THEN

You asked for directions.

NOW

You ask for the address.

THEN

You talked on the phone.

NOW

You text on the phone.

THEN

If you were lucky, your parents bought you your own extension when you were sixteen, possibly a Princess phone!

NOW

You get your own phone with its own line when you’re ten. Maybe even younger!

THEN

You went home to check your e-mail.

NOW

E-mail is too slow, you’re in constant touch with your friends via text and instant messaging programs wherever you go.

THEN

You got a busy signal.

NOW

If someone is not easily reachable you think something bad happened to them.

THEN

Movies played for months, if you missed them, they were gone forever.

NOW

You’re angry when every movie ever made is not available for Netflix streaming.

THEN

You watched old movies on HBO.

NOW

You watch original programming on HBO, which is better than the movies in the theatre.

THEN

You discussed the merits of movies, they drove the culture.

NOW

You discuss the merits of television shows, they drive the culture.

THEN

Successful musicians thought they were rich, despite frequently blowing all their income on drugs.

NOW

Musicians are not satisfied with their incomes, they’re always comparing themselves to others up the food chain, trying to imitate them by investing in tech startups.

THEN

People sang about their pain.

NOW

People sing about how they’re winners and are better than you.

THEN

You begged your parents for a transistor.

NOW

You beg your parents for a phone.

THEN

You bought it because it said Sony.

NOW

You buy it because it says Samsung.

THEN

People sat around in circles singing the songs of the day.

NOW

You can’t even sing the hits.

THEN

Artists were on top of the food chain, they recorded their albums in private and delivered them to the label, finished.

NOW

Executives are on top of the food chain, they constantly meddle in the artistic process, execs believe that without them, there’d be no good music.

THEN

Your parents were on a need to know basis, and they didn’t.

NOW

You tell your parents everything, even discussing the intricacies of your love life.

THEN

You turned sixteen and started working to save money for a car.

NOW

You turn sixteen and if your parents don’t buy you a car you sulk and tell your friends they’re mean.

THEN

If someone told you they were going to be on television, you stayed home and watched.

NOW

Everybody’s been on television, it’s no big deal, and if you truly need to be famous, you make a YouTube clip and spam everybody you know, telling them to watch it.

THEN

The record labels screwed the artists.

NOW

The record labels screw the artists.

THEN

You complained wireless was too slow.

NOW

LTE is faster than many people’s home broadband.

THEN

Old people were fat and young people were skinny.

NOW

Young people are fat and old people are skinny, most especially the educated class.

THEN

You graduated from college and took a year or two off, to travel, to find out who you were.

NOW

There’s no time to waste, you oftentimes begin your career while you’re still in college.

THEN

People believed the American Dream was true, that they could make it from the bottom to the top via smarts and hard work.

NOW

People still believe the American Dream is true, even though the game is rigged against them and social mobility is more possible in Europe.

THEN

You admired politicians.

NOW

Who’d want to be President?

THEN

The Democrats fought for the people.

NOW

The Democrats fight for the corporations.

THEN

The Republicans were the party of smart people.

NOW

The Republicans are the party of dumb people.

THEN

Musicians said no to corporations.

NOW

Musicians say yes to corporations.

THEN

Rock drove the culture.

NOW

No type of music drives the culture.

THEN

We practiced our instruments to become rock stars.

NOW

We practice our social networking skills to become rock stars.

THEN

Your dream was to buy a powerful desktop computer.

NOW

Your dream is to buy a tablet.

THEN

Your computer was obsolete when you drove home from the store.

NOW

You can easily use a six or seven year old computer.

THEN

You never wanted the initial iteration.

NOW

If it’s not perfect from the get-go, you’re stunned.

THEN

Cars had roll-up windows and no a/c.

NOW

All cars have electric windows and a/c.

Who’s the winner here?

SAMSUNG!

I know, I know, it’s part of the hip-hop ethos, to stick it to the man, to take him for everything he’s worth, laughing all the while, and this is all very well done, Jay-Z appears thoughtful, one can argue he maintains his credibility…just one thing, it no longer matters whether anybody buys your album, whether you get paid, but whether people LISTEN TO IT!

So Samsung buys a million albums at five bucks apiece to give away..

Name one tune on Prince’s album. You know, the one they gave away with the newspaper, over in England. Hell, I can’t even remember its NAME!

We need a reboot in music. Everybody’s so busy scrambling for cash, declaring the old economics don’t work, that they’re sacrificing their very core.

I just don’t get it.

What is an artist anyway? Is an artist someone who makes a lot of money? Someone everybody knows the name of? Or someone whose music tests limits, makes one think, changes the culture. Will Jay-Z’s music do this? I’ve got no idea, but this campaign has got nothing to do with music and everything to do with money.

But it does get the word out. And that’s a hard thing to do today. Yes, more people know Jay-Z’s album is coming than yesterday, and that’s a good thing.

But one thing we know about stunts, they work once.

Radiohead could do name your price…once, and then the paradigm was dead.

Justin Timberlake overexposed himself to a hit, I’m not sure this is a replicable paradigm, if for no reason other than there’s only one Justin Timberlake.

So Jay-Z gives away his album via a Samsung app. How many more people are going to do this before the public tires of the game?

What ever happened to leading with the music?

Sure, there was a minor publicity campaign to get people interested in the Daft Punk album, but what truly sold it was the single, “Get Lucky.” How many tracks have you heard this good since? In the whole first half of the year?

In other words, Samsung lasts, acts come and go.

What’s the end game here? Tying in with Exxon, so you get the album with ten gallons of gas? Or one track for every Big Mac? Or a meeting with the artist if you open a Goldman Sachs account? Are we really just gonna go down the rabbit hole, selling our souls to the highest bidder, tying in with anybody who’ll pay?

Call me old-fashioned, call me a Luddite, but I like my music sans corporate endorsements. I want to believe the artist is only beholden to me. If the problem is you can’t make enough money, that the middle class is getting squeezed out, I want to band together with artists to change it, not have them shrug their shoulders and get in bed with the perpetrators of the problem.

You can blame the labels, you can blame the agents, you can blame the promoters, but the buck truly stops with the act. Only the act has the power to execute change.

And Jay-Z tying up with Samsung is not change I can believe in.

“Samsung to Give Away 1 Million Copies of Jay-Z’s New Album”

“Festivals not corporate enough, say kids”

The most shocking thing I saw today is Jimmy Iovine without his baseball cap.

And I say this in a good way. Because if Jimmy can own who he is, after playing at being young for so many decades, denying his hair loss, then maybe he can impart this honesty to his acts, implore them to reach down deep inside and say who they really are, because that’s when I can relate.

Did you listen to Jian Ghomeshi’s interview with Joni Mitchell?

If you’ve ever hung around her, you know Joni’s difficult. Say something offhand, don’t get it exactly right, and she’ll call you on it. She bristles at being called confessional. What is she confessing, she’s telling the truth! She hates feminists, because they hate men, she loves men and will go toe to toe with them. And when done right, her music allows you to see yourself in it. It’s what you take away as opposed to what she’s saying. The cult of celebrity is faux, it leads nowhere, wanna know what’s going on? Look inside!

And if you want to get into Joni, and you should, start with “Blue.” Then go to “For The Roses.” Then “Ladies Of The Canyon.” Then “Hejira.” Then “Clouds.” How do I know, I’ve listened to them INCESSANTLY!

Unlike Rob Sheffield, who’s excoriated in today’s “New York Times” Book Review for his put-down of prog rock in his review of a compendium entitled “Yes Is The Answer.” Huh? So you hate this music Rob…isn’t that like getting a baby boomer to rant against rap?

And in the same “Rolling Stone” wherein there’s a pic of a chapeau-free Iovine, there’s a complimentary review of the new Black Sabbath and a put-down of 30 Seconds To Mars’ new album. I’d bet Jared Leto’s new compendium outsells Ozzy’s. Because Jared knows it’s all about his fans, whereas Ozzy plays to the press and is all about the money, hell, why else would he get together with Iommi and Butler, other than the fact that he’s run out of options and can’t sell tickets?

If you’re listening to podcasts, and you should, be sure to check out Thom Yorke talking to Alec Baldwin, because he’s not the guy you think he is, rather than being a brooding narcissist, Thom’s more the bloke next door, enthralled by his heroes, calling them up to work with him. And when asked about new music Yorke says…it’s like a pebble in a waterfall.

Ain’t that the truth.

I wish I had the answer. But I’ll guarantee you it’s not a top-down thing, you don’t succeed by bombarding everybody with press and then hoping you catch a few, that’s a positively ancient model, today you grow from the ground up, and it makes absolutely no difference what the professional critical class has to say about you, because they’re not the target audience and your fans are not reading them. These writers are for the grazers. Who is going to read a great review and decide to check something out? A non-fan, who probably won’t stick. A real fan doesn’t care about the review and lives and dies for you, is stuck to you, and will implore others to get on board.

There’s just too much information. If you’re not overwhelmed, you’re lying. Every weekend there’s a dozen new movies. You can be on a TV show and no one knows your name. Everything that used to mean something no longer does. Appear on a late night talk show? It’s like pissing in the wind.

What we’ve got is a new media economy, ruled by its users, with an old media commentary society trying to catch up at best.

In other words, five minutes with Jared Leto is far superior to five minutes with Ozzy. Because Jared is all about thoughts and ideas, Ozzy is a bumbling fool out to sell product. And if you think many people are concerned with the latter, you’re wrong. You may slow down to watch the train-wreck, but you’re not gonna stop the car and get out and help.

And I LIKE Ozzy. Back when he was the insider’s secret, before the TV show, which killed his act, alienating his core fans, who now not only don’t go to the show, but don’t bring new fans in.

That’s how I got in, via a fan. I was taken to the “No More Tears” show twenty years ago and haven’t stopped talking about it since. Back when nobody but those in attendance knew Ozzy threw water on the audience and had them wave their hands high above their heads.

I’m trying to figure out what’s happening. I’m trying to see the forest for the trees. It’s complicated, but my brethren scribes are all doing it the same old way, which has me wondering why I’m paying attention, since you’re surely not.

Jimmy Iovine hatless: page 21 of the June 20, 2013 issue of “Rolling Stone”

Jian Ghomeshi interviews Joni Mitchell-6/11/13

Thom Yorke On “Here’s The Thing”

It’s a beautiful, sunny, Southern California Saturday and I’m killing time reading magazines before I up and go to parties.

Yup, that’s why the summer is better than the winter, the extracurricular activities. First we’re stopping by at a Middlebury event, and if there’s time left thereafter, we’re going to Kevin Weaver’s house for an Atlantic Records soiree, where they’re serving Umami Burgers…mmm, that’s worth the trip, don’t you think?

As for the Middlebury event…it’s my first in decades, but they tracked me down after I was featured in the “Magazine,” so I’m gonna go. But funny thing about the article…I thought it would mean more to me, all these years later, to get a write-up in the publication of my alma mater, but if you’re fighting old battles in your head, if you think connecting with a long lost love will make your life complete, it’s evidence you’re not living in the present, which I finally am, to my great wonderment and surprise.

Anyway, I want to clear the decks so I can get back to my book, Elizabeth Strout’s “The Burgess Boys.” It didn’t get such hot reviews, it hasn’t caught fire, but it’s ringing my bell, the way it’s so intimate, it doesn’t seem to be written for the reader, it’s like you’re eavesdropping on a conversation, and in a world where it’s all about the whizz-bang, to focus on the little, the irrelevant to most, is so satisfying.

I’m back on a book kick. I’m burned out on the lousy writing in magazines and newspapers. And Amazon replaced my four year old Kindle with a new Paperwhite, oh I had to pay fifty bucks, but it was a thrill after being on hold and wasting two hours with nitwits in their customer service department. It’s not like Apple, the people are not comprehensible and they’re just this side of useless, and the Paperwhite…is imperfect, it’s got glowing hot spots at the bottom, everybody complains about them online, but I’m doing my best to overlook them.

So I read Meg Wolitzer’s “The Interestings.” Long on plot, a bit short on insight, it’s still the Franzen novel for those who hate his work. And if you ever went to summer camp… I got hooked on these looking back books with Sara Davidson’s “Loose Change” in the seventies, I like them. And then I read Claire Messud’s “The Woman Upstairs,” which the intelligentsia raved about, despite tepid reviews upon release, and I was expecting a dry tome, but it opens so vividly, so realistically, that I was hooked. And the protagonist went to Middlebury! Not that that’s relevant. And I had to look up words constantly. And the plot petered out. But there was so much insight! We’re all so lonely, looking for fulfillment. And are those who do the right thing consigned to a life of quiet desperation? Read it and tell me!

And I can’t tell you how many lousy articles I skimmed, until I found a good one in “Vanity Fair”…an excerpt from Ava Gardner’s memoir. The real story about her relationships with Mickey Rooney and Frank Sinatra and Artie Shaw. It’s almost worth the price of the magazine. But the article I saved, the best for last, just like Vanessa Williams sang, was the one on Mary McCarthy and her book “The Group.”

I read it. The book. The article I had to skim, it was nearly pointless. Except something stood out. THE SALES FIGURES!

“The Group,” which was released in August 1963, had a first printing of 75,000. Stores were ordering 5,000 a day thereafter. By the close of 1964, nearly 300,000 copies had been sold.

Like a record.

Yes, books were supplanted by records. You wanted to write the Great American Novel and then you wanted to record the Great American Album. And writers and musicians still believe we’re living in yesteryear, but nothing could be further from the truth.

In other words, if I’m exposed to any more of the Kanye hype, I’m gonna explode. Because I just don’t CARE!

That’s the difference, that’s what the Internet has wrought. Instead of the populace being hyper-focused on what’s hyped, most of us can quite easily avoid it, we’re deep into our own niches. The number one record? MOST PEOPLE HAVEN’T EVEN HEARD IT!

But we all know Google, we all know Facebook, we all know iPhone.

So having flipped through “Vanity Fair,” I picked up “Outside,” and started reading from the back, which is what I usually do, the front is too scary, I’ve got to ease into my reading. And it was there that I was confronted with a story on Joel Gratz. Of OpenSnow. Or should I say opensnow.com, the go-to precipitation/powder website.

Huh?

Believe me, if you’re a skier, you know Open Snow, you know Joel Gratz, he’s the one who every day, sometimes twice a day, tells you how much snow you’re gonna get at your ski area. Which is devilishly important now that global warming seems to have stopped winter precipitation, this season was better than last, but 2011-12 was the worst on record in Vail.

How did I find out about OpenSnow?

Andy!

We all talk, we all communicate, I was just about to text Andy about this article, even though he’s in Colorado right now, just flew in from his home base of NYC. Yes, today our closest friends don’t live in the neighborhood, but the virtual village online. I connect with Jake and Marc and Richard more than I do with the people who live in my town, even though they live in Toronto, New Jersey and London respectively.

Joel Gratz gave up his dream, of weather-forecasting. He tried to go straight, getting his Master’s, an MBA and a cubicle gig. But he couldn’t give up on weather. That’s how you know you’re a lifer, when you can’t give up. Gratz quit his job and started his site.

And word spread.

Because we need to know.

I hate Accuweather, my old go-to weather provider.  Because it’s not LOCALIZED enough! What they say is Vail is miles away and thousands of feet lower than the ski area, and this makes a huge difference. Hell, it can be snowing atop a peak and bright sunshine a mile from the base.

So Joel showed his work to Chris Davenport, famous Aspenite, famous extreme skier, and word started to spread, because we need the information. Not that OpenSnow scales, I mean Gratz has widened his world to New England and the west coast, but most people just don’t care about snowfall, they’d rather it NEVER happens.

But we do. Enough of us to keep Joel in business. He’s now running a freemium model. Yup, you can pay more for more, like videos and other chozzerai. And there are people who are just that interested.

So, there’s a business in niches. Maybe your music doesn’t scale to everybody.

But what’s weird is no music scales to everybody today. There’s no hit everybody knows, no show everybody’s got to go to.

But we all know the aforementioned Google, Facebook and iPhone. And we know Amazon too.

And it’s all because they’re useful, they provide a service.

That’s the modern model, that’s what’s hip today.

Sure, write your book, make your music, but know the heyday of those creations is past. Could come back, then again, there was only one Renaissance. Oh, people have been painting ever since, it’s just that painting…doesn’t drive the culture.

But no one in book publishing or the music industry will admit the foregoing. They believe it’s the same as it ever was. But it’s not. The nitwits might go on TV talent shows, but the educated want nothing to do with the so-called arts, they’re all into tech, and tech is about being useful, because useful SCALES!