Last night Bill Maher said the average price of a Taylor Swift ticket was over $4000. Really.
My favorite story on this came from Tony Wilson. His first job out of Oxbridge was in a television news department. On a Saturday night he collected the European football scores and the newsreader got them wrong. Tony swore to me that he delivered them correctly, but that's not really the point. On Monday he was confronted by the big boss. Who said he usually fired people for this offense. But he was going to give Tony a break this time and this time only. And then the boss said that no one cared about the late night European football scores, it's just that viewers felt if the station couldn't get it right about something so simple, what were they getting wrong about the big stuff?
Now I have sympathy for Maher. As in a talk show host cannot read everybody's book and know everybody's backstory. He interviewed Kenny Chesney at the top of the hour and it was as if Bill had read Kenny's Wikipedia page and had been briefed briefly by his staff. But that was a relatively softball discussion, whereas when you sit down with Bill O'Reilly and Representative Jared Moskowitz...
Bill O'Reilly reminds me of Gene Simmons. Most celebrities who build their image on pointed anger, sharp retorts, are as normal as you and me off camera. Usually even nicer. You can connect in the green room, have a fruitful discussion. But not these two! O'Reilly couldn't take Maher's banter as playful, he had to dig and then self-aggrandize, talking about numbers for his town hall, all the while speaking as if he was the only authority extant. As for Jared Moskowitz...this guy is a star. The more he talked the more I nodded his head.
So what do you want Live Nation to do? What do you want Ticketmaster to do? What do you want the acts to do?
Got to give kudos to O'Reilly on this, he said it was all about supply and demand, and it is. People want to go to the show. Furthermore, the acts have to keep prices relatively low or otherwise the public will scream, and then the secondary market hoovers up a bunch of tickets and resells them, sometimes for thousands...but most people don't pay anywhere near that price.
Sure, some of the wealthy pay these inflated prices to sit up close and personal, so they can tell their buddies. Or so their children can see their favorites. We can discuss all day long the issue of income inequality, how some can afford the best and the rest of us are left with scraps, and that's true for some tickets to the show, but not ALL!
Most people are paying face price. Which could be $200, give or take. And you might think that's a lot, but how much did you just spend for dinner?
We could make the tickets $75 by tying them to the purchaser, but the public doesn't like this, then they can't scalp their own tickets. There's no solution to this problem...even when the promoter says they'll give you your money back if you can't use them, if you've got a conflict on that date. No, people say MY MONEY, MY TICKET! I can do whatever I want with it!
So the acts try to charge as much as they can without pissing off the public. But in almost all cases with household names, they're still cheaper than their true worth. Ergo the secondary market. Raise the ticket price and the bots and the rest of the secondary market disappears, or close to it. And that's what should happen. BMW doesn't price its cars artificially low so the less fortunate can afford them. People want them, they pay for them.
And sure, BMW is a luxury item... Then again, there are many luxury items that the hoi polloi pay for. And the truth is the average Joe will pay a high price to see his favorite. That's how much they want to go.
So... You've got the public, you've got government, everybody is beating up on ticketing companies and promoters. Not the acts, because the dirty little secret is the ticketing companies are paid to take the heat. You don't see Ticketmaster or Live Nation complaining that the problem is the acts, which it is. We can argue all day long about fees, but without them there is no show, almost all of the profit in big shows is in the fees. Because the acts take all of the face price. Which is fine, but then the acts turn around and complain about the ticketing company, say they're on the side of the fans, they wish there were no fees...talk about duplicity. And when promoters try to go with an all-in price, it's the acts that scream, they want the perception that the price is lower, that it's not their fault that prices are high, the added fees are the problem.
And then you've got Bill Maher saying the average price for a Taylor Swift ticket is in excess of $4000. That would mean the average gross in a fifty thousand seat stadium, and the Eras Tour played in stadiums, was $200 million! Business is good, but not that good. There's all this press that Swift is a billionaire, if those were the grosses she'd be a MULTI-BILLIONAIRE!
But she's not, because the average ticket price is nowhere near that. Not even $1000.
But it makes a better headline if it's north of $4000.
And while we're at it, why don't those kids get off the damn phone!
Bill Maher has been anti-tech for decades. Isn't it funny that he's now got a podcast, Club Random? So he wants people to spend over an hour listening to him and a guest, shouldn't they put the damn phone down and go out and play?
Talk about being late to the party. The oldsters adopt last, if at all.
It'd be hysterical if they didn't take their position so seriously, if the government wasn't run by oldsters...
Where does it stop? No e-mail? No texting? No research on the web?
And anointed entertainment? You can watch it if it's on a streaming service like Netflix but not if it's on TikTok? This is utterly ridiculous. Talk about supply and demand. Make something off the phone better than what's on it and people will clamor for it. But right now, a personalized feed on your phone, a fountain of information, is mesmerizing.
But that does not mean a lot of that information is not incorrect.
Once again, if we can't get it right about concert tickets, good luck convincing people of the truth on political issues...ranging from taxes to government spending, the list is endless.
And if you're playing in this sphere...
This is what oldsters don't understand, what old time/mainstream media doesn't understand. They used to go uncorrected, they used to be able to get away with this. They'd weigh in on a topic they're unfamiliar with and it would go unchallenged. But the truth is there's an expert online in every vertical, you can go to them for answers, for the truth, and when the mainstream gets it wrong, it undercuts its credibility. If you've got a White House reporter and you're telling me what goes on in the room with Karoline Leavitt, I believe you. But you don't have full time reporters in a plethora of areas and when you stumble into them you often get it wrong and those truly involved in this world shrug their shoulders and laugh.
It's a worthless effort to try and correct somebody. Maher went for dinner with Trump in the White House and got a lot of blowback. He didn't analyze that blowback, didn't consider whether he was fully-informed, whether he'd thought it through before he went, no he just got indignant, defending his action.
That's America, and it's not only Bill Maher.
Is Ticketmaster perfect?
OF COURSE NOT!
But it's only the most hated entity in America because everybody is dying to go to the show, and since they're a big fan of the act they believe the price should be cheap. I can say I watch every Yankee game on TV, does that mean I'm entitled to go to the stadium for $1.50? Even $10?
This is an America run on emotion, not facts. And there can be no progress if we don't start from agreed upon facts. And when bloviators like Maher self-satisfiedly get it completely wrong...that just adds fuel to the fire.
So, if you're interacting with the public, try and get it right, or stay out of the way. Furthermore, if you do get it right, be prepared for blowback...that's the world we now live in. Even if you're right, people don't like it. They won't only criticize your take, but your identity.
Sometimes the truth is unpopular, but that does not mean you should not utter it.
Then again, we've got a president who lies on a regular basis.
And now I'll get e-mail from Trumpers saying he doesn't.
That's the world we live in. One in which even politicians, especially politicians, are afraid of speaking the truth because the uneducated masses, or those with an agenda, will contradict them.
What you end up with is a Tower of Babel society.
And here we are.
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Saturday, 8 November 2025
Friday, 7 November 2025
Dark Songs-SiriusXM This Week
In light of the end of daylight savings time.
Tune in Saturday November 8th to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.
Phone #: 844-686-5863
If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz
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Tune in Saturday November 8th to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.
Phone #: 844-686-5863
If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz
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The Grammy Nominations
The circle is complete. As the baby boomers fade into the sunset, everything they experienced, from the sixties even into the eighties, has been scraped from history. Music is no longer about meaning, but pure entertainment. In the pre-Beatle era we had Fabian, Bobby Rydell... Now we anoint pop stars whose songs are written by committee with fake gravitas, believing that if the industry and its media compatriots pump up the volume enough the public will care.
But it doesn't.
Oh, don't get me wrong... People are fans of music. Especially youngsters. But what said music represents is very different from what it represented to the boomers. It's background, or else it's a culture to invest yourself in in a vapid economy. You can love BTS, but don't try and convince me they're a landmark group making music for the ages. It's for you, fine, but it's not for everybody.
And that's the case with so much of what is purveyed these days.
Actually, we'd be better off having an awards show trumpeting touring. Because that's where the rubber meets the road, can you sell tickets?
Then again, seemingly the worst of the acts have brain dead fans.
Everybody has thrown their hands up in the air. Saying they're powerless. The labels admit they can't break an act, so they don't sign any, unless they've broken themselves. As far as searching the nation for viable talent that can grow, ultimately creating meaningful, lasting work...they've completely abdicated this responsibility. It's too heavy a lift. The odds are too long. It's too expensive. All we hear from labels is how they're diversifying. Their core competency, signing and breaking music, has been abdicated.
Now in the old days, music fans would know all the nominees. No longer. But it's even worse, if you're driven to check out the nominated work...you're not impressed, you don't want to hear it again.
As for the endless categories... It's akin to the scene at large, endless cottage industry, when this is a business that has always been built on stars. But today a star is is a brand. An enterprise. The music is just a starting point, it's not enough by its lonesome. And mistakes are anathema. A show has tons of production and a lot of the music is on hard drive.
And the joke is on the industry itself. Because it has relinquished all of its power. Music is not supposed to run alongside society, it's supposed to poke it, make it nervous, make people question preconceptions, engender change.
And that does not mean dressing up in costume and speaking to the frustrations of the audience. That's a part of it, but even if you do that...those who did so in the past lived outside the system, these acts just want to profit in the usual ways.
Never mind the complaints about streaming compensation and ticket fees...
Have you seen the grosses for less than superstar acts recently? This is not an industry that likes to air its dirty laundry, but when you look at the blue Ticketmaster dots for a lot of these shows...people just don't want to go.
As for anthems, perennials, music that will stand the test of time... That ship sailed long ago. Everything is about today, and today only. And if it makes bank it can't be criticized.
The biggest new act is made up of cartoon characters. Think about that. But the Academy refuses to recognize this. It's the year of "KPop Demon Hunters" and Morgan Wallen, period. No one else had purchase on a huge swath of the American public. To give the nominated acts awards is to participate in a circle jerk. There's no there there with most of these acts. Other than their grosses.
It could change.
But one thing is for sure, we need change for the business to be healthy once again.
And it all comes from the acts themselves, who have the tools at their fingertips. But their beliefs are out of whack. Not only do they aspire to be pop stars, many make music with substandard vocals and complain they don't break through. God, when you formed a band in the garage back in the day, finding a lead singer was key to success. The person had to be able to SING! And the songs had to have melodies, changes...the basics were paramount, but not anymore.
You can tell how cynical these nominations are by the number of acts in the categories. We want winners to command the lion's share of the votes. But with eight or nine nominees you can win with less than 20% of the vote, there's no consensus there. But if someone is excluded someone bitches...the label and you've got to be fearful some minority or afflicted group will complain you're being biased.
Now awards shows have been tanking for years. The Oscars are nearly irrelevant, at most a fashion show, but fashion influencers online have more power than these two-dimensional actresses.
The Grammy organization can point to its new CBS deal and suddenly better ratings and say it is winning. But money isn't everything and the ratings are anemic when you consider the number of potential viewers.
It's a sideshow. When music used to be the main show.
We can debate all day long how we got here. Did MTV make image paramount? Did the promotion of Mariah Carey and other popsters, along with TV singing shows, create a paradigm youngsters imitated, despite it having the nutritious value of cotton candy?
Now if you're in the business today, you're a believer, that's how you get paid. But if you're outside it...
Bernie Sanders is a bigger star than any nominated act. Maybe you hate him, but that's just the point. He's got beliefs different from his compatriots and he's sticking to them, and money is not his personal goal. He stands for something. And even in his eighties people believe in him.
Really, you're going to believe in these two-dimensional often frauds nominated for these awards?
Things change. Television used to be a wasteland, now it's the primary artistic force.
Movies used to engender public discussion, they were part of the national debate. Despite all the press hoopla for "One Battle After Another," the public isn't talking about it, not even as much as it did "Kramer vs. Kramer," never mind "Apocalypse Now."
But you can't say this. You're labeled lowbrow as the powers of yesteryear keep telling us we've got to go to the theatre, that's the only way to experience movies...talk about disconnected.
And if you criticize the recording industry and its music the pushback is intense, after all, this is how people are making their living.
Nothing can change. Even though it already has, and we're all paying the price.
Music triumphs when it's artistry. And being able to sing and write music goes part of the way, but for that je ne sais quoi...we need outsiders changing it up. We need more than a pretty ditty. We need culture.
And there's more culture in "KPop Demon Hunters" than there is in almost all of the big time nominees.
Then again, it was created by outsiders given money by a renegade outfit, i.e. Netflix. Our hit music was driven by outsiders. Not anymore.
How can we inspire youngsters to greatness?
By stopping promoting this tripe and helping then along the way with education like you get in the BRIT School. By investing in that which has merit but is not obviously commercial.
But really it all comes down to spontaneous generation.
But there must be influences.
With influences like these, expect a long, dark tunnel ahead.
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But it doesn't.
Oh, don't get me wrong... People are fans of music. Especially youngsters. But what said music represents is very different from what it represented to the boomers. It's background, or else it's a culture to invest yourself in in a vapid economy. You can love BTS, but don't try and convince me they're a landmark group making music for the ages. It's for you, fine, but it's not for everybody.
And that's the case with so much of what is purveyed these days.
Actually, we'd be better off having an awards show trumpeting touring. Because that's where the rubber meets the road, can you sell tickets?
Then again, seemingly the worst of the acts have brain dead fans.
Everybody has thrown their hands up in the air. Saying they're powerless. The labels admit they can't break an act, so they don't sign any, unless they've broken themselves. As far as searching the nation for viable talent that can grow, ultimately creating meaningful, lasting work...they've completely abdicated this responsibility. It's too heavy a lift. The odds are too long. It's too expensive. All we hear from labels is how they're diversifying. Their core competency, signing and breaking music, has been abdicated.
Now in the old days, music fans would know all the nominees. No longer. But it's even worse, if you're driven to check out the nominated work...you're not impressed, you don't want to hear it again.
As for the endless categories... It's akin to the scene at large, endless cottage industry, when this is a business that has always been built on stars. But today a star is is a brand. An enterprise. The music is just a starting point, it's not enough by its lonesome. And mistakes are anathema. A show has tons of production and a lot of the music is on hard drive.
And the joke is on the industry itself. Because it has relinquished all of its power. Music is not supposed to run alongside society, it's supposed to poke it, make it nervous, make people question preconceptions, engender change.
And that does not mean dressing up in costume and speaking to the frustrations of the audience. That's a part of it, but even if you do that...those who did so in the past lived outside the system, these acts just want to profit in the usual ways.
Never mind the complaints about streaming compensation and ticket fees...
Have you seen the grosses for less than superstar acts recently? This is not an industry that likes to air its dirty laundry, but when you look at the blue Ticketmaster dots for a lot of these shows...people just don't want to go.
As for anthems, perennials, music that will stand the test of time... That ship sailed long ago. Everything is about today, and today only. And if it makes bank it can't be criticized.
The biggest new act is made up of cartoon characters. Think about that. But the Academy refuses to recognize this. It's the year of "KPop Demon Hunters" and Morgan Wallen, period. No one else had purchase on a huge swath of the American public. To give the nominated acts awards is to participate in a circle jerk. There's no there there with most of these acts. Other than their grosses.
It could change.
But one thing is for sure, we need change for the business to be healthy once again.
And it all comes from the acts themselves, who have the tools at their fingertips. But their beliefs are out of whack. Not only do they aspire to be pop stars, many make music with substandard vocals and complain they don't break through. God, when you formed a band in the garage back in the day, finding a lead singer was key to success. The person had to be able to SING! And the songs had to have melodies, changes...the basics were paramount, but not anymore.
You can tell how cynical these nominations are by the number of acts in the categories. We want winners to command the lion's share of the votes. But with eight or nine nominees you can win with less than 20% of the vote, there's no consensus there. But if someone is excluded someone bitches...the label and you've got to be fearful some minority or afflicted group will complain you're being biased.
Now awards shows have been tanking for years. The Oscars are nearly irrelevant, at most a fashion show, but fashion influencers online have more power than these two-dimensional actresses.
The Grammy organization can point to its new CBS deal and suddenly better ratings and say it is winning. But money isn't everything and the ratings are anemic when you consider the number of potential viewers.
It's a sideshow. When music used to be the main show.
We can debate all day long how we got here. Did MTV make image paramount? Did the promotion of Mariah Carey and other popsters, along with TV singing shows, create a paradigm youngsters imitated, despite it having the nutritious value of cotton candy?
Now if you're in the business today, you're a believer, that's how you get paid. But if you're outside it...
Bernie Sanders is a bigger star than any nominated act. Maybe you hate him, but that's just the point. He's got beliefs different from his compatriots and he's sticking to them, and money is not his personal goal. He stands for something. And even in his eighties people believe in him.
Really, you're going to believe in these two-dimensional often frauds nominated for these awards?
Things change. Television used to be a wasteland, now it's the primary artistic force.
Movies used to engender public discussion, they were part of the national debate. Despite all the press hoopla for "One Battle After Another," the public isn't talking about it, not even as much as it did "Kramer vs. Kramer," never mind "Apocalypse Now."
But you can't say this. You're labeled lowbrow as the powers of yesteryear keep telling us we've got to go to the theatre, that's the only way to experience movies...talk about disconnected.
And if you criticize the recording industry and its music the pushback is intense, after all, this is how people are making their living.
Nothing can change. Even though it already has, and we're all paying the price.
Music triumphs when it's artistry. And being able to sing and write music goes part of the way, but for that je ne sais quoi...we need outsiders changing it up. We need more than a pretty ditty. We need culture.
And there's more culture in "KPop Demon Hunters" than there is in almost all of the big time nominees.
Then again, it was created by outsiders given money by a renegade outfit, i.e. Netflix. Our hit music was driven by outsiders. Not anymore.
How can we inspire youngsters to greatness?
By stopping promoting this tripe and helping then along the way with education like you get in the BRIT School. By investing in that which has merit but is not obviously commercial.
But really it all comes down to spontaneous generation.
But there must be influences.
With influences like these, expect a long, dark tunnel ahead.
--
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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Musk's Trillion Dollar Compensation
I was told I could be President. I learned that in first grade. I could see the opportunity, the trajectory, we were all starting from the same line. Now, who would want to be President? Certainly not me.
I was told if I worked hard I could be wealthy. They called it the American Dream. There were hoops to jump through. Mostly dealing with education. And if you reached the brass ring...you were comfortable, you didn't have to worry about money, you could do things other couldn't.
They never told us you would do things that were completely separate, that the rest didn't have access to. You could fly in the front of the plane, you could fly as much as you wanted, but the idea of having your own jet? That was an incomprehensible fantasy. Owning your own island? None of these were possibilities, even on the radar screen until the eighties, when those who'd professed love for everybody in the sixties got greedy.
But then came private equity. And Bill Simon's leveraged buyout of Gibson Greetings for $80 million. In only eighteen months the company was taken public with a value of $290 million, Simon's $330,000 investment yielded $66 million. Wow!
And you might not have been paying attention, then again if your goal was to make it, to be rich, to win, the line of scrimmage had been moved way down the field.
So when the dotcom era happened at the turn of the century, the hoi polloi wanted in, and they lost their savings in the financial whiplash. And then their houses in the 2008 recession. It was worse than not succeeding, you were losing, going backwards.
And you were told the banks must be saved, Wall Street was made whole and beyond and no one was thinking of you.
To keep you distracted you were sold entertainers. Who had been as rich as anybody back in the twentieth century, but no more. You just couldn't make a billion dollars playing music. Sure, today you can argue McCartney is a billionaire, but it took him a very long time to get there. As for Taylor Swift, kudos...but as much money as she's got, she's got nowhere near the assets of the techies, who used borrowed money to play in the casino. Not everybody won, but a bunch did.
However, we got computers, iPods, smartphones, MySpace, Facebook, and then we started to realize all this money was being made on our backs. That without our participation, these internet companies were worthless. But we were told their CEOs were He-Men of the Universe, and entitled to every buck. Sans a customer you're broke, doesn't anybody realize this?
And then we got Citizens United and those with money had political power beyond what we'd ever seen previously.
But we were told not to complain, after all, we had cable TV on a hi-def set. Things were better than they used to be. Wake up!
As for the rich... We were told they were the innovators...then again, why did CEOs of public companies end up with so much money? It's one thing if you started the enterprise, if you still owned it, but if you got the public to invest, was anybody worth that amount of compensation? We were told they were.
So Elon Musk takes Tesla public. He makes bank. But now he wants a trillion dollars. Cathie Wood and the rest of the myopic financial world says if he's successful it lifts all boats, investors win. But last I checked we were all part of a society, and once again, the company is worth nothing without customers, and we're the customers.
Start a new company with your own money Elon and bank the winnings. Kudos. But now you're playing with the public's money, you've got a responsibility to us.
But no, that's not how the game works anymore.
Never mind taxes...
We keep hearing that the rich pay the lion's share of income taxes. But the bottom line is the hoi polloi are paying taxes all day long...on food, gasoline and so much more. They may not be paying income taxes, but those are not the only monies the country runs on.
But the myth continues. Our country needs this cadre of men to succeed, to be profitable, we must let them run unfettered. Marc Andreessen has actually said this!
Now wait just a minute, if you're rich the rules no longer apply? That was not the American Dream I signed up for and believed in. Once again, we were all in it together, responsible to each other, but no more!
Scratch the surface and it gets even worse. The private equity majordomos whose vast incomes are taxed at capital gains rates. The fact that through financial planning a lot of these billionaires will never pay any estate tax.
And when things were good, people just buried their heads in the sand.
But in truth, things haven't been good for the general public since the nineties.
The entire country is run like a movie deal. You've got a profit percentage, but the film is always in a negative position, even if it's grossed hundreds of millions of dollars. You can't beat the system.
The system has lost touch with the general public.
And whenever the general public rises up and says so, people are accused of being socialists! People don't want the end of capitalism, they just want a level playing field.
But the game is rigged right down to education. The poor get poorer and the rich get richer, unless you've got parents with money and experience good luck lifting yourself above your station. And, it's not only about education but relationships...that's what you make at an elite institution, who you know becomes more important than even what you know.
But now they keep sticking it in our face. They don't even bother to hide it. They figure we've been somnambulant so long that it's de rigueur, that we accept it. That this is the new normal. And anybody who wants to upset the apple cart, who wants change, is un-American.
Meanwhile, you're having trouble making ends meet, getting ahead, and all you're told is it's your fault, that if you just worked harder...
But you're working a service job at minimum wage, in a nation where forty hours a week at this rate doesn't come close to paying your bills. But those who own the businesses have convinced politicians, i.e. paid politicians, to not raise the minimum wage, forecasting disaster, when the truth is at worst they'll make a little less money.
There can be no change.
For a minute there you could file your federal tax returns for free, via the IRS Direct File program...but that's gone, got to keep the tax preparers in business, after all they pay the politicians, what have you got?
And there are people who don't feel this way. Mostly those who are already wealthy. Used to be that many broke Americans didn't want rich people taxed because they planned on becoming rich too, and when they did they didn't want to be taxed either.
But now even if you're on television, on a reality show, everybody might know your name but you'll still end up broke, living back in Poughkeepsie.
You could become a professional athlete... But even the college stars don't make it to the pros.
So the doors have closed. But it's even worse, those who've passed through the gates are now pissing on the rest of us, with impunity.
And it doesn't feel good.
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I was told if I worked hard I could be wealthy. They called it the American Dream. There were hoops to jump through. Mostly dealing with education. And if you reached the brass ring...you were comfortable, you didn't have to worry about money, you could do things other couldn't.
They never told us you would do things that were completely separate, that the rest didn't have access to. You could fly in the front of the plane, you could fly as much as you wanted, but the idea of having your own jet? That was an incomprehensible fantasy. Owning your own island? None of these were possibilities, even on the radar screen until the eighties, when those who'd professed love for everybody in the sixties got greedy.
But then came private equity. And Bill Simon's leveraged buyout of Gibson Greetings for $80 million. In only eighteen months the company was taken public with a value of $290 million, Simon's $330,000 investment yielded $66 million. Wow!
And you might not have been paying attention, then again if your goal was to make it, to be rich, to win, the line of scrimmage had been moved way down the field.
So when the dotcom era happened at the turn of the century, the hoi polloi wanted in, and they lost their savings in the financial whiplash. And then their houses in the 2008 recession. It was worse than not succeeding, you were losing, going backwards.
And you were told the banks must be saved, Wall Street was made whole and beyond and no one was thinking of you.
To keep you distracted you were sold entertainers. Who had been as rich as anybody back in the twentieth century, but no more. You just couldn't make a billion dollars playing music. Sure, today you can argue McCartney is a billionaire, but it took him a very long time to get there. As for Taylor Swift, kudos...but as much money as she's got, she's got nowhere near the assets of the techies, who used borrowed money to play in the casino. Not everybody won, but a bunch did.
However, we got computers, iPods, smartphones, MySpace, Facebook, and then we started to realize all this money was being made on our backs. That without our participation, these internet companies were worthless. But we were told their CEOs were He-Men of the Universe, and entitled to every buck. Sans a customer you're broke, doesn't anybody realize this?
And then we got Citizens United and those with money had political power beyond what we'd ever seen previously.
But we were told not to complain, after all, we had cable TV on a hi-def set. Things were better than they used to be. Wake up!
As for the rich... We were told they were the innovators...then again, why did CEOs of public companies end up with so much money? It's one thing if you started the enterprise, if you still owned it, but if you got the public to invest, was anybody worth that amount of compensation? We were told they were.
So Elon Musk takes Tesla public. He makes bank. But now he wants a trillion dollars. Cathie Wood and the rest of the myopic financial world says if he's successful it lifts all boats, investors win. But last I checked we were all part of a society, and once again, the company is worth nothing without customers, and we're the customers.
Start a new company with your own money Elon and bank the winnings. Kudos. But now you're playing with the public's money, you've got a responsibility to us.
But no, that's not how the game works anymore.
Never mind taxes...
We keep hearing that the rich pay the lion's share of income taxes. But the bottom line is the hoi polloi are paying taxes all day long...on food, gasoline and so much more. They may not be paying income taxes, but those are not the only monies the country runs on.
But the myth continues. Our country needs this cadre of men to succeed, to be profitable, we must let them run unfettered. Marc Andreessen has actually said this!
Now wait just a minute, if you're rich the rules no longer apply? That was not the American Dream I signed up for and believed in. Once again, we were all in it together, responsible to each other, but no more!
Scratch the surface and it gets even worse. The private equity majordomos whose vast incomes are taxed at capital gains rates. The fact that through financial planning a lot of these billionaires will never pay any estate tax.
And when things were good, people just buried their heads in the sand.
But in truth, things haven't been good for the general public since the nineties.
The entire country is run like a movie deal. You've got a profit percentage, but the film is always in a negative position, even if it's grossed hundreds of millions of dollars. You can't beat the system.
The system has lost touch with the general public.
And whenever the general public rises up and says so, people are accused of being socialists! People don't want the end of capitalism, they just want a level playing field.
But the game is rigged right down to education. The poor get poorer and the rich get richer, unless you've got parents with money and experience good luck lifting yourself above your station. And, it's not only about education but relationships...that's what you make at an elite institution, who you know becomes more important than even what you know.
But now they keep sticking it in our face. They don't even bother to hide it. They figure we've been somnambulant so long that it's de rigueur, that we accept it. That this is the new normal. And anybody who wants to upset the apple cart, who wants change, is un-American.
Meanwhile, you're having trouble making ends meet, getting ahead, and all you're told is it's your fault, that if you just worked harder...
But you're working a service job at minimum wage, in a nation where forty hours a week at this rate doesn't come close to paying your bills. But those who own the businesses have convinced politicians, i.e. paid politicians, to not raise the minimum wage, forecasting disaster, when the truth is at worst they'll make a little less money.
There can be no change.
For a minute there you could file your federal tax returns for free, via the IRS Direct File program...but that's gone, got to keep the tax preparers in business, after all they pay the politicians, what have you got?
And there are people who don't feel this way. Mostly those who are already wealthy. Used to be that many broke Americans didn't want rich people taxed because they planned on becoming rich too, and when they did they didn't want to be taxed either.
But now even if you're on television, on a reality show, everybody might know your name but you'll still end up broke, living back in Poughkeepsie.
You could become a professional athlete... But even the college stars don't make it to the pros.
So the doors have closed. But it's even worse, those who've passed through the gates are now pissing on the rest of us, with impunity.
And it doesn't feel good.
--
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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Thursday, 6 November 2025
"Mercy" by Joan Silber
https://bit.ly/4nOkABn
I started reading the new Pynchon book. It got good reviews and I love him in principle, he's disconnected, he's a writer, he doesn't need the penumbra, the media profile. Then again, I bought "Gravity's Rainbow" and never made much headway, never mind "The Crying of Lot 49."
So I'd just finished this book "The Wilderness," by Angela Flournoy. I started to love it, but then it became a bit tedious, hard to stick with, although I did. It's the story of young Black women and their friendship and it's a great insight into Black culture, even hip-hop and the clubs, and I loved the choices and personal relationships, but then reading it turned into work, so I didn't tell you about it.
I am telling you about Joan Silber's "Mercy."
After I finish one book, it's hard to get into another. Even when I try. I guess if I read a book all the way through I'm connected to it, I'm invested, and it's a rare book that hooks you immediately, so I try a new one and am disappointed and end up surfing the web on my iPad or catching up with print periodicals and I feel guilty that I'm wasting time, especially as the Grim Reaper comes into focus on the horizon, but even if I force myself, I just can't stick with a new book.
I tried with Pynchon's "Shadow Ticket" but it was so dense, it was hard to figure out what was going on.
And then I read a few pages of "Mercy," and the main character was talking about his relationship with his daughter and I thought it was another family drama, and I like these, but it only had three and a half stars on Amazon, and shouldn't I be reading the Pynchon anyway?
If it's got less than four stars, be wary. But with days passing when I couldn't get into a new book I decided to give "Mercy" another try, because unlike "Shadow Ticket" it cut like butter, it was easy to read.
And it wasn't what I expected whatsoever. Yes, there is a reference to Ivan and his daughter on the very first page, but not long thereafter it goes into Ivan's life, his history.
Not everybody is going to set the world on fire. And not everybody is a member of the underclass. Some go to college, fumble and find their way, maybe get married and have a couple of kids and before they realize it, they're at the end of the road.
Ivan starts talking about going to Europe with his buddy Eddie, and being in search of dope.
O.K. They're in Amsterdam.
But they come back to America and...
This is where the book becomes riveting. Ivan is driving a cab but he lives for extracurricular activities. Eddie is tending bar. But he's got this girlfriend Ginger, is she into him or not? And they all get together one night and...
It all becomes vivid and real and I'm not going to tell you what happens but it certainly isn't a domestic story in the suburbs.
And I like to read a story totally blind. I want to be surprised 100%. Just like I see no need to view a movie more than once. The surprise is what gets me, the new, it's part of the essence of the experience.
So... I thought the book would be all about Ivan, but then it switched characters. Yes, I'm telling you this. Because it's so hard to get someone to read a book, and I'm really recommending this one.
What we've got here is multiple lives, which intersect a bit, but everybody lives out a story and it is delineated. These are not the stories of the so-called "Greatest Generation," these are the stories of boomers, which include divorce, multiple partners, job-hopping.
As for your friends...you maintain contact with some, but others can be incredibly close for a while and then you lose touch. But how do you feel about them?
One of the amazing things about the celebrities is how they jump from one person to another, multiple marriages and... I don't get over people that fast. I wonder if you ever get over people. Or maybe I don't and others do. Or maybe those celebrities don't have deep relationships. But this concept is addressed in this book:
"I'd been so interested in all of them—now they were residents of another segment of time, though I was still attached. They belonged to me. I didn't forget."
Can you?
I could see myself in this book, my inner feelings. I don't need that to enjoy a book, but when done right it both spooks me and makes me feel warm inside.
And part of my identity is my wariness, my judgment of those who are insecure and need to burnish their image based on who they know:
"They narrated their lives by citing any known figures they'd had any ties to or even just met, as if familiar names were needed to anchor stories and give them meaning. As if someone else's glory was a credential."
You can be in a tent in the Alaskan wilderness, or off the grid in North Dakota, and still someone will reference a famous person they know...
As for telling your story at all:
"He reacted very badly to a lack of enthusiasm for things he felt strongly about..."
Actually, in the book, this is about someone who always needs listeners to agree with them, to hang on every word and not challenge them. But for me...if you don't show even a modicum of enthusiasm, I find I can't tell the story at all! I just fade out, I stop.
As for that friend you had contact with that you no longer do...
"He never did have a friend like Ivan again. He was very glad for the years he hung out with Nathan—they had great talks and could happily chew over any world question. But the two of them didn't persuade and tempt and corral each other into further adventures, pushing the proverbial envelope."
You're surprised to find that you connected best with a friend from long ago. You thought you'd have that connection with someone in the future, but you never did. And that resonance, that identification, when you click and can talk forever...that's very hard to find.
And...
"A woman who went to award dinners in a long, spangled gown with a train. Of course she was still Ginger underneath that."
People don't really change. Or should I say underneath the trappings they're still the same old no one from nowheresville. Some try to cover it up, with airs, emanating fabulousness, but in truth...even life at the top ain't so fabulous, and you always want someone to understand you.
I still don't think I've made clear what "Mercy" is about, but...
If you're interested in the stories of people, not only their inner lives, but their choices, the unfolding of life...wow, I couldn't put this book down. It was easy to read, but unfortunately it was short, I could have read a couple hundred more pages!
--
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I started reading the new Pynchon book. It got good reviews and I love him in principle, he's disconnected, he's a writer, he doesn't need the penumbra, the media profile. Then again, I bought "Gravity's Rainbow" and never made much headway, never mind "The Crying of Lot 49."
So I'd just finished this book "The Wilderness," by Angela Flournoy. I started to love it, but then it became a bit tedious, hard to stick with, although I did. It's the story of young Black women and their friendship and it's a great insight into Black culture, even hip-hop and the clubs, and I loved the choices and personal relationships, but then reading it turned into work, so I didn't tell you about it.
I am telling you about Joan Silber's "Mercy."
After I finish one book, it's hard to get into another. Even when I try. I guess if I read a book all the way through I'm connected to it, I'm invested, and it's a rare book that hooks you immediately, so I try a new one and am disappointed and end up surfing the web on my iPad or catching up with print periodicals and I feel guilty that I'm wasting time, especially as the Grim Reaper comes into focus on the horizon, but even if I force myself, I just can't stick with a new book.
I tried with Pynchon's "Shadow Ticket" but it was so dense, it was hard to figure out what was going on.
And then I read a few pages of "Mercy," and the main character was talking about his relationship with his daughter and I thought it was another family drama, and I like these, but it only had three and a half stars on Amazon, and shouldn't I be reading the Pynchon anyway?
If it's got less than four stars, be wary. But with days passing when I couldn't get into a new book I decided to give "Mercy" another try, because unlike "Shadow Ticket" it cut like butter, it was easy to read.
And it wasn't what I expected whatsoever. Yes, there is a reference to Ivan and his daughter on the very first page, but not long thereafter it goes into Ivan's life, his history.
Not everybody is going to set the world on fire. And not everybody is a member of the underclass. Some go to college, fumble and find their way, maybe get married and have a couple of kids and before they realize it, they're at the end of the road.
Ivan starts talking about going to Europe with his buddy Eddie, and being in search of dope.
O.K. They're in Amsterdam.
But they come back to America and...
This is where the book becomes riveting. Ivan is driving a cab but he lives for extracurricular activities. Eddie is tending bar. But he's got this girlfriend Ginger, is she into him or not? And they all get together one night and...
It all becomes vivid and real and I'm not going to tell you what happens but it certainly isn't a domestic story in the suburbs.
And I like to read a story totally blind. I want to be surprised 100%. Just like I see no need to view a movie more than once. The surprise is what gets me, the new, it's part of the essence of the experience.
So... I thought the book would be all about Ivan, but then it switched characters. Yes, I'm telling you this. Because it's so hard to get someone to read a book, and I'm really recommending this one.
What we've got here is multiple lives, which intersect a bit, but everybody lives out a story and it is delineated. These are not the stories of the so-called "Greatest Generation," these are the stories of boomers, which include divorce, multiple partners, job-hopping.
As for your friends...you maintain contact with some, but others can be incredibly close for a while and then you lose touch. But how do you feel about them?
One of the amazing things about the celebrities is how they jump from one person to another, multiple marriages and... I don't get over people that fast. I wonder if you ever get over people. Or maybe I don't and others do. Or maybe those celebrities don't have deep relationships. But this concept is addressed in this book:
"I'd been so interested in all of them—now they were residents of another segment of time, though I was still attached. They belonged to me. I didn't forget."
Can you?
I could see myself in this book, my inner feelings. I don't need that to enjoy a book, but when done right it both spooks me and makes me feel warm inside.
And part of my identity is my wariness, my judgment of those who are insecure and need to burnish their image based on who they know:
"They narrated their lives by citing any known figures they'd had any ties to or even just met, as if familiar names were needed to anchor stories and give them meaning. As if someone else's glory was a credential."
You can be in a tent in the Alaskan wilderness, or off the grid in North Dakota, and still someone will reference a famous person they know...
As for telling your story at all:
"He reacted very badly to a lack of enthusiasm for things he felt strongly about..."
Actually, in the book, this is about someone who always needs listeners to agree with them, to hang on every word and not challenge them. But for me...if you don't show even a modicum of enthusiasm, I find I can't tell the story at all! I just fade out, I stop.
As for that friend you had contact with that you no longer do...
"He never did have a friend like Ivan again. He was very glad for the years he hung out with Nathan—they had great talks and could happily chew over any world question. But the two of them didn't persuade and tempt and corral each other into further adventures, pushing the proverbial envelope."
You're surprised to find that you connected best with a friend from long ago. You thought you'd have that connection with someone in the future, but you never did. And that resonance, that identification, when you click and can talk forever...that's very hard to find.
And...
"A woman who went to award dinners in a long, spangled gown with a train. Of course she was still Ginger underneath that."
People don't really change. Or should I say underneath the trappings they're still the same old no one from nowheresville. Some try to cover it up, with airs, emanating fabulousness, but in truth...even life at the top ain't so fabulous, and you always want someone to understand you.
I still don't think I've made clear what "Mercy" is about, but...
If you're interested in the stories of people, not only their inner lives, but their choices, the unfolding of life...wow, I couldn't put this book down. It was easy to read, but unfortunately it was short, I could have read a couple hundred more pages!
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
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Kenny Chesney-This Week's Podcast
Kenny is open, honest and forthright...not fake humble or self-deprecating, he owns his hard work and success. I loved talking to him and you'll love listening to him!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kenny-chesney/id1316200737?i=1000735543040
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5v9IDjRXBruPS66VmM5iOT?si=IQcW45OiRCaBqgrzV1fpNQ
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/kenny-chesney-305402784/
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/99f43d7e-077a-4af5-aa4c-7f7f04fdf1f1/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-kenny-chesney
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
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Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kenny-chesney/id1316200737?i=1000735543040
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5v9IDjRXBruPS66VmM5iOT?si=IQcW45OiRCaBqgrzV1fpNQ
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/kenny-chesney-305402784/
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/99f43d7e-077a-4af5-aa4c-7f7f04fdf1f1/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-kenny-chesney
--
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Wednesday, 5 November 2025
Tuesday's Election
The story for me is how out of touch the press is.
The right said Trump had a mandate.
The left said the party had to run to the center.
And everybody in the pundit class, everybody in D.C., seemed to have no understanding of the mind-set of the people. And the question arises, if the press is wrong on this, what else are they wrong on?
If you've made it all the way to TV or Congress you're pretty self-impressed, you ran the gauntlet and emerged victorious. But did you know that the median age of an MSNBC viewer is 72? This isn't even your parents, this is your GRANDPARENTS! And this is my generation and I've got to tell you, it's as baked into its ways as the generations before it. We thought it would be different for boomers, after all they had the greatest number of people and changed the world, but not anymore.
The world runs on tech, the internet, yet Andrew Cuomo spent double-digit millions on TV ads. Do you know anybody under thirty who watches traditional television, whether it be network or cable? Most don't even have access, and they don't care. If there's a show worth seeing, and there are very few, it's on a streaming outlet. As for the news, it's at your fingertips online! As for the cable channels themselves, good luck finding one that has in excess of a million viewers, in a country of 340 million, a lot of these outlets don't even have 100,000 people watching at one time. But because they're part of the cable package old schoolers think they count, when they don't. YouTube and TikTok count much more.
After the last election cycle, AOC told the Democratic party to give her their campaign funds, that she knew how to spend them, unlike the establishment. She was talking about online... And two years later it's even more clear. It's nearly impossible to reach anybody and if you want to make contact at all, you've got to do so online.
And if it's not reported on Fox or in the "New York Times," that does not mean it does not matter. Those outlets are still operating on the old paradigm of if they don't report it, it doesn't exist. We no longer need the imprimatur of an authority for a story to have legs, it can spread like wildfire without even making it to the so-called mainstream.
Sure, Mamdani had innovative policies that spoke to the issue of affordability, but his roots were planted online, with limited merch and gamification and...until the primary last June, the mainstream had no idea of the size of his following. It's about getting people excited with honesty and credibility, such that they will spread the word. Your only hope is virality. I don't mean going nuclear, although that's great, but engendering any word of mouth at all. If people don't want to talk about you and what you're doing, you're dead in the water. The days of a media outlet shoving something down the audience's throat to the point of success are done. Gatekeepers are history. You go directly to the audience. It's a whole new ball game, one oldsters are not prepared to play, never mind that they don't want to believe change has happened and they're out of date.
As for affordability... That's all I heard on the cable channels today, both MSNBC and Fox. As if this were a revelation. Been to a grocery store recently? That's all you've got to know. But if you've got enough money not to look at the receipt...you're one of the chosen few, the masses are positively stupefied. Sure, inflation has calmed down, but grocery prices keep going up, it's harder to make ends meet, and all we're getting from both parties is platitudes, which the consumer can't understand and don't move the needle anyway.
D.C. is the land of no. Not only is there gridlock, no one wants any innovative legislation or action, they don't want to take a risk. They believe in the status quo. But out in the hinterlands, the status quo went out the window long ago. Furthermore, change keeps happening, faster than ever. You might not be able to keep up, deciding you want to turn off the smartphone and see people face to face, but that just means you're missing out, you're losing touch with the pulse of the nation, what are the odds you're hanging with those who have opposite opinions anyway?
As for the last election...
Can the Democrats just admit they f*cked it up? That Biden was too old and hung on too long and the only people who wanted Harris anointed without a primary were Joe and Kamala herself? Democrats felt ripped-off. They may hate the Democratic party, deservedly, but that does not mean they've given up on Democratic VALUES!
Immigration was a problem that the Democrats didn't adequately address. The educated know that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than citizens and they oftentimes do jobs citizens are unwilling to do. But that doesn't speak to the UNFAIRNESS! The public is sick and tired of the rules being bent for everyone but them, they're saying NO MAS! Which is part of what they said yesterday.
The media underestimated Trump's power, his acolytes, his total vote in 2024 and they underestimated the margins of victory of Democrats yesterday. They've got their heads so far up their asses that they can't see the truth, never mind that horse races get good ratings and they don't like perceived in advance blowouts...who's going to tune in for that?
Meanwhile, the right wing media machine convinced Democrats that they should operate from the back foot, play defense, that the Republicans were in charge of the agenda.
No one likes taxes. But people hate income inequality even more. And Trump is busy giving the rich breaks, never mind all the corporate titans coming to kiss the ring. As if one corporate titan equals a hundred thousand votes. These CEOs are no longer adored, they're seen as whores ripping off the nation...and if you think they're in touch with the nation... Zuckerberg may control Facebook, but that does not mean he's knowledgeable about the conversation on his platform. Never mind everybody knowing the algorithm is f*cked, and showing you inflammatory stuff to keep you on. The public is not as stupid as you think.
But not everybody is informed. More people know more than ever before, as a result of the internet, but most people don't get in the weeds, they vote on personality, on broad issues. But Biden and his ilk were wonks. Just make my life easy enough so I don't have to think about you, so I can live my life without worrying about what is happening in government...that's what people want.
So the lunatics have lost touch with the asylum. Yes, the elected officials, the government industrial complex, and the media enthralled to it. Want to know what is going on in America? You must be online hours a day, like youngsters. And if you decry this, you're as out of touch as your parents who hated the Beatles.
Can an aged congressperson play a video game, do they even know the names of them? Video games are bigger than movies, but all we've got is all this press about films whose grosses are declining.
I'd say it's a disinformation campaign, but it's really a misinformation campaign, reporters have no idea what is really going on! One fat cat opinion writer after another sits on his or her high horse and tells you what's going on because they spoke with insiders...how about speaking with OUTSIDERS, you'd learn more, know what is going on more!
Then there's this story:
"There are no hip-hop songs in the US top 40 for the first time since 1990"
https://www.nme.com/news/music/there-are-no-hip-hop-songs-in-the-us-top-40-for-the-first-time-since-1990-3905278
Now the "Billboard" chart itself is flawed, but we're constantly told we live in a hip-hop nation, that rap rules. but it hasn't meant this little in thirty five years!
Just like the press tells us all about the antics of Taylor Swift when the truth is most people just aren't listening to her and just don't care. And they're listening to nobody more, except maybe Morgan Wallen, but this narrative doesn't fit with the media's agenda... The music scene today is more steel wool than clear windowpane. It's messy, hard to decipher...but they keep anointing the past.
As for the new...
The media completely missed Zach Bryan on his way up.
So you have two choices. Either keep your head in the sand, believe in everything you were into previously, refuse to question your preconceptions or...dive in knowing there are no clear answers, but he or she with the most information has the best understanding of what is happening in America, however flawed their viewpoint might still be.
I'm not saying to expect free and fair elections in the future, I'm not saying Trump's march towards authoritarianism won't proceed, but to think that the public is asleep and/or okay with the trajectory of our nation is just plain wrong. The public has been taking it up the a*s since the eighties, when tax rates were lowered and boomers became greedy. And they've been punched in the face multiple times thereafter, especially in 2008. People are both angry and disillusioned. They don't care which party it is, neither is in touch with their feelings. Some will vote so the other won't get power, but most people no longer believe in government, have no hope, in a completely changed world.
It's not very complicated. The evidence is in plain sight. All you've got to do is connect with the great unwashed, who the rich and those in power have contempt for. People believe in America, just not this America, they want CHANGE!
--
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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The right said Trump had a mandate.
The left said the party had to run to the center.
And everybody in the pundit class, everybody in D.C., seemed to have no understanding of the mind-set of the people. And the question arises, if the press is wrong on this, what else are they wrong on?
If you've made it all the way to TV or Congress you're pretty self-impressed, you ran the gauntlet and emerged victorious. But did you know that the median age of an MSNBC viewer is 72? This isn't even your parents, this is your GRANDPARENTS! And this is my generation and I've got to tell you, it's as baked into its ways as the generations before it. We thought it would be different for boomers, after all they had the greatest number of people and changed the world, but not anymore.
The world runs on tech, the internet, yet Andrew Cuomo spent double-digit millions on TV ads. Do you know anybody under thirty who watches traditional television, whether it be network or cable? Most don't even have access, and they don't care. If there's a show worth seeing, and there are very few, it's on a streaming outlet. As for the news, it's at your fingertips online! As for the cable channels themselves, good luck finding one that has in excess of a million viewers, in a country of 340 million, a lot of these outlets don't even have 100,000 people watching at one time. But because they're part of the cable package old schoolers think they count, when they don't. YouTube and TikTok count much more.
After the last election cycle, AOC told the Democratic party to give her their campaign funds, that she knew how to spend them, unlike the establishment. She was talking about online... And two years later it's even more clear. It's nearly impossible to reach anybody and if you want to make contact at all, you've got to do so online.
And if it's not reported on Fox or in the "New York Times," that does not mean it does not matter. Those outlets are still operating on the old paradigm of if they don't report it, it doesn't exist. We no longer need the imprimatur of an authority for a story to have legs, it can spread like wildfire without even making it to the so-called mainstream.
Sure, Mamdani had innovative policies that spoke to the issue of affordability, but his roots were planted online, with limited merch and gamification and...until the primary last June, the mainstream had no idea of the size of his following. It's about getting people excited with honesty and credibility, such that they will spread the word. Your only hope is virality. I don't mean going nuclear, although that's great, but engendering any word of mouth at all. If people don't want to talk about you and what you're doing, you're dead in the water. The days of a media outlet shoving something down the audience's throat to the point of success are done. Gatekeepers are history. You go directly to the audience. It's a whole new ball game, one oldsters are not prepared to play, never mind that they don't want to believe change has happened and they're out of date.
As for affordability... That's all I heard on the cable channels today, both MSNBC and Fox. As if this were a revelation. Been to a grocery store recently? That's all you've got to know. But if you've got enough money not to look at the receipt...you're one of the chosen few, the masses are positively stupefied. Sure, inflation has calmed down, but grocery prices keep going up, it's harder to make ends meet, and all we're getting from both parties is platitudes, which the consumer can't understand and don't move the needle anyway.
D.C. is the land of no. Not only is there gridlock, no one wants any innovative legislation or action, they don't want to take a risk. They believe in the status quo. But out in the hinterlands, the status quo went out the window long ago. Furthermore, change keeps happening, faster than ever. You might not be able to keep up, deciding you want to turn off the smartphone and see people face to face, but that just means you're missing out, you're losing touch with the pulse of the nation, what are the odds you're hanging with those who have opposite opinions anyway?
As for the last election...
Can the Democrats just admit they f*cked it up? That Biden was too old and hung on too long and the only people who wanted Harris anointed without a primary were Joe and Kamala herself? Democrats felt ripped-off. They may hate the Democratic party, deservedly, but that does not mean they've given up on Democratic VALUES!
Immigration was a problem that the Democrats didn't adequately address. The educated know that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than citizens and they oftentimes do jobs citizens are unwilling to do. But that doesn't speak to the UNFAIRNESS! The public is sick and tired of the rules being bent for everyone but them, they're saying NO MAS! Which is part of what they said yesterday.
The media underestimated Trump's power, his acolytes, his total vote in 2024 and they underestimated the margins of victory of Democrats yesterday. They've got their heads so far up their asses that they can't see the truth, never mind that horse races get good ratings and they don't like perceived in advance blowouts...who's going to tune in for that?
Meanwhile, the right wing media machine convinced Democrats that they should operate from the back foot, play defense, that the Republicans were in charge of the agenda.
No one likes taxes. But people hate income inequality even more. And Trump is busy giving the rich breaks, never mind all the corporate titans coming to kiss the ring. As if one corporate titan equals a hundred thousand votes. These CEOs are no longer adored, they're seen as whores ripping off the nation...and if you think they're in touch with the nation... Zuckerberg may control Facebook, but that does not mean he's knowledgeable about the conversation on his platform. Never mind everybody knowing the algorithm is f*cked, and showing you inflammatory stuff to keep you on. The public is not as stupid as you think.
But not everybody is informed. More people know more than ever before, as a result of the internet, but most people don't get in the weeds, they vote on personality, on broad issues. But Biden and his ilk were wonks. Just make my life easy enough so I don't have to think about you, so I can live my life without worrying about what is happening in government...that's what people want.
So the lunatics have lost touch with the asylum. Yes, the elected officials, the government industrial complex, and the media enthralled to it. Want to know what is going on in America? You must be online hours a day, like youngsters. And if you decry this, you're as out of touch as your parents who hated the Beatles.
Can an aged congressperson play a video game, do they even know the names of them? Video games are bigger than movies, but all we've got is all this press about films whose grosses are declining.
I'd say it's a disinformation campaign, but it's really a misinformation campaign, reporters have no idea what is really going on! One fat cat opinion writer after another sits on his or her high horse and tells you what's going on because they spoke with insiders...how about speaking with OUTSIDERS, you'd learn more, know what is going on more!
Then there's this story:
"There are no hip-hop songs in the US top 40 for the first time since 1990"
https://www.nme.com/news/music/there-are-no-hip-hop-songs-in-the-us-top-40-for-the-first-time-since-1990-3905278
Now the "Billboard" chart itself is flawed, but we're constantly told we live in a hip-hop nation, that rap rules. but it hasn't meant this little in thirty five years!
Just like the press tells us all about the antics of Taylor Swift when the truth is most people just aren't listening to her and just don't care. And they're listening to nobody more, except maybe Morgan Wallen, but this narrative doesn't fit with the media's agenda... The music scene today is more steel wool than clear windowpane. It's messy, hard to decipher...but they keep anointing the past.
As for the new...
The media completely missed Zach Bryan on his way up.
So you have two choices. Either keep your head in the sand, believe in everything you were into previously, refuse to question your preconceptions or...dive in knowing there are no clear answers, but he or she with the most information has the best understanding of what is happening in America, however flawed their viewpoint might still be.
I'm not saying to expect free and fair elections in the future, I'm not saying Trump's march towards authoritarianism won't proceed, but to think that the public is asleep and/or okay with the trajectory of our nation is just plain wrong. The public has been taking it up the a*s since the eighties, when tax rates were lowered and boomers became greedy. And they've been punched in the face multiple times thereafter, especially in 2008. People are both angry and disillusioned. They don't care which party it is, neither is in touch with their feelings. Some will vote so the other won't get power, but most people no longer believe in government, have no hope, in a completely changed world.
It's not very complicated. The evidence is in plain sight. All you've got to do is connect with the great unwashed, who the rich and those in power have contempt for. People believe in America, just not this America, they want CHANGE!
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
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The Diplomat-Season 3
I was disappointed. Because I wanted it to be more.
There was a point in the third or so episode where I was marveling over what a good show it was, especially the nuances and emotions between Kate and Hal. It made me think of "The Sopranos," which had all the family relationships right.
But then "The Diplomat" got caught up in fantastical plot lines, whereas "The Sopranos"... Tony was always a secondary mob guy, owning his own turf, king of his own turf, but the situations and issues he found himself in were relatively small time, they were believable, whereas the situations in "The Diplomat"...
Maybe the show should have ended. That's a tough call, to blow the whistle when reception is still good, when everybody is on a high.
Now the machinations between Hal and Grace, whether he is deserving of the vice presidency, are well done. He's uncontrollable, at times a hothead, always convinced he is right. And then there's Bradley Whitford as Grace's husband...he doesn't ring true, but some of his insights are spot-on. Who is looking out for Grace? Would the end result of decisions be that she is squeezed out of the presidency? And his jealousy re the relationship between Grace and Hal...when people have no portfolio, they build scenarios in their heads. And the interactions between Grace and Whitford's Todd are pretty damn good...when they roll around on the bed, when they discuss issues.
But those issues...
The show is carried by Keri Russell. Who gives an amazing performance. She can be two-faced, just like a politician, turning on the charm to impress when she doesn't feel it inside.
And then there's Trowbridge as the PM... I like him, he's a bit of an idiot, but he's got a good tuning fork, he can catch the vibe...most of the time, anyway, but...
The whole concept of America blowing up a British aircraft carrier with forty-odd men onboard... They should have left that plot point in the rearview mirror. But they kept focused on it, and then more and more plot was added on that you just couldn't take seriously.
Which every person in this show takes their job, seriously.
But in 2025, we see politicians as doofuses. And we watch and see the endless negotiations, the hand-wringing in this series, when we feel we could come up with an answer in seconds. Sure, a lot hangs in the balance, but the decisions are belabored, especially over the consequences, and is this what politicians and diplomats do, always focus on soft issues... I mean it's never black and white, they're worrying about the effects and...
If this were real life, and these issues were in play, there would be more edge.
Then again, these international issues rarely come up. We've got the aircraft carrier, the Russian sub, what next, an astronaut lost in space?
Being a diplomat, even an ambassador, is usually boring. But a lot of stories can be derived from everyday life. Then the series would have been more believable.
And why exactly did Kate decide to "separate" from Hal, and why exactly did she decide to get back together? Not enough backstory, not enough facts were laid down, these decisions seemed surface, rather arbitrary, whereas Carmela's relationship with Tony? Her contemplation whether to stay or go? It was very nuanced.
As for Kate's relationship with Callum... This guy radiates no sexual energy, what exactly is the attraction? He's smart, but not suave, not charismatic.
So they keep laying logs on the plot, wrenching up the supposed tension to the point where you start to disengage, you're watching to see what happens, but you're no longer involved. Whereas in previous seasons, with much less at stake plot-wise, you were.
You might say I'm nitpicking, however...
In what world is good good enough? It's hard to make a show as good as "The Diplomat," why not try to make it even better, one of the great shows of all time, why not wrestle over the action such that it is realistic as opposed to a big screen plot-driven film? Series are all about the characters, the small stories, that's where the focus should be.
As for tone...
"House of Cards" could be funny, yet serious. The plot lines were believable. And Kevin Spacey as the president took his job more seriously than everybody in this show, he knew what was at stake, you could feel it, it was palpable. Whereas in "The Diplomat" everybody's impressed with themselves, saying LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT MY TITLE AND MY POWER! Power emanates from the inside. And at times Keri/Kate gets it right, but...
Multiple times the president's inner circle is stymied, they've been debating an issue ad infinitum, and then Keri comes up with an idea to save the day. Why didn't she come up with the idea earlier? I mean this is their territory, they work in it every day. It's just not believable that when everybody is flummoxed, long after a decision has been made, that she will suddenly gain insight none of them have and save the day like Spanky in the "Little Rascals."
Now let me be clear, "The Diplomat" is light years better than most of today's series. Kudos. You don't have to dumb yourself down to watch it. But instead of continuing to walk the razor's edge, they jumped down into mass market with endless unbelievable twists and all the gravitas, never mind believability, is excised.
It's hard to get it right. To keep your vision and not compromise.
Try.
P.S. We are now watching "The Asset." A lot less money was thrown at the screen, but it is gripping in a way that "The Diplomat" is not. At times "The Diplomat" is uber-serious, then it's bozos playing at politics. The visceral quality of "The Asset" hits right between your eyes. The Danish (along with the Israelis) are known for making the best television. Watch this and you can see why.
--
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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There was a point in the third or so episode where I was marveling over what a good show it was, especially the nuances and emotions between Kate and Hal. It made me think of "The Sopranos," which had all the family relationships right.
But then "The Diplomat" got caught up in fantastical plot lines, whereas "The Sopranos"... Tony was always a secondary mob guy, owning his own turf, king of his own turf, but the situations and issues he found himself in were relatively small time, they were believable, whereas the situations in "The Diplomat"...
Maybe the show should have ended. That's a tough call, to blow the whistle when reception is still good, when everybody is on a high.
Now the machinations between Hal and Grace, whether he is deserving of the vice presidency, are well done. He's uncontrollable, at times a hothead, always convinced he is right. And then there's Bradley Whitford as Grace's husband...he doesn't ring true, but some of his insights are spot-on. Who is looking out for Grace? Would the end result of decisions be that she is squeezed out of the presidency? And his jealousy re the relationship between Grace and Hal...when people have no portfolio, they build scenarios in their heads. And the interactions between Grace and Whitford's Todd are pretty damn good...when they roll around on the bed, when they discuss issues.
But those issues...
The show is carried by Keri Russell. Who gives an amazing performance. She can be two-faced, just like a politician, turning on the charm to impress when she doesn't feel it inside.
And then there's Trowbridge as the PM... I like him, he's a bit of an idiot, but he's got a good tuning fork, he can catch the vibe...most of the time, anyway, but...
The whole concept of America blowing up a British aircraft carrier with forty-odd men onboard... They should have left that plot point in the rearview mirror. But they kept focused on it, and then more and more plot was added on that you just couldn't take seriously.
Which every person in this show takes their job, seriously.
But in 2025, we see politicians as doofuses. And we watch and see the endless negotiations, the hand-wringing in this series, when we feel we could come up with an answer in seconds. Sure, a lot hangs in the balance, but the decisions are belabored, especially over the consequences, and is this what politicians and diplomats do, always focus on soft issues... I mean it's never black and white, they're worrying about the effects and...
If this were real life, and these issues were in play, there would be more edge.
Then again, these international issues rarely come up. We've got the aircraft carrier, the Russian sub, what next, an astronaut lost in space?
Being a diplomat, even an ambassador, is usually boring. But a lot of stories can be derived from everyday life. Then the series would have been more believable.
And why exactly did Kate decide to "separate" from Hal, and why exactly did she decide to get back together? Not enough backstory, not enough facts were laid down, these decisions seemed surface, rather arbitrary, whereas Carmela's relationship with Tony? Her contemplation whether to stay or go? It was very nuanced.
As for Kate's relationship with Callum... This guy radiates no sexual energy, what exactly is the attraction? He's smart, but not suave, not charismatic.
So they keep laying logs on the plot, wrenching up the supposed tension to the point where you start to disengage, you're watching to see what happens, but you're no longer involved. Whereas in previous seasons, with much less at stake plot-wise, you were.
You might say I'm nitpicking, however...
In what world is good good enough? It's hard to make a show as good as "The Diplomat," why not try to make it even better, one of the great shows of all time, why not wrestle over the action such that it is realistic as opposed to a big screen plot-driven film? Series are all about the characters, the small stories, that's where the focus should be.
As for tone...
"House of Cards" could be funny, yet serious. The plot lines were believable. And Kevin Spacey as the president took his job more seriously than everybody in this show, he knew what was at stake, you could feel it, it was palpable. Whereas in "The Diplomat" everybody's impressed with themselves, saying LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT MY TITLE AND MY POWER! Power emanates from the inside. And at times Keri/Kate gets it right, but...
Multiple times the president's inner circle is stymied, they've been debating an issue ad infinitum, and then Keri comes up with an idea to save the day. Why didn't she come up with the idea earlier? I mean this is their territory, they work in it every day. It's just not believable that when everybody is flummoxed, long after a decision has been made, that she will suddenly gain insight none of them have and save the day like Spanky in the "Little Rascals."
Now let me be clear, "The Diplomat" is light years better than most of today's series. Kudos. You don't have to dumb yourself down to watch it. But instead of continuing to walk the razor's edge, they jumped down into mass market with endless unbelievable twists and all the gravitas, never mind believability, is excised.
It's hard to get it right. To keep your vision and not compromise.
Try.
P.S. We are now watching "The Asset." A lot less money was thrown at the screen, but it is gripping in a way that "The Diplomat" is not. At times "The Diplomat" is uber-serious, then it's bozos playing at politics. The visceral quality of "The Asset" hits right between your eyes. The Danish (along with the Israelis) are known for making the best television. Watch this and you can see why.
--
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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Tuesday, 4 November 2025
Real Me-Live At The Spectrum-1979
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3hcMgp6FCR9e8mjlFZ3o3H?si=c058db749f644b1f
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHW0lj3hODI
I was reading "Record Collector" magazine and learned that there's a 50th anniversary version of "Captain Fantastic," which I immediately pulled up on my phone, I needed to hear the demo version of "Tell Me When the Whistle Blows," one of my favorite, if not my absolute favorite, tracks on the album.
But this was more of a personal experience, if you weren't a hard core fan I didn't think you needed to know about it.
And they also wrote about the new Dylan Bootleg series, "Through the Open Window - 1956-1963." The opening track is positively revelatory, Dylan's version of "Let the Good Times Roll," recorded in the Terlinde Music Shop in St. Paul back in 1956, when Bob was only fifteen years old. This demonstrates his roots. As Dylan claims, he was always a rocker. He wanted to be Elvis. But you ultimately have to find your own path. Yet, few know Dylan's roots. They're all here in this package, as well as his development in plain sight when no one was paying attention. Acts don't emerge fully-formed, they develop.
And then I wondered what other acts had released albums full of demos/rare recordings.
I found a "Deluxe Edition" of the Cars' "Heartbeat City," their Mutt Lange return to form, and it had "Just What I Needed" from Live Aid, but that stuff is not truly rare, and even though I bought it, "Heartbeat City" was never one of my favorite albums...can we all agree that it's really all about the first?
And then I saw an expanded version of "Who Are You." The title track is now a Who standard, but the song that always moved me was "Music Must Change," however, by this point the band was running out of gas, it was really about Pete's dawning solo career. And one of the gems on this package is a band version of "Empty Glass," which is more of a curio, but interesting.
And the Who have been repackaged ad infinitum. They've been on the road so much that many shrugged when their final tour was announced, at these prices they didn't need to see them once again. And I kind of get it. The act hasn't changed. And how many times has the band retired anyway? I remember taping their final show, which was simulcast (in stereo!) on the radio in 1989. A monumental event. Not really. The band came back. And came back. And...
Somewhere along the line we lost touch with what the Who were really about. ENERGY! Sure, Pete is an intellectual, sure there are messages in the songs, sure, at this point no classic rock act is truly dangerous, is pushing the envelope, but when you listen to THIS, you'll be shocked into submission, because this is IT!
Today "Quadrophenia" is legendary, but it was a bit of a disappointment upon release back in 1973. There was no hit single, there wasn't even an obvious FM track. No, you purchased "Quadrophenia" and digested it personally, turned the pages of the included booklet, as the album revealed itself to you track by track.
For me it was always about side 3, with "Sea and Sand."
"The girl I love is a perfect dresser
Wears every fashion, gets it to the tee"
And the closing cut, the majestic "Love Reign o'er Me."
Then there was the first side, which started out with Pete's synthesizer opus, "I Am the Sea"...I always thought that recording the real ocean would have been better. But after two minutes of noodlling, the guitar riffs, the bass dances underneath and Roger starts singing about "The Real Me."
Now in truth, if you want to listen to "Quadrophenia," you're better off listening to the John Entwistle remix for the movie (the best rock flick ever, if you're asking me)... The original was a bit dull, but Entwistle stripped away the flat exterior, the result was more in your face, more rock and roll, with louder, more prominent bass (what did you expect?)
Now Pete revisited the bookend to "The Real Me," "I'm One," on his 1986 album, "Deep End Live!," there's a ton of meaning, gravitas, but it's not the Who.
But this performance of "Real Me" from the deluxe "Who Are You"...it's most certainly the Who, and it's a STUNNER!
Recorded at the Philadelphia Spectrum on December 10, 1979, not long after the tragedy in Cincinnati, it closed the show and closes this seven album package.
The Who... You've got to remember, it was a trio with a vocalist. Making a glorious noise, with holes in the live sound, inevitably...there was only one guitarist.
But John Entwistle rivals Paul McCartney as the most melodic bass player in rock, and his role is even larger with only three instruments in play. Entwistle is not only holding down the bottom, he's pirouetting all over it, he's not buried in the mix, he's RIGHT THERE!
And sure, it's not Keith Moon on drums, but Kenney Jones...he's not far off...you can hear the individual hits, it's not a whirlwind where the plot is lost in the process.
As for Pete... He always claimed to be a rhythm guitarist... He's not constantly playing here, but throwing in chords here and there, picking a few notes...he doesn't see a need to carry the tune, he's just part of the ensemble, occasionally dropping out.
And there you have the glorious noise.
But sitting on top of it all is Roger Daltrey's vocal, WHEW! The man in his prime. Not singing from deep in his chest, but from his head and heart with no limits...there's energy, but there's also power, AND ANGST!
"Can you see the real me, doctor, doctor?"
That was the thing, THEY COULDN'T SEE US!
We'd cut loose, we'd disconnected. Our parents couldn't understand our music, and oftentimes couldn't understand us.
And the music spoke to our alienation.
And it was loud and noisy and uncontrolled and...
Many say "Live at Leeds" is the best live album of all time. I don't agree, because there's no crowd noise...sure, there's great playing, but in a vacuum it doesn't work for me.
But this...
Sure, the Who have recently been on the road, but it's not the same thing.
You can go see Paul McCartney, he plays your favorites, but it's not the same thing. Once upon a time it was fresh, groundbreaking, but that's no longer the case.
As for the Stones? They haven't been dangerous for a long time.
Maybe you can feel the energy from an act from back when that never broke through, but those who had success...they've been to the mountaintop, now the money is as important as the adulation, whereas way back when THEY HAD TO DO IT! Had to express themselves, they worked out their frustration live, and if you were in the audience you felt it, you were transfixed. The music penetrated you and sparks emanated from your body. No one was shooting selfies, not because there were no smartphones, but because everybody was focused on the music, we were all Tommy, maybe not deaf, dumb and blind, but in tune with the music. Which was more than the music. More than commerce. It was life itself. And if you listen to this track, you'll get it.
What once was.
It's gone now.
And it doesn't seem to be on its way back, because today's acts are self-conscious, money-oriented, whereas back then the acts were less interested in being brands than changing the world...or at least sticking a finger in the eye of the world. We live like Gods, we trash hotel rooms, our road manager has a roll of c-notes, women are clamoring for us, our gigs sell out, we're the other, our own context, which you can either accept or not.
But back then the youth was all in. Music was the basis of the culture. Its power was undeniable.
And as time marched on, acts shaved off their rough edges. They were concerned with replicating the record live, with extra players and tapes, but the Who were still doing the same act from the sixties, it was still powerful, undeniable, JUST LISTEN!
P.S. Listen LOUD!
--
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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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHW0lj3hODI
I was reading "Record Collector" magazine and learned that there's a 50th anniversary version of "Captain Fantastic," which I immediately pulled up on my phone, I needed to hear the demo version of "Tell Me When the Whistle Blows," one of my favorite, if not my absolute favorite, tracks on the album.
But this was more of a personal experience, if you weren't a hard core fan I didn't think you needed to know about it.
And they also wrote about the new Dylan Bootleg series, "Through the Open Window - 1956-1963." The opening track is positively revelatory, Dylan's version of "Let the Good Times Roll," recorded in the Terlinde Music Shop in St. Paul back in 1956, when Bob was only fifteen years old. This demonstrates his roots. As Dylan claims, he was always a rocker. He wanted to be Elvis. But you ultimately have to find your own path. Yet, few know Dylan's roots. They're all here in this package, as well as his development in plain sight when no one was paying attention. Acts don't emerge fully-formed, they develop.
And then I wondered what other acts had released albums full of demos/rare recordings.
I found a "Deluxe Edition" of the Cars' "Heartbeat City," their Mutt Lange return to form, and it had "Just What I Needed" from Live Aid, but that stuff is not truly rare, and even though I bought it, "Heartbeat City" was never one of my favorite albums...can we all agree that it's really all about the first?
And then I saw an expanded version of "Who Are You." The title track is now a Who standard, but the song that always moved me was "Music Must Change," however, by this point the band was running out of gas, it was really about Pete's dawning solo career. And one of the gems on this package is a band version of "Empty Glass," which is more of a curio, but interesting.
And the Who have been repackaged ad infinitum. They've been on the road so much that many shrugged when their final tour was announced, at these prices they didn't need to see them once again. And I kind of get it. The act hasn't changed. And how many times has the band retired anyway? I remember taping their final show, which was simulcast (in stereo!) on the radio in 1989. A monumental event. Not really. The band came back. And came back. And...
Somewhere along the line we lost touch with what the Who were really about. ENERGY! Sure, Pete is an intellectual, sure there are messages in the songs, sure, at this point no classic rock act is truly dangerous, is pushing the envelope, but when you listen to THIS, you'll be shocked into submission, because this is IT!
Today "Quadrophenia" is legendary, but it was a bit of a disappointment upon release back in 1973. There was no hit single, there wasn't even an obvious FM track. No, you purchased "Quadrophenia" and digested it personally, turned the pages of the included booklet, as the album revealed itself to you track by track.
For me it was always about side 3, with "Sea and Sand."
"The girl I love is a perfect dresser
Wears every fashion, gets it to the tee"
And the closing cut, the majestic "Love Reign o'er Me."
Then there was the first side, which started out with Pete's synthesizer opus, "I Am the Sea"...I always thought that recording the real ocean would have been better. But after two minutes of noodlling, the guitar riffs, the bass dances underneath and Roger starts singing about "The Real Me."
Now in truth, if you want to listen to "Quadrophenia," you're better off listening to the John Entwistle remix for the movie (the best rock flick ever, if you're asking me)... The original was a bit dull, but Entwistle stripped away the flat exterior, the result was more in your face, more rock and roll, with louder, more prominent bass (what did you expect?)
Now Pete revisited the bookend to "The Real Me," "I'm One," on his 1986 album, "Deep End Live!," there's a ton of meaning, gravitas, but it's not the Who.
But this performance of "Real Me" from the deluxe "Who Are You"...it's most certainly the Who, and it's a STUNNER!
Recorded at the Philadelphia Spectrum on December 10, 1979, not long after the tragedy in Cincinnati, it closed the show and closes this seven album package.
The Who... You've got to remember, it was a trio with a vocalist. Making a glorious noise, with holes in the live sound, inevitably...there was only one guitarist.
But John Entwistle rivals Paul McCartney as the most melodic bass player in rock, and his role is even larger with only three instruments in play. Entwistle is not only holding down the bottom, he's pirouetting all over it, he's not buried in the mix, he's RIGHT THERE!
And sure, it's not Keith Moon on drums, but Kenney Jones...he's not far off...you can hear the individual hits, it's not a whirlwind where the plot is lost in the process.
As for Pete... He always claimed to be a rhythm guitarist... He's not constantly playing here, but throwing in chords here and there, picking a few notes...he doesn't see a need to carry the tune, he's just part of the ensemble, occasionally dropping out.
And there you have the glorious noise.
But sitting on top of it all is Roger Daltrey's vocal, WHEW! The man in his prime. Not singing from deep in his chest, but from his head and heart with no limits...there's energy, but there's also power, AND ANGST!
"Can you see the real me, doctor, doctor?"
That was the thing, THEY COULDN'T SEE US!
We'd cut loose, we'd disconnected. Our parents couldn't understand our music, and oftentimes couldn't understand us.
And the music spoke to our alienation.
And it was loud and noisy and uncontrolled and...
Many say "Live at Leeds" is the best live album of all time. I don't agree, because there's no crowd noise...sure, there's great playing, but in a vacuum it doesn't work for me.
But this...
Sure, the Who have recently been on the road, but it's not the same thing.
You can go see Paul McCartney, he plays your favorites, but it's not the same thing. Once upon a time it was fresh, groundbreaking, but that's no longer the case.
As for the Stones? They haven't been dangerous for a long time.
Maybe you can feel the energy from an act from back when that never broke through, but those who had success...they've been to the mountaintop, now the money is as important as the adulation, whereas way back when THEY HAD TO DO IT! Had to express themselves, they worked out their frustration live, and if you were in the audience you felt it, you were transfixed. The music penetrated you and sparks emanated from your body. No one was shooting selfies, not because there were no smartphones, but because everybody was focused on the music, we were all Tommy, maybe not deaf, dumb and blind, but in tune with the music. Which was more than the music. More than commerce. It was life itself. And if you listen to this track, you'll get it.
What once was.
It's gone now.
And it doesn't seem to be on its way back, because today's acts are self-conscious, money-oriented, whereas back then the acts were less interested in being brands than changing the world...or at least sticking a finger in the eye of the world. We live like Gods, we trash hotel rooms, our road manager has a roll of c-notes, women are clamoring for us, our gigs sell out, we're the other, our own context, which you can either accept or not.
But back then the youth was all in. Music was the basis of the culture. Its power was undeniable.
And as time marched on, acts shaved off their rough edges. They were concerned with replicating the record live, with extra players and tapes, but the Who were still doing the same act from the sixties, it was still powerful, undeniable, JUST LISTEN!
P.S. Listen LOUD!
--
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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Monday, 3 November 2025
Gen Z Disillusionment
Tonight they want to party like it's 1999. Because they sure as hell don't like the era they're living in.
If you're expecting new protest songs...don't hold your breath. Gen Z is looking for escape. They've been beaten down by a society that seems not to understand them, that actually has contempt for them, and they stayed home from school during Covid and can't get a good job and...
The Boomers were coming from a place of optimism when they embraced protest songs back in the sixties. They truly thought they could change the world. This optimism has been replaced by frustration and disillusionment in today's youth, who are just trying to survive.
Think about this... Have you seen a single Gen Z member come out against screens? Of course not, they grew up digitally native, they know the power of the smartphone and the internet, they can't understand their elders who don't, the elders who seem to want to bring them back to an age that is never returning... Why not bring back black and white TV and get rid of streaming while they're at it! The youth have grown up in a rapid-fire world of constant change, they're adjusted to it, they can cope, it's the oldsters who can't.
And then there's the influencers... Not only are old people not on TikTok, they believe that no-talents are online trying to get rich and famous. There are some like that, but TikTok is a hotbed of artistic innovation. Want to be surprised? Don't listen to a record, dial up a clip on TikTok. Or MrBeast on YouTube. Or... The generation gap is gigantic.
Also, how is the influencer culture different from the personal development ethos of the seventies? Be all you can be! But only if you play by our rules.
Meanwhile, we've got newspapers telling us Democrats can only win if they move to the center. People throwing their hands up in the air re Trump. But no one sees it through the eyes of the Gen Z'ers...they're beyond disillusioned, they've disconnected, they have no faith in the system. Whether it be political or corporate. All those corporate leaders kissing the ring of Trump... Gen Z is all about credibility, what's inside. Sure, there are followers, but with so little money available youngsters cling to values first and foremost. And it's not only credibility, but ecology and...
If you go to a show it's less about who is on stage and more about the experience you're having with your friends. Shooting photos. Gen Z knows musical stars are whored-out two-dimensional constructs. There are much better, smarter people to take the lead from. Performers have disconnected from their audience, so busy becoming brands that they've left connection and money on the table.
Don't counter with the BTS Army and the Swifites...that would be missing the point. Then again, BTS's success is based on culture, the music is in service to that. There's a sense of belonging. As for Swift...she herself is a Millennial, she made it before the TikTok era, so different rules apply. And Gen Z is not looking to get married, it's looking to get out of its parents' basement!
They were told to get a STEM education. And now AI has come along and wiped out the coding jobs.
They're told they don't need a college degree, but in truth seemingly every job requires a degree to get it...it's not what you've learned, but the degree is a dividing line between the capable and the incapable, that's how the hirers see it, no matter how much bloviating there is in the "Wall Street Journal" that a degree is unnecessary.
As for Trump talking about liberal bias at universities... This is a highbrow discussion for aged people. Gen Z has no skin in this game.
Once again, Gen Z is alone, overlooked when it's not put down.
But change will come from Gen Z. Already has in Nepal and Madagascar. In Nepal all it took was a shutdown of social media sites. While the oldsters not on the platforms are worried about China's access to data, Gen Z knows privacy is history, they just want to be able to connect.
And they're sick of being told how lonely they are. They know more people than any of their elders did when they grew up, that's the power of the internet. Furthermore, like-minded people are at their fingertips. The internet connects, it doesn't isolate. And oldsters can't understand this, believing face to face communication is everything.
Change will come from Gen Z because its members have nothing to lose. They don't own houses and have 401k's, those are off on the horizon... Once again, they'd just like to be able to live in an apartment, be able to pay the bills without mom and dad's help.
And Gen Z doesn't need the belief in a monolithic star like their predecessors. They have their personal favorites, the fact that you have yours is de rigueur.
Gen Z is a time bomb. It's got nothing to do with tariffs, with bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. or ICE, it has to do with opportunity and understanding... How in the hell is a septuagenarian congressperson, an OCTOGENARIAN congressperson, going to understand their plight?
As the corporations gain more and more power and...
Crypto is a way to get rich. How else are you going to accumulate all those bucks?
Zuckerberg, Musk, Thiel...those are the heroes of their elders, Gen Z knows techies are not to be trusted, that they're just mercurial men out for a buck. As for AI... What's the problem, it helps with homework and allows them to create! You want to hold back the march of progress?
And seemingly everybody not a member of this cohort is missing it.
Except maybe for Mamdani...who is a flawed candidate, but is sticking his finger in the eye of the status quo, that's why young people are supporting him...he offers a modicum of hope, where are they going to get hope elsewhere?
From a musical artist ripping them off with dozens of vinyl iterations? Selling them perfume and clothing? Stardom today is all about being embedded with your audience, appearing no better than they are, and there are some musical acts that fit this bill, but too many one-dimensional ones in blinking lights constantly selling stuff, saying they love their fans when they truly want nothing to do with them.
Change could be made, but so far it hasn't happened.
Any change that comes will be as a result of the activities of Gen Z itself. It's a sleeping giant, a monster. This is the true crisis in America, the misunderstood if not ignored youth...who don't expect the government to come through for them, no matter who is in power.
A spark could call Gen Z to action. And just like in Pacific Palisades...something is smoldering, getting ready to ignite.
Beware.
--
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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If you're expecting new protest songs...don't hold your breath. Gen Z is looking for escape. They've been beaten down by a society that seems not to understand them, that actually has contempt for them, and they stayed home from school during Covid and can't get a good job and...
The Boomers were coming from a place of optimism when they embraced protest songs back in the sixties. They truly thought they could change the world. This optimism has been replaced by frustration and disillusionment in today's youth, who are just trying to survive.
Think about this... Have you seen a single Gen Z member come out against screens? Of course not, they grew up digitally native, they know the power of the smartphone and the internet, they can't understand their elders who don't, the elders who seem to want to bring them back to an age that is never returning... Why not bring back black and white TV and get rid of streaming while they're at it! The youth have grown up in a rapid-fire world of constant change, they're adjusted to it, they can cope, it's the oldsters who can't.
And then there's the influencers... Not only are old people not on TikTok, they believe that no-talents are online trying to get rich and famous. There are some like that, but TikTok is a hotbed of artistic innovation. Want to be surprised? Don't listen to a record, dial up a clip on TikTok. Or MrBeast on YouTube. Or... The generation gap is gigantic.
Also, how is the influencer culture different from the personal development ethos of the seventies? Be all you can be! But only if you play by our rules.
Meanwhile, we've got newspapers telling us Democrats can only win if they move to the center. People throwing their hands up in the air re Trump. But no one sees it through the eyes of the Gen Z'ers...they're beyond disillusioned, they've disconnected, they have no faith in the system. Whether it be political or corporate. All those corporate leaders kissing the ring of Trump... Gen Z is all about credibility, what's inside. Sure, there are followers, but with so little money available youngsters cling to values first and foremost. And it's not only credibility, but ecology and...
If you go to a show it's less about who is on stage and more about the experience you're having with your friends. Shooting photos. Gen Z knows musical stars are whored-out two-dimensional constructs. There are much better, smarter people to take the lead from. Performers have disconnected from their audience, so busy becoming brands that they've left connection and money on the table.
Don't counter with the BTS Army and the Swifites...that would be missing the point. Then again, BTS's success is based on culture, the music is in service to that. There's a sense of belonging. As for Swift...she herself is a Millennial, she made it before the TikTok era, so different rules apply. And Gen Z is not looking to get married, it's looking to get out of its parents' basement!
They were told to get a STEM education. And now AI has come along and wiped out the coding jobs.
They're told they don't need a college degree, but in truth seemingly every job requires a degree to get it...it's not what you've learned, but the degree is a dividing line between the capable and the incapable, that's how the hirers see it, no matter how much bloviating there is in the "Wall Street Journal" that a degree is unnecessary.
As for Trump talking about liberal bias at universities... This is a highbrow discussion for aged people. Gen Z has no skin in this game.
Once again, Gen Z is alone, overlooked when it's not put down.
But change will come from Gen Z. Already has in Nepal and Madagascar. In Nepal all it took was a shutdown of social media sites. While the oldsters not on the platforms are worried about China's access to data, Gen Z knows privacy is history, they just want to be able to connect.
And they're sick of being told how lonely they are. They know more people than any of their elders did when they grew up, that's the power of the internet. Furthermore, like-minded people are at their fingertips. The internet connects, it doesn't isolate. And oldsters can't understand this, believing face to face communication is everything.
Change will come from Gen Z because its members have nothing to lose. They don't own houses and have 401k's, those are off on the horizon... Once again, they'd just like to be able to live in an apartment, be able to pay the bills without mom and dad's help.
And Gen Z doesn't need the belief in a monolithic star like their predecessors. They have their personal favorites, the fact that you have yours is de rigueur.
Gen Z is a time bomb. It's got nothing to do with tariffs, with bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. or ICE, it has to do with opportunity and understanding... How in the hell is a septuagenarian congressperson, an OCTOGENARIAN congressperson, going to understand their plight?
As the corporations gain more and more power and...
Crypto is a way to get rich. How else are you going to accumulate all those bucks?
Zuckerberg, Musk, Thiel...those are the heroes of their elders, Gen Z knows techies are not to be trusted, that they're just mercurial men out for a buck. As for AI... What's the problem, it helps with homework and allows them to create! You want to hold back the march of progress?
And seemingly everybody not a member of this cohort is missing it.
Except maybe for Mamdani...who is a flawed candidate, but is sticking his finger in the eye of the status quo, that's why young people are supporting him...he offers a modicum of hope, where are they going to get hope elsewhere?
From a musical artist ripping them off with dozens of vinyl iterations? Selling them perfume and clothing? Stardom today is all about being embedded with your audience, appearing no better than they are, and there are some musical acts that fit this bill, but too many one-dimensional ones in blinking lights constantly selling stuff, saying they love their fans when they truly want nothing to do with them.
Change could be made, but so far it hasn't happened.
Any change that comes will be as a result of the activities of Gen Z itself. It's a sleeping giant, a monster. This is the true crisis in America, the misunderstood if not ignored youth...who don't expect the government to come through for them, no matter who is in power.
A spark could call Gen Z to action. And just like in Pacific Palisades...something is smoldering, getting ready to ignite.
Beware.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
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Frequency
"Consumer Reports" used to be my bible.
But now it's the Wirecutter.
Now let me be clear... I don't trust CR on that which I'm an expert. But there's so much I don't know, it's good to have an outlet of expertise.
But CR doesn't review everything. And is still operating on a pre-internet paradigm, i.e. print. Even worse, because of the challenges of print, they've reduced publication...now there are months when there is no new magazine at all. Sure, CR is part of Apple News+, but most of the reviews/new information featured is truncated and not new, just a retread of what is already in the magazine. So, for a big purchase, CR is worth checking out, but what if I just want to buy towels?
The Wirecutter is the little engine that could. Picked up by the "New York Times" before it had achieved ubiquity, never mind gravitas it has doubled-down since, furthermore, the "Times" features its reviews, promotes it....no one is promoting CR, either you're part of the ecosystem, or you're not.
Two things made me a Wirecutter believer. First, they update their reviews on a regular basis... You don't want old information. You don't want to wait for a slew of new products for a re-evaluation...that's not how we buy, we buy when we need, which is NOW! Sure, on big purchases we might debate and wait...and CR still owns those categories, like automobiles and TV, but how many of those are there?
So, the frequency of information was one notch in the belt, the other was the accuracy of the reviews. Felice wanted a standup vacuum cleaner. Sure, Dysons are seen as the best, but this was for only occasional use. And the Wirecutter said to buy the Shark, which is what CR said to buy, but the layout of the Wirecutter's take was much more readable, palatable... They didn't review every product, just the handful that people really buy. You didn't have to pore over a chart, the information was readily available, like the AI answer in Google... Sometimes you just want hit and run, you don't want a deep dive.
So when Felice wanted to buy new towels... Where does one get information on that? Aren't you a victim of the department store, of buying blind? No, the Wirecutter reviews towels (and so much more!). There's the best, and one better than that. And a couple of also-rans... I mean how much time do you want to spend buying towels?
So the depth of categories is appealing, but also the frequency. The Wirecutter is up-to-date, CR is two steps behind.
And the reason I mention all this is not only to hip you to the Wirecutter, but to have you contemplating your activity/marketing.
Frequency is key in the internet world. Own this. Sure, a superstar might be able to coast on an album release and not much more...then again, how many of these releases are hyped and then forgotten?
This is the number one complaint I get from wannabe artists...they don't want to post. Young 'uns tend to understand, having grown up in a social media world, but...
Social media is just a canvas, you get to post whatever you want...not only jokes and your personal life, but your writing sessions, your rehearsals, acoustic takes of your hits... It's part of being an artist today, see it as an avenue of expression, not a chore.
And it must be personal. YOU must create and post your internet messages. If you hire a service, the joke is on you. The audience can tell. Sure, the audience wants information, tour dates, etc...but even more people want YOU! A piece of you...can't you give it to them, on a regular basis?
We're inundated with information. Post or be forgotten.
--
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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But now it's the Wirecutter.
Now let me be clear... I don't trust CR on that which I'm an expert. But there's so much I don't know, it's good to have an outlet of expertise.
But CR doesn't review everything. And is still operating on a pre-internet paradigm, i.e. print. Even worse, because of the challenges of print, they've reduced publication...now there are months when there is no new magazine at all. Sure, CR is part of Apple News+, but most of the reviews/new information featured is truncated and not new, just a retread of what is already in the magazine. So, for a big purchase, CR is worth checking out, but what if I just want to buy towels?
The Wirecutter is the little engine that could. Picked up by the "New York Times" before it had achieved ubiquity, never mind gravitas it has doubled-down since, furthermore, the "Times" features its reviews, promotes it....no one is promoting CR, either you're part of the ecosystem, or you're not.
Two things made me a Wirecutter believer. First, they update their reviews on a regular basis... You don't want old information. You don't want to wait for a slew of new products for a re-evaluation...that's not how we buy, we buy when we need, which is NOW! Sure, on big purchases we might debate and wait...and CR still owns those categories, like automobiles and TV, but how many of those are there?
So, the frequency of information was one notch in the belt, the other was the accuracy of the reviews. Felice wanted a standup vacuum cleaner. Sure, Dysons are seen as the best, but this was for only occasional use. And the Wirecutter said to buy the Shark, which is what CR said to buy, but the layout of the Wirecutter's take was much more readable, palatable... They didn't review every product, just the handful that people really buy. You didn't have to pore over a chart, the information was readily available, like the AI answer in Google... Sometimes you just want hit and run, you don't want a deep dive.
So when Felice wanted to buy new towels... Where does one get information on that? Aren't you a victim of the department store, of buying blind? No, the Wirecutter reviews towels (and so much more!). There's the best, and one better than that. And a couple of also-rans... I mean how much time do you want to spend buying towels?
So the depth of categories is appealing, but also the frequency. The Wirecutter is up-to-date, CR is two steps behind.
And the reason I mention all this is not only to hip you to the Wirecutter, but to have you contemplating your activity/marketing.
Frequency is key in the internet world. Own this. Sure, a superstar might be able to coast on an album release and not much more...then again, how many of these releases are hyped and then forgotten?
This is the number one complaint I get from wannabe artists...they don't want to post. Young 'uns tend to understand, having grown up in a social media world, but...
Social media is just a canvas, you get to post whatever you want...not only jokes and your personal life, but your writing sessions, your rehearsals, acoustic takes of your hits... It's part of being an artist today, see it as an avenue of expression, not a chore.
And it must be personal. YOU must create and post your internet messages. If you hire a service, the joke is on you. The audience can tell. Sure, the audience wants information, tour dates, etc...but even more people want YOU! A piece of you...can't you give it to them, on a regular basis?
We're inundated with information. Post or be forgotten.
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Olivia Dean
"The Art of Loving": https://open.spotify.com/album/0l8zYqoUeBYg47Gmevq9HZ?si=H9HSotxLS0-VQPyOK4R97w
She should be gigantic in the U.S. Maybe the biggest star in the land. Because, like Adele, she appeals to all demos, all ages, but how do you penetrate the marketplace these days?
Now I've been tracking the single, and right now "Man I Need" is number 5 in the Spotify Top 50. But there's no attendant press. Then again, the young audience, which drives the Spotify Top 50, must be aware of it.
But Dean has been a star in the U.K. for years. Why there and not here?
Well, the industry is more concentrated there, such that it's easier to get noticed. And the expectations are higher. In the U.S. the labels have disconnected from the public, they're busy serving the niches that have already expressed support for an act, but starting from scratch...they're not up for that.
Now another reason Olivia Dean's music is so good is because she attended the famous BRIT school. There's magic in that water, the same way there is in the water in the music schools of Sweden. But here in the U.S? Everybody comes from the outside trying to make it in, the concept of releasing something mainstream and having it flower...
This is not Taylor Swift. Olivia Dean's music is closer to that of Sade's.
This is not the kind of music the punks will like, then again, when no one is paying attention...
Not only does Olivia Dean have a good voice, the songs...are such. There are changes, melodies, you can sing along with them as opposed to much of the rhythm dominated stuff in the U.S.
Remember when you used to put on an album on a Sunday afternoon? Or at a dinner party? That's Olivia Dean's "The Art of Loving." Yet it's not background music, but more like grease, a mood-setter, the antidote to today's fractured political world.
But we haven't had this sound here in the States for so long...
Now, if you want to criticize Dean, you can... Are the songs just a bit too basic, a bit too mellow, is she shooting high enough? We can debate that, but right now she owns the field, she's blazing a trail alone, which is why so many are missing it... The music doesn't have the jagged edges that work on social media, the lyrics are not perfect for lip--synching...if anything this music is a cry back to what once was...and it doesn't sound cheap, like it was made in somebody's bedroom, it sounds big and professional, not that it compromises.
And it's hiding in plain sight.
Now Dean is going to be the musical guest on SNL on November 15th, and that might get the ball truly rolling, generate the necessary heat, then again the paradigm has completely shifted, it's not about watching SNL in real time, but viewing the clips on social media thereafter, and musical performances don't translate/work that way. Which is another reason that musical performances on the rest of the television outlets don't move the needle.
Then again, when an act is on SNL, there's attendant publicity. The media industrial complex takes notice and promotes. They know there's a commitment, they don't want to publicize anything that has no push, no team behind it.
But really, people just have to hear Olivia Dean's music. How do you accomplish that in today's world?
Well, if the label were truly innovative... They'd get it played in coffee shops, at retail...so people will hear it and say WHAT'S THIS?
Because in a pull world, where people only listen to what they want to, they may not come across this, but if it's pushed upon them...
Once again, the American music business is not prepared for someone like Olivia Dean, who leads with her music as opposed to her identity/personality, antics and a well-documented backstory. With most acts today it's the penumbra that is promoted, the music takes a back seat. But even that might not get you to listen to the music. Has there been a better recent publicity campaign than the one for Lily Allen's new album? An act that never really broke through in America... Is anybody going to read about Allen and then stream her music...I doubt it.
Everything happens slower than ever before. And if for some reason if it happens quickly, it dies nearly as fast.
A year from now will everybody be aware of Olivia Dean? I think there's a good chance so.
This is what the music business needs, has needed for years. A music first artist, that is not a train-wreck. "The Art of Loving" hangs together, you want to play the whole thing through.
To tell you the truth, the work track that is now number 5 in the U.S., "Man I Need," is far from my favorite. It's upbeat and jaunty and therefore comes across as lightweight, but the previous single in the U.K., "Nice to Each Other"...you should get it on the first listen. As for the new single, "A Couple Minutes," that's a winner too.
"Nice to Each Other" is what we're looking for, not something mindless that bangs us over the head, but something that sneaks up on us, taps us on the shoulder gently.
I don't want to oversell Olivia Dean, but no one else seems to be selling her, so I'm hipping you to her, she definitely deserves your notice.
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She should be gigantic in the U.S. Maybe the biggest star in the land. Because, like Adele, she appeals to all demos, all ages, but how do you penetrate the marketplace these days?
Now I've been tracking the single, and right now "Man I Need" is number 5 in the Spotify Top 50. But there's no attendant press. Then again, the young audience, which drives the Spotify Top 50, must be aware of it.
But Dean has been a star in the U.K. for years. Why there and not here?
Well, the industry is more concentrated there, such that it's easier to get noticed. And the expectations are higher. In the U.S. the labels have disconnected from the public, they're busy serving the niches that have already expressed support for an act, but starting from scratch...they're not up for that.
Now another reason Olivia Dean's music is so good is because she attended the famous BRIT school. There's magic in that water, the same way there is in the water in the music schools of Sweden. But here in the U.S? Everybody comes from the outside trying to make it in, the concept of releasing something mainstream and having it flower...
This is not Taylor Swift. Olivia Dean's music is closer to that of Sade's.
This is not the kind of music the punks will like, then again, when no one is paying attention...
Not only does Olivia Dean have a good voice, the songs...are such. There are changes, melodies, you can sing along with them as opposed to much of the rhythm dominated stuff in the U.S.
Remember when you used to put on an album on a Sunday afternoon? Or at a dinner party? That's Olivia Dean's "The Art of Loving." Yet it's not background music, but more like grease, a mood-setter, the antidote to today's fractured political world.
But we haven't had this sound here in the States for so long...
Now, if you want to criticize Dean, you can... Are the songs just a bit too basic, a bit too mellow, is she shooting high enough? We can debate that, but right now she owns the field, she's blazing a trail alone, which is why so many are missing it... The music doesn't have the jagged edges that work on social media, the lyrics are not perfect for lip--synching...if anything this music is a cry back to what once was...and it doesn't sound cheap, like it was made in somebody's bedroom, it sounds big and professional, not that it compromises.
And it's hiding in plain sight.
Now Dean is going to be the musical guest on SNL on November 15th, and that might get the ball truly rolling, generate the necessary heat, then again the paradigm has completely shifted, it's not about watching SNL in real time, but viewing the clips on social media thereafter, and musical performances don't translate/work that way. Which is another reason that musical performances on the rest of the television outlets don't move the needle.
Then again, when an act is on SNL, there's attendant publicity. The media industrial complex takes notice and promotes. They know there's a commitment, they don't want to publicize anything that has no push, no team behind it.
But really, people just have to hear Olivia Dean's music. How do you accomplish that in today's world?
Well, if the label were truly innovative... They'd get it played in coffee shops, at retail...so people will hear it and say WHAT'S THIS?
Because in a pull world, where people only listen to what they want to, they may not come across this, but if it's pushed upon them...
Once again, the American music business is not prepared for someone like Olivia Dean, who leads with her music as opposed to her identity/personality, antics and a well-documented backstory. With most acts today it's the penumbra that is promoted, the music takes a back seat. But even that might not get you to listen to the music. Has there been a better recent publicity campaign than the one for Lily Allen's new album? An act that never really broke through in America... Is anybody going to read about Allen and then stream her music...I doubt it.
Everything happens slower than ever before. And if for some reason if it happens quickly, it dies nearly as fast.
A year from now will everybody be aware of Olivia Dean? I think there's a good chance so.
This is what the music business needs, has needed for years. A music first artist, that is not a train-wreck. "The Art of Loving" hangs together, you want to play the whole thing through.
To tell you the truth, the work track that is now number 5 in the U.S., "Man I Need," is far from my favorite. It's upbeat and jaunty and therefore comes across as lightweight, but the previous single in the U.K., "Nice to Each Other"...you should get it on the first listen. As for the new single, "A Couple Minutes," that's a winner too.
"Nice to Each Other" is what we're looking for, not something mindless that bangs us over the head, but something that sneaks up on us, taps us on the shoulder gently.
I don't want to oversell Olivia Dean, but no one else seems to be selling her, so I'm hipping you to her, she definitely deserves your notice.
--
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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Sunday, 2 November 2025
The Perfect Neighbor
Netflix trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNp85HGJtoo
This is the one you've got to see. Kathryn Bigelow's "A House of Dynamite" is the one getting all the hype, but "The Perfect Neighbor" will get to you. This is America.
My favorite story about a bad neighbor was told to me by Al Kooper. I was complaining to him about my problem neighbor and he interrupted me to tell me about his. He was living in the Hollywood Hills and his next door neighbor left their garbage cans blocking his driveway again and again and again, there was nothing he could do or say to stop them. So I asked Al what he did...and he said "I MOVED!"
Entitlement. That's the scourge of America today. The people who feel that they alone rule their space and they're entitled to live sans interference. But last I checked we live in a society. And we all have to get along. But we don't.
So what we've got here is a lower class area in Ocala, Florida where everybody is a renter and most people are Black. But there's this one elderly white neighbor who believes she's entitled to peace and quiet. She doesn't want the kids playing in the empty lot next door, even though they have permission to do so. And she keeps calling the cops.
Know how many times I've called the cops in my life? ZERO. NONE! That's just not what you do. If you can't solve the dispute, if you can't back off, back away, extricate yourself... Who cares if you're right. Can't you learn that life is not about being right? Life is about getting along. So you pussyfoot around the bad actors until...
It just becomes too much. You can only poke people so many times until they get angry. And then you've got to stand your ground.
My next door neighbor couldn't believe I blocked her online. But if I even dropped the needle on a record she contacted me to turn it down. Even if I had all the windows shut. I mean can't you be reasonable?
But too many cannot. They're bugged by the behavior of their brethren.
I just don't get it. I mean if your neighbors are partying to four a.m. every weekend, maybe go over and speak to them, nicely. Even better, if you're having a party, invite your next door neighbor, show that you're aware of them. Because as soon as you take to the mattresses, as soon as you start calling the police, as soon as you start causing trouble...there's no turning back.
People just want to live. Kids just want to be kids. Don't want any interruptions? Go live out in the country, alone.
And be aware of where you're moving anyway. I'm never going to move next to a school, I'm never going to live on a main drag, I don't want to tolerrate that noise. But if you choose to live there...come on, that was part of the bargain.
So not everybody in America is a star, not everybody is an influencer. Can you have sympathy/identify with those less fortunate who have kids or are you going to judge them right off the bat?
You'll be faced with this question right away in this film.
And are you the type who is duplicitious. Never telling the truth... You've got to know, others have your number.
And there's only so much the police can do anyway... Never mind when you bring in the police you ratchet up the contention to a new level, and the odds of calming the situation down to nothing are nil.
So something happens.
And you realize the people involved...the victims, are really no different from you and me. One false move and your entire future is compromised, can be in an instant.
Now this is a fascinating documentary in that the story is not told by talking heads, there are no recreations, it's all bodycam footage. So think what you want, but we can't argue over the facts.
Everybody in America should see this film, so we can have a national discussion about getting along.
But instead, we demonize our enemies, believing that they must comport with the behavior we desire, that they have no choice, that we rule.
And this is patently wrong.
And ten percent of the country is positively insane anyway.
And you don't want them involved in a dispute.
"The Perfect Neighbor" is not a huge commitment. It's barely longer than an hour and a half. And you my not be gripped for a while, might think it's repetitive, BUT HANG IN THERE!
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This is the one you've got to see. Kathryn Bigelow's "A House of Dynamite" is the one getting all the hype, but "The Perfect Neighbor" will get to you. This is America.
My favorite story about a bad neighbor was told to me by Al Kooper. I was complaining to him about my problem neighbor and he interrupted me to tell me about his. He was living in the Hollywood Hills and his next door neighbor left their garbage cans blocking his driveway again and again and again, there was nothing he could do or say to stop them. So I asked Al what he did...and he said "I MOVED!"
Entitlement. That's the scourge of America today. The people who feel that they alone rule their space and they're entitled to live sans interference. But last I checked we live in a society. And we all have to get along. But we don't.
So what we've got here is a lower class area in Ocala, Florida where everybody is a renter and most people are Black. But there's this one elderly white neighbor who believes she's entitled to peace and quiet. She doesn't want the kids playing in the empty lot next door, even though they have permission to do so. And she keeps calling the cops.
Know how many times I've called the cops in my life? ZERO. NONE! That's just not what you do. If you can't solve the dispute, if you can't back off, back away, extricate yourself... Who cares if you're right. Can't you learn that life is not about being right? Life is about getting along. So you pussyfoot around the bad actors until...
It just becomes too much. You can only poke people so many times until they get angry. And then you've got to stand your ground.
My next door neighbor couldn't believe I blocked her online. But if I even dropped the needle on a record she contacted me to turn it down. Even if I had all the windows shut. I mean can't you be reasonable?
But too many cannot. They're bugged by the behavior of their brethren.
I just don't get it. I mean if your neighbors are partying to four a.m. every weekend, maybe go over and speak to them, nicely. Even better, if you're having a party, invite your next door neighbor, show that you're aware of them. Because as soon as you take to the mattresses, as soon as you start calling the police, as soon as you start causing trouble...there's no turning back.
People just want to live. Kids just want to be kids. Don't want any interruptions? Go live out in the country, alone.
And be aware of where you're moving anyway. I'm never going to move next to a school, I'm never going to live on a main drag, I don't want to tolerrate that noise. But if you choose to live there...come on, that was part of the bargain.
So not everybody in America is a star, not everybody is an influencer. Can you have sympathy/identify with those less fortunate who have kids or are you going to judge them right off the bat?
You'll be faced with this question right away in this film.
And are you the type who is duplicitious. Never telling the truth... You've got to know, others have your number.
And there's only so much the police can do anyway... Never mind when you bring in the police you ratchet up the contention to a new level, and the odds of calming the situation down to nothing are nil.
So something happens.
And you realize the people involved...the victims, are really no different from you and me. One false move and your entire future is compromised, can be in an instant.
Now this is a fascinating documentary in that the story is not told by talking heads, there are no recreations, it's all bodycam footage. So think what you want, but we can't argue over the facts.
Everybody in America should see this film, so we can have a national discussion about getting along.
But instead, we demonize our enemies, believing that they must comport with the behavior we desire, that they have no choice, that we rule.
And this is patently wrong.
And ten percent of the country is positively insane anyway.
And you don't want them involved in a dispute.
"The Perfect Neighbor" is not a huge commitment. It's barely longer than an hour and a half. And you my not be gripped for a while, might think it's repetitive, BUT HANG IN THERE!
--
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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Forever Young
Live long enough and all your heroes disappoint you. Van Morrison? The anti-covid backlash made it so his hard core fans stopped streaming his music. He, like Elon Musk, didn't realize who his audience was. Even Eric Clapton has been hurt. Then again, scuttlebutt will tell you that the vaccine hurts and the virus started in a lab, and neither could be further from the truth.
But don't let the truth get in the way of your emotional beliefs.
Today's hit artists are stars first and foremost, whereas back then that came second. Seemed that they were true to themselves first. Doing what they wanted to do, screw the audience.
Not completely, but...
"Gasoline Alley" is one of my favorite albums.
Now the funny thing is fifty five years later, it's not only unknown to later generations, but those who were alive and supposedly paying attention back when.
"Going home, running home
Down to Gasoline Alley where I started from
Going home, and I'm running home
Down to Gasoline Alley where I was born"
"Gasoline Alley"? Wasn't that a comic strip? In any event, one thing is for sure, you weren't born with a silver spoon in your mouth in gasoline alley.
I dropped the needle on this record and was positively shocked. That voice? This is what all the music magazines were raving about? And then there was the instrumentation, closer to the folk revival of the U.K. than straight ahead rock. The third album, "Every Picture Tells a Story," yielded hits, but "Gasoline Alley" is the best.
Image. That's what killed music. MTV. All these years later we can admit it. It became about how you looked, the trappings, more than the music. But decades before... Rockers were outsiders. They gave the middle finger to society, they could not be co-opted. And it was this magic that drove hundreds of thousands to Woodstock, they just had to get closer.
Now there's no there there. If there's any gravitas at all, the act tells you so. Whereas you used to have to come to them, not vice versa. You discovered them, went to see them, and they were always at arm's length. Want to be completely creeped-out? Catch some of Ronnie Lane's videos on TikTok... This is the guy? He never talked before. Now he has and... But at least we now know where the phrase/album title "I've Got My Own Album to Do" came from.
I know, I know, I shouldn't be pissing on your heroes.
But this suspension of disbelief... I just can't do it anymore. Desperate for attention and success and money seemingly every act has compromised themselves, whether it be via endorsements/sponsorships or duets or recording lame material... You may hate Don Henley, but that's one thing he's never done, sold out, which is one reason the Eagles are still so big... It's funny, it's those who think they know better, the punks, who hate the Eagles, because they stole the punks' lunch... They made it on their own terms.
And Neil Young too. But Neil does need attention.
But Rod Stewart...
What did it for me were those execrable "American Songbook" albums made with schlockmeister Clive Davis. You're not a singer, you're an ARTIST!
At least that's what we used to think. But one false move... Then again, Rod Stewart made FOUR of these albums. For who? For the brain dead who weren't fans to begin with? You expect us to respect you with your poufed-up hair and skinny pants now? I can't. You were the coolest dude plying the boards, I believed in you, and now I don't.
And all of this has gone through my brain as I've heard "Forever Young" on SiriusXM multiple times this past week.
I barely liked it when it was a hit, but I've come to love it today.
And I know its draw is supposed to be the lyrics, but for me they're secondary to the sound. Like a musical circus rolling over hill and dale in the English countryside. When done right, rock sits above. It's something you reach up to the stars to grab. It's God, riding shotgun and keeping you warm.
The song has changes, which are anathema in today's world where one chord can suffice.
And sure, it's got guitars... But if you crank it a bit, you'll find it's got a pounding beat too, a big bass drum.
There's a lot in the track. This is not the rootsiness of the seventies, this is definitely eighties.
But what puts the track over the top is the changes, the melody, and Rod's voice. He's not shouting. He's not punching the clock, going through the motions like he is on the "American Songbook" albums, it's a late career victory lap, but it's completely in Rod's oeuvre. It was a return to form back then, and it still resonates.
The track FEELS optimistic. It just makes you feel good. It's a throwback to before income inequality eradicated hope in the youth. When a seventies rocker figured out how to participate and triumph in the eighties without compromising, without selling out.
And all these years later this is about as much as we can hope for.
Today's music is made on the cheap, made to appeal to a niche, but back then you spent a fortune in a studio to try and create something that dominated the airwaves worldwide...and if you succeeded, everybody knew you and your song.
So in 2025 everything is personal. It's what makes us feel good that counts. And "Forever Young" makes me feel good.
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But don't let the truth get in the way of your emotional beliefs.
Today's hit artists are stars first and foremost, whereas back then that came second. Seemed that they were true to themselves first. Doing what they wanted to do, screw the audience.
Not completely, but...
"Gasoline Alley" is one of my favorite albums.
Now the funny thing is fifty five years later, it's not only unknown to later generations, but those who were alive and supposedly paying attention back when.
"Going home, running home
Down to Gasoline Alley where I started from
Going home, and I'm running home
Down to Gasoline Alley where I was born"
"Gasoline Alley"? Wasn't that a comic strip? In any event, one thing is for sure, you weren't born with a silver spoon in your mouth in gasoline alley.
I dropped the needle on this record and was positively shocked. That voice? This is what all the music magazines were raving about? And then there was the instrumentation, closer to the folk revival of the U.K. than straight ahead rock. The third album, "Every Picture Tells a Story," yielded hits, but "Gasoline Alley" is the best.
Image. That's what killed music. MTV. All these years later we can admit it. It became about how you looked, the trappings, more than the music. But decades before... Rockers were outsiders. They gave the middle finger to society, they could not be co-opted. And it was this magic that drove hundreds of thousands to Woodstock, they just had to get closer.
Now there's no there there. If there's any gravitas at all, the act tells you so. Whereas you used to have to come to them, not vice versa. You discovered them, went to see them, and they were always at arm's length. Want to be completely creeped-out? Catch some of Ronnie Lane's videos on TikTok... This is the guy? He never talked before. Now he has and... But at least we now know where the phrase/album title "I've Got My Own Album to Do" came from.
I know, I know, I shouldn't be pissing on your heroes.
But this suspension of disbelief... I just can't do it anymore. Desperate for attention and success and money seemingly every act has compromised themselves, whether it be via endorsements/sponsorships or duets or recording lame material... You may hate Don Henley, but that's one thing he's never done, sold out, which is one reason the Eagles are still so big... It's funny, it's those who think they know better, the punks, who hate the Eagles, because they stole the punks' lunch... They made it on their own terms.
And Neil Young too. But Neil does need attention.
But Rod Stewart...
What did it for me were those execrable "American Songbook" albums made with schlockmeister Clive Davis. You're not a singer, you're an ARTIST!
At least that's what we used to think. But one false move... Then again, Rod Stewart made FOUR of these albums. For who? For the brain dead who weren't fans to begin with? You expect us to respect you with your poufed-up hair and skinny pants now? I can't. You were the coolest dude plying the boards, I believed in you, and now I don't.
And all of this has gone through my brain as I've heard "Forever Young" on SiriusXM multiple times this past week.
I barely liked it when it was a hit, but I've come to love it today.
And I know its draw is supposed to be the lyrics, but for me they're secondary to the sound. Like a musical circus rolling over hill and dale in the English countryside. When done right, rock sits above. It's something you reach up to the stars to grab. It's God, riding shotgun and keeping you warm.
The song has changes, which are anathema in today's world where one chord can suffice.
And sure, it's got guitars... But if you crank it a bit, you'll find it's got a pounding beat too, a big bass drum.
There's a lot in the track. This is not the rootsiness of the seventies, this is definitely eighties.
But what puts the track over the top is the changes, the melody, and Rod's voice. He's not shouting. He's not punching the clock, going through the motions like he is on the "American Songbook" albums, it's a late career victory lap, but it's completely in Rod's oeuvre. It was a return to form back then, and it still resonates.
The track FEELS optimistic. It just makes you feel good. It's a throwback to before income inequality eradicated hope in the youth. When a seventies rocker figured out how to participate and triumph in the eighties without compromising, without selling out.
And all these years later this is about as much as we can hope for.
Today's music is made on the cheap, made to appeal to a niche, but back then you spent a fortune in a studio to try and create something that dominated the airwaves worldwide...and if you succeeded, everybody knew you and your song.
So in 2025 everything is personal. It's what makes us feel good that counts. And "Forever Young" makes me feel good.
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