I’m disturbed by the annual Top Ten lists. In many cases, they’re comprised of music I’ve never heard, if not acts I’ve never heard of. And there’s a distinct focus on pop, what is in the Spotify Top 50, and hipster music that is loved by a small slice of the public. Meanwhile when you look at what is selling tickets it is completely different. Pop doesn’t dominate clubs, it’s almost completely absent. And clubs is where live acts start their journeys, where they build their careers. And these are careers that last, that are not dependent upon hit singles.

They’re not sexy for the press, because there’s no flash, no theoretical universal story that appeals to all.

There’s no rock on these lists, nothing that appeared on the Active Rock chart. These acts tour year after year to big bucks, they have dedicated fans, are you telling me that not one of them made worthwhile recorded music this year?

And even though the country is now driven by country, there’s a dearth of music from that genre too. Sure, Zach Bryan is occasionally listed, but let’s be clear, Zach didn’t break from the press, as a matter of fact the press were last, Zach broke via word of mouth long before he had a track in the Spotify Top 50. Zach was selling arenas and could have sold stadiums before the press truly acknowledged him.

The music scene is incomprehensible. Those at mainstream media outlets seem to have forgotten the pre-MTV era, where hits were not everything and lyrics dealt with more than love. Of course there are critical darlings, hip acts akin to those of yore, but most people have never heard of them and most people never will.

As for Sabrina Carpenter… Are we really treating her with gravitas? Teen star makes a pop album with the producer du jour. This isn’t “Jagged Little Pill,” another album made with a not as big teen star with a hot producer, but you’d think from the hosannas it is.

This is a shi*tty way to grow the business. The recorded music business is insular, based on an old model, and the media plays along. Oftentimes massaged tracks made for mass consumption when it’s the authentic and edgy that resonates, there’s a reason Chris Stapleton is the most revered act in Nashville. And in case you missed the memo, Chris Stapleton is a rock act, and plays stadiums himself. The public loves Stapleton, they love country, but since it almost never penetrates the top of the Spotify Top 50 it is ignored.

In case you missed it, we are living in the early sixties in the recorded music world. The lightweight artists that were wiped from the map when the Beatles came along. They are dominating the chart and many people are dismissing music as a result. Music is not hot. Sure, it’s a business with a lot of consumption, but there’s no superstar making everyone pay attention. The last time we had that here was with Adele, over a decade ago.

As for Taylor Swift and BTS and the rest of K-pop, they’re niche acts. Very large niches, and doing boffo at the b.o., but if you’re not interested, you’re not interested and never will be.

People respond when I write about politics and streaming TV. They are hot, they are where the action is, there are issues to be debated. What is there to say about most of the acts in the Spotify Top Ten? NOTHING!

Now “The Guardian” did a Top Ten folk music list. I listened, some very interesting stuff that I’ve never heard of and almost no American is familiar with. But there is a scene there, with dedicated musicians unconcerned with the usual metrics of streams and charts.

Turns out mainstream music criticism is as out of touch as the mainstream media, and derided by the public as a result. The press doesn’t tout an act that breaks or surges on TikTok, the public does.

The system is broken.

And most Americans have no idea what to listen to when it comes to new music.

But never a negative word is heard in the halls of the major labels or major media outlets. It’s a world of constant hype, everything is groovy.

Thank god for the artists that don’t play this game. They are forging their own path and the public is reacting, at venues, irrelevant of the charts.

There are two trains running. And one is being completely ignored.

But that’s the one true music  fans adore.

https://t.ly/vi5fH

I loved this book!

I got it from the library a couple of months ago and read the first page and gave up. I’d just finished another book, and it’s oftentimes difficult to get into a new one. The tone is different, in so many books you have to get halfway through to get into it.

But then I saw “Shred Sisters” listed as one of the best books of the year.

So I reserved it again.

I’d just finished Jami Attenberg’s “All Grown Up,” which took me the better part of two weeks, since I’d been on the road. Which is to say when I ultimately finished it, there were only a few pages left, so I had no hangover, I immediately started “Shred Sisters,” and wow!

This is the kind of book that cuts like butter, it’s not hard work and it’s not long until you get invested.

What you’ve got here are two sisters with the last name Shred. One a nerdy science lover and the other a beautiful free spirit who…

Colors outside the lines, gets in trouble, and the mother can’t handle it and the father keeps being supportive and…

Life is a mystery. You truly realize this as you get older. You wake up one day and say HOW DID I GET HERE? How did I end up with this person, how did I end up doing this work… It never turns out the way you planned. You think you’re going to have one occupation but then the wheels turn and you end up doing something else. You get married and think it’s forever, but then it’s not.

People. And society.

Sometimes you get locked out. The opportunities in your chosen field dry up, and you’re forced to pivot. One thing I’ve learned about getting fired is you always end up in a better place. It may be hell getting there, but when you do you marvel how happy and fulfilled you are, and look back and can’t conceive of continuing to do what you once did.

And the people you meet along the way… They influence you. Some people risk constantly and flame out, others do so and become billionaires. Then there are others who are afraid of their shadows, but they’re victimized anyway. The factory closes, their spouse dies, your beloved has an affair with a coworker and you’re forced to deal…with situations you could never fathom.

So Ollie (short for Olivia), breaks the code, does all this stuff you’re not supposed to. How do parents cope with this? As Stewart Copeland told me about his seven kids…you never know what you’re going to get. You want them to love sports but they’re into the arts. They’re infatuated with something you pooh-pooh. Do you let them go on their way or try to corral them into being the person you want them to be?

And not everybody’s feet are planted firmly on the ground, not everybody is reliable. You can have a great conversation, a great sexual connection with someone you ultimately can’t depend on, who can’t be changed. You have to accept them as they are. But that’s almost impossible to do. You keep having hope that this time they’ll come through, you think this time they’re on the right path, but then they jump the tracks and you’re left holding… The emotions. That’s one thing popular culture never unearths, the pain of relationships, family, love, the breakups, the trauma, it can go on for years, DECADES!

So what we’ve got here is a family drama. Which really hits its stride in the 1970s. No one here is famous. No one here is rich. But the father’s lumberyard is successful and…

The story unfolds.

You’ll see yourself in this book. Not throughout, but at moments. And you’ll wonder how Betsy Lerner knows this stuff, you thought you were alone.

And then you’ll be pissed when it’s over, you’ll want more.

I always have to give these caveats… If you only read books to learn something, to help you further your career, “Shred Sisters” is not for you. But it will make you feel less alone.

If you’re a macho guy, doing the bro thing with your buddies, “Shred Sisters” won’t ring your bell either. Then again, are you hiding who you really are?

Books are not like records, they take more than a few minutes to consume. And too often people recommend stuff that is difficult to get into, stuff that makes them feel good about themselves that you want nothing to do with. This is not a tough book. But if you want to go on a ride with a family, you’ll ultimately find connection, and that’s what we’re all looking for, to not feel so all alone.

And that’s a paradigm that has been marginalized in the present. Everybody’s got their public face, their lives are so wonderful. The whole world is an Instagram post, filtered for consumption to make the poster appear superior and you to feel like a loser.

There are constantly divides in life.

Oh, I want to mention how you never know who your friends are, you’ll disconnect and then reconnect… Sometimes they’ll burn you and you’ll forgive them, sometimes you won’t.

I don’t want to tell you what happens in this book.

But I do want to tell those who the above resonates with to read it.

It wasn’t a vote FOR Trump, it was a vote AGAINST the Democrats.

I adopted a wait and see attitude. Like Bill Maher I wasn’t going to freak out about Trump’s presidency. But then seemingly every corporation kowtowed to the man as if he was a dictator.

This is the America we live in, where the corporations rule and the people are just pawns.

Mark Zuckerberg used to give the middle finger to the government. Jeff Bezos acted as if Amazon was the government. As for Elon Musk…he ignored the government and now he IS the government.

If you want to be horrified, read this article from yesterday’s “New York Times.”

“Los Angeles Times Owner Wades Deeper Into Opinion Section – Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong’s public comments and actions, including recently blocking an editorial weighing in on President-elect Trump’s cabinet picks, have concerned many staff members.”

Free link: https://t.ly/41amG

There was all this horsesh*t from Patrick Soon-Shiong and Jeff Bezos that they didn’t endorse a presidential candidate in the election because…

We knew they were afraid of retribution if Trump won, but in the case of Soon-Shiong, now we know, now it’s like we live in Hungary, or maybe even Russia.

“One writer prepared an editorial arguing that the Senate should follow its traditional process for confirming nominees, particularly given the board’s concerns about some of his picks, and ignore Mr. Trump’s call for so-called recess appointments.

“The paper’s owner, the billionaire medical entrepreneur Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, had other ideas.

“Hours before the editorial was set to be sent to the printer for the next day’s newspaper, Dr. Soon-Shiong told the opinion department’s leaders that the editorial could not be published unless the paper also published an editorial with an opposing view.

“Baffled by his order and with the print deadline approaching, editors removed the editorial, headlined ‘Donald Trump’s cabinet choices are not normal. The Senate’s confirmation process should be.’ It never ran.”

As for Soon-Shiong himself…read the “New Yorker” exposé, he’s a typical billionaire, when you look at the details of how they made that money…

But Soon-Shiong doesn’t really care about the paper, he cares about his pocketbook.

Now to be equally horrified, read this article from the “Wall Street Journal,” the business paper of record.

“The Week CEOs Bent the Knee to Trump – Companies abandoned him after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Now, they are rushing to curry favor with the president-elect as he prepares to return to the White House.”

Free link: https://t.ly/enDbV

Then there’s Peggy Noonan, Reagan’s speechwriter and Special Assistant also in yesterday’s “Journal.”

“Biden Gets Lost in Trump’s Shadow – The president-elect acts as if he’s already in charge. There’s never been a transition like this before.”

Free link: https://t.ly/yz4ta

As for the Democrats, they keep insisting Harris ran a “perfect” campaign and the Trump voters are ignorant people who voted against their own self-interests. There is no introspection. And if you question the orthodoxy, the brass shouts you down. Meanwhile, their greatest fear, that democracy would erode in the wake of a Trump election, is already happening.

The border, inflation, the feebleness of Biden, the inauthenticity of Harris…these are the reasons people voted for Trump, not because they love the man and approve of his plans. They’re just sick and tired of being ignored and told that everything is okay and they should just stay the course. Meanwhile, with the Biden fiasco, the Democrats have been seen to be just as bad as the Republicans. What did Michelle Obama say, “When they go low, we go high?” Not anymore!

Everybody’s kowtowing to Trump. As if he were a king. Everybody’s afraid of retribution.

Remember when the press was an independent force keeping everyone honest?

Those days are through, except at the “New York Times,” which has been vilified by both the left and the right to the point where everyone ignores it except those in D.C. and opinion news channels. The Grey Lady has more of a backbone than almost all the news outlets, and I must say even the WSJ questions Trump when it is not hewing to the Republican line.

Meanwhile, everyone with power on the left believes the internet doesn’t exist. Trump harnessed its power to victory, the Democrats can’t stop pillorying social media and podcasts. It’s like an oldster castigating the Beatles back in the sixties. I mean can’t you wake up and smell the coffee, see which way the wind blows, obey some other cliché?

Bob Dylan, et al, pointed the way back then. The San Francisco bands plotted their own course, refused to play by the rules of the man.

But today every act wants to be the man. They want some of those corporate dollars. As for the rappers… They break the law and shoot each other and many people like the fact that they’re being cut down and others lament the fact that law enforcement can’t stop it.

Art is about speaking truth to power. But that train left the station years ago.

But I’m less worried about music than our country at large.

Here is where age is an advantage, it not only delivers wisdom, there’s the benefit of hindsight. And let me tell you, there has never ever been a situation like this prior to the election of a president. The media and corporations didn’t bend the knee and pledge fealty after the election of Nixon, nor after Reagan or the two Bushes. No, the country admitted who won and the battle continued. Now the corporations and some of the media are capitulating before Trump’s term has even started. Talk about a bloodless coup.

As for obeying the law… We watched 1/6 on television and he’s going to pardon these people?

And Biden’s not much better, pardoning Hunter. If you’re not a scion of the rich and famous no one is fighting for you. They make a TV show about the Menendez brothers and there’s a chance they’ll get out of jail, no one is making a TV show about you.

And if you want to challenge Trump and his policies, there’s no movement.

Hell, turns out women weren’t that worried about losing the right to an abortion.

And all this resistance nonsense of Trump’s first term didn’t make a difference whatsoever. And the oldsters behind these efforts don’t understand that today battles are fought online, not in the streets. Isn’t that how Trump won to begin with?

Sure, maybe 30% of the country are true believers in Trump. But that leaves the rest of the nation, 70%, which are not. But somehow everybody has laid down their sword, shrugged their shoulders and said Trump is the man.

And Trump is just one person. Showing the power of the individual, in a nation that was all about the individual. But now we’re sheep, believing our lifestyle is more important than our beliefs.

Let’s be clear, the woke left was out of control and needed to be counteracted. And the mainstream Democrats couldn’t even delineate the fact that the woke left is a small fraction of their party. The Democrats were so busy playing to a minority that they ceded control of the game. The Big Tent Democrats, where everyone gets a voice and no one has a backbone. Parents discipline children, but in the Democratic party no one can keep outliers in order, no one can speak truth for fear of offending someone. The Democrats play defense and Trump plays offense and you can’t win without offense.

Meanwhile, I’m angered and disillusioned. I don’t want anything to do with an organization that f*cked this up so badly. Yet I’m anti-Trump. Who is with me?

Certainly not the corporations. We’ve seen that movie. We can’t seem to count on anyone with money. Where are the Harris Silicon Valleyites now? SILENT!

Everybody is afraid.

And ABC settled Trump’s defamation suit when if they went to court they probably would have won. Remember when reporters went to jail for refusing to testify? Now ABC gets in bed with Trump for fear of the future. I thought news organizations were supposed to tell the truth and stand up to power.

Not anymore.

This is so far worse than 2016 it’s scary. The man hasn’t even been inaugurated yet!

Don’t tell me to roll over and play dead. When you can’t even trust the news media to be independent, who can you trust?

John Lennon said “Yoko and me.”

But that was fifty years ago. When John Lennon was fighting deportation by Nixon and his minions.

Meanwhile, the ignoramuses and profiteers in Britain convinced the public that Brexit was good for them and have decimated touring for acts on the continent. And the NHS, that was supposed to flourish, is in the dumper. Everybody wanted to go back to an England that wasn’t so great and will never return. In America people want to make an America great that wasn’t so great to begin with! And the world never goes backward. For two solid years all we’ve been hearing about is AI, but somehow we can return to what once was? Hogwash.

Being a citizen means putting it all on the line. Not fighting for your right to party, but truth, justice and the American way.

But they haven’t made a Superman movie in years.

Instead we’ve got the fantasy of the Marvel universe.

And in real life, we are not living in a fantasy, but a disaster.

I’m just warning you.

Tune in Saturday December 14th  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