Tune in Saturday November 16th to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.
Phone #: 844-686-5863
X/Twitter: @lefsetz
If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz
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Friday, 15 November 2024
Lindsey Vonn Returns
She doesn't know what else to do.
This is a failure of the media/sports industrial complex. We exploit them at younger and younger ages and when they're spit out the other side...they've got no education, few skills, they've been to the top and they're never going to be able to get there ever again.
I feel sorry for Britney Spears. Who wanted her to be famous, her parents or herself? Can a girl that age even make that decision?
I'd tell everybody to go to school, to graduate from college, call it seasoning.
The funny thing is you're in college, rearing to get going. Wanting to eat up the world. Believing you're falling behind.
When ultimately this is untrue. You hit an age... Could be your late twenties, usually sometime in your thirties, where you're doing nothing, accomplishing nothing, or maybe just coasting, and you wonder what you were so hungry for, why you wanted to get started so soon, life is long and there's plenty of time.
But you don't know that when you're young.
What causes someone to excel? Is it nature or nurture? Biology or hard work? Ultimately it's a combination of the two. You've got to have the physical skills, the body, but then whether you win or not depends upon dedication. And training is not enough. The greats don't choke in competition, they get even better!
So Lindsey Kildow is growing up in Minneapolis. Training at Buck Hill, a bump by the freeway whose race program is run by the legendary Erich Sailer, who has trained Olympians previously. Lindsey has success, she's tall and strong, she could go all the way, but you've got to get out of Minnesota to do this, you've got to go to...
Vail. Where they have world class training facilities and educational opportunities alongside.
This splits up the family. Ultimately her parents separate. But her dad is a successful lawyer and there's enough money to make it work. You need the money in ski racing, the equipment and travel eat up your dollars.
So now all the hopes and dreams of the family are invested in young Lindsey. The pressure is overwhelming. Look at all the rubble in her wake, now she's got to make it.
And she does, she has the skills, and...
She shines at the only moment the American public pays attention, the Olympics, where she wins gold in the downhill, the signature skiing event.
And there's reams of copy. How she was injured. How she put cheese on her shins to assuage the pain, how she skied on men's skis with two edges. But she delivered, she triumphed, she was the all-American girl.
She fit the construct.
She was tall, blonde and beautiful.
Now the bottom line is the greatest skier in history is racing right now, Mikaela Shiffrin. She's better than any man, she broke Ingemar Stenmark's legendary World Cup victory record, and isn't done yet. And unlike either Stenmark or Vonn, Shiffrin can win in every event, both the speed and the technical.
And it turns out Shiffrin is very verbal, and insightful.
And certainly attractive.
But she's not a pinup, or the media does not see and promote her as such.
So there's endless press on Vonn.
Which is Lindsey's last name since she married Thomas Vonn. A young girl gets into a controlling marriage. To have security, to escape family turmoil. Her father disapproves and doesn't even come to the wedding. And Vonn helps her win, but ultimately Lindsey wants out and...
Vonn sabotages her equipment.
But Lindsey gets past that and wins again.
Now all these skiers have had injuries. Some more than others. Kildow/Vonn had a ton. But she always came back. The skills remain. That's what Bode Miller told me.
We'll get back to that.
But her knees... The cartilage is evaporating. She wants to break Stenmark's record, but ultimately she has to give up, she's in just too much physical pain. She says she wants to be able to ski with her kids while they're growing up.
Meanwhile, subsequent to the breakup with Vonn, Lindsey gets involved with Tiger Woods. But he steps out on her just like he did Elin Nordegren. And although Lindsey is in the public eye, she comes from a solid background, she's not Hollywood trash, one faux pas and Tiger's out.
But there's never a steady replacement.
And now Vonn is retired. Getting further surgery. And showing up in a bathing suit everywhere, she's a staple in celebrity news, the first skier since Suzy Chaffee to achieve this status, and, in fact, superseding Chaffee by far.
But that's not enough.
Now skiing is an interesting sport. It's a lifetime sport, like golf, or tennis, you can do it forever. But you can't compete at the top level forever, people have tried.
Prior to Bode, the most legendary American World Cup skier was Phil Mahre. He hit the same wall as Lindsey, his life just wasn't meaningful enough, he decided to come back. The skills were still there, but the body was not. He just couldn't compete with the twentysomethings, ultimately he gave up.
And then there's the sad story of Bill Johnson, an outcast who came from nowhere to win the Olympic downhill gold in Sarajevo, like Babe Ruth even predicting it! Subsequently his home life was a disaster, his young son died in a hot tub, he tried to come back, but...
The equipment had changed.
He kept his gold medal underneath the front seat of his truck, it was all he had left.
But skiers no longer used Atomic Red Sleds, straight planks, they employed shorter shaped skis, with such radical sidecuts that they turned themselves instantly when pressured. And Bill was training and his skis separated and he fell and experienced a brain injury and lived for a little bit, but ultimately died, sad and broke.
Now back to Bode. If you follow World Cup ski racing, and you probably don't, the big story on the men's side of the coin this year is the return of Marcel Hirscher. One of the best male skiers ever, maybe the very best. Hirscher won eight overall World Cups and quit. He had nothing left to prove. He rode his motorcycle. And then...
He decided to get into the ski business. He created Van Deer skis. He decided to come back, but he's only 35. And Bode tells me Hirscher can win, because the crop of guys winning now...just don't have his skills, we will see.
But unlike Vonn, and like Stenmark and even Alberto Tomba, Hirscher does not ski the downhill. It's just too dangerous, too risky. You can die. Literally. After all, speeds of ninety miles an hour are not uncommon. And if you follow World Cup ski racing you know...the runs are as smooth as glass, they're sheer ice, injected with water to ensure this. This is how the racers like it, everybody gets an equal chance.
So...
The average skier, I mean even the average skier who skis double blacks, if they found themselves on a World Cup course, they would not be able to hold an edge, they'd be sliding, they'd be completely freaked out.
Racing separates the men from the boys, the women from the girls. It's one thing to be an instructor, quite another to be a World Cup ski racer. And it's one thing to race slalom, quite another to race downhill.
Lindsey Vonn is going to race downhill.
This is an event of strength and speed. Technical discipline is key, but being able to hold a line, stand on your ski, it requires brute strength.
Which is why almost all the downhillers are large people. This mass also helps generate speed.
Can a forty year old hold an edge like a twenty year old? Under pressure, on ice?
Well, theoretically you can work in the gym.
Which is what Vonn does, she's a noted gym rat.
So what's she got... Her body, her good looks, her image. Her workouts. Maybe some dates, no long term love. Maybe she froze her eggs, maybe the window to have children is not closing.
So football players... Some get MBAs and become entrepreneurs.
But there are so many sad stories. Of brain damage and death. All the money frittered away.
John Madden said one NFL football game will compromise your body forever.
And if you're a legendary baseball player you can sign autographs.
How fulfilling is that?
Vonn wants to be fulfilled.
All those young music stars we laud... They missed out on so much. Sure, they're rich, they've had experiences, but this is all they can do, perform. Their options are limited, they're locked in. And there becomes a time when you're just too old to start all over again. And most people don't want to go back to zero, emotionally it's just too tough.
So Vonn has the world's attention.
Does the world really care?
OF COURSE NOT! The world doesn't care about anybody. You learn this as you get older. The spot in the news Vonn filled can be instantly filled by another.
And keeping yourself in the news is a full time job. It's hard to get off the merry-go-round.
But at some point you become two-dimensional, you're famous for what you did, and that's it.
And everywhere you go people see you as that triumph.
Even in the show "Rivals," Rupert cannot get past his triumphant showjumping days. Those were the peak of his life, he's been chasing that high ever since.
Anything is possible. Vonn could come back and do well, despite the odds being against her.
Probably she'll show up, make a few runs, realize she hasn't got it and hang it up.
It's so hard to hang it up. Ask Michael Jordan. Everybody who played beyond the sell date of their abilities.
Lindsey just can't go back to her regular life. Because she never built a regular life.
She didn't go to college and b.s. and find out who she was. Didn't go to different people's houses and meet their parents and experience role models, or the opposite. She was coddled and coached, all for victory.
She didn't have love relationships outside the spotlight. She didn't get high with no one paying attention. She didn't take classes in disparate subjects, ultimately widening her horizons, illustrating the possibilities.
Now some legendary ski racers have come down against this return, talking primarily about the potential for injury.
But the mainstream press, the one that made Vonn an icon? They're eating it all up. Who Lindsey actually is is irrelevant. It's a good story about someone people know.
There's nothing wrong with achievement. But at what cost?
What is life about, doing one big thing and coasting on that forever?
Especially in sports, young people specialize too early.
But some people don't find their path for years. And they've kept the doors open while they're looking.
This is a dangerous subject. Because Vonn is a beautiful, skilled, successful woman, a man really can't raise any questions about her behavior.
But in light of the election is this still so? Is every woman off limits to every man? Can we make no comment, no judgment?
People are skilled or not. Successful or not. Physically attractive or not. They've got personalities. And in truth, we're more alike than we are different.
I'd be saying all of the above if it was a guy trying to return.
Oh, but then there's that issue of children. There's this myth that you can have it all, but you can't no matter whether you're a man or a woman, to be the best in one thing, you've got to sacrifice another. Look at all the rock stars who don't really know their first families, because they were never home!
You can't judge anybody anymore. Everybody's off limits.
Or maybe they're not.
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This is a failure of the media/sports industrial complex. We exploit them at younger and younger ages and when they're spit out the other side...they've got no education, few skills, they've been to the top and they're never going to be able to get there ever again.
I feel sorry for Britney Spears. Who wanted her to be famous, her parents or herself? Can a girl that age even make that decision?
I'd tell everybody to go to school, to graduate from college, call it seasoning.
The funny thing is you're in college, rearing to get going. Wanting to eat up the world. Believing you're falling behind.
When ultimately this is untrue. You hit an age... Could be your late twenties, usually sometime in your thirties, where you're doing nothing, accomplishing nothing, or maybe just coasting, and you wonder what you were so hungry for, why you wanted to get started so soon, life is long and there's plenty of time.
But you don't know that when you're young.
What causes someone to excel? Is it nature or nurture? Biology or hard work? Ultimately it's a combination of the two. You've got to have the physical skills, the body, but then whether you win or not depends upon dedication. And training is not enough. The greats don't choke in competition, they get even better!
So Lindsey Kildow is growing up in Minneapolis. Training at Buck Hill, a bump by the freeway whose race program is run by the legendary Erich Sailer, who has trained Olympians previously. Lindsey has success, she's tall and strong, she could go all the way, but you've got to get out of Minnesota to do this, you've got to go to...
Vail. Where they have world class training facilities and educational opportunities alongside.
This splits up the family. Ultimately her parents separate. But her dad is a successful lawyer and there's enough money to make it work. You need the money in ski racing, the equipment and travel eat up your dollars.
So now all the hopes and dreams of the family are invested in young Lindsey. The pressure is overwhelming. Look at all the rubble in her wake, now she's got to make it.
And she does, she has the skills, and...
She shines at the only moment the American public pays attention, the Olympics, where she wins gold in the downhill, the signature skiing event.
And there's reams of copy. How she was injured. How she put cheese on her shins to assuage the pain, how she skied on men's skis with two edges. But she delivered, she triumphed, she was the all-American girl.
She fit the construct.
She was tall, blonde and beautiful.
Now the bottom line is the greatest skier in history is racing right now, Mikaela Shiffrin. She's better than any man, she broke Ingemar Stenmark's legendary World Cup victory record, and isn't done yet. And unlike either Stenmark or Vonn, Shiffrin can win in every event, both the speed and the technical.
And it turns out Shiffrin is very verbal, and insightful.
And certainly attractive.
But she's not a pinup, or the media does not see and promote her as such.
So there's endless press on Vonn.
Which is Lindsey's last name since she married Thomas Vonn. A young girl gets into a controlling marriage. To have security, to escape family turmoil. Her father disapproves and doesn't even come to the wedding. And Vonn helps her win, but ultimately Lindsey wants out and...
Vonn sabotages her equipment.
But Lindsey gets past that and wins again.
Now all these skiers have had injuries. Some more than others. Kildow/Vonn had a ton. But she always came back. The skills remain. That's what Bode Miller told me.
We'll get back to that.
But her knees... The cartilage is evaporating. She wants to break Stenmark's record, but ultimately she has to give up, she's in just too much physical pain. She says she wants to be able to ski with her kids while they're growing up.
Meanwhile, subsequent to the breakup with Vonn, Lindsey gets involved with Tiger Woods. But he steps out on her just like he did Elin Nordegren. And although Lindsey is in the public eye, she comes from a solid background, she's not Hollywood trash, one faux pas and Tiger's out.
But there's never a steady replacement.
And now Vonn is retired. Getting further surgery. And showing up in a bathing suit everywhere, she's a staple in celebrity news, the first skier since Suzy Chaffee to achieve this status, and, in fact, superseding Chaffee by far.
But that's not enough.
Now skiing is an interesting sport. It's a lifetime sport, like golf, or tennis, you can do it forever. But you can't compete at the top level forever, people have tried.
Prior to Bode, the most legendary American World Cup skier was Phil Mahre. He hit the same wall as Lindsey, his life just wasn't meaningful enough, he decided to come back. The skills were still there, but the body was not. He just couldn't compete with the twentysomethings, ultimately he gave up.
And then there's the sad story of Bill Johnson, an outcast who came from nowhere to win the Olympic downhill gold in Sarajevo, like Babe Ruth even predicting it! Subsequently his home life was a disaster, his young son died in a hot tub, he tried to come back, but...
The equipment had changed.
He kept his gold medal underneath the front seat of his truck, it was all he had left.
But skiers no longer used Atomic Red Sleds, straight planks, they employed shorter shaped skis, with such radical sidecuts that they turned themselves instantly when pressured. And Bill was training and his skis separated and he fell and experienced a brain injury and lived for a little bit, but ultimately died, sad and broke.
Now back to Bode. If you follow World Cup ski racing, and you probably don't, the big story on the men's side of the coin this year is the return of Marcel Hirscher. One of the best male skiers ever, maybe the very best. Hirscher won eight overall World Cups and quit. He had nothing left to prove. He rode his motorcycle. And then...
He decided to get into the ski business. He created Van Deer skis. He decided to come back, but he's only 35. And Bode tells me Hirscher can win, because the crop of guys winning now...just don't have his skills, we will see.
But unlike Vonn, and like Stenmark and even Alberto Tomba, Hirscher does not ski the downhill. It's just too dangerous, too risky. You can die. Literally. After all, speeds of ninety miles an hour are not uncommon. And if you follow World Cup ski racing you know...the runs are as smooth as glass, they're sheer ice, injected with water to ensure this. This is how the racers like it, everybody gets an equal chance.
So...
The average skier, I mean even the average skier who skis double blacks, if they found themselves on a World Cup course, they would not be able to hold an edge, they'd be sliding, they'd be completely freaked out.
Racing separates the men from the boys, the women from the girls. It's one thing to be an instructor, quite another to be a World Cup ski racer. And it's one thing to race slalom, quite another to race downhill.
Lindsey Vonn is going to race downhill.
This is an event of strength and speed. Technical discipline is key, but being able to hold a line, stand on your ski, it requires brute strength.
Which is why almost all the downhillers are large people. This mass also helps generate speed.
Can a forty year old hold an edge like a twenty year old? Under pressure, on ice?
Well, theoretically you can work in the gym.
Which is what Vonn does, she's a noted gym rat.
So what's she got... Her body, her good looks, her image. Her workouts. Maybe some dates, no long term love. Maybe she froze her eggs, maybe the window to have children is not closing.
So football players... Some get MBAs and become entrepreneurs.
But there are so many sad stories. Of brain damage and death. All the money frittered away.
John Madden said one NFL football game will compromise your body forever.
And if you're a legendary baseball player you can sign autographs.
How fulfilling is that?
Vonn wants to be fulfilled.
All those young music stars we laud... They missed out on so much. Sure, they're rich, they've had experiences, but this is all they can do, perform. Their options are limited, they're locked in. And there becomes a time when you're just too old to start all over again. And most people don't want to go back to zero, emotionally it's just too tough.
So Vonn has the world's attention.
Does the world really care?
OF COURSE NOT! The world doesn't care about anybody. You learn this as you get older. The spot in the news Vonn filled can be instantly filled by another.
And keeping yourself in the news is a full time job. It's hard to get off the merry-go-round.
But at some point you become two-dimensional, you're famous for what you did, and that's it.
And everywhere you go people see you as that triumph.
Even in the show "Rivals," Rupert cannot get past his triumphant showjumping days. Those were the peak of his life, he's been chasing that high ever since.
Anything is possible. Vonn could come back and do well, despite the odds being against her.
Probably she'll show up, make a few runs, realize she hasn't got it and hang it up.
It's so hard to hang it up. Ask Michael Jordan. Everybody who played beyond the sell date of their abilities.
Lindsey just can't go back to her regular life. Because she never built a regular life.
She didn't go to college and b.s. and find out who she was. Didn't go to different people's houses and meet their parents and experience role models, or the opposite. She was coddled and coached, all for victory.
She didn't have love relationships outside the spotlight. She didn't get high with no one paying attention. She didn't take classes in disparate subjects, ultimately widening her horizons, illustrating the possibilities.
Now some legendary ski racers have come down against this return, talking primarily about the potential for injury.
But the mainstream press, the one that made Vonn an icon? They're eating it all up. Who Lindsey actually is is irrelevant. It's a good story about someone people know.
There's nothing wrong with achievement. But at what cost?
What is life about, doing one big thing and coasting on that forever?
Especially in sports, young people specialize too early.
But some people don't find their path for years. And they've kept the doors open while they're looking.
This is a dangerous subject. Because Vonn is a beautiful, skilled, successful woman, a man really can't raise any questions about her behavior.
But in light of the election is this still so? Is every woman off limits to every man? Can we make no comment, no judgment?
People are skilled or not. Successful or not. Physically attractive or not. They've got personalities. And in truth, we're more alike than we are different.
I'd be saying all of the above if it was a guy trying to return.
Oh, but then there's that issue of children. There's this myth that you can have it all, but you can't no matter whether you're a man or a woman, to be the best in one thing, you've got to sacrifice another. Look at all the rock stars who don't really know their first families, because they were never home!
You can't judge anybody anymore. Everybody's off limits.
Or maybe they're not.
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Listen to the podcast:
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-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Rivals
Hulu trailer: https://t.ly/Lb0A9
We finished this off in two nights. Will you enjoy it? I'm not sure.
This is completely out of my wheelhouse. I don't watch the English dramas on PBS, I haven't read the book it is based upon, but I was fascinated by the fact that it was set in the Cotswolds, the weekend getaway of wealthy Londoners, the northwestern Connecticut of England.
But I had a different vision in my mind. I thought it was less tony, less upper class. But in this show, the houses are huge and far apart. Giving the impression you have to be uber-wealthy to live there. I've got a friend with a house there, but I've never been.
Now the reason I was in is because the main star is David Tennant, who is always great, playing a role a bit out of character here. Tennant is usually intense, cerebral, one step removed. He was best in "Broadchurch," but he's got a slew of credits.
So, Tennant, as Lord Tony Baddingham, runs and owns an independent TV network in the Cotswolds named Corinium. It's part of ITV, but it's regional...I'm sure if you live in the U.K. it's clearer, but you don't have to know the ins and outs of the English TV landscape to understand what is going on.
And oh, I forgot to mention it's set in 1986. Which is very interesting. Because it's not only pre-internet, but pre ubiquitous cellphones. You're watching and thinking...why don't they just call him or her? And then you realize they can't. And that we used to live this way. And didn't know any better.
So Tony hires Declan O'Hara a BBC interviewer, for Corinium, promising him not only money, but freedom, throwing off the chains of the bureaucracy.
Aidan Turner as Declan is a true believer. His job is everything.
But this means his marriage to Maud, (Victoria Smurfit), suffers.
And this is where the show gets interesting. Maud is an elegant babe. And she needs the reflection, the interest, the body of men to reinforce her identity, her good feelings. But she's also wrestling with the fact that she's aged, and her looks won't take her as far. She's vain, nearly petty, but her challenges are realistic.
Claire Rushbrook as Lady Monica Baddingham, Tennant's wife, is perfect. She's put on the marriage pounds, but she's insightful, supportive, everything you'd want in a wife. But Tony is sticking it elsewhere...
You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone. You think your new squeeze will deliver everything, but when you get there...
MP Rufus Jones as Paul Stratton is revealed to be having an affair with Sarah, (Emily Atack), but the end result is he leaves his wife and marries her. And she's still trying to climb the ladder, she's not really that interested in him, not really interested in him at all. She's a sexpot trading on her feminine wiles, is that enough to get her where she wants to go?
And then there's Katherine Parkinson as Lizzie Vereker. She's got a self-centered nitwit of a husband, who anchors the afternoons on Corinium with a talk show, but he's a narcissist who's paying her no attention and she becomes focused on Freddie Jones, played by Danny Dyer, a tech tycoon who is married to Valerie (Lisa McGillis), whom he met in high school. Danny is rich via tech, yet he's one of the most human characters in the show, but will Lizzie break her marriage bonds?
And everything is anchored by Alex Hassell as Rupert Campbell-Black, a gold medal showjumper from a blue chip background who beds everything in sight. He looks just like Tony Robbins, I couldn't get the resemblance out of my head.
And Rupert is the desire of all the women And he's got an inappropriate crush on Declan's daughter Taggie. That's the only thing that really doesn't ring true, you can't see it, she's just so young.
Now if I were better educated in English literature, and TV shows, I could place "Rivals" in the canon. But I'm not. So...
It plays like farce. But not all the time.
There are very human questions.
The underlying rivalry is between Rupert and Tony. Both lords, but Tony only went to grammar school.
And then you throw Cameron Cook in the mix, the American TV programming whiz who is strong and independent but ends up in beds... Cook is played by Nafessa Williams, who played Robyn Crawford in the Whitney Houston biopic.
So what we've got here is a lot of characters. A lot of desires. Chance meetings. Plotting. Wins and losses.
It's a community.
There's one scene, a New Year's Eve party, where everybody's in their cups dancing and at first you judge these upper class twits...but then you ask yourself, is it really all just about fun?
You'll be intrigued by the plot. Will Declan be able to interview who he wants, will he get to ask the questions he wants.
Does Tony/Tennant hold the ultimate Trump card, promising freedom but always withholding it.
And does Rupert have a heart, or is he just a cad. Hell, he admits he's a rake.
So they're out in the English countryside. It's beautiful. And unlike in Southern California, it rains, so you get that interior vibe, inside in the semi-dark, reading, talking.
And people drop by unannounced, which never happens in the city.
And boys need to triumph. Have a leg up.
And at the end of the day, what's important? Your job? Your relationship? The money? What are you willing to sacrifice, what are you willing to forgive?
Maybe they make shows like this in America. But I haven't watched a network drama this century. But the ones I saw before that were constrained. Limits are tested in "Rivals," characters do things people on American TV did not, at least when I watched it.
And they exist outside the boundaries of society. They're caught up in their own little world. That's another question that comes up, morals.
Now maybe in the old days, viewers would be hanging on every word of "Rivals." As it is, the show has great RottenTomatoes numbers: 94/91. But almost nothing reaches all the water coolers these days, never mind that people bring their own water bottles to work, if they even bother to go into the office.
But you can watch it all at once now on Hulu.
If you miss it will you survive?
Absolutely, this is not "Squid Game," this is not a societal event.
But despite these characters being so different from us, in many ways they're just the same, facing the same interior battles.
And there are enough plot twists and surprises to keep you watching.
One episode will tell you whether this is up your alley or not. Two to get the complete feeling.
Don't shoot the messenger, I don't write about everything I watch, but there's something at the heart of this show, or maybe it's that there's so much in this show...it ultimately resembles real life.
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We finished this off in two nights. Will you enjoy it? I'm not sure.
This is completely out of my wheelhouse. I don't watch the English dramas on PBS, I haven't read the book it is based upon, but I was fascinated by the fact that it was set in the Cotswolds, the weekend getaway of wealthy Londoners, the northwestern Connecticut of England.
But I had a different vision in my mind. I thought it was less tony, less upper class. But in this show, the houses are huge and far apart. Giving the impression you have to be uber-wealthy to live there. I've got a friend with a house there, but I've never been.
Now the reason I was in is because the main star is David Tennant, who is always great, playing a role a bit out of character here. Tennant is usually intense, cerebral, one step removed. He was best in "Broadchurch," but he's got a slew of credits.
So, Tennant, as Lord Tony Baddingham, runs and owns an independent TV network in the Cotswolds named Corinium. It's part of ITV, but it's regional...I'm sure if you live in the U.K. it's clearer, but you don't have to know the ins and outs of the English TV landscape to understand what is going on.
And oh, I forgot to mention it's set in 1986. Which is very interesting. Because it's not only pre-internet, but pre ubiquitous cellphones. You're watching and thinking...why don't they just call him or her? And then you realize they can't. And that we used to live this way. And didn't know any better.
So Tony hires Declan O'Hara a BBC interviewer, for Corinium, promising him not only money, but freedom, throwing off the chains of the bureaucracy.
Aidan Turner as Declan is a true believer. His job is everything.
But this means his marriage to Maud, (Victoria Smurfit), suffers.
And this is where the show gets interesting. Maud is an elegant babe. And she needs the reflection, the interest, the body of men to reinforce her identity, her good feelings. But she's also wrestling with the fact that she's aged, and her looks won't take her as far. She's vain, nearly petty, but her challenges are realistic.
Claire Rushbrook as Lady Monica Baddingham, Tennant's wife, is perfect. She's put on the marriage pounds, but she's insightful, supportive, everything you'd want in a wife. But Tony is sticking it elsewhere...
You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone. You think your new squeeze will deliver everything, but when you get there...
MP Rufus Jones as Paul Stratton is revealed to be having an affair with Sarah, (Emily Atack), but the end result is he leaves his wife and marries her. And she's still trying to climb the ladder, she's not really that interested in him, not really interested in him at all. She's a sexpot trading on her feminine wiles, is that enough to get her where she wants to go?
And then there's Katherine Parkinson as Lizzie Vereker. She's got a self-centered nitwit of a husband, who anchors the afternoons on Corinium with a talk show, but he's a narcissist who's paying her no attention and she becomes focused on Freddie Jones, played by Danny Dyer, a tech tycoon who is married to Valerie (Lisa McGillis), whom he met in high school. Danny is rich via tech, yet he's one of the most human characters in the show, but will Lizzie break her marriage bonds?
And everything is anchored by Alex Hassell as Rupert Campbell-Black, a gold medal showjumper from a blue chip background who beds everything in sight. He looks just like Tony Robbins, I couldn't get the resemblance out of my head.
And Rupert is the desire of all the women And he's got an inappropriate crush on Declan's daughter Taggie. That's the only thing that really doesn't ring true, you can't see it, she's just so young.
Now if I were better educated in English literature, and TV shows, I could place "Rivals" in the canon. But I'm not. So...
It plays like farce. But not all the time.
There are very human questions.
The underlying rivalry is between Rupert and Tony. Both lords, but Tony only went to grammar school.
And then you throw Cameron Cook in the mix, the American TV programming whiz who is strong and independent but ends up in beds... Cook is played by Nafessa Williams, who played Robyn Crawford in the Whitney Houston biopic.
So what we've got here is a lot of characters. A lot of desires. Chance meetings. Plotting. Wins and losses.
It's a community.
There's one scene, a New Year's Eve party, where everybody's in their cups dancing and at first you judge these upper class twits...but then you ask yourself, is it really all just about fun?
You'll be intrigued by the plot. Will Declan be able to interview who he wants, will he get to ask the questions he wants.
Does Tony/Tennant hold the ultimate Trump card, promising freedom but always withholding it.
And does Rupert have a heart, or is he just a cad. Hell, he admits he's a rake.
So they're out in the English countryside. It's beautiful. And unlike in Southern California, it rains, so you get that interior vibe, inside in the semi-dark, reading, talking.
And people drop by unannounced, which never happens in the city.
And boys need to triumph. Have a leg up.
And at the end of the day, what's important? Your job? Your relationship? The money? What are you willing to sacrifice, what are you willing to forgive?
Maybe they make shows like this in America. But I haven't watched a network drama this century. But the ones I saw before that were constrained. Limits are tested in "Rivals," characters do things people on American TV did not, at least when I watched it.
And they exist outside the boundaries of society. They're caught up in their own little world. That's another question that comes up, morals.
Now maybe in the old days, viewers would be hanging on every word of "Rivals." As it is, the show has great RottenTomatoes numbers: 94/91. But almost nothing reaches all the water coolers these days, never mind that people bring their own water bottles to work, if they even bother to go into the office.
But you can watch it all at once now on Hulu.
If you miss it will you survive?
Absolutely, this is not "Squid Game," this is not a societal event.
But despite these characters being so different from us, in many ways they're just the same, facing the same interior battles.
And there are enough plot twists and surprises to keep you watching.
One episode will tell you whether this is up your alley or not. Two to get the complete feeling.
Don't shoot the messenger, I don't write about everything I watch, but there's something at the heart of this show, or maybe it's that there's so much in this show...it ultimately resembles real life.
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Thursday, 14 November 2024
Simon Napier-Bell-This Week's Podcast
Come for the tales of managing the Yardbirds and Wham! Stay for the story of skiffle as the key driver in the ensuing British Invasion. You'll be intrigued.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/simon-napier-bell/id1316200737?i=1000676939877
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0dTaXYfAyL2KKTEqbnI6hL?si=2sgj142sQf2eVSpt0xW2Rw
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/simon-napier-bell-238300826/
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/5c4f92f2-c45b-480b-80e4-6177f1a87001/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-simon-napier-bell
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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/simon-napier-bell/id1316200737?i=1000676939877
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0dTaXYfAyL2KKTEqbnI6hL?si=2sgj142sQf2eVSpt0xW2Rw
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/simon-napier-bell-238300826/
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/5c4f92f2-c45b-480b-80e4-6177f1a87001/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-simon-napier-bell
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Wednesday, 13 November 2024
Murder Mindfully
Netflix trailer: https://t.ly/htQAG
This is a great series, which I would have said was fantastic, but the ending, although a great wrap-up, was not whiz-bang. "Murder Mindfully" is an 8 on an absolute scale. One in which "Murders in the Building" is a 3. One in which "The Bureau" is a 10 and "Spiral" and "A French Village" are 9.5's, even though I hate giving that .5 rating, splitting hairs, it's just that I want to state how hard it is to achieve a 10, nearly impossible.
And yes, all four of the foregoing series are foreign. So if you hate subtitles you can stop reading now.
But unlike the latter three, "Murders Mindfully" is not a straight drama, it's a drama with both serious and light tones, a good bit of comedy, if not the laugh out loud kind (no, I won't use the word dramedy, which is an execrable Hollywood term that renders anything it is applied to mediocre and not deserving of attention).
"Murder Mindfully is a Mafia show. You know, drug-running. And ultimately the battle is between the Serbians and the Russians.
Oh, did I state this was a German show? Yes, a German comedy. Not what you'd expect, but it delivers.
But not wholly in the first episode. I did my research, there is no critics' rating, sans studio/streamer hype the critics don't pay attention, but the public gave it a 91 on the Popcommeter, and whenever anything is in the 90s you have to pay attention, assuming there's not a concomitant terrible rating on the critics' Tomatometer. Kind of like "The Offer," which has 96 on the Popcommeter, yet only 57 on the Tomatometer. My inbox is filled with hosannas about "The Offer," however it's gotten some of the worst reviews ever, writers reviled it, if for no other reason than it bore little resemblance to reality. In other words, the wisdom of the crowd is not always right. But when it comes to a foreign series... Then again, are the foreigners rating it, are they to be trusted? I don't know, I'll just say there's very little info about "Murder Mindfully" out there.
But a reader hipped me to it.
This is the yin and yang of publicity/marketing today. You love that I found out about it, but any effort you put into making me find out about it failed, assuming Netflix put any effort in at all.
So, the star is Tom Schilling. Who reminded me of Peter Schilling. Who are both German, but not related. But I'd be lying if I didn't say "Major Tom" wasn't playing in my head during the series.
Which is only eight half hour episodes, not a huge commitment. You'll start...
And not want to stop.
However the first episode is all set-up. The deets are laid out, but the intrigue...you're not exactly hooked. But when you tune in to the next episode... You go on a ride that will have you smiling, marveling that you're experiencing something so great that almost no one is aware of. You can own it, like you owned bands back in the day, before they broke big.
So Tom as Bjorn is a lawyer. In a firm where he's the rainmaker but they won't let him make partner. They want his money, but not him. This is the ethos of rock and roll, the lack of acceptance, even though this is not a rock and roll show.
And the client that rains down all the money is Mafioso Dragan Sergowicz. Who is caught in a pickle... Well, that's putting it mildly.
So what you've got here is the classic work/home balance issue.
Bjorn Diemel is bringing home all the money, driving a BMW, living in a great house, but he's never home. His relationship with his wife has flagged and he's constantly missing commitments with his young daughter.
So, his wife sends him to mindfulness classes.
I feel the same way about mindfulness that Bjorn does. What a bunch of crap. He hesitates going in to the appointment, professes it to be hogwash, but the bearded teacher instructs Bjorn in the process and...
Bjorn starts to employ it.
And the amazing thing is you're watching the series and you start to buy in too. Live in the moment. When you have no choice, smile and let the situation play out. Yet, by time it's over I can't say I'm so convinced.
So Dragan has to go into hiding and the police are looking for him and all eyes are on Bjorn, the lawyer. He's the intermediary. He's trying to hold it all together, while trying to figure a way out of the entire enterprise himself, while trying to reunite with his wife and daughter after separating at the beginning of the series.
And it turns out he has history with the woman cop.
And all the tropes are there. The crooked cop, the double-dealing, the intimidation, the brute force. How is Bjorn going to cope with all of it? VIA MINDFULNESS!
So he's making choices he never would have made previously. He's becoming aware of his own power. But he also finds out not every strategy is a winning one. How is he going to escape?
And the Russian mob boss rings true.
And just like in "Donnie Brasco" the life of a Mafioso looks boring, never mind your body and life being in danger.
This is not heavy watching. But it is intelligent watching. It's not so complicated you can't follow it, but you can't always predict what is going to happen, and how Bjorn is going to cope. And sometimes the situations are...just downright laughable.
When I think of all the series I've seen in the past month I'd recommend "Murder Mindfully" first. It doesn't ask much, but provides plenty. It doesn't eat up your life, but will get you thinking, it will stay with you.
And it will make you forget what's happening outside your door, on your phone.
It's very German, yet the concept of Mafia shenanigans is universal.
You're gonna dig this, trust me
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This is a great series, which I would have said was fantastic, but the ending, although a great wrap-up, was not whiz-bang. "Murder Mindfully" is an 8 on an absolute scale. One in which "Murders in the Building" is a 3. One in which "The Bureau" is a 10 and "Spiral" and "A French Village" are 9.5's, even though I hate giving that .5 rating, splitting hairs, it's just that I want to state how hard it is to achieve a 10, nearly impossible.
And yes, all four of the foregoing series are foreign. So if you hate subtitles you can stop reading now.
But unlike the latter three, "Murders Mindfully" is not a straight drama, it's a drama with both serious and light tones, a good bit of comedy, if not the laugh out loud kind (no, I won't use the word dramedy, which is an execrable Hollywood term that renders anything it is applied to mediocre and not deserving of attention).
"Murder Mindfully is a Mafia show. You know, drug-running. And ultimately the battle is between the Serbians and the Russians.
Oh, did I state this was a German show? Yes, a German comedy. Not what you'd expect, but it delivers.
But not wholly in the first episode. I did my research, there is no critics' rating, sans studio/streamer hype the critics don't pay attention, but the public gave it a 91 on the Popcommeter, and whenever anything is in the 90s you have to pay attention, assuming there's not a concomitant terrible rating on the critics' Tomatometer. Kind of like "The Offer," which has 96 on the Popcommeter, yet only 57 on the Tomatometer. My inbox is filled with hosannas about "The Offer," however it's gotten some of the worst reviews ever, writers reviled it, if for no other reason than it bore little resemblance to reality. In other words, the wisdom of the crowd is not always right. But when it comes to a foreign series... Then again, are the foreigners rating it, are they to be trusted? I don't know, I'll just say there's very little info about "Murder Mindfully" out there.
But a reader hipped me to it.
This is the yin and yang of publicity/marketing today. You love that I found out about it, but any effort you put into making me find out about it failed, assuming Netflix put any effort in at all.
So, the star is Tom Schilling. Who reminded me of Peter Schilling. Who are both German, but not related. But I'd be lying if I didn't say "Major Tom" wasn't playing in my head during the series.
Which is only eight half hour episodes, not a huge commitment. You'll start...
And not want to stop.
However the first episode is all set-up. The deets are laid out, but the intrigue...you're not exactly hooked. But when you tune in to the next episode... You go on a ride that will have you smiling, marveling that you're experiencing something so great that almost no one is aware of. You can own it, like you owned bands back in the day, before they broke big.
So Tom as Bjorn is a lawyer. In a firm where he's the rainmaker but they won't let him make partner. They want his money, but not him. This is the ethos of rock and roll, the lack of acceptance, even though this is not a rock and roll show.
And the client that rains down all the money is Mafioso Dragan Sergowicz. Who is caught in a pickle... Well, that's putting it mildly.
So what you've got here is the classic work/home balance issue.
Bjorn Diemel is bringing home all the money, driving a BMW, living in a great house, but he's never home. His relationship with his wife has flagged and he's constantly missing commitments with his young daughter.
So, his wife sends him to mindfulness classes.
I feel the same way about mindfulness that Bjorn does. What a bunch of crap. He hesitates going in to the appointment, professes it to be hogwash, but the bearded teacher instructs Bjorn in the process and...
Bjorn starts to employ it.
And the amazing thing is you're watching the series and you start to buy in too. Live in the moment. When you have no choice, smile and let the situation play out. Yet, by time it's over I can't say I'm so convinced.
So Dragan has to go into hiding and the police are looking for him and all eyes are on Bjorn, the lawyer. He's the intermediary. He's trying to hold it all together, while trying to figure a way out of the entire enterprise himself, while trying to reunite with his wife and daughter after separating at the beginning of the series.
And it turns out he has history with the woman cop.
And all the tropes are there. The crooked cop, the double-dealing, the intimidation, the brute force. How is Bjorn going to cope with all of it? VIA MINDFULNESS!
So he's making choices he never would have made previously. He's becoming aware of his own power. But he also finds out not every strategy is a winning one. How is he going to escape?
And the Russian mob boss rings true.
And just like in "Donnie Brasco" the life of a Mafioso looks boring, never mind your body and life being in danger.
This is not heavy watching. But it is intelligent watching. It's not so complicated you can't follow it, but you can't always predict what is going to happen, and how Bjorn is going to cope. And sometimes the situations are...just downright laughable.
When I think of all the series I've seen in the past month I'd recommend "Murder Mindfully" first. It doesn't ask much, but provides plenty. It doesn't eat up your life, but will get you thinking, it will stay with you.
And it will make you forget what's happening outside your door, on your phone.
It's very German, yet the concept of Mafia shenanigans is universal.
You're gonna dig this, trust me
--
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, 12 November 2024
Chris Wallace Leaves CNN
"'When I look at the media landscape right now, the people who are going independent, whether it's podcasting or streaming, that seems to be where the action is,' he said Tuesday."
https://shorturl.at/13PRo
Is this like refusing to sign with a major label?
The election taught the news business that not only was it out of touch, it had lost control of the viewing/reading public. People had detached and gone to podcasts and social media.
TV is produced. Very professional. Great sets, great makeup, and always short-form. Even long-form is short-form. "60 Minutes" will give you twelve minutes, Joe Rogan will give you HOURS! Sure, we all want to graze for the headlines, but if we want to go deeper...
Top Forty and the Spotify Top 50 are like grazing for headlines. Only it's worse in the music business, BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE DON'T CHECK THEM OUT WHATSOEVER!
Think about that, your primary product is ignored by most of the available customers.
Now this works if you're Mercedes-Benz. As a matter of fact, MBZ has gone further upscale, they're removing their cheapest offerings and focusing on the profit of expensive models.
We can't do this in music, where every song is worth essentially the same.
But is Top Forty CNN?
Absolutely. The major labels devote an inordinate amount of money and time on terrestrial radio. This is what they know. It reaches the most people. But that audience continues to drop. The ratings for CNN, MSNBC and even Fox are anemic. But online?
A million people watching a cable news channel is about average. By October 29th, Joe Rogan's podcast with Trump had 38 million views. Apples and oranges. Even online influencers, constantly derided by the mainstream media, reach many more people than the old guard does.
But what are people consuming?
Well, as stated above, longform. People want to sink their teeth in. You may be focusing on the hit single, but never has the hit single meant less.
Let me explain. A hit single is always a driver. But if there's not a lot of material underneath, a story, people are not going to be invested, they're going to move on. What does it take to get people invested?
So the major labels sell hip-hop and pop. And let's be clear, there's a huge audience for those. But the biggest act in recorded music today is in country, Morgan Wallen. And seemingly every act of stature wants in on that world, from Post Malone to Beyoncé. What is going on in the country world?
Authenticity. Credibility.
Oh, don't tell me about beers and trucks and... Of course there's a lot of country music that's a trifle. But almost all of it is relatable. It's not I'm richer than you living a better lifestyle, let me tell you about it. It's earthier. Rootsier.
Is this what the public really wants? Are the major labels delusional?
Now one of the creators of magic in podcasts is they're off-the-cuff, unedited, the exact opposite ethos of the major label work, which is rewritten and remixed to death. Good luck even finding a mistake. But it turns out mistakes are not the turnoff the industry believes, mistakes make you human, other people love vulnerability.
Harris was afraid to commit a faux pas. She was scripted, hard to penetrate. Trump was all over the map, lyin', cheatin', hurtin'...and the people loved it! They overlooked the flaws and saw someone living in the moment, just like them. Making mistakes just like them. They could relate.
Don't bark back. Trump won.
I'm not saying no one wants hip-hop and pop, I'm not saying no one wanted Harris, but I am saying the major labels' focus is wrong.
But if they change the focus...
They're lost. So they keep doing what they do, over and over again.
It's not like the signposts are not there. Zach Bryan sold out arenas and could have sold out stadiums BEFORE HE HAD A SPOTIFY TOP 50 HIT! How did people find him?
Obviously not via the usual avenues. The word was spread by the public. Which is hard to manipulate. So what you need is something that spreads, and me-too doesn't spread.
Now let's be clear, Bryan is his own worst enemy and has been recently blowing himself up, in a bad way, but the paradigm sustains.
Chris Stapleton... Shows that you don't have to be a teenager to succeed. You don't have to look like a movie star. It's about what you hear as opposed to see.
Music did not move the needle whatsoever for Harris. Why? Because nobody singing was credible. Or they'd lost their credibility along the way. They were seen as icons, not relatable people. And in the internet world we're all in it together. Have airs, tell us what to do, and people will tear you down and not believe.
Now will Chris Wallace be able to make it in the podcast/streaming world?
Well, unlike a good musician, he doesn't know who his fans are, he has no mailing list, data is everything.
And he's 77 and appeals to an aged demo, the average age of a cable news viewer is over 65. Are these the digitally-savvy people?
Well, you'd be surprised how many boomers listen to podcasts. And everybody's always looking for something new and good. The dirty little secret is most podcasts suck. Two or more people bloviating about their personal lives. Where's that at, if you want me I'll be in the bar.
So if you're good...
But Wallace knows it's about longform. The quick hit does not bond you to people anymore.
And Tucker Carlson does not get as much ink as he used to when he was on Fox, but he has finally figured out a way to reach a substantial audience online, to become part of the conversation.
And it's no longer about the chart anyway. Yes, the three big cable news networks arguing over ratings is akin to the moribund major labels manipulating the "Billboard" chart. As if anybody but the act itself cares what is number one. How are people even going to find out, it's printed in the newspaper, but they don't read the newspaper! They really only care about chart position when their favorite act implores them to buy excess vinyl or files to make them number one, talk about a spiral to the bottom, screwing your fans.
Wallace is jumping into the abyss, with no safety net. As the story has played out today, some people say he was going to lose his job in a cutback, but he jumped before he was pushed. The music industry used to jump all the time, it's been staid since...
Certainly the nineties. Formulaic divas and formulaic hip-hop.
But the story of the past few years is indies. Oftentimes built live. The recordings are nearly superfluous.
How do we regain the power of music as the foremost art form?
Oh, let's be clear, there's a music business. But if you want to know which way the wind blows, you're not going to listen to a record. That's not where the people are at. And Kendrick dissed Drake and Questlove said it was the end of hip-hop, an insular battle that is ultimately meaningless.
Now in truth people are jumping, taking risks, doing something different, all the time, as we sit here. It's just that one day you wake up and see that they control your business, that they have stolen it while you're asleep.
And that's a good thing, it reinvigorates the industry.
Now in truth the election illustrated that America is a vast country where people get their news and information from a cornucopia of outlets and there is truly no center.
There is no center in music either. Like I said, number one really doesn't matter.
And that's a good thing.
Want to win in the new world?
Be you, authentic. Don't look at what other people are doing, speak from your heart. Being able to play your instrument helps. And being able to write songs with melody and changes does too. If your audience can sing along, that goes a long way to embedding you in their heart. Sure there are songs that are great to dance to, but most of them are inherently dispensable. Hell, the music is just the grease at an EDM show.
We have to sell the music as paramount.
And that needs a refocus, a redirection.
By the big boys (and girls!)
The little ones are already doing it.
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https://shorturl.at/13PRo
Is this like refusing to sign with a major label?
The election taught the news business that not only was it out of touch, it had lost control of the viewing/reading public. People had detached and gone to podcasts and social media.
TV is produced. Very professional. Great sets, great makeup, and always short-form. Even long-form is short-form. "60 Minutes" will give you twelve minutes, Joe Rogan will give you HOURS! Sure, we all want to graze for the headlines, but if we want to go deeper...
Top Forty and the Spotify Top 50 are like grazing for headlines. Only it's worse in the music business, BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE DON'T CHECK THEM OUT WHATSOEVER!
Think about that, your primary product is ignored by most of the available customers.
Now this works if you're Mercedes-Benz. As a matter of fact, MBZ has gone further upscale, they're removing their cheapest offerings and focusing on the profit of expensive models.
We can't do this in music, where every song is worth essentially the same.
But is Top Forty CNN?
Absolutely. The major labels devote an inordinate amount of money and time on terrestrial radio. This is what they know. It reaches the most people. But that audience continues to drop. The ratings for CNN, MSNBC and even Fox are anemic. But online?
A million people watching a cable news channel is about average. By October 29th, Joe Rogan's podcast with Trump had 38 million views. Apples and oranges. Even online influencers, constantly derided by the mainstream media, reach many more people than the old guard does.
But what are people consuming?
Well, as stated above, longform. People want to sink their teeth in. You may be focusing on the hit single, but never has the hit single meant less.
Let me explain. A hit single is always a driver. But if there's not a lot of material underneath, a story, people are not going to be invested, they're going to move on. What does it take to get people invested?
So the major labels sell hip-hop and pop. And let's be clear, there's a huge audience for those. But the biggest act in recorded music today is in country, Morgan Wallen. And seemingly every act of stature wants in on that world, from Post Malone to Beyoncé. What is going on in the country world?
Authenticity. Credibility.
Oh, don't tell me about beers and trucks and... Of course there's a lot of country music that's a trifle. But almost all of it is relatable. It's not I'm richer than you living a better lifestyle, let me tell you about it. It's earthier. Rootsier.
Is this what the public really wants? Are the major labels delusional?
Now one of the creators of magic in podcasts is they're off-the-cuff, unedited, the exact opposite ethos of the major label work, which is rewritten and remixed to death. Good luck even finding a mistake. But it turns out mistakes are not the turnoff the industry believes, mistakes make you human, other people love vulnerability.
Harris was afraid to commit a faux pas. She was scripted, hard to penetrate. Trump was all over the map, lyin', cheatin', hurtin'...and the people loved it! They overlooked the flaws and saw someone living in the moment, just like them. Making mistakes just like them. They could relate.
Don't bark back. Trump won.
I'm not saying no one wants hip-hop and pop, I'm not saying no one wanted Harris, but I am saying the major labels' focus is wrong.
But if they change the focus...
They're lost. So they keep doing what they do, over and over again.
It's not like the signposts are not there. Zach Bryan sold out arenas and could have sold out stadiums BEFORE HE HAD A SPOTIFY TOP 50 HIT! How did people find him?
Obviously not via the usual avenues. The word was spread by the public. Which is hard to manipulate. So what you need is something that spreads, and me-too doesn't spread.
Now let's be clear, Bryan is his own worst enemy and has been recently blowing himself up, in a bad way, but the paradigm sustains.
Chris Stapleton... Shows that you don't have to be a teenager to succeed. You don't have to look like a movie star. It's about what you hear as opposed to see.
Music did not move the needle whatsoever for Harris. Why? Because nobody singing was credible. Or they'd lost their credibility along the way. They were seen as icons, not relatable people. And in the internet world we're all in it together. Have airs, tell us what to do, and people will tear you down and not believe.
Now will Chris Wallace be able to make it in the podcast/streaming world?
Well, unlike a good musician, he doesn't know who his fans are, he has no mailing list, data is everything.
And he's 77 and appeals to an aged demo, the average age of a cable news viewer is over 65. Are these the digitally-savvy people?
Well, you'd be surprised how many boomers listen to podcasts. And everybody's always looking for something new and good. The dirty little secret is most podcasts suck. Two or more people bloviating about their personal lives. Where's that at, if you want me I'll be in the bar.
So if you're good...
But Wallace knows it's about longform. The quick hit does not bond you to people anymore.
And Tucker Carlson does not get as much ink as he used to when he was on Fox, but he has finally figured out a way to reach a substantial audience online, to become part of the conversation.
And it's no longer about the chart anyway. Yes, the three big cable news networks arguing over ratings is akin to the moribund major labels manipulating the "Billboard" chart. As if anybody but the act itself cares what is number one. How are people even going to find out, it's printed in the newspaper, but they don't read the newspaper! They really only care about chart position when their favorite act implores them to buy excess vinyl or files to make them number one, talk about a spiral to the bottom, screwing your fans.
Wallace is jumping into the abyss, with no safety net. As the story has played out today, some people say he was going to lose his job in a cutback, but he jumped before he was pushed. The music industry used to jump all the time, it's been staid since...
Certainly the nineties. Formulaic divas and formulaic hip-hop.
But the story of the past few years is indies. Oftentimes built live. The recordings are nearly superfluous.
How do we regain the power of music as the foremost art form?
Oh, let's be clear, there's a music business. But if you want to know which way the wind blows, you're not going to listen to a record. That's not where the people are at. And Kendrick dissed Drake and Questlove said it was the end of hip-hop, an insular battle that is ultimately meaningless.
Now in truth people are jumping, taking risks, doing something different, all the time, as we sit here. It's just that one day you wake up and see that they control your business, that they have stolen it while you're asleep.
And that's a good thing, it reinvigorates the industry.
Now in truth the election illustrated that America is a vast country where people get their news and information from a cornucopia of outlets and there is truly no center.
There is no center in music either. Like I said, number one really doesn't matter.
And that's a good thing.
Want to win in the new world?
Be you, authentic. Don't look at what other people are doing, speak from your heart. Being able to play your instrument helps. And being able to write songs with melody and changes does too. If your audience can sing along, that goes a long way to embedding you in their heart. Sure there are songs that are great to dance to, but most of them are inherently dispensable. Hell, the music is just the grease at an EDM show.
We have to sell the music as paramount.
And that needs a refocus, a redirection.
By the big boys (and girls!)
The little ones are already doing it.
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-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
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Bad Monkey
Trailer: https://t.ly/PY3QH
Can there be too much Vince Vaughn?
After watching "Bad Monkey" you'll think so. You know, the guy with the quips, the man we first saw and adored in "Swingers." I love Vaughn, and I have not read the book, but I'd be stunned if the role wasn't tailored for him.
As for the book... It was written by Carl Hiaasen, who is not known for high brow material. And that's an issue throughout the series, the tone. Or maybe it's just that the tone is continually flippant, which makes it harder to engage and believe. It's a tall tale, and you're required to take it that way. Which is ultimately unfortunate, because we want to dig deep into the gritty side, when Vaughn as Andrew Yancy is employing all of his detective skills.
So this is a Florida novel. And I'll tell you, they make Florida appealing, in that the Keys are off the grid, their own state of mind. Speaking of which...
Steve Barnett hipped me to this Yeti sponsored short film about Key West:
"All That Is Sacred": https://t.ly/2BCWK
Does anybody remember Tom McGuane, who is still alive in Montana? Well, he was one of the hippest, edgiest writers back in the seventies, and he and his buddies ended up in Key West with Richard Brautigan and Jimmy Buffett and...
Back when writing the Great American Novel was still a goal, before income inequality made authors look like chumps, at best living off their jobs as teachers.
Anyway, they're all drinkin' and druggin' and fishin' and... If you were alive in the seventies, you'll recognize the mood, the groove, if you're a youngster today, it will seem totally foreign. Reminded me of being a ski bum in Salt Lake. Only in this case, these guys lived to fish. Check it out.
So I'm not talking about the Florida of Miami, but the coroner Rosa, does her work there. Rosa is played by Natalie Martinez, who's got an arm's length of credits but was unfamiliar to me. She's great, although I'm not quite sure I bought her as an MD. And she's reluctant to get involved with Yancy, the noted bad boy...
And Yancy is the kind of guy who is driven by the goal, forget the rules. He sinks his teeth into something and won't let go.
As a result, he's constantly getting demoted/losing his job.
But the focus of the story is the shenanigans of Meredith Hagner and Rob Delaney as Eve and Nick Stripling, a grifter couple who keeps testing limits, getting in deeper, with Eve expressing no guilt.
Yes, Eve calls the shots.
And, of course, there's Jodie Turner-Smith as the Dragon Queen. She almost makes the show worthwhile all by herself. She's confident, she's manipulative, you feel her power, and are concerned with her wrath.
So there are twists and turns and by the end of ten episodes I won't quite say you're exhausted, but this is not one of those series where you want more. There's just a twist or two too much. All of which makes it harder to believe. It's not Keystone Cops territory, but you're watching, you're not involved.
Not that the series can't be fixed. The Vaughnisms can be toned down. And his dad, played by Scott Glenn, is fantastic. Wisdom sans attitude, someone who's seen it all and is just trying to enjoy the time he has left.
And a few less pieces of the puzzle would be nice. It's almost like hellzapoppin'.
Not that I want to steer you away from "Bad Monkey," I just want to warn you.
This show got a lot of buzz when Apple released the first episode in August. In the ensuing months it has come down that people either loved it or hated it, or more definitively were angry that it didn't deliver just a bit more, that it stayed with the light tone.
And the funny thing is this series is driven by narration, which is rare, but is also the driver of the other Apple TV series I just wrote about, "Disciple." Adds a level of detachment. That can work, but can be overdone.
So the truth is life is meaningless, we're all looking for satisfaction, isn't that what the Stones couldn't find? And everybody in "Bad Monkey" is looking for their own satisfaction. Rosa is unfulfilled by her work and wants a relationship. Her sister wants to stop being subservient to Heather with the Weather. Sonny and the FBI just want to detach.
But ultimately "Bad Monkey" is just a ride.
When it could have been more.
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-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Can there be too much Vince Vaughn?
After watching "Bad Monkey" you'll think so. You know, the guy with the quips, the man we first saw and adored in "Swingers." I love Vaughn, and I have not read the book, but I'd be stunned if the role wasn't tailored for him.
As for the book... It was written by Carl Hiaasen, who is not known for high brow material. And that's an issue throughout the series, the tone. Or maybe it's just that the tone is continually flippant, which makes it harder to engage and believe. It's a tall tale, and you're required to take it that way. Which is ultimately unfortunate, because we want to dig deep into the gritty side, when Vaughn as Andrew Yancy is employing all of his detective skills.
So this is a Florida novel. And I'll tell you, they make Florida appealing, in that the Keys are off the grid, their own state of mind. Speaking of which...
Steve Barnett hipped me to this Yeti sponsored short film about Key West:
"All That Is Sacred": https://t.ly/2BCWK
Does anybody remember Tom McGuane, who is still alive in Montana? Well, he was one of the hippest, edgiest writers back in the seventies, and he and his buddies ended up in Key West with Richard Brautigan and Jimmy Buffett and...
Back when writing the Great American Novel was still a goal, before income inequality made authors look like chumps, at best living off their jobs as teachers.
Anyway, they're all drinkin' and druggin' and fishin' and... If you were alive in the seventies, you'll recognize the mood, the groove, if you're a youngster today, it will seem totally foreign. Reminded me of being a ski bum in Salt Lake. Only in this case, these guys lived to fish. Check it out.
So I'm not talking about the Florida of Miami, but the coroner Rosa, does her work there. Rosa is played by Natalie Martinez, who's got an arm's length of credits but was unfamiliar to me. She's great, although I'm not quite sure I bought her as an MD. And she's reluctant to get involved with Yancy, the noted bad boy...
And Yancy is the kind of guy who is driven by the goal, forget the rules. He sinks his teeth into something and won't let go.
As a result, he's constantly getting demoted/losing his job.
But the focus of the story is the shenanigans of Meredith Hagner and Rob Delaney as Eve and Nick Stripling, a grifter couple who keeps testing limits, getting in deeper, with Eve expressing no guilt.
Yes, Eve calls the shots.
And, of course, there's Jodie Turner-Smith as the Dragon Queen. She almost makes the show worthwhile all by herself. She's confident, she's manipulative, you feel her power, and are concerned with her wrath.
So there are twists and turns and by the end of ten episodes I won't quite say you're exhausted, but this is not one of those series where you want more. There's just a twist or two too much. All of which makes it harder to believe. It's not Keystone Cops territory, but you're watching, you're not involved.
Not that the series can't be fixed. The Vaughnisms can be toned down. And his dad, played by Scott Glenn, is fantastic. Wisdom sans attitude, someone who's seen it all and is just trying to enjoy the time he has left.
And a few less pieces of the puzzle would be nice. It's almost like hellzapoppin'.
Not that I want to steer you away from "Bad Monkey," I just want to warn you.
This show got a lot of buzz when Apple released the first episode in August. In the ensuing months it has come down that people either loved it or hated it, or more definitively were angry that it didn't deliver just a bit more, that it stayed with the light tone.
And the funny thing is this series is driven by narration, which is rare, but is also the driver of the other Apple TV series I just wrote about, "Disciple." Adds a level of detachment. That can work, but can be overdone.
So the truth is life is meaningless, we're all looking for satisfaction, isn't that what the Stones couldn't find? And everybody in "Bad Monkey" is looking for their own satisfaction. Rosa is unfulfilled by her work and wants a relationship. Her sister wants to stop being subservient to Heather with the Weather. Sonny and the FBI just want to detach.
But ultimately "Bad Monkey" is just a ride.
When it could have been more.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Monday, 11 November 2024
The Divorce
https://t.ly/zpquh
I'm trying to figure out where I found this book.
I always start my research on Amazon, because if reviews are good, they print them, and if there are no reviews by notable publications...
That's usually a bad sign.
But I went to Amazon and found none of those famous reviews. Which flummoxed me. Why did I reserve "The Divorce" at the library?
I mostly use three sources to find new books: "The New York Times," Ron Charles's weekly newsletter from "The Washington Post," and the recommendations in the magazine "The Week" (which is uber-expensive, but I highly recommend, it's the "Time"/"Newsweek" of yore you're looking for, the previous week's news, in this case with no political slant).
So I turn to Google and I find that the "Times" did review "The Divorce," and trashed it.
Hmm...
So I'd started reading "The Divorce" and stopped. Which is rare. Usually I quit right away or power through. I skipped to a book called "Entitlement," and one of the reasons I'm writing about both of these books is they create a mood, a world. The internet is all about in-your-face, as is much popular music these days. "Entitlement" is about a young thirtysomething who leaves teaching and starts working for the foundation of a billionaire. I guess that's something we talk about today, but this guy didn't make his money in tech. And the elder gentleman becomes enamored of his young hire and...
The young hire becomes enamored of the philosophy he espouses. Which is basically the world is your oyster, and you've got to go for it, you're entitled, just reach out and grab it.
So, at first you think it's almost a self-help book, and at some points you question the judgment of the main character, the young woman, but should you be happy with your status in life or are you too entitled to have a life of riches? And what rules are you willing to bend to get there?
At times " Entitlement" is riveting, but just when you're hooked, it gets a bit boring.
"The Divorce" doesn't exactly start out boring, but rather pedestrian, and then...
I wasn't going to go back to "The Divorce" but it was the emotion Felice conveyed when she was done. I don't remember the exact words, but they were along the line of being heavy, weighty, sitting with you, and weird...in that everything just doesn't work out as planned, that you've got to sit with your emotions, something seemingly all human beings wish to avoid.
So, "The Divorce" is set in Sweden. It's translated from the Swedish, and I can't say the translator did such a great job. It's a bit simple, it's a bit herky-jerky. Not hard to read, but seemingly surface.
And then there are the Swedish names. They're ultimately off-putting. U.S. locations could have been employed and nothing would have been lost.
But when the book flips, 119 pages in... From there on you cannot put it down. Not that it's a tome, "The Divorce" is 335 pages long. It's easily read, but should you read it?
Probably not if you're a young person. You have to have experienced a few rodeos to get it, been around the block, had at least one long live-in relationship, never mind marriage.
Yes, the book is focused on a divorce. What stimulates it?
Well, the main character Niklas is a doctor. Living in the States we see all MD's as wealthy. But Niklas is not. Sure, his family is living well, but also beyond their means. Don't get the wrong idea, they're not flying private, they have only one automobile, a Volvo, they're living like upper middle class professionals.
Which Niklas is but Bea is not. She gave up her education and is now working for the Red Cross as a web developer.
So Niklas feels the financial pressure, but what are they supposed to do?
So are you locked into your life and not exactly happy about it?
I hear from these people all the time, I encountered them at my college reunion. They lived by seventies values, they became doctors and lawyers and they'd like a do-over, something more fulfilling, but you don't get that option.
It's even worse for today's generation. Because if you don't graduate from college and take the professional track...good luck making ends meet. Sure, you could become a star in music, but very few get to do that. And influencers? It's very hard to have a sustained career.
So what does it take you to jump the track. Are you capable of jumping the track?
And what carnage will you leave behind.
It could be as simple as disappointing your parents. They've invested in you, they have an idea of you, but really you're someone different.
But if you have a family, responsibilities...
Who's going to pay the bills if you switch careers?
And there's fallout from breakups. Financial. Filial...
I remember the first of my parents' friends who got divorced. It may be hard to believe, but in the sixties, in the suburbs, divorce was uncommon. It was only at the end of that decade and then in the seventies, that divorce became de rigueur.
And maybe that's just the point. No one ever talks about the fallout of a divorce. Sure, they talk about the low-hanging fruit, but what about the everyday adjustments? Do you have to move to a worse neighborhood, can you afford what you used to, are your friends still your friends or..?
So that couple got divorced. It was scandalous. And my parents and others took the side of the wife, after all the husband left her. But after ultimately relenting and meeting with the husband and his new paramour, they realized he was the energy, he was their friend, and the wife...she was boring.
I don't remember encountering the wife ever again.
Judge all you want, this is reality.
So you break up...
In California, you have all these people who are friends with their exes. I can't understand that, whether I left or they did. Let's see, you shared a bed, knew everything about each other and now it's a casual relationship, intermittent with a bit of distance? Unfathomable to me.
Now if you live in a small community, you might have to worry about running into your ex. Hell, even in a large city. It's amazing how that works, at a gig, in the grocery store, you'll run into them, kinda like Dan Fogelberg's "Same Old Lang Syne."
Most people end up splitting not only the money and the real estate, but the friends and certainly the relatives. I've got a friend whose live-in girlfriend worked for his father. When they broke up she continued to come by his parents' house, he'd run into her there. He told his parents she could still work for them, but she could no longer come to the house. Sounds harsh only if you've never experienced a deep breakup.
So...
"The Divorce" is going to ring certain bells in your head. Of your life. You're reading about the characters yet somehow your brain is stimulated, thinking about all these episodes from the past.
"The Divorce" is not the kind of book you discuss with others, it's not a book group choice. It's personal. Sure, there's story, but the underlying emotions are what's key.
Let me get this down straight. I'm not telling everybody to read "The Divorce." But if there's something in the foregoing that resonates, check it out. That's what I do with the reviews in the publications mentioned above. I don't read every word, just a few, and I get a vibe.
Have you ever hurt? Have you ever wondered how you ended up where you are? That's what "The Divorce" explores.
And it wasn't until the very end that I discovered the author, Moa Herngren, was the cocreator and writer of "Bonus Family," one of my favorite streaming series ever. I've written about it twice:
"Bonus Family": https://t.ly/C448X
"Bonus Family Season 4": https://t.ly/c4o5b
Ultimately "Bonus Family" falters in the end, with the birth of the Down syndrome baby, and the film addendum is superfluous, but before that...
In Sweden a blended family is a bonus family. Same concept, different term. In other words, you get divorced and remarried and suddenly you've got all the kids.
Anyway, seemingly every person I've spoken to about "Bonus Family" couldn't finish it, could barely even get past the beginning, because they found it too painful.
Let's be clear, "Bonus Family" is not super-heavy, it's got a lot of light moments, comedy, but people who've been divorced who have kids, no matter how long ago it was, the wound is still too fresh. They do their best to repress thoughts about their choices, the aftermath, the effect upon the children, never mind themselves.
But "Bonus Family" is one of my favorite streaming series period. And I don't have any kids. But maybe that's why.
However, if you have been divorced, especially with kids, you'll find "The Divorce" somewhat soothing, because it's good to know other people have gone through what you have, have thought the same thoughts, felt the same way.
So...
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I'm trying to figure out where I found this book.
I always start my research on Amazon, because if reviews are good, they print them, and if there are no reviews by notable publications...
That's usually a bad sign.
But I went to Amazon and found none of those famous reviews. Which flummoxed me. Why did I reserve "The Divorce" at the library?
I mostly use three sources to find new books: "The New York Times," Ron Charles's weekly newsletter from "The Washington Post," and the recommendations in the magazine "The Week" (which is uber-expensive, but I highly recommend, it's the "Time"/"Newsweek" of yore you're looking for, the previous week's news, in this case with no political slant).
So I turn to Google and I find that the "Times" did review "The Divorce," and trashed it.
Hmm...
So I'd started reading "The Divorce" and stopped. Which is rare. Usually I quit right away or power through. I skipped to a book called "Entitlement," and one of the reasons I'm writing about both of these books is they create a mood, a world. The internet is all about in-your-face, as is much popular music these days. "Entitlement" is about a young thirtysomething who leaves teaching and starts working for the foundation of a billionaire. I guess that's something we talk about today, but this guy didn't make his money in tech. And the elder gentleman becomes enamored of his young hire and...
The young hire becomes enamored of the philosophy he espouses. Which is basically the world is your oyster, and you've got to go for it, you're entitled, just reach out and grab it.
So, at first you think it's almost a self-help book, and at some points you question the judgment of the main character, the young woman, but should you be happy with your status in life or are you too entitled to have a life of riches? And what rules are you willing to bend to get there?
At times " Entitlement" is riveting, but just when you're hooked, it gets a bit boring.
"The Divorce" doesn't exactly start out boring, but rather pedestrian, and then...
I wasn't going to go back to "The Divorce" but it was the emotion Felice conveyed when she was done. I don't remember the exact words, but they were along the line of being heavy, weighty, sitting with you, and weird...in that everything just doesn't work out as planned, that you've got to sit with your emotions, something seemingly all human beings wish to avoid.
So, "The Divorce" is set in Sweden. It's translated from the Swedish, and I can't say the translator did such a great job. It's a bit simple, it's a bit herky-jerky. Not hard to read, but seemingly surface.
And then there are the Swedish names. They're ultimately off-putting. U.S. locations could have been employed and nothing would have been lost.
But when the book flips, 119 pages in... From there on you cannot put it down. Not that it's a tome, "The Divorce" is 335 pages long. It's easily read, but should you read it?
Probably not if you're a young person. You have to have experienced a few rodeos to get it, been around the block, had at least one long live-in relationship, never mind marriage.
Yes, the book is focused on a divorce. What stimulates it?
Well, the main character Niklas is a doctor. Living in the States we see all MD's as wealthy. But Niklas is not. Sure, his family is living well, but also beyond their means. Don't get the wrong idea, they're not flying private, they have only one automobile, a Volvo, they're living like upper middle class professionals.
Which Niklas is but Bea is not. She gave up her education and is now working for the Red Cross as a web developer.
So Niklas feels the financial pressure, but what are they supposed to do?
So are you locked into your life and not exactly happy about it?
I hear from these people all the time, I encountered them at my college reunion. They lived by seventies values, they became doctors and lawyers and they'd like a do-over, something more fulfilling, but you don't get that option.
It's even worse for today's generation. Because if you don't graduate from college and take the professional track...good luck making ends meet. Sure, you could become a star in music, but very few get to do that. And influencers? It's very hard to have a sustained career.
So what does it take you to jump the track. Are you capable of jumping the track?
And what carnage will you leave behind.
It could be as simple as disappointing your parents. They've invested in you, they have an idea of you, but really you're someone different.
But if you have a family, responsibilities...
Who's going to pay the bills if you switch careers?
And there's fallout from breakups. Financial. Filial...
I remember the first of my parents' friends who got divorced. It may be hard to believe, but in the sixties, in the suburbs, divorce was uncommon. It was only at the end of that decade and then in the seventies, that divorce became de rigueur.
And maybe that's just the point. No one ever talks about the fallout of a divorce. Sure, they talk about the low-hanging fruit, but what about the everyday adjustments? Do you have to move to a worse neighborhood, can you afford what you used to, are your friends still your friends or..?
So that couple got divorced. It was scandalous. And my parents and others took the side of the wife, after all the husband left her. But after ultimately relenting and meeting with the husband and his new paramour, they realized he was the energy, he was their friend, and the wife...she was boring.
I don't remember encountering the wife ever again.
Judge all you want, this is reality.
So you break up...
In California, you have all these people who are friends with their exes. I can't understand that, whether I left or they did. Let's see, you shared a bed, knew everything about each other and now it's a casual relationship, intermittent with a bit of distance? Unfathomable to me.
Now if you live in a small community, you might have to worry about running into your ex. Hell, even in a large city. It's amazing how that works, at a gig, in the grocery store, you'll run into them, kinda like Dan Fogelberg's "Same Old Lang Syne."
Most people end up splitting not only the money and the real estate, but the friends and certainly the relatives. I've got a friend whose live-in girlfriend worked for his father. When they broke up she continued to come by his parents' house, he'd run into her there. He told his parents she could still work for them, but she could no longer come to the house. Sounds harsh only if you've never experienced a deep breakup.
So...
"The Divorce" is going to ring certain bells in your head. Of your life. You're reading about the characters yet somehow your brain is stimulated, thinking about all these episodes from the past.
"The Divorce" is not the kind of book you discuss with others, it's not a book group choice. It's personal. Sure, there's story, but the underlying emotions are what's key.
Let me get this down straight. I'm not telling everybody to read "The Divorce." But if there's something in the foregoing that resonates, check it out. That's what I do with the reviews in the publications mentioned above. I don't read every word, just a few, and I get a vibe.
Have you ever hurt? Have you ever wondered how you ended up where you are? That's what "The Divorce" explores.
And it wasn't until the very end that I discovered the author, Moa Herngren, was the cocreator and writer of "Bonus Family," one of my favorite streaming series ever. I've written about it twice:
"Bonus Family": https://t.ly/C448X
"Bonus Family Season 4": https://t.ly/c4o5b
Ultimately "Bonus Family" falters in the end, with the birth of the Down syndrome baby, and the film addendum is superfluous, but before that...
In Sweden a blended family is a bonus family. Same concept, different term. In other words, you get divorced and remarried and suddenly you've got all the kids.
Anyway, seemingly every person I've spoken to about "Bonus Family" couldn't finish it, could barely even get past the beginning, because they found it too painful.
Let's be clear, "Bonus Family" is not super-heavy, it's got a lot of light moments, comedy, but people who've been divorced who have kids, no matter how long ago it was, the wound is still too fresh. They do their best to repress thoughts about their choices, the aftermath, the effect upon the children, never mind themselves.
But "Bonus Family" is one of my favorite streaming series period. And I don't have any kids. But maybe that's why.
However, if you have been divorced, especially with kids, you'll find "The Divorce" somewhat soothing, because it's good to know other people have gone through what you have, have thought the same thoughts, felt the same way.
So...
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Sunday, 10 November 2024
My Old Ass
The studios don't make movies like this anymore.
Then again, they were never blockbusters. They'd return their low budgets and hopefully some profits, but they wouldn't set the world on fire, but they might stay in your heart forever.
I'm not talking about AIP or New World. Those indies specialized in something grittier, edgier, delivering what the studios were afraid to, or pooh-poohed. Whereas "My Old Ass" tests no limits, contains no titillation, other than the basic concept, it's wholly believable.
Yes, young Elliott converses with old Elliott as a result of taking mushrooms. And old Elliott is played by Aubrey Plaza, who has become one of our biggest movie stars, not by looks, by appearances in TMZ, but by sheer personality and acting chops. I'm sure you've seen some of Aubrey's appearances on late night TV. If not, you're in for a treat. She's sly, she's funny, she evidences intelligence, this is a movie star.
Not that Aubrey/Elliott has that much screen time, although her voice is heard throughout the picture.
Which is just shy of an hour and a half long. Quite a change in an era where every director considers themselves an auteur, needing hours to sell their message, if there really is one at all.
And there is a message in "My Old Ass." And it's kind of trite. And it's not really revealed until the end. But ultimately you're satisfied.
Bottom line, ignorance is for the youth. When you know little you take chances, you don't worry about consequences, you're all in, whereas when you get older and have experienced the let-downs and disappointments in life you become gun-shy. Knowing too much works to your disadvantage.
Oh, there's one extra twist. Which makes the message less pedestrian. Let's just say the experiences you have earlier in your life, the meaning they had for you, the private emotions... They never leave.
So "My Old Ass" got good reviews, but if you think this pic is going to draw people to the theatre, you'll be disappointed to find out that it has only grossed $5.4 million domestically, and only $0.3 million in the rest of the world, not even half of what Amazon paid for the flick at Sundance, $15 million.
But today the action is all in streaming television. And I prefer series, because of the depth, but "My Old Ass" works as a movie, because it's more about vibe than story, which is what a film usually conveys better than a multi-episodic production.
So it's set in the lake country of Canada, where I've never been but so many of my Canadian friends retreat in the summer. Not that different from New England lake country, but I haven't been there recently either.
It's the middle of nowhere, and in less than a month, young Elliott, played so naturally by fresh-faced Maisy Stella, will decamp for Toronto, for the U of T.
She's itching to leave, but knows she can always return.
Or is that not the way life works. What you think is still available...is it ultimately gone?
And she's young and brassy and confident but then she encounters old Elliott, Aubrey Plaza, who is not as excited at the age of 39 and young Elliott is confused, but ultimately decides to take Aubrey/Elliott's counsel.
So...
Nothing could be more different from what we've been concerned with in the world this past week. Sure, there are smartphones, but no politics, and no judgment of the internet.
But there are questions of friendship and sexuality and...
I saw that "My Old Ass" had finally made it to Prime, sooner than usual after debuting in the theatre, while I still remembered the reviews, which were good. And I turned it on...
And didn't want to turn it off.
And in this world of so many choices, that is rare.
It's billed as sci-fi, but if you're thinking of lasers and futuristic landscapes, don't bother. Would I say it's a chick flick? Not exactly. It's not gooey, although there is passion, and it's very realistic.
This is the life we all live, which we don't see in the news. This is the soul fulfillment we're looking for.
I don't want to overhype it. "My Old Ass" is not deserving of an Oscar (although more people will see it than many films that do win Academy Awards), but it hits a note. Not nostalgia. It's not pulling at your heartstrings. It somehow encapsulates regular life, which we're living 24/7, and that's why it resonated with me.
--
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-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
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Then again, they were never blockbusters. They'd return their low budgets and hopefully some profits, but they wouldn't set the world on fire, but they might stay in your heart forever.
I'm not talking about AIP or New World. Those indies specialized in something grittier, edgier, delivering what the studios were afraid to, or pooh-poohed. Whereas "My Old Ass" tests no limits, contains no titillation, other than the basic concept, it's wholly believable.
Yes, young Elliott converses with old Elliott as a result of taking mushrooms. And old Elliott is played by Aubrey Plaza, who has become one of our biggest movie stars, not by looks, by appearances in TMZ, but by sheer personality and acting chops. I'm sure you've seen some of Aubrey's appearances on late night TV. If not, you're in for a treat. She's sly, she's funny, she evidences intelligence, this is a movie star.
Not that Aubrey/Elliott has that much screen time, although her voice is heard throughout the picture.
Which is just shy of an hour and a half long. Quite a change in an era where every director considers themselves an auteur, needing hours to sell their message, if there really is one at all.
And there is a message in "My Old Ass." And it's kind of trite. And it's not really revealed until the end. But ultimately you're satisfied.
Bottom line, ignorance is for the youth. When you know little you take chances, you don't worry about consequences, you're all in, whereas when you get older and have experienced the let-downs and disappointments in life you become gun-shy. Knowing too much works to your disadvantage.
Oh, there's one extra twist. Which makes the message less pedestrian. Let's just say the experiences you have earlier in your life, the meaning they had for you, the private emotions... They never leave.
So "My Old Ass" got good reviews, but if you think this pic is going to draw people to the theatre, you'll be disappointed to find out that it has only grossed $5.4 million domestically, and only $0.3 million in the rest of the world, not even half of what Amazon paid for the flick at Sundance, $15 million.
But today the action is all in streaming television. And I prefer series, because of the depth, but "My Old Ass" works as a movie, because it's more about vibe than story, which is what a film usually conveys better than a multi-episodic production.
So it's set in the lake country of Canada, where I've never been but so many of my Canadian friends retreat in the summer. Not that different from New England lake country, but I haven't been there recently either.
It's the middle of nowhere, and in less than a month, young Elliott, played so naturally by fresh-faced Maisy Stella, will decamp for Toronto, for the U of T.
She's itching to leave, but knows she can always return.
Or is that not the way life works. What you think is still available...is it ultimately gone?
And she's young and brassy and confident but then she encounters old Elliott, Aubrey Plaza, who is not as excited at the age of 39 and young Elliott is confused, but ultimately decides to take Aubrey/Elliott's counsel.
So...
Nothing could be more different from what we've been concerned with in the world this past week. Sure, there are smartphones, but no politics, and no judgment of the internet.
But there are questions of friendship and sexuality and...
I saw that "My Old Ass" had finally made it to Prime, sooner than usual after debuting in the theatre, while I still remembered the reviews, which were good. And I turned it on...
And didn't want to turn it off.
And in this world of so many choices, that is rare.
It's billed as sci-fi, but if you're thinking of lasers and futuristic landscapes, don't bother. Would I say it's a chick flick? Not exactly. It's not gooey, although there is passion, and it's very realistic.
This is the life we all live, which we don't see in the news. This is the soul fulfillment we're looking for.
I don't want to overhype it. "My Old Ass" is not deserving of an Oscar (although more people will see it than many films that do win Academy Awards), but it hits a note. Not nostalgia. It's not pulling at your heartstrings. It somehow encapsulates regular life, which we're living 24/7, and that's why it resonated with me.
--
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
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