We tend to think life has an on/off switch. You're either alive or your dead. But it rarely goes down that way.
We thought our classic rock stars were forever. Until they weren't. They were going to go on tour, maybe walking and playing a bit more slowly, singing in a lower key, but they'd be right there on stage and then POOF, they'd' be gone.
Happened with Jeff Beck. And then there are acts that are sick but unless you're inside the circle you don't know, like Glenn Frey and Jimmy Buffett. The former died before his time, at age 67, which may seem old to many, but not to today's baby boomers. Glenn was ripped-off. Then again, you can't fight father time and you can't fight your genes. Sure, bad behavior can shorten your life, you can become a member of the 27 Club, but oftentimes you're just minding your own business and...that twinge, that symptom that you think will go away doesn't and suddenly you find yourself on the wrong side of the line. Happened to Peter Frampton. Who gets kudos for going on record about it, because most men do not.
What exactly was Donald Trump rambling about at West Point yesterday? Now he's got those on the left wondering about dementia. Can you really attribute it to the weave? Are we seeing the Donald decline in plain sight like we did Joe Biden, with all his supporters and inside acolytes denying what we see with our own eyes as if they're sweepers on a curling sheet?
Then there are the six Democratic members of Congress who passed in the past year. Can happen to anyone, but odds are it will happen more to the aged. Seventy is not the new forty, fifty or even sixty. Your attitude can't fight genetics. We have better health care, but everybody deteriorates over time. It's a shock, assuming you're tested. I had a clear carotid artery scan in the nineties, but not recently. And when I bring it up to most people, even those with heart attacks in their families, they almost all say they've never even had this test. They'd rather live in ignorance, believing they're going to last forever, like Warren Zevon, who might have been saved if he'd gone to the doctor earlier, but he didn't.
So we've been laughing for decades about the Stones. You'd better go see them now because it could be the last time. But they keep keepin' on. We expected Keith to go first, but out of the blue Charlie died, the Big C got the drummer, and it could get you too.
But you don't believe it. And you believe if you've got it you're going to fight it, even though science says otherwise. Your mental attitude has nothing to do with your results/possible recovery. Not a thing. You go through the course of treatment and you see what happens. And the weird thing is the person on the precipice usually makes peace with their passing just before they go, even though those who remain cannot.
But life goes on. That's the amazing thing. LBJ was sworn in on the plane back from the assassination of JFK. Nobody is indispensable, everybody is expendable, we circle the wagons, squeeze into your space and go on, not because we're a*sholes, but because that's the nature of being human, it's in our DNA to survive.
As for Billy Joel... For a long time he was like Meat Loaf, an absolute icon on the east coast, but not so much on the west. They never played "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" on the radio in Los Angeles, never mind most not knowing who Phil Rizzuto was. But Marvin Lee Aday is gone now. Covid got him. He refused the vaccine. I bet he'd take it now if he had the chance.
But we all get to rule our lives the way we want to. And we think this is a privilege, freedom, but in truth many are slackers, they don't have enough money or enough character to take care of themselves. To dot the i and cross the t, to go to the dentist and doctor on a regular basis. If you're poor you live less long, those are statistics, but we live in a world where no one believes them anyway, everybody believes they're going to live forever.
All of my friends do, everybody in their seventies. Whether retired or not. There's endless roadway before the sun sets. Only there's not. Whether it be by accident, like with Dave Shapiro, or bad luck, like with Michael Leon. But everybody convinces themselves their situation is different, that they're immune.
And despite all this talk about the aged constantly discussing their health, generally speaking men do not. They don't admit their failings. How are you doing? GREAT! But then you dig beneath the surface, peel back the layers. and if they've gone to the doctor you find out this is untrue, their body is deteriorating, it's got flaws, but they don't want to admit it.
First it was the acts that made it in the sixties. Now it's those who peaked in the seventies, even eighties. They're falling off the radar screen.
But what's worse is most of them will never be remembered, most of them are unknown by the younger generations. Those records you bought, those shows you went to, they don't know and they don't care and if you're judging them for it let me quiz you on your parents' music, I doubt you'll know much.
So Billy Joel... He's been married and divorced more than once. He's been ripped-off, losing almost all of his money. He had a bad motorcycle accident. But he's always bounced back, always.
Billy finally broke in L.A. with "My Life" in 1978. And he was one of the few classic acts who got on MTV and stayed there, Billy was a staple.
But then he decided to record no new music.
But something funny happened along the way. With no hits, his rep got even better. He went on tour with Elton John, dueling pianos, implying that he was just as big as the English star, and then he wasn't performing that much and then he started to do big shows, even stadiums, and playing Madison Square Garden every month and...
Those MSG shows were not rote. He switched up the numbers, he had guest stars, they were positively alive. Which is kind of strange for such a big stage, most people are afraid to do this, but Billy became comfortable in his own skin, and he became even more self-deprecating, people love it when you have a sense of humor about yourself. Furthermore, he still had his chops, go to the show and you'll be amazed. But will you be able to go anymore?
It's not exactly clear from the stories in the press. We learned that performing made his condition worse and now he's going to physical therapy and I've got no idea how this plays out, but there's a chance you'll never be able to see Billy Joel on stage ever again. And if you haven't and want to, you'll feel ripped-off.
Yes, that joke about the Stones is now true. This truly could be the last time.
It's astounding that these old dudes (and it's almost all males) can still ply the boards. Mick Jagger is still dancing, yet he had heart surgery. But what else are they going to do, stay home? Then again, Mick Ralphs has been in a nursing home for the better part of a decade. His playing is still stellar on the recording of "All the Young Dudes," but he can't play it on stage anymore. And the man who wrote it, David Bowie, will have been gone for ten years in January.
It's a wake-up call. Then again, I seem to be the only one who wants to be conscious when I'm dying. Everybody I know wants to die in their sleep. I don't get that. You're alive and kicking and then you don't wake up, having no idea that it was your last day on earth? No, I want to see it coming.
But no one sees the end of the classic rock performers coming.
Oh, they talk about it, about how their business will be missed, but now there are younger acts that can sell out stadiums.
It's all going down the drain. It's the nature of life. You can get plastic surgery, go on a GLP-1 and look just marvelous, but that does not change your DNA and the attrition of age.
Everybody's in denial. Joe Biden believed he could rule until he was 86. Now it looks like he probably won't even live that long. And we were supposed to believe too. In this artifice.
No one lives forever. Everything falls away. Billy Joel is 76. Your mom might be in her nineties, as mine was before she passed, but my dad died at 70. Sure, there are spry septuagenarians out there, but a ton are dying too.
But no one wants to talk about this, everybody wants to put on a brave face. Like I said, everybody thinks they're going to live forever, but this is not the case.
So, if you're in your seventies, don't keep pushing your desires into the future. If you want to see that act, go NOW, because you may never be able to again. As for spending your money, and hopefully you have some, financial advisors will tell you one of the biggest hurdles they must overcome is convincing their clients to spend their money. Sure, if you want to save it and give it to your progeny, fine, but if you're denying yourself...
As for medical breakthroughs... Good luck now that Trump has excised employees and wants to hold back money for research at universities. You want to pay no additional taxes, but believe me, on your deathbed, you'll wish there was a cure.
I hope there is for Billy Joel. The last time I saw him was at the Hollywood Bowl, and I couldn't ask for anything more, he was as good as he could have possibly been.
And I play his "Songs in the Attic" LP on a regular basis, it's emblazoned upon my brain.
But that might be the only place it lives in the future.
"I don't need you to worry for me 'cause I'm all right"
But fifty years later we are worried. Billy is no longer spry and neither are we.
"I don't care what you say anymore this is my life
Go ahead with your own life, leave me alone"
That's one thing you realize as you get older, we're all equal. And we all excel in certain areas. We may not be able to play and sing like Billy Joel, but we might be able to fix the toilet or the computer or do a whole host of other things. That was your life. And in most cases, other than your family and a few friends, you're being left alone.
But it's art that brings us together. And nothing so much as musicians. They sing their life, which we identify with. They make us feel connected, they give us a reason to live. They're off on the horizon and we keep trying to get closer to them.
But ultimately it's a mirage. They're gone. You think you know them but you never really did. Can we really ever even know another person?
But there's nothing worse than being alone.
All those acts from way back when, they were ubiquitous in a way today's acts are not. EVERYBODY who was conscious in 1978 knows "My Life," whether they liked it or not, you could not escape it.
Yes, some people hated Billy Joel, but all these years later...
The same people who hated the Carpenters now love them.
But they pushed Karen over the edge.
We all are just dust in the wind.
But that's more than a song.
This leaving...I don't know where to put my emotions, which are palpable, if for no other reason than no one else admits to having them.
Maybe they do.
But maybe the only way we can connect is through the records.
Those classic rock tracks. They were more than songs, they were life itself.
But the candle does not burn forever, at some point it either burns down to nothing or gets snuffed out.
Hopefully yours won't get snuffed out before your time.
But it could happen, never forget that.
P.S. If you type "my life lyrics" into Google (sans the quotation marks) you get J. Cole's song from 2021, and if that doesn't prove the point...
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
Saturday, 24 May 2025
TikTok Tips
HAVE A PERSONALITY
Bland doesn't work on TikTok, edge does. Doesn't matter whether you're likable or not, but whether you're interesting.
DON'T BE WORRIED ABOUT WHAT OTHERS THINK
You connect most when you're true to yourself. You're selling yourself, you're in the business of yourself.
IGNORE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
Haters come with the territory. If you post, people will hate on you. It's hard to ignore the sh*t-talking, but if you can't, TikTok is not for you. Too many people are afraid to play. This is less of an issue with younger generations. One must adjust to the modern paradigm, everybody has an opinion and everybody expresses it. Furthermore, people are angry that you're posting and they are not (usually they're afraid to), or they are posting and you have much more traction. Everybody can be picked on. The lowest form of criticism is looks-based. Don't fall into this trap, it killed Karen Carpenter. You are who you are, own it.
ANONYMITY IS FOR PUSSIES
If you can't own your name and identity, TikTok is not for you. You want traction, more fans, more views. And you want to be able to build on the traction you get. You don't want to have to change your name/say who you really are down the line.
BE SEARCHABLE ELSEWHERE
If someone likes you, they want to know who you are. Make sure you have enough postings online so they can research you and feel like they know you.
POST REGULARLY
If you're not willing to do it on a regular basis, don't start. However, be wary of falling into the "influencer" trap. Those people always burn out, they work 'round the clock and ultimately have to stop for their mental health. If you're out eating a burger thinking you've got to go home to post, you're doing it wrong.
EVERYTHING YOU DO WON'T BE GREAT
That's the internet paradigm, you do it until it catches on, people ignore the tripe. Don't keep polishing one video, let it go and create another one. The best ones are when you capture lightning in a bottle, instantly...are inspired and lay it down without thinking about it. Sure, there is a business in expensive stunting...but that's what OK Go is known for, not their music, and it costs Mr. Beast a ton of money and time. Think punk rock, not classic rock. Don't be mad at yourself for doing something that's not a ten. If you do enough, your average will improve and ultimately you'll create a ten.
HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY
Artifice went out with the old static Instagram. Polishing your physicality doesn't resonate with most people, they want the real you. Makeup is not anathema, as long as the people watching know you aren't wearing makeup.
DON'T BREAK DOWN AND COMPLAIN
Life is hard for all of us. Too many posters get down in the dumps when they realize social media doesn't solve their problems and they break down in posts talking about their personal problems... There is a business in talking about depression. But unless you have a big loss, don't go on about it.
HAVE A SHTICK
What are you famous for? Your mode of delivery? Your jokes? Is it the way you deliver your message or the message itself? Once again, personality is key, if your posts are based on your identity you can always pivot and go into new content areas.
LOOKS COUNT
Maybe this is unfortunate for those of us who are not blessed in this area, but let's not deny reality. The beautiful have a leg up on social media. But viewing TikTok will prove to you that there are an unlimited number of beautiful people online, that's not enough to sustain a career. Beauty will get you started, but it won't keep people coming back. Three-dimensional works online, not two-dimensional.
HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR ABOUT YOURSELF
Don't put yourself down to avoid feedback. But if you make a mistake, own it. Don't go on about how stupid you are unless you truly screwed up. The smart people saying they're stupid, the thin people saying they're fat, they're so caught up in the game that they can't win. Start with truth. That's what resonates.
GIVE VIEWERS A REASON TO COME BACK
Why do I want to see you again? You probably won't know until you do it for a while. This is not about launching a business, this is about putting one foot in front of the other in a journey of self-discovery. You probably won't find out what people react to until you do it for a while. But there must be something about you and your presentation that intrigues people.
PROFESSIONAL VS. AMATEUR
Anybody can play, but not anybody can win. Having said that, you can own a niche and be unknown to most people and still have quite a career. Decide if you want to make a living online or you're just playing around. Because to succeed takes focus.
THIS IS THE GOAL
Don't think of brand extensions, you are the act, find ways to capitalize on who you are and what you do, content as opposed to penumbra.
DON'T TRY TO GO VIRAL
Don't second guess the audience, this has been proven to be unsuccessful over and over again. What people liked in the past does not mean they'll like that in the future. The more you focus inward, the more success you'll have outward.
EXPERTISE COUNTS
If your personality and delivery are not intriguing, it's best to have expertise in an area. Could be anything, sometimes people watch just to learn, having no interest in pursuing the field.
DON'T TRY TO PLEASE EVERYBODY
This is a fool's errand. You want a passionate response, not blah. You don't want to be liked, you want to be loved. And not everybody can be loved by everybody, and you don't have to be loved by everybody to be successful
VIEWS OR SELLS?
There is a business in being a classic influencer, gaining enough of an audience to sell products, but in doing so you lose all credibility, you're just flavor of the moment. The low hanging fruit is attractive, but it's a shortcut. You can talk about the products you love, but if you're trying to sell something in the process, you're an advertiser. Better to make the money so you can buy products as opposed to getting them for free.
COMMENTARY
Your insight must be just that, insightful, or this is a no-go. We don't need another Trump lover or hater, but we do need educated people who can make sense of the landscape for others who don't have enough time to research the issues or can't see the forest for the trees. Emotion counts, but it's better when it's about your personal experience as opposed to the world at large unless you're different from the average person, are a seer.
THIS IS YOUR BUSINESS
Don't think about crossing over...to what? Successful TikTokkers get many more views than TV news and sitcoms and... Don't try to plug your new media self into the old media game. It's not about leveraging your fame to play in their world, you're living in the new world, they're living n the old, look forward, not back. If you can't find a way to be successful online, evidencing your identity and shtick, then you don't understand what is going on.
VIEWS ARE EVERYTHING
That's your goal. Views pay. Literally, in dollars. Also, the more views you get the more your name has a chance to spread and that's where opportunities lie.
SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE
TikTok is overwhelmed with people who went viral once, and are desperately trying to replicate this success and never do.
DON'T ASK YOUR AUDIENCE FOR FAVORS
Don't ask your audience to make you a success. To spread the word on you. Either you're good enough that they want to spread the word or you're not. People are sick of being dunned for free work. It gives off a bad vibe.
NOT TOO LONG
Yes. Don't fall into the musician trap of filling the sixty plus minutes on a CD. Keep it short enough to be interesting.
NO MULTIPART STORIES
Cliffhangers are for network television. Online people want it all and they want it now, give it to them. And don't take multiple clips to tell a story that can easily be told in one.
HIT THEM WITH THE HOOK
It's incredibly easy to thumb past a video. You have to give people a reason to watch. Start with the headline, the nougat, and then digress if you have to. Start with the chorus, not the verse.
START
This is the number one rule of social media, unless you post you're nowhere. Better to start and be bad than try to polish a video to begin.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
Bland doesn't work on TikTok, edge does. Doesn't matter whether you're likable or not, but whether you're interesting.
DON'T BE WORRIED ABOUT WHAT OTHERS THINK
You connect most when you're true to yourself. You're selling yourself, you're in the business of yourself.
IGNORE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
Haters come with the territory. If you post, people will hate on you. It's hard to ignore the sh*t-talking, but if you can't, TikTok is not for you. Too many people are afraid to play. This is less of an issue with younger generations. One must adjust to the modern paradigm, everybody has an opinion and everybody expresses it. Furthermore, people are angry that you're posting and they are not (usually they're afraid to), or they are posting and you have much more traction. Everybody can be picked on. The lowest form of criticism is looks-based. Don't fall into this trap, it killed Karen Carpenter. You are who you are, own it.
ANONYMITY IS FOR PUSSIES
If you can't own your name and identity, TikTok is not for you. You want traction, more fans, more views. And you want to be able to build on the traction you get. You don't want to have to change your name/say who you really are down the line.
BE SEARCHABLE ELSEWHERE
If someone likes you, they want to know who you are. Make sure you have enough postings online so they can research you and feel like they know you.
POST REGULARLY
If you're not willing to do it on a regular basis, don't start. However, be wary of falling into the "influencer" trap. Those people always burn out, they work 'round the clock and ultimately have to stop for their mental health. If you're out eating a burger thinking you've got to go home to post, you're doing it wrong.
EVERYTHING YOU DO WON'T BE GREAT
That's the internet paradigm, you do it until it catches on, people ignore the tripe. Don't keep polishing one video, let it go and create another one. The best ones are when you capture lightning in a bottle, instantly...are inspired and lay it down without thinking about it. Sure, there is a business in expensive stunting...but that's what OK Go is known for, not their music, and it costs Mr. Beast a ton of money and time. Think punk rock, not classic rock. Don't be mad at yourself for doing something that's not a ten. If you do enough, your average will improve and ultimately you'll create a ten.
HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY
Artifice went out with the old static Instagram. Polishing your physicality doesn't resonate with most people, they want the real you. Makeup is not anathema, as long as the people watching know you aren't wearing makeup.
DON'T BREAK DOWN AND COMPLAIN
Life is hard for all of us. Too many posters get down in the dumps when they realize social media doesn't solve their problems and they break down in posts talking about their personal problems... There is a business in talking about depression. But unless you have a big loss, don't go on about it.
HAVE A SHTICK
What are you famous for? Your mode of delivery? Your jokes? Is it the way you deliver your message or the message itself? Once again, personality is key, if your posts are based on your identity you can always pivot and go into new content areas.
LOOKS COUNT
Maybe this is unfortunate for those of us who are not blessed in this area, but let's not deny reality. The beautiful have a leg up on social media. But viewing TikTok will prove to you that there are an unlimited number of beautiful people online, that's not enough to sustain a career. Beauty will get you started, but it won't keep people coming back. Three-dimensional works online, not two-dimensional.
HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR ABOUT YOURSELF
Don't put yourself down to avoid feedback. But if you make a mistake, own it. Don't go on about how stupid you are unless you truly screwed up. The smart people saying they're stupid, the thin people saying they're fat, they're so caught up in the game that they can't win. Start with truth. That's what resonates.
GIVE VIEWERS A REASON TO COME BACK
Why do I want to see you again? You probably won't know until you do it for a while. This is not about launching a business, this is about putting one foot in front of the other in a journey of self-discovery. You probably won't find out what people react to until you do it for a while. But there must be something about you and your presentation that intrigues people.
PROFESSIONAL VS. AMATEUR
Anybody can play, but not anybody can win. Having said that, you can own a niche and be unknown to most people and still have quite a career. Decide if you want to make a living online or you're just playing around. Because to succeed takes focus.
THIS IS THE GOAL
Don't think of brand extensions, you are the act, find ways to capitalize on who you are and what you do, content as opposed to penumbra.
DON'T TRY TO GO VIRAL
Don't second guess the audience, this has been proven to be unsuccessful over and over again. What people liked in the past does not mean they'll like that in the future. The more you focus inward, the more success you'll have outward.
EXPERTISE COUNTS
If your personality and delivery are not intriguing, it's best to have expertise in an area. Could be anything, sometimes people watch just to learn, having no interest in pursuing the field.
DON'T TRY TO PLEASE EVERYBODY
This is a fool's errand. You want a passionate response, not blah. You don't want to be liked, you want to be loved. And not everybody can be loved by everybody, and you don't have to be loved by everybody to be successful
VIEWS OR SELLS?
There is a business in being a classic influencer, gaining enough of an audience to sell products, but in doing so you lose all credibility, you're just flavor of the moment. The low hanging fruit is attractive, but it's a shortcut. You can talk about the products you love, but if you're trying to sell something in the process, you're an advertiser. Better to make the money so you can buy products as opposed to getting them for free.
COMMENTARY
Your insight must be just that, insightful, or this is a no-go. We don't need another Trump lover or hater, but we do need educated people who can make sense of the landscape for others who don't have enough time to research the issues or can't see the forest for the trees. Emotion counts, but it's better when it's about your personal experience as opposed to the world at large unless you're different from the average person, are a seer.
THIS IS YOUR BUSINESS
Don't think about crossing over...to what? Successful TikTokkers get many more views than TV news and sitcoms and... Don't try to plug your new media self into the old media game. It's not about leveraging your fame to play in their world, you're living in the new world, they're living n the old, look forward, not back. If you can't find a way to be successful online, evidencing your identity and shtick, then you don't understand what is going on.
VIEWS ARE EVERYTHING
That's your goal. Views pay. Literally, in dollars. Also, the more views you get the more your name has a chance to spread and that's where opportunities lie.
SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE
TikTok is overwhelmed with people who went viral once, and are desperately trying to replicate this success and never do.
DON'T ASK YOUR AUDIENCE FOR FAVORS
Don't ask your audience to make you a success. To spread the word on you. Either you're good enough that they want to spread the word or you're not. People are sick of being dunned for free work. It gives off a bad vibe.
NOT TOO LONG
Yes. Don't fall into the musician trap of filling the sixty plus minutes on a CD. Keep it short enough to be interesting.
NO MULTIPART STORIES
Cliffhangers are for network television. Online people want it all and they want it now, give it to them. And don't take multiple clips to tell a story that can easily be told in one.
HIT THEM WITH THE HOOK
It's incredibly easy to thumb past a video. You have to give people a reason to watch. Start with the headline, the nougat, and then digress if you have to. Start with the chorus, not the verse.
START
This is the number one rule of social media, unless you post you're nowhere. Better to start and be bad than try to polish a video to begin.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
Friday, 23 May 2025
Bad Company-2-SiriusXM This Week
Tune in Saturday May 24th 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
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
Phone #: 844-686-5863
If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
Thursday, 22 May 2025
Re-Cauliflower Pizza
I always try to avoid the impulse to write back to you, because I know you get a lot of both really smart people and a few crazies writing to you. But I'm almost always tempted to write back. (I grew up in the New York area during the '70s, and did college radio, so almost everything you write resonates with me.)
But my wife has been allergic to gluten for about 10 years so we always eat cauliflower pizza. We never liked Caulipower.
But we love Milton's Meat Lovers pizza. It's our favorite, but sometimes Costco has it and sometimes they don't, so we only get it when Costco has it. (When they don't have it, we buy the Costco version with pepperoni.)
I don't have to eat GF but that Milton's pizza is as good as any other frozen pizza, for me.
All the best,
Chris Hall
________________________________________
hi bob, this is the best cauliflower pizza ive ever had, made in USA so far only available via costco CANADA (??) it hits the sauce/cheese/crust trifecta perfectly and take additional toppings like a champ. annoying that we can't get it here in the states.
Sabatasso's: https://shorturl.at/bV8dz
after multiple times eating it, it has an overall flavor that might suggest 'schwans' home delivery contract manufacturing, but i cannot verify.
source: me working multiple pizza jobs as a starving seattle musician in the 90's and latent pizza snob in later years.
-Nial McGaughey
hovercraft amps
________________________________________
I changed my diet drastically over the last 1 ? years and became familiar with Milton's Roasted Vegetable Pizza at Costco. I "doctor" it up with Italian chicken sausage (cook it first!), sliced banana peppers (remove the seeds), sundried tomatoes and low-fat turkey pepperoni...once cooked I add fresh basil...its SPECTACULAR!
My Italian mother is rolling in her grave knowing that I eat Cauliflower crust pizza as well as gluten free pasta made with chick peas!
Steve Gerardi
Indianapolis
________________________________________
Spence & Co is the best supermarket nova and I've tried em all, it's sliced thin and oily the way it should be all the others are trash, Cauliflower pizza is actually addictive and I highly recommend getting it fresh as it is a whole other beast from freezer, I don't like freezer Cauliflower it's too cardboard like but fresh it is like an umami cracker, Blaze Pizza has a good one
Stay Healthy
Gregg Simon
________________________________________
Two more to add to your potential list (and I know you have written posts about both stores in the somewhat recent past):
Kirkland (Costco)
365 (Whole Foods)
Both are excellent.
As far as taste issues go, my solution (which will not work for everyone) is to add generous streams of Frank's Red Hot sauce, right as it comes out of the oven.
If you chat with your nutritionist about it, she or he will tell you to read the ingredients labels carefully. For those who are trying to limit cholesterol, the 365 option is certainly healthier. It is also gluten free, and while cauliflower is naturally free of gluten, it is not true that all cauliflower pizza crusts are in fact gluten free.
jimeddy
Ann Arbor, MI
________________________________________
I buy the cauliflower crust and make my own pizza. Rao's sauce. The key is the sauce :)
Jake Gold
________________________________________
Go to Trader Joes and just get their cauli crust. Then you can top it with whatever you want and make sure that what you put on it is delicious. It's much better than whatever you'll get out of a box. Making a good tomato sauce that is worlds better than anything from a jar is pretty quick and easy, or some Rao's will do the trick too, and general better and healthier than anything you'll find in a box. Plus then you can experiment with different flavors like BBQ chicken, Buffalo chicken, or grab some masala simmer sauce while at TJs and do a curry version. The opportunities are endless.
Cheers.
Lauren Hennessy
________________________________________
Heck yeah for cauliflower pizza! Aldis has a great one in their refrigerated section. Take it home and 10 minutes it's done. Cooked and ready to eat in 12!
Lynn Polke
________________________________________
The ones at Costco are the best I've found. Have fun!
-Vadim
________________________________________
Bob: I try to avoid rice but it's a necessary evil for Indian, Mexican, and Asian comfort food -- so I use Parish Rice from Louisiana (https://parishrice.com/). Low glycemic index (41 versus 70), and 50% more protein (5g protein per serving isn't much but it's something). They sell it on Amazon in 2 and 5 lb. bags, but you can buy it direct from Parish in a 25 lb. bag with free shipping at $2 per pound.
Best,
Lee Huddleston
________________________________________
We like Caulipower but we bought a Milton's a while ago and it's pretty good, better than Caulipower, but the first thing we noticed was that the picture has tons of toppings but the pizza itself had hardly any! I sent a message to the company and they sent us a bunch of coupons for free pizzas (!) and a big box of cauliflower crackers, various flavors. (Crackers not so good! )
Philip Rizzo
________________________________________
Cauliflower pizza from Trader Joe's is the best on the market- I've tried them all.
-Kyrié von Erffa
________________________________________
We love Milton's Cauliflower Pizza. Everyone in the family enjoys it, but especially my wife, who eats no carbs or sugar. And we buy it at Costco, where it's $16 for two pies!
Mark Pokedoff, Warrington Pa.
________________________________________
For my cardboard pizza I always cut up an onion and put it on top. Adds a ton of flavor!
Tom Hedtke
________________________________________
I was reading this thinking Caulipower meh. Then you told us you discovered Milton's. IMO there is no better gluten free pizza out there. Maybe even the best frozen pizza period. Overcook it a bit so the crust is crispy.
We always have a two-pack of the veg one from Costco in the freezer ($13.99!!!). Add turkey pepperoni and grilled artichokes, and after it's cooked, a few sprinkles of parmesan. Perfect when no one feels like cooking or leaving the house!
I'll check out the lox! Thanks for that tip!
Ellie Shapiro
________________________________________
I've tried a bunch of these, Bob. Here's my favorite. It's really good.
Open Nature: https://shorturl.at/1Njgg
T. G. LaFredo
________________________________________
Milton's best frozen pizza available
Clean ingredients, good taste, scratches the itch
I keep it stocked
https://www.facebook.com/flavcity/videos/562115204690103/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v
Brett Taylor
________________________________________
We've been eating Milton's cauliflower pizza for years, Costco carries it. We usually add the Kirkland artichoke hearts, extra parmigiana and for protein the Citterio prosciutto that Costco carries. A few items that you can pick up at the grocery store enhance the experience.
Wendy Morris
________________________________________
We've been eating cauliflower pizza weekly lately, and, to be honest, I can't really tell the difference between the different brands, but my wife adds mushrooms, olives, cheese and truffle oil to complement the basic pie. We added pico de gallo once to good effect. I kid myself that it's better for me than regular pizza, since I'm glucose intolerant, so it will be interesting to see what your doctor says about their nutritional value.
Stephen Hutchinson
________________________________________
miltons just needs some extra love… personally I add frozen chopped spinach, nitrate free Applegate turkey pepperoni, some extra grated Parm and onions to the veggie pizza. For frozen pizza so good. Try it…
Craig Snider
________________________________________
I'm getting the vibe that you aren't a cook, but I can tell you that it's not too hard to make an absolutely delicious cauliflower crust pizza from scratch. Far easier than making flour pizza dough.
The Western Slope City Markets do alright— they aren't Gelson's or Erewhon's or even Wegman's but they're not terrible.
Beth Hardy McLennan
________________________________________
Given your food habits (I can't believe you don't eat more during winter, skiing burns up a lot of calories) I would say don't scrimp on what you buy. Pay for the best. When it comes to smoked salmon/lox, the best I've ever had is from Petrossian in NYC. It's expensive at $150 for a pound and a half but if it's a primary source of protein...you can't feel guilty. Gorgeous.
As the late great comic Mitch Hedberg once observed: Rice is really great if you are super hungry and want to eat 2,000 of something. Thanks anyway. I get burritos without the rice, filler indeed.
Cauliflower pizza? I don't eat cardboard, I'm fussy and want as close to Italian pizza as you can get in the US which only measures up to about a 5 on the Italian pizza scale. I'm not worried about health aspects as the Italians have enough blue zones to indicate that they are not dying prematurely en masse from a poor diet. The quality of their food is phenomenal. You want to avoid one thing? Processed food. That's the number one killer. Eat, be happy, unless of course you aren't a foodie.
John Brodey
________________________________________
Costco offers a Kirkland cauliflower pizza that's very good.
Cheers,
Eric Albino
________________________________________
Milton's is the best frozen cauliflower pizza I've tried. Their bread and crackers are good too if you are OK with a few carbs now and then. Trader Joe's cauliflower pizza isn't bad either. I'll have to give the Caulipower a try if they have it at my local Albertsons.
Take care,
Brett Patrick
________________________________________
Aldi smoked salmon was my go-to for a few years (and the price was right) but lately, I've been buying salmon filets (at Aldi) and making gravlax and it's even better — and less expensive — than the other stuff.
You said you don't cook so I'm not giving you the recipe but if you're ever interested, hit me up. It's pretty easy and really nice, especially for Sunday brunch on a bialy.
Richard Pachter
________________________________________
And I have the urge to tell you…after learning I had a liver problem I started making changes to my diet. I ordered a gluten free pizza from Pizza Pie Eatery in Tarzana. it's a cauliflower crust too. I have grown to prefer it!! Now, the crust is much thinner, more like a flat bread then your normal pizza dough crust. It also has a slight stickiness when you chew it but I have to tell you, it's pretty delicious! This pizza place also has a superior marinara in my opinion. It has a spicy little kick to it where many can be uber bland. Anyway, highly recommend you try it if you ever find yourself in the west valley. The only bummer is you can only get a medium one. No large!
My other new favorite is Mary's Crackers, the everything flavor. They're gluten free. Try them with some hummus. Really good.
Normally not a fan of gluten free stuff so I'm always on the lookout for standouts.
Cheers,
Anita Zaccaro
________________________________________
A truly awesome pizza crust is chick peas. The texture is awesome and it gets crispy when baked. I would love to make my own but if you just buy chick pea crusts you can pile on your own favorite stuff and it tastes fresher, at least for home made.
Robert Falgiano
________________________________________
A truly awesome pizza crust is chick peas. The texture is awesome and it Hi Bob! Long time listener first time caller ??
Can't say I expected a gluten free pizza review in the Lefsetz Letter but would love to send mine your way to try!
https://www.eatbanza.com/products/four-cheese
The crust is made from chickpeas, a good source of protein and fiber.
No pressure either way. Appreciate your writing, frequently gives me a good laugh.
Brian Rudolph
Banza
________________________________________
A truly awesome pizza crust is chick peas. The texture is awesome and it Now you're getting into something that's really important Bob! Politics and Muso biz wisdom aside, this is serious talk. I'm a foodie and a cook around the house and also trying to eat more healthy as I became a senior.
The wheat our grandparents used to eat is not the GMO wheat the FDA is cramming down our throats during the last half century. I am not allergic to gluten in wheat but it does give me acid reflux, fatigue, gas, and a bad breath from the sugar content inside gluten. I just feel better when I eat gluten-free products.
Califlower crust pizza dough is one of those so this has become a passion for me as a cook.
Yes good old New York thin crust pizza tastes the best because of the upstate water and maybe even the non-GMO Italian grade AA flour some pizzerias import. The gluten makes that delicious cracker crust that holds together so well and is crunchy on the palette. This is the standard of perfect pizza pie. When I'm in NYC every year I eat this gluten-laden delight because it is so perfect.
But every other pizza made west of the Mississippi sucks in my opinion. (the exception is Mozza on Melrose who imported all their ingredients including the NYC water}
So I started making califlower crust pizza out here in CA.
I make them for our band rehearsals and the band loves the way I prepare them. They are no longer skeptics and always ask when I schedule a rehearsal, "are you going to make that great pizza again?!" So I know it's working.
I use a premade frozen cauliflower crust pizza shell made by a company called Oggi that's just perfect. Just the right blend of cauliflower, rice, amaranth, and potato flours. The trick is to pre-bake the shell to dry out the crust a little. Gluten free dough is a different consistency as you have stated here in your letter. It has to be baked a little longer to get that slightly burnt, crunchy crust.
Then remove the pre baked crust from the oven and slather it with your favorite pizza sauce, pasta sauce/paste, or pesto and assemble your favorite toppings. I've even steered away (pun intended) from using cow cheese these days and using Spanish sheep Manchengo cheese as I am cow milk intolerant. It melts great and everyone seems to love it.
But if done correctly, gluten-free crust pizza can still be a delicious comfort food that rivals NYC-style pie.
Kenny Lee Lewis
Steve Miller Band
________________________________________
A truly awesome pizza crust is chick peas. The texture is awesome and it For whatever reason, every time I read the word "caulipower", I laughed.
especially now that I realize you had to correct autocorrect each time.
XO
Jimmy Kimmel
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
But my wife has been allergic to gluten for about 10 years so we always eat cauliflower pizza. We never liked Caulipower.
But we love Milton's Meat Lovers pizza. It's our favorite, but sometimes Costco has it and sometimes they don't, so we only get it when Costco has it. (When they don't have it, we buy the Costco version with pepperoni.)
I don't have to eat GF but that Milton's pizza is as good as any other frozen pizza, for me.
All the best,
Chris Hall
________________________________________
hi bob, this is the best cauliflower pizza ive ever had, made in USA so far only available via costco CANADA (??) it hits the sauce/cheese/crust trifecta perfectly and take additional toppings like a champ. annoying that we can't get it here in the states.
Sabatasso's: https://shorturl.at/bV8dz
after multiple times eating it, it has an overall flavor that might suggest 'schwans' home delivery contract manufacturing, but i cannot verify.
source: me working multiple pizza jobs as a starving seattle musician in the 90's and latent pizza snob in later years.
-Nial McGaughey
hovercraft amps
________________________________________
I changed my diet drastically over the last 1 ? years and became familiar with Milton's Roasted Vegetable Pizza at Costco. I "doctor" it up with Italian chicken sausage (cook it first!), sliced banana peppers (remove the seeds), sundried tomatoes and low-fat turkey pepperoni...once cooked I add fresh basil...its SPECTACULAR!
My Italian mother is rolling in her grave knowing that I eat Cauliflower crust pizza as well as gluten free pasta made with chick peas!
Steve Gerardi
Indianapolis
________________________________________
Spence & Co is the best supermarket nova and I've tried em all, it's sliced thin and oily the way it should be all the others are trash, Cauliflower pizza is actually addictive and I highly recommend getting it fresh as it is a whole other beast from freezer, I don't like freezer Cauliflower it's too cardboard like but fresh it is like an umami cracker, Blaze Pizza has a good one
Stay Healthy
Gregg Simon
________________________________________
Two more to add to your potential list (and I know you have written posts about both stores in the somewhat recent past):
Kirkland (Costco)
365 (Whole Foods)
Both are excellent.
As far as taste issues go, my solution (which will not work for everyone) is to add generous streams of Frank's Red Hot sauce, right as it comes out of the oven.
If you chat with your nutritionist about it, she or he will tell you to read the ingredients labels carefully. For those who are trying to limit cholesterol, the 365 option is certainly healthier. It is also gluten free, and while cauliflower is naturally free of gluten, it is not true that all cauliflower pizza crusts are in fact gluten free.
jimeddy
Ann Arbor, MI
________________________________________
I buy the cauliflower crust and make my own pizza. Rao's sauce. The key is the sauce :)
Jake Gold
________________________________________
Go to Trader Joes and just get their cauli crust. Then you can top it with whatever you want and make sure that what you put on it is delicious. It's much better than whatever you'll get out of a box. Making a good tomato sauce that is worlds better than anything from a jar is pretty quick and easy, or some Rao's will do the trick too, and general better and healthier than anything you'll find in a box. Plus then you can experiment with different flavors like BBQ chicken, Buffalo chicken, or grab some masala simmer sauce while at TJs and do a curry version. The opportunities are endless.
Cheers.
Lauren Hennessy
________________________________________
Heck yeah for cauliflower pizza! Aldis has a great one in their refrigerated section. Take it home and 10 minutes it's done. Cooked and ready to eat in 12!
Lynn Polke
________________________________________
The ones at Costco are the best I've found. Have fun!
-Vadim
________________________________________
Bob: I try to avoid rice but it's a necessary evil for Indian, Mexican, and Asian comfort food -- so I use Parish Rice from Louisiana (https://parishrice.com/). Low glycemic index (41 versus 70), and 50% more protein (5g protein per serving isn't much but it's something). They sell it on Amazon in 2 and 5 lb. bags, but you can buy it direct from Parish in a 25 lb. bag with free shipping at $2 per pound.
Best,
Lee Huddleston
________________________________________
We like Caulipower but we bought a Milton's a while ago and it's pretty good, better than Caulipower, but the first thing we noticed was that the picture has tons of toppings but the pizza itself had hardly any! I sent a message to the company and they sent us a bunch of coupons for free pizzas (!) and a big box of cauliflower crackers, various flavors. (Crackers not so good! )
Philip Rizzo
________________________________________
Cauliflower pizza from Trader Joe's is the best on the market- I've tried them all.
-Kyrié von Erffa
________________________________________
We love Milton's Cauliflower Pizza. Everyone in the family enjoys it, but especially my wife, who eats no carbs or sugar. And we buy it at Costco, where it's $16 for two pies!
Mark Pokedoff, Warrington Pa.
________________________________________
For my cardboard pizza I always cut up an onion and put it on top. Adds a ton of flavor!
Tom Hedtke
________________________________________
I was reading this thinking Caulipower meh. Then you told us you discovered Milton's. IMO there is no better gluten free pizza out there. Maybe even the best frozen pizza period. Overcook it a bit so the crust is crispy.
We always have a two-pack of the veg one from Costco in the freezer ($13.99!!!). Add turkey pepperoni and grilled artichokes, and after it's cooked, a few sprinkles of parmesan. Perfect when no one feels like cooking or leaving the house!
I'll check out the lox! Thanks for that tip!
Ellie Shapiro
________________________________________
I've tried a bunch of these, Bob. Here's my favorite. It's really good.
Open Nature: https://shorturl.at/1Njgg
T. G. LaFredo
________________________________________
Milton's best frozen pizza available
Clean ingredients, good taste, scratches the itch
I keep it stocked
https://www.facebook.com/flavcity/videos/562115204690103/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v
Brett Taylor
________________________________________
We've been eating Milton's cauliflower pizza for years, Costco carries it. We usually add the Kirkland artichoke hearts, extra parmigiana and for protein the Citterio prosciutto that Costco carries. A few items that you can pick up at the grocery store enhance the experience.
Wendy Morris
________________________________________
We've been eating cauliflower pizza weekly lately, and, to be honest, I can't really tell the difference between the different brands, but my wife adds mushrooms, olives, cheese and truffle oil to complement the basic pie. We added pico de gallo once to good effect. I kid myself that it's better for me than regular pizza, since I'm glucose intolerant, so it will be interesting to see what your doctor says about their nutritional value.
Stephen Hutchinson
________________________________________
miltons just needs some extra love… personally I add frozen chopped spinach, nitrate free Applegate turkey pepperoni, some extra grated Parm and onions to the veggie pizza. For frozen pizza so good. Try it…
Craig Snider
________________________________________
I'm getting the vibe that you aren't a cook, but I can tell you that it's not too hard to make an absolutely delicious cauliflower crust pizza from scratch. Far easier than making flour pizza dough.
The Western Slope City Markets do alright— they aren't Gelson's or Erewhon's or even Wegman's but they're not terrible.
Beth Hardy McLennan
________________________________________
Given your food habits (I can't believe you don't eat more during winter, skiing burns up a lot of calories) I would say don't scrimp on what you buy. Pay for the best. When it comes to smoked salmon/lox, the best I've ever had is from Petrossian in NYC. It's expensive at $150 for a pound and a half but if it's a primary source of protein...you can't feel guilty. Gorgeous.
As the late great comic Mitch Hedberg once observed: Rice is really great if you are super hungry and want to eat 2,000 of something. Thanks anyway. I get burritos without the rice, filler indeed.
Cauliflower pizza? I don't eat cardboard, I'm fussy and want as close to Italian pizza as you can get in the US which only measures up to about a 5 on the Italian pizza scale. I'm not worried about health aspects as the Italians have enough blue zones to indicate that they are not dying prematurely en masse from a poor diet. The quality of their food is phenomenal. You want to avoid one thing? Processed food. That's the number one killer. Eat, be happy, unless of course you aren't a foodie.
John Brodey
________________________________________
Costco offers a Kirkland cauliflower pizza that's very good.
Cheers,
Eric Albino
________________________________________
Milton's is the best frozen cauliflower pizza I've tried. Their bread and crackers are good too if you are OK with a few carbs now and then. Trader Joe's cauliflower pizza isn't bad either. I'll have to give the Caulipower a try if they have it at my local Albertsons.
Take care,
Brett Patrick
________________________________________
Aldi smoked salmon was my go-to for a few years (and the price was right) but lately, I've been buying salmon filets (at Aldi) and making gravlax and it's even better — and less expensive — than the other stuff.
You said you don't cook so I'm not giving you the recipe but if you're ever interested, hit me up. It's pretty easy and really nice, especially for Sunday brunch on a bialy.
Richard Pachter
________________________________________
And I have the urge to tell you…after learning I had a liver problem I started making changes to my diet. I ordered a gluten free pizza from Pizza Pie Eatery in Tarzana. it's a cauliflower crust too. I have grown to prefer it!! Now, the crust is much thinner, more like a flat bread then your normal pizza dough crust. It also has a slight stickiness when you chew it but I have to tell you, it's pretty delicious! This pizza place also has a superior marinara in my opinion. It has a spicy little kick to it where many can be uber bland. Anyway, highly recommend you try it if you ever find yourself in the west valley. The only bummer is you can only get a medium one. No large!
My other new favorite is Mary's Crackers, the everything flavor. They're gluten free. Try them with some hummus. Really good.
Normally not a fan of gluten free stuff so I'm always on the lookout for standouts.
Cheers,
Anita Zaccaro
________________________________________
A truly awesome pizza crust is chick peas. The texture is awesome and it gets crispy when baked. I would love to make my own but if you just buy chick pea crusts you can pile on your own favorite stuff and it tastes fresher, at least for home made.
Robert Falgiano
________________________________________
A truly awesome pizza crust is chick peas. The texture is awesome and it Hi Bob! Long time listener first time caller ??
Can't say I expected a gluten free pizza review in the Lefsetz Letter but would love to send mine your way to try!
https://www.eatbanza.com/products/four-cheese
The crust is made from chickpeas, a good source of protein and fiber.
No pressure either way. Appreciate your writing, frequently gives me a good laugh.
Brian Rudolph
Banza
________________________________________
A truly awesome pizza crust is chick peas. The texture is awesome and it Now you're getting into something that's really important Bob! Politics and Muso biz wisdom aside, this is serious talk. I'm a foodie and a cook around the house and also trying to eat more healthy as I became a senior.
The wheat our grandparents used to eat is not the GMO wheat the FDA is cramming down our throats during the last half century. I am not allergic to gluten in wheat but it does give me acid reflux, fatigue, gas, and a bad breath from the sugar content inside gluten. I just feel better when I eat gluten-free products.
Califlower crust pizza dough is one of those so this has become a passion for me as a cook.
Yes good old New York thin crust pizza tastes the best because of the upstate water and maybe even the non-GMO Italian grade AA flour some pizzerias import. The gluten makes that delicious cracker crust that holds together so well and is crunchy on the palette. This is the standard of perfect pizza pie. When I'm in NYC every year I eat this gluten-laden delight because it is so perfect.
But every other pizza made west of the Mississippi sucks in my opinion. (the exception is Mozza on Melrose who imported all their ingredients including the NYC water}
So I started making califlower crust pizza out here in CA.
I make them for our band rehearsals and the band loves the way I prepare them. They are no longer skeptics and always ask when I schedule a rehearsal, "are you going to make that great pizza again?!" So I know it's working.
I use a premade frozen cauliflower crust pizza shell made by a company called Oggi that's just perfect. Just the right blend of cauliflower, rice, amaranth, and potato flours. The trick is to pre-bake the shell to dry out the crust a little. Gluten free dough is a different consistency as you have stated here in your letter. It has to be baked a little longer to get that slightly burnt, crunchy crust.
Then remove the pre baked crust from the oven and slather it with your favorite pizza sauce, pasta sauce/paste, or pesto and assemble your favorite toppings. I've even steered away (pun intended) from using cow cheese these days and using Spanish sheep Manchengo cheese as I am cow milk intolerant. It melts great and everyone seems to love it.
But if done correctly, gluten-free crust pizza can still be a delicious comfort food that rivals NYC-style pie.
Kenny Lee Lewis
Steve Miller Band
________________________________________
A truly awesome pizza crust is chick peas. The texture is awesome and it For whatever reason, every time I read the word "caulipower", I laughed.
especially now that I realize you had to correct autocorrect each time.
XO
Jimmy Kimmel
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
Dave Dederer-This Week's Podcast
Dave Dederer was the guitarist in the Presidents of the United States of America. It's the thirtieth anniversary of their major label debut. Hear the story of how an indie band made its own record, got signed by a major, had huge hits and then broke up.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dave-dederer/id1316200737?i=1000709410083
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7CxcnYviCqHhn6e9s7NQpN?si=RKkoEOLMSJuc1MNNrpIq5w
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/dave-dederer-276964824/
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/760575d0-acc4-4b6f-855d-ecfe55d12d66/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-dave-dederer
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dave-dederer/id1316200737?i=1000709410083
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7CxcnYviCqHhn6e9s7NQpN?si=RKkoEOLMSJuc1MNNrpIq5w
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/dave-dederer-276964824/
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/760575d0-acc4-4b6f-855d-ecfe55d12d66/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-dave-dederer
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
Ostrich Time
It's one thing to hate the libs, quite another to put one's head in the sand and deny reality.
Just like it's one thing to hate the elites, but quite another to demonize education.
I stopped writing about politics because everybody got the message, everybody became aware of Trump's actions. However, I am troubled that his flood the zone strategy is causing people to tune out. Furthermore, the flip-flopping on tariffs makes one step aside and say they'll wait until the dust settles, allowing Trump to take further actions they are unaware of.
I blame the internet. Not smartphones. Not social media per se. But the internet in general. The internet broadened society. The Republicans seem to know this, but the Democrats do not. The Democrats keep believing in a pyramid, a top-down society that was blown apart decades ago. No one is in charge. No one respects someone further up the totem pole. And no one gets their information from the same sources as you do. Facts may be fungible, but we've got more than Trump to blame. Like I said, it's the internet.
It's right there for you to see, but too many refuse to. They worry about who is in the White House press room, decry the expulsion of the AP and the inclusion of heretofore unknown right wing outlets, but...
They refuse to acknowledge, never mind understand, that vast swaths of the public get their information from said "unknown" right wing news outlets. They're only the tip of the iceberg. There are many more you've never heard of, and people take them as gospel. It's the infrastructure more than the message that should worry those who believe in facts and truth. These systems have been established over years while the Democrats were completely asleep, believing in big time media. Joe Rogan? Yes, the Democrats missed out on the power of podcasts, but even more the power of information online. They believe in a single truth that spreads, nothing could be further from the truth.
Furthermore, Trump harnessed the power of social media, jumping on Twitter long before Elon Musk bought it, and spoke like the man on the street as opposed to some hoity-toity elite. We're experiencing this right now with Joe Biden's cancer diagnosis. We're supposed to stand aside and not talk about his refusal to step down and the new book that delineates his decline and its cover-up. Have you ever been online? Tell me one time the public stood aside for the good of...ANYTHING! The Democrats and those public intellectuals who lord over them are living in the fifties, but that was more than half a century ago.
But time marches on, as does the world. And the United States is falling behind, so far behind it may never catch up.
Did you read that BYD just outsold Tesla in Europe? Now because of tariffs you won't see a BYD car in the U.S. But not only is it not the only electric car made in China, in many ways it's more advanced than a Tesla, than any car designed in Detroit, and Chinese electric car bodies are updated in a year or two, unlike Tesla, which is utilizing essentially the same design.
So GM lobbied for the elimination of California clean air rules, the need to go all electric in a matter of decades. And their message won, Congress just struck down said rules. The only problem is the rest of the world is going electric at an alarmingly fast clip. As a matter of fact, BMW and other European car companies did not want high tariffs on Chinese cars because not only do they sell automobiles in China, they have to compete with these companies. Expect the Detroit auto companies to falter and be consumed by international conglomerates. Happens to all tech companies who don't keep up with the future, who don't push the envelope, they wither and die and are sold for scrap.
And then there's DOGE and the destruction of our weather forecasting.
But forget the dismantling of our national infrastructure and compare us to the rest of the world, which is moving on while we're doing our best to go back to the past, primarily so those in control can own the libs.
Germany and other European nations have switched almost completely to electric power. And in truth, the U.S. is moving in that direction. But all we hear about is the propping up of coal. (Which is akin to the propping up of vinyl, which is a nostalgic fetish... Cutting vinyl for a digital recording is like taking the power steering and brakes out of a fuel-injected automobile.) Sure, the past may have been better in certain ways, but we are moving forward, we're never getting rid of the internet and...
We can debate all day if colleges are pro-Palestinian indoctrination camps, but the money given by the federal government supports scientific and medical breakthroughs. And now there's a brain drain, with these experts going overseas.
Not that many are realizing this, not yet.
Look at Brexit. Nationalistic nincompoops voting to exit from the European Union. In the almost ten year wake of that vote Brits overwhelmingly reject it, they feel it was a mistake. Britain has lost its bargaining power, has been hurt economically and immigration has not slowed. Ignorant people were made to hate the Europeans and the immigrants and the joke was ultimately on them. Hell, right after Brexit jobs could not be filled because they were done by immigrants, just like the cooks at Kid Rock's restaurant. It's one thing to believe in theory, it's quite another to see the results in practice.
Somehow the Luddites have taken control. And convinced many that the old days were better. And sure, I lament the loss of some stuff from the past, but it's never coming back. Best to jump into the fire of the future and present. You can turn off your smartphone, but believe me, almost no one else is. Only baby boomers who believe they know better who end up ignorant.
We live in an information economy and he or she who knows the most wins.
Unfortunately, much of the information is inaccurate, and there's no way to police it.
Ignorant people love to pontificate and falsehood becomes truth.
Trump has the government say Covid started in a lab when every day more science is revealed that undercuts that theory. Don't believe me? Read this:
"Genetic Study Retraces the Origins of Coronaviruses in Bats - As China and the United States trade charges of a lab leak, researchers contend in a new paper that the Covid pandemic got its start, like a previous one, in the wildlife trade."
Free link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/07/science/covid-coronavirus-bats-genetics.html?unlocked_article_code=1.JE8.2euS.qNRRqrwH36ms&smid=url-share
Oh, it can't be true, it's in the NEW YORK TIMES! And not only the right that decries the paper of record, but so do many on the left. Because emotion has replaced truth. Because it's all about pissing on the big guy. But sometimes the big guy has it right.
It's not only soft power we are losing, but raw power. Even in Iggy's world of entertainment. Chinese movies outgross those from America on the mainland today, which was unheard of in the past. And the story in the music business is about local repertoire, America and England don't dominate anymore. And if you think the argument is about Spotify payments, you're missing the point. And don't know that a lot of acts around the world you've never heard of are making bank. In addition, one reason Spotify dominates streaming is because it keeps opening in foreign territories and innovating, whereas its competitors are asleep and follow in Spotify's footsteps at best. And your hankering for the old days isn't going to change this, never ever.
But a lot of what I write above doesn't reach the public at large, because everybody is in their silo reading stuff that aligns with their already established beliefs or tribe. Everybody has stuck their head in the ground and in many cases denied reality.
mRNA vaccines have been studied for years and are safe. And you may believe your body is inviolate but measles neither knows that nor cares.
It's like America has turned into a sport, with two teams competing for the trophy of control and the truth be damned. The right obfuscates, but so does the left. Biden? All I keep hearing is we've got to forget about Joe and look to Trump and the future. The same people saying this are the educated who studied history in school. What's the cliché, you've got to study history to avoid repeating it?
So this is a 50,000 foot view. On some level the specifics are irrelevant. It's that we're putting up barriers and denying truth, happily living in ignorance as the world evolves. You can't beat global warming by ignoring it. But that seems to be the government's strategy, scrubbing it from the books.
So just consider this a heads-up. You may think you know what is going on, but unless you delve into the world, the head of others, you truly don't. Most Democrats hate Trump voters so much that they refuse to enter their brains and analyze their thoughts and reasoning. Which in some cases is false, but why is it false? Why do they believe untrue information?
You're best off reading mainstream news (and not TV, which does almost no reporting) than blogs and listening to biased podcasts, but this doesn't align with people's feelings. They want to feel powerful, in control, and they do this by excoriating institutions and coming up with their own beliefs, however cockamamie they might be. The anti-vax movement took hold first with the educated left and then spread to the right. These people were sick of being dictated to, they were angry with doctors and science, and they came up with their own beliefs. They feel bedside manner is more important than skill. I mean how many times do you see the surgeon anyway?
But everybody in America is right. And they've got many sites and tribe members to confirm it. This denial of truth knows no bonds. And it's ensuring that America becomes a second class society. You don't win by excising yourself from the game, but by competing. And to compete you need to study your competitors. Sports teams just don't declare opponents bad, they send scouts, they look at the data. But in regular life everybody cocoons and believes they know better.
Forget that elected officials are bought and sold and out for themselves, never mind weak on both sides of the political fence.
It's a hunt for truth, a full time job, and it's your responsibility as a citizen. Not only for yourself, but society at large.
But the past is more comfortable. It's easier to blame an enemy. When in truth it's your own damn fault.
Rust never sleeps, even though you might.
STAY AWAKE!
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
Just like it's one thing to hate the elites, but quite another to demonize education.
I stopped writing about politics because everybody got the message, everybody became aware of Trump's actions. However, I am troubled that his flood the zone strategy is causing people to tune out. Furthermore, the flip-flopping on tariffs makes one step aside and say they'll wait until the dust settles, allowing Trump to take further actions they are unaware of.
I blame the internet. Not smartphones. Not social media per se. But the internet in general. The internet broadened society. The Republicans seem to know this, but the Democrats do not. The Democrats keep believing in a pyramid, a top-down society that was blown apart decades ago. No one is in charge. No one respects someone further up the totem pole. And no one gets their information from the same sources as you do. Facts may be fungible, but we've got more than Trump to blame. Like I said, it's the internet.
It's right there for you to see, but too many refuse to. They worry about who is in the White House press room, decry the expulsion of the AP and the inclusion of heretofore unknown right wing outlets, but...
They refuse to acknowledge, never mind understand, that vast swaths of the public get their information from said "unknown" right wing news outlets. They're only the tip of the iceberg. There are many more you've never heard of, and people take them as gospel. It's the infrastructure more than the message that should worry those who believe in facts and truth. These systems have been established over years while the Democrats were completely asleep, believing in big time media. Joe Rogan? Yes, the Democrats missed out on the power of podcasts, but even more the power of information online. They believe in a single truth that spreads, nothing could be further from the truth.
Furthermore, Trump harnessed the power of social media, jumping on Twitter long before Elon Musk bought it, and spoke like the man on the street as opposed to some hoity-toity elite. We're experiencing this right now with Joe Biden's cancer diagnosis. We're supposed to stand aside and not talk about his refusal to step down and the new book that delineates his decline and its cover-up. Have you ever been online? Tell me one time the public stood aside for the good of...ANYTHING! The Democrats and those public intellectuals who lord over them are living in the fifties, but that was more than half a century ago.
But time marches on, as does the world. And the United States is falling behind, so far behind it may never catch up.
Did you read that BYD just outsold Tesla in Europe? Now because of tariffs you won't see a BYD car in the U.S. But not only is it not the only electric car made in China, in many ways it's more advanced than a Tesla, than any car designed in Detroit, and Chinese electric car bodies are updated in a year or two, unlike Tesla, which is utilizing essentially the same design.
So GM lobbied for the elimination of California clean air rules, the need to go all electric in a matter of decades. And their message won, Congress just struck down said rules. The only problem is the rest of the world is going electric at an alarmingly fast clip. As a matter of fact, BMW and other European car companies did not want high tariffs on Chinese cars because not only do they sell automobiles in China, they have to compete with these companies. Expect the Detroit auto companies to falter and be consumed by international conglomerates. Happens to all tech companies who don't keep up with the future, who don't push the envelope, they wither and die and are sold for scrap.
And then there's DOGE and the destruction of our weather forecasting.
But forget the dismantling of our national infrastructure and compare us to the rest of the world, which is moving on while we're doing our best to go back to the past, primarily so those in control can own the libs.
Germany and other European nations have switched almost completely to electric power. And in truth, the U.S. is moving in that direction. But all we hear about is the propping up of coal. (Which is akin to the propping up of vinyl, which is a nostalgic fetish... Cutting vinyl for a digital recording is like taking the power steering and brakes out of a fuel-injected automobile.) Sure, the past may have been better in certain ways, but we are moving forward, we're never getting rid of the internet and...
We can debate all day if colleges are pro-Palestinian indoctrination camps, but the money given by the federal government supports scientific and medical breakthroughs. And now there's a brain drain, with these experts going overseas.
Not that many are realizing this, not yet.
Look at Brexit. Nationalistic nincompoops voting to exit from the European Union. In the almost ten year wake of that vote Brits overwhelmingly reject it, they feel it was a mistake. Britain has lost its bargaining power, has been hurt economically and immigration has not slowed. Ignorant people were made to hate the Europeans and the immigrants and the joke was ultimately on them. Hell, right after Brexit jobs could not be filled because they were done by immigrants, just like the cooks at Kid Rock's restaurant. It's one thing to believe in theory, it's quite another to see the results in practice.
Somehow the Luddites have taken control. And convinced many that the old days were better. And sure, I lament the loss of some stuff from the past, but it's never coming back. Best to jump into the fire of the future and present. You can turn off your smartphone, but believe me, almost no one else is. Only baby boomers who believe they know better who end up ignorant.
We live in an information economy and he or she who knows the most wins.
Unfortunately, much of the information is inaccurate, and there's no way to police it.
Ignorant people love to pontificate and falsehood becomes truth.
Trump has the government say Covid started in a lab when every day more science is revealed that undercuts that theory. Don't believe me? Read this:
"Genetic Study Retraces the Origins of Coronaviruses in Bats - As China and the United States trade charges of a lab leak, researchers contend in a new paper that the Covid pandemic got its start, like a previous one, in the wildlife trade."
Free link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/07/science/covid-coronavirus-bats-genetics.html?unlocked_article_code=1.JE8.2euS.qNRRqrwH36ms&smid=url-share
Oh, it can't be true, it's in the NEW YORK TIMES! And not only the right that decries the paper of record, but so do many on the left. Because emotion has replaced truth. Because it's all about pissing on the big guy. But sometimes the big guy has it right.
It's not only soft power we are losing, but raw power. Even in Iggy's world of entertainment. Chinese movies outgross those from America on the mainland today, which was unheard of in the past. And the story in the music business is about local repertoire, America and England don't dominate anymore. And if you think the argument is about Spotify payments, you're missing the point. And don't know that a lot of acts around the world you've never heard of are making bank. In addition, one reason Spotify dominates streaming is because it keeps opening in foreign territories and innovating, whereas its competitors are asleep and follow in Spotify's footsteps at best. And your hankering for the old days isn't going to change this, never ever.
But a lot of what I write above doesn't reach the public at large, because everybody is in their silo reading stuff that aligns with their already established beliefs or tribe. Everybody has stuck their head in the ground and in many cases denied reality.
mRNA vaccines have been studied for years and are safe. And you may believe your body is inviolate but measles neither knows that nor cares.
It's like America has turned into a sport, with two teams competing for the trophy of control and the truth be damned. The right obfuscates, but so does the left. Biden? All I keep hearing is we've got to forget about Joe and look to Trump and the future. The same people saying this are the educated who studied history in school. What's the cliché, you've got to study history to avoid repeating it?
So this is a 50,000 foot view. On some level the specifics are irrelevant. It's that we're putting up barriers and denying truth, happily living in ignorance as the world evolves. You can't beat global warming by ignoring it. But that seems to be the government's strategy, scrubbing it from the books.
So just consider this a heads-up. You may think you know what is going on, but unless you delve into the world, the head of others, you truly don't. Most Democrats hate Trump voters so much that they refuse to enter their brains and analyze their thoughts and reasoning. Which in some cases is false, but why is it false? Why do they believe untrue information?
You're best off reading mainstream news (and not TV, which does almost no reporting) than blogs and listening to biased podcasts, but this doesn't align with people's feelings. They want to feel powerful, in control, and they do this by excoriating institutions and coming up with their own beliefs, however cockamamie they might be. The anti-vax movement took hold first with the educated left and then spread to the right. These people were sick of being dictated to, they were angry with doctors and science, and they came up with their own beliefs. They feel bedside manner is more important than skill. I mean how many times do you see the surgeon anyway?
But everybody in America is right. And they've got many sites and tribe members to confirm it. This denial of truth knows no bonds. And it's ensuring that America becomes a second class society. You don't win by excising yourself from the game, but by competing. And to compete you need to study your competitors. Sports teams just don't declare opponents bad, they send scouts, they look at the data. But in regular life everybody cocoons and believes they know better.
Forget that elected officials are bought and sold and out for themselves, never mind weak on both sides of the political fence.
It's a hunt for truth, a full time job, and it's your responsibility as a citizen. Not only for yourself, but society at large.
But the past is more comfortable. It's easier to blame an enemy. When in truth it's your own damn fault.
Rust never sleeps, even though you might.
STAY AWAKE!
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
Wednesday, 21 May 2025
Cauliflower Pizza
I'm new to this.
I was wandering City Market in Vail looking for cookable items. My daily diet consists of coffee yogurt with blueberries and roasted walnuts, and some kind of protein and vegetable at night. As far as how many meals during the day? I've never eaten three. Seems like too much food to me. Then again, my mother never ever made breakfast for us, she was in bed until 10 AM every day. I didn't think twice, even though it came up in school all the time... They seemed to believe I'd do better if I had a full tummy. True? I don't know.
And now the research keeps flip-flopping. Breakfast good, breakfast unnecessary, only eat when you're hungry. But I have to take some pills in the morning and food makes the medicine go down easier, so it doesn't burn up my esophagus and stomach.
As for pills... The anti group... My doctor has the exact opposite philosophy. I know, I know, you feel healthier when you take no pills. But the pills help. And too many people don't have health care good enough to give advance warning before consequences. Kind of like Biden and his PSA... If you do what the government tells you... No, scratch that, that's got the wrong connotation. When you hear that prostate tests and mammograms can be spread out or stopped...don't buy it, I mean do you want to gamble with your health?
Now in Vail I also eat New York Style Nova lox in the morning, for an added jolt of protein, I never stop for lunch, why waste the time, if I get hungry I chow down on an energy bar, and I'm loath to let you in on my secret, but for grocery store smoked salmon, this stuff is the sh*t:
Spence & Co., Nova Lox, NY Style: https://shorturl.at/ZS0OM
That link is to Amazon, but it provides a picture so you can purchase the product at your market of choice, assuming they have it. I've found most markets do not. But City Market does. And I'll buy six at a time. Because inventory control...
There's this Oui Mocha & Chocolate French style yogurt that's delish! But good luck finding a market that sells it. When I see it at City Market I buy all they've got, sometimes fourteen or fifteen jars! Because oftentimes they're out. They're also often out of Chobani Coffee, which replaced the much better Coffee & Cream, and the third coffee yogurt of my triumvirate... I'm not going to tell you what it is, inventory is incredibly spotty, and I too buy all I see when it's available.
And City Market in Vail is gigantic. They slice Boar's Head meat, albeit at a glacial pace. And they've got my Vitamin Water Zero. And they've also got aisle after aisle of frozen products I should not eat.
But being unable to cook and looking for variety, one day I did a deep dive.
All the Indian stuff comes with rice, which my nutritionist calls a "filler food." If you're insulin resistant, and I am, and you might be without knowing it...if you eat pasta and then get tired, you are...you shouldn't be eating any rice. Nor most breads and that includes pizza.
Now in Italy pasta sales are going down for the negative health reasons, even though we all adore it. It's kind of like how the younger generation in America doesn't drink. These are trends.
As for the keto-trend, even Gwyneth Paltrow gave up on that, you probably saw that. As for the protein craze... My nutritionist says a man needs fifteen to twenty grams per meal and a woman ten to fifteen. If you see someone ordering a salad for dinner, laugh at them. Sans chicken or salmon or some other kind of protein atop it they're going to be starving soon. Protein salves the hunger. Fat makes the food taste good. There's more underneath all this, but those are the basic rules.
Oh, just one more thing. Don't eat anything within three hours of going to bed.
All this science I know from my nutritionist, I never paid attention in school, you may know the basics, but you'd be stunned how many don't. I see these people whose parents died of heart attacks eating KFC and french fries and no vegetables and even smoking. Sure, some people get away with this, but the odds are against you.
Now Green Giant has made big strides in the frozen vegetable vertical, you've got to try out their "Restaurant Style" stuff:
https://greengiant.com/products/restaurant-style-sides/
Sure, fresh is always better, but it's good to have a couple of these in the fridge.
So, I tried some frozen Chinese stuff. Almost all come with noodles or rice and very little protein, so I gave up on that.
But one day in City Market I came across Caulipower pizza.
https://eatcaulipower.com/en/products/cauliflower-pizza/
In truth, it kind of tastes like cardboard, but it's easy to cook and it's not the bread of the usual frozen pizza and I checked out all the models and you want the ones with protein on top. Not only for the nutrients, but because without them these pizzas taste even worse.
And if you're hungry after a day of skiing you're oftentimes bolting down the food anyway, so less than great taste is not crucial, but I bought a couple of Caulipowers after coming back from the mountains and...
The taste is just too bland.
But I like having one in the freezer, for when I'm in a pinch. You heat the oven (or large toaster oven) to 425 and then the pizza bakes in 14-16 minutes and the amazing thing about cauliflower pizza is it cools down much faster than the regular stuff, so you can eat it earlier and not burn the roof of your mouth.
And just the other day we were ordering from Instacart and I thought about Caulipower and started to wonder, does the company have any competitors?
And that's why I'm writing this.
They offered Milton's. A terrible name compared to Caulipower. And the graphics on the box are nowhere near as good. But Google is your friend and doing some research I found out that Milton's was on a par with Caulipower so I ordered one. The Meat Lover's Trio. For the protein, if not the taste.
And I tend to eat lunch late, to the point where it's actually dinner. I don't like to take the time to stop. And today I saw the Caulipower box in the freezer along with the Milton's and I decided what the hell, let me try the Milton's.
Now I had a hankering for Caulipower. Never ignore your inner tuning fork. Yes, I know Caulipower mostly tastes like cardboard, but it was titillating my taste buds, conceptually anyway. But variety is the spice of life so I heated the toaster oven (the pizza just fits and it warms up much more quickly) for the Milton's.
Now I've learned that the toaster oven also cooks more quickly than your regular oven. So you want to remove the 'za at the low end of the time spectrum, in this case 13-15 minutes.
And I was hungry and looked through the glass door of the toaster oven at exactly thirteen minutes and the damn pizza looked BURNED!
So now I wasn't having Caulipower and the pizza was at the limit of golden brown and I sliced and took a bite and...
It was immediately clear that the consistency was different. The Milton's is more like a cracker. I was getting a bad vibe, but I put the food in my mouth and...
It was definitely different from Caulipower.
And then I'm continuing to eat the Milton's and it gets better with every bite.
Now let me be clear, it's not as good as regular pizza, and frozen pizza is inherently substandard compared to cooked to order, but the Milton's actually tasted pretty good. The pepperoni wasn't bad, the sausage not great, but both were a bit better than Caulipower. It's about the crust not the toppings, and since pizza is mostly crust, in this case cauliflower, that's good!
Now in truth I haven't run these cauliflower pizzas by my nutritionist yet. They're probably not that great for you. But they're definitely better for you than the conventional DiGiorno and Tombstone. And I have a sinking feeling my nutritionist is going to nix them, but...
If you're in the market for cauliflower pizza...
Well, let me just say I'm at the beginning of my research, I'm sure there are experts with knowledge that far exceeds mine and I even know people who make their own, kudos, but the Milton's was actually filling and fulfilling, satisfying, and I had an urge to tell you.
https://eatmiltons.com/collections/cauliflower-crust-pizza/products/meat-lovers-trio-cauliflower-crust-pizza
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
I was wandering City Market in Vail looking for cookable items. My daily diet consists of coffee yogurt with blueberries and roasted walnuts, and some kind of protein and vegetable at night. As far as how many meals during the day? I've never eaten three. Seems like too much food to me. Then again, my mother never ever made breakfast for us, she was in bed until 10 AM every day. I didn't think twice, even though it came up in school all the time... They seemed to believe I'd do better if I had a full tummy. True? I don't know.
And now the research keeps flip-flopping. Breakfast good, breakfast unnecessary, only eat when you're hungry. But I have to take some pills in the morning and food makes the medicine go down easier, so it doesn't burn up my esophagus and stomach.
As for pills... The anti group... My doctor has the exact opposite philosophy. I know, I know, you feel healthier when you take no pills. But the pills help. And too many people don't have health care good enough to give advance warning before consequences. Kind of like Biden and his PSA... If you do what the government tells you... No, scratch that, that's got the wrong connotation. When you hear that prostate tests and mammograms can be spread out or stopped...don't buy it, I mean do you want to gamble with your health?
Now in Vail I also eat New York Style Nova lox in the morning, for an added jolt of protein, I never stop for lunch, why waste the time, if I get hungry I chow down on an energy bar, and I'm loath to let you in on my secret, but for grocery store smoked salmon, this stuff is the sh*t:
Spence & Co., Nova Lox, NY Style: https://shorturl.at/ZS0OM
That link is to Amazon, but it provides a picture so you can purchase the product at your market of choice, assuming they have it. I've found most markets do not. But City Market does. And I'll buy six at a time. Because inventory control...
There's this Oui Mocha & Chocolate French style yogurt that's delish! But good luck finding a market that sells it. When I see it at City Market I buy all they've got, sometimes fourteen or fifteen jars! Because oftentimes they're out. They're also often out of Chobani Coffee, which replaced the much better Coffee & Cream, and the third coffee yogurt of my triumvirate... I'm not going to tell you what it is, inventory is incredibly spotty, and I too buy all I see when it's available.
And City Market in Vail is gigantic. They slice Boar's Head meat, albeit at a glacial pace. And they've got my Vitamin Water Zero. And they've also got aisle after aisle of frozen products I should not eat.
But being unable to cook and looking for variety, one day I did a deep dive.
All the Indian stuff comes with rice, which my nutritionist calls a "filler food." If you're insulin resistant, and I am, and you might be without knowing it...if you eat pasta and then get tired, you are...you shouldn't be eating any rice. Nor most breads and that includes pizza.
Now in Italy pasta sales are going down for the negative health reasons, even though we all adore it. It's kind of like how the younger generation in America doesn't drink. These are trends.
As for the keto-trend, even Gwyneth Paltrow gave up on that, you probably saw that. As for the protein craze... My nutritionist says a man needs fifteen to twenty grams per meal and a woman ten to fifteen. If you see someone ordering a salad for dinner, laugh at them. Sans chicken or salmon or some other kind of protein atop it they're going to be starving soon. Protein salves the hunger. Fat makes the food taste good. There's more underneath all this, but those are the basic rules.
Oh, just one more thing. Don't eat anything within three hours of going to bed.
All this science I know from my nutritionist, I never paid attention in school, you may know the basics, but you'd be stunned how many don't. I see these people whose parents died of heart attacks eating KFC and french fries and no vegetables and even smoking. Sure, some people get away with this, but the odds are against you.
Now Green Giant has made big strides in the frozen vegetable vertical, you've got to try out their "Restaurant Style" stuff:
https://greengiant.com/products/restaurant-style-sides/
Sure, fresh is always better, but it's good to have a couple of these in the fridge.
So, I tried some frozen Chinese stuff. Almost all come with noodles or rice and very little protein, so I gave up on that.
But one day in City Market I came across Caulipower pizza.
https://eatcaulipower.com/en/products/cauliflower-pizza/
In truth, it kind of tastes like cardboard, but it's easy to cook and it's not the bread of the usual frozen pizza and I checked out all the models and you want the ones with protein on top. Not only for the nutrients, but because without them these pizzas taste even worse.
And if you're hungry after a day of skiing you're oftentimes bolting down the food anyway, so less than great taste is not crucial, but I bought a couple of Caulipowers after coming back from the mountains and...
The taste is just too bland.
But I like having one in the freezer, for when I'm in a pinch. You heat the oven (or large toaster oven) to 425 and then the pizza bakes in 14-16 minutes and the amazing thing about cauliflower pizza is it cools down much faster than the regular stuff, so you can eat it earlier and not burn the roof of your mouth.
And just the other day we were ordering from Instacart and I thought about Caulipower and started to wonder, does the company have any competitors?
And that's why I'm writing this.
They offered Milton's. A terrible name compared to Caulipower. And the graphics on the box are nowhere near as good. But Google is your friend and doing some research I found out that Milton's was on a par with Caulipower so I ordered one. The Meat Lover's Trio. For the protein, if not the taste.
And I tend to eat lunch late, to the point where it's actually dinner. I don't like to take the time to stop. And today I saw the Caulipower box in the freezer along with the Milton's and I decided what the hell, let me try the Milton's.
Now I had a hankering for Caulipower. Never ignore your inner tuning fork. Yes, I know Caulipower mostly tastes like cardboard, but it was titillating my taste buds, conceptually anyway. But variety is the spice of life so I heated the toaster oven (the pizza just fits and it warms up much more quickly) for the Milton's.
Now I've learned that the toaster oven also cooks more quickly than your regular oven. So you want to remove the 'za at the low end of the time spectrum, in this case 13-15 minutes.
And I was hungry and looked through the glass door of the toaster oven at exactly thirteen minutes and the damn pizza looked BURNED!
So now I wasn't having Caulipower and the pizza was at the limit of golden brown and I sliced and took a bite and...
It was immediately clear that the consistency was different. The Milton's is more like a cracker. I was getting a bad vibe, but I put the food in my mouth and...
It was definitely different from Caulipower.
And then I'm continuing to eat the Milton's and it gets better with every bite.
Now let me be clear, it's not as good as regular pizza, and frozen pizza is inherently substandard compared to cooked to order, but the Milton's actually tasted pretty good. The pepperoni wasn't bad, the sausage not great, but both were a bit better than Caulipower. It's about the crust not the toppings, and since pizza is mostly crust, in this case cauliflower, that's good!
Now in truth I haven't run these cauliflower pizzas by my nutritionist yet. They're probably not that great for you. But they're definitely better for you than the conventional DiGiorno and Tombstone. And I have a sinking feeling my nutritionist is going to nix them, but...
If you're in the market for cauliflower pizza...
Well, let me just say I'm at the beginning of my research, I'm sure there are experts with knowledge that far exceeds mine and I even know people who make their own, kudos, but the Milton's was actually filling and fulfilling, satisfying, and I had an urge to tell you.
https://eatmiltons.com/collections/cauliflower-crust-pizza/products/meat-lovers-trio-cauliflower-crust-pizza
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
Grenell Joins Live Nation Board
"Trump ally Richard Grenell joins Live Nation board amid antitrust probe": https://shorturl.at/20cUD
You may not be aware that Bruce Springsteen just released an EP containing his anti-Trump rant. You can listen to "Land of Hope & Dreams" here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/1wWm7MPHSIpBX7Wiw8LAAq?si=H1RId15PRsasyVwtuEsFBQ
Do I expect people to listen to what he has to say over and over again?
No, just like most people listened to Bob Dylan's "Murder Most Foul" once, if at all.
But what the posting of this EP represents...
First, oldsters are now living in the modern era. Forget the set-up, these Springsteen recordings were recorded literally one week ago, on May 14th.
Second, and even more important, is Bruce Springsteen is not backing down. Despite teams co-opting Tom Petty's anthem to their advantage, that's not the genesis nor the meaning of "I Won't Back Down." It's quite simple:
"Well I know what's right
I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin' me around
But I'll stand my ground
And I won't back down"
Sports teams don't care about what's right, they're constantly looking for an edge, even cheating. They're all about groupthink as opposed to the individual, whereas artistry is the opposite.
You only do have one life. And you've got the choice to do what is right, but most people are afraid of this.
And this is what we're seeing across this great nation of ours today.
Trump and his cronies don't want to play by the rules.
As a result, lawyers and corporations are blinking, afraid of consequences, especially when Ed Martin says he will shame those who can't be charged.
Which brings us to the sad case of Live Nation.
Of course the public has it wrong. They're as misinformed as those who believe the "New York Times" is anathema and One America News has it right. Live Nation and Ticketmaster are not responsible for high ticket prices, that's the province of the artist. But the artists will accept no responsibility and their fans can't believe they're at fault.
However, Live Nation has been sued by the Department of Justice and thirty state attorneys general, who are accusing the company of "monopolistic control" of live events.
So what's a poor boy to do?
If you were born in the fifties or sixties, you joined a rock and roll band. If you're younger than that, you join the bank, money is everything.
Now if you look at the Live Nation board... This is not a bastion of left wing thought, as a matter of fact, the seats controlled by Liberty and the Mays family are notoriously right wing.
But how cynical is it to hire Trump's crony who is destroying the Kennedy Center? Hell, if he was doing such a great job all those acts whose shows Live Nation presents wouldn't have pulled their dates from the legendary performing arts center!
But by putting Grenell on the board, Live Nation is not only appeasing Trump, they're hoping to tilt the playing field in their favor. Because if you get in bed with Trump things tend to go your way, like the January 6th protesters. Hell, there is even talk that Trump is going to pardon Diddy if he gets convicted.
Back in the day, before the corporatization of this business, acts and promoters were legendary for fundraisers supporting left wing candidates and causes. But not cynical, expedient Live Nation.
So who can we rely on to speak truth to power?
The same ones we relied on back then, the artists. Springsteen is speaking up and Neil Young has supported him.
The artists have power, they could refuse to perform Live Nation shows, not making new deals and claiming force majeure... Insisting that Grenell be kicked off the board before they capitulate.
Of course the acts have this power. The entire business relies on the acts, without them it's nothing, just like with the NBA and its players.
Then again, pro hoops players regularly stand up against injustice.
But today's musicians are afraid of alienating one potential customer, afraid of losing a single dollar. Do you call that an artist? No, that's a BUSINESSMAN!
Or woman.
Target's numbers just went down because of boycotting after the company's elimination of DEI policies.
The people have power and it always comes down to money.
Forget protesting in the street, just don't buy a ticket to a Live Nation show. Just like lawyers are quitting and barking back at those firms that settled with Trump.
You want change? It comes from the person on the street, who has the ultimate power.
And the people on the street take their lead from uncompromised artists.
But too many shrug their shoulders and say this is not a big deal. And then they wake up and lose all their freedom and cannot regain it. The U.S. accepted that Qatar jet, what's next?
So Bruce is doing the heavy lifting here. He's taking the risk. He's doing what an artist should. He's a beacon to not only fans, but other artists. There's power in numbers.
You don't back down, you do what's right.
And Live Nation is cynically doing what's wrong.
You want to effect change? Start here. Live Nation depends on artists and fans, without them the company is worthless.
Your move.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
You may not be aware that Bruce Springsteen just released an EP containing his anti-Trump rant. You can listen to "Land of Hope & Dreams" here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/1wWm7MPHSIpBX7Wiw8LAAq?si=H1RId15PRsasyVwtuEsFBQ
Do I expect people to listen to what he has to say over and over again?
No, just like most people listened to Bob Dylan's "Murder Most Foul" once, if at all.
But what the posting of this EP represents...
First, oldsters are now living in the modern era. Forget the set-up, these Springsteen recordings were recorded literally one week ago, on May 14th.
Second, and even more important, is Bruce Springsteen is not backing down. Despite teams co-opting Tom Petty's anthem to their advantage, that's not the genesis nor the meaning of "I Won't Back Down." It's quite simple:
"Well I know what's right
I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin' me around
But I'll stand my ground
And I won't back down"
Sports teams don't care about what's right, they're constantly looking for an edge, even cheating. They're all about groupthink as opposed to the individual, whereas artistry is the opposite.
You only do have one life. And you've got the choice to do what is right, but most people are afraid of this.
And this is what we're seeing across this great nation of ours today.
Trump and his cronies don't want to play by the rules.
As a result, lawyers and corporations are blinking, afraid of consequences, especially when Ed Martin says he will shame those who can't be charged.
Which brings us to the sad case of Live Nation.
Of course the public has it wrong. They're as misinformed as those who believe the "New York Times" is anathema and One America News has it right. Live Nation and Ticketmaster are not responsible for high ticket prices, that's the province of the artist. But the artists will accept no responsibility and their fans can't believe they're at fault.
However, Live Nation has been sued by the Department of Justice and thirty state attorneys general, who are accusing the company of "monopolistic control" of live events.
So what's a poor boy to do?
If you were born in the fifties or sixties, you joined a rock and roll band. If you're younger than that, you join the bank, money is everything.
Now if you look at the Live Nation board... This is not a bastion of left wing thought, as a matter of fact, the seats controlled by Liberty and the Mays family are notoriously right wing.
But how cynical is it to hire Trump's crony who is destroying the Kennedy Center? Hell, if he was doing such a great job all those acts whose shows Live Nation presents wouldn't have pulled their dates from the legendary performing arts center!
But by putting Grenell on the board, Live Nation is not only appeasing Trump, they're hoping to tilt the playing field in their favor. Because if you get in bed with Trump things tend to go your way, like the January 6th protesters. Hell, there is even talk that Trump is going to pardon Diddy if he gets convicted.
Back in the day, before the corporatization of this business, acts and promoters were legendary for fundraisers supporting left wing candidates and causes. But not cynical, expedient Live Nation.
So who can we rely on to speak truth to power?
The same ones we relied on back then, the artists. Springsteen is speaking up and Neil Young has supported him.
The artists have power, they could refuse to perform Live Nation shows, not making new deals and claiming force majeure... Insisting that Grenell be kicked off the board before they capitulate.
Of course the acts have this power. The entire business relies on the acts, without them it's nothing, just like with the NBA and its players.
Then again, pro hoops players regularly stand up against injustice.
But today's musicians are afraid of alienating one potential customer, afraid of losing a single dollar. Do you call that an artist? No, that's a BUSINESSMAN!
Or woman.
Target's numbers just went down because of boycotting after the company's elimination of DEI policies.
The people have power and it always comes down to money.
Forget protesting in the street, just don't buy a ticket to a Live Nation show. Just like lawyers are quitting and barking back at those firms that settled with Trump.
You want change? It comes from the person on the street, who has the ultimate power.
And the people on the street take their lead from uncompromised artists.
But too many shrug their shoulders and say this is not a big deal. And then they wake up and lose all their freedom and cannot regain it. The U.S. accepted that Qatar jet, what's next?
So Bruce is doing the heavy lifting here. He's taking the risk. He's doing what an artist should. He's a beacon to not only fans, but other artists. There's power in numbers.
You don't back down, you do what's right.
And Live Nation is cynically doing what's wrong.
You want to effect change? Start here. Live Nation depends on artists and fans, without them the company is worthless.
Your move.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
Monday, 19 May 2025
Re-Cruel World
Bob!
I was there. Devo was on fire. The boys don't slow down, and the fact that they are playing tracks like Going Under, Gates of Steel and Smart Patrol with such fervor shows that they respect the core audience. But it looked like nobody came just to hear Whip It and move on anyway.
I currently have the honor of working with Mark on a live theatre show concept (think skateboarding + punk rock on a Broadway-ish skatepark stage). His energy is prolific, and he continues to come up with new ideas for our project while simultaneously creating some of the biggest movie soundtracks. It's inspiring and dizzying.
Devo was ahead of their time and we are all still catching up. And Cruel World is a gift to our generation of misfits, from Midge Ure to Nick Cave and all the "New Wave" that we still hold dear.
Tony Hawk
____________________________________
So great to see you writing about the great Aimee Mann and the Til Tuesday reunion show at Cruel World. I signed the band to Epic (with an assist from John Boylan) after WBCN started playing their demo of "Love In A Vacuum" and the band won the annual 'BCN Battle of the Bands. "Voices Carry" was just another song on the demo tape, going into the recording sessions we assumed "Love In a Vacuum" would be the first single. But from the moment Voices Carry was recorded, produced by Mike Thorne and single remixed by Bob Clearmountain we knew it was the song that could break them. Little known is that Aimee originally wrote the song about another woman. The unforgettable video which MTV awarded New Artist of the Year to helped the song go top 10.
Aimee continues to write amazing songs, release terrific albums (she won a Grammy for the "Mental Illness" album in 2018) and tours regularly but I was surprised and thrilled that she put the original band back together for this festival.
Dick Wingate
____________________________________
Very glad to hear you didn't miss 'Til Tuesday at the Rose Bowl. And yes, that was the original band of Aimee Mann on bass, Michael Hausman on drums, Joey Pesce on keyboards, and Robert Holmes on guitar, all still playing like it was 1985. Which also reminds me of how Dick Wingate and I came to sign the band to Epic Records some forty years ago.
The entire Epic A&R Department was in Boston that weekend, gathered to hear a band we were about to release called Face To Face, who were showcasing at a local club. Wingate was in from New York and I came in from LA. We met in the lobby of the hotel and decided to go to Durgin Park for dinner and then make it to the club, skipping the opening act and arriving in time for Face To Face. The line around that famous Boston restaurant was ridiculous, so we said, let's just grab a burger at the club, which meant we would see the opening act which.... you guessed it, turned out to be 'Til Tuesday.
I don't mind saying I was transfixed by the band from the first downbeat. Aimee looked in complete command, with her spiky blond hair, low-keyed vocal style, incredibly intelligent lyrics, and mastery of the bass. Robert, Joey, and Michael were a perfect complement. Gator and I got really excited and decided to sign them on the spot. There were some headwinds - another CBS A&R guy had already passed on them. I stayed over in Boston and we took the band into Syncro Sound, the Cars' studio on Newbury St., to cut a demo. Gator took it to New York and we pushed the project through.
This past Friday, the band held a dress rehearsal at S.I.R. in Hollywood and as they ran through the set, I was transported right back to that time and place. Since then, I've always tried to get there in time for the opening act. Just in case.
Best,
John Boylan
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
I was there. Devo was on fire. The boys don't slow down, and the fact that they are playing tracks like Going Under, Gates of Steel and Smart Patrol with such fervor shows that they respect the core audience. But it looked like nobody came just to hear Whip It and move on anyway.
I currently have the honor of working with Mark on a live theatre show concept (think skateboarding + punk rock on a Broadway-ish skatepark stage). His energy is prolific, and he continues to come up with new ideas for our project while simultaneously creating some of the biggest movie soundtracks. It's inspiring and dizzying.
Devo was ahead of their time and we are all still catching up. And Cruel World is a gift to our generation of misfits, from Midge Ure to Nick Cave and all the "New Wave" that we still hold dear.
Tony Hawk
____________________________________
So great to see you writing about the great Aimee Mann and the Til Tuesday reunion show at Cruel World. I signed the band to Epic (with an assist from John Boylan) after WBCN started playing their demo of "Love In A Vacuum" and the band won the annual 'BCN Battle of the Bands. "Voices Carry" was just another song on the demo tape, going into the recording sessions we assumed "Love In a Vacuum" would be the first single. But from the moment Voices Carry was recorded, produced by Mike Thorne and single remixed by Bob Clearmountain we knew it was the song that could break them. Little known is that Aimee originally wrote the song about another woman. The unforgettable video which MTV awarded New Artist of the Year to helped the song go top 10.
Aimee continues to write amazing songs, release terrific albums (she won a Grammy for the "Mental Illness" album in 2018) and tours regularly but I was surprised and thrilled that she put the original band back together for this festival.
Dick Wingate
____________________________________
Very glad to hear you didn't miss 'Til Tuesday at the Rose Bowl. And yes, that was the original band of Aimee Mann on bass, Michael Hausman on drums, Joey Pesce on keyboards, and Robert Holmes on guitar, all still playing like it was 1985. Which also reminds me of how Dick Wingate and I came to sign the band to Epic Records some forty years ago.
The entire Epic A&R Department was in Boston that weekend, gathered to hear a band we were about to release called Face To Face, who were showcasing at a local club. Wingate was in from New York and I came in from LA. We met in the lobby of the hotel and decided to go to Durgin Park for dinner and then make it to the club, skipping the opening act and arriving in time for Face To Face. The line around that famous Boston restaurant was ridiculous, so we said, let's just grab a burger at the club, which meant we would see the opening act which.... you guessed it, turned out to be 'Til Tuesday.
I don't mind saying I was transfixed by the band from the first downbeat. Aimee looked in complete command, with her spiky blond hair, low-keyed vocal style, incredibly intelligent lyrics, and mastery of the bass. Robert, Joey, and Michael were a perfect complement. Gator and I got really excited and decided to sign them on the spot. There were some headwinds - another CBS A&R guy had already passed on them. I stayed over in Boston and we took the band into Syncro Sound, the Cars' studio on Newbury St., to cut a demo. Gator took it to New York and we pushed the project through.
This past Friday, the band held a dress rehearsal at S.I.R. in Hollywood and as they ran through the set, I was transported right back to that time and place. Since then, I've always tried to get there in time for the opening act. Just in case.
Best,
John Boylan
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
A Complete Unknown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdV-Cs5o8mc
It works as a movie, but...
I know, I know, it came out months ago, but it just hit Hulu and...
When the buzz is gone it's hard to motivate oneself to watch a movie, but oftentimes most people see a flick when it's available to stream.
So...
The cinematography is amazing. I only wish the early sixties felt like this. But the mood created is excellent.
And Ed Norton is phenomenal as Pete Seeger. Not that I encountered Pete much in life, although I did see him live on a number of occasions. There's the subtlety, the warmth and the optimism.
As for Timothée Chalamet's portrayal of Dylan...WHAT'S EVERYBODY TALKING ABOUT!
So Chalamet is internalized He's quiet. But his portrayal just doesn't ring true. You see there's tons of footage of the real Dylan but this guy looks like an actor trying to play the role of someone he doesn't fully understand. Sure, the hair is right, especially as the years go by, but there's not that alternating personality of anger and charm, the raw intensity that Dylan exuded.
Dylan was one of a kind. Incredibly hungry. Chalamet is a guy who believes if he just stares long enough, if he just treats women badly, if he just says no instead of yes, that's all there is to Bob Dylan, WHEN NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH!
As for the famous Newport Folk Festival scene... Utter hogwash. Sure, Pete was not happy at the gig, but the audience was not booing, Joe Boyd, who was there working, said they enjoyed it.
As for Albert Grossman... Here he's portrayed as a doofus as opposed to an intense guy who radiates intelligence. Sure, Dylan ultimately fired Grossman, but sans Grossman there's no Dylan. Albert got the songs covered, he garnered attention for Bob.
As for Suze Rotolo, portrayed as "Sylvie" here... Why is she so dour? Like the early sixties and her relationship with Bob was never fun.
As for Monica Barbaro's portrayal of Joan Baez, that rings more true. Then again, that inner confidence that Baez possesses, and possessed all the while, is not wholly evident. Here Baez is more of a pawn in Bob's game.
As for the made up scenes...
Once again, it was all for the narrative, for a movie.
But when you make a movie about Ritchie Valens, there's not that much footage, it's all myth except for the records. It's a bit better for Buddy Holly, but both were creatures of the fifties, whereas Dylan was a creature of the sixties.
And Chalamet looks so uncomfortable on his motorcycle you can't stop wondering where his helmet is because you know he's going to fall off.
Dylan might have been angry, might have wanted to do it his way, but he had an inner tuning fork and comfort in his own skin that was undeniable. Chalamet is an actor, Dylan is a musician, and maybe that's all you have to say. (Along with the fact that so many of Dylan's films were borderline unwatchable, but he was pretty good as Alias in "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.")
And there was miscasting... If you know Al Kooper, he's nothing like the guy playing him in the film. And Al has gone on record everywhere that he snuck into the studio to play the organ, no one mentioned that there was no one on the bench, but they couldn't even get that right.
As for Johnny Cash... The guy playing him was a two-dimensional tree, it's a disservice to Cash himself.
All these liberties bugged me. All these changes for the benefit of narrative. I mean if this were pure fiction it's one thing, but there is an underlying fact pattern. How come they don't respect Dylan enough to get it right?
But if you're unknowledgeable, if it's all new to you, you'll enjoy this flick. Just know that too much is inaccurate.
HOWEVER, if you are an artist, there is inspiration in this film. If you're a creator you cannot not be impressed by Dylan's work ethic, his need to be true to himself and constantly test limits. This is not the easy path, but road to true greatness never is. This is where Grossman's efforts come in.
I guess I was disappointed. All the buzz, all the Oscar hysteria, I expected a movie that rang more true, never for a second did I consider anybody in this flick to be real, they didn't inhabit the characters, they were PLAYING the characters.
Except for Norton.
Even Woody Guthrie was miscast, and he barely even spoke!
This is what's wrong with movies, this is what music used to get right before the execs started to believe they were the acts and meddled with the product, insisting on cowriters, endless mixes... That jolt of pure honesty, of pure artistry, has been excised.
Of course it still exists in the indie world, but no manager has the power of Grossman today, you can't make anybody an icon quickly and easily.
Then again, Dylan was the product of a middle class upbringing. He was on a mission. Don't ever think he wasn't interested in money, but making a statement, speaking truth to power, having an impact were more important.
And he couldn't believe the press was so stupid. He thought when he made it people would get it. Many didn't.
Those early Dylan albums are still as raw and honest and insightful as they were when they were made. They don't sound dated because they were sui generis back then. And oftentimes just Bob and his guitar anyway. If you really want to get it, understand who Bob was, you're better off listening to a record as opposed to watching this movie. And I've got just the one you need to play. Everybody talks about "The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966: The 'Royal Albert Hall' Concert." And that is good, but that's post electric. If you want to hear the authentic Dylan from the period in this flick you need to listen to "The Bootleg Series Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964 - Concert At Philharmonic Hall."
This is the sh*t. It's just Bob and his guitar. You get the power of the protest numbers, the intensity of the performance, but along with the attitude you also get humor.
And I listen to it on a regular basis.
Sure, watch the movie, but if you want to know which way the wind blows, listen to this:
https://open.spotify.com/album/2iM5ZikFu4dvZLHZRwWiLY?si=MRs27jbOQG-7hGhNDskfmQ
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
It works as a movie, but...
I know, I know, it came out months ago, but it just hit Hulu and...
When the buzz is gone it's hard to motivate oneself to watch a movie, but oftentimes most people see a flick when it's available to stream.
So...
The cinematography is amazing. I only wish the early sixties felt like this. But the mood created is excellent.
And Ed Norton is phenomenal as Pete Seeger. Not that I encountered Pete much in life, although I did see him live on a number of occasions. There's the subtlety, the warmth and the optimism.
As for Timothée Chalamet's portrayal of Dylan...WHAT'S EVERYBODY TALKING ABOUT!
So Chalamet is internalized He's quiet. But his portrayal just doesn't ring true. You see there's tons of footage of the real Dylan but this guy looks like an actor trying to play the role of someone he doesn't fully understand. Sure, the hair is right, especially as the years go by, but there's not that alternating personality of anger and charm, the raw intensity that Dylan exuded.
Dylan was one of a kind. Incredibly hungry. Chalamet is a guy who believes if he just stares long enough, if he just treats women badly, if he just says no instead of yes, that's all there is to Bob Dylan, WHEN NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH!
As for the famous Newport Folk Festival scene... Utter hogwash. Sure, Pete was not happy at the gig, but the audience was not booing, Joe Boyd, who was there working, said they enjoyed it.
As for Albert Grossman... Here he's portrayed as a doofus as opposed to an intense guy who radiates intelligence. Sure, Dylan ultimately fired Grossman, but sans Grossman there's no Dylan. Albert got the songs covered, he garnered attention for Bob.
As for Suze Rotolo, portrayed as "Sylvie" here... Why is she so dour? Like the early sixties and her relationship with Bob was never fun.
As for Monica Barbaro's portrayal of Joan Baez, that rings more true. Then again, that inner confidence that Baez possesses, and possessed all the while, is not wholly evident. Here Baez is more of a pawn in Bob's game.
As for the made up scenes...
Once again, it was all for the narrative, for a movie.
But when you make a movie about Ritchie Valens, there's not that much footage, it's all myth except for the records. It's a bit better for Buddy Holly, but both were creatures of the fifties, whereas Dylan was a creature of the sixties.
And Chalamet looks so uncomfortable on his motorcycle you can't stop wondering where his helmet is because you know he's going to fall off.
Dylan might have been angry, might have wanted to do it his way, but he had an inner tuning fork and comfort in his own skin that was undeniable. Chalamet is an actor, Dylan is a musician, and maybe that's all you have to say. (Along with the fact that so many of Dylan's films were borderline unwatchable, but he was pretty good as Alias in "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.")
And there was miscasting... If you know Al Kooper, he's nothing like the guy playing him in the film. And Al has gone on record everywhere that he snuck into the studio to play the organ, no one mentioned that there was no one on the bench, but they couldn't even get that right.
As for Johnny Cash... The guy playing him was a two-dimensional tree, it's a disservice to Cash himself.
All these liberties bugged me. All these changes for the benefit of narrative. I mean if this were pure fiction it's one thing, but there is an underlying fact pattern. How come they don't respect Dylan enough to get it right?
But if you're unknowledgeable, if it's all new to you, you'll enjoy this flick. Just know that too much is inaccurate.
HOWEVER, if you are an artist, there is inspiration in this film. If you're a creator you cannot not be impressed by Dylan's work ethic, his need to be true to himself and constantly test limits. This is not the easy path, but road to true greatness never is. This is where Grossman's efforts come in.
I guess I was disappointed. All the buzz, all the Oscar hysteria, I expected a movie that rang more true, never for a second did I consider anybody in this flick to be real, they didn't inhabit the characters, they were PLAYING the characters.
Except for Norton.
Even Woody Guthrie was miscast, and he barely even spoke!
This is what's wrong with movies, this is what music used to get right before the execs started to believe they were the acts and meddled with the product, insisting on cowriters, endless mixes... That jolt of pure honesty, of pure artistry, has been excised.
Of course it still exists in the indie world, but no manager has the power of Grossman today, you can't make anybody an icon quickly and easily.
Then again, Dylan was the product of a middle class upbringing. He was on a mission. Don't ever think he wasn't interested in money, but making a statement, speaking truth to power, having an impact were more important.
And he couldn't believe the press was so stupid. He thought when he made it people would get it. Many didn't.
Those early Dylan albums are still as raw and honest and insightful as they were when they were made. They don't sound dated because they were sui generis back then. And oftentimes just Bob and his guitar anyway. If you really want to get it, understand who Bob was, you're better off listening to a record as opposed to watching this movie. And I've got just the one you need to play. Everybody talks about "The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966: The 'Royal Albert Hall' Concert." And that is good, but that's post electric. If you want to hear the authentic Dylan from the period in this flick you need to listen to "The Bootleg Series Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964 - Concert At Philharmonic Hall."
This is the sh*t. It's just Bob and his guitar. You get the power of the protest numbers, the intensity of the performance, but along with the attitude you also get humor.
And I listen to it on a regular basis.
Sure, watch the movie, but if you want to know which way the wind blows, listen to this:
https://open.spotify.com/album/2iM5ZikFu4dvZLHZRwWiLY?si=MRs27jbOQG-7hGhNDskfmQ
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
Sunday, 18 May 2025
Cruel World
https://cruelworldfest.com
It was Coachella for Generation X, and it was GREAT!
Not that I'd planned to go. But Kathy Valentine extended an invitation months ago and I'm not going to say no to her. But as the date approached I asked myself, did I really want to hang with the unwashed masses outside the Rose Bowl on a hot afternoon?
This is my post-Covid dilemma. This is my aged dilemma. What does it take me to get out of the house? There's a Covid hangover no one talks about. The difference between then and now, before and after. Before I was on the go, in the mix. Then I was mandated into enforced stasis. Now it's hard to get back in gear, inertia keeps me in place. But even worse, I now think about what I want to see. The same band I saw in their heyday, their comeback, their legacy tour and...at some point it is enough.
But if you're a friend of mine, I'll go anywhere. Because it's about support, and hanging with friends.
And that's why I went to Cruel World.
Now how early am I going to go?
Almost no one goes at the opening bell, because it's a long day standing in the heat and the bill builds, the best bands are on last, so you need to pace yourself. As a matter of fact, at many festivals people start to leave before the headliner even takes the stage, they're already worn out.
But not last night.
So I'm debating what time to arrive and I tell myself I can't miss 'Til Tuesday doing "Voices Carry."
"Hush hush, keep it down now
Voices carry"
And I'm schlepping across the grounds, it's not only a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll, it's a long way from the parking lot to the Outsiders Stage. And I'm passing all kinds of ethnicities, L.A. is a rainbow of colors and they all listened to KROQ way back when. And as I approach the stage I can hear, but...
I can't see a thing. I'm watching it on the hi-def screens. But the band is really good. I'm wondering how many original members are on stage. I try to look it up on my phone, but there's no cell access. Oh, I've got plenty of bars, but the circuits are overloaded.
And I'm looking at the schedule and I know these festivals run on time and there are only a few minutes left and the band plays what appears to be their last song, but then, when it's over, they launch into "Voices Carry."
"Oh, he wants me
But only part of the time
He wants me
If he can keep me in line"
Every single person knows the words and is singing along. This was the eighties, this was MTV. If you made it then, everyone knew your name and song. Aimee Mann said the video caused people to recognize her in airports. And Aimee... It was an old song, but she was picking her bass like it was all happening today. And she was wearing jeans, the kind you don for a trip to the grocery store, she was letting the music speak for itself. AND IT DID!
As for OMD... I was going to check out a couple of numbers before I went backstage.
They looked the opposite of Aimee Mann. Like men. Sixtysomething men. But they're singing these songs from their youth. And I never bought an Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark album, but I know every song and am bopping along...how can this be?
But I eventually walk across the mud-strewn field to the backstage area.
I didn't mention that it was raining. A near impossibility at this time in Southern California. I was worried that this would impact attendance, but Paul Tollett said not a bit.
Now after catching up with Frank Riley I went back out front, because I had to catch Madness.
ONE STEP BEYOND!
They started with that.
And I'm looking around at the assembled multitude. It's not the influencers of Coachella, there are a few people dressed up to show off, but most have the misshapen bodies of elders, many are wearing the rock t-shirts of yore, it's a completely different generation, an ignored generation, but this is their music.
Sure, I saw a couple of people dragging along their twentysomething progeny, but this festival was not attended by a younger generation that had discovered this music online. And you didn't see the septuagenarian baby boomers like me. No, it was late fifty and sixtysomethings. There for the music more than the hang.
And it was about the music. The food stalls were carb city. If you went to hang...didn't seem like such a good hang to me.
I was there for the music. And I couldn't get enough of it!
Of course Madness did "Our House." But a few minutes before their set was over I trekked across the wasteland to the Sad Girls stage to see what was ultimately the highlight of the night, DEVO!
Not that I expected them to be such. But they brought a modern show to an antique world. There was no nostalgia involved other than the songs themselves. There was video. This was not a dash for cash, this was about reverse evolution, as the back of Mark Mothersbaugh's jacket said.
Oh, they had the yellow nuke outfits, and the red flower pot hats, and even the shorts and knee socks.
But they also had the synths, a sound that dominated back then but is absent today. And the RIFFS!
Now I didn't buy every Devo album. Certainly the first, with "Satisfaction," but the album I play most, which I play a lot, is "New Traditionalists," which was seen as somewhat of a comedown after "Freedom of Choice" and "Whip It." And when the band started playing "Going Under"...
"Left home with a friend of mine
Gone two years and I don't know why"
No one does that anymore, they can't afford to move, and in the internet era you can't leave your past behind.
"I know a place where dreams get crushed
Hopes are smashed but that ain't much"
Alienation. Not the disillusionment of today. Before you felt like you didn't fit in, and the music made you feel connected, whole. Today's "musicians" keep telling you how much better they are than you and you dance mindlessly because you see no future.
"I'm going under
I'm going under"
But this is dance music. The kind you hear and your body starts moving. It's involuntary. The sound penetrates and you start to jump. It's got nothing to do with the crowd around you, you're jerkin' back and forth in sync with the band on stage.
Speaking of jumping beans...
"She sings from somewhere you can't see
She sits in the top of the greatest tree
She sends out an aroma of undefined love
It drips on down in a mist from above"
This was not pornography, but it was imbued with a sexual hunger, a truth absent from the images readily available online today. She's definitely THE GIRL U WANT!
The band is not going through the motions. 75 year old Mark Mothersbaugh is moving as if he's still in his twenties and this is the most important era of his life, delivering this sound and message. And it occurs to me that this music is anything but dated. Young people would cotton to Devo if they were exposed to it. On TV it was sometimes hokey, an inside joke. But make no mistake, live Devo ROCKS! And you get pulled in instantly. It's totally FRESH!
As for Nick Cave... Never been a fan. But in Toronto a friend was testifying about his show, so I had to go.
So I ambled across the field once again...
HOLY SH*T!
This is another act youngsters would be entranced by if they just saw it.
It's eerie. The sun had gone down, the screens were projecting black and white and Cave was revealing the underside of life in that baritone of his... I almost couldn't tear myself away to see the Go-Go's. It was positively riveting, not something you can get anywhere else but at a live show. No video, no movie, no TV show competes. You could feel the energy coming off Cave, you could not ignore it, it confronted you and made you pay attention. To stories about the less than successful, about the underbelly of life. If more people just saw Nick Cave live he'd be a SUPERSTAR!
As for the Go-Go's... They rocked, HARD! This is not the girl band you saw in videos, nor the poppy melodies of the records. These were girls competing with the boys. You got the vibe of the era. When everybody wanted to start a band. Almost no one does today, because there's not enough money in it, there are easier ways to make bread, and even if you're a big star, everybody doesn't know your name like they did in the MTV era.
And the music is now made by different people. More the lower classes than the middle. The music is made by committee and is just one part of the persona. Whereas with the Go-Go's you could see that they thought they could do what they boys did, AND THEY DID!
I walked across the field to catch New Order, but...
It's kind of how I feel about Kraftwerk. When you squeeze out key members such that the band is now controlled by one...it's just not the same.
And sure, I wanted to hear "Blue Monday," but I'm not the biggest New Order fan.
So I punted.
But almost no one else did. They were staying to the end. Which confounded and impressed me. You were really going to stand out there until eleven o'clock, in the fading mist atop the drying ground? Angelenos are legendary for leaving early. But not this crowd.
And I'm thinking how our parents wouldn't have stood in a field all day to hear music at this age, no way.
And I'm thinking how the music means more to these people than today's tunes mean to today's young 'uns.
Oh, don't argue with me. Music is forever, but right now music is not hot. Music was hot from the mid-sixties until the end of the seventies, when it imploded. And then along came MTV to rescue it. MTV was hotter than any social media site. And we were all glued to it and watching the same videos. They were the lingua franca. We watched the acts test the limits. And sure, they were getting rich, but the tunes were infectious, and one step beyond what had come before.
And it meant so much to these people there in Pasadena. To the point that they braved the weather to attend. I mean my windshield wipers were going full bore on the way there, and when I lowered my window to ask the cop where to park, I was afraid of getting wet.
But this is just how much the music means to us.
And still does.
We're living separate lives. Many have raised children who are already out of the house. They're doing jobs they may not want to. Their lives may not have worked out the way they planned. But they've still got this MUSIC! The acts on stage are their heroes, they committed to the road less traveled and got to the destination, they won! Therefore they and their music are an inspiration to listeners.
Sure, there was an element of nostalgia. But if you were there watching Devo or Nick Cave, that's not the word you would use. They were alive and kicking even more than today's acts. They could wipe the stage with them.
That was the power of rock.
And for one day yesterday its acolytes congregated between the trees to celebrate yesterday and today. You left there smiling, you had HOPE!
That's the power of music.
When you think you're down in the dumps and can't get up.
It lifts you up.
We were new traditionalists.
And proud to be so!
It was a peek at what once was, yet stunningly is still here.
It's the power of music.
It's the power of life.
All I can say is WOW!
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
It was Coachella for Generation X, and it was GREAT!
Not that I'd planned to go. But Kathy Valentine extended an invitation months ago and I'm not going to say no to her. But as the date approached I asked myself, did I really want to hang with the unwashed masses outside the Rose Bowl on a hot afternoon?
This is my post-Covid dilemma. This is my aged dilemma. What does it take me to get out of the house? There's a Covid hangover no one talks about. The difference between then and now, before and after. Before I was on the go, in the mix. Then I was mandated into enforced stasis. Now it's hard to get back in gear, inertia keeps me in place. But even worse, I now think about what I want to see. The same band I saw in their heyday, their comeback, their legacy tour and...at some point it is enough.
But if you're a friend of mine, I'll go anywhere. Because it's about support, and hanging with friends.
And that's why I went to Cruel World.
Now how early am I going to go?
Almost no one goes at the opening bell, because it's a long day standing in the heat and the bill builds, the best bands are on last, so you need to pace yourself. As a matter of fact, at many festivals people start to leave before the headliner even takes the stage, they're already worn out.
But not last night.
So I'm debating what time to arrive and I tell myself I can't miss 'Til Tuesday doing "Voices Carry."
"Hush hush, keep it down now
Voices carry"
And I'm schlepping across the grounds, it's not only a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll, it's a long way from the parking lot to the Outsiders Stage. And I'm passing all kinds of ethnicities, L.A. is a rainbow of colors and they all listened to KROQ way back when. And as I approach the stage I can hear, but...
I can't see a thing. I'm watching it on the hi-def screens. But the band is really good. I'm wondering how many original members are on stage. I try to look it up on my phone, but there's no cell access. Oh, I've got plenty of bars, but the circuits are overloaded.
And I'm looking at the schedule and I know these festivals run on time and there are only a few minutes left and the band plays what appears to be their last song, but then, when it's over, they launch into "Voices Carry."
"Oh, he wants me
But only part of the time
He wants me
If he can keep me in line"
Every single person knows the words and is singing along. This was the eighties, this was MTV. If you made it then, everyone knew your name and song. Aimee Mann said the video caused people to recognize her in airports. And Aimee... It was an old song, but she was picking her bass like it was all happening today. And she was wearing jeans, the kind you don for a trip to the grocery store, she was letting the music speak for itself. AND IT DID!
As for OMD... I was going to check out a couple of numbers before I went backstage.
They looked the opposite of Aimee Mann. Like men. Sixtysomething men. But they're singing these songs from their youth. And I never bought an Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark album, but I know every song and am bopping along...how can this be?
But I eventually walk across the mud-strewn field to the backstage area.
I didn't mention that it was raining. A near impossibility at this time in Southern California. I was worried that this would impact attendance, but Paul Tollett said not a bit.
Now after catching up with Frank Riley I went back out front, because I had to catch Madness.
ONE STEP BEYOND!
They started with that.
And I'm looking around at the assembled multitude. It's not the influencers of Coachella, there are a few people dressed up to show off, but most have the misshapen bodies of elders, many are wearing the rock t-shirts of yore, it's a completely different generation, an ignored generation, but this is their music.
Sure, I saw a couple of people dragging along their twentysomething progeny, but this festival was not attended by a younger generation that had discovered this music online. And you didn't see the septuagenarian baby boomers like me. No, it was late fifty and sixtysomethings. There for the music more than the hang.
And it was about the music. The food stalls were carb city. If you went to hang...didn't seem like such a good hang to me.
I was there for the music. And I couldn't get enough of it!
Of course Madness did "Our House." But a few minutes before their set was over I trekked across the wasteland to the Sad Girls stage to see what was ultimately the highlight of the night, DEVO!
Not that I expected them to be such. But they brought a modern show to an antique world. There was no nostalgia involved other than the songs themselves. There was video. This was not a dash for cash, this was about reverse evolution, as the back of Mark Mothersbaugh's jacket said.
Oh, they had the yellow nuke outfits, and the red flower pot hats, and even the shorts and knee socks.
But they also had the synths, a sound that dominated back then but is absent today. And the RIFFS!
Now I didn't buy every Devo album. Certainly the first, with "Satisfaction," but the album I play most, which I play a lot, is "New Traditionalists," which was seen as somewhat of a comedown after "Freedom of Choice" and "Whip It." And when the band started playing "Going Under"...
"Left home with a friend of mine
Gone two years and I don't know why"
No one does that anymore, they can't afford to move, and in the internet era you can't leave your past behind.
"I know a place where dreams get crushed
Hopes are smashed but that ain't much"
Alienation. Not the disillusionment of today. Before you felt like you didn't fit in, and the music made you feel connected, whole. Today's "musicians" keep telling you how much better they are than you and you dance mindlessly because you see no future.
"I'm going under
I'm going under"
But this is dance music. The kind you hear and your body starts moving. It's involuntary. The sound penetrates and you start to jump. It's got nothing to do with the crowd around you, you're jerkin' back and forth in sync with the band on stage.
Speaking of jumping beans...
"She sings from somewhere you can't see
She sits in the top of the greatest tree
She sends out an aroma of undefined love
It drips on down in a mist from above"
This was not pornography, but it was imbued with a sexual hunger, a truth absent from the images readily available online today. She's definitely THE GIRL U WANT!
The band is not going through the motions. 75 year old Mark Mothersbaugh is moving as if he's still in his twenties and this is the most important era of his life, delivering this sound and message. And it occurs to me that this music is anything but dated. Young people would cotton to Devo if they were exposed to it. On TV it was sometimes hokey, an inside joke. But make no mistake, live Devo ROCKS! And you get pulled in instantly. It's totally FRESH!
As for Nick Cave... Never been a fan. But in Toronto a friend was testifying about his show, so I had to go.
So I ambled across the field once again...
HOLY SH*T!
This is another act youngsters would be entranced by if they just saw it.
It's eerie. The sun had gone down, the screens were projecting black and white and Cave was revealing the underside of life in that baritone of his... I almost couldn't tear myself away to see the Go-Go's. It was positively riveting, not something you can get anywhere else but at a live show. No video, no movie, no TV show competes. You could feel the energy coming off Cave, you could not ignore it, it confronted you and made you pay attention. To stories about the less than successful, about the underbelly of life. If more people just saw Nick Cave live he'd be a SUPERSTAR!
As for the Go-Go's... They rocked, HARD! This is not the girl band you saw in videos, nor the poppy melodies of the records. These were girls competing with the boys. You got the vibe of the era. When everybody wanted to start a band. Almost no one does today, because there's not enough money in it, there are easier ways to make bread, and even if you're a big star, everybody doesn't know your name like they did in the MTV era.
And the music is now made by different people. More the lower classes than the middle. The music is made by committee and is just one part of the persona. Whereas with the Go-Go's you could see that they thought they could do what they boys did, AND THEY DID!
I walked across the field to catch New Order, but...
It's kind of how I feel about Kraftwerk. When you squeeze out key members such that the band is now controlled by one...it's just not the same.
And sure, I wanted to hear "Blue Monday," but I'm not the biggest New Order fan.
So I punted.
But almost no one else did. They were staying to the end. Which confounded and impressed me. You were really going to stand out there until eleven o'clock, in the fading mist atop the drying ground? Angelenos are legendary for leaving early. But not this crowd.
And I'm thinking how our parents wouldn't have stood in a field all day to hear music at this age, no way.
And I'm thinking how the music means more to these people than today's tunes mean to today's young 'uns.
Oh, don't argue with me. Music is forever, but right now music is not hot. Music was hot from the mid-sixties until the end of the seventies, when it imploded. And then along came MTV to rescue it. MTV was hotter than any social media site. And we were all glued to it and watching the same videos. They were the lingua franca. We watched the acts test the limits. And sure, they were getting rich, but the tunes were infectious, and one step beyond what had come before.
And it meant so much to these people there in Pasadena. To the point that they braved the weather to attend. I mean my windshield wipers were going full bore on the way there, and when I lowered my window to ask the cop where to park, I was afraid of getting wet.
But this is just how much the music means to us.
And still does.
We're living separate lives. Many have raised children who are already out of the house. They're doing jobs they may not want to. Their lives may not have worked out the way they planned. But they've still got this MUSIC! The acts on stage are their heroes, they committed to the road less traveled and got to the destination, they won! Therefore they and their music are an inspiration to listeners.
Sure, there was an element of nostalgia. But if you were there watching Devo or Nick Cave, that's not the word you would use. They were alive and kicking even more than today's acts. They could wipe the stage with them.
That was the power of rock.
And for one day yesterday its acolytes congregated between the trees to celebrate yesterday and today. You left there smiling, you had HOPE!
That's the power of music.
When you think you're down in the dumps and can't get up.
It lifts you up.
We were new traditionalists.
And proud to be so!
It was a peek at what once was, yet stunningly is still here.
It's the power of music.
It's the power of life.
All I can say is WOW!
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)