Spotify: http://tinyurl.com/26fpjnja
Gary Wright
"Love Is Alive"
Jeff Beck
"Brush with the Blues"
Sinead O'Connor
"I Am Stretched on Your Grave"
David Crosby
"Long Time Gone"
Robbie Robertson
"Broken Arrow"
Jimmy Buffett
"A Pirate Looks at Forty"
Gordon Lightfoot
"Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"
Tina Turner
"What's Love Got to Do with It"
Randy Meisner
"Certain Kind of Fool"
Jim Gordon
"Rock 'N' Roll Stew"
Gary Rossington
"Don't Misunderstand Me"
David Lindley
"For a Dancer"
Steve Harwell
"Walkin' on the Sun"
George Winston
"Prelude"
Keith Reid
"Shine On Brightly"
Tom Verlaine
"Ain't That Nothin'"
Terry Kirkman
"Cherish"
John Gosling
"Money Talks"
Burt Bacharach
"Walk on By"
Cynthia Weil
"We Gotta Get Out of This Place"
Rudolph Isley
"It's Your Thing"
Wayne Shorter
"Tears"
Tony Bennett
"I Left My Heart in San Francisco"
Jane Birkin
"Je t'aime... moi non plus"
Jean Knight
"Mr. Big Stuff"
Bernie Marsden
"Here I Go Again"
Bob Feldman
"My Boyfriend's Back"
Harry Belafonte
"Banana Boat (Day-O)"
Barrett Strong
"Money (That's What I Want)"
Astrud Gilberto
"The Girl from Ipanema"
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Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
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Saturday, 30 December 2023
Berlin
Not the city, not "Babylon Berlin," but the prequel to "Money Heist."
Did you know about it?
I didn't even hear they were making it, but earlier in the week I saw a listing in the "New York Times" saying it was premiering on Friday and made a mental note to check it out.
Last time we left "Money Heist" it was done, over, history, there was nowhere to go. This is the story of Berlin, you remember that each character had a city name, and a whole new cast of criminals.
So on some level it's a formula, but as the formula plays out you become more comfortable with it. Yes, you miss Tokyo and Nairobi, but their replacements are becoming more 3-D. As for Raquel, the cop who switches sides, that appears to be Camille, at least for the two episodes we've watched already.
Not that I can rave. Then again, there was a lot of set-up, and now it's getting juicy.
Anyway, when I went to pull up the show on Netflix yesterday I was worried about getting the right "Berlin." There's no copyright in titles, this is not the only vehicle that has employed that name. But I was stunned that Netflix served up "Berlin" when the app launched. Does it do this for everybody or just for me? I don't know. But if I hadn't seen that listing in the "Times," Netflix itself would have made me aware of the series.
That's how strong Netflix is, it doesn't need advertising.
You can't get the message across to anybody these days. People are impossible to reach. In the Style section of the aforementioned "Times" on Thursday, they had a two page spread on social media peaks, trends, highlights:
"Top Social Media Trends of 2023: Roman Empire, Grimace Shake, Keith Lee and More - You may have forgotten—or wanted to forget—what happened on the internet in 2023. We're here to refresh your memory."
http://tinyurl.com/4wbnkvya
That's a free link, and I implore you to click through, because I believe, like me, you will have never heard of most of these memes and trends.
That was another story this week, how what is perceived to be big is not so big on social media. The news covers a story about outrageous behavior and it turns out it happened in an echo chamber, very few were aware of it. So people get the wrong impression. Even worse, there are bad actors, like the retail giants who cried about organized shoplifting in San Francisco, you know, you have to keep everything behind a locked door, the Bay Area is a hellhole. Only that turned out to be untrue, it was blown up by Walgreens because they wanted to close stores: http://tinyurl.com/2n3564n7 You probably missed this, it made a good story, but it was a lie.
And then there's the canard that we live in a lawless society where people are being murdered left and right. But the truth is just the opposite:
"Homicides See Historic Decline In 2023 Despite Perceptions That Crime Is On The Rise": http://tinyurl.com/yyjd3xbw
Even in Chicago, the right wing punching bag, that's right, homicides in the Windy City fell by 12.7%.
Now your head is spinning, mine certainly is. Everything we were told was wrong. Or something like that. But even worse is today's news about Brexit:
"Brexit has completely failed for UK, say clear majority of Britons — poll - Only one in 10 feel leaving the EU has helped their finances, while just 9% say it has benefited the NHS, despite £350m a week pledge according to new poll": http://tinyurl.com/2p9ykrve
That's right, a bunch of dirty, lying scumbag politicians ruined, or at least negatively impacted, an entire country. As for keeping immigrants out, immigration is up!
The public suffers.
Anyway, we all live in our own verticals. Oftentimes manipulated by others. And we're averse to input contrary to our beliefs, outside our silos, if for no other reason than we're overwhelmed!
Did you see that subscriptions to MAX have dropped? They removed the halo of HBO and now they've got a second-rate service that people don't want to pay for. Maybe it will be merged with the third rate Paramount service. As for Disney, other than "The Mandalorian," what has it got?
So Netflix was hiding in plain sight and everybody tried to compete and failed.
First and foremost there was a first mover advantage. But Netflix was all about a plethora of product appealing to a wide variety of people. There just isn't enough new product on the other services, not enough to keep people paying month after month.
And isn't it funny that only Netflix drops all the product at once. Because Netflix is trying to satiate the customer, and knows that most shows get no word of mouth at all! "The Morning Show" on Apple got negative reviews at first, supposedly it has gotten better, but who has stayed with the series? If it's not good enough to drop all at once, it's just not good enough. The product must speak for itself, don't rely on the public to do your work in a world where fewer go to the office and if you do you bring your own Stanley water bottle as opposed to hanging at the water cooler.
So Netflix is just for you. Not that I trust the algorithm, but I am happy it serves up Scandinavian dramas, it knows I'm into them, most are not worth watching, but some are, and I wouldn't have known about them otherwise. And I don't care if anybody else is watching, it's a one to one experience. And in a world where everybody is trying to be broad, appealing to everybody and offending no one, I'm glad I've got my own little bubble sans b.s.
And you might like the "Berlin" bubble. One thing is for sure, there's a lot of riffing on love, and a lot of it is true. It's not like an American show, and production wasn't hurt by the strike, you can pull it up right now.
I'm excited. I might ultimately be disappointed after I finish the eight episodes, but for eight hours I won't have to deal with the crap of the outside world. That was the magic of movies before the industry was ruined by the studios. Yes, a dark room, where you can watch something uninterrupted, marinate in it.
Seemingly everybody blowing their horn loudly is full of it.
So we gravitate to the niches.
But how do we find out about the niches?
Well, the most powerful real estate in the world of television is the Netflix homepage. It's a captive audience. You're being served, made aware of stuff you might like. This is so different from the smorgasbord of messages we're inundated with every day that we do not care about.
The world has changed, but too many want to tell us it hasn't.
What we've learned over the last few years is no one is in control. Other than you. You're an individual with a limited amount of time. You want to be directed, you want help. And there are very few outlets you can count on. Sometimes, it's the Netflix homepage. And that's very powerful.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
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Did you know about it?
I didn't even hear they were making it, but earlier in the week I saw a listing in the "New York Times" saying it was premiering on Friday and made a mental note to check it out.
Last time we left "Money Heist" it was done, over, history, there was nowhere to go. This is the story of Berlin, you remember that each character had a city name, and a whole new cast of criminals.
So on some level it's a formula, but as the formula plays out you become more comfortable with it. Yes, you miss Tokyo and Nairobi, but their replacements are becoming more 3-D. As for Raquel, the cop who switches sides, that appears to be Camille, at least for the two episodes we've watched already.
Not that I can rave. Then again, there was a lot of set-up, and now it's getting juicy.
Anyway, when I went to pull up the show on Netflix yesterday I was worried about getting the right "Berlin." There's no copyright in titles, this is not the only vehicle that has employed that name. But I was stunned that Netflix served up "Berlin" when the app launched. Does it do this for everybody or just for me? I don't know. But if I hadn't seen that listing in the "Times," Netflix itself would have made me aware of the series.
That's how strong Netflix is, it doesn't need advertising.
You can't get the message across to anybody these days. People are impossible to reach. In the Style section of the aforementioned "Times" on Thursday, they had a two page spread on social media peaks, trends, highlights:
"Top Social Media Trends of 2023: Roman Empire, Grimace Shake, Keith Lee and More - You may have forgotten—or wanted to forget—what happened on the internet in 2023. We're here to refresh your memory."
http://tinyurl.com/4wbnkvya
That's a free link, and I implore you to click through, because I believe, like me, you will have never heard of most of these memes and trends.
That was another story this week, how what is perceived to be big is not so big on social media. The news covers a story about outrageous behavior and it turns out it happened in an echo chamber, very few were aware of it. So people get the wrong impression. Even worse, there are bad actors, like the retail giants who cried about organized shoplifting in San Francisco, you know, you have to keep everything behind a locked door, the Bay Area is a hellhole. Only that turned out to be untrue, it was blown up by Walgreens because they wanted to close stores: http://tinyurl.com/2n3564n7 You probably missed this, it made a good story, but it was a lie.
And then there's the canard that we live in a lawless society where people are being murdered left and right. But the truth is just the opposite:
"Homicides See Historic Decline In 2023 Despite Perceptions That Crime Is On The Rise": http://tinyurl.com/yyjd3xbw
Even in Chicago, the right wing punching bag, that's right, homicides in the Windy City fell by 12.7%.
Now your head is spinning, mine certainly is. Everything we were told was wrong. Or something like that. But even worse is today's news about Brexit:
"Brexit has completely failed for UK, say clear majority of Britons — poll - Only one in 10 feel leaving the EU has helped their finances, while just 9% say it has benefited the NHS, despite £350m a week pledge according to new poll": http://tinyurl.com/2p9ykrve
That's right, a bunch of dirty, lying scumbag politicians ruined, or at least negatively impacted, an entire country. As for keeping immigrants out, immigration is up!
The public suffers.
Anyway, we all live in our own verticals. Oftentimes manipulated by others. And we're averse to input contrary to our beliefs, outside our silos, if for no other reason than we're overwhelmed!
Did you see that subscriptions to MAX have dropped? They removed the halo of HBO and now they've got a second-rate service that people don't want to pay for. Maybe it will be merged with the third rate Paramount service. As for Disney, other than "The Mandalorian," what has it got?
So Netflix was hiding in plain sight and everybody tried to compete and failed.
First and foremost there was a first mover advantage. But Netflix was all about a plethora of product appealing to a wide variety of people. There just isn't enough new product on the other services, not enough to keep people paying month after month.
And isn't it funny that only Netflix drops all the product at once. Because Netflix is trying to satiate the customer, and knows that most shows get no word of mouth at all! "The Morning Show" on Apple got negative reviews at first, supposedly it has gotten better, but who has stayed with the series? If it's not good enough to drop all at once, it's just not good enough. The product must speak for itself, don't rely on the public to do your work in a world where fewer go to the office and if you do you bring your own Stanley water bottle as opposed to hanging at the water cooler.
So Netflix is just for you. Not that I trust the algorithm, but I am happy it serves up Scandinavian dramas, it knows I'm into them, most are not worth watching, but some are, and I wouldn't have known about them otherwise. And I don't care if anybody else is watching, it's a one to one experience. And in a world where everybody is trying to be broad, appealing to everybody and offending no one, I'm glad I've got my own little bubble sans b.s.
And you might like the "Berlin" bubble. One thing is for sure, there's a lot of riffing on love, and a lot of it is true. It's not like an American show, and production wasn't hurt by the strike, you can pull it up right now.
I'm excited. I might ultimately be disappointed after I finish the eight episodes, but for eight hours I won't have to deal with the crap of the outside world. That was the magic of movies before the industry was ruined by the studios. Yes, a dark room, where you can watch something uninterrupted, marinate in it.
Seemingly everybody blowing their horn loudly is full of it.
So we gravitate to the niches.
But how do we find out about the niches?
Well, the most powerful real estate in the world of television is the Netflix homepage. It's a captive audience. You're being served, made aware of stuff you might like. This is so different from the smorgasbord of messages we're inundated with every day that we do not care about.
The world has changed, but too many want to tell us it hasn't.
What we've learned over the last few years is no one is in control. Other than you. You're an individual with a limited amount of time. You want to be directed, you want help. And there are very few outlets you can count on. Sometimes, it's the Netflix homepage. And that's very powerful.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
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If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
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Friday, 29 December 2023
Re-Kennedy Center Honors
You're completely correct about the changing paradigm of what people watch on television. At least as far as my own kids are concerned.
My daughter and her husband are 33. When I visited them this past September I was surprised that they did not have cable. Their subscriptions were Disney, Hulu, and Netflix. That was it. They don't miss all of the cable channels showing mostly nothing along with the monthly fee those channels cost.
But it gets better. My son and his wife are 26. When I visited them last month I was even more surprised that they subscribe to NOTHING!! They watch what they want on YouTube (not YouTube TV). They're completely happy and don't feel like they're missing anything. (In fact my son just purchased a Toyota based mostly on watching several different YouTube clips of mechanics discussing which cars they see most and least in their shops. He also watched several clips on how to negotiate at a dealer and what to look out for in terms of dealer add-ons)
Jim Blaney
Nashville
_____________________________________
I think you should draw the line at bashing the Kennedy Center Honors. Honoring our older artists is important. Most of them have been to hell and back over the years and honoring their work is something every civilized culture should do. Please show some respect and a little more class. It's a better look for you.
Happy new year,
Chris Frantz
_____________________________________
I usually agree with you but today we differ.
I really enjoyed the "variety show" last night. It gave me hope that the government can still support the arts. Biden was there ( unlike Trump who never bothered to attend).
The fact that you skipped Queen Latifah and Renee Fleming just shows how deep into your silo you are. I can't speak about rap/hip hop but there were 4-5 of the greatest living opera sopranos on stage giving tribute to a truly genre-bending artist. You should go back and get a lesson in singing technique and expertise.
We turned it off after Renee Fleming. The BeeGees could only be a let down after that.
George Kahn.
_____________________________________
Couldn't agree more with your sentiment!!
All the best, Susan Slamer
_____________________________________
By skipping Renee Fleming, you missed my favorite new singer: Ailyn Perez.
Too bad for you. ;)
Regards, Steve Schermherhorn
_____________________________________
Thanks for saying what I was thinking. However you were a more gentle about it than I would have been.
Roger Humphrey
_____________________________________
AMEN TO ALL OF THIS
Kurt Osenlund
_____________________________________
I love reading you when you are on the rag. Dionne's voice was very special. She sold B/D songs like no one else could.
Respect your elders and the elderly. IOW: respect yourself.
The border not his frailty will sink Biden AKA RBG in drag.
Michael Fremer
_____________________________________
Man, I used to adore variety shows.
Standing ovation for you. Thanks for saying this.
Natalie Davis
NYC
_____________________________________
You really nailed it with this one.
We want bold, brave and true.
Not old, lame and blue(haired)
Delia Rae
Burbank, Ca
_____________________________________
Oh, Bob…your review was much more entertaining than the show was. And as depressing as your message was, I laughed all the way through it. Good stuff.
Tom Gribbin
_____________________________________
Spot on, Bob
Happy New Year...
Cob Carlson
_____________________________________
They missed an opportunity to have two older, black performers, who can REALLY sing, honor the man, and at the same time present them to a new audience. Al Green is still working and he recorded How Can You Mend A Broken Heart in 1972.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9YIq0oNiSM
Also, Candi Staton, who is also still working, did a great version of Nights On Broadway in 1977.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghjxSlfLJYs
Kevin Kiley
_____________________________________
As a lifelong Democrat and sometime left-wing radical, I agree with you. Biden makes me wince, although who else is there to vote for? I choke on my oatmeal everytime I hear about all the "other" candidates. Nikky Haley is toast.
She'll never get past that quote about slavery, no matter how hard they spin it. Someone has to whisper in Joe's ear "Time to step aside Joe". And I like Biden, but his "Speak softly and carry a big stick" approach is a tough sell in 2024.There are plenty of Democratic warriors on our side. But it may be too late for them to jump in. I'm secretly hoping Obama can sit with Joe and tell him the truth, but that's not gonna happen. Biden is like the Raiders quarterback.
He'll have to do. I think we can win with him.
Tom Cartwright
_____________________________________
I can respect some of your comments, Bob, but you don't know what you're talking about with Queen Latifah. She's definitely not B level to the hip hop community and beyond. Any artist would love her career accomplishments.
Stacy Turner
_____________________________________
The singers of "Alfie" and "Walk On By" were not good. Nothing but vocal histrionics from the first. The "Walk On By" singer had a weird, nasally voice. It was awful.
Thomas Quinn
_____________________________________
Agree 100% Bob about Biden and I'm a diehard Democrat.
Robert Pisaneschi
_____________________________________
I hate when you fall into, " angry old man" complaining.
Some of what you say is true but not enough…not every endeavor in the arts or farces has only you in mind.
DeNiro's remark wasn't a dig…it was an endorsement!
You're all wrong on Biden you know.
So what if his body is old, his experience and expertise saved this country and trashing him could give us Trump again.
Big fan of most of what you write but not this one.
Lighten up Bob, enjoy!
Alan Crane
_____________________________________
Biden is basically unelectable and I am having a meltdown about it. Clinton, Reagan, Kennedy have/had charisma and charm and smarts. Biden has smarts. You need more. Ugh.
Alan Stewart
_____________________________________
Well said Bob! To me the last truly great and surprising performance/tribute the Kennedy Center Honors had to be in my opinion, Heart doing Stairway to Heaven when the surviving members of Led Zeppelin were inducted. How long ago was that now? (Just googled it and holy crap that was 11 years ago!). That was a truly stunning and complete unexpected performance. Hell even Robert Plant who had long since tired of the song, was moved by it! Sadly even when Jon Stewart was inducted a few years back, you expected some bite and John Oliver did oblige but overall it was still a pretty meh tribute, it being a "polite DC society" and all event.
Some things are just best to let go of gracefully and lament their passing than watch it die a slow agonizing death while trying to pretend there is nothing wrong. Seems the KCH and Biden/DNC are ignoring this fact.
Michael Moniz
P.S. Biden is our 1/6 is an all time bad take.
But your point is salient about our own eyes.
My question would be where are these acolytes ? Do you know people in your life that say its not true? Or are you just referring to media.
I don't know anyone in my life who is a fan or defends him. Just the typical "he can beat trump" arguments , but always whole holding their nose.
Theres a clip somewhere of a comedian where someone yelled "f*ck joe biden!" And hes like "is that supposed to offend me? You're making fun of my 17th choice for president?"
Seems to be the consensus to me
_____________________________________
Biden should do what FDR did, he knew his health was bad- also knew that Wallace was too progressive, and the country had turned more center. He decided to let the convention pick the VP and they picked Truman. We all knew what happened then. I think that may be the thing that will help Biden. Confidence in who may have to take his place.
Peter O'Fallon
_____________________________________
Man, this was like watching television in the '70's. Love the audience shots of old white people trying to groove… Sad to say the "Honors" jumped the shark.
Doug Pomerantz
_____________________________________
Gimme some truth
Thank you for the truth it is SO rare that I hear it now, it just stands out and stands up
Thanks for telling it
Peter Stema
_____________________________________
Wow, Bob, I didn't expect to see Florence Greenberg get well-deserved credit in this one. You don't often navigate towards classic soul.
She earned it. Not only with Dionne, but with the Shirelles, Maxine Brown, Chuck Jackson, Tommy Hunt and more. Hey, even the Kingsmen and B.J. Thomas. You know those artists' hits, if not their names (let's not discuss the British covers).
Hooray.
Adam White
_____________________________________
The reason kids love/watch YouTube is that teenagers are always more interested in each other than any celebrity nonsense the media manufactures. If you pay attention to young people you will learn that this has always been true.
Liz Dean
_____________________________________
Absolutely fabulous piece Bob. As someone that has produced, a live broadcast of an award show celebrating the arts for the last eight years, it is discouraging that most broadcasters and streamers don't have an appetite for award shows or variety style shows such as the Kennedy Center Honors .
Broadcasters will tell you that in the face of declining ratings there is not much an appetite from the public for this genre of entertainment but what they failed to understand is that it's way beyond ratings it's about supporting artist, discovering new artists, celebrating extraordinary talent and Ensuring that the arts continue to thrive. I do applaud Netflix for picking up some of the award shows that have been abandoned by Traditional broadcasters, and I do hope other streamers will find a home for variety and award shows in the future.
Barry Avrich
Producer/Director
Melbar Entertainment Group
_____________________________________
Hear, hear Bob. I agree with every word of this letter.
R. Scott Furtney
_____________________________________
Bob I enjoy your writing please keep piushing for new leadership w Dem,s Michigan governors Adam kinnzinger if not Newsom Scared of Trump return and Winn by default please keep pushing
Dave Prutting
_____________________________________
You may be correct that award shows are losing their relevance and audience, but last night's performance of Alfie by Cynthia Erivo was riveting and worth tuning in If for nothing else. I was also there in the audience during the filming and felt transported to another world by her voice and presence. I was unaware of her prior to that moment and I've been obsessing ever since!
I have a 10 year old who watches mostly tik tok and YouTube and last night I had her watch just that song on the honors and her reaction to Cynthia reminded me of how I reacted when I saw Streisand in the movie Funny Girl as a child. Together we went down the YouTube rabbit hole finding Cynthia videos but few compared to what we just watched on KCH which was a brilliant matching of voice, song and production elements. Stunning.
Jennifer Cooke
Artist Manager
_____________________________________
This show, along with Tony's are the only things left that come close to a classic Variety Show.
Who the hell chose those songs to honor Dionne?! The Spinners' duet? A horrific arrangement of Walk On By. I Say A Little YAWN! Cynthia killed Alfie - thankfully. Where was Manilow? He doesn't have a KC Honor yet, shockingly. But it was he who produced Dionne's comeback album for Clive (winning her two Grammys). And while it may be a cheesy moment, the right 4some belting That's What Friend Are For, which Dionne personally made sure made millions of dollars for AIDS, could have been a "moment." Either the bookers don't bother or don't realize that some talented youngsters like Jonas Bros, Olivia, Ariana, Miley, Shawn Mendez, Puth, Demi, Normandie would likely jump to salute their - or their parent's - idols.
Interestingly, it seems this show only gets it right when they honor Broadway star or creator.
Latifah?! Really? Janet Jackson isn't in there! Why? Because it's CBS? Still? C'mon now. Taking nothing away from Queen and her career accomplishments (I actually am a huge fan of her singing voice) - but the tribute - leaning on her hip/hop contributions seems interesting. She spent 9 years releasing 4 albums which maybe in all had 3 bonafide R&B/Rap hits. So - a KC Honor? Was something inside CBS at work here - where's she's one of their stars? Hmmmmm?
Of note: in addition to Manilow, Johnny Mathis and Liza have YET to be honored. As much of a shame as Cher not in the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame.
As for Barry Gibb… that tribute was questionable at best. Almost thrown together haphazardly. "Lonely Days"? - they penned hundreds of hits. And this was a hit. But a memorable one? Compared to the catalogue?! No.
I mostly yelled at the TV. Maybe they'll ask us for help next time, Bob.
Jerry J. Sharell
_____________________________________
Longtime reader & songwriter down in Tennessee. I couldn't agree with you more. On EVERYTHING in this email.
People are so afraid of everything that is happening and it seems like all anyone can do is just stick to the things that make them feel incredibly safe. Which is incredibly lame. And gets you absolutely no where fast.
Yes the world is a dumpster fire but it doesn't mean we quit innovation. It means we gotta f*cking hustle before the great big ball in the sky burns out!
Shows like the Kennedy Center Honors are sailing right along down the river of safety for all these liberal folks who think they are so open-minded but refuse to admit when they are wrong and when cornered they start screaming. And listen, I'm a liberal but I can see the writing on the wall. Both sides of the political spectrum are equally f*cked and divided within their own parties so why on earth would anyone be persuaded to be part of either side?! The narrow-minded point of view will do us all in because those at the top, with the most power and the narrowest view are steering us into what looks to be the same kind of shipwreck you'd find down in the waters of Cape Horn.
But either way, I look forward to more of your writing and emails. They bring me comfort and I appreciate your willingness to speak the truth at a time when people choose not to hear it.
Happy New Year,
Lolo Pritchard
_____________________________________
Re: Youtube (and smaller screen)
Ironically Bob I'm 50 and I watch more youtube than anything else. And, aside from watching shows / movies with my wife on our big screen, I watch almost everything on my 14 inch Samsung S8 Ultra, which is basically a mini TV with a much better / brighter screen and portable.
This isn't a commercial for Samsung, however when I bought one of their phones a couple years ago it included a six month trial for Youtube Premium which is basically no commercials, and I was hooked. I pay $14 a month now for zero commercials.
There's an endless treasure trove of documentaries, how-tos, MSNBC clips, political analysis by really fresh creators, I even sometimes watch OAN and Fox News when I want to get what the RepuliQans are spewing.
The only thing I / you / we have to be careful with is the recommendation engine. Watch the wrong video that has a little bit of a rightward bent, and suddenly that algorithm will go nuts showing you click bait Jewish space lasers, illuminati, stock market crashes, Andrew Tate stuff, and other right wing conspiracy nonsense or hate-filled garbage.
The algorithm clearly WANTS you to go down that rabbit hole. Obviously more money in it for google.
Ironically some of that comes from watching more right-tilted redneck country stuff that I have to check out for work, and also enjoy a bit of, some of it is great music, and I need to pay attention to the genre.
Also, Joe Rogan is a biggie. Watch a couple Joe Rogan clips, even of him just telling jokes and talking about supplements, and Youtube will start recommending the craziest sh!t.
Watch military or WWII documentaries, movie clips from more violent films, it doesn't take much for that engine to start blasting you with nonsense.
So I ignore the algorithm and watch what I like, but I can see why people with lower critical thinking skills can get pilled pretty quickly just by casually watching Youtube's recommended videos.
Were I a parent, I'd be more concerned with my kids accidentally watching a couple of mostly harmless things that are tangentially connected by the algorithm, and winding up redpilled incels or end of the world doomsday preppers.
Anyway, I guess that's the price of unfiltered free content.
Dan Millen
_____________________________________
?I was scrolling through channels when I stumbled onto it. I saw Queen Latifah and just kept scrolling. Don't they know that people would rather watch it an hour later on YouTube with no commercials, anyway? Even boomers! And in whatever order they want ignoring what they don't want Chrissakes! But you covered that in your piece.
But there was nobody present with the capacity to raise the dead. And speaking of hagiography does anyone still wanna watch the Saints adoring the Saints? Welcoming them into heaven? The Elite adoring the Elite? Seriously? (and all the accompanying close up very emotional
"audiencefulloSTARS"camera shots)
I don't. I didn't.
And what a lame lineup! No apologies. Just lame. But I'm old and who cares what I think? If any of them devoted 10,000 of Gladwell's hours to practice it was Renèe. So good for her! But the only lineup that would please me would have to include British Rocker Saints and perhaps some others…..even born in the USA. Heroes for longer than 15 minutes. And I'd wait for youtube. F*ckabuncha commercials! Maybe I'll check out The Bee Gees minute. But right now I'm listening to Foxtrot. A record I bought over 50 years ago. And it's all I need at the moment. (Hackett, thankfully, is keeping it alive) Am I digressing? Am I the old paradigm? Still listening to actual albums on a turntable and not Spotify playlists? I want the whole experience. Even on Spotify. I know, there's a vinyl "movement." Vinyl is "cool." Great. But it was what we had. What we did. What we lived. And there was no tech except mebbe stereo gear, home and car, and that was analog and all about good sound and how do you explain the ethos of those times to the newlyfounds? Vinyl wasn't cool. It was everything. And more. It still is if you were there. You can still plug in.
Anyway I'm allowed to digress. I'm f*cking old. Colin Hay said in a song "I was invincible now I'm invisible" or something similar. He wasn't singing about me but he was…. Nobody sees or hears me except cashiers when I'm tapping or swiping a credit card or my kids when they want money.
Anyway Happy New Year to ya
Bill Nelson
_____________________________________
You're way too angry man. Take a walk outside. The sun is out. You'll
live longer and maybe be happier. Really.
Mitch Tenzer
_____________________________________
You are the last cool one of our generation. Love your writing!
PS yes, I know it's "uncool" to say "cool"!!
Terry Savage
Nationally Syndicated Financial Columnist
www.TerrySavage.com
My daughter and her husband are 33. When I visited them this past September I was surprised that they did not have cable. Their subscriptions were Disney, Hulu, and Netflix. That was it. They don't miss all of the cable channels showing mostly nothing along with the monthly fee those channels cost.
But it gets better. My son and his wife are 26. When I visited them last month I was even more surprised that they subscribe to NOTHING!! They watch what they want on YouTube (not YouTube TV). They're completely happy and don't feel like they're missing anything. (In fact my son just purchased a Toyota based mostly on watching several different YouTube clips of mechanics discussing which cars they see most and least in their shops. He also watched several clips on how to negotiate at a dealer and what to look out for in terms of dealer add-ons)
Jim Blaney
Nashville
_____________________________________
I think you should draw the line at bashing the Kennedy Center Honors. Honoring our older artists is important. Most of them have been to hell and back over the years and honoring their work is something every civilized culture should do. Please show some respect and a little more class. It's a better look for you.
Happy new year,
Chris Frantz
_____________________________________
I usually agree with you but today we differ.
I really enjoyed the "variety show" last night. It gave me hope that the government can still support the arts. Biden was there ( unlike Trump who never bothered to attend).
The fact that you skipped Queen Latifah and Renee Fleming just shows how deep into your silo you are. I can't speak about rap/hip hop but there were 4-5 of the greatest living opera sopranos on stage giving tribute to a truly genre-bending artist. You should go back and get a lesson in singing technique and expertise.
We turned it off after Renee Fleming. The BeeGees could only be a let down after that.
George Kahn.
_____________________________________
Couldn't agree more with your sentiment!!
All the best, Susan Slamer
_____________________________________
By skipping Renee Fleming, you missed my favorite new singer: Ailyn Perez.
Too bad for you. ;)
Regards, Steve Schermherhorn
_____________________________________
Thanks for saying what I was thinking. However you were a more gentle about it than I would have been.
Roger Humphrey
_____________________________________
AMEN TO ALL OF THIS
Kurt Osenlund
_____________________________________
I love reading you when you are on the rag. Dionne's voice was very special. She sold B/D songs like no one else could.
Respect your elders and the elderly. IOW: respect yourself.
The border not his frailty will sink Biden AKA RBG in drag.
Michael Fremer
_____________________________________
Man, I used to adore variety shows.
Standing ovation for you. Thanks for saying this.
Natalie Davis
NYC
_____________________________________
You really nailed it with this one.
We want bold, brave and true.
Not old, lame and blue(haired)
Delia Rae
Burbank, Ca
_____________________________________
Oh, Bob…your review was much more entertaining than the show was. And as depressing as your message was, I laughed all the way through it. Good stuff.
Tom Gribbin
_____________________________________
Spot on, Bob
Happy New Year...
Cob Carlson
_____________________________________
They missed an opportunity to have two older, black performers, who can REALLY sing, honor the man, and at the same time present them to a new audience. Al Green is still working and he recorded How Can You Mend A Broken Heart in 1972.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9YIq0oNiSM
Also, Candi Staton, who is also still working, did a great version of Nights On Broadway in 1977.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghjxSlfLJYs
Kevin Kiley
_____________________________________
As a lifelong Democrat and sometime left-wing radical, I agree with you. Biden makes me wince, although who else is there to vote for? I choke on my oatmeal everytime I hear about all the "other" candidates. Nikky Haley is toast.
She'll never get past that quote about slavery, no matter how hard they spin it. Someone has to whisper in Joe's ear "Time to step aside Joe". And I like Biden, but his "Speak softly and carry a big stick" approach is a tough sell in 2024.There are plenty of Democratic warriors on our side. But it may be too late for them to jump in. I'm secretly hoping Obama can sit with Joe and tell him the truth, but that's not gonna happen. Biden is like the Raiders quarterback.
He'll have to do. I think we can win with him.
Tom Cartwright
_____________________________________
I can respect some of your comments, Bob, but you don't know what you're talking about with Queen Latifah. She's definitely not B level to the hip hop community and beyond. Any artist would love her career accomplishments.
Stacy Turner
_____________________________________
The singers of "Alfie" and "Walk On By" were not good. Nothing but vocal histrionics from the first. The "Walk On By" singer had a weird, nasally voice. It was awful.
Thomas Quinn
_____________________________________
Agree 100% Bob about Biden and I'm a diehard Democrat.
Robert Pisaneschi
_____________________________________
I hate when you fall into, " angry old man" complaining.
Some of what you say is true but not enough…not every endeavor in the arts or farces has only you in mind.
DeNiro's remark wasn't a dig…it was an endorsement!
You're all wrong on Biden you know.
So what if his body is old, his experience and expertise saved this country and trashing him could give us Trump again.
Big fan of most of what you write but not this one.
Lighten up Bob, enjoy!
Alan Crane
_____________________________________
Biden is basically unelectable and I am having a meltdown about it. Clinton, Reagan, Kennedy have/had charisma and charm and smarts. Biden has smarts. You need more. Ugh.
Alan Stewart
_____________________________________
Well said Bob! To me the last truly great and surprising performance/tribute the Kennedy Center Honors had to be in my opinion, Heart doing Stairway to Heaven when the surviving members of Led Zeppelin were inducted. How long ago was that now? (Just googled it and holy crap that was 11 years ago!). That was a truly stunning and complete unexpected performance. Hell even Robert Plant who had long since tired of the song, was moved by it! Sadly even when Jon Stewart was inducted a few years back, you expected some bite and John Oliver did oblige but overall it was still a pretty meh tribute, it being a "polite DC society" and all event.
Some things are just best to let go of gracefully and lament their passing than watch it die a slow agonizing death while trying to pretend there is nothing wrong. Seems the KCH and Biden/DNC are ignoring this fact.
Michael Moniz
P.S. Biden is our 1/6 is an all time bad take.
But your point is salient about our own eyes.
My question would be where are these acolytes ? Do you know people in your life that say its not true? Or are you just referring to media.
I don't know anyone in my life who is a fan or defends him. Just the typical "he can beat trump" arguments , but always whole holding their nose.
Theres a clip somewhere of a comedian where someone yelled "f*ck joe biden!" And hes like "is that supposed to offend me? You're making fun of my 17th choice for president?"
Seems to be the consensus to me
_____________________________________
Biden should do what FDR did, he knew his health was bad- also knew that Wallace was too progressive, and the country had turned more center. He decided to let the convention pick the VP and they picked Truman. We all knew what happened then. I think that may be the thing that will help Biden. Confidence in who may have to take his place.
Peter O'Fallon
_____________________________________
Man, this was like watching television in the '70's. Love the audience shots of old white people trying to groove… Sad to say the "Honors" jumped the shark.
Doug Pomerantz
_____________________________________
Gimme some truth
Thank you for the truth it is SO rare that I hear it now, it just stands out and stands up
Thanks for telling it
Peter Stema
_____________________________________
Wow, Bob, I didn't expect to see Florence Greenberg get well-deserved credit in this one. You don't often navigate towards classic soul.
She earned it. Not only with Dionne, but with the Shirelles, Maxine Brown, Chuck Jackson, Tommy Hunt and more. Hey, even the Kingsmen and B.J. Thomas. You know those artists' hits, if not their names (let's not discuss the British covers).
Hooray.
Adam White
_____________________________________
The reason kids love/watch YouTube is that teenagers are always more interested in each other than any celebrity nonsense the media manufactures. If you pay attention to young people you will learn that this has always been true.
Liz Dean
_____________________________________
Absolutely fabulous piece Bob. As someone that has produced, a live broadcast of an award show celebrating the arts for the last eight years, it is discouraging that most broadcasters and streamers don't have an appetite for award shows or variety style shows such as the Kennedy Center Honors .
Broadcasters will tell you that in the face of declining ratings there is not much an appetite from the public for this genre of entertainment but what they failed to understand is that it's way beyond ratings it's about supporting artist, discovering new artists, celebrating extraordinary talent and Ensuring that the arts continue to thrive. I do applaud Netflix for picking up some of the award shows that have been abandoned by Traditional broadcasters, and I do hope other streamers will find a home for variety and award shows in the future.
Barry Avrich
Producer/Director
Melbar Entertainment Group
_____________________________________
Hear, hear Bob. I agree with every word of this letter.
R. Scott Furtney
_____________________________________
Bob I enjoy your writing please keep piushing for new leadership w Dem,s Michigan governors Adam kinnzinger if not Newsom Scared of Trump return and Winn by default please keep pushing
Dave Prutting
_____________________________________
You may be correct that award shows are losing their relevance and audience, but last night's performance of Alfie by Cynthia Erivo was riveting and worth tuning in If for nothing else. I was also there in the audience during the filming and felt transported to another world by her voice and presence. I was unaware of her prior to that moment and I've been obsessing ever since!
I have a 10 year old who watches mostly tik tok and YouTube and last night I had her watch just that song on the honors and her reaction to Cynthia reminded me of how I reacted when I saw Streisand in the movie Funny Girl as a child. Together we went down the YouTube rabbit hole finding Cynthia videos but few compared to what we just watched on KCH which was a brilliant matching of voice, song and production elements. Stunning.
Jennifer Cooke
Artist Manager
_____________________________________
This show, along with Tony's are the only things left that come close to a classic Variety Show.
Who the hell chose those songs to honor Dionne?! The Spinners' duet? A horrific arrangement of Walk On By. I Say A Little YAWN! Cynthia killed Alfie - thankfully. Where was Manilow? He doesn't have a KC Honor yet, shockingly. But it was he who produced Dionne's comeback album for Clive (winning her two Grammys). And while it may be a cheesy moment, the right 4some belting That's What Friend Are For, which Dionne personally made sure made millions of dollars for AIDS, could have been a "moment." Either the bookers don't bother or don't realize that some talented youngsters like Jonas Bros, Olivia, Ariana, Miley, Shawn Mendez, Puth, Demi, Normandie would likely jump to salute their - or their parent's - idols.
Interestingly, it seems this show only gets it right when they honor Broadway star or creator.
Latifah?! Really? Janet Jackson isn't in there! Why? Because it's CBS? Still? C'mon now. Taking nothing away from Queen and her career accomplishments (I actually am a huge fan of her singing voice) - but the tribute - leaning on her hip/hop contributions seems interesting. She spent 9 years releasing 4 albums which maybe in all had 3 bonafide R&B/Rap hits. So - a KC Honor? Was something inside CBS at work here - where's she's one of their stars? Hmmmmm?
Of note: in addition to Manilow, Johnny Mathis and Liza have YET to be honored. As much of a shame as Cher not in the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame.
As for Barry Gibb… that tribute was questionable at best. Almost thrown together haphazardly. "Lonely Days"? - they penned hundreds of hits. And this was a hit. But a memorable one? Compared to the catalogue?! No.
I mostly yelled at the TV. Maybe they'll ask us for help next time, Bob.
Jerry J. Sharell
_____________________________________
Longtime reader & songwriter down in Tennessee. I couldn't agree with you more. On EVERYTHING in this email.
People are so afraid of everything that is happening and it seems like all anyone can do is just stick to the things that make them feel incredibly safe. Which is incredibly lame. And gets you absolutely no where fast.
Yes the world is a dumpster fire but it doesn't mean we quit innovation. It means we gotta f*cking hustle before the great big ball in the sky burns out!
Shows like the Kennedy Center Honors are sailing right along down the river of safety for all these liberal folks who think they are so open-minded but refuse to admit when they are wrong and when cornered they start screaming. And listen, I'm a liberal but I can see the writing on the wall. Both sides of the political spectrum are equally f*cked and divided within their own parties so why on earth would anyone be persuaded to be part of either side?! The narrow-minded point of view will do us all in because those at the top, with the most power and the narrowest view are steering us into what looks to be the same kind of shipwreck you'd find down in the waters of Cape Horn.
But either way, I look forward to more of your writing and emails. They bring me comfort and I appreciate your willingness to speak the truth at a time when people choose not to hear it.
Happy New Year,
Lolo Pritchard
_____________________________________
Re: Youtube (and smaller screen)
Ironically Bob I'm 50 and I watch more youtube than anything else. And, aside from watching shows / movies with my wife on our big screen, I watch almost everything on my 14 inch Samsung S8 Ultra, which is basically a mini TV with a much better / brighter screen and portable.
This isn't a commercial for Samsung, however when I bought one of their phones a couple years ago it included a six month trial for Youtube Premium which is basically no commercials, and I was hooked. I pay $14 a month now for zero commercials.
There's an endless treasure trove of documentaries, how-tos, MSNBC clips, political analysis by really fresh creators, I even sometimes watch OAN and Fox News when I want to get what the RepuliQans are spewing.
The only thing I / you / we have to be careful with is the recommendation engine. Watch the wrong video that has a little bit of a rightward bent, and suddenly that algorithm will go nuts showing you click bait Jewish space lasers, illuminati, stock market crashes, Andrew Tate stuff, and other right wing conspiracy nonsense or hate-filled garbage.
The algorithm clearly WANTS you to go down that rabbit hole. Obviously more money in it for google.
Ironically some of that comes from watching more right-tilted redneck country stuff that I have to check out for work, and also enjoy a bit of, some of it is great music, and I need to pay attention to the genre.
Also, Joe Rogan is a biggie. Watch a couple Joe Rogan clips, even of him just telling jokes and talking about supplements, and Youtube will start recommending the craziest sh!t.
Watch military or WWII documentaries, movie clips from more violent films, it doesn't take much for that engine to start blasting you with nonsense.
So I ignore the algorithm and watch what I like, but I can see why people with lower critical thinking skills can get pilled pretty quickly just by casually watching Youtube's recommended videos.
Were I a parent, I'd be more concerned with my kids accidentally watching a couple of mostly harmless things that are tangentially connected by the algorithm, and winding up redpilled incels or end of the world doomsday preppers.
Anyway, I guess that's the price of unfiltered free content.
Dan Millen
_____________________________________
?I was scrolling through channels when I stumbled onto it. I saw Queen Latifah and just kept scrolling. Don't they know that people would rather watch it an hour later on YouTube with no commercials, anyway? Even boomers! And in whatever order they want ignoring what they don't want Chrissakes! But you covered that in your piece.
But there was nobody present with the capacity to raise the dead. And speaking of hagiography does anyone still wanna watch the Saints adoring the Saints? Welcoming them into heaven? The Elite adoring the Elite? Seriously? (and all the accompanying close up very emotional
"audiencefulloSTARS"camera shots)
I don't. I didn't.
And what a lame lineup! No apologies. Just lame. But I'm old and who cares what I think? If any of them devoted 10,000 of Gladwell's hours to practice it was Renèe. So good for her! But the only lineup that would please me would have to include British Rocker Saints and perhaps some others…..even born in the USA. Heroes for longer than 15 minutes. And I'd wait for youtube. F*ckabuncha commercials! Maybe I'll check out The Bee Gees minute. But right now I'm listening to Foxtrot. A record I bought over 50 years ago. And it's all I need at the moment. (Hackett, thankfully, is keeping it alive) Am I digressing? Am I the old paradigm? Still listening to actual albums on a turntable and not Spotify playlists? I want the whole experience. Even on Spotify. I know, there's a vinyl "movement." Vinyl is "cool." Great. But it was what we had. What we did. What we lived. And there was no tech except mebbe stereo gear, home and car, and that was analog and all about good sound and how do you explain the ethos of those times to the newlyfounds? Vinyl wasn't cool. It was everything. And more. It still is if you were there. You can still plug in.
Anyway I'm allowed to digress. I'm f*cking old. Colin Hay said in a song "I was invincible now I'm invisible" or something similar. He wasn't singing about me but he was…. Nobody sees or hears me except cashiers when I'm tapping or swiping a credit card or my kids when they want money.
Anyway Happy New Year to ya
Bill Nelson
_____________________________________
You're way too angry man. Take a walk outside. The sun is out. You'll
live longer and maybe be happier. Really.
Mitch Tenzer
_____________________________________
You are the last cool one of our generation. Love your writing!
PS yes, I know it's "uncool" to say "cool"!!
Terry Savage
Nationally Syndicated Financial Columnist
www.TerrySavage.com
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More 2023 Deaths-SiriusXM This Week
Tune in Saturday December 30th to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.
If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz
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Thursday, 28 December 2023
Robin Green-This Week's Podcast
Writer for "Rolling Stone" and executive producer for "The Sopranos" Robin Green wrote a great memoir, "The Only Girl." We discuss just that, being the only girl on the masthead at "Rolling Stone," and her path from Rhode Island to Hollywood and more.
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/robin-green-138711098/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/robin-green/id1316200737?i=1000639906884
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3rxRNHYDg5mvfqk1atrloA?si=K0g3dALNQrKy_3PW6IT6DQ
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/382b6f01-ebba-4bff-b7b4-0424c5a9302c/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-robin-green
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https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/robin-green-138711098/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/robin-green/id1316200737?i=1000639906884
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3rxRNHYDg5mvfqk1atrloA?si=K0g3dALNQrKy_3PW6IT6DQ
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/382b6f01-ebba-4bff-b7b4-0424c5a9302c/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-robin-green
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The Kennedy Center Honors
This is what is going to disappear. Along with gasoline automobiles and so much more. A variety show with dancing and singing? They're already gone from regular network TV, the idea of appealing to everybody went by the wayside not only with cable TV, but with the internet and streaming no one watches what they do not want to. As a matter of fact, I skipped Queen Latifah and Rénee Fleming, I just don't have time for over the top hagiography in today's earthy world where we're looking to pierce hearts and minds viscerally as opposed to platitudes written by calcified writers operating under a dead construct.
And speaking of dead...
Joe Biden is the Democrats' 1/6. As in we can see it with our own eyes and the man's acolytes keep telling us we're wrong. Man, this guy is OLD! And stiff. He needs the Tin Man to give his body some oil. And when he speaks... There's little power and you start to wince. Complain to me all you want, that's just the point, you can't admit that the guy is too old and we need someone new. These are the same people who believe the Kennedy Center Honors appeal to anyone who isn't nearly dead themselves. The brain might work, he might have done good things in office, but this dude is over the hill. Don't talk to me about Trump being only four years younger, as you keep telling us people age at different speeds, and Trump, at least physically, is aging much more slowly than Biden. As for his mind...
If you're following the polls, you know that Nikki Haley is within four points of Trump in New Hampshire. That's the headline, the truth is just a bit different. It's eight points and with the margin of error being four, the headline is four. In any event, that's close. And I'd say Nikki Haley has a chance, but after the Honors I picked up my phone to find out Nikki wouldn't admit that slavery was the cause of the Civil War. I mean talk about a layup. And it's a bad look no matter how you spin it. You're afraid of offending white nationalists so you won't admit a truth over a century and a half old? Then again, maybe these states are turning into Gaza, with their book bans and rewriting of education, have you seen the clip where they delineate what is taught to these kids? Check it out here: http://tinyurl.com/5963mfd8 And while you're at it, say it's wrong. That's today's world, everything is up for grabs, there is no accepted truth, and there are no universal stars.
That's right, fifty years from now they'll be honoring social media influencers, who've got more reach than streaming stars. Did you see the article that today's young kids watch programming on YouTube, not paid streaming outlets? Disney thought this was their ace in the hole, you've got to pay for the history of cartoon fare. But kids are satisfied with what's on YouTube: http://tinyurl.com/mr25rdps Wait long enough and the world turns in unexpected ways. YouTube tried original production and failed. Turns out it's not about company-produced stuff, just like Amazon is really eBay under a different moniker. That's where the company makes its money, on third party products.
So first they honored Dionne Warwick.
Well, first we had Gloria Estefan with a song and dance intro, so lame I couldn't wait for it to end. Maybe tell a few jokes. Like Robert DeNiro, who turned out to be the biggest comedian on stage. He took a potshot at Biden's age. He came up to the line of taboo. Everybody else was stuck in the sixties, if not the fifties.
And I like "Walk on By," but as good as Dionne is, Burt Bacharach and Hal David were better. All the money's in the songs, never sell yours, you'll regret it, as Daryl Hall has now publicly said.
But watching Warwick all I could think of was the Psychic Friends Network. Bacharach and David never had to do this. And it made me wonder about tarnishing the legacy, then again if you live long enough you know the truth is there is no legacy, almost everybody they honor will be forgotten not long after they die, if it takes that long. Jay Leno? He used to be on TV every night? Looked like they reeled him out of the casket. Young people have no idea who he is. But I've got to give him credit for losing weight and not dyeing his hair. Yes, there was a lot of white hair, if there was hair at all. Because this was an old audience, the kind that is not passionate, they should have protested the appearance of Justice Roberts, the lack of the right to an abortion is more important than any of the talent honored last night.
But it was civilized, like honoring the nerds in high school, you know, the National Honor Society. Talk about meaningless. Kids today might have gotten a trophy for participating, but maybe that's why they know awards, trophies, are a joke.
And to have a totally faux Spinners sing "Then Came You"... My body had to stretch like a rubberband man to cope with that.
And there was a plethora of B-level talent throughout the show. You mean you couldn't get anybody better?
And they wheeled out old Clive Davis, who can't miss an opportunity for self-promotion even though his eyesight is so bad he had to read off an iPad right in front of him. Never mind that Dionne's big hits were not on his labels. Let's honor Florence Greenberg of Scepter Records. I remember that logo spinning on the record player. But she's already dead and forgotten. And even Mica is gone, Ahmet didn't have to sit through travesties like this. Ahmet had a sense of humor, he knew false when he experienced it. If you knew him, if you hung with him just a little bit, you know this was true.
Queen Latifah? I've got nothing against the woman, but she's definitely a B-level artist. Fiftieth year of hip-hop and this was all you could come up with? Afraid of someone a little more dangerous?
I respect Rénee Fleming, but it's not really my bag.
As for Billy Crystal. Heartfelt and heartwarming. Even though Crystal himself is a bit bland. It's the edgy comedians we ultimately respect. It's taking a very long time for Richard Pryor to leave our consciousness. Then again, Pryor never won a Kennedy Center Honor, showing its long term effectiveness in honoring talent. And while I'm raging, couldn't they come up with a better necklace/ribbon?
DeNiro was the highlight of the night.
And Bob Costas was great too. A professional, you couldn't tell that he was reading from the teleprompter, like too much famous talent.
As for Barry Gibb...
I liked Little Big Town's rendition of "Lonely Days," if for no other reason than I love that song, I thought the tribute would be all disco.
"Good morning, Mr. Sunshine..."
From slow to fast, a great record, and a hit to boot.
As much as I like "Lonely Days," that's how much I dislike "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart." But Michael Bublé changed it just enough so I got it. Kudos. Ben Platt doing "Nights on Broadway"... Okay, but I don't love that song and it's more of a record than a song anyway, hard to reproduce live.
As for Ariana DeBose singing the disco hits... Do you even know who that is? She won an Oscar on a show no one watches and no one remembers who won. She was lame, the whole bit was underwhelming, I'm surprised Barry Gibb didn't stand up like the Nazi during "Springtime for Hitler" and scream to shut it down.
Oh, so you're pissed I just can't accept this dreck and say something nice. But that's a passé paradigm. Gimme some truth.
But one of the main reasons I'm writing this is to remind you that ten years ago live-tweeting a show like this was a national pastime. Now you don't even watch, never mind tweet.
The world has changed and it's not only the right that refuses to admit it. Which is why we rely on youngsters to push progress, to move the nation forward. And you're serving up ancient Joe Biden for these youngsters to believe in? Don't tell them you know better, you're the same people who proffered this lame show they didn't watch.
Then again, if you speak the truth in America you're excoriated for not prefacing it with a trigger warning.
The brave break norms. And in truth, not a single person honored last night broke norms, they were all strictly within the mainstream. Those aren't our heroes, it's the ones who make our jaws drop, who we can't stop talking about, who are.
But the oldsters think they're too dangerous for mainstream consumption. Which is how recently passed Tommy Smothers lost his Sunday night show.
But at least Tommy Smothers tried. That makes a better obit than kissing ass.
Welcome to America today, where there is no consensus, where we're living in a Tower of Babel society, yet old media keeps telling us it's all the same.
It's not.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
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-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
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And speaking of dead...
Joe Biden is the Democrats' 1/6. As in we can see it with our own eyes and the man's acolytes keep telling us we're wrong. Man, this guy is OLD! And stiff. He needs the Tin Man to give his body some oil. And when he speaks... There's little power and you start to wince. Complain to me all you want, that's just the point, you can't admit that the guy is too old and we need someone new. These are the same people who believe the Kennedy Center Honors appeal to anyone who isn't nearly dead themselves. The brain might work, he might have done good things in office, but this dude is over the hill. Don't talk to me about Trump being only four years younger, as you keep telling us people age at different speeds, and Trump, at least physically, is aging much more slowly than Biden. As for his mind...
If you're following the polls, you know that Nikki Haley is within four points of Trump in New Hampshire. That's the headline, the truth is just a bit different. It's eight points and with the margin of error being four, the headline is four. In any event, that's close. And I'd say Nikki Haley has a chance, but after the Honors I picked up my phone to find out Nikki wouldn't admit that slavery was the cause of the Civil War. I mean talk about a layup. And it's a bad look no matter how you spin it. You're afraid of offending white nationalists so you won't admit a truth over a century and a half old? Then again, maybe these states are turning into Gaza, with their book bans and rewriting of education, have you seen the clip where they delineate what is taught to these kids? Check it out here: http://tinyurl.com/5963mfd8 And while you're at it, say it's wrong. That's today's world, everything is up for grabs, there is no accepted truth, and there are no universal stars.
That's right, fifty years from now they'll be honoring social media influencers, who've got more reach than streaming stars. Did you see the article that today's young kids watch programming on YouTube, not paid streaming outlets? Disney thought this was their ace in the hole, you've got to pay for the history of cartoon fare. But kids are satisfied with what's on YouTube: http://tinyurl.com/mr25rdps Wait long enough and the world turns in unexpected ways. YouTube tried original production and failed. Turns out it's not about company-produced stuff, just like Amazon is really eBay under a different moniker. That's where the company makes its money, on third party products.
So first they honored Dionne Warwick.
Well, first we had Gloria Estefan with a song and dance intro, so lame I couldn't wait for it to end. Maybe tell a few jokes. Like Robert DeNiro, who turned out to be the biggest comedian on stage. He took a potshot at Biden's age. He came up to the line of taboo. Everybody else was stuck in the sixties, if not the fifties.
And I like "Walk on By," but as good as Dionne is, Burt Bacharach and Hal David were better. All the money's in the songs, never sell yours, you'll regret it, as Daryl Hall has now publicly said.
But watching Warwick all I could think of was the Psychic Friends Network. Bacharach and David never had to do this. And it made me wonder about tarnishing the legacy, then again if you live long enough you know the truth is there is no legacy, almost everybody they honor will be forgotten not long after they die, if it takes that long. Jay Leno? He used to be on TV every night? Looked like they reeled him out of the casket. Young people have no idea who he is. But I've got to give him credit for losing weight and not dyeing his hair. Yes, there was a lot of white hair, if there was hair at all. Because this was an old audience, the kind that is not passionate, they should have protested the appearance of Justice Roberts, the lack of the right to an abortion is more important than any of the talent honored last night.
But it was civilized, like honoring the nerds in high school, you know, the National Honor Society. Talk about meaningless. Kids today might have gotten a trophy for participating, but maybe that's why they know awards, trophies, are a joke.
And to have a totally faux Spinners sing "Then Came You"... My body had to stretch like a rubberband man to cope with that.
And there was a plethora of B-level talent throughout the show. You mean you couldn't get anybody better?
And they wheeled out old Clive Davis, who can't miss an opportunity for self-promotion even though his eyesight is so bad he had to read off an iPad right in front of him. Never mind that Dionne's big hits were not on his labels. Let's honor Florence Greenberg of Scepter Records. I remember that logo spinning on the record player. But she's already dead and forgotten. And even Mica is gone, Ahmet didn't have to sit through travesties like this. Ahmet had a sense of humor, he knew false when he experienced it. If you knew him, if you hung with him just a little bit, you know this was true.
Queen Latifah? I've got nothing against the woman, but she's definitely a B-level artist. Fiftieth year of hip-hop and this was all you could come up with? Afraid of someone a little more dangerous?
I respect Rénee Fleming, but it's not really my bag.
As for Billy Crystal. Heartfelt and heartwarming. Even though Crystal himself is a bit bland. It's the edgy comedians we ultimately respect. It's taking a very long time for Richard Pryor to leave our consciousness. Then again, Pryor never won a Kennedy Center Honor, showing its long term effectiveness in honoring talent. And while I'm raging, couldn't they come up with a better necklace/ribbon?
DeNiro was the highlight of the night.
And Bob Costas was great too. A professional, you couldn't tell that he was reading from the teleprompter, like too much famous talent.
As for Barry Gibb...
I liked Little Big Town's rendition of "Lonely Days," if for no other reason than I love that song, I thought the tribute would be all disco.
"Good morning, Mr. Sunshine..."
From slow to fast, a great record, and a hit to boot.
As much as I like "Lonely Days," that's how much I dislike "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart." But Michael Bublé changed it just enough so I got it. Kudos. Ben Platt doing "Nights on Broadway"... Okay, but I don't love that song and it's more of a record than a song anyway, hard to reproduce live.
As for Ariana DeBose singing the disco hits... Do you even know who that is? She won an Oscar on a show no one watches and no one remembers who won. She was lame, the whole bit was underwhelming, I'm surprised Barry Gibb didn't stand up like the Nazi during "Springtime for Hitler" and scream to shut it down.
Oh, so you're pissed I just can't accept this dreck and say something nice. But that's a passé paradigm. Gimme some truth.
But one of the main reasons I'm writing this is to remind you that ten years ago live-tweeting a show like this was a national pastime. Now you don't even watch, never mind tweet.
The world has changed and it's not only the right that refuses to admit it. Which is why we rely on youngsters to push progress, to move the nation forward. And you're serving up ancient Joe Biden for these youngsters to believe in? Don't tell them you know better, you're the same people who proffered this lame show they didn't watch.
Then again, if you speak the truth in America you're excoriated for not prefacing it with a trigger warning.
The brave break norms. And in truth, not a single person honored last night broke norms, they were all strictly within the mainstream. Those aren't our heroes, it's the ones who make our jaws drop, who we can't stop talking about, who are.
But the oldsters think they're too dangerous for mainstream consumption. Which is how recently passed Tommy Smothers lost his Sunday night show.
But at least Tommy Smothers tried. That makes a better obit than kissing ass.
Welcome to America today, where there is no consensus, where we're living in a Tower of Babel society, yet old media keeps telling us it's all the same.
It's not.
--
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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Tuesday, 26 December 2023
Re-Stage Dolls
STAGE DOLLS??
19 feet of Norwegian rock! (the 3 of them were all over 6 feet tall)
I haven't seen their name for decades. We spent a FORTUNE trying to break them.
Mike Bone
__________________________________
I was the head of rock radio, alternative radio and video promotion at Chrysalis when this album came out. This album wasn't easy to promote, but the one thing I remember well, was that these were really great guys. I fondly remember some crazy stunts we pulled at MTV, with my buddy Rick Krim, to get their attention. Sadly it never stuck but it sure was fun to try and get them noticed. Thanks for the memories!
Steve Schnur
__________________________________
I loved these guys.
Worked together when I was at chrysalis I used to take them to conventions have them hang out in our suite and watch them make all the radio guys drink some Norwegian liquor that just knocked everybody on their butt
Very nice guys.
Music was great , the world changed underneath their feet.
Best
Greg Thompson
__________________________________
"Love Cries" was the track I remember most from Stage Dolls. I remember seeing a clip of it on Casey Kasem's America's Top 10 TV show, I think it was a 'future hit' or something like that, and I was hooked. I NEEDED to find that album. Living in small town Saskatchewan, Canada. That was a lot harder than you think, but I remember when I finally found the cassette in a used record store. Like you, I assumed this was their only release. Say what you will about the evils of the internet and it's 'impact' on the music industry, it's thanks to the internet that I discovered some other great releases from Stage Dolls and why I'm able to take multiple trips down memory lane listening to music that I thought was lost to the ages.
Danny Fournier
__________________________________
Hey Bob, long time reader. I absolutely LOVE this record! One of my prized CD's. I was working indie promotion with independent record promoter Tony Muscolo in Granada Hills, CA in the late 80's. He asked me to listen to this album (cd) and tell him what I thought. Told him I thought it was great and as good as anything getting added at radio at the time. Too bad Chrysalis didn't really get behind this band.
P.S. Got to keep the CD also.
David Wolnik
Muscolo Promotion
__________________________________
Wow. Stage Dolls. That was the first real record release party I attended. At The Rainbow, if memory serves. I hadn't heard that name or thought about the band in decades. When I saw your subject line in my inbox, the memories instantly flooded back. That was a night of good debauchery. Glad to hear the Dolls are still at it!
Pat Kraus
__________________________________
The emphasis AOR song off that Stage Dolls record was "Love Cries."
Still holds up pretty well today in a Bryan Adams kinda way.
It was released as a single and mid-charted.
Fun Fact: The B-side was one of the songs you also mentioned---"Ammunition."
Marty Bender Sobolewski
__________________________________
Wow!!! I had no idea you even knew them.
I bought that CD for the track Love Cries - it was on many of my playlists.
Love your writing. Keep it coming.
Have a great holiday! Stay safe.
Miguel d'Escoto
__________________________________
Love Cries by the Stage Dolls is dynamite. The guitar tone hits a sweet spot and the vocal hook is perfect. Pure 1980s gold.
-Steve Coscia
__________________________________
I've been a Stage Dolls fan for decades, since that record first came out. "Love Don't Bother Me" is a MONSTER track. Great ear, as always, Bob!
Jer Gervasi
__________________________________
Great piece on the Stage Dolls. I was involved with their later effort, "Stripped". If you want to hear a song that deserved to be a hit, check out Love Don't Bother Me - Stage Dolls: http://tinyurl.com/ykcdm9cz
This is one of the songs I look back on and lament "Why didn't we break this one?"
Sky Daniels
__________________________________
Agree with you about Stage Dolls. They also had an Album called Commandos with similar song called Magic worth mentioning. Sorry to say they never broke in Scandinavia. Another Norwegian guy worth listening to is Morton Abel!
Kind regards from Sweden.
Reidar Erlandsson
__________________________________
I am beyond ecstatic that you wrote about Stage Dolls. I lived in Norway for 10 years as a kid from '88-'98.
Being a jazz head heavily into the ECM world and GRP recordings, rock wasn't really in my focus. But I remember Stage Dolls on the radio.
Now imagine my surprise here in Hollywood when I came across a cassette tape at Counterpoint in Franklin Village. I bought it because my Volvo still has a tape deck.
Torstein Flakne had something else than the other rockers and frontmen in Norway had. His melodies, chords and songwriting would pique any music lovers interest, if they ever dared to venture into rock, as it did mine.
I revisited the music after reading your mail today, and yes, it still holds up and was not nostalgia. It was simply enjoying good old songs beyond peering over the shoulder with rose tinted glasses.
Thank you for writing about them and yes, they do have a power ballad: "Love Don't Bother Me".
Alexander Andresen
__________________________________
When I saw the subject heading of this email, I chuckled to myself and thought "imagine if Bob was talking about that killer Norwegian rock band". I then ignored it for a few hours before coming back and…
"…he IS talking about THAT band!"
You were there at the time, it makes more sense that you would have had these guys on your radar. For me, younger, I came across the song "Love Cries" as a late teen when i started to become obsessed with those more polished mid-late 80s AOR-esque bands. The power of the internet, eh?
Norway seemed like such an unusual origin for a band playing this type of music, kind of like Strangeways from Scotland, however there has been such a huge resurgence of this polished AOR/melodic rock sound coming out of Scandinavia in particular over the last 15 or so years that it doesn't seem as weird now. No doubt bands like Stage Dolls played a key part in that.
I'm so happy to read your thoughts on what i think is an incredible album and is no doubt underrated in every corner of the planet. Probably even in Norway as well!
I made a super cheesy AOR (loosely defined) playlist on Spotify which has everything from Stage Dolls, Treat, Jaded Heart and Talisman, through to Jimmy Barnes (that ONE album!), Boulevard, Harem Scarem, Work of Art and more. Many successful tracks, but a lot of underrated gems. I just hope more of those forgotten ones make it onto stream (Unruly Child's self titled in particular!).
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4jLrIfU3laFOdula5PwccE?si=Ukuf315_Q_6po1_lf3JYNw&pi=a-JtLxOjqCQBeG
I absolutely love your newsletter, but this one really made my day.
Thanks and happy holidays.
Andy Dowling
Sydney, Australia
--
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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19 feet of Norwegian rock! (the 3 of them were all over 6 feet tall)
I haven't seen their name for decades. We spent a FORTUNE trying to break them.
Mike Bone
__________________________________
I was the head of rock radio, alternative radio and video promotion at Chrysalis when this album came out. This album wasn't easy to promote, but the one thing I remember well, was that these were really great guys. I fondly remember some crazy stunts we pulled at MTV, with my buddy Rick Krim, to get their attention. Sadly it never stuck but it sure was fun to try and get them noticed. Thanks for the memories!
Steve Schnur
__________________________________
I loved these guys.
Worked together when I was at chrysalis I used to take them to conventions have them hang out in our suite and watch them make all the radio guys drink some Norwegian liquor that just knocked everybody on their butt
Very nice guys.
Music was great , the world changed underneath their feet.
Best
Greg Thompson
__________________________________
"Love Cries" was the track I remember most from Stage Dolls. I remember seeing a clip of it on Casey Kasem's America's Top 10 TV show, I think it was a 'future hit' or something like that, and I was hooked. I NEEDED to find that album. Living in small town Saskatchewan, Canada. That was a lot harder than you think, but I remember when I finally found the cassette in a used record store. Like you, I assumed this was their only release. Say what you will about the evils of the internet and it's 'impact' on the music industry, it's thanks to the internet that I discovered some other great releases from Stage Dolls and why I'm able to take multiple trips down memory lane listening to music that I thought was lost to the ages.
Danny Fournier
__________________________________
Hey Bob, long time reader. I absolutely LOVE this record! One of my prized CD's. I was working indie promotion with independent record promoter Tony Muscolo in Granada Hills, CA in the late 80's. He asked me to listen to this album (cd) and tell him what I thought. Told him I thought it was great and as good as anything getting added at radio at the time. Too bad Chrysalis didn't really get behind this band.
P.S. Got to keep the CD also.
David Wolnik
Muscolo Promotion
__________________________________
Wow. Stage Dolls. That was the first real record release party I attended. At The Rainbow, if memory serves. I hadn't heard that name or thought about the band in decades. When I saw your subject line in my inbox, the memories instantly flooded back. That was a night of good debauchery. Glad to hear the Dolls are still at it!
Pat Kraus
__________________________________
The emphasis AOR song off that Stage Dolls record was "Love Cries."
Still holds up pretty well today in a Bryan Adams kinda way.
It was released as a single and mid-charted.
Fun Fact: The B-side was one of the songs you also mentioned---"Ammunition."
Marty Bender Sobolewski
__________________________________
Wow!!! I had no idea you even knew them.
I bought that CD for the track Love Cries - it was on many of my playlists.
Love your writing. Keep it coming.
Have a great holiday! Stay safe.
Miguel d'Escoto
__________________________________
Love Cries by the Stage Dolls is dynamite. The guitar tone hits a sweet spot and the vocal hook is perfect. Pure 1980s gold.
-Steve Coscia
__________________________________
I've been a Stage Dolls fan for decades, since that record first came out. "Love Don't Bother Me" is a MONSTER track. Great ear, as always, Bob!
Jer Gervasi
__________________________________
Great piece on the Stage Dolls. I was involved with their later effort, "Stripped". If you want to hear a song that deserved to be a hit, check out Love Don't Bother Me - Stage Dolls: http://tinyurl.com/ykcdm9cz
This is one of the songs I look back on and lament "Why didn't we break this one?"
Sky Daniels
__________________________________
Agree with you about Stage Dolls. They also had an Album called Commandos with similar song called Magic worth mentioning. Sorry to say they never broke in Scandinavia. Another Norwegian guy worth listening to is Morton Abel!
Kind regards from Sweden.
Reidar Erlandsson
__________________________________
I am beyond ecstatic that you wrote about Stage Dolls. I lived in Norway for 10 years as a kid from '88-'98.
Being a jazz head heavily into the ECM world and GRP recordings, rock wasn't really in my focus. But I remember Stage Dolls on the radio.
Now imagine my surprise here in Hollywood when I came across a cassette tape at Counterpoint in Franklin Village. I bought it because my Volvo still has a tape deck.
Torstein Flakne had something else than the other rockers and frontmen in Norway had. His melodies, chords and songwriting would pique any music lovers interest, if they ever dared to venture into rock, as it did mine.
I revisited the music after reading your mail today, and yes, it still holds up and was not nostalgia. It was simply enjoying good old songs beyond peering over the shoulder with rose tinted glasses.
Thank you for writing about them and yes, they do have a power ballad: "Love Don't Bother Me".
Alexander Andresen
__________________________________
When I saw the subject heading of this email, I chuckled to myself and thought "imagine if Bob was talking about that killer Norwegian rock band". I then ignored it for a few hours before coming back and…
"…he IS talking about THAT band!"
You were there at the time, it makes more sense that you would have had these guys on your radar. For me, younger, I came across the song "Love Cries" as a late teen when i started to become obsessed with those more polished mid-late 80s AOR-esque bands. The power of the internet, eh?
Norway seemed like such an unusual origin for a band playing this type of music, kind of like Strangeways from Scotland, however there has been such a huge resurgence of this polished AOR/melodic rock sound coming out of Scandinavia in particular over the last 15 or so years that it doesn't seem as weird now. No doubt bands like Stage Dolls played a key part in that.
I'm so happy to read your thoughts on what i think is an incredible album and is no doubt underrated in every corner of the planet. Probably even in Norway as well!
I made a super cheesy AOR (loosely defined) playlist on Spotify which has everything from Stage Dolls, Treat, Jaded Heart and Talisman, through to Jimmy Barnes (that ONE album!), Boulevard, Harem Scarem, Work of Art and more. Many successful tracks, but a lot of underrated gems. I just hope more of those forgotten ones make it onto stream (Unruly Child's self titled in particular!).
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4jLrIfU3laFOdula5PwccE?si=Ukuf315_Q_6po1_lf3JYNw&pi=a-JtLxOjqCQBeG
I absolutely love your newsletter, but this one really made my day.
Thanks and happy holidays.
Andy Dowling
Sydney, Australia
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
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Re-The Slate Skiing Article
Rhetorical question? It's because our brains are still wired to 10,000 years ago. When change nearly always meant danger, trouble, and even death.
It's why people long for the good old days when houses were cheap and breast cancer was a death sentence and college was cheap for the lucky few who could get in and cars were death traps and there was only blindness if you had cataracts and black Americans couldn't even use a public bathroom in the south - or even in Connecticut in the 60s when a restaurant wouldn't let Louis Armstrong use their bathroom and…
I'm with you Bob, The only way we have managed to overcome reluctance to change is because of a commitment to science and progress, which is being stripped out of "public" schools and government. My worry is that more reactionary behavior will grow as a result of people looking for someone to lead them against change.
John Parikhal
____________________________________
Timely article Bob. I'm up here at Northstar on a four day ski trip with wife and two kids. There's hardly any snow, thank God for snowmaking. I probably would have canceled if I hadn't bought the Epic passes early on. Basically just said f*ck it, let's make the best of it. Probably would not have done so at the old prices. Skiing is essentially a "Don't think about the cost" sport. Expenses are absurd either way.
Kia Kamran
____________________________________
Just picked up the 4-day Crested Butte/Keystone pass (part of the EPIC/Vail world) for the 4th straight year for $240. At $60 a day that's less than I paid to ski 20 years ago. Saturdays can have some long lines so we avoid them or take mid-day off. Aside from that, zero complaints about the skiing. I'm sure holidays are no treat either but that's kinda all holiday travel.
I do think there are some legit negatives to the current model, in particular as to how it affects new or more casual skiers who don't pay attention to the various passes, deadlines, etc. But a lot of what pisses people off isn't really ski or ski-town specific, it's a reflection of the society we live in these days and you'll find some variation of it in just about any place people want to live. Which is a much bigger problem than the price of skiing.
Don Bartlett
____________________________________
As a 69 yr old I agree skiing has never been cheaper, I buy an epic northeast weekday pass in April/May to get the best senior rate $240ish? and get out 25-30 days a year, bring my own lunch. My wife just turned 70 and gets an unlimited pass at a local mountain in Pa. near our grandkids for $70, next year I'll get one too.
Not so cheap though for families with kids who need to go on the weekends.
Bruce Lorenz
____________________________________
I'm at my house in S. Lake Tahoe for the holidays and Heavenly Ski Resort is owned by Vail Corp. The daily rate right now is $259.00 for a day ticket, 2 Day is $518.00 and 3 day is $729.00.
Crazy!
2 Years ago it was $160.00 a day.
I have a Military Epic Pass where I can ski any Vail resort and no blackouts otherwise we are here for 2 weeks and you can do the math. Wacky!
Val Garay
(Note: This was exactly my point. Heavenly has been on the Epic Pass for 16 years, people know to buy in advance for the deep discount, you break even on a season pass in four ski days over the holidays and the rest is gravy.)
____________________________________
I chuckled at the stupidity of that article as well! Heading west and hitting multiple ski areas on my IKON, all's well in ski world thanks to the passes.
Peter Wheeler
____________________________________
Great article Bob. I can say that Epic Pass got me more into skiing. I used to go 1x/year with a group of guys buying lift tix for the trip. This year I got a pass and took my family before Christmas to Breckenridge. Going back to Beaver Creek in Jan, and lining up a Keystone trip in Feb. Hoping for 2-3 more. I'm at the point in life I enjoy the camaraderie of the group, being outdoors, and the physical activity. It's a win all round. You're right, the mental financial hurdle isn't there when you pay for the season upfront. Maybe I'll see you on the slopes this season...
Gino Gennaro
____________________________________
Just got back from Alta / family loves the Peruvian; we are regulars. The locals don't love Ikon, but I sure do… Tom Shpetner
____________________________________
Facts Bob. Good job.
Daniel Cignarella
____________________________________
The author is railing against the sterilization of these places, and he's right.
Just as every NHL/NBA arena has now been Oak Viewed to death, so goes every hedgefund transformation — the usual soul-removing 'march forward' — in scale and commodification only.
(Note: A canard that does not play out in reality. Every ski area is still unique in mountain and structures, you wouldn't know you were at a Vail or IKON resort unless you asked. Furthermore, advance pass sales have allowed a huge investment in infrastructure.)
____________________________________
As a Colorado skier, the biggest issue I have with the duopoly is the inability to go across the moat. As an Epic pass holder, I'm paying full price if I want to ski Copper, Steamboat or Winter Park. Breck, Vail and Beaver Creek will cost me if I'm skiing Ikon. Back in the day, this NEVER used to be a problem. And I'm not paying close to 2 grand for both season passes.
The conglomerates should offer the ability to trade days with the other side.
Peter Duray-Bito
(Note: I have both Epic and IKON passes, many active skiers do. And one can purchase individual tickets good at other resorts at a deep discount prior to the season. Furthermore, the combined cost of Epic and IKON is still less than a season pass at many ski areas. An all access pass at Aspen costs $2,779 dollars if you buy it prior to September, if you buy it after December 2nd it costs $3,314. But it does come with an IKON base pass, not a full IKON pass. At Deer Valley a season pass is presently $3,525. With an IKON base pass it is $3,924. If you buy a base IKON pass and add $150 you can get 5 days at Aspen and at Deer Valley. If you have the full IKON pass you get 7 days. A full Epic Pass bought at the absolute last minute has no blackout dates and is good at 41 destinations. A full IKON pass is $1,079 and is good at 52 resorts, with some restrictions.)
____________________________________
You're of course correct that progress is inevitable, and business models change and it it's just the way of it.
I have been skiing since I was 4 years old (I'm in my mid-40's), mostly in the North Lake Tahoe/Truckee area.
Something changed over the pandemic. Palisades (formerly Squaw Valley & Alpine Meadows) has become, to me, almost un-skiable. Getting there takes ages, the parking lots are full, etc etc. (like Vail though, once you're on the hill it's fine as long as you avoid a couple impacted areas).
Progress, etc. I get it. But we have a unique situation here (I imagine at Vail as well, but probably not as bad) of remote tech workers moving here and working remotely (again, progress) but the issue is the infrastructure is nowhere near enough to deal with this many people. It's ruining it.
This year I got a pass at a smaller but still good privately owned mountain.
Just a perspective.
Best,
Max Roman
____________________________________
The problem for skiing is the short sightedness of this strategy of forcing pass-buying by making window purchases of lift tix beyond outrageous ($300 a day per person!). Who is going to buy an Epic or Icon pass for a family of four ($5,000 for the season in total before you get to the mountain) to try the sport out in an era of ever-diminishing snowfall? The little mountains where folks used to learn can't afford to operate advanced snow-making systems or provide adequate facilities. So we are in essence doing exactly what you are rightfully preaching against: barring the door to entry. Quarterly profits gleaned by the equity boys and girls until they drive the business into the ground, then move on.
Music and skiing are based on passion. But even passion can be extinguished by abject greed. To quote the great Huntz Hall. "Hey, I seen it myself!"
Charlie Sanders
President
North American Snowsport Journalists Association
____________________________________
Like you, I have been a skier all my life. And I agree with your perspective on Ikon/Epic.
58 years of skiing have reminded me that, when I grew up in the midwest skiing at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maple City, MI, weekends in the 70's and 80's were wildly busy. I remember many times waiting in lines for a half an hour to get to the top of the hill. This is not a new phenomenon that started with the Ikon/Epic passes. I've skied many times at both Epic/Ikon mountains, prior to the existence of these passes, on weekends when crowds were simply off the chart and that was from a la carte ticket purchases or local resort season passes. I ski afternoons/evenings midweek now for a couple hours, problem mostly fixed, it's not a solution for everyone, but designing a system that works for everyone is pretty nigh impossible, and I do think that it's important to make concessions in order to try to even out revenue for mountains impacted disproportionately by climate change. And if you don't believe that climate change is impacting ski resorts, speak to someone at a resort (I've worked at several).
I lived in Park City in the late 80's, worked at Cole Sport, and skied whenever I could. Yes, there were a lot fewer people skiing there than today, today's bigger crush is also a by-product of Delta making Salt Lake a hub city (that and some of the most dependable light snow nationwide). And weekends were always incredibly busy and high speed lifts weren't as ubiquitous back then so you waited longer in lines…hi-speeds are expensive to build and maintain, and as you've pointed out, there's almost always a "most crowded" lift on the mountain - so get up early, get up it / past it, and ski some of the other runs/lifts. Chasing powder has *always* been a prize for the early bird.
In the 00's, the conversation was all about the shrinking population of skiers. That's starting to turn around, a huge thing for US skiing.
Epic/Ikon aren't the only options out there either. Mountain Collective and Indy Pass work for more casual (or more road trip oriented) individuals, and they are both a lot cheaper than Epic/Ikon. And let's not forget that these options often allow you to pay off your pass purchase monthly, which was never a thing previously and opens the door for those who don't put aside savings to buy an expensive pass all at once.
Overall, as you've pointed out, subscription revenue is a win for mountains which is why they're all pursuing it. And it's a win for consumers too…without multi-mountain season passes, it would be expensive and largely prohibitive for much of the population to ski at multiple resorts over a winter. Last year for me…Big Sky, Tahoe, Alta, Mt. Bachelor, Red Mountain, thanks to Ikon. As an out-of-towner, I support the restaurants and shops and craft galleries, and by extension their employees, that locals might not.
I take issue with the author of this Slate article's characterization of the commercialization of resorts as a required output of signing up to an Epic/Ikon pass. Sure that's happened at some of the bigger resorts, but the author should visit Red Mountain in Rossland, B.C. This is a mountain that is not only an iKon pass mountain, but that also did a crowdfunding campaign enthusiastically embraced by the local Rossland community and diehard Red fans worldwide (including me), that takes pride in highlighting its role as an independent with a very independent feel - a number one rated ski bar, huge skiable terrain, super friendly people, still (wildly) uncrowded skiing, snow-cat day skiing for $15 per run, etc.
I do think that for mountains that are extremely popular, putting a number of days limit on the Epic/Ikon pass is a reasonable compromise to alleviate excessive skier traffic. This has happened at many locations (including A Basin as you've pointed out). This makes it possible for out of towners to visit, support the local economy for a weekend or a week, and then head home. If you're a local and want to ski more - buy a local mountain season pass (I also usually pick up a midweek pass for my local mountain, Hood Meadows, which is only on Indy Pass), or alternately buy a day pass online or often at local businesses for a discount.
Skiing is expensive - it has always been - but there are options if you are creative, it is so worth it, and with Epic/Ikon it's now achievable at a larger number of resorts than ever before. There are relatively few other sports that let you experience nature, whether in-bounds or out-of-bounds, the way skiing does.
dick huey
____________________________________
Young woman we know recently graduated from nursing school. She got a job, but kept complaining about not making enough money. So, she started an OnlyFans page. Now she makes $100k a month. The moral of the story...if you're not making the rent on Spotify, porn is always an option.
Marty Winsch
It's why people long for the good old days when houses were cheap and breast cancer was a death sentence and college was cheap for the lucky few who could get in and cars were death traps and there was only blindness if you had cataracts and black Americans couldn't even use a public bathroom in the south - or even in Connecticut in the 60s when a restaurant wouldn't let Louis Armstrong use their bathroom and…
I'm with you Bob, The only way we have managed to overcome reluctance to change is because of a commitment to science and progress, which is being stripped out of "public" schools and government. My worry is that more reactionary behavior will grow as a result of people looking for someone to lead them against change.
John Parikhal
____________________________________
Timely article Bob. I'm up here at Northstar on a four day ski trip with wife and two kids. There's hardly any snow, thank God for snowmaking. I probably would have canceled if I hadn't bought the Epic passes early on. Basically just said f*ck it, let's make the best of it. Probably would not have done so at the old prices. Skiing is essentially a "Don't think about the cost" sport. Expenses are absurd either way.
Kia Kamran
____________________________________
Just picked up the 4-day Crested Butte/Keystone pass (part of the EPIC/Vail world) for the 4th straight year for $240. At $60 a day that's less than I paid to ski 20 years ago. Saturdays can have some long lines so we avoid them or take mid-day off. Aside from that, zero complaints about the skiing. I'm sure holidays are no treat either but that's kinda all holiday travel.
I do think there are some legit negatives to the current model, in particular as to how it affects new or more casual skiers who don't pay attention to the various passes, deadlines, etc. But a lot of what pisses people off isn't really ski or ski-town specific, it's a reflection of the society we live in these days and you'll find some variation of it in just about any place people want to live. Which is a much bigger problem than the price of skiing.
Don Bartlett
____________________________________
As a 69 yr old I agree skiing has never been cheaper, I buy an epic northeast weekday pass in April/May to get the best senior rate $240ish? and get out 25-30 days a year, bring my own lunch. My wife just turned 70 and gets an unlimited pass at a local mountain in Pa. near our grandkids for $70, next year I'll get one too.
Not so cheap though for families with kids who need to go on the weekends.
Bruce Lorenz
____________________________________
I'm at my house in S. Lake Tahoe for the holidays and Heavenly Ski Resort is owned by Vail Corp. The daily rate right now is $259.00 for a day ticket, 2 Day is $518.00 and 3 day is $729.00.
Crazy!
2 Years ago it was $160.00 a day.
I have a Military Epic Pass where I can ski any Vail resort and no blackouts otherwise we are here for 2 weeks and you can do the math. Wacky!
Val Garay
(Note: This was exactly my point. Heavenly has been on the Epic Pass for 16 years, people know to buy in advance for the deep discount, you break even on a season pass in four ski days over the holidays and the rest is gravy.)
____________________________________
I chuckled at the stupidity of that article as well! Heading west and hitting multiple ski areas on my IKON, all's well in ski world thanks to the passes.
Peter Wheeler
____________________________________
Great article Bob. I can say that Epic Pass got me more into skiing. I used to go 1x/year with a group of guys buying lift tix for the trip. This year I got a pass and took my family before Christmas to Breckenridge. Going back to Beaver Creek in Jan, and lining up a Keystone trip in Feb. Hoping for 2-3 more. I'm at the point in life I enjoy the camaraderie of the group, being outdoors, and the physical activity. It's a win all round. You're right, the mental financial hurdle isn't there when you pay for the season upfront. Maybe I'll see you on the slopes this season...
Gino Gennaro
____________________________________
Just got back from Alta / family loves the Peruvian; we are regulars. The locals don't love Ikon, but I sure do… Tom Shpetner
____________________________________
Facts Bob. Good job.
Daniel Cignarella
____________________________________
The author is railing against the sterilization of these places, and he's right.
Just as every NHL/NBA arena has now been Oak Viewed to death, so goes every hedgefund transformation — the usual soul-removing 'march forward' — in scale and commodification only.
(Note: A canard that does not play out in reality. Every ski area is still unique in mountain and structures, you wouldn't know you were at a Vail or IKON resort unless you asked. Furthermore, advance pass sales have allowed a huge investment in infrastructure.)
____________________________________
As a Colorado skier, the biggest issue I have with the duopoly is the inability to go across the moat. As an Epic pass holder, I'm paying full price if I want to ski Copper, Steamboat or Winter Park. Breck, Vail and Beaver Creek will cost me if I'm skiing Ikon. Back in the day, this NEVER used to be a problem. And I'm not paying close to 2 grand for both season passes.
The conglomerates should offer the ability to trade days with the other side.
Peter Duray-Bito
(Note: I have both Epic and IKON passes, many active skiers do. And one can purchase individual tickets good at other resorts at a deep discount prior to the season. Furthermore, the combined cost of Epic and IKON is still less than a season pass at many ski areas. An all access pass at Aspen costs $2,779 dollars if you buy it prior to September, if you buy it after December 2nd it costs $3,314. But it does come with an IKON base pass, not a full IKON pass. At Deer Valley a season pass is presently $3,525. With an IKON base pass it is $3,924. If you buy a base IKON pass and add $150 you can get 5 days at Aspen and at Deer Valley. If you have the full IKON pass you get 7 days. A full Epic Pass bought at the absolute last minute has no blackout dates and is good at 41 destinations. A full IKON pass is $1,079 and is good at 52 resorts, with some restrictions.)
____________________________________
You're of course correct that progress is inevitable, and business models change and it it's just the way of it.
I have been skiing since I was 4 years old (I'm in my mid-40's), mostly in the North Lake Tahoe/Truckee area.
Something changed over the pandemic. Palisades (formerly Squaw Valley & Alpine Meadows) has become, to me, almost un-skiable. Getting there takes ages, the parking lots are full, etc etc. (like Vail though, once you're on the hill it's fine as long as you avoid a couple impacted areas).
Progress, etc. I get it. But we have a unique situation here (I imagine at Vail as well, but probably not as bad) of remote tech workers moving here and working remotely (again, progress) but the issue is the infrastructure is nowhere near enough to deal with this many people. It's ruining it.
This year I got a pass at a smaller but still good privately owned mountain.
Just a perspective.
Best,
Max Roman
____________________________________
The problem for skiing is the short sightedness of this strategy of forcing pass-buying by making window purchases of lift tix beyond outrageous ($300 a day per person!). Who is going to buy an Epic or Icon pass for a family of four ($5,000 for the season in total before you get to the mountain) to try the sport out in an era of ever-diminishing snowfall? The little mountains where folks used to learn can't afford to operate advanced snow-making systems or provide adequate facilities. So we are in essence doing exactly what you are rightfully preaching against: barring the door to entry. Quarterly profits gleaned by the equity boys and girls until they drive the business into the ground, then move on.
Music and skiing are based on passion. But even passion can be extinguished by abject greed. To quote the great Huntz Hall. "Hey, I seen it myself!"
Charlie Sanders
President
North American Snowsport Journalists Association
____________________________________
Like you, I have been a skier all my life. And I agree with your perspective on Ikon/Epic.
58 years of skiing have reminded me that, when I grew up in the midwest skiing at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maple City, MI, weekends in the 70's and 80's were wildly busy. I remember many times waiting in lines for a half an hour to get to the top of the hill. This is not a new phenomenon that started with the Ikon/Epic passes. I've skied many times at both Epic/Ikon mountains, prior to the existence of these passes, on weekends when crowds were simply off the chart and that was from a la carte ticket purchases or local resort season passes. I ski afternoons/evenings midweek now for a couple hours, problem mostly fixed, it's not a solution for everyone, but designing a system that works for everyone is pretty nigh impossible, and I do think that it's important to make concessions in order to try to even out revenue for mountains impacted disproportionately by climate change. And if you don't believe that climate change is impacting ski resorts, speak to someone at a resort (I've worked at several).
I lived in Park City in the late 80's, worked at Cole Sport, and skied whenever I could. Yes, there were a lot fewer people skiing there than today, today's bigger crush is also a by-product of Delta making Salt Lake a hub city (that and some of the most dependable light snow nationwide). And weekends were always incredibly busy and high speed lifts weren't as ubiquitous back then so you waited longer in lines…hi-speeds are expensive to build and maintain, and as you've pointed out, there's almost always a "most crowded" lift on the mountain - so get up early, get up it / past it, and ski some of the other runs/lifts. Chasing powder has *always* been a prize for the early bird.
In the 00's, the conversation was all about the shrinking population of skiers. That's starting to turn around, a huge thing for US skiing.
Epic/Ikon aren't the only options out there either. Mountain Collective and Indy Pass work for more casual (or more road trip oriented) individuals, and they are both a lot cheaper than Epic/Ikon. And let's not forget that these options often allow you to pay off your pass purchase monthly, which was never a thing previously and opens the door for those who don't put aside savings to buy an expensive pass all at once.
Overall, as you've pointed out, subscription revenue is a win for mountains which is why they're all pursuing it. And it's a win for consumers too…without multi-mountain season passes, it would be expensive and largely prohibitive for much of the population to ski at multiple resorts over a winter. Last year for me…Big Sky, Tahoe, Alta, Mt. Bachelor, Red Mountain, thanks to Ikon. As an out-of-towner, I support the restaurants and shops and craft galleries, and by extension their employees, that locals might not.
I take issue with the author of this Slate article's characterization of the commercialization of resorts as a required output of signing up to an Epic/Ikon pass. Sure that's happened at some of the bigger resorts, but the author should visit Red Mountain in Rossland, B.C. This is a mountain that is not only an iKon pass mountain, but that also did a crowdfunding campaign enthusiastically embraced by the local Rossland community and diehard Red fans worldwide (including me), that takes pride in highlighting its role as an independent with a very independent feel - a number one rated ski bar, huge skiable terrain, super friendly people, still (wildly) uncrowded skiing, snow-cat day skiing for $15 per run, etc.
I do think that for mountains that are extremely popular, putting a number of days limit on the Epic/Ikon pass is a reasonable compromise to alleviate excessive skier traffic. This has happened at many locations (including A Basin as you've pointed out). This makes it possible for out of towners to visit, support the local economy for a weekend or a week, and then head home. If you're a local and want to ski more - buy a local mountain season pass (I also usually pick up a midweek pass for my local mountain, Hood Meadows, which is only on Indy Pass), or alternately buy a day pass online or often at local businesses for a discount.
Skiing is expensive - it has always been - but there are options if you are creative, it is so worth it, and with Epic/Ikon it's now achievable at a larger number of resorts than ever before. There are relatively few other sports that let you experience nature, whether in-bounds or out-of-bounds, the way skiing does.
dick huey
____________________________________
Young woman we know recently graduated from nursing school. She got a job, but kept complaining about not making enough money. So, she started an OnlyFans page. Now she makes $100k a month. The moral of the story...if you're not making the rent on Spotify, porn is always an option.
Marty Winsch
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The Slate Skiing Article
"Epic Fail: How a Corporate Duopoly Ruined Skiing": http://tinyurl.com/2xxrfkub
Skiing hasn't been this cheap in decades!
But that doesn't stop old-schooler Gordon LaForge trashing the new model in a nostalgic play for days that in fact were much worse. Kinda like MAGA if you think about it (and if you castigate me for mentioning politics, if you accuse me of "Trump Derangement Syndrome," the joke is on you...or, as women said back in the seventies, "sex is a feminist issue"...in other words, EVERYTHING is politics).
Why does everybody hate change, which is inevitable?
Closer to home we can talk about streaming music. First and foremost, Spotify is not ripping you off, absolutely not. The Swedish streaming company pays so much of its income to rightsholders that it has trouble staying profitable. Furthermore, unlike almost all lauded tech companies, the service does not scale. In other words, as volume goes up, so do costs, proportionately. But you're still angry. Well, let me just say the paradigm switched, from sales to consumption. If your song is being listened to, you're being paid. And if it's not, you're not. But you lament the old days of physical sales... Back when you couldn't participate at all, because the costs of recording, manufacturing and distribution were prohibitively high. Now you can do all that on your laptop, for a de minimis price, but people like to forget that.
So skiing was losing customers. It's a mature business. Yes, something is the new new thing and then it is not. Did you see that article the other day about social media participation going down? Oh, people are still on the platforms, they're just not posting anymore. They see it as fruitless. And as a matter of fact, most of the famous influencers are paid to be on the platform, to post, either directly or through revenue sharing. You don't post because you don't think it's worth it. So much effort for so few views. But when it comes to music you think everybody should listen to your production.
In any event, according to the nostalgic wankers ski resorts shouldn't have done a thing. There should have been no change. Pirate outlets like lockers, the last new thing prior to Spotify, should have been the standard. Let the people steal, or buy singles at the iTunes Store. Yes, that was what was going on prior to Spotify, which changed the entire game, music revenues have now gone up. Sure, you might have a lousy deal with the label, which is taking the lion's share. Sure, no one may be listening. But if you're being listened to you're making bank, prodigiously. So, you complain about this income inequality. But I don't believe artists deserve to be paid, supported. You can choose to be one, but that doesn't mean you're owed a living. Furthermore, there are so many more ways to make money in music than ever before. If you're really that good and have a dedicated fan base go on Patreon... But no, rather than take action you'd rather bitch, like this guy writing this skiing article.
So how to save the ski industry, which was perceived as being too expensive. Rob Katz of Vail Resorts came up with a new paradigm, lower the price.
Now if you go back in history, every improvement at Vail has been met with local resistance. You can't replace the old slow chairlift in the Back Bowls because that will ruin the powder, it will get tracked out sooner. But you don't get more runs, you just wait in line longer. You've seen those pictures of the Back Bowls, with the prodigious line during a powder day... So what did Vail do, build another lift!
Everywhere this is happening. Any change is met with resistance.
And sure, like the article says, local lodging is a problem. But to blame Vail? Vail was planning on building employee housing and then the town rose up against it in a NIMBY effort. But it's easier to blame Vail. Not that housing isn't a problem. But Vail made the minimum wage $20 at its resorts. There isn't a state in the country with a rate that high.
So today it's not even ten degrees. In the old days, I'd be debating whether to buy a lift ticket. Because on a day like this, one makes so few runs. But since I have an Epic Pass, I'll go out. And prior to the Epic Pass, days were cheaper, but fifteen years ago a season's pass was nearly $3000, and today an Epic Pass, which is good at a slew of resorts around the world, is under $1000. But that's a horrible deal, don't you think? Let's keep prices high so the newbies can't participate.
And sure, the daily rate during holidays is nearly $300. But you can buy day tickets in advance for a much lower price. Yes, as many days as you want, one or more. You've just got to buy them before the beginning of December.
And the reason Vail does this, and its competitor Alterra, with its IKON pass, is to guarantee revenue. In fact, this December has been one of the worst snowfall years in a long time. Under the old model, the ski areas would have been empty. Because no one is going to show up to pay so much for so little. But since people purchased their season passes in advance, for a low price, they'll still come, and it's a long season, there's always snow eventually.
And yes, Vail makes it up on food, rentals, lessons and they even own the branded stores, like Burton, Salomon and Patagonia. I haven't eaten lunch, not a bite, at Vail and I've skied every day since December 10th. It's not like I'm being forced to buy. And the last thing I purchased at Patagonia was 40% off, and that has to be at least seven or eight years ago.
But you don't ski much and you're being ripped-off and...
You're not. Turns out most people, or many part time skiers, now rent their equipment. Which is top-notch, and they get the benefit of new stuff every year. This is hurting the ski manufacturers, volume is down, but it's great for the customer. Furthermore, you don't need to pay airline baggage fees.
But then there are the crowds. They're almost always less of a factor than proclaimed. The truth is there are lifts at Vail that never have a line. You just have to avoid Mid-Vail. Which requires you to read a map, but that's in an app on your phone. And you don't have to show your pass, because it's RFID and Bluetooth to boot.
But Vail has made all the resorts the same. Well, they've got similar websites, that's for sure. And America is riddled with chain restaurants, but you can't do something similar and cut costs in skiing? Not to mention that every single mountain is different, literally, which is one of the appeals of skiing.
More ski areas would be nice, but in truth environmentalists won't let anybody build one. That isn't Vail or Alterra's fault. Furthermore, so many days are nearly empty. Yes, it's crowded over Christmas and MLK and Presidents' Day, but isn't every resort area?
And the writer's point that A-Basin removed itself from the Epic Pass and still makes money... One still gets days there with the IKON pass, and right, that's the future of business, making less money. You can choose to do this, like Patagonia, but most corporations do not.
Ain't that America. The last one in wants to shut the door and keep the rest of the people out. Screw 'em.
But progress is inevitable. And nature abhors a vacuum. Sure, skiing can fade, but the people are not going to stay home, they're just going to do something else.
As for this "Slate" article... The internet is riddled with articles like this, ones that feel good but are inaccurate, or completely false. Want traction? Write an anti-Spotify article. My inbox is full of them, e-mailed to me by people who found some nobody or even a musician pontificating. It's just like the Israel/Hamas war, the oppressor versus the little guy. Only it's not. But that's a problem with college campuses, everything is now viewed through the lens of oppressor vs. oppressed, screw nuance.
Oh, we can go deeper. But you won't like that either. Yes, we need free speech, but that doesn't apply to corporations. Don't like it, start your own platform. Having said that, trigger warnings are ridiculous. You can't handle the truth? But the internet is now full of fully false statements which are protected under the rubric of free speech, which doesn't even apply.
But freedom for all! Do what you want to, ignore the statistics! Make up your own rules, your own reality.
The reality is skiing has turned around, as a result of these multi-resort passes. Which have obvious benefits like you can ski for free with the Epic Pass at Whistler, which I've done. And Park City... I could go on and on, how the Epic and IKON passes have saved me money, but that doesn't feel right.
But once again, don't let the truth get in the way of a good story.
As for the past... Every lift at Vail is now detachable and high speed, other than a few beginner lifts, which are intentionally kept slow. The lifts run two and a half times faster. They're very expensive, but they eat up lines and allow one to ski...nobody skis bell to bell anymore, it's just too much. Having said that, I remember waiting an hour to get on the lift at Stowe. Yes, literally, an hour. Those days are through.
You probably don't care about skiing, although I must say you're missing out by not participating, but it's this thinking, that progress is ruining our lifestyle, that oldsters can't stop proffering. While they're texting their friends on their smartphones. No, you can't be selective. You either take all of progress or none of it. You don't hear the young people complaining, do you? And when you were young you didn't complain either.
Sure, something is always lost in the march forward, like vent windows when all cars got air-conditioning, but on the whole the future is better. Embrace it.
Skiing hasn't been this cheap in decades!
But that doesn't stop old-schooler Gordon LaForge trashing the new model in a nostalgic play for days that in fact were much worse. Kinda like MAGA if you think about it (and if you castigate me for mentioning politics, if you accuse me of "Trump Derangement Syndrome," the joke is on you...or, as women said back in the seventies, "sex is a feminist issue"...in other words, EVERYTHING is politics).
Why does everybody hate change, which is inevitable?
Closer to home we can talk about streaming music. First and foremost, Spotify is not ripping you off, absolutely not. The Swedish streaming company pays so much of its income to rightsholders that it has trouble staying profitable. Furthermore, unlike almost all lauded tech companies, the service does not scale. In other words, as volume goes up, so do costs, proportionately. But you're still angry. Well, let me just say the paradigm switched, from sales to consumption. If your song is being listened to, you're being paid. And if it's not, you're not. But you lament the old days of physical sales... Back when you couldn't participate at all, because the costs of recording, manufacturing and distribution were prohibitively high. Now you can do all that on your laptop, for a de minimis price, but people like to forget that.
So skiing was losing customers. It's a mature business. Yes, something is the new new thing and then it is not. Did you see that article the other day about social media participation going down? Oh, people are still on the platforms, they're just not posting anymore. They see it as fruitless. And as a matter of fact, most of the famous influencers are paid to be on the platform, to post, either directly or through revenue sharing. You don't post because you don't think it's worth it. So much effort for so few views. But when it comes to music you think everybody should listen to your production.
In any event, according to the nostalgic wankers ski resorts shouldn't have done a thing. There should have been no change. Pirate outlets like lockers, the last new thing prior to Spotify, should have been the standard. Let the people steal, or buy singles at the iTunes Store. Yes, that was what was going on prior to Spotify, which changed the entire game, music revenues have now gone up. Sure, you might have a lousy deal with the label, which is taking the lion's share. Sure, no one may be listening. But if you're being listened to you're making bank, prodigiously. So, you complain about this income inequality. But I don't believe artists deserve to be paid, supported. You can choose to be one, but that doesn't mean you're owed a living. Furthermore, there are so many more ways to make money in music than ever before. If you're really that good and have a dedicated fan base go on Patreon... But no, rather than take action you'd rather bitch, like this guy writing this skiing article.
So how to save the ski industry, which was perceived as being too expensive. Rob Katz of Vail Resorts came up with a new paradigm, lower the price.
Now if you go back in history, every improvement at Vail has been met with local resistance. You can't replace the old slow chairlift in the Back Bowls because that will ruin the powder, it will get tracked out sooner. But you don't get more runs, you just wait in line longer. You've seen those pictures of the Back Bowls, with the prodigious line during a powder day... So what did Vail do, build another lift!
Everywhere this is happening. Any change is met with resistance.
And sure, like the article says, local lodging is a problem. But to blame Vail? Vail was planning on building employee housing and then the town rose up against it in a NIMBY effort. But it's easier to blame Vail. Not that housing isn't a problem. But Vail made the minimum wage $20 at its resorts. There isn't a state in the country with a rate that high.
So today it's not even ten degrees. In the old days, I'd be debating whether to buy a lift ticket. Because on a day like this, one makes so few runs. But since I have an Epic Pass, I'll go out. And prior to the Epic Pass, days were cheaper, but fifteen years ago a season's pass was nearly $3000, and today an Epic Pass, which is good at a slew of resorts around the world, is under $1000. But that's a horrible deal, don't you think? Let's keep prices high so the newbies can't participate.
And sure, the daily rate during holidays is nearly $300. But you can buy day tickets in advance for a much lower price. Yes, as many days as you want, one or more. You've just got to buy them before the beginning of December.
And the reason Vail does this, and its competitor Alterra, with its IKON pass, is to guarantee revenue. In fact, this December has been one of the worst snowfall years in a long time. Under the old model, the ski areas would have been empty. Because no one is going to show up to pay so much for so little. But since people purchased their season passes in advance, for a low price, they'll still come, and it's a long season, there's always snow eventually.
And yes, Vail makes it up on food, rentals, lessons and they even own the branded stores, like Burton, Salomon and Patagonia. I haven't eaten lunch, not a bite, at Vail and I've skied every day since December 10th. It's not like I'm being forced to buy. And the last thing I purchased at Patagonia was 40% off, and that has to be at least seven or eight years ago.
But you don't ski much and you're being ripped-off and...
You're not. Turns out most people, or many part time skiers, now rent their equipment. Which is top-notch, and they get the benefit of new stuff every year. This is hurting the ski manufacturers, volume is down, but it's great for the customer. Furthermore, you don't need to pay airline baggage fees.
But then there are the crowds. They're almost always less of a factor than proclaimed. The truth is there are lifts at Vail that never have a line. You just have to avoid Mid-Vail. Which requires you to read a map, but that's in an app on your phone. And you don't have to show your pass, because it's RFID and Bluetooth to boot.
But Vail has made all the resorts the same. Well, they've got similar websites, that's for sure. And America is riddled with chain restaurants, but you can't do something similar and cut costs in skiing? Not to mention that every single mountain is different, literally, which is one of the appeals of skiing.
More ski areas would be nice, but in truth environmentalists won't let anybody build one. That isn't Vail or Alterra's fault. Furthermore, so many days are nearly empty. Yes, it's crowded over Christmas and MLK and Presidents' Day, but isn't every resort area?
And the writer's point that A-Basin removed itself from the Epic Pass and still makes money... One still gets days there with the IKON pass, and right, that's the future of business, making less money. You can choose to do this, like Patagonia, but most corporations do not.
Ain't that America. The last one in wants to shut the door and keep the rest of the people out. Screw 'em.
But progress is inevitable. And nature abhors a vacuum. Sure, skiing can fade, but the people are not going to stay home, they're just going to do something else.
As for this "Slate" article... The internet is riddled with articles like this, ones that feel good but are inaccurate, or completely false. Want traction? Write an anti-Spotify article. My inbox is full of them, e-mailed to me by people who found some nobody or even a musician pontificating. It's just like the Israel/Hamas war, the oppressor versus the little guy. Only it's not. But that's a problem with college campuses, everything is now viewed through the lens of oppressor vs. oppressed, screw nuance.
Oh, we can go deeper. But you won't like that either. Yes, we need free speech, but that doesn't apply to corporations. Don't like it, start your own platform. Having said that, trigger warnings are ridiculous. You can't handle the truth? But the internet is now full of fully false statements which are protected under the rubric of free speech, which doesn't even apply.
But freedom for all! Do what you want to, ignore the statistics! Make up your own rules, your own reality.
The reality is skiing has turned around, as a result of these multi-resort passes. Which have obvious benefits like you can ski for free with the Epic Pass at Whistler, which I've done. And Park City... I could go on and on, how the Epic and IKON passes have saved me money, but that doesn't feel right.
But once again, don't let the truth get in the way of a good story.
As for the past... Every lift at Vail is now detachable and high speed, other than a few beginner lifts, which are intentionally kept slow. The lifts run two and a half times faster. They're very expensive, but they eat up lines and allow one to ski...nobody skis bell to bell anymore, it's just too much. Having said that, I remember waiting an hour to get on the lift at Stowe. Yes, literally, an hour. Those days are through.
You probably don't care about skiing, although I must say you're missing out by not participating, but it's this thinking, that progress is ruining our lifestyle, that oldsters can't stop proffering. While they're texting their friends on their smartphones. No, you can't be selective. You either take all of progress or none of it. You don't hear the young people complaining, do you? And when you were young you didn't complain either.
Sure, something is always lost in the march forward, like vent windows when all cars got air-conditioning, but on the whole the future is better. Embrace it.
--
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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Sunday, 24 December 2023
Consensus Hits
There were only 17 last year. That's down from 28 in 2020.
In other words, if you're overwhelmed with new music, feel out of touch, think you don't know what is going on, welcome to the club.
Those statistics are from Guy Zapoleon in the article:
"2023 Marked Fourth Year Of Worst Music Doldrums For Top 40 Radio": http://tinyurl.com/7z8jknms
Or why don't you mosey over to "Variety," and look at their writers' best albums of the year: http://tinyurl.com/s3fpeapu
They're all different, there's no consensus. No "Miseducation of Lauryn Hill." No album you haven't heard that you need to go out and buy immediately. Even worse, everything is available to you all the time and chances are you still don't have the desire to click and listen. You would if you felt you were the only person out of the loop, but inside you believe it's a fruitless effort. You're going to spend time checking out something that no one you know knows, you're going to end up just as isolated as you started off. And your goal is to feel connected. It's everybody's goal. That's the human condition.
And if you really want to laugh, check out the "New York Times"'s "Best Songs of 2023": http://tinyurl.com/2s49u864 (That's a free link.) What you'll end up reflecting on is not the unfamiliar tracks themselves, but the writers who selected them. Is this what they are doing with their time, combing the untold millions of songs released each year for exactly what? Certainly not our respect. They're the equivalent of those guys in leather jackets with long hair who never went on a date who told us everything in our music collection sucked. But that paradigm went out years ago. When someone criticizes me for being late to a project I laugh. There are only so many hours in day. If you find something, whether it be released yesterday or in 1969, that's cool. Just like when you stumble on a ten year old TV series. There's just too much out there, kudos for discovering anything at all. Especially in a world where Guy Zapoleon says "75% of music consumed is older than two years."
As for that which does have consensus, other than Taylor Swift, the album I've seen lauded most at the end of this year is that by the supergroup boygenius. But check on Spotify and you'll see that not a single cut on "the record" has triple digit million streams. The opening cut only has 14,258,655, meaning people are cherry-picking the hits, not listening to the whole album, since tracks 5 & 6 have 59,848,499 and 69,495,641 respectively. Of the twelve tracks on the album, seven don't even have 20 million streams on Spotify.
Yes, this is not a definitive reflection on the quality of "the record," but it is a declaration of popularity. The album came out on March 31st of this year. It's not like it's new and we've yet to see the build. And for perspective, the last track in the Spotify Top 50 Global chart had 2,863,445 streams yesterday. And the U.S. chart? Number 50 had 831,778 streams yesterday.
It's not like Taylor Swift isn't big. But of the top ten global songs on Spotify this past year, #5 is by Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma, a regional Mexican group. That never happened before.
So what do we know?
That what is big is smaller than ever before. It reaches fewer people than ever before. Fine for the act involved, just don't buy the hype that everybody is listening except you.
The entire system has broken down. This is what happens when the barrier to entry is almost nonexistent and the supposed powers-that-be lose control of the game. This is akin to the Republican party. Forever it was controlled by fat cats/corporations who wanted low taxes and few regulations. But now it's the domain of the blue collar whose interests are contrary. The blue collar want health care. And although Trump lowered taxes on the rich, and despite the canard that more IRS agents will mean higher taxes on the rank and file, in truth those who used to set the path no longer do. As a matter of fact, many have become anti-Trumpers.
So there are many acts that are not on major labels that can sell thousands of tickets a night. They're probably not on radio either. But in a country of more than 300 million, they've developed a fan base. Most over time. They've invested, made music and toured, and grown their audience. Overnight success? Even "The Voice" can't do that. And even if you have overnight success that does not mean anybody wants to see you live, that you've truly got fans. I mean if everybody listening to those two boygenius tracks was really a fan they would have consumed the whole album, right?
As for the future...
We could have a new Beatles. But we haven't had one yet. There have been big acts since the Beatles, but not one that affected an entire generation and the world, that penetrated every corner of society, that created music we all knew and could sing and people can still sing more than fifty years later. Don't compare numbers from the "Billboard" chart. They're nearly meaningless. How many number one hits an act has had. In the sixties a number one hit was known by everybody, we were all listening to Top Forty radio. Today? We keep being told by terrestrial radio that its listenership is going up but I can't find anybody under twenty who tunes in.
This is akin, but not like television, As many series as there are, there's a tiny fraction of shows compared to new music. And shows cost a ton of money and there are gatekeepers. Everybody can afford to make music today, right on their laptop, and distribute it for a de minimis cost.
So we've got a Tower of Babel music landscape. Consumption continues, but everybody is listening to their own thing. They don't need you to listen to their music and you don't need to listen to theirs. You can even ignore Taylor Swift's music. In a pull society you don't have to pull it, you don't have to go to the show or the movie. Same deal with Beyonce. The Renaissance World Tour? Nearly a sideshow. And everybody is coursing the sideshow, because there are not enough acts to fill the three rings in the Big Top, ones that people will sit and want to see.
As far as breaking acts... You're on your own there, the major labels don't know how to do it.
Music has become cottage industry. If you're looking for help, look in the mirror.
And if you're a listener...chances are the scene is so overwhelming you're just listening to the same damn stuff over and over again. With the insertion of a few new acts you hear about from friends, from trusted sources. That's who gets you to listen to new material, your friends. You want to experience what they're talking about, you don't want to feel outside. But as to the world at large? It's incomprehensible.
--
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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In other words, if you're overwhelmed with new music, feel out of touch, think you don't know what is going on, welcome to the club.
Those statistics are from Guy Zapoleon in the article:
"2023 Marked Fourth Year Of Worst Music Doldrums For Top 40 Radio": http://tinyurl.com/7z8jknms
Or why don't you mosey over to "Variety," and look at their writers' best albums of the year: http://tinyurl.com/s3fpeapu
They're all different, there's no consensus. No "Miseducation of Lauryn Hill." No album you haven't heard that you need to go out and buy immediately. Even worse, everything is available to you all the time and chances are you still don't have the desire to click and listen. You would if you felt you were the only person out of the loop, but inside you believe it's a fruitless effort. You're going to spend time checking out something that no one you know knows, you're going to end up just as isolated as you started off. And your goal is to feel connected. It's everybody's goal. That's the human condition.
And if you really want to laugh, check out the "New York Times"'s "Best Songs of 2023": http://tinyurl.com/2s49u864 (That's a free link.) What you'll end up reflecting on is not the unfamiliar tracks themselves, but the writers who selected them. Is this what they are doing with their time, combing the untold millions of songs released each year for exactly what? Certainly not our respect. They're the equivalent of those guys in leather jackets with long hair who never went on a date who told us everything in our music collection sucked. But that paradigm went out years ago. When someone criticizes me for being late to a project I laugh. There are only so many hours in day. If you find something, whether it be released yesterday or in 1969, that's cool. Just like when you stumble on a ten year old TV series. There's just too much out there, kudos for discovering anything at all. Especially in a world where Guy Zapoleon says "75% of music consumed is older than two years."
As for that which does have consensus, other than Taylor Swift, the album I've seen lauded most at the end of this year is that by the supergroup boygenius. But check on Spotify and you'll see that not a single cut on "the record" has triple digit million streams. The opening cut only has 14,258,655, meaning people are cherry-picking the hits, not listening to the whole album, since tracks 5 & 6 have 59,848,499 and 69,495,641 respectively. Of the twelve tracks on the album, seven don't even have 20 million streams on Spotify.
Yes, this is not a definitive reflection on the quality of "the record," but it is a declaration of popularity. The album came out on March 31st of this year. It's not like it's new and we've yet to see the build. And for perspective, the last track in the Spotify Top 50 Global chart had 2,863,445 streams yesterday. And the U.S. chart? Number 50 had 831,778 streams yesterday.
It's not like Taylor Swift isn't big. But of the top ten global songs on Spotify this past year, #5 is by Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma, a regional Mexican group. That never happened before.
So what do we know?
That what is big is smaller than ever before. It reaches fewer people than ever before. Fine for the act involved, just don't buy the hype that everybody is listening except you.
The entire system has broken down. This is what happens when the barrier to entry is almost nonexistent and the supposed powers-that-be lose control of the game. This is akin to the Republican party. Forever it was controlled by fat cats/corporations who wanted low taxes and few regulations. But now it's the domain of the blue collar whose interests are contrary. The blue collar want health care. And although Trump lowered taxes on the rich, and despite the canard that more IRS agents will mean higher taxes on the rank and file, in truth those who used to set the path no longer do. As a matter of fact, many have become anti-Trumpers.
So there are many acts that are not on major labels that can sell thousands of tickets a night. They're probably not on radio either. But in a country of more than 300 million, they've developed a fan base. Most over time. They've invested, made music and toured, and grown their audience. Overnight success? Even "The Voice" can't do that. And even if you have overnight success that does not mean anybody wants to see you live, that you've truly got fans. I mean if everybody listening to those two boygenius tracks was really a fan they would have consumed the whole album, right?
As for the future...
We could have a new Beatles. But we haven't had one yet. There have been big acts since the Beatles, but not one that affected an entire generation and the world, that penetrated every corner of society, that created music we all knew and could sing and people can still sing more than fifty years later. Don't compare numbers from the "Billboard" chart. They're nearly meaningless. How many number one hits an act has had. In the sixties a number one hit was known by everybody, we were all listening to Top Forty radio. Today? We keep being told by terrestrial radio that its listenership is going up but I can't find anybody under twenty who tunes in.
This is akin, but not like television, As many series as there are, there's a tiny fraction of shows compared to new music. And shows cost a ton of money and there are gatekeepers. Everybody can afford to make music today, right on their laptop, and distribute it for a de minimis cost.
So we've got a Tower of Babel music landscape. Consumption continues, but everybody is listening to their own thing. They don't need you to listen to their music and you don't need to listen to theirs. You can even ignore Taylor Swift's music. In a pull society you don't have to pull it, you don't have to go to the show or the movie. Same deal with Beyonce. The Renaissance World Tour? Nearly a sideshow. And everybody is coursing the sideshow, because there are not enough acts to fill the three rings in the Big Top, ones that people will sit and want to see.
As far as breaking acts... You're on your own there, the major labels don't know how to do it.
Music has become cottage industry. If you're looking for help, look in the mirror.
And if you're a listener...chances are the scene is so overwhelming you're just listening to the same damn stuff over and over again. With the insertion of a few new acts you hear about from friends, from trusted sources. That's who gets you to listen to new material, your friends. You want to experience what they're talking about, you don't want to feel outside. But as to the world at large? It's incomprehensible.
--
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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