire a $100 per week social media person and a $500 a month PR person, FOR ONE MONTH, spend 0 on marketing (!!!!!) then wonder why no one hears their album. I'm SICK OF SPENDING MY TIME MAKING RECORDS ONLY FOR THE ARTIST TO F*CK IT UP! Like, I f*cking sick of it. I can do a better job releasing their record, and maybe I should as it's in my best interest for people to hear the art I help create.
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From: Don Bartlett
Subject: Re: The Modern Music Business
Are you familiar with "Keep the Wolves Away" by Uncle Lucius? Killer story. They had a bit of a good following down here in Texas back in the day but ultimately they got older, had kids and van touring got old so they broke up in 2018. A couple years later the singer got a text that their song was featured on Yellowstone. He didn't even know that the show was. (He had given away 1/2 the publishing to their old label way back when, so they were the ones who approved the sync) They didn't have a website or any socials, but suddenly the song had 100M plays on YouTube and 75M streams. It hasn't slowed down much 4 years later, either....check out the comment section on the video. This isn't the bullsh*t gaming of the numbers you see so often these days, it's real people connecting with a song. The song ended up being certified gold, then platinum. And they got back together and now they're touring again and doing good business.
And here's the best stroke of luck I've ever heard of. Because of the writers strike, CBS is airing Season 1 of Yellowstone on Sunday nights...first time it's been on network tv. The episode that features the song airs 10/1. Right as the band starts their fall tour. Not sure what sort of karmic bank account they're drawing on to get this sort of good fortune, but it must be substantial.
Good placements happen all the time, but still fun so see what happens when a good placement meets a great song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYdvxBxHX2U
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Subject: Re: Class Act (And Thicker Than Water)
Hi Bob,
A story about Tapie that few people know.
My close friend spent 18 months in jail for covering up for Tapie in the Adidas takeover. When he came out, Tapie gave him a plum salary and a Mercedes for a fictive assignment.
Many years later, he was dining in a restaurant with bankers for a proposed venture when Tapie came in with friends and sat down at the other end. My friend gave a note to the waitress for Tapie. Tapie replied with a "Join me at the bar". They caught up briefly. My friend told him about the bankers and his idea for the new venture.
Later, while leaving the restaurant, Tapie walked up to my friend's table and gave him a piece of paper: "This is my mobile number. Call me if you need anything. I'll always be there for you." His banker friends were totally impressed. Tapie was a legend!
The next day, my friend dialed Tapie to thank him. "The number you dialed does not exist."
Achille Forler
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From: Kelsee Becker
Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
His summer 2024 presale started today and it includes 2 shows at Fenway, 2 at MSG and 1 at Hollywood Bowl. He sold out red rocks a few months ago. He was playing 500 cap venues Nov/Dec 2021, it's wild! I feel like the build up really came with the release of the deluxe edition of his current album + the biweekly collab songs coming out since then
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Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
Bob,
Great seeing this on Noah Kahan. I was doing press at this year's Boston Calling Fest in May. Huge headliners - Foo Fighters, The Lumineers, Paramore. Foo Fighters were finally there after a few years of cancels and hard times. Day 2 was by far the biggest crowd I've ever seen at BC, and I believe the most tickets they've ever sold. I'm talking thousands more than Day 1. At one point I had the opportunity to walk the grounds. I asked everyone I saw who they were looking forward to seeing. Every single person said "Noah Kahan." This was The Lumineers, Alanis day.
Noah's set was incredible. It was like the perfect, giant campfire sing-along, where everyone attached to these personal songs that took on a personal meaning coming out of the past few years.
I was then backstage interviewing Mt. Joy later on, and ran into Noah after his set. We had a brief chat and he could not have been more kind to everyone he spoke with. Being from New England, he was just filled with gratitude that you could not help to notice and appreciate. It was so refreshing. And you know what.... that type of authentic attitude is working.
Noah then came out with the Lumineers and performed a Jason Isbell classic with Wes. It was awesome, and Isbell thought so too (tweeted about it).
This week, Noah Kahan announced his 2nd date playing Fenway Park for the summer of 24. We'll all be here forever.
-Jeff Gorra / Artist Waves.
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Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
hey Bob.....yeah, this kid is quite a story. I am a tour publicist for Rounder Records, and when I went to start on his fall tour dates a few months ago, I saw two things immediately--1) Ruston was the support act for Noah Kahan, who I had never heard of, and 2) most of the shows were already sold out!
I was like "who the f*ck is this guy??" and found him on spotify. I listened to some tracks and they were very good but his streaming numbers are sick--of the top 10 songs on it now, there is one song with almost a quarter of a billion streams, seven songs with 8-figure streams, and two with "just" 7-figure streams (and both of those were released in the last 10 days or so!).
the other thing I'll tell you is that the more you listen, his songs just grow on you like a fungus. you can tell the guy is singing from experience--the emotion just pours out and connects in a powerful way....and that's what music is supposed to do. and he's only 25!
Mike Farley
Michael J. Media Group LLC
Rounder/Concord Records tour press
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Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
Hi Bob,
I appreciate this one! I'd been hearing him on XM Coffeehouse…a channel I really love. I'd recently gotten into XM because I have a road trip coming up. I realized from your subject line, "oh, that guy! I love that guy!" But I didn't realize he was getting big already!?!? That's good news. He's a great artist, as are all the ones XM's Coffeehouse plays.
I couldn't agree me. All the old paradigms are broken. I spent 20+ years in radio—a place where Coffeehouse couldn't have endured, much less gotten off the ground. After a month of being stuck on this music channel, I'm starting to dig more into the artists and they're all really good. Some have been around a while. I didn't even realize The Japanese House had a new album before I started listening to XM.
And they say women over 40 "don't like new music." Ha! But again, all the old paradigms are broken. Noah probably doesn't *need* the boost but he deserves it. I do like his music. I guess I'm a fan because I felt my heart skip a beat to see him get some recognition. ??
And as I complete this email, Stick Season has started playing on the channel…
Heather Larson
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From: Darren Herman
Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
Bob-
Wow - I saw the subject line and completely shifted from doing my "work" to reading your note. I'm a long time reader of yours and this piece on Noah Kahan hits home. Noah is special to me - it's the FIRST act my daughter (13 yrs) came home with last summer and said, "dad, listen." I listened and the whole home fell in love with Noah. We were fortunate to see him at Mansfield (Xfinity Center) a few weeks ago and it was incredible to hear the entire crowd sing almost every lyric of every song. He mentioned how special it was to play in his backyard - and you can see the gratitude on his face. Stick Season is a fantastic album but the more I dive into his older music, the more I enjoy it. Dial Drunk and False Confidence are on my constant rotation these days.
Thank you for highlighting Noah.
Darren
__________________________________
From: Mark McLaughlin
Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
How the hell has Noah Kahan been off my radar? Thanks for the introduction. I guess "he has been at it for years" but geeze, he is an old man in a 26 year old body. I'm an instant fan and I will be seeing him live now when he comes to Asheville.
__________________________________
From: Alex Crothers
Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
And he's from Vermont! Im his local promoter in Vermont. We've been working with Noah as a headliner since 2018. We've sold out every show (10) at Higher Ground and two large outdoor shows this summer. The only show that didn't sell out was a singer-songwriter showcase competition he played in 2017 where he came in 3rd place! Noah's success is well-earned. And, as is often the case with these stories, he's got a great team behind him with Drew Simmons/Ryan Langlois and Joe Atamian/Paige Maloney.
__________________________________
Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
I never heard of him until he landed on the Xfinity Center Schedule in Mansfield, MA, last summer. He sold it out. Of the 19,500, 80 percent were 18 to 25-year-old women, singing every note to every song. He just announced his second show at Fenway Park next summer!
Brian Quinn
Last Dance Production
__________________________________
From: Richard Young
Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
Ticket demand is off the charts too. Try to find a ticket at face value right now. Or better yet, look at second market. Even in secondary markets!
__________________________________
From: Steven Anderko
Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
Bob,
About 5, 6 weeks ago, my 15 year old daughter (who's a swiftie) played a tune of his and I was into it. She also was hooked right away with Morgan Wallen.
Their songs are on heavy rotation at home (Sonos)!
Steve
__________________________________
Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
Bob:
I'd never heard of Morgan Wallen before last week, when I got a call to be stagecrew at his show here in Ottawa. Several dozen friends and I got called by the union to unload two dozen semis with his gear in them (and his picture on the outside) and put everything together.
The unload, setup, teardown, and load-out were fine. The touring guy I worked with mostly (hi Dario!) was excellent, as was every other member of the crew I came in contact with. I told him he shouldn't expect miracles just 'cause I had long grey hair and beard; I haven't actually been doing this for 50 years solid. His reply was "No worries, I started in April myself." He was cheerful, knowledgeable, and observant; a treat to work with/for.
If Mr. Wallen can attract and retain people like that on his *touring* crew, riding a bus every night to a new place to have a show, he's *really* a natural.
Dave O'Heare
__________________________________
From: Joe Greenwald
Subject: Re: Noah Kahan
Same thing I happening (not the same level but def a good one) with one of my guys Charles Wesley Godwin, im way too biased to even tell you how great I think he is (the audience will do that) but its the same thing, all songs written from the heart from him to the audience and we went from a Third and Lindley in Nashville just 2 years ago barely to two sold out Rymans (and could have put a third up) in one day. Give it a listen, I think you will like. Musicians (and fans) win when this kind of energy takes over.
__________________________________
Subject: Re: Angry
It's great that the Stones are writing and releasing new music. Angry? Meh. Nothing new here.
What can millionaire rockstars be angry at, taxes? The Beatles did that.
Love interest? How can you relate to Joe Biden having sex?
If the Stones want to release albums and tour, good for them.
I hope I can still do that 14 years from now. I won't be a millionaire but it's fun making music and playing songs for fans. There's nothing better. If you've never done that, it's hard to understand. Applause rings for days. If you can find a job where at the end of the day you get a standing ovation, take it. Priceless. I'll do it until I can't, it stops being fun, or people don't buy tickets.
Steven Gustafson
10,000 Maniacs
est 1981
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Thursday, 28 September 2023
Sweet Sounds Of Heaven
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/mrynf85a
YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/ypm9x3ua
This is more like it. A complete return to form. How do I know? I wanted to hear it again. That's the litmus test. I could barely get through "Angry," it was a chore, it was a Stones cover band imitating the sound that made the act famous. You know, an opening cut that's supposed to wow listeners and become a radio hit. But the radio doesn't play the Stones anymore, at least not on Top Forty. As for rock... They want something new, just look at the Active Rock chart. Well, by their standards even Metallica is new, but that is about as far back as it goes. In fact, if you recognize most of the acts on the Active Rock chart you must work in the format, or be heavily dedicated to the sound. As for the rest of us...
What about the rest of us? What are we supposed to do? With no trustworthy filters. No one to point us to the good stuff. Sure, there's tons of information, but you listen to the music and you wonder what the fuss is about, you can't get through it. So you go back to the old records. You feel bad about it, but you just can't find an entry point to the present. You're told you're old, you don't get it, but you got it more than anybody else back in the day, how can this be?
The Stones have misfired with opening cuts for years now. That formula is long in the tooth and far from blue chip. But what's between the buttons...that's the nougat, that's what we're looking for, what we're listening to. The stuff they may never play on the radio, but stuff we want to play again and again at home. That puts us in a mood. We don't need a crowd to enjoy it, it's just us, and that's enough.
But now not only are today's vaunted singles trash, the albums are endless, over an hour, it's too much to digest, it's too much to even start.
Now if you follow the history of rock and roll, it's all based in the blues, the Delta. These acts might have been ignored in the States but they were godhead in the U.K. The nascent musicians across the pond digested this stuff and then fed it back to us in a slightly altered form that we loved. But in modern music we got so far from the garden. You know what the TV competition shows are missing? Soul. It's not about how good somebody's voice is, it's something indescribable, that you can feel, that hits you directly in the heart, that moves you as a person, that is not teflon, that does not slide right off of you.
I think rock music could come back if it went back to its roots, back to the blues. Stripped it all down, slowed it all down, and just delivered the essence. The seventies were about the flourishes, expanding upon the form, demonstrating playing skills. The eighties were about how you looked, the rockers dressed up in spandex and sang ballads for commercial appeal and then Kurt Cobain came and put a fork in the whole damn thing. Don't confuse Nirvana with Pearl Jam. Cobain was a great songwriter, he owed more to the Beatles than he owed to punk. His punk element was in the outlook, the feel, but the songs...they had melodies and changes like back in the sixties. And then Cobain killed himself and hip-hop took over. Hip-hop was the sound of the streets, Ice-T knew more about Compton than anybody in the government, but then hip-hop became a caricature of itself, a cartoon just like the spandexed rockers of the eighties. Also, since samples were expensive to clear, it became about beats and too true hooks and melody were absent.
As for pop... It might put you on the front page of the paper, but it doesn't hit you in the gut, doesn't stick with you, it's evanescent, whereas the blues are forever, they're still singing Robert Johnson songs.
So the Stones have actually improved on stage. They're tighter. And they've got balls, they don't employ hard drives, there are no fillers, just a band on stage, and it takes them a while to lock on, but when they do... It's still the same thing, that's the thrill. No one else does this. The Eagles present perfection. No one is on the high wire except for the Stones. The Dead used to inhabit this territory, talk about rough, but John Mayer elevated the professionalism of the act, Dead and Company were made for modern consumption, they were good from the first note, delivered what was needed, which was more than could be expected.
They sing to tape at the Super Bowl. It's too risky to go live. Forget performance mistakes, the audio could fail, there are too many potential potholes. You record in advance and sing to tape and the engineer mixes a final product. But the Stones play to audiences this large without it. They might be rich, but they're broke on stage, just depending on their skills, their wits, and nobody else does this to stadium crowds, nobody. Which is why when they hit the groove, when they lock on, it's such a transcendent experience, the essence of live, because it is live, it's human, and that's something everybody can resonate with.
So "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" should have been the initial single. Screw the charts, the only people interested in Stones tracks are the faithful, they want to be satiated, and that's what "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" does.
In other words, there are no rules, other than to throw the old rule book out. And if you're coming from the wilderness with a big PR campaign don't give people what you think they want, but what they need. I'll tell you, I was surprised when I pushed play on "Sweet Sounds of Heaven," a slow, dirgey number? These are so hard to get right, but in this case the Stones triumphed.
Think of "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" as an album track on "Exile on Main Street." You know, "Ventilator Blues," "Casino Boogie" and "Loving Cup." But mostly "Let It Loose," the stealth number closing the third side, you know, with that woman wailing with her high voice at the end... There was once a letter in "Rolling Stone" saying the writer wanted to meet a woman like that, who could make that sound, who was that person. Back before money was everything, when it was about the sound, the record.
That's Lady Gaga in "Sweet Sounds of Heaven." And what's great is it doesn't sound like Lady Gaga, as in it doesn't come across as a stunt, she fits the track, she doesn't overpower the track, it's about her voice rather than her fame. I was skeptical when I heard she was on the record, but ultimately not only does she sound like the woman on "Let It Loose," but Maggie Bell in "Every Picture Tells a Story" and Sandy Denny in "The Battle of Evermore." She lifts the track to a whole new level, she's a spice, not the main ingredient, and that's appropriate.
And the other thing is what happens when the edited version is over at 5:06, you need to listen to the original, the real thing, the whole enchilada, which runs 7:22. Because it's at this point, when the single is over, that the whole track quiets down, that you're transported to Muscle Shoals, back to Mississippi, the roots of this music...when this song is struck down to its absolute essence, its roots, no tricks, that's when it shines. And you may not want to hear this part on the radio, but at home it's what makes you happy to feel alive.
The lyrics suck, are substandard, someone needed the balls to confront Mick. Forget trying to be modern, Mick isn't even in the league of what he's done before. Even "Let It Loose" had more, never mind "Brown Sugar" and "Sister Morphine," and "Midnight Rambler" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want." And a lot of blues songs are repetitive, but really Mick, we needed more than this. But really, the lyrics are secondary to the sound, the feel, the soul on records like this. "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" is more, is great, but it could have been truly iconic with some better words.
But not only do I think of "Let It Loose," I think of "Time Waits for No One," the last cut on "It's Only Rock 'n Roll," a transcendent number that seems to have been lost to the sands of time, but if you were a dedicated Stones fan back in 1974 you've never forgotten it, never will forget it.
Because of Mick Taylor. The Stones have never been as good since. They've been good, but not that good. Taylor was a superior musician, a better player than anybody else in the group, Keith may specialize in feel, in sound, even riff, but Taylor could dance atop the whole thing, take it into the stratosphere.
With melody. Unfortunately Ronnie Wood's guitar playing is too similar to Keith's. Taylor's was different. A special sauce that Brian Jones added too. The indefinable element that separates the wheat from the chaff, that makes the Stones the Stones. When Mick Taylor dances on the frets, over the track in "Time Waits For No One," you're both energized and transfixed, as he goes up the scale, this takes the number to a whole 'nother level. Which is what the break down section, what happens past 5:07, does in "Sweet Sounds of Heaven."
Instead of trying to hit us in the face, the Stones backed away, left just the juices, not the whole meal. They've been covering up for too long. But not in "Sweet Sounds of Heaven." Gaga is wailing without showing off, she feels the music, the piano is playing, you can hear the notes, and Mick is toasting.
That's rock and roll.
And that's why "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" is great. Once is not enough, nor is twice, I've been listening to it for over an hour, will listen more on my hike tonight, I just don't want to let go of the mood, one that I can't get in any TV show, even the best, only music delivers this.
You know it when you hear it. And I heard it almost immediately. And I don't want to let go.
Do I expect everybody to feel the same way? Absolutely not. Today you don't make music for everybody, you don't play to the bleachers, but to those up close, the fans, who need this manna. And if it's good enough, they'll spread the word, turn more people on. The old days of top-down marketing/manipulation are history. It's all about the track. And "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" is that track, that transcends the image of the band, that stands on its own. It's nearly remarkable. I was expecting the tracks released in the wake of "Angry" to be worse.
Life'll surprise you.
And it's life and life only.
It's not money, it's not possessions, it's all about feel.
And there's a great feel in "Sweet Sounds of Heaven."
YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/ypm9x3ua
This is more like it. A complete return to form. How do I know? I wanted to hear it again. That's the litmus test. I could barely get through "Angry," it was a chore, it was a Stones cover band imitating the sound that made the act famous. You know, an opening cut that's supposed to wow listeners and become a radio hit. But the radio doesn't play the Stones anymore, at least not on Top Forty. As for rock... They want something new, just look at the Active Rock chart. Well, by their standards even Metallica is new, but that is about as far back as it goes. In fact, if you recognize most of the acts on the Active Rock chart you must work in the format, or be heavily dedicated to the sound. As for the rest of us...
What about the rest of us? What are we supposed to do? With no trustworthy filters. No one to point us to the good stuff. Sure, there's tons of information, but you listen to the music and you wonder what the fuss is about, you can't get through it. So you go back to the old records. You feel bad about it, but you just can't find an entry point to the present. You're told you're old, you don't get it, but you got it more than anybody else back in the day, how can this be?
The Stones have misfired with opening cuts for years now. That formula is long in the tooth and far from blue chip. But what's between the buttons...that's the nougat, that's what we're looking for, what we're listening to. The stuff they may never play on the radio, but stuff we want to play again and again at home. That puts us in a mood. We don't need a crowd to enjoy it, it's just us, and that's enough.
But now not only are today's vaunted singles trash, the albums are endless, over an hour, it's too much to digest, it's too much to even start.
Now if you follow the history of rock and roll, it's all based in the blues, the Delta. These acts might have been ignored in the States but they were godhead in the U.K. The nascent musicians across the pond digested this stuff and then fed it back to us in a slightly altered form that we loved. But in modern music we got so far from the garden. You know what the TV competition shows are missing? Soul. It's not about how good somebody's voice is, it's something indescribable, that you can feel, that hits you directly in the heart, that moves you as a person, that is not teflon, that does not slide right off of you.
I think rock music could come back if it went back to its roots, back to the blues. Stripped it all down, slowed it all down, and just delivered the essence. The seventies were about the flourishes, expanding upon the form, demonstrating playing skills. The eighties were about how you looked, the rockers dressed up in spandex and sang ballads for commercial appeal and then Kurt Cobain came and put a fork in the whole damn thing. Don't confuse Nirvana with Pearl Jam. Cobain was a great songwriter, he owed more to the Beatles than he owed to punk. His punk element was in the outlook, the feel, but the songs...they had melodies and changes like back in the sixties. And then Cobain killed himself and hip-hop took over. Hip-hop was the sound of the streets, Ice-T knew more about Compton than anybody in the government, but then hip-hop became a caricature of itself, a cartoon just like the spandexed rockers of the eighties. Also, since samples were expensive to clear, it became about beats and too true hooks and melody were absent.
As for pop... It might put you on the front page of the paper, but it doesn't hit you in the gut, doesn't stick with you, it's evanescent, whereas the blues are forever, they're still singing Robert Johnson songs.
So the Stones have actually improved on stage. They're tighter. And they've got balls, they don't employ hard drives, there are no fillers, just a band on stage, and it takes them a while to lock on, but when they do... It's still the same thing, that's the thrill. No one else does this. The Eagles present perfection. No one is on the high wire except for the Stones. The Dead used to inhabit this territory, talk about rough, but John Mayer elevated the professionalism of the act, Dead and Company were made for modern consumption, they were good from the first note, delivered what was needed, which was more than could be expected.
They sing to tape at the Super Bowl. It's too risky to go live. Forget performance mistakes, the audio could fail, there are too many potential potholes. You record in advance and sing to tape and the engineer mixes a final product. But the Stones play to audiences this large without it. They might be rich, but they're broke on stage, just depending on their skills, their wits, and nobody else does this to stadium crowds, nobody. Which is why when they hit the groove, when they lock on, it's such a transcendent experience, the essence of live, because it is live, it's human, and that's something everybody can resonate with.
So "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" should have been the initial single. Screw the charts, the only people interested in Stones tracks are the faithful, they want to be satiated, and that's what "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" does.
In other words, there are no rules, other than to throw the old rule book out. And if you're coming from the wilderness with a big PR campaign don't give people what you think they want, but what they need. I'll tell you, I was surprised when I pushed play on "Sweet Sounds of Heaven," a slow, dirgey number? These are so hard to get right, but in this case the Stones triumphed.
Think of "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" as an album track on "Exile on Main Street." You know, "Ventilator Blues," "Casino Boogie" and "Loving Cup." But mostly "Let It Loose," the stealth number closing the third side, you know, with that woman wailing with her high voice at the end... There was once a letter in "Rolling Stone" saying the writer wanted to meet a woman like that, who could make that sound, who was that person. Back before money was everything, when it was about the sound, the record.
That's Lady Gaga in "Sweet Sounds of Heaven." And what's great is it doesn't sound like Lady Gaga, as in it doesn't come across as a stunt, she fits the track, she doesn't overpower the track, it's about her voice rather than her fame. I was skeptical when I heard she was on the record, but ultimately not only does she sound like the woman on "Let It Loose," but Maggie Bell in "Every Picture Tells a Story" and Sandy Denny in "The Battle of Evermore." She lifts the track to a whole new level, she's a spice, not the main ingredient, and that's appropriate.
And the other thing is what happens when the edited version is over at 5:06, you need to listen to the original, the real thing, the whole enchilada, which runs 7:22. Because it's at this point, when the single is over, that the whole track quiets down, that you're transported to Muscle Shoals, back to Mississippi, the roots of this music...when this song is struck down to its absolute essence, its roots, no tricks, that's when it shines. And you may not want to hear this part on the radio, but at home it's what makes you happy to feel alive.
The lyrics suck, are substandard, someone needed the balls to confront Mick. Forget trying to be modern, Mick isn't even in the league of what he's done before. Even "Let It Loose" had more, never mind "Brown Sugar" and "Sister Morphine," and "Midnight Rambler" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want." And a lot of blues songs are repetitive, but really Mick, we needed more than this. But really, the lyrics are secondary to the sound, the feel, the soul on records like this. "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" is more, is great, but it could have been truly iconic with some better words.
But not only do I think of "Let It Loose," I think of "Time Waits for No One," the last cut on "It's Only Rock 'n Roll," a transcendent number that seems to have been lost to the sands of time, but if you were a dedicated Stones fan back in 1974 you've never forgotten it, never will forget it.
Because of Mick Taylor. The Stones have never been as good since. They've been good, but not that good. Taylor was a superior musician, a better player than anybody else in the group, Keith may specialize in feel, in sound, even riff, but Taylor could dance atop the whole thing, take it into the stratosphere.
With melody. Unfortunately Ronnie Wood's guitar playing is too similar to Keith's. Taylor's was different. A special sauce that Brian Jones added too. The indefinable element that separates the wheat from the chaff, that makes the Stones the Stones. When Mick Taylor dances on the frets, over the track in "Time Waits For No One," you're both energized and transfixed, as he goes up the scale, this takes the number to a whole 'nother level. Which is what the break down section, what happens past 5:07, does in "Sweet Sounds of Heaven."
Instead of trying to hit us in the face, the Stones backed away, left just the juices, not the whole meal. They've been covering up for too long. But not in "Sweet Sounds of Heaven." Gaga is wailing without showing off, she feels the music, the piano is playing, you can hear the notes, and Mick is toasting.
That's rock and roll.
And that's why "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" is great. Once is not enough, nor is twice, I've been listening to it for over an hour, will listen more on my hike tonight, I just don't want to let go of the mood, one that I can't get in any TV show, even the best, only music delivers this.
You know it when you hear it. And I heard it almost immediately. And I don't want to let go.
Do I expect everybody to feel the same way? Absolutely not. Today you don't make music for everybody, you don't play to the bleachers, but to those up close, the fans, who need this manna. And if it's good enough, they'll spread the word, turn more people on. The old days of top-down marketing/manipulation are history. It's all about the track. And "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" is that track, that transcends the image of the band, that stands on its own. It's nearly remarkable. I was expecting the tracks released in the wake of "Angry" to be worse.
Life'll surprise you.
And it's life and life only.
It's not money, it's not possessions, it's all about feel.
And there's a great feel in "Sweet Sounds of Heaven."
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Jay Cooper-This Week's Podcast
Nonagenarian entertainment attorney Jay Cooper is as wise, insightful and sharp as ever. Tune in to hear the story of a musician who became a lawyer and is as excited about the business today as he was yesterday.
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/jay-cooper-124382509/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jay-cooper/id1316200737?i=1000629502880
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2vr2uebjIV9Arlvyh7gnw1?si=cwV7DbPTRBe-q2IoKoOfDA
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/f693baca-99a2-46cd-b1fa-1b5db6bb92d6/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-jay-cooper
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Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/jay-cooper-124382509/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jay-cooper/id1316200737?i=1000629502880
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2vr2uebjIV9Arlvyh7gnw1?si=cwV7DbPTRBe-q2IoKoOfDA
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/f693baca-99a2-46cd-b1fa-1b5db6bb92d6/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-jay-cooper
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-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
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The 2nd Republican Debate
1
You can't be bigger than the Beatles by imitating the Beatles.
There was only one Beatles, we haven't seen an act that big, with that kind of impact, since. Their music will maintain whereas the rest of the British Invasion has almost already disappeared.
I loved "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter." "I'm into Something Good" was resuscitated by its inclusion in the movie "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!" thirty five years ago, and it has sustained as a result thereof, albeit not as impactfully as "Bohemian Rhapsody" after its inclusion in "Wayne's World." I did the Freddie, does anybody remember what that was? Eric Burdon and his Animals had a unique sound, the only problem was the songwriting, they never grew into great scribes, unlike the Beatles. Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders had a great cut, but the band split, Fontana ran out of gas and ultimately Eric Stewart had a hit with the Mindbenders, but he's most remembered for his work in 10cc, if he's remembered at all. There were a couple of acts that followed in the Beatles' direct footsteps, mostly by utilizing their songs. Peter & Gordon... The world certainly lacks love, but Peter Asher made his rep as a record producer and manager. And Badfinger might have broke with "Come and Get It," but they explored new territory thereafter. (Does anybody realize that "Without You" was a Badfinger song, opening up the second side of "No Dice"? Most people think it's a Mariah Carey cover of a Nilsson number, if they think about its writer at all. And I love "Day After Day" and "Perfection" from "Straight Up," but it's "Without You" that has carried on, illustrating the power of a great song.)
And then there were the Rolling Stones. They used to have battles on the radio between them and the Beatles. And although plenty of people did love both, there were people who loved the Stones and hated the Beatles, as well as vice versa. The Stones were an alternative. Dark and dirty, playing blues-influenced numbers. They might have begun with a Beatles cover of "I Wanna Be Your Man," but they grew from there quickly, and when they tried to imitate the Beatles they failed miserably, with "Satanic Majesties," a poor imitation of "Sgt. Pepper." But "Beggars Banquet"? Completely different from what the Stones had done before, more acoustic, and even more dark and dirty, the album got reviews just as good as the White Album. And then came "Let It Bleed," and when the Beatles had exhausted their run there was "Sticky Fingers," the true breakthrough, the album that made the Stones truly iconic, because it contained the ubiquitous hit "Brown Sugar."
Mick Jagger won't sing "Brown Sugar" anymore, with its lines about slavery. That was fifty years ago, times have changed. But the Stones are not set in amber, they're still doing it, they even have a new album in the wings.
2
So last night there were constant references to St. Reagan. You know, the guy whose tenure as president ended in 1988, a mere thirty five years ago. Think about that. You'd have to be at least forty five years old to have any remembrance at all of the Reagan era. But the so-called Party of Lincoln keeps trotting him out. It'd be like constantly talking about the IBM Selectric in the era of computers, never mind smartphones. That was then and this is now. The Selectric was a keeper in its era, better than everything else on the market, but typewriters...do they even sell them anymore?
The Democrats are too hung up on Obama. I'll argue, quite strongly, that Biden has been a better president that Obama. Because Biden woke up and realized the opposition was unmoveable, and instead of trying to appease the Republicans, instead of constant gridlock, Joe marched forward and got things done.
But the Democrats don't bring up FDR or Kennedy. That's too long ago, a completely different era. If you were aware in the Reagan era you know the eighties were a time of celebration, MTV was the heartbeat of not only America, but the world. We can criticize the eighties as the beginning of income inequality, because of the greed, because of the hedonism, but things didn't really turn dark until the nineties, with the Branch Davidians and Oklahoma City and even O.J. So why are the Republicans continuing to pay fealty to this old dude who was president once?
Because the people in control, the party apparatus, is out of touch with the young demographic. But there are more people on earth who don't remember Reagan than do.
This has hamstrung the Democrats too. The party apparatus. Completely clueless. After 2022 AOC declared the party was out of touch, that it needed to advertise online, to give up on TV, its old methods. What happened to AOC? She was shouted down.
As was Vivek Ramaswamy last night.
Man, I was grinning when Vivek owned TikTok. Like that old Sam Kinison joke about buying the starving residents of Africa suitcases, so they could move where the food was, Ramaswamy was speaking truth. But Vivek was shouted down. Doesn't he know that TikTok is controlled by the Chinese, the enemy, and it must be shut down immediately? It's got all the kids mesmerized, it's got all the data... Yeah, the younger generation does not hate China the way the older one does, never mind paying attention to how China is failing economically. As for privacy? That ship sailed long ago. Google knows more about you than your spouse.
Now this happened once before, when Johnson came to the baby boomers' door. The younger generation saw the light, that Vietnam was a folly, that the country needed a new direction. Today Vietnam is a tourist destination, Americans go there on a regular basis. The Domino Theory, like the Trickle Down Theory, proved false. The kids were not only alright, they were right. Johnson walked away, Humphrey lost and the Republicans gained control. The Democrats misread the room. Even worse, they went so far into Vietnam, were so committed, that they lost the youth and more, Humphrey could not convince these people he was alright.
Both parties are completely ignoring the younger generations, who can now vote at eighteen, and contrary to conventional wisdom do, vote that is. They're shaking their heads... Two old men running for president who don't understand their lives whatsoever. They'd like an alternative.
But the Democratic party brass says they've got this. To look at the data. Examine the past. No matter how much the music business self-analyzed, and it didn't, there was no way it would have foreseen Napster. Which might have been defeated in court, but there was no return to the old days. And at this point the new days, the new paradigm, are much better than the old. I won't try to convince you if you are not in agreement, I'll just dismiss you, like I do with the oldsters complaining about Spotify payments, never mind the Luddites who keep telling me they need to own their music. Do you need to own "White Lotus"? Everything is on demand, at your fingertips today, ready to be delivered from the cloud. Are these the same people who refused to get a telephone, listen to the radio, never mind not buy a TV? There are always buggy whip acolytes, they get too much airtime.
3
So what do we know about today? No one is happy. Except maybe the aforementioned party brass that believes it is in control, the same Democratic party brass that put all their faith in Hillary Clinton, who couldn't read the room, seeing she'd been branded by the right, was seen as inauthentic. Trump didn't win, Clinton lost, remember that.
Just like we get these idiots saying to put our faith in Kamala Harris. I've got no faith in her and I'm never going to vote Republican. She was bad in the 2020 debates and she's not demonstrated any great skill, certainly not in communication with the people, bedrock in winning races, and she's been branded by the right too.
As for Old Joe... Man, I saw him walking the other night and... He looked like an eighty year old man, shuffling, like he needed to hold on to someone's arm. I'm not saying the brain doesn't work, but if you think Joe inspires confidence, you're delusional.
As for Donald Trump... It's over, he's sinking. Have you noticed there's been little right wing blowback about the fraud decision? Oh, they come up with some cockamamie stories why he shouldn't be liable, like Trump's attorneys, who were sanctioned for it, but no one is sitting there saying the properties were worth what Trump said they were. That doesn't square with anybody. Everybody who's ever bought or sold a house, gotten a mortgage, knows that you can't get an appraiser to value your property at a zillion times beyond what's accurate. Forget the papers in Mar-A-Lago, the other indictments, the fraud just makes Trump look bad.
And now Trump is unhinged. Like a kid in high school making his last defense before punishment. Executing Milley? Never mind buying a gun in South Carolina, never mind all the insanity on Truth Social. Trump is spiraling out of control, and everybody, on the right and left, can see it. Sure, there is a core of Republicans who will never waver, who will support the man, then again there are friends and family members who will support the most heinous murderer, we don't let the criminal off because he's got a core constituency who will deny his behavior.
Yet the Democrats keep pushing Biden and the Republicans are shrugging their shoulders and saying their man is Trump. It's bizarroland. Other countries are laughing. Hell, I'd be laughing if it wasn't so damn scary.
Now if you've been paying attention, the Democratic journalists, the opinion-makers, have started to throw the long ball. The drumbeat is growing, there have been numerous articles recently about how Democrats don't want Biden, that he needs to step down. Will he? He should. And there's a strong chance he will. Like Johnson, too late in the game to allow the new candidates to gain attention and ground so they can win in November. But at least there were new candidates in 1967-68, today the Dems are too afraid to break ranks. But we must unleash Newsom, Whitmer, Polis and Pritzker, let them start duking it out now, because we need a new candidate.
The Republicans are letting candidates duke it out, but all you've got to know is Trump won't show up. The same Trump who wouldn't commit to supporting the ticket in 2016 if he wasn't on it.
Now in the old days, the political party would make the candidate show up. But today Trump is bigger than the Republican party. It's the Trump party, not the Republican party. So many of the things the Republicans stood for Trump is against, never mind the looney-tunes. The lunatics have taken over the asylum. It's raw chaos.
But no one will stand up to Trump, other than Chris Christie, who cavorted on a beach he closed, who was behind Bridgegate... Christie is a smart guy but those were dumb moves and you don't have to be an insider to be aware of them, I see interviews with people all the time where they reference Christie's shenanigans on the beach, Christie crossed a line, as bad as Billy Squier jumping on that bed in that red tank top, there's no coming back. Finito.
History repeats, but with a twist. You need to study history to win in the future, albeit not be beholden to it. Don't the Republican candidates know there was never a new Beatles? That to win you must take a different path?
Doesn't seem like it.
4
The first forty five minutes or so were positively insane. If you were a Democrat or were undecided your head was spinning. All we heard were right wing tropes. Biden's a criminal, the main issue is the border... It's like these people weren't even living in the same country.
But if I forgive all that, and consider the remaining hour and fifteen minutes...
It's all about electability. That's what you're looking for. What they say is secondary to how they deliver it. Doug Burgum was actually pretty good, but when he got the mic he was so thrilled that he spoke so quickly that you couldn't catch everything he was saying. Burgum looked desperate. That's a bad look. Forget it.
Mike Pence? Man, he was o.k. in the first debate, last night he looked like a gasoline car in an electric world. Electric cars feature incredible acceleration off the line. It always took Pence a while to get going. And he spoke slowly. And he got nailed on the Obamacare question. Like a typical weasel he avoided the query, but then Dana Perino came back to it, stuck the needle in him and it was over. Pence is a joke. People don't want puritanism. Most people want abortion. They don't want a second-rate religious zealot to be their president.
Vivek? He was scared straight. He got so much negative blowback from the first debate that he was more controlled, to his detriment. He listened to conventional wisdom, he should have stayed the course, confident young man on the verge of insanity. Vivek did himself no favors.
As for Nikki Haley... She made some good points in the first debate, attacking Trump for his flaws with the economy, admitting we're never going to get a national law prohibiting abortion after a short period of time. But this time... She focused on attacking Vivek. Made her look small and irrelevant.
Tim Scott. Wow, he rose from the ashes. This guy could be a contender. I doubt it, but he was one of the stars last night, if not the star.
As for Ron DeSantis...he had a good night. It wasn't so much the details, more the confidence. By the end you could see how this guy won so big in Florida. But DeSantis is not a winner, he's the robotic military freak who lives next door, a man who flies straight in a direction you don't agree with and doesn't waver, serious all the time. No masks? New College? Disney? I could go on and on, DeSantis may have won in Florida, but he can't win nationally, well at least I don't think he can, but he surprised me last night, in a good way.
5
So what are the alternatives?
I don't see any. I mean it's Trump or...
Now the newspapers have addressed this too. That you can't win by being Trump light. You've got to be different. But what we got was the same.
Now you should read yesterday's story in the "New York Times," "Trump and the 2024 Republican Primaries: 13 Voters Discuss": https://tinyurl.com/3sp3kz7x That's a free link, you should click, it's got pictures and everything, it's not a hard read. Bottom line, these people don't want Trump. And you might think they are handpicked, but then they utter some right wing tropes and you know they were not. These people want an ALTERNATIVE! And the Republicans refuse to give them one.
It's not too late for a new candidate, the election is over a year out. Chris Sununu said he wouldn't run, but he spoke English on Bill Maher's show, this guy is smart, articulate and knows how to fight, this guy could be a contender.
Then there are those who say the Republican candidates are not fighting that hard because they're waiting for 2028, when Trump is gone. This is always bad strategy, Biden ultimately became president, but he should have run against Hillary, this is not about friends, politics is cutthroat. And who knows, if Trump wins there may not even be an election in 2028. Don't laugh, did you believe he would refuse to concede in 2020? Don't look at America, look at authoritarians around the world.
But the odds of Trump winning are infinitesimal. Well, not that low, but close.
Ignore the polls.
First and foremost, you've got to pick up the call. I won't. Most people won't. Who has time for a pollster? And these pollsters, who have consistently gotten it wrong in the past decade keep telling us about their adaptations, their changes in modalities, and then they point to the margin of error to say they were right when they were really wrong. The election seems to always be decided within the margin of error, so what use are the polls?
But like I said, they're often just plain wrong.
Trump is not beating Biden, nowhere close. But who in the hell is going to pick up the phone and say they want Biden? I don't. I'm not going to testify to some pollster. I'll vote for Biden reluctantly. I'm not going to vote for a third party, I'm not going to sit at home, but Biden is too damn old, period. Sure, he could keep his marbles for another half decade, but that's not a bet I want to make. Athletes retire... It's a rare person who continues to work into old age. And based on my inbox, so many oldsters are completely out of touch with what's going on in America.
Like "The Voice."
Wanna know why no one can break from that show? The core audience is over sixty years old! Yes, network television now plays to the boomers, the oldsters, because who else is going to watch TV in real time...ALMOST NOBODY! In an on demand world you're going to sit through commercials? At a defined time? And it's not like "The Voice" is so hot that you need to record it, you're better off spending time on TikTok, which the rulers of our country pooh-pooh. I'm sick and tired of people pontificating with no experience. My accountant told me she was all about free speech, that she endorsed Musk's take on and ultimate changes to Twitter. I was kinda shocked, because Twitter is now a completely different experience. I asked her, has she been on the new Twitter? She hasn't been on Twitter at all, not even once. I mean you're not entitled to an opinion if you don't play. But oldsters do this constantly, think they're familiar when they're not, they think by getting plastic surgery and owning a smartphone they are hip, but it's all exterior, inside they're clueless. Oh, they have some wisdom, some experience from being on the planet so long, but they're overwhelmed with change, and they want to do different things with their time, like watch network TV.
Trump can't win. Not that he'll admit defeat if he loses. But if the Republicans nominated almost anyone else, they'd have a chance. Because Biden is not beloved.
Not to mention it's over a year out. Please tell me what is going to happen in Trump's life to his advantage politically. Do you think there are undecided independents at home saying this guy has been indicted four times, he's a fraudster...HE'S MY MAN! Not a single one. Period. But that's speaking English, and you can't speak English in politics today. Today it's all about authenticity, credibility, and the more last night candidates talked, the more they sacrificed it, never mind it being a charisma free zone.
6
How come I can see all this and nobody else can? Well, the truth is everybody can see this, but those inured to the process, the party apparatus, don't want to admit it. Biden beat Trump once so he can do it again. My mother started losing it in her eighties... Repeating herself a bit. And you'd be in the car with her and she'd be straight and then...she'd do it again and you'd wince. You were hoping and praying the previous events were anomalies, but they weren't. Biden's gait and intellect are not going to get better in the next year. Never mind when he was young he was a faux pas machine. And he may not campaign from the basement this time, but if he's on stage with almost anybody he's going to look bad. How come I know this and nobody else does? Once again, everybody knows this.
The only way you can win against Trump is by being different. Not being hamstrung by his acolytes. The Stones didn't care about the Beatles' audience, they grew their own. There was enough room for both. And then the Stones crossed over a couple of times, with "As Tears Go By" and "Ruby Tuesday," and those who thought they hated the Stones suddenly cottoned to them.
There are so many problems in America today. Bush II won by saying he was a uniter, not a divider, even though that was completely untrue. Why is there all this hate on the right, where is the optimism? Who is speaking to those who have not drunk the kool-aid? Look into the camera and tell us that there needs to be child care, that there needs to be Obamacare, don't be beholden to the orthodoxy, most people want Obamacare, why are you speaking to the tiny minority who don't? They're not going to vote for a Democrat ever, they're locked in, you don't have to pander to them.
Politics is ripe for disruption. Just like Napster with the record industry. Actually, it's already happened. With Trump. He said the unsayable, turns out people don't really care how many times you're divorced. And he appealed to the workers who were ignored by the Democrats, who thought they had this constituency locked up.
But that was back in the teens, and now we're in the twenties. Disruption looks different. When an industry is calcified, set in its ways, overcharging the same damn customers, opportunities for the new are ripe. And the new always start outside the system, and are rough around the edges, but they appeal to early adopters and then overnight, the new triumphs. Just like Napster. First only on college campuses because of high speed connections, and then everybody got a high speed connection at home to download music. Like AOL before that. People saw no use for a computer, and then everybody bought one. Like digital photography. Remember Fotomat? It's not coming back. And Blockbuster? Who knew that Netflix, a DVD by mail company, would end up implementing this new paradigm, streaming, and become the biggest force in content distribution, never mind production?
Our politics are certainly calcified. Set in the old. Run by the old. Appealing to the old, with the canard that oldsters vote and youngsters don't. With old candidates... If you don't see a landscape ripe for disruption, you're probably part of the apparatus, never mind clueless.
Look at it this way... How did Vivek Ramaswamy go from nowhere to somewhere almost overnight? By being different. He might have overplayed his hand, squandered his chance, but that doesn't mean someone smarter can't win. Never forget, Rhapsody predated Spotify.
And it's all about exposure. And that first debate got in excess of twelve million viewers, never mind those who saw clips after the fact, online. Ramaswamy got more exposure, was better known to the public, than Taylor Swift. It's always been about mass. And right now that's what people care about, politics, not music. Everyone thinks their life, their future, hangs in the balance. There's a vacuum, ready to be filled by someone living in the present who is not beholden to orthodoxy.
Don't say it can't happen. Never underestimate the power of the individual. And no one can predict the future.
It can't go on this way.
You can't be bigger than the Beatles by imitating the Beatles.
There was only one Beatles, we haven't seen an act that big, with that kind of impact, since. Their music will maintain whereas the rest of the British Invasion has almost already disappeared.
I loved "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter." "I'm into Something Good" was resuscitated by its inclusion in the movie "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!" thirty five years ago, and it has sustained as a result thereof, albeit not as impactfully as "Bohemian Rhapsody" after its inclusion in "Wayne's World." I did the Freddie, does anybody remember what that was? Eric Burdon and his Animals had a unique sound, the only problem was the songwriting, they never grew into great scribes, unlike the Beatles. Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders had a great cut, but the band split, Fontana ran out of gas and ultimately Eric Stewart had a hit with the Mindbenders, but he's most remembered for his work in 10cc, if he's remembered at all. There were a couple of acts that followed in the Beatles' direct footsteps, mostly by utilizing their songs. Peter & Gordon... The world certainly lacks love, but Peter Asher made his rep as a record producer and manager. And Badfinger might have broke with "Come and Get It," but they explored new territory thereafter. (Does anybody realize that "Without You" was a Badfinger song, opening up the second side of "No Dice"? Most people think it's a Mariah Carey cover of a Nilsson number, if they think about its writer at all. And I love "Day After Day" and "Perfection" from "Straight Up," but it's "Without You" that has carried on, illustrating the power of a great song.)
And then there were the Rolling Stones. They used to have battles on the radio between them and the Beatles. And although plenty of people did love both, there were people who loved the Stones and hated the Beatles, as well as vice versa. The Stones were an alternative. Dark and dirty, playing blues-influenced numbers. They might have begun with a Beatles cover of "I Wanna Be Your Man," but they grew from there quickly, and when they tried to imitate the Beatles they failed miserably, with "Satanic Majesties," a poor imitation of "Sgt. Pepper." But "Beggars Banquet"? Completely different from what the Stones had done before, more acoustic, and even more dark and dirty, the album got reviews just as good as the White Album. And then came "Let It Bleed," and when the Beatles had exhausted their run there was "Sticky Fingers," the true breakthrough, the album that made the Stones truly iconic, because it contained the ubiquitous hit "Brown Sugar."
Mick Jagger won't sing "Brown Sugar" anymore, with its lines about slavery. That was fifty years ago, times have changed. But the Stones are not set in amber, they're still doing it, they even have a new album in the wings.
2
So last night there were constant references to St. Reagan. You know, the guy whose tenure as president ended in 1988, a mere thirty five years ago. Think about that. You'd have to be at least forty five years old to have any remembrance at all of the Reagan era. But the so-called Party of Lincoln keeps trotting him out. It'd be like constantly talking about the IBM Selectric in the era of computers, never mind smartphones. That was then and this is now. The Selectric was a keeper in its era, better than everything else on the market, but typewriters...do they even sell them anymore?
The Democrats are too hung up on Obama. I'll argue, quite strongly, that Biden has been a better president that Obama. Because Biden woke up and realized the opposition was unmoveable, and instead of trying to appease the Republicans, instead of constant gridlock, Joe marched forward and got things done.
But the Democrats don't bring up FDR or Kennedy. That's too long ago, a completely different era. If you were aware in the Reagan era you know the eighties were a time of celebration, MTV was the heartbeat of not only America, but the world. We can criticize the eighties as the beginning of income inequality, because of the greed, because of the hedonism, but things didn't really turn dark until the nineties, with the Branch Davidians and Oklahoma City and even O.J. So why are the Republicans continuing to pay fealty to this old dude who was president once?
Because the people in control, the party apparatus, is out of touch with the young demographic. But there are more people on earth who don't remember Reagan than do.
This has hamstrung the Democrats too. The party apparatus. Completely clueless. After 2022 AOC declared the party was out of touch, that it needed to advertise online, to give up on TV, its old methods. What happened to AOC? She was shouted down.
As was Vivek Ramaswamy last night.
Man, I was grinning when Vivek owned TikTok. Like that old Sam Kinison joke about buying the starving residents of Africa suitcases, so they could move where the food was, Ramaswamy was speaking truth. But Vivek was shouted down. Doesn't he know that TikTok is controlled by the Chinese, the enemy, and it must be shut down immediately? It's got all the kids mesmerized, it's got all the data... Yeah, the younger generation does not hate China the way the older one does, never mind paying attention to how China is failing economically. As for privacy? That ship sailed long ago. Google knows more about you than your spouse.
Now this happened once before, when Johnson came to the baby boomers' door. The younger generation saw the light, that Vietnam was a folly, that the country needed a new direction. Today Vietnam is a tourist destination, Americans go there on a regular basis. The Domino Theory, like the Trickle Down Theory, proved false. The kids were not only alright, they were right. Johnson walked away, Humphrey lost and the Republicans gained control. The Democrats misread the room. Even worse, they went so far into Vietnam, were so committed, that they lost the youth and more, Humphrey could not convince these people he was alright.
Both parties are completely ignoring the younger generations, who can now vote at eighteen, and contrary to conventional wisdom do, vote that is. They're shaking their heads... Two old men running for president who don't understand their lives whatsoever. They'd like an alternative.
But the Democratic party brass says they've got this. To look at the data. Examine the past. No matter how much the music business self-analyzed, and it didn't, there was no way it would have foreseen Napster. Which might have been defeated in court, but there was no return to the old days. And at this point the new days, the new paradigm, are much better than the old. I won't try to convince you if you are not in agreement, I'll just dismiss you, like I do with the oldsters complaining about Spotify payments, never mind the Luddites who keep telling me they need to own their music. Do you need to own "White Lotus"? Everything is on demand, at your fingertips today, ready to be delivered from the cloud. Are these the same people who refused to get a telephone, listen to the radio, never mind not buy a TV? There are always buggy whip acolytes, they get too much airtime.
3
So what do we know about today? No one is happy. Except maybe the aforementioned party brass that believes it is in control, the same Democratic party brass that put all their faith in Hillary Clinton, who couldn't read the room, seeing she'd been branded by the right, was seen as inauthentic. Trump didn't win, Clinton lost, remember that.
Just like we get these idiots saying to put our faith in Kamala Harris. I've got no faith in her and I'm never going to vote Republican. She was bad in the 2020 debates and she's not demonstrated any great skill, certainly not in communication with the people, bedrock in winning races, and she's been branded by the right too.
As for Old Joe... Man, I saw him walking the other night and... He looked like an eighty year old man, shuffling, like he needed to hold on to someone's arm. I'm not saying the brain doesn't work, but if you think Joe inspires confidence, you're delusional.
As for Donald Trump... It's over, he's sinking. Have you noticed there's been little right wing blowback about the fraud decision? Oh, they come up with some cockamamie stories why he shouldn't be liable, like Trump's attorneys, who were sanctioned for it, but no one is sitting there saying the properties were worth what Trump said they were. That doesn't square with anybody. Everybody who's ever bought or sold a house, gotten a mortgage, knows that you can't get an appraiser to value your property at a zillion times beyond what's accurate. Forget the papers in Mar-A-Lago, the other indictments, the fraud just makes Trump look bad.
And now Trump is unhinged. Like a kid in high school making his last defense before punishment. Executing Milley? Never mind buying a gun in South Carolina, never mind all the insanity on Truth Social. Trump is spiraling out of control, and everybody, on the right and left, can see it. Sure, there is a core of Republicans who will never waver, who will support the man, then again there are friends and family members who will support the most heinous murderer, we don't let the criminal off because he's got a core constituency who will deny his behavior.
Yet the Democrats keep pushing Biden and the Republicans are shrugging their shoulders and saying their man is Trump. It's bizarroland. Other countries are laughing. Hell, I'd be laughing if it wasn't so damn scary.
Now if you've been paying attention, the Democratic journalists, the opinion-makers, have started to throw the long ball. The drumbeat is growing, there have been numerous articles recently about how Democrats don't want Biden, that he needs to step down. Will he? He should. And there's a strong chance he will. Like Johnson, too late in the game to allow the new candidates to gain attention and ground so they can win in November. But at least there were new candidates in 1967-68, today the Dems are too afraid to break ranks. But we must unleash Newsom, Whitmer, Polis and Pritzker, let them start duking it out now, because we need a new candidate.
The Republicans are letting candidates duke it out, but all you've got to know is Trump won't show up. The same Trump who wouldn't commit to supporting the ticket in 2016 if he wasn't on it.
Now in the old days, the political party would make the candidate show up. But today Trump is bigger than the Republican party. It's the Trump party, not the Republican party. So many of the things the Republicans stood for Trump is against, never mind the looney-tunes. The lunatics have taken over the asylum. It's raw chaos.
But no one will stand up to Trump, other than Chris Christie, who cavorted on a beach he closed, who was behind Bridgegate... Christie is a smart guy but those were dumb moves and you don't have to be an insider to be aware of them, I see interviews with people all the time where they reference Christie's shenanigans on the beach, Christie crossed a line, as bad as Billy Squier jumping on that bed in that red tank top, there's no coming back. Finito.
History repeats, but with a twist. You need to study history to win in the future, albeit not be beholden to it. Don't the Republican candidates know there was never a new Beatles? That to win you must take a different path?
Doesn't seem like it.
4
The first forty five minutes or so were positively insane. If you were a Democrat or were undecided your head was spinning. All we heard were right wing tropes. Biden's a criminal, the main issue is the border... It's like these people weren't even living in the same country.
But if I forgive all that, and consider the remaining hour and fifteen minutes...
It's all about electability. That's what you're looking for. What they say is secondary to how they deliver it. Doug Burgum was actually pretty good, but when he got the mic he was so thrilled that he spoke so quickly that you couldn't catch everything he was saying. Burgum looked desperate. That's a bad look. Forget it.
Mike Pence? Man, he was o.k. in the first debate, last night he looked like a gasoline car in an electric world. Electric cars feature incredible acceleration off the line. It always took Pence a while to get going. And he spoke slowly. And he got nailed on the Obamacare question. Like a typical weasel he avoided the query, but then Dana Perino came back to it, stuck the needle in him and it was over. Pence is a joke. People don't want puritanism. Most people want abortion. They don't want a second-rate religious zealot to be their president.
Vivek? He was scared straight. He got so much negative blowback from the first debate that he was more controlled, to his detriment. He listened to conventional wisdom, he should have stayed the course, confident young man on the verge of insanity. Vivek did himself no favors.
As for Nikki Haley... She made some good points in the first debate, attacking Trump for his flaws with the economy, admitting we're never going to get a national law prohibiting abortion after a short period of time. But this time... She focused on attacking Vivek. Made her look small and irrelevant.
Tim Scott. Wow, he rose from the ashes. This guy could be a contender. I doubt it, but he was one of the stars last night, if not the star.
As for Ron DeSantis...he had a good night. It wasn't so much the details, more the confidence. By the end you could see how this guy won so big in Florida. But DeSantis is not a winner, he's the robotic military freak who lives next door, a man who flies straight in a direction you don't agree with and doesn't waver, serious all the time. No masks? New College? Disney? I could go on and on, DeSantis may have won in Florida, but he can't win nationally, well at least I don't think he can, but he surprised me last night, in a good way.
5
So what are the alternatives?
I don't see any. I mean it's Trump or...
Now the newspapers have addressed this too. That you can't win by being Trump light. You've got to be different. But what we got was the same.
Now you should read yesterday's story in the "New York Times," "Trump and the 2024 Republican Primaries: 13 Voters Discuss": https://tinyurl.com/3sp3kz7x That's a free link, you should click, it's got pictures and everything, it's not a hard read. Bottom line, these people don't want Trump. And you might think they are handpicked, but then they utter some right wing tropes and you know they were not. These people want an ALTERNATIVE! And the Republicans refuse to give them one.
It's not too late for a new candidate, the election is over a year out. Chris Sununu said he wouldn't run, but he spoke English on Bill Maher's show, this guy is smart, articulate and knows how to fight, this guy could be a contender.
Then there are those who say the Republican candidates are not fighting that hard because they're waiting for 2028, when Trump is gone. This is always bad strategy, Biden ultimately became president, but he should have run against Hillary, this is not about friends, politics is cutthroat. And who knows, if Trump wins there may not even be an election in 2028. Don't laugh, did you believe he would refuse to concede in 2020? Don't look at America, look at authoritarians around the world.
But the odds of Trump winning are infinitesimal. Well, not that low, but close.
Ignore the polls.
First and foremost, you've got to pick up the call. I won't. Most people won't. Who has time for a pollster? And these pollsters, who have consistently gotten it wrong in the past decade keep telling us about their adaptations, their changes in modalities, and then they point to the margin of error to say they were right when they were really wrong. The election seems to always be decided within the margin of error, so what use are the polls?
But like I said, they're often just plain wrong.
Trump is not beating Biden, nowhere close. But who in the hell is going to pick up the phone and say they want Biden? I don't. I'm not going to testify to some pollster. I'll vote for Biden reluctantly. I'm not going to vote for a third party, I'm not going to sit at home, but Biden is too damn old, period. Sure, he could keep his marbles for another half decade, but that's not a bet I want to make. Athletes retire... It's a rare person who continues to work into old age. And based on my inbox, so many oldsters are completely out of touch with what's going on in America.
Like "The Voice."
Wanna know why no one can break from that show? The core audience is over sixty years old! Yes, network television now plays to the boomers, the oldsters, because who else is going to watch TV in real time...ALMOST NOBODY! In an on demand world you're going to sit through commercials? At a defined time? And it's not like "The Voice" is so hot that you need to record it, you're better off spending time on TikTok, which the rulers of our country pooh-pooh. I'm sick and tired of people pontificating with no experience. My accountant told me she was all about free speech, that she endorsed Musk's take on and ultimate changes to Twitter. I was kinda shocked, because Twitter is now a completely different experience. I asked her, has she been on the new Twitter? She hasn't been on Twitter at all, not even once. I mean you're not entitled to an opinion if you don't play. But oldsters do this constantly, think they're familiar when they're not, they think by getting plastic surgery and owning a smartphone they are hip, but it's all exterior, inside they're clueless. Oh, they have some wisdom, some experience from being on the planet so long, but they're overwhelmed with change, and they want to do different things with their time, like watch network TV.
Trump can't win. Not that he'll admit defeat if he loses. But if the Republicans nominated almost anyone else, they'd have a chance. Because Biden is not beloved.
Not to mention it's over a year out. Please tell me what is going to happen in Trump's life to his advantage politically. Do you think there are undecided independents at home saying this guy has been indicted four times, he's a fraudster...HE'S MY MAN! Not a single one. Period. But that's speaking English, and you can't speak English in politics today. Today it's all about authenticity, credibility, and the more last night candidates talked, the more they sacrificed it, never mind it being a charisma free zone.
6
How come I can see all this and nobody else can? Well, the truth is everybody can see this, but those inured to the process, the party apparatus, don't want to admit it. Biden beat Trump once so he can do it again. My mother started losing it in her eighties... Repeating herself a bit. And you'd be in the car with her and she'd be straight and then...she'd do it again and you'd wince. You were hoping and praying the previous events were anomalies, but they weren't. Biden's gait and intellect are not going to get better in the next year. Never mind when he was young he was a faux pas machine. And he may not campaign from the basement this time, but if he's on stage with almost anybody he's going to look bad. How come I know this and nobody else does? Once again, everybody knows this.
The only way you can win against Trump is by being different. Not being hamstrung by his acolytes. The Stones didn't care about the Beatles' audience, they grew their own. There was enough room for both. And then the Stones crossed over a couple of times, with "As Tears Go By" and "Ruby Tuesday," and those who thought they hated the Stones suddenly cottoned to them.
There are so many problems in America today. Bush II won by saying he was a uniter, not a divider, even though that was completely untrue. Why is there all this hate on the right, where is the optimism? Who is speaking to those who have not drunk the kool-aid? Look into the camera and tell us that there needs to be child care, that there needs to be Obamacare, don't be beholden to the orthodoxy, most people want Obamacare, why are you speaking to the tiny minority who don't? They're not going to vote for a Democrat ever, they're locked in, you don't have to pander to them.
Politics is ripe for disruption. Just like Napster with the record industry. Actually, it's already happened. With Trump. He said the unsayable, turns out people don't really care how many times you're divorced. And he appealed to the workers who were ignored by the Democrats, who thought they had this constituency locked up.
But that was back in the teens, and now we're in the twenties. Disruption looks different. When an industry is calcified, set in its ways, overcharging the same damn customers, opportunities for the new are ripe. And the new always start outside the system, and are rough around the edges, but they appeal to early adopters and then overnight, the new triumphs. Just like Napster. First only on college campuses because of high speed connections, and then everybody got a high speed connection at home to download music. Like AOL before that. People saw no use for a computer, and then everybody bought one. Like digital photography. Remember Fotomat? It's not coming back. And Blockbuster? Who knew that Netflix, a DVD by mail company, would end up implementing this new paradigm, streaming, and become the biggest force in content distribution, never mind production?
Our politics are certainly calcified. Set in the old. Run by the old. Appealing to the old, with the canard that oldsters vote and youngsters don't. With old candidates... If you don't see a landscape ripe for disruption, you're probably part of the apparatus, never mind clueless.
Look at it this way... How did Vivek Ramaswamy go from nowhere to somewhere almost overnight? By being different. He might have overplayed his hand, squandered his chance, but that doesn't mean someone smarter can't win. Never forget, Rhapsody predated Spotify.
And it's all about exposure. And that first debate got in excess of twelve million viewers, never mind those who saw clips after the fact, online. Ramaswamy got more exposure, was better known to the public, than Taylor Swift. It's always been about mass. And right now that's what people care about, politics, not music. Everyone thinks their life, their future, hangs in the balance. There's a vacuum, ready to be filled by someone living in the present who is not beholden to orthodoxy.
Don't say it can't happen. Never underestimate the power of the individual. And no one can predict the future.
It can't go on this way.
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Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Class Act (And Thicker Than Water)
"Class Act": https://tinyurl.com/yyubjytj
"Thicker Than Water": https://tinyurl.com/4r59jf59
I can't wait to finish "Thicker Than Water" tonight, which is funny, because I almost gave up on it.
It's not much of a commitment, about eight half hours, but it seemed somewhat contrived and predictable, and then it didn't. You know something is good when you think about it all day, when you look forward in anticipation.
But before "Thicker Than Water" we watched "Class Act," which I felt somewhat similarly towards. As in I got where the first two episodes were going, was it just going to be a repeat of those until the end? A somewhat comedic story of an underdog triumphing in the business world? No, it wasn't. The show got deeper, and more unpredictable in its predictableness. And you'll read the warning right up front, about fictionalization, but you'll also see that everybody in France knows this story.
But I don't live in France. So I took "Class Act" at face value until the end, until I realized it was real.
Now these two shows are not A+ ventures, not must-see. But everything American they say I've got to check out is substandard. Like that Hulu show "This Fool." The "New York Times" raved about it, and maybe it gets better, but there was a hokiness in the first episode that made us refrain from watching any more. "This Fool" wasn't quite gritty enough and wasn't quite funny enough, it existed in a no-man's land where you had to accept it on its own terms and that was a land I chose not to inhabit.
But "Class Act"... This is a classic story, of the underdog who wants more, who is working the angles without portfolio, stretching the truth all the while. Ascending the financial and public ladder as he goes. But the thing about it, as broadly comic as Tapie, the main character, might be at times, it's true. The essence, much more than the disclaimer would have you believe, is true.
Now if "Class Act" were an American show it would be a phenomenon. Then again, what are the odds of an American triumphing to this level? America, despite all the b.s. about social mobility, is ruled by a class system. Not quite as bad as Britain's, but pretty damn bad. Let's put it this way... Even if you're smart and dedicated on the low end, you aren't even aware of the opportunities on the high end, you go to the state school even though you could go to the Ivies, the elite, for free because they're need-blind, but you don't know what that means and they don't want you to. America is all about unlocking information. The more you know, the further you can get. If you're sitting at home b.s.'ing with your friends, getting high, watching television, you're missing out. (Meanwhile, did you catch Paul Simon's anti-dope talk at the end of his marvelous interview with Howard Stern? In the old days this interview would be front page news, today if you're not a Stern listener you're clueless. Simon is not sexy, he's not in the gossip pages, but what he's got to say...) The thing about the information age is... There's so much information at your fingertips, a lot of it free. As for the expense... Well, Apple News+ is ten bucks a month, and you can subscribe to the papers digitally in some cases for less than $200 a year. But it's easier to be cheap, say it's too expensive as you blow this amount and more on evanescent experiences, on trifles that you don't even recall.
Man, I'm stuck on this. You can glean so much if you just hoover up the information. Most people are uneducated and full of crap, despite their bloviating around the table. They perceive themselves as experts, even though they're far from it. They'd rather jockey for position in the lower echelons, make you feel bad about yourself so you'll be too intimidated to play, than venture into the real game and lose.
Yes, there's always a real game. The real game of music is in Los Angeles. Let me see... You've got the heads of Live Nation, AEG, Universal Music and Warner Music here. Come to L.A. if you want to play, elsewhere you are hamstrung, a hand behind your back.
Forget all the b.s. about San Francisco. You want to be in tech, go there. Rents are cheaper right now, albeit not that cheap. You see that's the epicenter, where most of it happens in tech. Of course it happens elsewhere too, but why play in a small pond when you can go directly to the source?
Yes, disinformation is rampant. They want to keep you down in the hole they're in, to paraphrase Bob Dylan. They don't want you to dream big, they don't want to believe in you or support you, they just want you to know your place and follow the rules.
Tapie doesn't believe in all that. And therefore he keeps moving up the ladder. Always based on good ideas, sometimes with poor execution.
The bottom line is no one is better than you, but you don't believe that, even if you hear it.
Tapie believes he can play, and it's fascinating to watch him do so.
As the episodes progress, the action slows down, the story slows down, and the interactions are more intense.
But you've got to commit to it. You can watch Zaslav's naked dating show on Max for titillation, but if you watch "Class Act" you'll have something to think about, gain insight.
Not that it's a chore, not that it's work.
Yes, it's all happening in streaming TV. But you've got to work for it. You can't just pick the low-hanging fruit, which is inherently homogenized for mass consumption. You've got to go deeper, for the nougat.
Not that either "Class Act" or "Thicker Than Water" are highbrow, intellectual. It's just that they're not made for the brain dead.
And we've all got a brain, you choose whether to kill it or not.
But if you want to expand your horizons, be bigger than those in your neighborhood, think about the big issues in a way that those ruling the world do...you can read the news online (not the endless opinion blogs) and watch shows like "Class Act." And "Thicker Than Water." They don't require much other than dedication. Sit your butt down and watch them. It's not a sentence, when "Class Act" is over you'll be glad you did. The end of "Thicker Than Water" hangs in the balance, but...I like art that is primary, that demands all your attention. I don't go to the show to shoot selfies with my friends, I'm there to communicate with the act on stage, it's a one on one experience, transcendent when done right.
I get a similar feeling watching streaming TV. It's just me, with no interruptions. I can focus, marinate in the message.
I live for this. It makes my life complete.
"Thicker Than Water": https://tinyurl.com/4r59jf59
I can't wait to finish "Thicker Than Water" tonight, which is funny, because I almost gave up on it.
It's not much of a commitment, about eight half hours, but it seemed somewhat contrived and predictable, and then it didn't. You know something is good when you think about it all day, when you look forward in anticipation.
But before "Thicker Than Water" we watched "Class Act," which I felt somewhat similarly towards. As in I got where the first two episodes were going, was it just going to be a repeat of those until the end? A somewhat comedic story of an underdog triumphing in the business world? No, it wasn't. The show got deeper, and more unpredictable in its predictableness. And you'll read the warning right up front, about fictionalization, but you'll also see that everybody in France knows this story.
But I don't live in France. So I took "Class Act" at face value until the end, until I realized it was real.
Now these two shows are not A+ ventures, not must-see. But everything American they say I've got to check out is substandard. Like that Hulu show "This Fool." The "New York Times" raved about it, and maybe it gets better, but there was a hokiness in the first episode that made us refrain from watching any more. "This Fool" wasn't quite gritty enough and wasn't quite funny enough, it existed in a no-man's land where you had to accept it on its own terms and that was a land I chose not to inhabit.
But "Class Act"... This is a classic story, of the underdog who wants more, who is working the angles without portfolio, stretching the truth all the while. Ascending the financial and public ladder as he goes. But the thing about it, as broadly comic as Tapie, the main character, might be at times, it's true. The essence, much more than the disclaimer would have you believe, is true.
Now if "Class Act" were an American show it would be a phenomenon. Then again, what are the odds of an American triumphing to this level? America, despite all the b.s. about social mobility, is ruled by a class system. Not quite as bad as Britain's, but pretty damn bad. Let's put it this way... Even if you're smart and dedicated on the low end, you aren't even aware of the opportunities on the high end, you go to the state school even though you could go to the Ivies, the elite, for free because they're need-blind, but you don't know what that means and they don't want you to. America is all about unlocking information. The more you know, the further you can get. If you're sitting at home b.s.'ing with your friends, getting high, watching television, you're missing out. (Meanwhile, did you catch Paul Simon's anti-dope talk at the end of his marvelous interview with Howard Stern? In the old days this interview would be front page news, today if you're not a Stern listener you're clueless. Simon is not sexy, he's not in the gossip pages, but what he's got to say...) The thing about the information age is... There's so much information at your fingertips, a lot of it free. As for the expense... Well, Apple News+ is ten bucks a month, and you can subscribe to the papers digitally in some cases for less than $200 a year. But it's easier to be cheap, say it's too expensive as you blow this amount and more on evanescent experiences, on trifles that you don't even recall.
Man, I'm stuck on this. You can glean so much if you just hoover up the information. Most people are uneducated and full of crap, despite their bloviating around the table. They perceive themselves as experts, even though they're far from it. They'd rather jockey for position in the lower echelons, make you feel bad about yourself so you'll be too intimidated to play, than venture into the real game and lose.
Yes, there's always a real game. The real game of music is in Los Angeles. Let me see... You've got the heads of Live Nation, AEG, Universal Music and Warner Music here. Come to L.A. if you want to play, elsewhere you are hamstrung, a hand behind your back.
Forget all the b.s. about San Francisco. You want to be in tech, go there. Rents are cheaper right now, albeit not that cheap. You see that's the epicenter, where most of it happens in tech. Of course it happens elsewhere too, but why play in a small pond when you can go directly to the source?
Yes, disinformation is rampant. They want to keep you down in the hole they're in, to paraphrase Bob Dylan. They don't want you to dream big, they don't want to believe in you or support you, they just want you to know your place and follow the rules.
Tapie doesn't believe in all that. And therefore he keeps moving up the ladder. Always based on good ideas, sometimes with poor execution.
The bottom line is no one is better than you, but you don't believe that, even if you hear it.
Tapie believes he can play, and it's fascinating to watch him do so.
As the episodes progress, the action slows down, the story slows down, and the interactions are more intense.
But you've got to commit to it. You can watch Zaslav's naked dating show on Max for titillation, but if you watch "Class Act" you'll have something to think about, gain insight.
Not that it's a chore, not that it's work.
Yes, it's all happening in streaming TV. But you've got to work for it. You can't just pick the low-hanging fruit, which is inherently homogenized for mass consumption. You've got to go deeper, for the nougat.
Not that either "Class Act" or "Thicker Than Water" are highbrow, intellectual. It's just that they're not made for the brain dead.
And we've all got a brain, you choose whether to kill it or not.
But if you want to expand your horizons, be bigger than those in your neighborhood, think about the big issues in a way that those ruling the world do...you can read the news online (not the endless opinion blogs) and watch shows like "Class Act." And "Thicker Than Water." They don't require much other than dedication. Sit your butt down and watch them. It's not a sentence, when "Class Act" is over you'll be glad you did. The end of "Thicker Than Water" hangs in the balance, but...I like art that is primary, that demands all your attention. I don't go to the show to shoot selfies with my friends, I'm there to communicate with the act on stage, it's a one on one experience, transcendent when done right.
I get a similar feeling watching streaming TV. It's just me, with no interruptions. I can focus, marinate in the message.
I live for this. It makes my life complete.
--
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
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Noah Kahan
This never happened before. At least since the sixties and seventies. You know, act percolates in the marketplace and starts to sell beaucoup tickets sans hit. Since the eighties at least it's been all about the hit. You know, getting the track on MTV, on the universal Top Forty radio, reaching the masses and then having the piñata break so the money rains down. But growing from the bottom up, the long-lamented "artist development," that's been history. Until now.
Yes, Noah Kahan has been at it for years. And not alone, building his audience on social media, but supported by a major label, Republic. Today the major usually skims the cream, it doesn't start from zero, and it finds one track and pushes and pushes and...
If you're paying attention, and you either are or you're not, you may still think we live in a monoculture, dominated by Taylor Swift and the Weeknd, as if we all were exposed to the same stuff, knew it and liked it, a paradigm that evaporated over a decade ago. Noah Kahan was happening long before the collaboration with Post Malone, that's just icing on the cake. But even stranger, the music Kahan makes has been considered niche for eons. Sure, Jewel broke through three decades ago, but her music was remixed for radio and her face was plastered everywhere and you couldn't turn on the TV without seeing her performing. Personal music, a variation on what we used to call singer/songwriter? That was for AAA, that was a backwater, a slice of the market that existed but the mainstream gave up on nearly completely.
Yes, Noah Kahan was selling tickets, in prodigious numbers, before the Post Malone number. Somehow the audience knew. People were not beaten over the head, it wasn't about publicity, exposure, it was about the music. The audience embraced it and needed more. It was not manipulation, it was organic.
Selling tickets. They say Noah Kahan can now do arenas. And having built his name over time, with the music, he can now sell tickets for the rest of his life. This can happen in country, but it does not happen in Top Forty. Top Forty is all about the low hanging fruit, the streaming numbers, the recording revenue, whereas today the business is more holistic (I hate that term, don't you?) In other words, it's about the vaunted 360. You're a musician, not a recording artist. It's about everything, not just the hit. And the avenues of remuneration seem to be endless. For those bitching about streaming payments...the joke is on you. In the old days your music would have been unavailable to the masses unless they bought it. Sans radio play there was no exposure. Word of mouth was much slower. As for today...everyone can play. But rising above? That's nearly impossible.
We keep hearing how the industry can't break new stars. But what do you say about Zach Bryan, never mind Noah Kahan and Morgan Wallen? This is not the music that people want, right? They want hip-hop, overblown pop, not this personal, touchy-feely stuff from weak boys as opposed to macho boasters. And one thing about the foregoing three, it's about the songs. To use the Grammy distinction, not the record. In other words, if you're a fan you can sing along.
But all the news is about Doja Cat. The rest of the TMZ acts that populate the Spotify Top 50. The train-wrecks. Fighting with each other, getting in trouble. Many are cartoons. It resembles the WWE more than music. And my point is not to criticize them, but to point out there's a whole 'nother world out there, that we don't live in a monoculture, that the audience is hungry for more, and if it hits a nerve, the public will spread the word.
Furthermore, the music is not made by the usual suspects. I love and respect Max Martin, he's more talented than the acts he works with. I'm not as big a believer in Jack Antonoff, nice guy, doesn't have the same magic as Max, but Jack's fingerprints are all over the records of the supposed household names. But Noah Kahan co-produced his album with Gabe Simon. Oh, you know Gabe, from the Kopecky Family Band, a ubiquitous outfit if there ever was one... Ha!
Zach Bryan's right hand guy is the well-known Eddie Spears, who doesn't even have his own Wikipedia page!
And another thing Kahan and Bryan have in common...they write their own material, alone! What a concept! Directly from their heart to yours. No collaboration, no writers camp, no trolling the wares of the writers du jour, no top line, no nothing except the artist themselves. What a breakthrough! Well, a return of what once made this business triumph. Their music is not worked-over, homogenized, burnished, willed into a hit, it just is.
And I mention Morgan Wallen, the biggest person in recorded music today, whose only true competitor is Bad Bunny, because you can sing his music too. Yes, Wallen started off on a TV competition show, which he did not win. Yet even though he's a pariah for employing the n-word when he was drunk, he keeps dominating the charts. I loved the story of the Black NFL player who rallied his team by playing a Wallen song in the locker room. Forget Usher, Morgan Wallen should have been the Super Bowl headliner, but everybody involved is too inured to the past. You get the most modern teams, the ones who won that season, in the game, but during halftime you get acts long in the tooth, on a victory lap to sell tickets. What do they say, throw the long ball? The NFL can't do it, it's the establishment. And the greatest music, the most successful music, the music that has resonated most has always been anti-establishment. And that means anti-NFL, anti-low hanging fruit, anti all the crap promotion that we have had for the past decade, if not longer.
Yes, the above three artists are white. So that brings up the issue of race. I'll just go to the heart of the matter. Not everybody likes hip-hop, some people abhor it. Meaning there's a whole 'nother market in existence, that for a long time has been ignored. And Noah Kahan is speaking to that market, as is Zach Bryan. Both of whom have been at it for years.
Now I'd never heard of Noah Kahan until June. I was out to lunch with Jim Guerinot who spontaneously told me his girlfriend had turned him on to Noah Kahan, that he'd never heard of him before, but he liked Kahan's music, more than liked, and he got tickets for them to see Kahan at the Greek.
I've been paying attention to Kahan ever since. First I could hardly believe it. An act I'd never heard of before was selling out the Greek? Used to be if you were in the music business you knew everything, felt everything, even if you hadn't heard it. But today that's impossible, there's just too much in the landscape.
The audience has broken Noah Kahan.
And he won't be the last.
Yes, Noah Kahan has been at it for years. And not alone, building his audience on social media, but supported by a major label, Republic. Today the major usually skims the cream, it doesn't start from zero, and it finds one track and pushes and pushes and...
If you're paying attention, and you either are or you're not, you may still think we live in a monoculture, dominated by Taylor Swift and the Weeknd, as if we all were exposed to the same stuff, knew it and liked it, a paradigm that evaporated over a decade ago. Noah Kahan was happening long before the collaboration with Post Malone, that's just icing on the cake. But even stranger, the music Kahan makes has been considered niche for eons. Sure, Jewel broke through three decades ago, but her music was remixed for radio and her face was plastered everywhere and you couldn't turn on the TV without seeing her performing. Personal music, a variation on what we used to call singer/songwriter? That was for AAA, that was a backwater, a slice of the market that existed but the mainstream gave up on nearly completely.
Yes, Noah Kahan was selling tickets, in prodigious numbers, before the Post Malone number. Somehow the audience knew. People were not beaten over the head, it wasn't about publicity, exposure, it was about the music. The audience embraced it and needed more. It was not manipulation, it was organic.
Selling tickets. They say Noah Kahan can now do arenas. And having built his name over time, with the music, he can now sell tickets for the rest of his life. This can happen in country, but it does not happen in Top Forty. Top Forty is all about the low hanging fruit, the streaming numbers, the recording revenue, whereas today the business is more holistic (I hate that term, don't you?) In other words, it's about the vaunted 360. You're a musician, not a recording artist. It's about everything, not just the hit. And the avenues of remuneration seem to be endless. For those bitching about streaming payments...the joke is on you. In the old days your music would have been unavailable to the masses unless they bought it. Sans radio play there was no exposure. Word of mouth was much slower. As for today...everyone can play. But rising above? That's nearly impossible.
We keep hearing how the industry can't break new stars. But what do you say about Zach Bryan, never mind Noah Kahan and Morgan Wallen? This is not the music that people want, right? They want hip-hop, overblown pop, not this personal, touchy-feely stuff from weak boys as opposed to macho boasters. And one thing about the foregoing three, it's about the songs. To use the Grammy distinction, not the record. In other words, if you're a fan you can sing along.
But all the news is about Doja Cat. The rest of the TMZ acts that populate the Spotify Top 50. The train-wrecks. Fighting with each other, getting in trouble. Many are cartoons. It resembles the WWE more than music. And my point is not to criticize them, but to point out there's a whole 'nother world out there, that we don't live in a monoculture, that the audience is hungry for more, and if it hits a nerve, the public will spread the word.
Furthermore, the music is not made by the usual suspects. I love and respect Max Martin, he's more talented than the acts he works with. I'm not as big a believer in Jack Antonoff, nice guy, doesn't have the same magic as Max, but Jack's fingerprints are all over the records of the supposed household names. But Noah Kahan co-produced his album with Gabe Simon. Oh, you know Gabe, from the Kopecky Family Band, a ubiquitous outfit if there ever was one... Ha!
Zach Bryan's right hand guy is the well-known Eddie Spears, who doesn't even have his own Wikipedia page!
And another thing Kahan and Bryan have in common...they write their own material, alone! What a concept! Directly from their heart to yours. No collaboration, no writers camp, no trolling the wares of the writers du jour, no top line, no nothing except the artist themselves. What a breakthrough! Well, a return of what once made this business triumph. Their music is not worked-over, homogenized, burnished, willed into a hit, it just is.
And I mention Morgan Wallen, the biggest person in recorded music today, whose only true competitor is Bad Bunny, because you can sing his music too. Yes, Wallen started off on a TV competition show, which he did not win. Yet even though he's a pariah for employing the n-word when he was drunk, he keeps dominating the charts. I loved the story of the Black NFL player who rallied his team by playing a Wallen song in the locker room. Forget Usher, Morgan Wallen should have been the Super Bowl headliner, but everybody involved is too inured to the past. You get the most modern teams, the ones who won that season, in the game, but during halftime you get acts long in the tooth, on a victory lap to sell tickets. What do they say, throw the long ball? The NFL can't do it, it's the establishment. And the greatest music, the most successful music, the music that has resonated most has always been anti-establishment. And that means anti-NFL, anti-low hanging fruit, anti all the crap promotion that we have had for the past decade, if not longer.
Yes, the above three artists are white. So that brings up the issue of race. I'll just go to the heart of the matter. Not everybody likes hip-hop, some people abhor it. Meaning there's a whole 'nother market in existence, that for a long time has been ignored. And Noah Kahan is speaking to that market, as is Zach Bryan. Both of whom have been at it for years.
Now I'd never heard of Noah Kahan until June. I was out to lunch with Jim Guerinot who spontaneously told me his girlfriend had turned him on to Noah Kahan, that he'd never heard of him before, but he liked Kahan's music, more than liked, and he got tickets for them to see Kahan at the Greek.
I've been paying attention to Kahan ever since. First I could hardly believe it. An act I'd never heard of before was selling out the Greek? Used to be if you were in the music business you knew everything, felt everything, even if you hadn't heard it. But today that's impossible, there's just too much in the landscape.
The audience has broken Noah Kahan.
And he won't be the last.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
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-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Tuesday, 26 September 2023
Trump/Fraud
My father wouldn't get a vanity plate. Because he wanted plausible deniability. Not that my dad was the type to step out, but if someone said they saw his car here or there he could always say it wasn't him, but if the license plate said "Lefsetz," he'd be nailed, he'd have to admit it.
Life used to be different, then income inequality burgeoned and the only thing left for the little people was fame, they certainly couldn't make beaucoup bucks. In order to win the jackpot, you've got to put your nose to the grindstone and complete years of education. Or you can be an entrepreneur working 24/7 for years with no guarantee of return. Most people would rather party. The lottery can give them the illusion of becoming rich, but ultimately it's just a tax on the poor, and the supposed American Dream, which George Carlin said you have to be asleep to believe, has become statistically less achievable over time.
But you could be on reality TV. Or ultimately an influencer on social media. As far as becoming rich, did you read that Kylie Jenner is not the youngest self-made billionaire? Because she's not even a billionaire, nowhere close, "Forbes" crunched the numbers, turned out she was lying.
But Kylie Jenner is an entertainer, using her fame to try and generate capital, and that's what entertainers do, lie.
All the time, on a regular basis.
If you read how rich an entertainer is... You can probably discount that number by 25%, if not 50% or 75%. That's part of their image, that they made it and are enjoying the spoils. And the devil is in the details anyway. The news constantly prints the gross, not the net... And the net might not even exist, the tour might have ended up in the red. But you heard they grossed $100 million!
Who's to call them on it?
"Forbes" was just correcting Kylie to exclude her from their list of billionaires, "Forbes" wanted to be authoritative. The rest of the world? Either didn't care or bought it hook, line and sinker.
Records... Taylor Swift won't release the gross per gig because she wants to wow everybody with the final number, setting a record. Good for her, but she ain't netting a billion dollars, nowhere close. And there are Fortune 500 executives you've never heard of who are richer than Swift. Yes, you can work for the man and end up making a billion, primarily based on stock rewards. That's where the real money is, in corporations, on Wall Street, entertainment is chump change.
But it's entertainment that the people see.
You can make up any story you want, they said Frank Zappa crapped on stage. Of course that didn't happen, but who was going to check on it? Furthermore, who in the artist's camp is going to say it's untrue if it benefits their boss?
You see people in entertainment are selling their image. And the public is imitating the entertainers, as it has always done.
But if you're not in entertainment, if your income is not based on image, setting records, being bigger and better than anybody else, STFU!
That's what the blue bloods did.
Back in the fifties and sixties, even into the seventies, you couldn't tell who the really rich were. At that point, the rich had inherited the money. And they drove old Country Squires and wore threadbare khakis and Top-Siders. They undersold their assets, they didn't want the attention. They didn't want their kids kidnapped, they didn't want to anger those less fortunate, they flew beneath the radar.
However, starting with lower tax rates in the eighties, and then the tech boom, never mind the financialization of America, today's rich have actually made the money, they earned it...and too many want to tell you about it.
They want to tell you how hard they worked and still do. And they want you to envy their significant other and lifestyle. They want to tell you they're better than you. When in truth they should be fading back into the woodwork, like the blue bloods of yore. Because the image is paying no dividends, it might even have a cost. Have you noticed that David Geffen has been out of the fray since he posted on Instagram that he was spending the Covid lockdown on his yacht? He'll never live down the backlash. And goofy, laughing Jeff Bezos was tolerated as a brilliant nerd until he stole his good friend's wife and was seen cavorting and canoodling with her all over the world. I mean what's the benefit?
Well, in truth to make that kind of dough you usually need to fill an unfillable hole. Maybe you never got the love you deserved from your mother, maybe you were bullied in school. And, in truth, most of these people never get over it, but whereas entertainers tend to have a lifespan, living on fumes after a peak, these business people continue to rake in the dough and they want to continue to impress you who they are and you're not.
And that brings attention.
In other words, if your business is not based on gaining attention, do your best not to get attention.
The odds of getting audited are low. But boast about your riches and spending and the odds increase.
Like those people who give quotes to newspapers, about their financial situation. Do you think no one in the government reads? No one is paying attention? Raise your head and it might get chopped off.
And for the little people... You don't want to be in the news either. It's a momentary high and then you've got to live with what you've said for the rest of your life, it stands online, and you might not be proud of it, and it might draw negative attention and consequences. And if you didn't know before, I'm telling you now, journalists are not your friends, they cozy up to you and then dump you after they get what they want.
So Donald Trump was lying about the value of his assets ad infinitum. It was part of his brand, how rich he was. But no one in New York really cared, many saw him as a braggart, an irrelevant second-rate real estate developer from Queens. The real movers and shakers, the traditionalists, were never going to let him in their club.
And Donald was unhappy with this. So he kept upping the ante, raising his public profile. But there were so many skeletons in his closet.
You've got to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. Kinda like Kylie Jenner, she could boast how rich she was, but if she wanted to call herself a billionaire and be on the "Forbes" list, there were going to be consequences.
So Donald Trump is on Fox, talking about Obama's birth certificate, bloviating on Howard Stern's show, but when he started to run for President...
I'm not talking about the hoi polloi. I'm not talking about the people who voted for him. I'm talking raw business here. Donald Trump thought his secrets, his shenanigans, would never catch up with him. But how does that song go? I fought the law and the law won?
Not every time. But it's never defeated all the time either. And Trump had a lot of smoking guns, which continued to smolder. And he was making enemies all the while. Raise your head above the fray and people less fortunate, or those who don't like you, will want to bring you down a peg, show that you're not that special, no better than them.
Think about it... You can't get rich working for the government. So why are people doing so? For the power, for the ability to set the record straight, to separate right from wrong, to punish bad actors. This is literally their job, this is what they live for. And they cannot be bought off, not all of them, even though the rich regularly try. Isn't that the story of Clarence Thomas? It's all about working the refs. It's never black and white. It's about shading. You want to get the benefit of the doubt, and if the person deciding your fate has been the beneficiary of your largesse, they don't want to wake up one day and go against you, because then they're toast. Believe me, in the music business sycophants are rampant, the perks can be amazing, the whole system is based on fake news stories amplified by those essentially on the take. However, go against your benefactor even once, and you're done, there's no coming back. You see stories in the "New Yorker," never mind the "Times," pontificating about the truth, the details of the entertainment business, and they almost always get it wrong, or never get to the key elements, because everybody inside, who wants to remain inside, knows there are certain things you cannot say, certain truths you cannot reveal. Furthermore, the participants are smart, they might talk up a storm, but they don't put it in writing, they never put it in writing, because if it's oral, something they said, they've got plausible deniability. It's their word against...
But our entire country is based on entertainment, hype. No one believes they have enough, people believe they're entitled to more. They're busy keeping up with the Joneses when...there's always somebody richer than you, always. Or someone with a better education, who's better traveled. Which is why the truly elite that sustain never boast. You don't know what they have, so they can never be caught in a lie, never be judged negatively, the image of a business person should be mystery.
Notice how managers never reveal their income? You want to stay out of the fray. Punters know who Scooter Braun is, to his detriment.
So unless you're making your money on your image, of being super-successful, larger than life, stay quiet. You're only antagonizing others by boasting. And when those people have the power of the law, or even the power of the pen, you'd better watch out.
Believe me, Donald Trump is scared. He's fighting these legal situations, but he couldn't change the vote so he would remain President and he can't beat the Feds on every count, never mind the State actors. He's got a strategy, to go on offense, to throw the book at opponents, and with individuals this often works, because they can't afford to defend themselves, whereas the government? The cash is not unlimited, but the investigation, the prosecution, can sustain.
Trump made some bad decisions. If you're gonna lie and cheat, do your best to never be in the sunshine, and Trump broke this immutable law. Because criminals almost never skate, not when they've got such a high profile. Al Capone was nailed for tax evasion, and Whitey Bulger was living the life of a nobody before he was captured and put in prison and ultimately killed by inmates.
I'd love to tell you to fly right, on the straight and narrow, but the truth is, unfortunately, to get ahead you often do have to lie. Try getting a job without experience, good luck. Everybody lies. But is lying your business, like in entertainment? If not, know when to hold back. Otherwise your lies are going to bite you in the ass, it's just a matter of when.
Life used to be different, then income inequality burgeoned and the only thing left for the little people was fame, they certainly couldn't make beaucoup bucks. In order to win the jackpot, you've got to put your nose to the grindstone and complete years of education. Or you can be an entrepreneur working 24/7 for years with no guarantee of return. Most people would rather party. The lottery can give them the illusion of becoming rich, but ultimately it's just a tax on the poor, and the supposed American Dream, which George Carlin said you have to be asleep to believe, has become statistically less achievable over time.
But you could be on reality TV. Or ultimately an influencer on social media. As far as becoming rich, did you read that Kylie Jenner is not the youngest self-made billionaire? Because she's not even a billionaire, nowhere close, "Forbes" crunched the numbers, turned out she was lying.
But Kylie Jenner is an entertainer, using her fame to try and generate capital, and that's what entertainers do, lie.
All the time, on a regular basis.
If you read how rich an entertainer is... You can probably discount that number by 25%, if not 50% or 75%. That's part of their image, that they made it and are enjoying the spoils. And the devil is in the details anyway. The news constantly prints the gross, not the net... And the net might not even exist, the tour might have ended up in the red. But you heard they grossed $100 million!
Who's to call them on it?
"Forbes" was just correcting Kylie to exclude her from their list of billionaires, "Forbes" wanted to be authoritative. The rest of the world? Either didn't care or bought it hook, line and sinker.
Records... Taylor Swift won't release the gross per gig because she wants to wow everybody with the final number, setting a record. Good for her, but she ain't netting a billion dollars, nowhere close. And there are Fortune 500 executives you've never heard of who are richer than Swift. Yes, you can work for the man and end up making a billion, primarily based on stock rewards. That's where the real money is, in corporations, on Wall Street, entertainment is chump change.
But it's entertainment that the people see.
You can make up any story you want, they said Frank Zappa crapped on stage. Of course that didn't happen, but who was going to check on it? Furthermore, who in the artist's camp is going to say it's untrue if it benefits their boss?
You see people in entertainment are selling their image. And the public is imitating the entertainers, as it has always done.
But if you're not in entertainment, if your income is not based on image, setting records, being bigger and better than anybody else, STFU!
That's what the blue bloods did.
Back in the fifties and sixties, even into the seventies, you couldn't tell who the really rich were. At that point, the rich had inherited the money. And they drove old Country Squires and wore threadbare khakis and Top-Siders. They undersold their assets, they didn't want the attention. They didn't want their kids kidnapped, they didn't want to anger those less fortunate, they flew beneath the radar.
However, starting with lower tax rates in the eighties, and then the tech boom, never mind the financialization of America, today's rich have actually made the money, they earned it...and too many want to tell you about it.
They want to tell you how hard they worked and still do. And they want you to envy their significant other and lifestyle. They want to tell you they're better than you. When in truth they should be fading back into the woodwork, like the blue bloods of yore. Because the image is paying no dividends, it might even have a cost. Have you noticed that David Geffen has been out of the fray since he posted on Instagram that he was spending the Covid lockdown on his yacht? He'll never live down the backlash. And goofy, laughing Jeff Bezos was tolerated as a brilliant nerd until he stole his good friend's wife and was seen cavorting and canoodling with her all over the world. I mean what's the benefit?
Well, in truth to make that kind of dough you usually need to fill an unfillable hole. Maybe you never got the love you deserved from your mother, maybe you were bullied in school. And, in truth, most of these people never get over it, but whereas entertainers tend to have a lifespan, living on fumes after a peak, these business people continue to rake in the dough and they want to continue to impress you who they are and you're not.
And that brings attention.
In other words, if your business is not based on gaining attention, do your best not to get attention.
The odds of getting audited are low. But boast about your riches and spending and the odds increase.
Like those people who give quotes to newspapers, about their financial situation. Do you think no one in the government reads? No one is paying attention? Raise your head and it might get chopped off.
And for the little people... You don't want to be in the news either. It's a momentary high and then you've got to live with what you've said for the rest of your life, it stands online, and you might not be proud of it, and it might draw negative attention and consequences. And if you didn't know before, I'm telling you now, journalists are not your friends, they cozy up to you and then dump you after they get what they want.
So Donald Trump was lying about the value of his assets ad infinitum. It was part of his brand, how rich he was. But no one in New York really cared, many saw him as a braggart, an irrelevant second-rate real estate developer from Queens. The real movers and shakers, the traditionalists, were never going to let him in their club.
And Donald was unhappy with this. So he kept upping the ante, raising his public profile. But there were so many skeletons in his closet.
You've got to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. Kinda like Kylie Jenner, she could boast how rich she was, but if she wanted to call herself a billionaire and be on the "Forbes" list, there were going to be consequences.
So Donald Trump is on Fox, talking about Obama's birth certificate, bloviating on Howard Stern's show, but when he started to run for President...
I'm not talking about the hoi polloi. I'm not talking about the people who voted for him. I'm talking raw business here. Donald Trump thought his secrets, his shenanigans, would never catch up with him. But how does that song go? I fought the law and the law won?
Not every time. But it's never defeated all the time either. And Trump had a lot of smoking guns, which continued to smolder. And he was making enemies all the while. Raise your head above the fray and people less fortunate, or those who don't like you, will want to bring you down a peg, show that you're not that special, no better than them.
Think about it... You can't get rich working for the government. So why are people doing so? For the power, for the ability to set the record straight, to separate right from wrong, to punish bad actors. This is literally their job, this is what they live for. And they cannot be bought off, not all of them, even though the rich regularly try. Isn't that the story of Clarence Thomas? It's all about working the refs. It's never black and white. It's about shading. You want to get the benefit of the doubt, and if the person deciding your fate has been the beneficiary of your largesse, they don't want to wake up one day and go against you, because then they're toast. Believe me, in the music business sycophants are rampant, the perks can be amazing, the whole system is based on fake news stories amplified by those essentially on the take. However, go against your benefactor even once, and you're done, there's no coming back. You see stories in the "New Yorker," never mind the "Times," pontificating about the truth, the details of the entertainment business, and they almost always get it wrong, or never get to the key elements, because everybody inside, who wants to remain inside, knows there are certain things you cannot say, certain truths you cannot reveal. Furthermore, the participants are smart, they might talk up a storm, but they don't put it in writing, they never put it in writing, because if it's oral, something they said, they've got plausible deniability. It's their word against...
But our entire country is based on entertainment, hype. No one believes they have enough, people believe they're entitled to more. They're busy keeping up with the Joneses when...there's always somebody richer than you, always. Or someone with a better education, who's better traveled. Which is why the truly elite that sustain never boast. You don't know what they have, so they can never be caught in a lie, never be judged negatively, the image of a business person should be mystery.
Notice how managers never reveal their income? You want to stay out of the fray. Punters know who Scooter Braun is, to his detriment.
So unless you're making your money on your image, of being super-successful, larger than life, stay quiet. You're only antagonizing others by boasting. And when those people have the power of the law, or even the power of the pen, you'd better watch out.
Believe me, Donald Trump is scared. He's fighting these legal situations, but he couldn't change the vote so he would remain President and he can't beat the Feds on every count, never mind the State actors. He's got a strategy, to go on offense, to throw the book at opponents, and with individuals this often works, because they can't afford to defend themselves, whereas the government? The cash is not unlimited, but the investigation, the prosecution, can sustain.
Trump made some bad decisions. If you're gonna lie and cheat, do your best to never be in the sunshine, and Trump broke this immutable law. Because criminals almost never skate, not when they've got such a high profile. Al Capone was nailed for tax evasion, and Whitey Bulger was living the life of a nobody before he was captured and put in prison and ultimately killed by inmates.
I'd love to tell you to fly right, on the straight and narrow, but the truth is, unfortunately, to get ahead you often do have to lie. Try getting a job without experience, good luck. Everybody lies. But is lying your business, like in entertainment? If not, know when to hold back. Otherwise your lies are going to bite you in the ass, it's just a matter of when.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
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