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
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
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Friday, 3 April 2026
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
--
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
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
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
Thursday, 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.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
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-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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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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--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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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.
--
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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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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--
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-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
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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.
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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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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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--
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-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
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