Slimbob Dunlap was one in a million. The outpouring of love for him here in Minneapolis since the news broke is overwhelming. Everyone has a story where he’s kind and funny. No one has a bad word to say about him.

I was lucky enough to have Slim take me under his wing and show me the ways of a touring band. In 1997 Slim got a chance to tour as the opening act for Son Volt, but his regular bassist couldn’t make the trip. He asked me to do it, never mind that I’d never played bass onstage before in my life. My first gig, after one short rehearsal, was at Irving Plaza in New York. I hope no one noticed me.

Everywhere we went he had what seemed to be close friends. I wondered how is this possible? Could he have met all these people just in the handful of tours he did with the Replacements? I eventually realized that he just had that rare gift of putting everyone at ease and making them feel valued. People adored him everywhere we went.

I watched the faces of the young crowd at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston as Slim started his set with me plunking along on bass, looking over his shoulder. The Son Volt fans started out bored and even a little hostile, but as Slim worked his magic, the faces softened, smiled and laughed. He truly was a master entertainer.

Sadly, since 2012 he’s been lying on his back, unable to even hold a guitar. He could barely communicate, but his mind was still sharp. He remembered personal details about his friends, and asked for updates whenever we’d visit.

I’ll miss him forever, but I’m glad Slim’s magnificent spirit no longer has to be tethered to that crumpled, fragile body. The love between him and Chrissie is lesson for us all.

You’re right, he wasn’t ever rolling in dough, but he was like Minneapolis’ George Bailey – the richest man in town.

Best,
Terry Walsh

_______________________________________

In the 1980s, I played guitar for a loud LA-based post-punk act that
was trying to get signed. However, live mixing and various tech crew
jobs in television production paid my rent.

In December of ’87, I was mixing FOH for an act that opened up for the
Replacements at the Palladium in Hollywood. I was a huge fan of the
Replacements — wore the vinyl out and had seen them perform both
brilliantly and sh*t-faced. And here I was, a kid with a dream and in
the same room as his heroes.

During the interminable sound checks, the ‘Mats new guitar player Slim
Dunlap was killing time sitting on his amplifier. I struck up a
conversation and shared a ciggie with the man during what was an
impromptu smoke break. He was affable and demure, and I probably told
him more about my aspirations than he wanted to hear.

While talking about the music business and his new-found fortune as
the lead guitarist for the darlings of College Radio, he cut me off.
He pointed across the stage to his guitar tech.

“See that guy over there?” he asked. I nodded. “He tunes my guitars.
And he makes more money than I do.”

I eventually got signed in 1990, but when that went sideways in 1994,
I went back to mixing sound full-time—only in television, not rock and
roll. I got out. Music was too much of a grind and too little of a
return.

Last March, 37 years after my star-struck talk with Slim, I retired as
the Audio Mixer on Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.

I took those jobs because I never forgot Slim’s lesson on the
Economics of the Music Business.

Godspeed, Slim Dunlap. You were a Gentleman and a Savant. And one f*ck
of a guitar player.

Cole Coonce

_______________________________________

I knew Slim. I represented Slim . I loved Slim.

I met him for the first time when the Mats were touring behind “ Pleased To Meet Me “ . I was a friend of their then manager and went to see them in Houston . I arrived early with the intent of saying hi to them before the show. When I met Slim, I knew he was the real deal by his shoes. He wore “old man“ shoes, beaten to hell lace up black oxfords with white socks and old man trousers. It was about 2 in the afternoon, he was drinking a Heineken out of the bottle, and it was pretty evident it was not his first of the day. We talked for half an hour about this and that and I was taken by not only how comfortable he was in his new roll, but what a perfect fit he was with being a Mat. It was years later when the band imploded and Slim recorded his debut album that we reconnected and I wound up as his booking agent. I told him how much I loved the first track, “ Ain’t Exactly Good “ and how it was the best sounding Stones album they never made. He laughed while casually mentioning that he made the record in a cheap minneapolis home studio in a couple of days for a cost of about 1000.00.  His follow up album, “ Times like this “ was just as easy to listen to. But talk about a frustrating position to be in. Here was a guy who was essentially the midwest version of Keith Richards only he couldn’t get arrested. I don’t think the guy ever made more than 5k off any one show. But he was a genuinely good unassuming guy who happened to have an average voice, write better than average songs , and could play the rock n roll guitar like very very few.

It was really sad when he had his stroke and just as sad hearing of his passing. It reminds me of when I heard of John Prine passing , and I said “ we’re all just a little worse off without John in our lives “ . Today, we’re all a little worse off without Slim Dunlap.

Scott Weiss

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I worked his second solo record Times Like This. Before the Chicago show I introduced myself and said it should be a great show tonight. Slim responded with, “As long as I make enough money to buy cigarettes and cat food I’m good.”

The Old New Me is a GREAT record.

Rest Easy Slim

Kenny Schnurstein

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The band I was in at the time, The Casual Ts, opened for The Replacements in 1987 in Tallahassee. While Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson were living up to the ‘Mats myth, Slim, who was quite a bit older than the others, was upbeat, very friendly, and seemed to genuinely enjoy our set. After the ‘Mats delivered an incendiary set at the roadhouse we played (the long gone Kent’s Lounge) we mentioned to Paul how much we thought Slim added to the band, Paul replied, with utter sincerity, that Slim had saved the band, and that they couldn’t believe that he was playing with them. Slim was a local legend in Minneapolis, playing for many years with singer Curtiss A. and with other bands in the area. It was a great scene in many areas back then, where the local legend was a big thing. He was a treasure. Rave on, Slim Dunlap.

Bob Anthony

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Appreciate your mentioning Dunlap here. A lot of this is, as I think you’re suggesting, about “you had to be there,” and there’s nothing good or bad about that really.

I grew up in the 1980s and the Mats were important to most everyone I knew. Part of all this was seeing them live, and for a while, not knowing what band you were going to get onstage. I finally did see them during their last tour in 1991, at the Marquee in London no less, and it was utter magic. Didn’t matter than Chris Mars wasn’t onboard for this one, or that Bob Stinson wasn’t either. Slim was great, gracious, and an excellent foil for Westerberg.

 

Marshall Armintor

_______________________________________

Thanks for your post about Slim Dunlap.  As for “getting” the Replacements, well, you kinda had to be there.  And by “there” I mean the gigs.  You never knew what those guys would or could do at any moment….sometimes blow your mind, sometimes break your heart. But they were always human and always unpredictable and Westerberg’s tunes spoke directly to the heart of those of us who were Paul’s age and basking in the fun and intensity of the post-punk live rock scene in the 80s.  I saw every NYC Replacements show from February 1985 to the final 1991 tour.  Those were damn good times.  I’m sure Slim and Bob Stinson are jamming, entirely unrehearsed, in the afterlife.

Mitch Goldman

_______________________________________

The Replacements – in all incarnations – were another one of those bands that shifted my early life flight pattern. Seeing Slim play with them numerous times as a late teen was a near-religious experience – they were my dirtbag Beatles.

Godspeed Slim. And thank you.

Timothy J. Smith

_______________________________________

Please check out Songs for Slim, a tribute album consisting predominantly of covers of The Old New me by Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Jeff Tweedy, John Doe, Joe Henry and the Replacements amongst others.

It was to raise funds after Slim had his stroke.

You were far from alone in your love for Slim Dunlap.

Warm regards from Sydney,

David Ryan

_______________________________________

Not forgetting the great “Times Like This” , a great version by Frankie Lee and Steve Earle. “ It’s times like this that you learn what you really miss “ . Simple  and timeless wrapped up in a gorgeous melody. RIP Slim

Blair Morgan
Christchurch,  New Zealand

_______________________________________

“Don’t Tell A Soul” is a fantastic album with great songs. If you still don’t get it, that’s on you. Listen to “Achin’ To Be” and tell me that isn’t one of the best songs you’ve ever heard. Yes, they lost the drunken shambolic edge they had on previous albums, but in my opinion it was for the better. Westerberg’s songwriting was maturing and Slim Dunlap brought some much needed professionalism to the proceedings.

Jonathan Lee

_______________________________________

I’ve read that Westerberg didn’t like the final cuts of Don’t Tell a Soul or All Shook Down.  Now, the earlier mixes are on Spotify.  The album is, appropriately, Dead Man’s Pop.  Maybe it would help you understand.

Ray Jepson

_______________________________________

Here’s the one Replacements song that you should really hear – “Can’t Hardly Wait”. It’s got horns and it’s just…indelible. From their last indie album “Pleased To Meet Me”.

Give it three seconds, the opening riff might close ya.

Daryl Shawn

_______________________________________

The Slim obituary and observation accurately depict the “working musician,” the lineage of the Replacements, and what I would say is a “Sadly Beautiful” reality. However, it hurts and the harsh cold winds of our industries live on.

Michael Manas

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I didn’t expect a eulogy for Slim Dunlap from you. I remember he and his band playing The Uptown Bar in South Minneapolis in support of the new record. The song that stuck with me that night and still comes back to me from time to time was “Taken on the Chin.” It’s a good rock song. Coulda been a hit. In fact I texted my buddy to say that Slim had taken the last one on the chin.

Thanks for writing about him; elevating his status. What he did was good and meaningful to a lot of us.

Jim Holm

_______________________________________

I met Slim in Minneapolis in late 1978 when he was playing guitar for Curtis A. Nice guy, and a great player. He was the perfect ‘replacement’ for Bob. One of the all time great players in Rock and Roll. A natural, if ever there was one. He didn’t have to try.

Kenny Vaughan

_______________________________________

Wow you knew Slim Dunlop’s solo work? And you mentioned the ‘Mats?

If you ever saw them live you would get it. Sober or not, they “rocked like murder!”

Wileen Dragovan

_______________________________________

In addition to this wonderful piece on Slim, you were able to honor Kevin Sutter again!  I miss Kevin every time I speak to someone who was close to him or see their name. He was a great mentor to me early in my promotion career. He taught me about being the “mayor of the market” and was always turning me on to music he was excited about when I went to see him in Seattle.

John Butler

_______________________________________

Nice to hear something about Kevin. He was one of my best friends here in Seattle. I really miss him. He was a wealth of musical knowledge also. Saw many great shows with him.

Rick Mercer, Jr.

_______________________________________

Sad news about Slim Dunlap.

I worked with Kevin Sutter and Jeff Laufer at RCA.  Those 2 fellas knew how to accrue airplay.

John Sigler

_______________________________________

I knew Sutterman had to be the one to turn you onto Slim. Miss those conversations with Kevin. Life certainly is short!

Be well Bob.

Melissa Dragich

_______________________________________

Slim’s dad was a highly respected lawyer in Rochester, helped Sandy Keith become Chief Justice of Minn Supreme Court.  His parents and family were proud of him and he was a G.E.N.T.

Hope you saw him at Bogarts in Long Beach on the Old New Me tour because he all but burned that honky tonk down.

Dennis Pelowski

_______________________________________

Brands aren’t bands…

Social media comets have no grit, grime, struggle, passion forged by “all of it,” let alone real swagger or honest charisma.

The ‘mats were the new punk losers set to stun drunk on their own sense of self, but they were committed.

And the songs? I always thought they were more a girls band (except for Bill Holdship, who ALWAYS believed) — because everyone I knew who loved them was female.

But it was rock & roll on two wheels, possibly into the wall. Reckless, dangerous, real, bleeding and not caring.

And Slim? He was the one whose guitar churled it all forward…

Westerberg was in love with my best friend Emily in the ’90s, in that corruptible way of his. Those words? Who could resist?

But Slim was a deeper, more desperate kind of heart. That’s what you got, what you wanted, what most of us couldn’t be raw enough to claim.
I’m glad you loved him. I’m glad you remembered. For a moment today, this weekend, you will make listen — and that is good.

Here’s to what music gives us: that’s what made Slim burn the way he did.

Holly Gleason

_______________________________________

Thanks for your wonderful words about Slim Dunlap. You  just brought attention to his talent to thousands who never knew the name. I appreciate your honesty about the “Mats” definitely an acquired taste but those of us who love them will always keep them in our hearts and minds, much like a crazy uncle or friend who was way more cool than sane.

I was on air talking about “Swinging Party” from the amazing remix of  “Tim” from Ed Stasium today. Westerberg and the boys had a way of bringing cheap bar fly life to music, they had to be Bukowski’s favorite band. Never heard that Slim Dunlap album before, at least on our tiny station in Traverse City Mi it will get played tomorrow.

Jerry (JC) Coyne

_______________________________________

Saw Slim a couple of times post-Replacements. Somewhere in Boston, The Paradise? With a band opening for Son Volt or Golden Smog. Slim had an old Marshall, a Telecaster, a  Les Paul Jr and a Rickenbacker. I turned to my bandmate I was there with and said “that’s going to be me someday.” He looked at me like I was crazy.

Another time he was performing solo, might have been opening for Blue Mountain or Jayhawks, at the end of the show he asked the audience if anyone wanted to drive back to Minneapolis with him because he didn’t want to drive alone and he’d buy your bus ticket back to Boston. I seriously considered it but my 9-5 wouldn’t understand if I called in and said “I’m driving to Minneapolis with a Replacement!” There would’ve been no way to make them understand even though riding into MPLS with a Replacement would’ve been like showing up at the North Pole, well, not with Santa but maybe Rudolph.

I messaged Slim’s family back in 2016 when I was putting together my first solo album and asked if it’d be ok to cover “Hate this town” and I got the greenlight, paid my clearances and all that. “In my dreams I don’t hate this town. I’m thinking I’m lucky I live here.” Such an amazing sentiment said so plainly. The life he lived versus the life that he might’ve lived and at the end “didn’t want to work in a hardware store anyway…” We should all be so lucky to write a simply beautiful song.

Paul Westerberg might have been my guiding light but Slim showed me that once a musician, always a musician and it’s still a job and worth it to go and sing your songs. When I go live with my Tele, Rickenbacker and Les Paul Jr, well, I always think of Slim in that regard and how I wish I had taken that long, cold ride back to Minnesota with him.

~Bobbo Byrnes

_______________________________________

I’m a friend of Slim’s daughter Emily and her husband, Charles. Slim had an incredible amount of love and support around him. I visited him and Chrissie in their Minneapolis home in 2022 – heartbreaking situation but I’ve never seen a stronger family. He was a talented, tasteful musician and will be sorely missed.

bthompson

_______________________________________

I worked with Kevin Sutter on my 2016 release, Lost Soul. I’d been out of the game for ten years and commercially unsuccessful before that, though I’d checked some boxes like playing the Fillmore and the Newport Folk Festival and touring Europe. So Lost Soul wasn’t my first rodeo and I knew how hard it was to break into AAA radio. Still, I had some Kickstarter money and wanted to give it a shot, knowing full well that there were no guarantees beyond sending the music to the right people and following up with phone calls. The investment didn’t break the bank and the alternative was doing nothing.

Predictably, the “big” stations ignored us, which was fine since I was 99% sure that’s what would happen. The one little blip was that WYEP was always about to discuss it in their weekly meeting but it kept slipping through the cracks. This went on for, like, a month and a half and I couldn’t get closure. Who knows, maybe they’ll get to it after the holidays in early 2025.

I also let myself be convinced to do a “clean” version of the catchy lead track, I Think I’ve Taken Enough Sh*t From You This Year, since Kevin thought it was exactly the kind of song AAA would go for. I knew – KNEW – this was pointless but went along with it. In for a penny, in for a pound! The feedback was that the clean version still implied unclean.

In the end, I was satisfied since we managed some airplay here and there and my strategy was to bottom feed anyway. An interview with whatever random site was something I could talk about on Facebook and Twitter or in my newsletter: proof of life.

I reached out to Kevin about another project a few years later, mostly because I liked the guy and wanted to hear his pitch. He said the competitive environment was even more challenging than it had been. Counterintuitively, he followed up with an email along the lines of “I hope our conversation convinced you to move forward.” It had done the exact opposite!!!

As far as I can tell, Kevin Sutter was one of the good ones. He had to make a living but was realistic, knew what he was doing, and did what he said he was going to do. I would have recommended him and worked with him again under the right circumstances.

I had a way worse experience with a publicist on my “noise folk” project with guitarist Gerry Leonard, Bob Hillman & Spooky Ghost. Again, I knew there were no guarantees, but you hope they’ll leverage their relationships to generate…something. But they generated nothing and I’m not convinced they even followed up. Literally, I got more publicity for another project around the same time just by emailing sites on my own. There was one site they said had passed that I then emailed myself and landed a video premiere. At the end, the publicist proposed solving the problem by throwing more money at it and seemed surprised and even a little angry when I said I couldn’t invest further when the original investment generated zero ROI.

I know where I stand as an “artistically successful” independent artist but still crave musical connection and receive occasional signals that it’s possible. The question becomes, can anyone really open doors? Lately, I’m thinking not.

Bob Hillman

https://shorturl.at/4Xolz

1

I devoured this book.

I bought my first issue of “Rolling Stone” at a newsstand right by the Columbia campus in December 1969. If I remember correctly, it was the issue with Mick Jagger on the cover, with a full explication of the Altamont debacle. This was manna from heaven, this was everything I was looking for, in-depth information on music and culture available nowhere else. Sure, the “Times” had an occasional feature, but an entire magazine?

But was that what it was? It came folded in half and when you subscribed you got free records.

I immediately signed up, it was less than ten bucks and I got a year of issues and the Jefferson Airplane’s “Volunteers” and their greatest hits album “The Worst of Jefferson Airplane.” I hadn’t owned an Airplane album previously, but I immediately took to “Volunteers.” At this point, we were beginning to become disillusioned, it seemed like the revolution might have passed us by, but that’s what “Volunteers” was all about, the revolution. Of course the album contained the title cut, and a version of “Wooden Ships,” but the heart of the album was “Eskimo Blue Day” and “Good Shepherd,” with Grace emoting in her composition “Hey Fredrick” for good measure.

I know, I know, “Rolling Stone” started in ’67, but like I always say, distribution is king, and I never saw it in the burbs, never saw it anywhere, in fact.

And when I subscribed nobody else I knew did. And when I went to college the following fall, it was the highlight of every other week. It came on Wednesday, I’d make sure I’d done all my studying for the week by Tuesday, and then I spent two days reading the magazine from cover to cover.

And the following December, there was a cover story on the Mel Lyman family. HUH?

I’d never heard of the guy. I can’t say I read every word of the article, because there was no context. Although Jim Kweskin was a member. And Mark Frechette, but I’ll get there.

And the funny thing about the Lyman family is it still exists, and it makes its money via construction, building structures for household names in Los Angeles.

And the first night of Aspen Live Mark Kates was testifying about this book about Boston, about Van Morrison’s time there, creating “Astral Weeks,” and… Mark couldn’t put his finger on the other guy the book focused on, but I blurted out MEL LYMAN! And Mark said yes, that’s who he was thinking of, and I immediately went on Libby and got the book.

2

I can’t recommend most music books, they’re basically hagiography, the acts appear to be saints and you learn a few details but even if you’re a fan you end up disappointed.

But “Astral Weeks: A Secret History of 1968” is something different.

If you were alive and conscious at that point, pick this one up.

If you weren’t…

Does anybody really care about the history of yore? The counterculture? Sure, people listen to the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, if not Jefferson Airplane, and now Van Morrison is a pariah, but I don’t think the average person wants to dig deeper. But if you do…

So the story is Van Morrison was down and out and escaped to Boston with Janet Planet, formed a new group and started gigging.

And the book tells the whole story of the development of “Astral Weeks” and its ultimate recording. As well as Joe Smith paying off Bang to get Van on Warner Brothers.

But there’s so much more.

Like the history of the Boston Tea Party, which was Boston’s Fillmore, yet different. There were no seats, but it was where everybody played. I went once, totally stoned, to see the latest incarnation of Manfred Mann, and it wasn’t good, and the following fall the joint closed. You look at the history of these venues, these ballrooms, and in retrospect they’re so short.

And it was a guy from Kansas City who built the Tea Party and WBCN and the story is all in this book.

He knew someone who was in the Lyman family.

Actually, it was Thomas Hart Benton’s daughter Jessie. Her money helped keep the commune, the cult afloat.

They had a compound in Fort Hill, ultimately with a wall around it, because Mel didn’t trust the outside, and he wasn’t quite like the Scientologists but he did believe in revenge.

The Lyman family began with “The Avatar,” an underground newspaper.

That was a thing back then. Seems quaint today, but you’ve got to understand, printing was expensive, just like record-making.

I know, I know, today’s social media specializes in speaking truth to power, when people are not trying to cash in. 

Note: Watch this video about the income of the most successful TikTokkers, it’s easier than being a musician — https://shorturl.at/19rzj

But in the sixties it was all about print, and the establishment didn’t like it, so there were lawsuits and…

The book also covers a breakthrough public television show.

And the legendary James Brown concert after Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot. I never knew the government guaranteed him 60k…did he ever get it?

And there’s the search for the holy grail, a tape recording of Van and his band live working out the “Astral Weeks” songs, Peter Wolf had it, could the author ever hear it?

3

But you’ll be fascinated by the story of the Lyman family. These people thought he was God. Mel alternately said he was and he wasn’t. But these people were in thrall to him.

As for the Mark Frechette story… Cindy Frechette went to our high school. She was called “Behemoth,” which sounds terrible today, but you know how kids are… Yes, Cindy was big and tall and not what most people would consider attractive, but suddenly she started telling us her brother was going to be a movie star. Which no one believed, we didn’t even know she had a brother. But it turned out she was right, Mark Frechette was one of the two leads in Antonioni’s “Zabriskie Point”!

And then Mark and his costar retreated to the Lyman family compound.

God, I’d like to know more. Cults are fascinating. But usually they’re peopled by the easily-influenced nobodies, not musicians like Jim Kweskin.

There is so much in this book I did not know.

The revelations were not on the surface, I knew the story, but not so many of the details, the author Ryan H. Walsh makes them come alive.

You will be caught up in the mood, the time, the place if you read this book. You’ll be living in Boston in the sixties as opposed to wherever you are today. This is an amazing story. Amazing stories. Never written about in this depth previously.

But “Astral Weeks: A Secret History of 1968” is not brand new, it actually came out in 2018. But today you put it out there and if it’s any good it marinates in the marketplace and ultimately surfaces. Because people can’t stop talking about it.

Just like Van Morrison’s “Astral Weeks.”

Maybe this is the problem with America.

At the end of the day, Pepsi sponsors a deejay at the base of Vail. Along with said deejay, they provide Pepsi itself. The Pepsi is in these round barrels with plastic covers. You can see right into the vessel where all the cans are on ice.

Knowing this from previous experience, I strode to a barrel and…it was covered with someone’s helmet and gloves. I looked this person in the eye, a middle-aged woman, not a teen punk, and she removed her wares and I reached in for a Pepsi and went inside to put on my SkiSkootys and when I looked outside, this same damn woman put her helmet and gloves back on the Pepsi barrel. Now everybody is not as experienced as me, they don’t know there’s free Pepsi, and as long as this woman keeps her stuff on top of the barrel, they’ll go without.

But she doesn’t mind.

No one minds.

Don’t tell me entitlement is only about the left. It’s everybody in America today. Everybody believes they can do whatever they want and the rules do not apply to them. On the right the excuse is FREEDOM! Freedom from society, freedom to do whatever you want whenever you want. How does that work?

And on the hill it’s not much better.

There are the people who refuse to ride the lift with others. There’s a big line, but they don’t want any singles going with them. And the singles… They’ll only go with people they determine acceptable. As for the order, alternating left to right, that’s out the window.

Maybe it’s not about political issues at all. Maybe it’s about us, Americans.

Now if you’re a youngster, you probably don’t remember the sixties, when we were all supposed to get together and love one another.

Today I’ve got a gun and if you knock on my door, beware.

And if I’ve got more money than you I don’t want anything to do with you. There’s a whole slice of life that is only accessible to the rich. Private jets, hotels… I thought we were all one country, I guess not.

So do you let someone get in front of you?

Not if nobody else does, then you feel like a chump.

And we’ve got all these business wizards telling us that to get ahead we’ve got to be aggressive, use people (er, networking), as long as it pays no one can criticize.

As for the spending bill… Elon Musk came along and got rid of research for pediatric cancer, and legislation to attack the inequities of pharmacy benefit managers! You’ve got to cut, cut, cut, after all the government wastes money and they’re taking your tax dollars.

What kind of bizarre world do we live in where people believe they don’t have to pay their fair share of taxes, and they alone should be able to decide how the taxes they do pay are spent? Once again, if we’re all in it together, we’ve got to take care of each other, pave the roads, provide disaster relief…BUT NOT IF I HAVE TO PAY FOR IT! And if it happens to me, I’m entitled to reimbursement, forget what I said previously.

CEOs are entitled to their fat salaries. Why? Because every other CEO is handsomely compensated. They’re ENTITLED to that money.

And if you go to college, you’re entitled to an A.

But if you’re looking for welfare…you’re not entitled to that, you’re going to abuse the system, you lazy f*ck, go out and work!

No one really cares about anyone else, no one is compassionate. And when caught in bad behavior, they don’t accept criticism, they just point to the other guy!

And if you’re a member of the hoi polloi…why should you obey the rules, the rich don’t, isn’t that how they got rich, aren’t they always jamming it in front of our face?

We don’t need a political revolution, we need a cultural revolution. We need our leaders to be beacons of compassion, not rip-off artists who sell multiple versions of the same damn album to fans caught up in the excitement.

Giving back?

Maybe I’ll write a check for this or that, it’ll burnish my image. But on  a regular basis? Screw that, I’m entitled to everything I’ve got and I want more.

What is end game here?

Well, we’ve gotten to the point where our country is divided politically when in truth people are people as Depeche Mode says, and in most ways we’re similar.

And then there’s income inequality, that’s the UnitedHealthcare story. People are at their limit. You can only abuse them so much.

And everybody lies with impunity. Why not, our president-to-be does. And Fox News makes fun of the people on the other side… It’s no longer about the issues, but character attack.

And, of course, the left believes it knows better. As if by going to college you learn everything about life. And if you have contempt for others, how fair and balanced are you really? All you Democrats excoriating the Trump voters… You’ve got no idea why most of them did, you’re myopic, you can’t comprehend how the other half lives.

When a society is rotten, people want a strongman.

We’ve got a rotten society, and we’ve ended up with Trump. Hell, the right adores Orban… And if that doesn’t make your head spin….

We need a readjustment, a reset.

Then again, people don’t want their kids to go to “government schools,” what we used to call “public schools.” As for home schooling…you go to school with others for the socialization, to learn how to make friends and get along with other people. But, from the get-go, there are parents who want to shield their progeny from the rest of society. You don’t learn everything in books.

Instead of making fun and hating on everybody who is not on his side, maybe Elon Musk could show a little courtesy, tell his minions that you don’t ultimately succeed by demonizing the other, but by embracing and understanding the other.

And I don’t expect you to lay down your sword, because no one else is. But we sure are ready for some leaders to show the way. Ones who embrace all Americans, not just the chosen few.

Finishing “Sail” songs and “More Famous Live Versions.”

Tune in Saturday December 21st  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