Favorite Movie Music Syncs-SiriusXM This Week

Tune in July 25th to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West. Phone #: 844-686-5863  If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz -- Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/ -- Listen to the podcast: -iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj -Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp -- http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz -- If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter, http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1 If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25 To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25

André Is an Idiot

Netflix trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvkO0eviVLU They should show this in schools. To illustrate how you can survive marching to the beat of your own drummer. Until you don't. I'd never even heard of this movie, but a reader recommended it and after the Thai show we watched was just too weird to continue, I pulled it up. Now the story is simple. André delayed his colonoscopy and when he finally got it he found out that he had terminal cancer. But the essence of the story is not André's cancer journey, but André himself. I'm watching the Burning Man documentary on HBO, and the guy who started it, Larry Harvey, had never paid taxes. He was living outside the system. And when André appears on screen you think the same thing, this is an oddball who found his place in San Francisco, amongst like-minded people, far from the scrutinization of the east coast. But this is untrue. Turns out André has a career in advertising and... André is the weirdo in your high school class, not the checked-out stoner, but someone who was smart who didn't care whether he fit in. Then again, André did plenty of drugs. Did they cause his cancer? André tried it all, he was living life to the fullest, until... The story is so whacked that I don't want to reveal any of it because I don't want to ruin it. André and his friend go to a bar and start talking to the bartender, Janice, and... Then a whirlwind trip begins, all based on André's eccentricities. You can see how he could rub you the wrong way, but he's not negative, he's not cutting, and it's not exactly that he's outrageous, just that he'll say the unexpected thing, make jokes, color outside the lines. We've squeezed this behavior out of younger generations, it gets no applause in society at general. Now it's all about being a business person and becoming rich. The business itself isn't even that important, as long as it pays. The goal is to separate yourself from the hoi polloi, live on a higher level, all while boasting of your achievements to the rest of the world, acting superior, letting others know they are inferior. But it didn't used to be this way. Certainly not in the sixties. It was the love generation, we were all in it together. Equals. As for business...those were the corporations funding the war machine. Finance? Who knew exactly what they did on Wall Street, I certainly didn't. But I knew the movies and the music and the culture, culture was everything. But André wasn't even born until 1968. While most of his brethren have sold out, André has not, he's remained curious and questioning, left his hair long, he looks like a homeless person. But he is not. Don't judge the book by the cover. André drives a Tesla. Now the "New York Times" has a policy of reviewing every movie that plays in the city. Check the paper on Friday, the reviews are endless, they all run together. They reviewed "André Is an Idiot," but I don't remember it. No, films like this depend upon word of mouth. And I'm telling you, you've got to see this movie. A documentary. Unlike the exploitive ones now all over streaming TV. Shot in a first class manner. It's not only André, but his relationships. Especially with his best friend Lee. Male friendship like this is never depicted on screen. Two regular guys, not setting the world on fire, but not living on the street, who talk to each other every day and do things together, know each other by heart... Normally we're exposed to winners and losers, but André and Lee are in the middle, just like you and me. And you've got some new age philosophy. And you've got family values. This is a family story that Hollywood never gets right, if it even tries. André is magnetic, he's funny. The story itself will crack you up. And then there's the cancer thread... This is what it's like living through the Big C. The chemotherapy, the caregiving, the false hope... First and foremost, "André Is an Idiot" is an American story. Watch it. -- 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

Bob Cavallo-This Week's Podcast

Bob Cavallo managed the Lovin' Spoonful, Earth, Wind & Fire, Little Feat, Seal and more. And he finished his career running Disney's music business! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bob-cavallo/id1316200737?i=1000778014175 https://open.spotify.com/episode/27scMOj6rGn68lI4cKR0Z7?si=0XON8AQhTFa_uLxirWPDng https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/bob-cavallo-339454863 https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/3389c653-f975-45e9-8a9f-7274ed3149a4/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-bob-cavallo -- 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

Mailbag

From: Wendy Waldman Subject: Re: Social Media Is the New Rock and Roll Date: July 21, 2026 at 10:46:15 PM MDT I love TT. Been following it a long time. First post I did on it was years ago of my cat’s first new year, with a re-write of Dylan’s “If Dogs Run Free” I think it’s called “If cats run free”. “Luz’s First New Year” it was stupid and way fun to do. And  I like Instagram. And Facebook. All of it. I’m from the generation where there were gatekeepers who often didn’t get what you were doing anyway or you didn’t have the right whatever it was that made them push the button without which you floundered or were relegated to the corner of the room they thought was where you belonged. Only a small percentage of label artists got the big push  back then but unlike today, there was no recourse, no alternative road. Now it’s all alternative road. And of course at the labels, nothing’s changed really, only a small percentage of label artists get the push. But at least the majority of the overlooked label acts can engage the audience on their own.= now if they choose. I do a lot more work these days and there’s no record company anymore (except the one that still owns my old masters) but I love the fact that I can talk with the audience myself. Not easy but amazing when it works. Everything I know about the internet I was taught by my co- manager and mentor 20 years younger than me, Mark Nubar. He started teaching me at the end of the last century :) I learn every single day. There are other as you call them “oldsters” who also get this. My partners in the Refugees are big users of the internet. We are sometimes challenged but we figure it out. And we LOVE being able to hear music from anywhere and any time. And people don’t care anymore if it’s an old track or a new track or even who you are. If they like the tune, that’s good enough. Did I say it’s a lot of work? Yeah. No problem. Price of admission. Parenthetically I also love the vast library of knowledge that is now available to me. It’s the next best thing to the library at Alexandria, alas, not available to us. Is it a double edge sword? Duh. In our hands, it’s a fantastic tool that has totally changed the game for us. Having more fun than ever. XW ____________________________________________ From: Dave Schools Subject: Re: Rick Beato Responds Date: July 17, 2026 at 1:54:25 PM PDT 100% In fact Rick was the guy who broke me into realizing how positive and pervasive platforms like YouTube can be. What was once "non-traditional" has now become the way. It was the breakdown of Boston's More Than A Feeling (episode 71 of  "What Makes Music Great") that did it for me. I've been hooked ever since. I was bowled over by a streaming music feature that went deep about all of the facets of the production of such an overwhelmingly popular and groundbreaking song. I thought to myself, "THIS is interesting and informative!" I know I wasn't alone. Rick delivers the goods in a way that satisfies the listeners and the creators. And Rick says what so many of us are thinking and struggle with in the video link you provided...and he cites the eyeball numbers to back up what he says. People have a thirst for this content...especially on a platform where it can reside forever. Thank you for sharing. Cheers, das ____________________________________________ From: Reg Subject: Re: Ideas Date: July 17, 2026 at 9:46:35 AM PDT Can't tell you how much I love this line: "I learned all this from reading. Which sparks ideas. Try it." In my opinion, this is what's wrong with our country. Everyone needs to pick up a book, magazine, newspaper, indie-zine... My 9-year-old devours books like they are candy. My 5-year-old is learning to read and already loves books. Trying to get my 26 and 23-year-old sons to read before they went to college was like trying to get them to take medicine. But something happened in college and they both read books all the time now. What was the old ad line, "Reading Is Fundamental"? The truth in 3 words. When's the last time you heard someone talking about RIF? I learned that thanks to PBS 50 years ago and it's still stuck in my head. If you don't read, you don't learn. And if you don't learn, you stagnate. Thanks for stating this. Anyone who argues with you about it is ignorant. Peace, Reg Scott Register Think Indie Distribution/Coalition Of Independent Music Stores ____________________________________________ From: Seth Berg Subject: Re: The Atlantic Lizzo Story Date: July 6, 2026 at 7:34:07 PM PDT Bob, Lizzo writes by committee, and when you have a decline in success, people leave.  Dylan, Taylor, The Beatles, Springsteen...when times were rough they wrote and pulled themselves out of a rut.  Jesus, didn't Bruce have a decade of nothing until he did?  But it was all his and authentic. Lizzo can't pull herself out when she has no ability to do it by herself. The market is thining itself as it should, and maybe the singer songwriter will, once again, rise.  SB  ____________________________________________ From: Patrick Smith Subject: RIP Bonnie Tyler Date: July 9, 2026 at 6:18:03 AM PDT Hi Bob, This is incredibly sad news. I was very fortunate to meet and work with Bonnie Tyler during my time as a Senior Music Producer at the BBC in the UK. We were filming promotional content for the Six Nations Rugby Championship, featuring an artist from each competing nation - Bonnie representing Wales, Andrea Bocelli representing Italy, and others. I received a call from Bonnie’s husband and manager, Bob, asking if we could film at their home in The Mumbles, Swansea, as Sunday was the only day she was available. My response? "Absolutely!" I was based in Cardiff at the time, just over an hour away, as were most of the crew. When we arrived, it felt less like turning up to film a global music icon and more like visiting your favourite aunt or grandmother. Bonnie and Bob couldn’t have been more welcoming. There was an endless supply of tea, sandwiches, cakes and laughter, and they made every member of the crew feel completely at home. Bonnie was one of the most down-to-earth, genuine and generous people I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. Of course, her extraordinary voice and talent spoke for themselves, but it was her warmth and kindness that left the biggest impression on me. Rest in peace, Bonnie. Thank you for the music, the memories, and for one unforgettable Sunday afternoon in Swansea. I’ll treasure it forever. Nos da! ❤️ Kindest regards, PATRICK SMITH ____________________________________________ From: Scott Richman Subject: Re: Re-The Jeff Beck Book Date: July 20, 2026 at 9:07:04 PM MDT Bob, Your piece on Jeff Beck brought back a memory. I toured with Lou Reed throughout the 2000s. At the 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concerts at Madison Square Garden in 2009 (where I was working), Jeff Beck took the stage. Lou heard him from the dressing room, walked out, and watched the entire set. It’s the only time I ever saw him leave before or after one of his own performances to watch another artist. That told me everything about the respect Lou had for Jeff’s musicianship. Scott ____________________________________________ From: Ralph Covert Subject: Re: Re-The Jeff Beck Book Date: July 20, 2026 at 10:37:20 PM MDT My favorite Jeff Beck story was one David Gilmour told… Beck was apparently staying over at his house, and in the morning Gilmour and his wife initially couldn’t find him. After searching the house they found him sitting in their enclosed back porch with an unplugged electric guitar, surrounded by their cats. As the cats meowed at him, he’d imitate the sound back at them on his guitar, and they’d respond in turn. A humble genius who even mesmerized the family pets with his instrument. It doesn’t get any better than that. Cheers, Ralph ____________________________________________ From: Bill Gerber Subject: Re: Re-The Jeff Beck Book Date: July 20, 2026 at 9:49:10 PM MDT I only had a brief time with Jeff after Stanley Clarke invited me as his Nemporer Records exec to go on the road with he and Jeff in Europe for a tour in 1979 which was, as a musician, one of the most extraordinary experiences I’ve ever had. To watch those guys with Simon Phillips and Tony Hymas every night as we traveled throughout Europe, was one of the master classes in musicianship that will never be repeated. As we all know, Stanley, one of the most important bassists and composers in history is a great dude and a great hang and Jeff who I shared being a vegetarian with could not have been kinder, humbler or more down to earth. Not entitled in any way. Also was very shy. I tried to help him get over that. At the time he was managed by Marshall Chapman  who was no fun at all but Jeff liked that he had an office lined with leather bound books. He bought the whole English gentleman thing. I was lucky to reunite with Jeff at the Grammy Museum performance he did a few years ago courtesy of Harvey Goldsmith and we had a great night at Soho House in West Hollywood laughing about our time on the road. They’ll never be another one like him. ____________________________________________ From: frankie sullivan Subject: Re: Blow by Blow: The Jeff Beck Story Date: July 21, 2026 at 8:42:08 AM MDT Hey Bob, That’s the thing about Jeff Beck. No one really knew him unless he allowed it. And unlike some of his friends he would poke fun at, Jeff Beck never sold out. He could have been much bigger—as in huge. But he was the consummate player, always looking for what no one else was doing. And boy, did he find it. The guitar, when he touched it, could sound like a train coming down the line or sing like a violin played by the very best. I saw him play several times, beginning when I was 17 years old. He blew my mind. I never missed a Jeff Beck show after that point. I saw him at the Park West in Chicago, where my friend Jerry Michelson (what a great guy) put me at a table right up front, just off the stage. He was absolutely amazing. The gal I took with me said out loud, “How does he do that?” I got a tap on the shoulder from the guy behind me who said, “Tell her he’s Jeff Beck.” That sums it all up. I traveled to see Beck play.  He often joked, in a friendly way, about people posting 30-second videos of themselves playing a Stratocaster. Can you imagine if Beck ever did it? But he would never do that stuff. Jeff Beck didn’t do the whole “social anything.” And I’ve heard the bullsh*t stories about him playing nonstop, when the fact is he did not practice much. Talk about hands born from the work of God. He was a builder of his beloved cars who also happened to be the greatest guitar player of all time. I saw him when he toured with Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Alex Hodges got me within bone-chilling distance. It was the only time I watched him take off his Telecaster and bow down to another player. And it wasn’t Eric—it was Stevie Ray Vaughan. Yes, I was at the show where we lost Stevie afterward. What an amazing show. That was a real package show: three of the best guitar players to ever pick up the instrument.  Jeff Beck, even amongst those killer players, stood it like a sore thumb.   The first time I shook his hand, I noticed the grease under his fingernails. If you caught him early enough on the road, you would notice how hard it was for him to play that way. Not just bending the strings, Bob, but working the volume knob, tone knob, five-way switch, and, oh boy, the way he used that bar to reach up and down for those magic notes. Yes, there are those who think they can copy Jeff Beck, I don’t even give that crap a listen. This is a guy who walked into a music store, plugged into a newer-model Fender Deluxe, and there it was—boom. Everyone afterward who said, “Let me try that amp,” sounded like sh*t. Oh, the magic of those fingers. I could go on forever. Perhaps you can reach out to the one guy who probably knew him best, Johnny Depp. He lived with Jeff and his wife for over a year. Can you even imagine? I cannot. I hawked over his amp settings. All the knobs were in very odd positions that would not work for any other player.   Give a listen to “Where Were You” from the Guitar Shop record, Bob. Close your eyes, and when it’s over, play it again. Then stop for a moment and say what I do: “How the f*ck does he do all of that—and all with such magical melodic sense and technical skill? Most of those guys overplay.” Then say what I say: “Because he is Jeff Beck.” Nice note, Bob. How’s your dick doing after that scope job? frankie s P.S. Ask Luke. He played in Jeff’s band for a few years. P.P.S. And what about his right hand, Bob? F*ck the guitar pick. With a bad back, he got tired of reaching down to pick them up off the floor. P.P.P.S. A friend from a Chicago vintage guitar shop went backstage to sell him a 1958 LP.  Beck replied, “I don’t pay for guitars.” -- 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

Social Media Is the New Rock and Roll

Hold on, wait a second, don't shoot the messenger! So I'm sitting in the waiting room at the UCLA Medical Center and I'm reading this new book from the Trouser Press: "Wake Me, Shake Me: New York City, the 60s & the Pop-Rock Youthquake": https://www.trouserpressbooks.com/wake-me-shake-me I wasn't planning to read it. I was just skimming it, checking it out, and what hooked me was the names, the details, I decided right then and there I was going to read it, take it from the top. You see last night out hiking I started the new podcast from "A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs." I know, I know, you've e-mailed me about this before, and I checked it out and wasn't completely satisfied, but it came up in my feed and this edition was: "Song 185: 'Peaches En Regalia' by Frank Zappa" https://500songs.com/podcast/song-185-peaches-en-regalia-by-frank-zappa/ I'll check that out. Although never a commercial hit, "Peaches En Regalia," the opening cut on "Hot Rats," is a one listen smash, from the Zappa universe wherein he tests limits, fusing jazz and rock and... The following cut on the album, "Willie the Pimp," actually gained more attention back then, even occasional airplay, and it had a great riff and groove and a classic Captain Beefheart vocal, but it's been almost completely forgotten to the sands of time. Now what I expected was a deep dive into "Peaches En Regalia." But that's not what the narrator, Andrew Hickey, delivered. He started at "Freak Out." And that was a surprise, going back to the beginning. And then very detailedly he chronicled that album and every one thereafter in order of release and my mind was blown, because I was learning things, despite knowing so much already. Now maybe at this late date if you do comprehensive research all this information is available online, but it certainly was not back in Zappa's heyday, the sixties and seventies. Hickey goes on that famously, the album credits on Frank's albums did not comport with who actually played on the record. But even better, he went through every player involved and gave their backstory. People who I knew by name only. I didn't know that Don Preston made his bones in the Army band. And that he was born in 1932, and was ten years older than most of the Mothers. And that he knew Jim Fielder, who was a bassist, who Frank brought on to play rhythm guitar (after Elliott Ingber was so high they had to turn off his amp at a show), who then quit to go back to the bass. And the details on Bunk and Buzz Gardner! And even an in-depth detour into Essra Mohawk, who used to e-mail me before she died, she was way into Buddhism. So when I picked up "Wake Me, Shake Me" and saw this same deep dive into personalities, some completely unknown, if not like a rolling stone, that's when I decided to commit. And the author, Mitchell Cohen, starts out in the fifties. And makes very clear that the major labels wanted nothing to do with rock and roll, certainly not Columbia, they thought it was a fad, inane music for brain dead teens. And then years later they finally woke up. And this got me to thinking, how social media is the new rock and roll. What we know, based on my inbox, is that you hate it. Even though you probably haven't fully-checked it out. It's a badge of honor for oldsters, I DON'T EVEN HAVE A TIKTOK ACCOUNT! They say self-satisfiedly. They've turned into their parents, even though they refuse to believe this, since they have a smartphone and wear sneakers and shorts to work. Social media, let's just say TikTok and its not as big or as good competitor, Instagram Reels, is the heartbeat of the younger generation. And the cut-off age might be really low. Do you remember Kim Kardashian and the rest of the posing two-dimensional stars of the day complaining when Instagram went to video? This was antithetical to their game. They produced highly-stylized still photos to show that they were better than the rest, to get the public to glom on to their lives, so they could sell them stuff. You can't do this in video, which oftentimes is spontaneous anyway. Still images were like the silent film era, whereas video is like talkies. And very few people translated from one to the other. Still. So one of the main complaints about TikTok is it's a time-waster. Won't those kids get off the damn phone, talk to people in real life? But this is their real life, and that's what's so intriguing. This is not big time motion pictures, nor is it manipulated reality television. What you get is a peek into someone's life. Imagine going into the bedroom of the girl next door, and having her reveal seemingly every detail about her life. Who she has a crush on, bad and good dates, body issues... It's incredibly riveting. No one is going to tell you this stuff in regular life, you might have to hang with them for years to get these inner thoughts, if ever! Think of all the products that fail. You might have even tried to succeed and failed. It's nearly impossible to gain the public's attention, never mind keep it! That's evidence of how desirable TikTok really is. TikTok is the complete opposite of most film entertainment. Honesty and authenticity triumph, whereas film is inherently fake. As for the people... To be a movie star in the U.S. you have to be beautiful, but not to be a success online. Furthermore, if beauty is your thing, you'll find scores of individuals to look at. Some with interesting stories, some not. And it's an ongoing relationship. Post or die. People want to think they know you. This is the opposite of a band that puts out an album every few years. There's not the same relationship. As for traditional stars... They've been pulled down from the sky, they've been toppled. Because film is 2-D and TikTok is 3-D. Online we see who people really are. And just because you're in a hit movie, that does not mean we look up to you. What do you have to say, what are your likes and desires? What are you angry about? This is anathema to conventional media-trained actors, and a lot of popular musicians too. They've been trained not to do this, to hold back. But that does not work online. TikTok is not a facsimile of real life, IT IS REAL LIFE! Which movies and TV shows are not. And what we're all really interested in is people. And if you play online, you're exposed to haters. Conventional stars can't handle this. Used to be the "little people" had no voice. But today they do. Commit a faux pas and it's all over social media instantly. If you were on TikTok, you were inundated with video of Trump being booed at the game on Sunday. There wasn't anywhere near this level of detail featured by conventional news outlets. Maybe there was a short clip. But on TikTok you got multiple videos, multiple angles, you could go deep. And that's what people want to do, go deep, assuming they're interested. They'll go completely down the rabbit hole, in a way that used to be impossible, just like I'm riveted by this Frank Zappa podcast. Is it for everybody? Absolutely not (even though it is absolutely free). But if you're more than a usual Zappa fan, it's manna from heaven. And there's information too. I'm hooked by this ski shop in Austria, Sport H&N, they post videos of fitting ski boots, grinding out the shells, foaming the liners, you can't get this info anywhere else. There's no filter. No censor. No Verve/MGM Records saying that the band couldn't be called just "The Mothers," and that's why "of Invention" was added. Never mind the endless censorship. Frank ended up recording stuff backwards on "We're Only in It for the Money" that was forward and intelligible on the initially submitted version. Now TikTok, online, the smartphone, is not only the heartbeat of America, but the entire world. In India in some locales there were smartphones even before radio! They skipped a few generations of media. Now all this is unfathomable to oldsters, because they didn't do it this way. You've got to do it their way. What you need to do is go out to a club, a bar, and try to meet someone to date. When you cannot only use a dating app, but you can go deep down in your area of interest and connect with people online? It's so much easier! Now oldsters are not the only ones who abhor social media, it's the mainstream news outlets too. Experienced reporters don't want to compete with someone online sans CV who is breaking stories. No, you must jump through the hoops first, prove yourself. But that's not how it works online. Online you start and you hone your chops and refine your act and if it's good, people will come to you, if it's not... That's what we see in music, people complaining no one will listen to them. But they're inured to the old ways. They'd like to close the door on competition, get signed by a label and have that company support and break them. But the truth is there's an endless number of songs online. And the majors can't even break an act. And when they try to play on TikTok, not living on the service, they just think it's shortened MTV clips. But no. First and foremost is the bond with your audience. Then the career grows. There are no middle people, which makes it confounding, but does not make it untrue. I feel like I'm beating a dead horse. But all the oldsters still don't get it, they don't know the joke is on them. If you want to sail into the sunset, ignore social media, that's fine with me. But if you want to sit in judgment, tear it down and insist it must not be used... You're just like parents telling their children not to listen to rock and roll. Best to self-check. -- 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

Evanescence at the Forum

Amy Lee is a force of nature. She's everything the competitors on "American Idol" and the rest of the TV competition shows want to be. But in addition to being able to sing, she can write and play too. This trifecta used to be the bedrock of the music business. And it still is, flavors of the moment are just that, they come and go, but more than twenty years after the band's breakthrough, Evanescence is still selling out the Forum. Like in the old days. This was not nostalgia, they played almost all of the new album. You remember before everybody became a greatest hits machine, when you had to go see this tour to hear the new repertoire, because only a few songs would survive the next time around, when the tracks from a new album would be injected. This means the show is not set in amber. It's alive. Not that most people in L.A. knew it was happening. If you were around back in the seventies, you know that either KMET or KLOS promoted the show. And they'd talk it up for weeks, broadcast from the location, pass out bumper stickers. The whole city could feel that a band was in town. Back when music superseded the hype and desire over Christopher Nolan and his latest project. Then again, rather than play it safe Nolan made a movie of "The Odyssey"? He earned the right not to listen to the suits, whereas everybody who has made it into the Spotify Top 50 is afraid of losing status, so they do what the label tells them, mostly work with outside writers and specific producers and remixers such that the original identity of the artist, assuming there ever was one, has been smoothed-over, essentially eradicated. Now Evanescence were beneficiaries of the last gasp of the power of MTV. Before the world was completely blown apart. And don't underestimate that, Coldplay has been milking it for over two decades. But Coldplay never really leaves the news, they hoover up cash in stadiums around the world, Chris Martin was even in charge of yesterday's halftime show, which every review says was blah. Pointless. No one criticized the performances themselves, they just questioned what it all meant. And there you have today's music in a nutshell. Spectacle, with the nutritional content of Pringles. But the thing is about hard rock...the fans never forget. It's the last bastion of loyalty. And we can argue about the definition of Evanescence's music, but except for when Amy sits alone at the piano, it's heavy. It's not for casual listeners, but true believers. And they were out in force. Wearing the merch they bought that night. Even the guys. And that's another thing I noticed, the audience was split pretty evenly between men and women. This is so rare today. Once something leans heavier or more muso...the women tend to peel off. But not for Evanescence. And the amazing thing is unlike the lords of heavy metal, Amy Lee is not a caricature of herself. You know, with the tattoos and the piercings, you have to look DANGEROUS! When in truth you're just the guy who grew up down the block. And the women in this world aren't that much different either, both sexes look like they emanated from the gutter as opposed to the halls of your high school. Therefore, so much metal ends up living in its own private backwater. It's heavy, sans melody. There's noodling. Yes, there's anger, but do you need the external trappings for that? Heavy music is about alienation. And I'd augur that people are more alienated than ever. But in a winner-take-all culture, where everybody is boasting how fantastic they are, no one admits any flaws, any chinks in the armor. So who is truly going to understand you, who can you relate to? That's the role music used to provide. You listened to the lyrics and said THAT IS ME! The tunes got you through the night, they prevented you from committing suicide. Truly. But how can you relate to someone who is corporate, all about brand extensions, hanging with a class of people you have no access to, and don't really want to hang around with anyway. Oftentimes, the only thing they have is money. Whereas rock stars possessed so much more. So Amy is singing from the heart. And boy is she singing. I was stunned she could keep it up for the entire show. She's cutting loose. And her vocals are smooth, not rough, and they're up front and center. Unlike so many acts in the hard rock world, the numbers were not long and extended, she played twenty one songs in an hour and thirty five minutes. That's a rarity. So what we saw on stage was talent. It was raw and undeniable. But that's not the only element in evidence. There were songs and playing and... It was the same as it ever was. If you remember, back before the days of Mariah Carey and divafication. Amy's dressed in black, but her dress is not twelve steps beyond what the audience has access to. But they can't sing like her. They can't evidence the same power. They come to connect, to let loose. And it doesn't matter if you care... Because so many do. -- 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