We are all looking to make it. And we employ signifiers, status markers, to indicate that we've crossed the threshold, that we are no longer trapped amongst the great unwashed, that finally we are SOMEBODY!
And one of the main ways you felt settled, that you were not only on your way, but part of the firmament, was seeing your name in the news.
It's a thrill when it first happens. You mean you want MY opinion, you want to write about ME? But as time goes by, you find out it's meaningless, because everybody is expressing their opinion or promoting their wares all day long online and your triumph gets lost in the shuffle.
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with publicity, and sometimes it even gooses projects and careers, all I am saying is it won't sustain a career. And longevity is everything today.
Used to be very few people could make it. Could get a record deal, never mind get on the radio and become a star who can sell tickets. Whatever your innate talent, the work of a whole team enabled you to climb the ladder, which is why you see award winners constantly thanking their handlers.
But awards don't mean much either. I hope you're thrilled you won, but in a matter of months, seemingly no one remembers your victory. Furthermore, there are a lot of Grammy winners who make their money elsewhere, not in music, or have given up completely. That's what an award is worth. So if that's your goal...
I was reading the "Wall Street Journal" yesterday and I saw a friend was quoted. He's not a public figure, I don't think his inclusion resonated with a broad swath of the public. For a second there I thought how they didn't call me, but that's just a step on the ladder, a momentary feel-good experience. Most people, after they've had that brush with publicity, felt good for a moment and have seen the return was relatively minimal, go back to doing the work.
And it's all about the work.
Ah, that's a cliché. Let me try to restate it in other words.
If you want to last a long time in today's world, you've got to keep on creating, because there's so much news and so much of it reaches so few people that most have already forgotten about you, if they knew about you in the first place.
There's nothing wrong with a feature in the "Times" or the "Wall Street Journal"... But be wary, these outlets are never completely positive. That David Geffen documentary? The one on Jimmy Iovine and Dre? They were love letters, because THEY PAID FOR THEM! They know it's all about control, kudos.
But if you give up control, beware.
However, let's return to basics. Most people are looking to get noticed. They want to get out of the hole that they're in. They want to throw the long ball, they want to believe there is some grand poohbah out there who can reach out and anoint them and their career will be made. Today this is patently untrue.
Let's start with the number of news outlets.
I know, I know, I've lauded Apple News+, but if you read the general feed your eyes will glaze over, it's all clickbait headlines...and when you click through, there's very little there.
You even get the same thing in the Google News!
All these outlets fighting for attention have caused people to look elsewhere for information, first and foremost their friends and family, real, or those they've met online. It's like we're living in the 1800s, prior to modern communication methods. The mainstream has worn out its welcome, been excoriated by those who don't agree with it, on both the left and the right, and has never meant less.
But we're not talking about general news here, we're talking about you.
You're looking for a leg up, you're looking for it to be made easier. IT'S NEVER GOING TO BE MADE EASIER! The major label can't break you, if it will even sign you. Terrestrial radio can't break you, it takes its clues from Spotify and other streaming media. And Spotify is a great democracy influenced by word of mouth, both online and offline. Social media can drive a hit more than terrestrial radio. But there's no direct pipeline, no one you can pay to get millions of views.
So...
Paying for streams, for views on YouTube...unless your plan is to leverage these to make a deal with a larger entity, save your money. Your fans don't care, and it's only about your fans.
Now I'm not saying fans are irrelevant, it's just that now there's a direct conduit from you to them, and you must feed the beast, constantly. Your only hope of growing is via your fans, and if you're not top of mind, they're not going to do the work for you. And some fans spread the word and some do not, and you don't know who is who, so you have to keep spraying bullets and...
Sounds hard, doesn't it?
It's VERY hard.
Anybody can get noticed for a minute or two. Every week in the "Times" Sunday Style section they hype a book or previously unknown person and it's almost like the kiss of death, they're never heard from again.
TV entertainment news? If you think active consumers are even watching broadcast/cable TV, you're dreaming. That's not the bleeding edge, and those who make a difference, who change the world, are always harvesting information on the fringe.
So, you've got to keep on working, or you're going to be forgotten. Most of the public does not know your one hit wonder and there's a tsunami of product and you're not going to get many streams in the future.
Now wait just a minute you say... I won, I triumphed, I SUCCEEDED!
Maybe by old school metrics.
There's no overlord with fairy dust spraying it on the lucky few.
No, you're not only the creator, you're the fairy too.
And be wary of getting away from your mission. That brand extension might be a mistake if it takes your focus from the core work, if it undercuts your credibility.
In other words, unless you've got a plan to get in quick and get out nearly as fast, the world has completely changed. It's not about momentary vertical success, it's about continuing to be in the landscape. For year after year after year.
If you're doing this for an annum or two, before you go to graduate school, don't even bother, go enroll at the academy. Because it takes longer than ever to gain a following, and you never quite know when you've made it, if you've made it at all.
Read the news. The trades. Look at who is featured, who is promoted, but don't feel left out. That's a moment in time. Used to be it was a rarefied world, only a few could get ink, now EVERYBODY can get ink.
That's true. If you're old enough you'll remember what a thrill it was to be on TV. You told your friends to look for you at the baseball game. Now you don't even mention it, because it's no big deal. The barrier to entry is so low, it's not hard to get on TV, and so many of the people who cross that threshold are nincompoops. Why is it the "Housewives" are always getting in legal trouble and divorced? If they were that rich, this wouldn't happen. No, they believe if they are on these shows they are stars, whereas truly they are laughingstocks, fodder for the machine. You know the number one rule of reality television...DON'T BE ON IT!
So it's just you. In the wilderness. Trying to grow a fan base. Even a hit isn't going to mean you've got a career. No, you must do foundational work, one on one. You must nurture your image, not do anything out of character. People need to be able to trust you. And what the press says or doesn't say about you is essentially irrelevant. Certainly here today and gone tomorrow.
Of course there are people who make it a full time job to appear in the press, but that does not mean they're rich, that they've even got a career, or even fans, just that some people see their names on a regular basis.
But so many still want to believe. That if they hire publicity and promotion people, if they get their name out in the news, they will be winning.
Today winning is something you feel inside. No one else can claim victory for you. No one else can anoint you with pixie dust. There are social media influencers making more money than most of the people in the Spotify Top 50, even though very few know their names. Young people acknowledge this change, old people pooh-pooh it, because they don't like having their cheese moved, they don't like the evisceration of rules. There must be rules, right?
There are no rules, you make it up as you go. And chances are those jumping the track, doing the out of ordinary, never mind extraordinary, are going to win.
So if you're railing against the system...
You're the system. Only you. It all comes down to you.
Keep producing. Doesn't matter what the general public thinks, just what your fans do. And if you're good enough, you'll grow a fan base and sustain it. But that's too heavy a lift for newbies, they want someone exterior, in the firmament, to say they've made it, that they're a star.
But that paradigm went out with the internet. And the internet's been around for thirty years.
So it's time to acknowledge where we are. A Tower of Babel world where you're the act, the bus driver, the social media maven...one in which you wear all the hats and if you want to have a conference, you look in the mirror.
But never forget, people are still looking for great, and there's very little great out there. So if you are truly great, people will find and promote you...just don't expect it to happen overnight.
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Saturday, 4 April 2026
Friday, 3 April 2026
Final Alongside The British Invasion-SiriusXM This Week
The records that were hits at the same time as the British Invasion.
Tune in Saturday April 4th to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.
If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz
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Tune in Saturday April 4th to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.
If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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David Pogue's Apple Book
"Apple: The First 50 Years": https://bit.ly/3O90FRI
1
To tell you the truth, I finished this book almost a week ago, and I forgot most of what I wanted to say about it. Primarily the business insights.
Not that I don't remember the facts. Not that I haven't internalized the messages.
In any event, this book is not for casual fans, casual readers. If you came to the Mac after Steve Jobs returned or later, you probably won't get far in this tome. But if you were there at the beginning...
I was not. At the very beginning. Because it was all about the Apple II.
And that lore is repeated here, the creation of the Apple I, the Apple II team's frustration that it was considered a second class citizen whilst generating all the profits, keeping the company alive well into the Macintosh era.
But I came in in 1986. With the Mac Plus...
The original Mac was close to unusable, it only had 128kb of RAM...
Now let me see... This machine I'm running has 48 GIGS of RAM. 128kb was infinitesimal. Months later came the Fat Mac, with 512kb, but the Mac Plus had a gig of RAM. However you still had to swap floppies. The screen was still small and black and white. But if you bought in, it was a religion. Like being a fan of your favorite band, but deeper. Maybe because you were there early, you were intrigued, and you knew these machines would change the world.
Computers were not rare in 1986, but most of them were PCs...which really didn't have an effective Windows interface until 1995. In other words, they were not very usable. They were business tools.
But what really blew up computing was AOL. Didn't matter what platform you were on, they all worked with AOL...and people ran out and bought computers just to play.
But that was almost thirty years ago. Do today's generations, many birthed in this century, know this?
No, just like we couldn't fathom the introduction of television in our parents' era.
Anyway, I had no allegiance to Apple. All I knew was I wanted to start a newsletter and needed a computer to do so. And it didn't take much research to find out I needed a Mac, with PageMaker, and a LaserWriter.
This was a different era, not quite the hobbyist era, but the machines were not foolproof, unlike your iPad and iPhone. Not only did they crash, they might not reboot. The Mac wasn't truly user-friendly for everybody until the introduction of Mac OS X, based on Unix with the Mach kernel.
Not that you need to know that, not that today you need to know how your car runs. But for almost all of my life, you had to have a rudimentary knowledge of how your automobile functioned, because it would break! Computers were even worse, although they rarely physically broke, they just stopped working.
And you had to figure out why.
That's right, there was no Genius Bar, really very little tech help at all. You had to sit in front of the computer and figure out what was wrong, and it could take you hours...I found it nearly impossible to fall asleep until I'd solved the problem, gotten my computer back on the right track.
Needless to say, those are not these days.
2
So forty years ago...
Not only was there no internet, techies were considered nerds, geeks, they were not respected by the hoi polloi, who were infatuated by MTV. But once you got bitten...
I used to say it was like having a math problem on my desk. Only there was no test, I wasn't graded, but when I figured it out the level of satisfaction...
And what the Macintosh could do, and what the PC could not!
So if you were around in those days, you'll be intrigued, you will be riveted, because Pogue brings it all back. The system updates, which you had to go to the store at first to get. The step by step innovation. The dark years and then the renaissance.
Now this is not the first time this territory has been covered, but it has never been covered so well, because David Pogue is one of our own, he's not only writing about the Mac, he LIVED the Mac!
The best books ever about the Mac and Mac products were authored by Pogue, and I used to buy the "Missing Manual"s and read them cover to cover. You'd be stunned how powerful these machines are, most only use a tiny faction of their ability.
And the software too.
I read all the manuals, also from cover to cover.
Do you know if you double-click the top of your window, it will shrink it down to the dock? I could list tons of tips, but most are not used and not cared about. It's almost an insider's game. But...
Those early days, do you remember Conflict Catcher?
All the breakthroughs and bumps in the road are catalogued by Pogue. In an upfront, breezy style. He makes Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs look like the doorstep it is. Content is secondary to readability, and Pogue is very readable. And as much as he knows to leave in, he's not afraid of leaving a bit out. It's a book. Made to be read from start to finish. If you do so, you'll know Apple's history.
But how many people need to know this?
3
Apple was the little engine that could. The true breakthrough was the iPod.
But before that, during Jobs's hejira with NeXT...
The problem with Sculley was he was a marketer, of a completely different product. Pepsi could sit on the shelves for a while. Computers lost value every day they were held in inventory.
Also, Sculley was a publicity hog, who wrote a book and liked being perceived as a visionary, even though he was not. We see this story again and again, do not believe the hype. Which is easy to garner. Can you say "Theranos"? No, the true people to admire are those who are doing the work, whose names are out there, but oftentimes say no to press, it slows them down, never mind that the press always gets it wrong, ALWAYS! Because unlike Pogue, most writers are not familiar with the territory.
Was Jobs a terror?
Yes.
And he was milder when he came back.
But he had a vision, and he didn't believe in consumer research. He was about the bleeding edge. A lot of this has been documented, which is why the second half of the book is less interesting.
As for Tim Cook and the players in power today...
Yes, the petty wars are delineated, but the real point is they are not superstars, they are not visionaries, those only come along once in a while.
Like a classic musician, Jobs is focused on getting it right, in a world where everybody is taught to compromise to get along, where no one wants to stand out, upset the apple cart. Jobs focuses on product, believing the rest will take care of itself.
And prior to his return and their replacement, those who sat on the board saw Apple as a traditional business. They wanted to sell it, before it cratered, before Jobs came back and reinvigorated it.
Now I remember one of the lessons I wanted to impart... Don't underestimate expertise. We see this all the time in the music business, since you don't need a degree to be in it, no one has any respect for those who work in it. Average citizens believe they can find talent, they can do ticketing. But again and again outsiders fail, because the expertise cannot be quantified, it is built over time, it's something you feel, it's something innate. Even as simple as picking the hits. I'd say at least ninety percent of what people e-mail me, saying it's great and deserves further attention, does not. I'm not saying they can't like it, but they don't have the seasoning and the vision to know what will spread to the public.
But it's not only in music, in politics people have contempt for expertise. There's this belief everybody can do everything. Then why did it take Steve Jobs to come up with the iPod and iPhone?
Breaking rules all the while. Getting rid of legacy ports on computers, getting rid of the physical keyboard on the iPhone. People are attached to the past, and if you're busy serving them you're going to be left behind. Jobs knew the iPhone was going to destroy the iPod, but rather than keep the music player alive, Jobs insisted on pushing the envelope, he was not willing to rest on his laurels, giving competitors a window to leapfrog Apple.
Hell, me-too is everywhere. When was the last time you heard a successful record that was truly surprising, completely different? Labels don't sign those acts anymore, it's too heavy a lift. They want it easy. Just like the movie studios, whose lunch was eaten by Netflix. Let me see... You raise the prices, you make fewer movies in obvious genres and then you complain that the theatre experience is dying? Believe me, people will show up for something unique and different. Then again, something might have to percolate in the marketplace for a while to catch on, but these flicks play in theatres for a minute and are then available on TV, which is a better experience.
User experience. That was Jobs's main focus. But in most avenues of life, this is denied. Purveyors are trying to whittle down and control human behavior, keep it in the past, which is a fool's errand.
4
The press is all over Apple's 50th.
But it's kind of like a lifetime achievement award... Once you get that, you're usually done.
I get a new iPhone every year. But recently, the changes have been miniscule, almost irrelevant.
Apple is making a ton of money on services, and maybe the days of hardware breakthroughs are done, then again, the days of tech wowing us died over a decade ago, now tech is the enemy.
But the story of going from Motorola to Intel to in-house chips... Once again, the company is always thinking about the future, whereas in entertainment, everybody seems to be constantly blind-sided. Kind of like George Bush and 9-11. Who could envision they'd fly planes into buildings?
Then again, entertainment executives are all about lifestyle, accumulating and displaying. The company is something to milk.
Oh, I just remembered another thing that struck me... This happened again and again, but foremost with the original Macintosh team.
Yes, Jobs asked for the theoretically unachievable, which they always delivered, but once the Mac was released...most of the members of the team were so burned out, they couldn't work for months, if ever at this level again. Most left Apple. None set the world on fire once again. They'd been to the mountaintop, they'd experienced the ride and the rewards, they just weren't up for doing it again, like a hit act that cannot create hits anymore.
There are a lot of lessons in Pogue's book. Not that he bats you over the head with them. But almost no one is going to read this book. They might buy it, but the average punter just doesn't care about the minutiae of tech, the history of creation. Kind of like cars. You may love Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, but how many people want to go back seventy or a hundred years and hear about the arguments and decisions regarding what kind of engines and suspensions to use, the failures...
However, the thing about Apple is unlike any single car brand, unlike any musician, period, the company's products and services touch a broad swath of the public. Sure, Android might be bigger internationally, but all the innovation is on the iPhone first, which has over fifty percent market share in the U.S.
And now with the MacBook Neo, Macs are no longer expensive. The last hurdle has been eliminated, you can enter the cult on the cheap.
And once you do...
You get locked in.
And the love for Apple sustains. This is not a musical act or TV show that ultimately peters out. We expect Apple to continue to deliver, to lead us into the future.
Did it miss AI?
I'm not even gonna get into it. Could be their philosophy of licensing turns out to be the best.
But one thing is for sure, Apple is not a one trick pony. So many use their products and they think they know what goes on inside the gold mine. In truth they don't. And, in truth, they don't really care that much, they have no need to know.
But if you do...
P.S. Don't buy the e-book unless you're going to read it on an iPad... There are numerous color photos.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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1
To tell you the truth, I finished this book almost a week ago, and I forgot most of what I wanted to say about it. Primarily the business insights.
Not that I don't remember the facts. Not that I haven't internalized the messages.
In any event, this book is not for casual fans, casual readers. If you came to the Mac after Steve Jobs returned or later, you probably won't get far in this tome. But if you were there at the beginning...
I was not. At the very beginning. Because it was all about the Apple II.
And that lore is repeated here, the creation of the Apple I, the Apple II team's frustration that it was considered a second class citizen whilst generating all the profits, keeping the company alive well into the Macintosh era.
But I came in in 1986. With the Mac Plus...
The original Mac was close to unusable, it only had 128kb of RAM...
Now let me see... This machine I'm running has 48 GIGS of RAM. 128kb was infinitesimal. Months later came the Fat Mac, with 512kb, but the Mac Plus had a gig of RAM. However you still had to swap floppies. The screen was still small and black and white. But if you bought in, it was a religion. Like being a fan of your favorite band, but deeper. Maybe because you were there early, you were intrigued, and you knew these machines would change the world.
Computers were not rare in 1986, but most of them were PCs...which really didn't have an effective Windows interface until 1995. In other words, they were not very usable. They were business tools.
But what really blew up computing was AOL. Didn't matter what platform you were on, they all worked with AOL...and people ran out and bought computers just to play.
But that was almost thirty years ago. Do today's generations, many birthed in this century, know this?
No, just like we couldn't fathom the introduction of television in our parents' era.
Anyway, I had no allegiance to Apple. All I knew was I wanted to start a newsletter and needed a computer to do so. And it didn't take much research to find out I needed a Mac, with PageMaker, and a LaserWriter.
This was a different era, not quite the hobbyist era, but the machines were not foolproof, unlike your iPad and iPhone. Not only did they crash, they might not reboot. The Mac wasn't truly user-friendly for everybody until the introduction of Mac OS X, based on Unix with the Mach kernel.
Not that you need to know that, not that today you need to know how your car runs. But for almost all of my life, you had to have a rudimentary knowledge of how your automobile functioned, because it would break! Computers were even worse, although they rarely physically broke, they just stopped working.
And you had to figure out why.
That's right, there was no Genius Bar, really very little tech help at all. You had to sit in front of the computer and figure out what was wrong, and it could take you hours...I found it nearly impossible to fall asleep until I'd solved the problem, gotten my computer back on the right track.
Needless to say, those are not these days.
2
So forty years ago...
Not only was there no internet, techies were considered nerds, geeks, they were not respected by the hoi polloi, who were infatuated by MTV. But once you got bitten...
I used to say it was like having a math problem on my desk. Only there was no test, I wasn't graded, but when I figured it out the level of satisfaction...
And what the Macintosh could do, and what the PC could not!
So if you were around in those days, you'll be intrigued, you will be riveted, because Pogue brings it all back. The system updates, which you had to go to the store at first to get. The step by step innovation. The dark years and then the renaissance.
Now this is not the first time this territory has been covered, but it has never been covered so well, because David Pogue is one of our own, he's not only writing about the Mac, he LIVED the Mac!
The best books ever about the Mac and Mac products were authored by Pogue, and I used to buy the "Missing Manual"s and read them cover to cover. You'd be stunned how powerful these machines are, most only use a tiny faction of their ability.
And the software too.
I read all the manuals, also from cover to cover.
Do you know if you double-click the top of your window, it will shrink it down to the dock? I could list tons of tips, but most are not used and not cared about. It's almost an insider's game. But...
Those early days, do you remember Conflict Catcher?
All the breakthroughs and bumps in the road are catalogued by Pogue. In an upfront, breezy style. He makes Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs look like the doorstep it is. Content is secondary to readability, and Pogue is very readable. And as much as he knows to leave in, he's not afraid of leaving a bit out. It's a book. Made to be read from start to finish. If you do so, you'll know Apple's history.
But how many people need to know this?
3
Apple was the little engine that could. The true breakthrough was the iPod.
But before that, during Jobs's hejira with NeXT...
The problem with Sculley was he was a marketer, of a completely different product. Pepsi could sit on the shelves for a while. Computers lost value every day they were held in inventory.
Also, Sculley was a publicity hog, who wrote a book and liked being perceived as a visionary, even though he was not. We see this story again and again, do not believe the hype. Which is easy to garner. Can you say "Theranos"? No, the true people to admire are those who are doing the work, whose names are out there, but oftentimes say no to press, it slows them down, never mind that the press always gets it wrong, ALWAYS! Because unlike Pogue, most writers are not familiar with the territory.
Was Jobs a terror?
Yes.
And he was milder when he came back.
But he had a vision, and he didn't believe in consumer research. He was about the bleeding edge. A lot of this has been documented, which is why the second half of the book is less interesting.
As for Tim Cook and the players in power today...
Yes, the petty wars are delineated, but the real point is they are not superstars, they are not visionaries, those only come along once in a while.
Like a classic musician, Jobs is focused on getting it right, in a world where everybody is taught to compromise to get along, where no one wants to stand out, upset the apple cart. Jobs focuses on product, believing the rest will take care of itself.
And prior to his return and their replacement, those who sat on the board saw Apple as a traditional business. They wanted to sell it, before it cratered, before Jobs came back and reinvigorated it.
Now I remember one of the lessons I wanted to impart... Don't underestimate expertise. We see this all the time in the music business, since you don't need a degree to be in it, no one has any respect for those who work in it. Average citizens believe they can find talent, they can do ticketing. But again and again outsiders fail, because the expertise cannot be quantified, it is built over time, it's something you feel, it's something innate. Even as simple as picking the hits. I'd say at least ninety percent of what people e-mail me, saying it's great and deserves further attention, does not. I'm not saying they can't like it, but they don't have the seasoning and the vision to know what will spread to the public.
But it's not only in music, in politics people have contempt for expertise. There's this belief everybody can do everything. Then why did it take Steve Jobs to come up with the iPod and iPhone?
Breaking rules all the while. Getting rid of legacy ports on computers, getting rid of the physical keyboard on the iPhone. People are attached to the past, and if you're busy serving them you're going to be left behind. Jobs knew the iPhone was going to destroy the iPod, but rather than keep the music player alive, Jobs insisted on pushing the envelope, he was not willing to rest on his laurels, giving competitors a window to leapfrog Apple.
Hell, me-too is everywhere. When was the last time you heard a successful record that was truly surprising, completely different? Labels don't sign those acts anymore, it's too heavy a lift. They want it easy. Just like the movie studios, whose lunch was eaten by Netflix. Let me see... You raise the prices, you make fewer movies in obvious genres and then you complain that the theatre experience is dying? Believe me, people will show up for something unique and different. Then again, something might have to percolate in the marketplace for a while to catch on, but these flicks play in theatres for a minute and are then available on TV, which is a better experience.
User experience. That was Jobs's main focus. But in most avenues of life, this is denied. Purveyors are trying to whittle down and control human behavior, keep it in the past, which is a fool's errand.
4
The press is all over Apple's 50th.
But it's kind of like a lifetime achievement award... Once you get that, you're usually done.
I get a new iPhone every year. But recently, the changes have been miniscule, almost irrelevant.
Apple is making a ton of money on services, and maybe the days of hardware breakthroughs are done, then again, the days of tech wowing us died over a decade ago, now tech is the enemy.
But the story of going from Motorola to Intel to in-house chips... Once again, the company is always thinking about the future, whereas in entertainment, everybody seems to be constantly blind-sided. Kind of like George Bush and 9-11. Who could envision they'd fly planes into buildings?
Then again, entertainment executives are all about lifestyle, accumulating and displaying. The company is something to milk.
Oh, I just remembered another thing that struck me... This happened again and again, but foremost with the original Macintosh team.
Yes, Jobs asked for the theoretically unachievable, which they always delivered, but once the Mac was released...most of the members of the team were so burned out, they couldn't work for months, if ever at this level again. Most left Apple. None set the world on fire once again. They'd been to the mountaintop, they'd experienced the ride and the rewards, they just weren't up for doing it again, like a hit act that cannot create hits anymore.
There are a lot of lessons in Pogue's book. Not that he bats you over the head with them. But almost no one is going to read this book. They might buy it, but the average punter just doesn't care about the minutiae of tech, the history of creation. Kind of like cars. You may love Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, but how many people want to go back seventy or a hundred years and hear about the arguments and decisions regarding what kind of engines and suspensions to use, the failures...
However, the thing about Apple is unlike any single car brand, unlike any musician, period, the company's products and services touch a broad swath of the public. Sure, Android might be bigger internationally, but all the innovation is on the iPhone first, which has over fifty percent market share in the U.S.
And now with the MacBook Neo, Macs are no longer expensive. The last hurdle has been eliminated, you can enter the cult on the cheap.
And once you do...
You get locked in.
And the love for Apple sustains. This is not a musical act or TV show that ultimately peters out. We expect Apple to continue to deliver, to lead us into the future.
Did it miss AI?
I'm not even gonna get into it. Could be their philosophy of licensing turns out to be the best.
But one thing is for sure, Apple is not a one trick pony. So many use their products and they think they know what goes on inside the gold mine. In truth they don't. And, in truth, they don't really care that much, they have no need to know.
But if you do...
P.S. Don't buy the e-book unless you're going to read it on an iPad... There are numerous color photos.
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Thursday, 2 April 2026
The Redd Kross Movie
https://www.reddkrossfilm.com
This is strangely interesting.
I only checked it out because Steve Poltz recommended it, and I trust him implicitly. But to be honest, I'm not a big Redd Kross fan. Actually, I'm not a fan at all. Oh, I'm aware of the band, but I couldn't pick their music out of a playlist. They were another one of many Southern California bands that meant something locally, but never blew up on the national scene.
Having said that, this is one of the few documentaries that I believe will bring attention to the band, that will burnish their image and career.
Assuming people see it. Which is the hardest thing to do today, to get the attention of an audience. You've got no idea how valuable ninety minutes is to someone today. They have so many opportunities for their time, their attention, it's hard to even get people to dive in, never mind stay in.
But I did stay in. Poltz got me to check it out, but I stayed in because...
The movie depicted a bygone era. When you formed bands, when bands were still a thing, when there was a musical culture, a musician culture, and you believed that someone from your ilk, your little scene, might break through.
So, Redd Kross start out as punks.
And the funny thing is kinda like the Ramones, not everybody knows their music, but they know Black Flag's name. And the Circle Jerks.
And there was a scene. Sure, punk may have had its epicenter in Orange County, then again it flourished at the Masque and the Hong Kong Café in Los Angeles.
So the McDonald brothers, the mainstays of Redd Kross, are from Hawthorne, California. They go back home and...
Their original homeland has been turned into a freeway, the 105.
This is bedrock California history. Somewhere in here is the essence of the Southern California mentality. Unlike the east coast, no one is worried about going to college, they're not concerned with SAT scores, they're just watching television, going to the beach, living their lives...the future may be on the horizon, but no one is really thinking about it or preparing for it.
I think it's the weather. It's never too cold and it hardly ever rains and you're never cooped up inside, you feel a sense of freedom.
Furthermore, chances are your parents immigrated here, so there's a tradition of breaking with roots, taking chances.
And then there's the nihilism of punk, which was a reaction to society...
We don't even get that backlash anymore. Maybe in the manosphere, but all those people are sad and angry and licking their wounds, whereas the punks believed that they were tuning forks, that a lot of people were on their page, that maybe they were the mainstream, not the underground.
And what I like is the inclusion of all the players, not just the musicians, but the bedrock, formative people. Not only the parents, but the kids they went to school with, the woman whose 8th grade party Redd Kross played at. They got booed, but unlike a band today, they laugh about it. They're a weird combination of straight and hip, outsider but leader. This is not New York, where you've got to dress in black and wear sunglasses at night and smoke cigarettes, no, you can wear your Chucks and some cartoon t-shirt and...
Eventually Redd Kross evolves from punk to what one might call power pop, and this is where the music gets interesting, but don't think because I'm intrigued that this film is not hagiography... Oh, you've got people from the scene waxing rhapsodic how great Redd Kross are. How they influenced Axl Rose and grunge and... Fine, but there's a reason why some acts make it and some don't. I mean the brothers aren't quite sour grapes, but the film makes Redd Kross out to be gods, and they are most certainly not.
But what is missing from this film, which I couldn't stop thinking about, was how did these guys SURVIVE! Not only them, but all the talking heads in this film...
So many are stuck in the past. Sexagenarians, septuagenarians, and still dressed in the clothes, the look, of yesteryear, their twenties. It's almost like they couldn't give up and wasted their entire lives. I'm sure they wouldn't see it this way, but I do. At what point do you bite the bullet and pivot, realize it's not going to work out for you and do something different?
Now I'm sure some do or did. And a bunch die. And some weren't going anywhere so fast to begin with.
But... There was an entire scene, a subculture, not quite the art students of your high school, but misfits, and people who wouldn't buy the b.s. of life. They all formed bands and gravitated to each other. And the funny thing is there was no hierarchy, like in regular life, where it's usually about money or education or some other delineation of status, no...they were all there together, the little engine that could, playing music, getting high.
I mean even the guy in Redd Kross gets hooked on drugs and goes to rehab. I mean that's a cliché, right?
Wouldn't happen to me. But maybe that's just the point. I grew up on the east coast and my parents prodded me to succeed from birth. We were prohibited from watching TV during the day, and my mother wasn't too thrilled about us watching it at night either. We knew we were going to college from the moment of consciousness. We didn't necessarily have to be somebody, but we had to get established, so we could pay our own bills, so our parents didn't have to worry about us.
Which is why the people I grew up with and went to college with didn't set the world on fire. We weren't programmed for it. We were programmed to play it safe, to buy insurance, whereas the McDonald brothers and the people in this film...I'd basically say they were oblivious to the structure of everyday life, the bills and the obligations.
Now deep into this movie we find out one brother is married to Charlotte Caffey, who's got a good income stream from the Go-Go's. And the other is married to Anna Waronker and...
I still don't know how they survived.
And the band has highlights. Everybody who ever tried to make it in Hollywood does. In this case, one brother is dating Sofia Coppola and the band is flown by her dad up to Napa for the weekend, private, when most people didn't know that's what was going on at the Van Nuys Airport, the rich and famous flying in and out.
But stories don't pay the bills.
So, the barrier to entry here is not low, you've got to pay to see this flick now, it's not on a streaming service. Maybe it will be eventually, since the McDonald brothers are so weird, like the Mael brothers of Sparks, if not that far off the deep end.
And there are more great twists and turns, stories of growing up, but...
I don't care if you're a fan of Redd Kross or have never heard of the band. That's irrelevant. The scene depicted in this movie, the lifestyle, the attitudes...they are completely foreign to what is happening in music today.
Today no one has a sense of humor, no one questions authority, they want to buy in, they've got no fear of selling out. But it used to be your identity and viewpoint were more important than money. You could have nothing and judge and people would agree with you. Now, if you've got no portfolio, if you don't have a big bank account, you're derided, if not completely ignored.
So, it was a time and a place. But it's also a breed of people... Who still exist, but they're not forming bands.
Today you make your music at home on your computer, oftentimes alone. A band is too hard to manage, and if you make it you have to split up all the money.
So you put your stuff up on YouTube, you spam everybody you know and then complain that you're not successful.
Redd Kross were not about complaints. I'd say they were about music, but it's more than that. They were about a sensibility, involving both emotion and intellect. They marched to the beat of a different drummer, and they were not the only ones.
In truth, this film is subversive, parents don't want their kids to see it, for fear they'll take it to heart and jump the track.
But everything worth paying attention to was made by people who jumped the track, from music to tech.
And isn't it funny how so much of it came from California.
I won't belabor the point, because today everybody thinks California is an unlivable hellhole, but what they don't know is California is a state of mind, one of freedom and possibility, where you jump before you talk yourself down from the ledge.
Like Redd Kross.
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This is strangely interesting.
I only checked it out because Steve Poltz recommended it, and I trust him implicitly. But to be honest, I'm not a big Redd Kross fan. Actually, I'm not a fan at all. Oh, I'm aware of the band, but I couldn't pick their music out of a playlist. They were another one of many Southern California bands that meant something locally, but never blew up on the national scene.
Having said that, this is one of the few documentaries that I believe will bring attention to the band, that will burnish their image and career.
Assuming people see it. Which is the hardest thing to do today, to get the attention of an audience. You've got no idea how valuable ninety minutes is to someone today. They have so many opportunities for their time, their attention, it's hard to even get people to dive in, never mind stay in.
But I did stay in. Poltz got me to check it out, but I stayed in because...
The movie depicted a bygone era. When you formed bands, when bands were still a thing, when there was a musical culture, a musician culture, and you believed that someone from your ilk, your little scene, might break through.
So, Redd Kross start out as punks.
And the funny thing is kinda like the Ramones, not everybody knows their music, but they know Black Flag's name. And the Circle Jerks.
And there was a scene. Sure, punk may have had its epicenter in Orange County, then again it flourished at the Masque and the Hong Kong Café in Los Angeles.
So the McDonald brothers, the mainstays of Redd Kross, are from Hawthorne, California. They go back home and...
Their original homeland has been turned into a freeway, the 105.
This is bedrock California history. Somewhere in here is the essence of the Southern California mentality. Unlike the east coast, no one is worried about going to college, they're not concerned with SAT scores, they're just watching television, going to the beach, living their lives...the future may be on the horizon, but no one is really thinking about it or preparing for it.
I think it's the weather. It's never too cold and it hardly ever rains and you're never cooped up inside, you feel a sense of freedom.
Furthermore, chances are your parents immigrated here, so there's a tradition of breaking with roots, taking chances.
And then there's the nihilism of punk, which was a reaction to society...
We don't even get that backlash anymore. Maybe in the manosphere, but all those people are sad and angry and licking their wounds, whereas the punks believed that they were tuning forks, that a lot of people were on their page, that maybe they were the mainstream, not the underground.
And what I like is the inclusion of all the players, not just the musicians, but the bedrock, formative people. Not only the parents, but the kids they went to school with, the woman whose 8th grade party Redd Kross played at. They got booed, but unlike a band today, they laugh about it. They're a weird combination of straight and hip, outsider but leader. This is not New York, where you've got to dress in black and wear sunglasses at night and smoke cigarettes, no, you can wear your Chucks and some cartoon t-shirt and...
Eventually Redd Kross evolves from punk to what one might call power pop, and this is where the music gets interesting, but don't think because I'm intrigued that this film is not hagiography... Oh, you've got people from the scene waxing rhapsodic how great Redd Kross are. How they influenced Axl Rose and grunge and... Fine, but there's a reason why some acts make it and some don't. I mean the brothers aren't quite sour grapes, but the film makes Redd Kross out to be gods, and they are most certainly not.
But what is missing from this film, which I couldn't stop thinking about, was how did these guys SURVIVE! Not only them, but all the talking heads in this film...
So many are stuck in the past. Sexagenarians, septuagenarians, and still dressed in the clothes, the look, of yesteryear, their twenties. It's almost like they couldn't give up and wasted their entire lives. I'm sure they wouldn't see it this way, but I do. At what point do you bite the bullet and pivot, realize it's not going to work out for you and do something different?
Now I'm sure some do or did. And a bunch die. And some weren't going anywhere so fast to begin with.
But... There was an entire scene, a subculture, not quite the art students of your high school, but misfits, and people who wouldn't buy the b.s. of life. They all formed bands and gravitated to each other. And the funny thing is there was no hierarchy, like in regular life, where it's usually about money or education or some other delineation of status, no...they were all there together, the little engine that could, playing music, getting high.
I mean even the guy in Redd Kross gets hooked on drugs and goes to rehab. I mean that's a cliché, right?
Wouldn't happen to me. But maybe that's just the point. I grew up on the east coast and my parents prodded me to succeed from birth. We were prohibited from watching TV during the day, and my mother wasn't too thrilled about us watching it at night either. We knew we were going to college from the moment of consciousness. We didn't necessarily have to be somebody, but we had to get established, so we could pay our own bills, so our parents didn't have to worry about us.
Which is why the people I grew up with and went to college with didn't set the world on fire. We weren't programmed for it. We were programmed to play it safe, to buy insurance, whereas the McDonald brothers and the people in this film...I'd basically say they were oblivious to the structure of everyday life, the bills and the obligations.
Now deep into this movie we find out one brother is married to Charlotte Caffey, who's got a good income stream from the Go-Go's. And the other is married to Anna Waronker and...
I still don't know how they survived.
And the band has highlights. Everybody who ever tried to make it in Hollywood does. In this case, one brother is dating Sofia Coppola and the band is flown by her dad up to Napa for the weekend, private, when most people didn't know that's what was going on at the Van Nuys Airport, the rich and famous flying in and out.
But stories don't pay the bills.
So, the barrier to entry here is not low, you've got to pay to see this flick now, it's not on a streaming service. Maybe it will be eventually, since the McDonald brothers are so weird, like the Mael brothers of Sparks, if not that far off the deep end.
And there are more great twists and turns, stories of growing up, but...
I don't care if you're a fan of Redd Kross or have never heard of the band. That's irrelevant. The scene depicted in this movie, the lifestyle, the attitudes...they are completely foreign to what is happening in music today.
Today no one has a sense of humor, no one questions authority, they want to buy in, they've got no fear of selling out. But it used to be your identity and viewpoint were more important than money. You could have nothing and judge and people would agree with you. Now, if you've got no portfolio, if you don't have a big bank account, you're derided, if not completely ignored.
So, it was a time and a place. But it's also a breed of people... Who still exist, but they're not forming bands.
Today you make your music at home on your computer, oftentimes alone. A band is too hard to manage, and if you make it you have to split up all the money.
So you put your stuff up on YouTube, you spam everybody you know and then complain that you're not successful.
Redd Kross were not about complaints. I'd say they were about music, but it's more than that. They were about a sensibility, involving both emotion and intellect. They marched to the beat of a different drummer, and they were not the only ones.
In truth, this film is subversive, parents don't want their kids to see it, for fear they'll take it to heart and jump the track.
But everything worth paying attention to was made by people who jumped the track, from music to tech.
And isn't it funny how so much of it came from California.
I won't belabor the point, because today everybody thinks California is an unlivable hellhole, but what they don't know is California is a state of mind, one of freedom and possibility, where you jump before you talk yourself down from the ledge.
Like Redd Kross.
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Sophie Rain
I'd never even heard of her a month ago. But then I read she donated a million bucks to MrBeast's TeamWater charity and...
Musicians don't donate that much. Almost nobody does. And if they do, they want to let everybody know about it.
Where did Sophie Rain get all this money?
ONLYFANS!
That's right, porn. But it's not the porn of yore, some fly-by-night outfit in the San Fernando Valley that rips off performers as they get STDs. No, this sister is doing it for herself.
Steve Jobs famously said he was selling tools. That's what a platform is. It allows you to distribute your wares far and wide. It does not guarantee you make any money. Peruse TikTok and you'll find women testifying that they tried OnlyFans to crickets. They bared their assets, but no one cared.
You see selling yourself online is hard work.
But all the establishment can do is put down the influencers.
So I Googled Sophie Rain. She's large-busted and attractive, but you can see this kind of star as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard, some who are famous, some who you hardly even recognize.
That's right, Sophie Rain is not that special. Not that there's anything wrong with her, but...HOW DID SHE MAKE SO MUCH MONEY?
To tell you the truth, I did not do a deep dive. But I do know enough about the sphere to be aware that influencers, successful OnlyFans stars, work harder than most musicians, all those complaining they don't get paid on Spotify. Because these online stars realize that their success depends on themselves and themselves only. That they've got to work to bring in the bread.
Now not everybody can be successful on OnlyFans. You must be physically appealing. That does not mean you have to be classically beautiful, just that you must appeal to a segment of the public. And the segment doesn't even have to be that big, you don't have to reach everybody, far from it. Because if you have superfans, they will support you, just like the BTS Army supports the Korean group.
Most people are not fans of BTS and most people are not fans of Sophie Rain, even though the out of touch press will tell you they are. We live in a Tower of Babel society and no one wants to admit it, because that would mean their reach and power is less than they believe it to be, that they tell everybody else it is.
But the online influencers, their goal is different from the musical acts on MTV in the eighties. They don't want or need world domination, and they don't want any fame that doesn't pay. It's lowest common denominator, they're doing it for the money.
Like so many performers in music today.
The only problem is it's easier to make money, and more of it, online as an influencer or OnlyFans star. And you don't have to spend all that time practicing your instrument.
So what does an influencer/OnlyFans star know?
That they have to constantly produce. Usually each and every day, multiple times a day. It's a jungle out there, and if they don't work, no money comes in.
And they're willing to give a ton away free, to get people to subscribe, to partake.
And they're congenial and responsive. You've got to be nice, you've got to act like a best friend, like a girlfriend, you've got to make people believe...and you've got to be SMART!
It's not about having a manager or a label. Sure, you ultimately need an accountant, but you know your career is in your hands.
And you know not everybody makes it. So you've got to be special and, once again, hard-working.
I don't hear this from "musicians." They'll spam you to pay attention, but why? They're better marketers than players. And all they can do is complain that they can't get paid.
But this is a sea change in America. It's the nichification. The stars are smaller than ever before, but that does not mean they are not richer. And just because music was the easiest way for the unwashed, the uneducated, to make riches in the past, that is not the case today.
Bottom line is Olivia Rodriguez and even Miley Cyrus are competing, poorly, with the OnlyFans girls. They're selling sex written by committee, whereas on OnlyFans, it comes straight from the heart, and the vagina.
And the OnlyFans girls stay on brand, they know what they're famous for, everything they do is an extension of sexuality/friendship. It's not about selling merch, but planting yourself in someone's brain...the goal is to hook men emotionally and string them along.
So... You sell one on one services. You have a bank of phone sex operators imitating/playing you...
If I was running a conference, if I was some music trade, I wouldn't feature the pompous voices of brain dead musicians, I'd go deep on one of these OnlyFans girls.
And, of course, there are those not selling sex, the so-called "influencers." But one thing is for sure, they're selling THEMSELVES! They know it's about identity, personality, whereas wannabe musicians think their bland, poorly-performed music, is enough.
Oh, don't get your knickers in a twist with me 'putting down" players. Really, I'm not even talking about the players, I'm talking about the infrastructure.
We keep on hearing major labels can't break acts anymore. That's because they consider a break what it was in the last century, something that reaches everybody and sells tonnage. No, today it's all about bunts and doubles at best. If you're swinging for the fences you've got it wrong. Sophie Rain doesn't care that most people are not paying attention to her, she only cares that SOME PEOPLE are paying attention to her.
So, you can see the lineup for a festival and shrug your shoulders. Who cares about these acts? Meanwhile, the true headliners will only work on their own, knowing they can make more money only appealing to the fans they've already got.
All this is happening right under our noses, but everybody from the old days wants to deny it, they want to believe it's the same as it ever was.
But it's not.
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Musicians don't donate that much. Almost nobody does. And if they do, they want to let everybody know about it.
Where did Sophie Rain get all this money?
ONLYFANS!
That's right, porn. But it's not the porn of yore, some fly-by-night outfit in the San Fernando Valley that rips off performers as they get STDs. No, this sister is doing it for herself.
Steve Jobs famously said he was selling tools. That's what a platform is. It allows you to distribute your wares far and wide. It does not guarantee you make any money. Peruse TikTok and you'll find women testifying that they tried OnlyFans to crickets. They bared their assets, but no one cared.
You see selling yourself online is hard work.
But all the establishment can do is put down the influencers.
So I Googled Sophie Rain. She's large-busted and attractive, but you can see this kind of star as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard, some who are famous, some who you hardly even recognize.
That's right, Sophie Rain is not that special. Not that there's anything wrong with her, but...HOW DID SHE MAKE SO MUCH MONEY?
To tell you the truth, I did not do a deep dive. But I do know enough about the sphere to be aware that influencers, successful OnlyFans stars, work harder than most musicians, all those complaining they don't get paid on Spotify. Because these online stars realize that their success depends on themselves and themselves only. That they've got to work to bring in the bread.
Now not everybody can be successful on OnlyFans. You must be physically appealing. That does not mean you have to be classically beautiful, just that you must appeal to a segment of the public. And the segment doesn't even have to be that big, you don't have to reach everybody, far from it. Because if you have superfans, they will support you, just like the BTS Army supports the Korean group.
Most people are not fans of BTS and most people are not fans of Sophie Rain, even though the out of touch press will tell you they are. We live in a Tower of Babel society and no one wants to admit it, because that would mean their reach and power is less than they believe it to be, that they tell everybody else it is.
But the online influencers, their goal is different from the musical acts on MTV in the eighties. They don't want or need world domination, and they don't want any fame that doesn't pay. It's lowest common denominator, they're doing it for the money.
Like so many performers in music today.
The only problem is it's easier to make money, and more of it, online as an influencer or OnlyFans star. And you don't have to spend all that time practicing your instrument.
So what does an influencer/OnlyFans star know?
That they have to constantly produce. Usually each and every day, multiple times a day. It's a jungle out there, and if they don't work, no money comes in.
And they're willing to give a ton away free, to get people to subscribe, to partake.
And they're congenial and responsive. You've got to be nice, you've got to act like a best friend, like a girlfriend, you've got to make people believe...and you've got to be SMART!
It's not about having a manager or a label. Sure, you ultimately need an accountant, but you know your career is in your hands.
And you know not everybody makes it. So you've got to be special and, once again, hard-working.
I don't hear this from "musicians." They'll spam you to pay attention, but why? They're better marketers than players. And all they can do is complain that they can't get paid.
But this is a sea change in America. It's the nichification. The stars are smaller than ever before, but that does not mean they are not richer. And just because music was the easiest way for the unwashed, the uneducated, to make riches in the past, that is not the case today.
Bottom line is Olivia Rodriguez and even Miley Cyrus are competing, poorly, with the OnlyFans girls. They're selling sex written by committee, whereas on OnlyFans, it comes straight from the heart, and the vagina.
And the OnlyFans girls stay on brand, they know what they're famous for, everything they do is an extension of sexuality/friendship. It's not about selling merch, but planting yourself in someone's brain...the goal is to hook men emotionally and string them along.
So... You sell one on one services. You have a bank of phone sex operators imitating/playing you...
If I was running a conference, if I was some music trade, I wouldn't feature the pompous voices of brain dead musicians, I'd go deep on one of these OnlyFans girls.
And, of course, there are those not selling sex, the so-called "influencers." But one thing is for sure, they're selling THEMSELVES! They know it's about identity, personality, whereas wannabe musicians think their bland, poorly-performed music, is enough.
Oh, don't get your knickers in a twist with me 'putting down" players. Really, I'm not even talking about the players, I'm talking about the infrastructure.
We keep on hearing major labels can't break acts anymore. That's because they consider a break what it was in the last century, something that reaches everybody and sells tonnage. No, today it's all about bunts and doubles at best. If you're swinging for the fences you've got it wrong. Sophie Rain doesn't care that most people are not paying attention to her, she only cares that SOME PEOPLE are paying attention to her.
So, you can see the lineup for a festival and shrug your shoulders. Who cares about these acts? Meanwhile, the true headliners will only work on their own, knowing they can make more money only appealing to the fans they've already got.
All this is happening right under our noses, but everybody from the old days wants to deny it, they want to believe it's the same as it ever was.
But it's not.
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Bondi
Loyalty doesn't pay.
You torch your reputation and then you're kicked to the curb like a dog, promised some gig later, like an unnamed player in a sports trade.
Now the biggest news today is not Bondi's firing, but Macron's excoriation of Trump. Blasting him for not only undercutting NATO, but flip-flopping on his reasons for the Iran war and more. Seems like the rest of the world is no longer afraid of the president. I'd say he's worn out his welcome, but it's worse than that, he's eviscerated two hundred fifty years of American good will. You used to count on America to support you, as a backstop, to do what is right. Now you know you're on your own, and may be victimized by a tyrant.
Not that this is new in the rest of the world. Sure, antisemitism is a problem in the Republican party, but it's this constant veneration of Viktor Orbán that upsets me. The guy is a dictator, who rigs elections, but it's not only Trump who lauds him, Tucker went to visit him. If you're playing the home game you're scratching your head, this guy is the antithesis of America and its values.
Then again, if you've been playing the home game, it's now three-dimensional chess, with so much going on it's not only hard to get a grasp on it, it makes you want to detach.
Starting off with gas prices... Did you see that GM's sales dropped 9.7%? Not hard to believe when your business model is based on selling overpriced gas-guzzlers. Meanwhile, BYD has introduced an electric car battery that can fully charge in ten minutes that has in excess of 600 miles of capacity. And the American car companies have shuttered most of their EV development and written off billions. Then again, Trump eliminated incentives, he's against green energy. As for the government shepherding new technologies with investment...you drank Tang after the astronauts did, right?
And speaking of green energy, Trump paid a billion bucks to a French energy company to cancel wind farms. And that's YOUR billion dollars, there was no talk of donor money here. Just like with Kristi Noem and her planes.
Yes, in light of the "Daily Mail" story about her husband, Noem gets a pass for her rumored relationship with Corey Lewandowski, but she toed the Trump line and was excised, it's just a matter of time. Who are these bozos who haven't seen the movie, who don't realize it's just a matter of time before they're history?
Sure, it's a triumph for the people that Bondi and Noem are gone... But were they so enamored of these government gigs that they not only cast caution to the wind, but their brains too?
So we've got a war, and all we hear about from Trump and Bondi is the stock market. As if the number reflects the general health of America when so many are living paycheck to paycheck. Meanwhile, if you've got any investments, it's scary to look at the number...forget taxes, Trump is taking directly from your pocketbook.
And the corporations and the rich have benefited from the Great Big Beautiful Bill and...
At rallies we've got signifiers in the streets living in the last century, when Ukraine is holding Russia at bay with drone technology and elders can't stop bitching about technology and social media. Sure, Bondi may have misread the room, but she's not the only one.
So it's kind of funny, we're experiencing whiplash, seemingly each and every day. And those working the refs keep telling us that MAGA is not wavering, they're firmly behind Donald Trump. Yeah, get them to say that while they're pumping gas for their SUV... TikTok is riddled with disenchanted Trump voters, literally standing at the pump and decrying the president.
And the old wise men and women who think they're in charge keep playing by pre-internet rules. As if the internet doesn't exist. Do you know what the main problem with the No Kings rally was? NO PRESS! Unless you were looking for it, you didn't see it.
Meanwhile, our country is fading away, while those invested in the system keep telling us to believe in it and Sophie Rain brings in over a hundred million dollars on OnlyFans.
--
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You torch your reputation and then you're kicked to the curb like a dog, promised some gig later, like an unnamed player in a sports trade.
Now the biggest news today is not Bondi's firing, but Macron's excoriation of Trump. Blasting him for not only undercutting NATO, but flip-flopping on his reasons for the Iran war and more. Seems like the rest of the world is no longer afraid of the president. I'd say he's worn out his welcome, but it's worse than that, he's eviscerated two hundred fifty years of American good will. You used to count on America to support you, as a backstop, to do what is right. Now you know you're on your own, and may be victimized by a tyrant.
Not that this is new in the rest of the world. Sure, antisemitism is a problem in the Republican party, but it's this constant veneration of Viktor Orbán that upsets me. The guy is a dictator, who rigs elections, but it's not only Trump who lauds him, Tucker went to visit him. If you're playing the home game you're scratching your head, this guy is the antithesis of America and its values.
Then again, if you've been playing the home game, it's now three-dimensional chess, with so much going on it's not only hard to get a grasp on it, it makes you want to detach.
Starting off with gas prices... Did you see that GM's sales dropped 9.7%? Not hard to believe when your business model is based on selling overpriced gas-guzzlers. Meanwhile, BYD has introduced an electric car battery that can fully charge in ten minutes that has in excess of 600 miles of capacity. And the American car companies have shuttered most of their EV development and written off billions. Then again, Trump eliminated incentives, he's against green energy. As for the government shepherding new technologies with investment...you drank Tang after the astronauts did, right?
And speaking of green energy, Trump paid a billion bucks to a French energy company to cancel wind farms. And that's YOUR billion dollars, there was no talk of donor money here. Just like with Kristi Noem and her planes.
Yes, in light of the "Daily Mail" story about her husband, Noem gets a pass for her rumored relationship with Corey Lewandowski, but she toed the Trump line and was excised, it's just a matter of time. Who are these bozos who haven't seen the movie, who don't realize it's just a matter of time before they're history?
Sure, it's a triumph for the people that Bondi and Noem are gone... But were they so enamored of these government gigs that they not only cast caution to the wind, but their brains too?
So we've got a war, and all we hear about from Trump and Bondi is the stock market. As if the number reflects the general health of America when so many are living paycheck to paycheck. Meanwhile, if you've got any investments, it's scary to look at the number...forget taxes, Trump is taking directly from your pocketbook.
And the corporations and the rich have benefited from the Great Big Beautiful Bill and...
At rallies we've got signifiers in the streets living in the last century, when Ukraine is holding Russia at bay with drone technology and elders can't stop bitching about technology and social media. Sure, Bondi may have misread the room, but she's not the only one.
So it's kind of funny, we're experiencing whiplash, seemingly each and every day. And those working the refs keep telling us that MAGA is not wavering, they're firmly behind Donald Trump. Yeah, get them to say that while they're pumping gas for their SUV... TikTok is riddled with disenchanted Trump voters, literally standing at the pump and decrying the president.
And the old wise men and women who think they're in charge keep playing by pre-internet rules. As if the internet doesn't exist. Do you know what the main problem with the No Kings rally was? NO PRESS! Unless you were looking for it, you didn't see it.
Meanwhile, our country is fading away, while those invested in the system keep telling us to believe in it and Sophie Rain brings in over a hundred million dollars on OnlyFans.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Bettye LaVette-This Week's Podcast
Vocalist extraordinaire.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/betty-lavette/id1316200737?i=1000758827609
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5IGOcNYKBwI0tlN33dHiXf?si=XKlyzsz3Q1GpP9vOxROOIA
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/betty-lavette-328857758?app=listen
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/81ac818c-d188-4f8c-9008-402234643bd7/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-betty-lavette
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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/betty-lavette/id1316200737?i=1000758827609
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5IGOcNYKBwI0tlN33dHiXf?si=XKlyzsz3Q1GpP9vOxROOIA
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/betty-lavette-328857758?app=listen
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/81ac818c-d188-4f8c-9008-402234643bd7/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-betty-lavette
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Wednesday, 1 April 2026
The Indie Alliance
The problem is the major labels have all the leverage, as a result of their catalogs. They wield these in negotiations with each and every distributor, and the indies have little power. This is not like tech, where yesterday's wares are useless, in music, the hits of the past continue to generate revenue at almost no cost, especially in these days of digital distribution. Furthermore, copyright terms have been extended on a regular basis, to make sure Disney characters don't fall into the public domain, got to keep the Mouse House happy.
We saw the power of these catalogs with the negotiation of streaming remuneration. Bottom line, the publishers, and therefore the songwriters, got screwed. The labels cared first and foremost about recordings, and if their publishing arms got less...it all added up to the same at the end of the day, it was just a matter of how the pot was divided before being reunited.
But we no longer live in the past. There are only three major label groups, where there used to be six. And new labels are not popping up on a regular basis like they did in the past. Without a catalog, you can't make it.
But even worse, majors are signing fewer acts in fewer genres, hurting not only musicians, but the culture at large.
So...
The bottom line is some of the greatest acts in history are now independent, they don't have record deals. If they make an album, they might license it to a major, but they are not under the pressure of a regular deal, with delivery timetables.
But it's not only the classic rockers, but Lorde... She finished her Universal deal and is now completely unfettered, and happy to be so.
But that's just the tip of the iceberg, you see...
You may have read the Lorde announcement, but like an iceberg, what really counts is what's beneath the surface, not seen by the naked eye.
Yes, over the last year, while indie clubs have been going out of business in the U.K., when it's harder than ever to break a new act, the titans of the past have quietly banded together with the young 'uns to serve independent artists.
It's a who's-who... First and foremost, Paul McCartney. That's why he did those underplays at the Fonda, he was in Hollywood sealing the deal.
Look at it like Tidal. But much better organized.
We've got McCartney, Elton John, Don Henley, Bonnie Raitt, Ian MacKaye of Fugazi, Chance the Rapper and Lorde on the board. They're going to change the rules of the music business.
First and foremost, if you're a member of the Alliance, you agree to use an indie act as your opener. Whether it's in a theatre or a stadium. Indies need exposure, and the Alliance is going to deliver it. And we all know that everything starts on the road these days.
In addition, Scott Greenstein has agreed to give the Indie Alliance a permanent channel on SiriusXM. Where established acts will give their imprimatur to indies. Introducing them to the public. And when critical mass is hit, there will be a tour, just like with Little Steven's Underground Garage.
And, Spotify has already agreed to put an indie act on its homepage for at least a week a month. The three majors get the other three, righting the balance for the first time in a long time.
Also, there will be an Indie Alliance playlist in every genre.
As for Apple, Amazon and Deezer... They have not put pen to paper yet, but where Spotify goes, the rest follow. As for Tidal...since it was offloaded on to Mr. Square, Jack Dorsey, we've barely heard a peep.
But who is going to run this operation, organize it and make the trains run on time?
Well, Doug Morris is coming out of retirement. Along with Jeff Ayeroff. Morris never wanted to go and Ayeroff has a creative mind absent from today's record world, which will allow the Indie Alliance to triumph.
Let's be clear, this is not a record company. And it's more than a lobbying organization. It's a trade union plus. Whose goal is a fair wage for musicians, but even more, fair marketing and exposure.
And there is an agenda...
Rock has been excised from the frontlines, there will be a concerted effort to bring it back. Melodious stuff, with hooks and changes... Tom Scholz has agreed to mentor acts, the Boston sound continuing to resonate in the culture.
And producers too... The Commander, Mike Chapman, still has his chops. None of the old guys can get gigs, but they're' dying to work. So they're agreeing to mentor indies for free. Consider it a spec deal. They've got upside, but there are no cash down payments.
And Live Nation, always looking to burnish its image, will provide Omar for hands-on advice. And Monday will be indie night at all the amphitheatres. It's a hard night anyway, usually dark. And if Live Nation can sell beer and parking, they're always up for making a deal.
Jimmy Iovine wanted a competition, to see which acts would be pushed, but the success of Beats is overshadowed by his record of failure in innovation...Jimmy & Ted's Farm Club anyone? And having recently dissed streaming outlets, saying they're in their death throes...Spotify said if Jimmy's in, they're out. So Jimmy's on the sidelines.
The Indie Alliance is not a minor league. It's about promoting acts that can sell out arenas if they just get exposure, if people could just see them and hear them.
The goal is to be noticed by Doug and Jeff, or members of the board, to the point where they think you can be bigger. Kind of like a record company of yore. Everybody can't get a deal, everybody can't play, but there are those deserving who need a little push.
Of course there will be lobbying for better terms.
No cuts of merch until the act sells in excess of 5,000 tickets. These acts need every penny to survive.
Elon Musk offered a slew of Tesla driverless trucks for equipment, and some Model 3s for club level acts, but no one wanted to work with him, his karma is too bad.
Not that other companies can't invest, come along. Rumor has it some cannabis companies are about to ink deals to support indie musicians, since they're all running on dope anyway.
And indie values will be promoted. If you want to sell out, be a brand, go with a major. Talk about bringing the value of music back...it's more than money. You can take sponsorship money, but if you're doing brand extensions...perfume, clothing and whiskey...you cannot be promoted by the Indie Alliance.
It's music first. Truly.
That does not mean you can't be flamboyant, wear outfits, have a theatrical act, but the music is paramount. The mission of the Indie Alliance is not only to help the independent musician, but music itself. After all, the majors and the acts they promote are doing a good job of killing it.
There's no lip service involved. If you're an established act, a member, you must let an indie open your show, you must help the indies, otherwise you're out.
As for Jim Dolan's guarantee of an indie residency at the Sphere...
He says he'll do it once the acts are established, when they can sell enough tickets, since the Sphere holds nearly 20,000 people. You can be number one on Spotify, and most people don't know. But if you play the Sphere, everybody knows! So Dolan's offer is blue chip.
It has gone too far, we've got too many cartoon acts, dancing fools mini-corporations, who have dragged down the value of music, made it a sideshow, irrelevant of the number of dollars involved. We need to get back to where we once belonged. That's one of the main reasons the classic acts are involved, because they remember when. Whereas kids today have grown up with vapidity.
Also, this will burnish the image of aged acts, being involved with young 'uns, maybe cowriting with them.
The Indie Alliance is open to all genres, however Nashville is not happy, it doesn't want to give up its stranglehold on country music. And hip-hop already has a thriving independent scene, but a lot of those acts could be bigger.
This is great. Two thumbs up. Kudos!
--
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--
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We saw the power of these catalogs with the negotiation of streaming remuneration. Bottom line, the publishers, and therefore the songwriters, got screwed. The labels cared first and foremost about recordings, and if their publishing arms got less...it all added up to the same at the end of the day, it was just a matter of how the pot was divided before being reunited.
But we no longer live in the past. There are only three major label groups, where there used to be six. And new labels are not popping up on a regular basis like they did in the past. Without a catalog, you can't make it.
But even worse, majors are signing fewer acts in fewer genres, hurting not only musicians, but the culture at large.
So...
The bottom line is some of the greatest acts in history are now independent, they don't have record deals. If they make an album, they might license it to a major, but they are not under the pressure of a regular deal, with delivery timetables.
But it's not only the classic rockers, but Lorde... She finished her Universal deal and is now completely unfettered, and happy to be so.
But that's just the tip of the iceberg, you see...
You may have read the Lorde announcement, but like an iceberg, what really counts is what's beneath the surface, not seen by the naked eye.
Yes, over the last year, while indie clubs have been going out of business in the U.K., when it's harder than ever to break a new act, the titans of the past have quietly banded together with the young 'uns to serve independent artists.
It's a who's-who... First and foremost, Paul McCartney. That's why he did those underplays at the Fonda, he was in Hollywood sealing the deal.
Look at it like Tidal. But much better organized.
We've got McCartney, Elton John, Don Henley, Bonnie Raitt, Ian MacKaye of Fugazi, Chance the Rapper and Lorde on the board. They're going to change the rules of the music business.
First and foremost, if you're a member of the Alliance, you agree to use an indie act as your opener. Whether it's in a theatre or a stadium. Indies need exposure, and the Alliance is going to deliver it. And we all know that everything starts on the road these days.
In addition, Scott Greenstein has agreed to give the Indie Alliance a permanent channel on SiriusXM. Where established acts will give their imprimatur to indies. Introducing them to the public. And when critical mass is hit, there will be a tour, just like with Little Steven's Underground Garage.
And, Spotify has already agreed to put an indie act on its homepage for at least a week a month. The three majors get the other three, righting the balance for the first time in a long time.
Also, there will be an Indie Alliance playlist in every genre.
As for Apple, Amazon and Deezer... They have not put pen to paper yet, but where Spotify goes, the rest follow. As for Tidal...since it was offloaded on to Mr. Square, Jack Dorsey, we've barely heard a peep.
But who is going to run this operation, organize it and make the trains run on time?
Well, Doug Morris is coming out of retirement. Along with Jeff Ayeroff. Morris never wanted to go and Ayeroff has a creative mind absent from today's record world, which will allow the Indie Alliance to triumph.
Let's be clear, this is not a record company. And it's more than a lobbying organization. It's a trade union plus. Whose goal is a fair wage for musicians, but even more, fair marketing and exposure.
And there is an agenda...
Rock has been excised from the frontlines, there will be a concerted effort to bring it back. Melodious stuff, with hooks and changes... Tom Scholz has agreed to mentor acts, the Boston sound continuing to resonate in the culture.
And producers too... The Commander, Mike Chapman, still has his chops. None of the old guys can get gigs, but they're' dying to work. So they're agreeing to mentor indies for free. Consider it a spec deal. They've got upside, but there are no cash down payments.
And Live Nation, always looking to burnish its image, will provide Omar for hands-on advice. And Monday will be indie night at all the amphitheatres. It's a hard night anyway, usually dark. And if Live Nation can sell beer and parking, they're always up for making a deal.
Jimmy Iovine wanted a competition, to see which acts would be pushed, but the success of Beats is overshadowed by his record of failure in innovation...Jimmy & Ted's Farm Club anyone? And having recently dissed streaming outlets, saying they're in their death throes...Spotify said if Jimmy's in, they're out. So Jimmy's on the sidelines.
The Indie Alliance is not a minor league. It's about promoting acts that can sell out arenas if they just get exposure, if people could just see them and hear them.
The goal is to be noticed by Doug and Jeff, or members of the board, to the point where they think you can be bigger. Kind of like a record company of yore. Everybody can't get a deal, everybody can't play, but there are those deserving who need a little push.
Of course there will be lobbying for better terms.
No cuts of merch until the act sells in excess of 5,000 tickets. These acts need every penny to survive.
Elon Musk offered a slew of Tesla driverless trucks for equipment, and some Model 3s for club level acts, but no one wanted to work with him, his karma is too bad.
Not that other companies can't invest, come along. Rumor has it some cannabis companies are about to ink deals to support indie musicians, since they're all running on dope anyway.
And indie values will be promoted. If you want to sell out, be a brand, go with a major. Talk about bringing the value of music back...it's more than money. You can take sponsorship money, but if you're doing brand extensions...perfume, clothing and whiskey...you cannot be promoted by the Indie Alliance.
It's music first. Truly.
That does not mean you can't be flamboyant, wear outfits, have a theatrical act, but the music is paramount. The mission of the Indie Alliance is not only to help the independent musician, but music itself. After all, the majors and the acts they promote are doing a good job of killing it.
There's no lip service involved. If you're an established act, a member, you must let an indie open your show, you must help the indies, otherwise you're out.
As for Jim Dolan's guarantee of an indie residency at the Sphere...
He says he'll do it once the acts are established, when they can sell enough tickets, since the Sphere holds nearly 20,000 people. You can be number one on Spotify, and most people don't know. But if you play the Sphere, everybody knows! So Dolan's offer is blue chip.
It has gone too far, we've got too many cartoon acts, dancing fools mini-corporations, who have dragged down the value of music, made it a sideshow, irrelevant of the number of dollars involved. We need to get back to where we once belonged. That's one of the main reasons the classic acts are involved, because they remember when. Whereas kids today have grown up with vapidity.
Also, this will burnish the image of aged acts, being involved with young 'uns, maybe cowriting with them.
The Indie Alliance is open to all genres, however Nashville is not happy, it doesn't want to give up its stranglehold on country music. And hip-hop already has a thriving independent scene, but a lot of those acts could be bigger.
This is great. Two thumbs up. Kudos!
--
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Sunday, 29 March 2026
E-Mail Of The Day+
I didn't respond because I'm pretty sure someone as fabulous as you will be with us a long time. Keep me posted - I went on Kalshi and placed a bet on your condition - 90% are betting it's an infection.
Thanks,
Gary Hunter
______________________________________
I was the only one of four kids who didn't pursue some sort of medical or scientific field. My dad was a forensic pathologist, Mom an RN. My brother recently retired from being an ER doc. He was discouraged by American medicine and lived in New Zealand for 15 years where he saw patients in the ER. Those folks are way more hearty than we are. Anyway, this was his response:
Bob was probably treated with cephazolin IV (which is essentially IV keflex) and oral cephalexin (generic keflex).
In his age group and general history (lots I don't know, like is he on anticoagulants? aspirin?), the most likely diagnosis is simply a ruptured vessel in the prostatic plexus. They become tangled and tortuous and under more pressure in old men. (Like me.) Most spontaneous nosebleeds are in the same population due to drier and thinner mucosa: blood vessels too thin out and become weaker. Renal or bladder stones (and bladder stones won't show up) are the #2 cause. Infection is #3. Anything else is a distant #4. The CT is the appropriate test, along with various blood items and a urine culture. If the patient is not obstructed, there is no way in hell any urologist will give a damn and none anywhere will consult at night on almost any issue. I doubt a urologist came in even when I asked once per year in my career. (Testicular torsion, torn urethra with obstruction, really bad obstruction from clots or an infected stone in a diabetic or some such: that's about it.)
450 mls of urine with 30 mls of blood looks like 100% blood. Only once or twice did I see significant blood loss from a urinary source and that was over days. Scary for sure.
Patient should have been set up for a follow up visit with a urologist in coming days and they would have likely scheduled cystography. The shaking can easily come from the stress of pushing out an obstructing clot (also being faint, nauseated, dizzy). Rigors should certainly have been considered and infection carefully evaluated, though. Having no urinary obstruction is very important. I would have used a different Antibiotic these days, though cephazolin is not unreasonable. And I would have called the guy or had someone call him the next day to make sure he was feeling Ok and we were getting follow-up organized as planned.
Sounds more reasonable now, doesn't it? Letting people know why things are done and where they are heading, as well as fail-safes are appropriate management.
Page
OK, hope that helps & that you're doing well!
Galen Hudson
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Thanks,
Gary Hunter
______________________________________
I was the only one of four kids who didn't pursue some sort of medical or scientific field. My dad was a forensic pathologist, Mom an RN. My brother recently retired from being an ER doc. He was discouraged by American medicine and lived in New Zealand for 15 years where he saw patients in the ER. Those folks are way more hearty than we are. Anyway, this was his response:
Bob was probably treated with cephazolin IV (which is essentially IV keflex) and oral cephalexin (generic keflex).
In his age group and general history (lots I don't know, like is he on anticoagulants? aspirin?), the most likely diagnosis is simply a ruptured vessel in the prostatic plexus. They become tangled and tortuous and under more pressure in old men. (Like me.) Most spontaneous nosebleeds are in the same population due to drier and thinner mucosa: blood vessels too thin out and become weaker. Renal or bladder stones (and bladder stones won't show up) are the #2 cause. Infection is #3. Anything else is a distant #4. The CT is the appropriate test, along with various blood items and a urine culture. If the patient is not obstructed, there is no way in hell any urologist will give a damn and none anywhere will consult at night on almost any issue. I doubt a urologist came in even when I asked once per year in my career. (Testicular torsion, torn urethra with obstruction, really bad obstruction from clots or an infected stone in a diabetic or some such: that's about it.)
450 mls of urine with 30 mls of blood looks like 100% blood. Only once or twice did I see significant blood loss from a urinary source and that was over days. Scary for sure.
Patient should have been set up for a follow up visit with a urologist in coming days and they would have likely scheduled cystography. The shaking can easily come from the stress of pushing out an obstructing clot (also being faint, nauseated, dizzy). Rigors should certainly have been considered and infection carefully evaluated, though. Having no urinary obstruction is very important. I would have used a different Antibiotic these days, though cephazolin is not unreasonable. And I would have called the guy or had someone call him the next day to make sure he was feeling Ok and we were getting follow-up organized as planned.
Sounds more reasonable now, doesn't it? Letting people know why things are done and where they are heading, as well as fail-safes are appropriate management.
Page
OK, hope that helps & that you're doing well!
Galen Hudson
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Update
I want to thank everybody for their e-mails and texts of concern, I really appreciate it. I am now back in Los Angeles and will get on the case re getting a scope when business resumes tomorrow, Monday morning.
Until then...
Let me say that other than lack of sleep due to anxiety, I'm fine. Truly.
As for symptoms, unfortunately at 9 PM last evening they resumed. I.e. blood in the urine. Why it happened at that exact time three nights in a row, I've got no idea.
It tapered off before I went to sleep, and all night when I got up to go to the bathroom I had no problem. And then first thing this morning, voila, it happened again.
To say the least, I was disheartened when the problem returned, but since my initial pee this morning, everything's been clear.
My latest theory is...
It happens when I expel a clot. Then the river of blood continues for hours until it stops. Seemingly when the clot is gone and the backup has been released over a number of urination episodes...the problem evaporates. What is causing the clots, I have no idea.
So, I'm going to return to business as usual. When I get a further diagnosis, I will let you know.
Thanks.
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Until then...
Let me say that other than lack of sleep due to anxiety, I'm fine. Truly.
As for symptoms, unfortunately at 9 PM last evening they resumed. I.e. blood in the urine. Why it happened at that exact time three nights in a row, I've got no idea.
It tapered off before I went to sleep, and all night when I got up to go to the bathroom I had no problem. And then first thing this morning, voila, it happened again.
To say the least, I was disheartened when the problem returned, but since my initial pee this morning, everything's been clear.
My latest theory is...
It happens when I expel a clot. Then the river of blood continues for hours until it stops. Seemingly when the clot is gone and the backup has been released over a number of urination episodes...the problem evaporates. What is causing the clots, I have no idea.
So, I'm going to return to business as usual. When I get a further diagnosis, I will let you know.
Thanks.
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Saturday, 28 March 2026
The ER
I was pissing blood.
No, that's not entirely accurate...I was EXPLODING blood!
I was lying on the couch reading David Pogue's Apple book, minding my own business, when I realized I finally had to get up to pee. The urgency has disappeared since Skip prescribed the cocktail, of Avodart and Flomax. Being old and having an enlarged prostate is no picnic. They tell you to start taking medication when you can no longer sit through a movie. Then again, men never admit they've got a problem, at least not to each other. They say they're fine, while being no longer able to hear their family...they don't need no stinkin' hearing aids!
So I stride in front of the commode...and nothing comes out.
This is kind of weird, I mean the drugs can give you a delayed start, but I feel like I have to go and nothing is coming out.
Okay...
And then it's like someone ignited a missile, blast-off is imminent. I feel the pressure in my penis and then...FIREWORKS! Not only in the bowl, but all over the toilet, all over the rim, all over the floor.
And it's very red and very bloody.
So I methodically start to clean the premises, and that's when I notice a clot. I haven't seen a clot like this since I had surgery to remove a kidney stone twenty five years ago. What exactly is going on?
I've had a bunch of kidney stones. But they're preceded by ungodly flank pain. I was feeling nothing, I got no advance warning sign. Was this a result of masturbation? Mama told me not to come...
And then there's another major event, just after I've cleaned up the environment.
And then I hang my dick around waiting for more and when it's finally all said and done I go back to the couch and consult Dr. Google.
I'm not an alarmist. I'm not looking to find out I'm dying of cancer. I know how to read between the lines. Sure, I look at the AI result, but also the Mayo and Cleveland clinics and others and they all said...
No big deal. If I wasn't in pain, had no burning sensation, which I did not possess.
Okay...
Maybe it was a passing thing.
But NO!
An hour later I have the same experience. But with anticipation, I'm better at directing the spurt. And the hours keep passing and it keeps happening and...
I ain't gonna go to the emergency room, Google didn't tell me to do so.
Then again, no one lives forever, and when they say there will be blood, they didn't expect this much!
Finally, I decide to try and sleep. I can't, and I get up to pee a couple of times and still have blood, but I figure I'm gonna be okay.
But THEN!
All of a sudden I have this incredible pain in my legs. In the muscles. And I don't want to get up and put on Traumeel S, I'm in twilight and I'm too cold for that.
But then the pain becomes too much. I get up and put on the miracle anti-inflammatory, and it WORKS! Voila!
Well, then I start to shiver. And it ain't that cold. But I am freezing. Once again, I don't want to get up, leave the covers behind, find clothing, but I do!
I put on sweatpants, and not only a shirt but a fleece over it. And just as I'm about to get back into bed, I realized I'd better don socks too.
But I'm still cold, and good luck falling asleep, I end up looking at my phone, keeping it right by me in the bed, to help me in my moment of need.
And then, after a couple of hours of near sleep, I get up to pee...
AND IT'S CLEAR! The crisis is history! And I'm so damn hot, I remove all my clothing, everything is groovy.
The calamity is behind me.
And I don't feel a hundred percent during the day yesterday, but I didn't get that much sleep.
But the crisis is behind me.
But Felice is bugging me to go to the ER... Why? Dr. Google said it was unnecessary, and the crisis is in the rearview mirror, I'm peeing regular urine...
So she calms down. Actually, she's a couple of thousand miles away, but that's another story.
So now it's last night, the next night. And I'm in the exact same position, lying on the couch reading the Pogue book. And I get the urge to pee at the identical time, 9 PM, so I go to the bathroom and once again...
Nothing comes out, and then...It's like I'm fighting a war, spraying bullets at the enemy. It's endless.
And let me tell you, this ain't no pink urine, this is crimson red, this is the real thing, blood.
Okay, now this is too much. This was unexpected.
So I go back to Dr. Google and parsing the information, I realize I should go to the emergency room.
Now I've got to tell you, growing up in my house it was illegal to be ill. Couldn't happen. You had to go to school unless your symptoms were palpable and excessive. As for going to the doctor...WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' DOCTOR!
Yup, that was my mother's philosophy. And it bit her in the ass in the end. She had a visible infection, but she kept telling everybody surrounding here she was just fine. But ultimately she went into the hospital and never came out. It was treatable, if she'd been on it weeks before, when it first manifested itself, but she figured she could will it away, that bacteria was no match for Muggs Lefsetz. Hell, she truly thought that if she kept dragging my dad around, remained upbeat, stayed in denial, he wouldn't die of cancer, but he did!
So I've got a long history of not going to the doctor until it's too late. Lost a body part in the process. I've improved, but...
Who the hell wants to go to the ER? At ten o'clock at night?
But I've got no idea what is going on, so... I take a shower, get dressed, go over there, and I'm told they're too busy, to wait on the couch.
But then the nurse comes out and says he doesn't like the way I look, and he's going to give me a room right away.
Now THAT'S good!
And they hook me up with the blood pressure monitor and the oxygen sensor. And they take blood and...
They need a urine sample.
REALLY? You want a blood sample?
And I'll be honest, I'm afraid I'm going to pee and my urine will be clear. It's like taking your car to the repair shop, the problem doesn't manifest itself when you're there.
So at first the new nurse wants me to pee in bed. And gives me one of those giant plastic bottles, if you've been in the hospital you know what I'm talking about.
But then she thinks better of that. Says I should go to the bathroom and use one of the little cups in there.
OH NO! I need the big bottle, she's got no idea what she's up against here. I need room, for the volume I'm going to emit.
So, I go to the bathroom, I've got my dick in the bottle...and nothing comes out.
And then, the gunpowder ignites and a clot comes flying out and the bottle starts filling up... It's a deep red, almost brown. THERE! You think I was lying?
Of course they didn't think that. But I've got my mother's voice in the back of my head, that I don't deserve medical treatment.
So I lie there, but then the doctor comes in. Discusses the possibilities. But first, he wants to take some pictures.
So not long thereafter, by ER standards, a guy comes in alone, he's going to drive me to the theatre. This is the highlight of being in the hospital, the trip through the halls on the bed. Usually there are two people to get you started, to align and get the bed rolling properly, but this guy was doing it all by himself.
Ultimately we got to the CT room. Yup, they gave me the contrast, you know, the one that makes you feel hot. They took a slew of pictures, then the tech wheeled me back to my room and said the doctor would be with me in thirty or forty minutes.
Well, almost two hours later...
He's got no answers. Could be a kidney stone, but if it was, he'd see it traveling down from the kidney, and nothing was there. And I didn't have pain. But I know my kidneys are riddled with stones... You get this old and you know your complete medical history. Like the guy starts spewing stats, saying he's got nothing to compare them to, my hemoglobin and creatinine, but I've got those numbers stored in my brain, I don't even have to look them up.
Now, of course it could be bladder cancer. The wall of my uterus was a bit thick. And it's hard to diagnose, so therefore he wants me to have it checked out and... Anything can happen. I know a couple of people who've had bladder cancer.
And he can dial the urologist on call and get an opinion, but it might take a while for the doctor to get back to him, and it's doubtful the physician will render a definitive opinion over the line so...
I can be transferred to another hospital where there's a urologist in the building...
You know modern medicine, unless you're literally dying, they won't give you a definitive opinion. They give you the facts and you have to decide. So, in my case, I ask a plethora of questions, trying to reveal nuance, and then I get the guy to admit that really, I don't need to have a camera stuck up my penis immediately. But there is the issue, what if I can't pee?
That's what he's most worried about. Because if you can't pee, you need a catheter.
And that's when I realize he's going to discharge me, send me home while I'm still spewing blood. REALLY?
But he says that my counts are pretty good, and that you've got a lot of blood in your body. And if I'm not dizzy, which I am not... He says if I get dizzy and pass out to come back. REALLY? I mean I could pass out and DIE! But he says if I pass out, I will wake up, so...
What exactly is going on here?
Well, it could be an infection, so he's going to prescribe an antibiotic. And I ask him which one and first he says Keflex, which I've had before, and I'm thinking for a minute that my opinion seems to matter, since I know a little he thinks I have expertise, and then he asks me if I want the first dose intravenously right now. OF COURSE! That's what he thought I'd say. I mean after all, I'm THERE!
And the nurse starts preparing the injection and then I think about the shivering...so I have her call the doctor back and I ask him, wouldn't this be evidence of an infection?
But he won't go on record.
As for the drug? It's not Keflex, it's something completely different, and the pills I'm going to retrieve the following day, which is now today, will be something yet again and...
Now I'm gonna go home?
And then he emphasizes, if I can't pee...
So they give me a printout, I go to the bathroom and leave my mark once again, the red devil, and then I walk out of the place.
And when I get home, my pee is clear. No trace of blood at all.
Huh.
And it's been clear now ever since, but I was just lying on said couch reading the Pogue book and I must say, I was afraid to go to the bathroom. Then again, it's not nine o'clock yet!
So what have we learned...
My initial instincts were right, to ride the tiger, to let it all play out, or hang out.
Then again, you never really know. I mean when you get old enough, the thought creeps into your brain that this could be the END! Or the beginning of the end.
I'm thinking it was an infection. I'll get the scope re bladder cancer, but the odds of that being the case are very low, even the doc said so...
But it's all kind of mysterious.
So I live another day. Just hoping I'm not going to explode again.
I still don't have a definitive answer, then again, your body tells you if you need treatment. But oftentimes when it gets to that point, it's too late.
So, I just don't know.
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No, that's not entirely accurate...I was EXPLODING blood!
I was lying on the couch reading David Pogue's Apple book, minding my own business, when I realized I finally had to get up to pee. The urgency has disappeared since Skip prescribed the cocktail, of Avodart and Flomax. Being old and having an enlarged prostate is no picnic. They tell you to start taking medication when you can no longer sit through a movie. Then again, men never admit they've got a problem, at least not to each other. They say they're fine, while being no longer able to hear their family...they don't need no stinkin' hearing aids!
So I stride in front of the commode...and nothing comes out.
This is kind of weird, I mean the drugs can give you a delayed start, but I feel like I have to go and nothing is coming out.
Okay...
And then it's like someone ignited a missile, blast-off is imminent. I feel the pressure in my penis and then...FIREWORKS! Not only in the bowl, but all over the toilet, all over the rim, all over the floor.
And it's very red and very bloody.
So I methodically start to clean the premises, and that's when I notice a clot. I haven't seen a clot like this since I had surgery to remove a kidney stone twenty five years ago. What exactly is going on?
I've had a bunch of kidney stones. But they're preceded by ungodly flank pain. I was feeling nothing, I got no advance warning sign. Was this a result of masturbation? Mama told me not to come...
And then there's another major event, just after I've cleaned up the environment.
And then I hang my dick around waiting for more and when it's finally all said and done I go back to the couch and consult Dr. Google.
I'm not an alarmist. I'm not looking to find out I'm dying of cancer. I know how to read between the lines. Sure, I look at the AI result, but also the Mayo and Cleveland clinics and others and they all said...
No big deal. If I wasn't in pain, had no burning sensation, which I did not possess.
Okay...
Maybe it was a passing thing.
But NO!
An hour later I have the same experience. But with anticipation, I'm better at directing the spurt. And the hours keep passing and it keeps happening and...
I ain't gonna go to the emergency room, Google didn't tell me to do so.
Then again, no one lives forever, and when they say there will be blood, they didn't expect this much!
Finally, I decide to try and sleep. I can't, and I get up to pee a couple of times and still have blood, but I figure I'm gonna be okay.
But THEN!
All of a sudden I have this incredible pain in my legs. In the muscles. And I don't want to get up and put on Traumeel S, I'm in twilight and I'm too cold for that.
But then the pain becomes too much. I get up and put on the miracle anti-inflammatory, and it WORKS! Voila!
Well, then I start to shiver. And it ain't that cold. But I am freezing. Once again, I don't want to get up, leave the covers behind, find clothing, but I do!
I put on sweatpants, and not only a shirt but a fleece over it. And just as I'm about to get back into bed, I realized I'd better don socks too.
But I'm still cold, and good luck falling asleep, I end up looking at my phone, keeping it right by me in the bed, to help me in my moment of need.
And then, after a couple of hours of near sleep, I get up to pee...
AND IT'S CLEAR! The crisis is history! And I'm so damn hot, I remove all my clothing, everything is groovy.
The calamity is behind me.
And I don't feel a hundred percent during the day yesterday, but I didn't get that much sleep.
But the crisis is behind me.
But Felice is bugging me to go to the ER... Why? Dr. Google said it was unnecessary, and the crisis is in the rearview mirror, I'm peeing regular urine...
So she calms down. Actually, she's a couple of thousand miles away, but that's another story.
So now it's last night, the next night. And I'm in the exact same position, lying on the couch reading the Pogue book. And I get the urge to pee at the identical time, 9 PM, so I go to the bathroom and once again...
Nothing comes out, and then...It's like I'm fighting a war, spraying bullets at the enemy. It's endless.
And let me tell you, this ain't no pink urine, this is crimson red, this is the real thing, blood.
Okay, now this is too much. This was unexpected.
So I go back to Dr. Google and parsing the information, I realize I should go to the emergency room.
Now I've got to tell you, growing up in my house it was illegal to be ill. Couldn't happen. You had to go to school unless your symptoms were palpable and excessive. As for going to the doctor...WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' DOCTOR!
Yup, that was my mother's philosophy. And it bit her in the ass in the end. She had a visible infection, but she kept telling everybody surrounding here she was just fine. But ultimately she went into the hospital and never came out. It was treatable, if she'd been on it weeks before, when it first manifested itself, but she figured she could will it away, that bacteria was no match for Muggs Lefsetz. Hell, she truly thought that if she kept dragging my dad around, remained upbeat, stayed in denial, he wouldn't die of cancer, but he did!
So I've got a long history of not going to the doctor until it's too late. Lost a body part in the process. I've improved, but...
Who the hell wants to go to the ER? At ten o'clock at night?
But I've got no idea what is going on, so... I take a shower, get dressed, go over there, and I'm told they're too busy, to wait on the couch.
But then the nurse comes out and says he doesn't like the way I look, and he's going to give me a room right away.
Now THAT'S good!
And they hook me up with the blood pressure monitor and the oxygen sensor. And they take blood and...
They need a urine sample.
REALLY? You want a blood sample?
And I'll be honest, I'm afraid I'm going to pee and my urine will be clear. It's like taking your car to the repair shop, the problem doesn't manifest itself when you're there.
So at first the new nurse wants me to pee in bed. And gives me one of those giant plastic bottles, if you've been in the hospital you know what I'm talking about.
But then she thinks better of that. Says I should go to the bathroom and use one of the little cups in there.
OH NO! I need the big bottle, she's got no idea what she's up against here. I need room, for the volume I'm going to emit.
So, I go to the bathroom, I've got my dick in the bottle...and nothing comes out.
And then, the gunpowder ignites and a clot comes flying out and the bottle starts filling up... It's a deep red, almost brown. THERE! You think I was lying?
Of course they didn't think that. But I've got my mother's voice in the back of my head, that I don't deserve medical treatment.
So I lie there, but then the doctor comes in. Discusses the possibilities. But first, he wants to take some pictures.
So not long thereafter, by ER standards, a guy comes in alone, he's going to drive me to the theatre. This is the highlight of being in the hospital, the trip through the halls on the bed. Usually there are two people to get you started, to align and get the bed rolling properly, but this guy was doing it all by himself.
Ultimately we got to the CT room. Yup, they gave me the contrast, you know, the one that makes you feel hot. They took a slew of pictures, then the tech wheeled me back to my room and said the doctor would be with me in thirty or forty minutes.
Well, almost two hours later...
He's got no answers. Could be a kidney stone, but if it was, he'd see it traveling down from the kidney, and nothing was there. And I didn't have pain. But I know my kidneys are riddled with stones... You get this old and you know your complete medical history. Like the guy starts spewing stats, saying he's got nothing to compare them to, my hemoglobin and creatinine, but I've got those numbers stored in my brain, I don't even have to look them up.
Now, of course it could be bladder cancer. The wall of my uterus was a bit thick. And it's hard to diagnose, so therefore he wants me to have it checked out and... Anything can happen. I know a couple of people who've had bladder cancer.
And he can dial the urologist on call and get an opinion, but it might take a while for the doctor to get back to him, and it's doubtful the physician will render a definitive opinion over the line so...
I can be transferred to another hospital where there's a urologist in the building...
You know modern medicine, unless you're literally dying, they won't give you a definitive opinion. They give you the facts and you have to decide. So, in my case, I ask a plethora of questions, trying to reveal nuance, and then I get the guy to admit that really, I don't need to have a camera stuck up my penis immediately. But there is the issue, what if I can't pee?
That's what he's most worried about. Because if you can't pee, you need a catheter.
And that's when I realize he's going to discharge me, send me home while I'm still spewing blood. REALLY?
But he says that my counts are pretty good, and that you've got a lot of blood in your body. And if I'm not dizzy, which I am not... He says if I get dizzy and pass out to come back. REALLY? I mean I could pass out and DIE! But he says if I pass out, I will wake up, so...
What exactly is going on here?
Well, it could be an infection, so he's going to prescribe an antibiotic. And I ask him which one and first he says Keflex, which I've had before, and I'm thinking for a minute that my opinion seems to matter, since I know a little he thinks I have expertise, and then he asks me if I want the first dose intravenously right now. OF COURSE! That's what he thought I'd say. I mean after all, I'm THERE!
And the nurse starts preparing the injection and then I think about the shivering...so I have her call the doctor back and I ask him, wouldn't this be evidence of an infection?
But he won't go on record.
As for the drug? It's not Keflex, it's something completely different, and the pills I'm going to retrieve the following day, which is now today, will be something yet again and...
Now I'm gonna go home?
And then he emphasizes, if I can't pee...
So they give me a printout, I go to the bathroom and leave my mark once again, the red devil, and then I walk out of the place.
And when I get home, my pee is clear. No trace of blood at all.
Huh.
And it's been clear now ever since, but I was just lying on said couch reading the Pogue book and I must say, I was afraid to go to the bathroom. Then again, it's not nine o'clock yet!
So what have we learned...
My initial instincts were right, to ride the tiger, to let it all play out, or hang out.
Then again, you never really know. I mean when you get old enough, the thought creeps into your brain that this could be the END! Or the beginning of the end.
I'm thinking it was an infection. I'll get the scope re bladder cancer, but the odds of that being the case are very low, even the doc said so...
But it's all kind of mysterious.
So I live another day. Just hoping I'm not going to explode again.
I still don't have a definitive answer, then again, your body tells you if you need treatment. But oftentimes when it gets to that point, it's too late.
So, I just don't know.
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Summer Breeze
Will we ever have hits like this again?
U2 released its "Days of Ash" EP on February 18th. The publicity had more impact than the music. There are six songs. Two have barely broken three million streams on Spotify, four are in the one million range, and one doesn't even break the seven figure threshold. It's like it doesn't even exist. U2, one of the biggest bands in the world, with more name recognition than almost all of the acts in the Spotify Top 50, can't get its music listened to. However the act can sell tickets. Based on its hits of yore and a reputation for unique, dynamic, stage shows.
Is this the future?
I was talking to Pat Monahan of Train. He's a humble guy, but I told him that more people probably know "Drops of Jupiter" than any Taylor Swift song.
Of course the Swifties are going to go nuclear. But that's not my point. The point is you just can't reach everybody anymore.
Then again, does the music deserve that attention?
Sure, there are mediocre classic rock hits. Stuff that a youngster might listen to once and then shrug their shoulders. However, there is "Stairway to Heaven" and "Sweet Home Alabama," time bombs just waiting to explode in future generations' brains.
Then again, today's music has changed. It's harder, busier, reflective of the age we live in, which is hard. The American Dream has never been less achievable in my lifetime. People are frustrated, they need music that mimics their feelings, or is complete escapism. The younger generation loves to dance, DJs and EDM are a culture unto themselves, a significant one, that can draw more people to a live show than most of the aforementioned Spotify Top 50. But the thing about classic rock is it killed dancing. That went out with the twist and the swim and the hully gully. Classic rock demanded respect, attention, you bought the best stereo you could afford to get closer to the tunes, you wanted to get inside them. Today you listen to bass-heavy dreck via tiny earphones, a far cry from the holy grail of yesteryear, when sound was important.
So what changed?
First and foremost there was money. MTV made you famous around the world and double the price CDs threw off more cash. And with visibility you could now have brand extensions. Used to be the cash from being an artist was enough, more than enough. But it's not that remuneration went down, it's just that other verticals paid better, finance and tech, and the best and the brightest pursued those. Leaving us with lower common denominator creators in popular music.
People hate when I put anything from today's scene down. Because they're such believers.
Despite all the hype about the return of BTS, the dirty little secret is the passion, the mania, is not as big as they'd have you think:
"Why the BTS Comeback Concert Was a 'Disaster' for Some Businesses - The turnout for the K-pop titans' show was much lower than projected by officials, hitting the bottom line of some restaurants. Shares in the group's management company also fell."
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/23/world/asia/bts-concert-seoul-turnout-hybe-shares.html
It's in the news, but there is too much news. Such that the truth frequently doesn't reach the public...it's not only politics, but popular culture too.
As for BTS... Wouldn't Frank Zappa call them "dancing fools"? I've got nothing against the act, but please don't tell me to take them seriously, it's pablum for a subset of the public, a twist on New Kids on the Block.
But I was going to write about "Summer Breeze."
Do today's younger generations know "Summer Breeze"?
Now if we go back to Spotify, we see that "Summe Breeze" has 321 million streams. Which is prodigious, but not close to the multi-billion numbers of young acts. But are these numbers distortions? Are the same people listening to this new material over and over again, bumping up the totals?
I mean would people listen to "Summer Breeze" on endless repeat?
Probably not. They'd get a hankering to hear it and pull it up on Spotify.
However, "Summer Breeze" is in the ether, unlike so much of the billion stream club. Meaning it is played on radio, in restaurants, you hear it. "Summer Breeze" is forever, almost all of today's music is transient.
Of course, of course, a lot of the old stuff was banged into our heads on terrestrial radio, and not all of it was superior. I mean "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!"?
Now Seals and Crofts was not a highly respected act, with rock roots and gravitas. Then again, they did peak in the singer-songwriter/soft rock seventies, which were led by James Tayalor and Carole King. People were open to this sound.
But Seals and Crofts were journeymen. And Bahá?ís. I knew this not only because I followed the rock press like it was delivered from God, but because the people in the next dorm room over were into the band, and exploring that faith.
But never forget, Seals and Crofts were on Warner Brothers. And if it was on Warner Brothers, it deserved attention, there was a reason the band was signed.
And then came "Summer Breeze."
This was not one of today's numbers built on one chord, based on a beat, there was a lot going on in the track. The haunting guitar intro, drawing you in, telling you this was serious. And once you were paying attention, there was a melodic construct and...
"See the curtains hangin' in the window
In the evening on a Friday night
A little light a-shinin' through the window
Lets me know everything's all right"
These were not nonsense lyrics filling up space, rather the words set a place, you had a vision, you knew exactly what they were singing about, you were THERE!
And then comes the piece-de-resistance:
"Summer breeze makes me feel fine
Blowin' through the jasmine in my mind"
And the stinging guitar after the chorus, that's the special sauce, that's what puts the record over the top, embeds it in your brain.
In other words, there's a lot going on in the song. Because the song was everything. There was no dancing, no perfume...
So as soon as you hear "Summer Breeze," it takes you away. You could be in a group of hundreds, thousands, and you'd be having a personal experience. What I remember most is driving in Westport, CT just before Christmas in the eighties and hearing it on the radio. It was one of those days where the weather vacillated between snow and rain, quite gray, but that song, it took me away, to a place of gentleness, possibilities.
Now Dash Crofts died, and I used to be able to tell them apart, but that was a long time ago... I couldn't have told you which one he was until I saw the pictures in the obits.
But what truly stunned me was how old he was. He was born in 1938. Almost all of our rock heroes were born in the forties. The Beatles in the early forties. Crofts had been around.
And you read about his peripatetic life in said obits, leaving Texas to play with the Champs, but it is all superseded by "Summer Breeze."
I hear "Diamond Girl" too much on SiriusXM's Bridge, it was always B-material to me, I mean how do you reach the heights of "Summer Breeze" once again?
Seals and Crofts couldn't. But I did like "Get Closer" and "We May Never Pass This Way (Again)." And they never did pass this way again. By 1980, the act was over, expired. But as hard as Elton John tries to stay atop the mountain, most people burn out. They get there once, and it doesn't have the same meaning thereafter... Being rich and famous doesn't make most people happy, that comes down to people...family, friends.
But they had this song. And even though I've just written about it for paragraphs, truly it is not something you can describe. "Summer Breeze" makes you feel something, an entire movie unspools in your brain, it makes you remember when. I'm not even sure these are the goals of today's music.
We lived through a peak. At least I did. But these songs remain, some of them are forever.
And one of them is "Summer Breeze."
The men who made it...the song has transcended them. Now they're both gone. You could study their history, but it's not that interesting or unique. But the song is. How did they come up with it? How did they lay it down in the studio? Well, we're never really gonna know, because the principals are all dead. Except for Louie Shelton, a legendary studio guitarist who became a producer and masterminded the creation of "Summer Breeze."
But still, online you can see videos of people telling you how they did it, but really no one can articulate it. It was inspiration, something they felt, running on instinct. And you couldn't reach this peak on a regular basis, but when you did...
It makes you feel fine...
Blowin' through the jasmine in your mind.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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U2 released its "Days of Ash" EP on February 18th. The publicity had more impact than the music. There are six songs. Two have barely broken three million streams on Spotify, four are in the one million range, and one doesn't even break the seven figure threshold. It's like it doesn't even exist. U2, one of the biggest bands in the world, with more name recognition than almost all of the acts in the Spotify Top 50, can't get its music listened to. However the act can sell tickets. Based on its hits of yore and a reputation for unique, dynamic, stage shows.
Is this the future?
I was talking to Pat Monahan of Train. He's a humble guy, but I told him that more people probably know "Drops of Jupiter" than any Taylor Swift song.
Of course the Swifties are going to go nuclear. But that's not my point. The point is you just can't reach everybody anymore.
Then again, does the music deserve that attention?
Sure, there are mediocre classic rock hits. Stuff that a youngster might listen to once and then shrug their shoulders. However, there is "Stairway to Heaven" and "Sweet Home Alabama," time bombs just waiting to explode in future generations' brains.
Then again, today's music has changed. It's harder, busier, reflective of the age we live in, which is hard. The American Dream has never been less achievable in my lifetime. People are frustrated, they need music that mimics their feelings, or is complete escapism. The younger generation loves to dance, DJs and EDM are a culture unto themselves, a significant one, that can draw more people to a live show than most of the aforementioned Spotify Top 50. But the thing about classic rock is it killed dancing. That went out with the twist and the swim and the hully gully. Classic rock demanded respect, attention, you bought the best stereo you could afford to get closer to the tunes, you wanted to get inside them. Today you listen to bass-heavy dreck via tiny earphones, a far cry from the holy grail of yesteryear, when sound was important.
So what changed?
First and foremost there was money. MTV made you famous around the world and double the price CDs threw off more cash. And with visibility you could now have brand extensions. Used to be the cash from being an artist was enough, more than enough. But it's not that remuneration went down, it's just that other verticals paid better, finance and tech, and the best and the brightest pursued those. Leaving us with lower common denominator creators in popular music.
People hate when I put anything from today's scene down. Because they're such believers.
Despite all the hype about the return of BTS, the dirty little secret is the passion, the mania, is not as big as they'd have you think:
"Why the BTS Comeback Concert Was a 'Disaster' for Some Businesses - The turnout for the K-pop titans' show was much lower than projected by officials, hitting the bottom line of some restaurants. Shares in the group's management company also fell."
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/23/world/asia/bts-concert-seoul-turnout-hybe-shares.html
It's in the news, but there is too much news. Such that the truth frequently doesn't reach the public...it's not only politics, but popular culture too.
As for BTS... Wouldn't Frank Zappa call them "dancing fools"? I've got nothing against the act, but please don't tell me to take them seriously, it's pablum for a subset of the public, a twist on New Kids on the Block.
But I was going to write about "Summer Breeze."
Do today's younger generations know "Summer Breeze"?
Now if we go back to Spotify, we see that "Summe Breeze" has 321 million streams. Which is prodigious, but not close to the multi-billion numbers of young acts. But are these numbers distortions? Are the same people listening to this new material over and over again, bumping up the totals?
I mean would people listen to "Summer Breeze" on endless repeat?
Probably not. They'd get a hankering to hear it and pull it up on Spotify.
However, "Summer Breeze" is in the ether, unlike so much of the billion stream club. Meaning it is played on radio, in restaurants, you hear it. "Summer Breeze" is forever, almost all of today's music is transient.
Of course, of course, a lot of the old stuff was banged into our heads on terrestrial radio, and not all of it was superior. I mean "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!"?
Now Seals and Crofts was not a highly respected act, with rock roots and gravitas. Then again, they did peak in the singer-songwriter/soft rock seventies, which were led by James Tayalor and Carole King. People were open to this sound.
But Seals and Crofts were journeymen. And Bahá?ís. I knew this not only because I followed the rock press like it was delivered from God, but because the people in the next dorm room over were into the band, and exploring that faith.
But never forget, Seals and Crofts were on Warner Brothers. And if it was on Warner Brothers, it deserved attention, there was a reason the band was signed.
And then came "Summer Breeze."
This was not one of today's numbers built on one chord, based on a beat, there was a lot going on in the track. The haunting guitar intro, drawing you in, telling you this was serious. And once you were paying attention, there was a melodic construct and...
"See the curtains hangin' in the window
In the evening on a Friday night
A little light a-shinin' through the window
Lets me know everything's all right"
These were not nonsense lyrics filling up space, rather the words set a place, you had a vision, you knew exactly what they were singing about, you were THERE!
And then comes the piece-de-resistance:
"Summer breeze makes me feel fine
Blowin' through the jasmine in my mind"
And the stinging guitar after the chorus, that's the special sauce, that's what puts the record over the top, embeds it in your brain.
In other words, there's a lot going on in the song. Because the song was everything. There was no dancing, no perfume...
So as soon as you hear "Summer Breeze," it takes you away. You could be in a group of hundreds, thousands, and you'd be having a personal experience. What I remember most is driving in Westport, CT just before Christmas in the eighties and hearing it on the radio. It was one of those days where the weather vacillated between snow and rain, quite gray, but that song, it took me away, to a place of gentleness, possibilities.
Now Dash Crofts died, and I used to be able to tell them apart, but that was a long time ago... I couldn't have told you which one he was until I saw the pictures in the obits.
But what truly stunned me was how old he was. He was born in 1938. Almost all of our rock heroes were born in the forties. The Beatles in the early forties. Crofts had been around.
And you read about his peripatetic life in said obits, leaving Texas to play with the Champs, but it is all superseded by "Summer Breeze."
I hear "Diamond Girl" too much on SiriusXM's Bridge, it was always B-material to me, I mean how do you reach the heights of "Summer Breeze" once again?
Seals and Crofts couldn't. But I did like "Get Closer" and "We May Never Pass This Way (Again)." And they never did pass this way again. By 1980, the act was over, expired. But as hard as Elton John tries to stay atop the mountain, most people burn out. They get there once, and it doesn't have the same meaning thereafter... Being rich and famous doesn't make most people happy, that comes down to people...family, friends.
But they had this song. And even though I've just written about it for paragraphs, truly it is not something you can describe. "Summer Breeze" makes you feel something, an entire movie unspools in your brain, it makes you remember when. I'm not even sure these are the goals of today's music.
We lived through a peak. At least I did. But these songs remain, some of them are forever.
And one of them is "Summer Breeze."
The men who made it...the song has transcended them. Now they're both gone. You could study their history, but it's not that interesting or unique. But the song is. How did they come up with it? How did they lay it down in the studio? Well, we're never really gonna know, because the principals are all dead. Except for Louie Shelton, a legendary studio guitarist who became a producer and masterminded the creation of "Summer Breeze."
But still, online you can see videos of people telling you how they did it, but really no one can articulate it. It was inspiration, something they felt, running on instinct. And you couldn't reach this peak on a regular basis, but when you did...
It makes you feel fine...
Blowin' through the jasmine in your mind.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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--
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Friday, 27 March 2026
Alongside The British Invasion-4-SiriusXM This Week
The records that were hits at the same time as the British Invasion.
Tune in Saturday March 28th to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.
If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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Tune in Saturday March 28th to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.
If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Thursday, 26 March 2026
Mike Vernon
I couldn't have a conversation with Seymour Stein without him mentioning Mike Vernon.
Oh, that's a little extreme, but Seymour mentioned Mike all the time, just like he mentioned Syd Nathan and King Records...that's where he got his start. And once he started he made a deal with Mike Vernon to put out his Blue Horizon records in America.
But now Seymour is dead and there's no one left to testify.
I'd never heard of Mike Vernon, but it turns out I know his music. I learned that from the few obits I found. Turns out Mike Vernon produced the legendary John Mayall album "Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton."
Do young people know this record?
Keith Relf was the frontman of the Yardbirds, and their catchy hit tunes were written by Graham Gouldman. Sure, "Over Under Sideways Down" featured the fretwork of Jimmy Page, but unless you'd seen "Blow Up," chances are you didn't know Jeff Beck was in the group, or Eric Clapton before him.
Most people didn't know who Clapton was until "Disraeli Gears," the 1967 album that featured his guitar work on "Sunshine of Your Love." People bought that, some went back to buy "Fresh Cream," "Wheels of Fire" was gigantic and then it was "Goodbye."
And back then, when you discovered an act, you investigated their roots, you wanted more. There were people who already owned the "Blues Breakers" album, but what truly blew it up was Eric's success in Cream.
And it wasn't only Eric who got a boost in status, it was Mayall himself too, he was now seen as a fountain of great guitar players, a veritable farm team. Mick Taylor played with Mayall before he was snatched by the Stones. And before all that, you had Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, who ultimately formed Fleetwood Mac, whose first two albums were produced by Vernon and came out on his label to boot! It was Vernon who produced the single "Albatross"... Never a hit, it has sustained longer than the hits of its era.
Turns out Mike and his brother Richard owned Chipping Norton Recording, which I only knew because there's a famous photo of Gerry Rafferty wearing a sweater with the studio's name embroidered on it. "Baker Street" was cut there.
Mike Vernon produced David Bowie, Ten Years After, Savoy Brown...even the legendary "Christine Perfect" album which was released to crickets, but when Fleetwood Mac blew up with her now in it, the album was stocked in every record store...once again, people wanted, NEEDED, more.
Vernon was even a performer. He was in Rocky Sharpe and the Replays...I never knew that.
Oh, I forgot to mention that Mike produced "Hocus Pocus" by Focus!
But not a single person e-mailed me about his passing. Whereas if Seymour was still alive, he would have waxed rhapsodic, sent a lengthy e-mail I could have shared with my readers.
Now in one of the obits Vernon said that it was a time and place, the blues revival...but we're only a motion away from another wave, this music has feeling, it's forever.
And there were obits in the English papers, and I was stunned to find one in the "New York Times":
"Mike Vernon, Who Helped Spark the British Blues Boom, Dies at 81 - He produced albums — by John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, with Eric Clapton, and the early Fleetwood Mac — that defined 1960s blues rock. He also shepherded David Bowie's debut album.
Free link: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/arts/music/mike-vernon-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.WFA.EUPE.5T6FFTGj-fyy&smid=url-share
But there were no hosannas, never mind a victory lap while he was still alive. Even worse, he died on March 2nd, weeks ago, we're only finding out now!
I don't know if Mike Vernon belongs in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but one thing is for sure, he belongs there a lot more than Whitney Houston and the popsters now being inducted. Vernon's work was bedrock.
But no one seems to care.
We used to. That was our passion, our lives...we needed to know all the players. And I knew the songs, but didn't happen to buy the albums Mike produced, so I didn't know...whereas today all this information is at our fingertips and people know nothing.
Then again, are the people worth knowing about? Are the acts worth knowing about? They might have hits, but they're usually not the single vision of yore, written by the act itself. And money and fame lead, whereas before they were after-effects.
But what really weirds me out is everybody who knew Vernon, and it's not only Vernon, is passing and not only are these people forgotten, but the stories too.
It's extremely weird.
But the music remains.
How much of today's music will remain?
"Albatross" is forever... The Spotify Top 50?
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Oh, that's a little extreme, but Seymour mentioned Mike all the time, just like he mentioned Syd Nathan and King Records...that's where he got his start. And once he started he made a deal with Mike Vernon to put out his Blue Horizon records in America.
But now Seymour is dead and there's no one left to testify.
I'd never heard of Mike Vernon, but it turns out I know his music. I learned that from the few obits I found. Turns out Mike Vernon produced the legendary John Mayall album "Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton."
Do young people know this record?
Keith Relf was the frontman of the Yardbirds, and their catchy hit tunes were written by Graham Gouldman. Sure, "Over Under Sideways Down" featured the fretwork of Jimmy Page, but unless you'd seen "Blow Up," chances are you didn't know Jeff Beck was in the group, or Eric Clapton before him.
Most people didn't know who Clapton was until "Disraeli Gears," the 1967 album that featured his guitar work on "Sunshine of Your Love." People bought that, some went back to buy "Fresh Cream," "Wheels of Fire" was gigantic and then it was "Goodbye."
And back then, when you discovered an act, you investigated their roots, you wanted more. There were people who already owned the "Blues Breakers" album, but what truly blew it up was Eric's success in Cream.
And it wasn't only Eric who got a boost in status, it was Mayall himself too, he was now seen as a fountain of great guitar players, a veritable farm team. Mick Taylor played with Mayall before he was snatched by the Stones. And before all that, you had Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, who ultimately formed Fleetwood Mac, whose first two albums were produced by Vernon and came out on his label to boot! It was Vernon who produced the single "Albatross"... Never a hit, it has sustained longer than the hits of its era.
Turns out Mike and his brother Richard owned Chipping Norton Recording, which I only knew because there's a famous photo of Gerry Rafferty wearing a sweater with the studio's name embroidered on it. "Baker Street" was cut there.
Mike Vernon produced David Bowie, Ten Years After, Savoy Brown...even the legendary "Christine Perfect" album which was released to crickets, but when Fleetwood Mac blew up with her now in it, the album was stocked in every record store...once again, people wanted, NEEDED, more.
Vernon was even a performer. He was in Rocky Sharpe and the Replays...I never knew that.
Oh, I forgot to mention that Mike produced "Hocus Pocus" by Focus!
But not a single person e-mailed me about his passing. Whereas if Seymour was still alive, he would have waxed rhapsodic, sent a lengthy e-mail I could have shared with my readers.
Now in one of the obits Vernon said that it was a time and place, the blues revival...but we're only a motion away from another wave, this music has feeling, it's forever.
And there were obits in the English papers, and I was stunned to find one in the "New York Times":
"Mike Vernon, Who Helped Spark the British Blues Boom, Dies at 81 - He produced albums — by John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, with Eric Clapton, and the early Fleetwood Mac — that defined 1960s blues rock. He also shepherded David Bowie's debut album.
Free link: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/arts/music/mike-vernon-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.WFA.EUPE.5T6FFTGj-fyy&smid=url-share
But there were no hosannas, never mind a victory lap while he was still alive. Even worse, he died on March 2nd, weeks ago, we're only finding out now!
I don't know if Mike Vernon belongs in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but one thing is for sure, he belongs there a lot more than Whitney Houston and the popsters now being inducted. Vernon's work was bedrock.
But no one seems to care.
We used to. That was our passion, our lives...we needed to know all the players. And I knew the songs, but didn't happen to buy the albums Mike produced, so I didn't know...whereas today all this information is at our fingertips and people know nothing.
Then again, are the people worth knowing about? Are the acts worth knowing about? They might have hits, but they're usually not the single vision of yore, written by the act itself. And money and fame lead, whereas before they were after-effects.
But what really weirds me out is everybody who knew Vernon, and it's not only Vernon, is passing and not only are these people forgotten, but the stories too.
It's extremely weird.
But the music remains.
How much of today's music will remain?
"Albatross" is forever... The Spotify Top 50?
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Who I Am
I don't need someone to root for in order to enjoy a TV series or movie.
Good is not good enough for me. I want the best, which often doesn't even cost more. Not so I can show it off, but so I can USE IT! All those features...I explore and use them.
I read the manual. Always. When I buy a car, before I set up a piece of electronic gear...
I don't care how much violence there is, that won't prevent me from watching a series or film.
I'm not into entertainment. What they call "popcorn movies." I've never read a comic book in my life. Well, other than "Archie" and "Casper the Friendly Ghost." Marvel means nothing to me.
I hate fantasy. If there are ghosts, demons, anything that doesn't happen in real life, I'm out.
And I'm not a big fan of sci-fi either...
I want to go deep. If I like a song, I can literally play it thirty times in a row. Much more than once, I've played one album and one album only for an entire week..."Led Zeppelin II." Nik Kershaw's "15 Minutes." As for singles... Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" and Paula Cole's "14" and Paul McCartney's "Big Barn Bed"... I put the song on endless repeat and revel in the mood.
I hate groupthink. I don't want to disagree for the sake of disagreeing, but I don't want to hold back my opinion for fear of blowback.
I like a nice house, but it's far down the list of what's important to me. What's in my mind is what counts.
I hate shopping for clothes. Mostly I just go to the Polo outlet store and stock up when I'm in need.
I don't take almost anybody's opinion as the truth, because people are so uniformed. Unless they're at the center of what they're talking about, I go online and do research. Yes, my own research, but at trusted sites... I hate when people send me info from blogs that a quick look at Wikipedia will tell you are biased. It just shows how uninformed they are.
I love the news. I love reading the physical paper because I see stories I don't find online. Having said that, I'm checking the news apps all day long. For breaking stories. NYT, WSJ, LAT, Apple News+, even X...but only the tweets of those people I follow, the "For you" feed is trash.
If I find something great I want to tell everybody about it.
I love to argue a point. Wrestle with the issues. Get into the minutiae and tease out the truth. Sure, a song may be good, but if it had this or that it would be SPECTACULAR!
I'm susceptible to bullies, but I've learned over time that my reaction, my cowering, is unfounded. The people who respond negatively first?/ They're the most invested in putting you down.
I hate when someone reads a missive of mine and then in a derogatory way says I missed this or that, when if they just read what I wrote they'd see I mentioned it!
Also, I hate when people criticize me for not mentioning a minor player when writing about a major one... What I do is not comprehensive, go to the encyclopedia for that...or maybe today, Wikipedia.
I hate nitpickers.
I believe intellect trumps money, you just have to know how to use it.
I hate sour grapes. From unsuccessful people and people who tell me how hard they're working. Too many don't know what sacrifice truly is.
If I'm your friend you can count on me, and I hope I can count on you.
When I find someone is on the same page as me, I buzz on the inside.
I'm an alienated f*ck. I'm the one who refuses to call the teacher "professor," I'm the one who puts their feet on the desk, I'm not saying there should be no rules, but you've got to earn my respect, your title is not enough.
When I was twenty one I knew everything, now I realize how much I don't know.
If you have a deformity, get plastic surgery...but if you're doing it to stay young, I don't get it. Charlotte Rampling has had nothing done and she's more beautiful than the nipped and tucked.
Okay, you don't eat and you're stick thin... You might be impressing other women, but I'm turned off and most men are too. Eat something. And just wait until osteoporosis hits.
Everybody's got a story...their life, and I want to hear it.
I accept almost nothing at face value.
I'm susceptible to people judging me, but I do what I want anyway.
Bugs me that college is now seen as a glorified trade school. Then again, the real learning in college happens outside class, hanging with people in the dorm.
I love living in LA. because the only person who ever asked me my SAT scores was a Boston Brahmin.
My two favorite flavors of ice cream are Phish Food and Chunky Monkey.
I refuse to save money on that which is cheap to begin with. I don't want Chips Ahoy, I want Entenmann's, or even better.
There are exceptions to all of the above.
--
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
Good is not good enough for me. I want the best, which often doesn't even cost more. Not so I can show it off, but so I can USE IT! All those features...I explore and use them.
I read the manual. Always. When I buy a car, before I set up a piece of electronic gear...
I don't care how much violence there is, that won't prevent me from watching a series or film.
I'm not into entertainment. What they call "popcorn movies." I've never read a comic book in my life. Well, other than "Archie" and "Casper the Friendly Ghost." Marvel means nothing to me.
I hate fantasy. If there are ghosts, demons, anything that doesn't happen in real life, I'm out.
And I'm not a big fan of sci-fi either...
I want to go deep. If I like a song, I can literally play it thirty times in a row. Much more than once, I've played one album and one album only for an entire week..."Led Zeppelin II." Nik Kershaw's "15 Minutes." As for singles... Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" and Paula Cole's "14" and Paul McCartney's "Big Barn Bed"... I put the song on endless repeat and revel in the mood.
I hate groupthink. I don't want to disagree for the sake of disagreeing, but I don't want to hold back my opinion for fear of blowback.
I like a nice house, but it's far down the list of what's important to me. What's in my mind is what counts.
I hate shopping for clothes. Mostly I just go to the Polo outlet store and stock up when I'm in need.
I don't take almost anybody's opinion as the truth, because people are so uniformed. Unless they're at the center of what they're talking about, I go online and do research. Yes, my own research, but at trusted sites... I hate when people send me info from blogs that a quick look at Wikipedia will tell you are biased. It just shows how uninformed they are.
I love the news. I love reading the physical paper because I see stories I don't find online. Having said that, I'm checking the news apps all day long. For breaking stories. NYT, WSJ, LAT, Apple News+, even X...but only the tweets of those people I follow, the "For you" feed is trash.
If I find something great I want to tell everybody about it.
I love to argue a point. Wrestle with the issues. Get into the minutiae and tease out the truth. Sure, a song may be good, but if it had this or that it would be SPECTACULAR!
I'm susceptible to bullies, but I've learned over time that my reaction, my cowering, is unfounded. The people who respond negatively first?/ They're the most invested in putting you down.
I hate when someone reads a missive of mine and then in a derogatory way says I missed this or that, when if they just read what I wrote they'd see I mentioned it!
Also, I hate when people criticize me for not mentioning a minor player when writing about a major one... What I do is not comprehensive, go to the encyclopedia for that...or maybe today, Wikipedia.
I hate nitpickers.
I believe intellect trumps money, you just have to know how to use it.
I hate sour grapes. From unsuccessful people and people who tell me how hard they're working. Too many don't know what sacrifice truly is.
If I'm your friend you can count on me, and I hope I can count on you.
When I find someone is on the same page as me, I buzz on the inside.
I'm an alienated f*ck. I'm the one who refuses to call the teacher "professor," I'm the one who puts their feet on the desk, I'm not saying there should be no rules, but you've got to earn my respect, your title is not enough.
When I was twenty one I knew everything, now I realize how much I don't know.
If you have a deformity, get plastic surgery...but if you're doing it to stay young, I don't get it. Charlotte Rampling has had nothing done and she's more beautiful than the nipped and tucked.
Okay, you don't eat and you're stick thin... You might be impressing other women, but I'm turned off and most men are too. Eat something. And just wait until osteoporosis hits.
Everybody's got a story...their life, and I want to hear it.
I accept almost nothing at face value.
I'm susceptible to people judging me, but I do what I want anyway.
Bugs me that college is now seen as a glorified trade school. Then again, the real learning in college happens outside class, hanging with people in the dorm.
I love living in LA. because the only person who ever asked me my SAT scores was a Boston Brahmin.
My two favorite flavors of ice cream are Phish Food and Chunky Monkey.
I refuse to save money on that which is cheap to begin with. I don't want Chips Ahoy, I want Entenmann's, or even better.
There are exceptions to all of the above.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
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