If I see one more inane, insane article about the uptick in CD sales…

They’re merch, not carriers of music, as anyone on the inside will tell you. Hell, most kids today don’t even have access to a CD player, never mind a cassette deck or Walkman to play the ancient tape format the press kept telling us was back over the past couple of years.

What is it about our retro society that it refuses to accept progress? We’ve got a whole political party based on bringing us back to a theoretical past that was supposedly better, oldsters decrying the internet, even those who abhor all the technological improvements in automobiles… Yes, there was an article saying that customers are looking for tech free cars. I’m sure there are a few. Just like there are people who still don’t have smartphones or a streaming TV account. This reminds me of that old AOL news story saying the new fashion was a split tongue. I haven’t heard anything about this since, never mind never encountering someone with this self-inflicted physical deformity.

So Luminate, the renamed SoundScan, announced in its midyear report that CD sales were up 16%. That seems significant in the abstract, but percentage increases are secondary to sheer unit volume. Total CD sales were 16.3 million units. De minimis. Hell, there have been single albums that have sold more.

But it gets even worse…

Luminate. Charts. They exist for the industry itself. And the rules are constantly rewritten to satisfy that industry, forget truth. And the bottom line is physical sales are worth much more than streams on the chart. Even though streams represent the vast bulk of consumption, probably just about all of it…just because you bought physical product, that does not mean you listened to it, never mind over and over again.

So in order to get to number one, acts release their new albums in multiple physical formats, driving their hard core fans to purchase not only one, but multiples. This isn’t about music, but fandom. Collecting. No different from Beanie Babies or Pokemon cards. And it’s relatively inexpensive compared to the cost of tickets and merch at the show.

So…

BTS alone accounted for approximately 3.5% of the CD sales. There were four different CD versions of the Korean group’s last album, “ARIRANG.” As well as eleven different vinyl versions. But vinyl is much more expensive (and more profitable!) than CDs. So some fans will forgo vinyl for CD. But one thing is for sure, people are buying CDs of albums easily accessible on streaming platforms, oftentimes multiple CDs, as a badge of honor, a badge of fandom.

Now the interesting thing is if you take out K-pop, CD sales only increased by 6.7%. That’s right, almost ten points of the percentage increase, more than half of the bubble, was K-pop alone. Driven by multiple iterations of the same album.

Paul McCartney released six different CD versions of his latest album, “The Boys of Dungeon Lane”… Overall, there were twenty six physical versions… How else is he going to get to number one? When it comes down to listening… The new album is trumped by scores of acts and tracks on streaming platforms.

Ditto Madonna. “Confessions II” was released in four different CD iterations. There were fifteen physical variants overall. It’s no surprise it entered the chart at number one. But the streams, the actual consumption, how almost all listening is done, are positively anemic. Not a single track breaks nine figures on Spotify. None of them break fifty million. None of them break thirty million. She’s got one track at 24 million and two others in double digit millions and that’s it. But if you read the press, you’d think that Madonna is back, she’s got this monster new album! Nothing could be further from the truth.

Harry Styles, Ariana Grande, Ollivia Rodrigo, Gracie Abrams…what do they all have in common? Their new albums all had multiple CD versions and they all debuted at number one! Hell, even the Rolling Stones released their new album in multiple CD versions. But the new Stones album, “Foreign Tongues,” which was released with such noise? Not a single cut, not one, has eight figures of streams on Spotify, that’s right, not a single one has ten million streams…not a single one even has five million streams!

But we are subjected to article after article, videos even, waxing rhapsodic about this return to the CD format, how the younger generations are finally waking up, abandoning streaming to listen to music the way their forefathers did.

I can’t stop laughing.

The only story here is how acts are manipulating the chart via multiple versions of their new album. That’s the entire story. Return to CD? Are you NUTS?

Today it’s all about convenience. Even more interestingly, most of these new albums can be listened to in better than CD quality on streaming platforms! CDs are from forty-plus years ago. Are you dying to drive a car from 1982? Hell, let’s get rid of Amazon and Door Dash and make you drive to the store to find out they don’t have the product you’re looking for. Oh, that’s another thing the older generations want to return to… Isn’t it so sad that physical retail is dying…

Oldsters hate change and the somnambulant media picks up on any top line news and runs with it, doing almost no investigation.

Then again, if we can’t even agree on political facts, what are the odds we can agree on something as trivial as CD sales. And they are trivial.

Let’s look at video games, which are still pooh-poohed by the educated. One game, Meccha Chameleon, which you probably have never even heard of, was released on June 10th and has already sold in excess of thirteen million copies, talk about a hit!

Record companies keep talking about superfans, trying to eke out more from them on streaming, something that has not come to pass despite years of hype, but one thing is for sure, just like paying handsomely for tickets to see their favorite acts live, fans will pay for multiple physical products to feel closer to the act.

We live in a streaming world. It’s all about consumption, not sales. Look forward, not back. Do not be swayed by clickbait headlines and the words of the ignorant. There is no CD listening revival. None whatsoever. Sorry.

(I don’t recommend you watch the below trailer, best to go in fresh)

I know you’re waiting for Tuesday when “Fauda” returns to Netflix to get your hit of Israeli TV…

Don’t let your views on Gaza dissuade you. The Israelis and the Danes make the best television, and watching “Unconditional” reinforced that fact, even though the plot devolves into the fantastical and the ending is less than satisfying.

You know it when you see it. Isn’t that what that Supreme Court Justice said about pornography? As soon as I tuned into “Unconditional” I knew I was watching something on a whole ‘nother plane. This ain’t “Furious,” this ain’t some American production with good-looking actors and a focus on production values, this is life.

That’s what I’m always looking for. People e-mail me about fantasy…I’m not saying you cannot like it, but it’s not for me. I want something visceral, that gets into people’s identities and feelings.

Maybe that’s part of being Jewish.

And this is definitely a Jewish show. Not because there’s any religion involved, but because of the PERSONALITIES!

Orna, the mother, is being questioned by the authorities…

Lesson number one, you don’t bark back. You stay calm and say “Yes sir” and “No sir”… But not Orna!

Israelis are notoriously pushy. But this is a palate cleanser from the good-looking actors who never get down to the nitty-gritty, where the issues are danced around as opposed to delved into.

I don’t want to give away any of the plot, because surprise is key in this show, especially at the advent. You’ll be wowed at the happenings in the first episode, probably the second too.

But then it quiets down to more of an everyday story in Israel… What I mean is you’re not on the edge of your seat.

And “Unconditional” is set in the present day. Which is refreshing, all the modern technology and mores are employed. We live in a world where everybody is attached to their handset, this is how you communicate, this is how you get your message across, this is how you influence people.

Yes, Orna hires a media strategist to get her message across. Should she obey this woman or the government, which says they’ve got things under control and should just be trusted?

When they’re in Moscow, the vibe is palpable. This is not America, different rules apply. There’s a sense of danger, you can never truly relax.

As for the scenes in India… They go to Goa, like like in that old Alabama 3 song! (You may not know that, but Goa is a legendary respite for Brits and so many others.)

But that’s a minor point. Bottom line, who should you trust? And when you’re in a foreign land… India is as untogether and uncontrolled as Moscow is tight.

Orna is the mother of Gali. (I’d mention the Israeli names, but you probably wouldn’t recognize them anyway.) Orna had Gali when she was 23, they grew up together, they’re best friends…is that the kind of relationship you want to have with your kid?

As for Gali herself, who is now Orna’s age…

It all boils down to an issue of judgment. You either learn it growing up or you don’t, and too many people do not.

This blows my mind on a regular basis. People who do things that if they just stopped for a moment and contemplated the potential consequences they would not. Especially younger people, they believe they know it all, that there’s no risk, that they won’t get caught…OH YEAH?

As for Orna… She’s unsophisticated. And at times stupid. Occasionally you’ll wince at her naïveté, but don’t let that prevent you from continuing the series.

And then there’s Rita… She works for…exactly who is not clear, but it’s definitely a branch of the government. What is her priority, Orna and Gali or her bosses? Furthermore, Rita is played by Evgenia Dodina, one actress you may recognize. They don’t have roles, performances like this in American productions. Dodina is 61, but she’s not doddering. And she hasn’t had plastic surgery. As for her hair…is this a style or bedhead, does she just not care? Rita is driven, but world-weary, confident sometimes to a fault.

“Unconditional” always keeps you guessing. Not in a false way, not in a manipulative way. You think you know how things are going to play out, but then they do not.

Let me reiterate. There will come a point not quite halfway through this show where you’ll shrug, be disappointed how the plot turns. Prior to this everything is so real, so believable.

Then again, unlike most series, even the final episode does not go according to the anticipated plan in your head.

As for that final episode…you’re looking for more of a wrap-up. It’s not that they’re leaving threads loose to set up a second season, it’s all there, but you want more…more explanation, more lay of the land.

So “Unconditional” is an imperfect series. But I thought about it all day, looking forward to watching it at night. It was the most satisfying adventure I was having. And how could it be on Apple TV and me not know about it? I mean Apple puts out so little stuff.

I guess because it’s Israeli. I was researching shows and found it and was stunned that it was right up close and personal, just a click away.

I’m not saying you’ll be thinking about “Unconditional” for weeks after you finish it, this is not “Adolescence,” but there’s an edge, you get involved, there’s a sense of real life absent from most productions.

I know I’ve overhyped you. And I know there are people who won’t watch shows with subtitles. And I know I said that “Unconditional” is ultimately flawed. But this is the kind of show I look for, that I live for. These are the experiences I crave, not two-dimensional, not all image… Life is about choices, which ones have you made?

Hopefully not the same ones as Gali.

NOTE: FACTION TALK IS NOW ON CHANNEL 137

So, tune in Saturday August 5th to Faction Talk, channel 137, 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

Re: The Heart Scan

I’m 65 and the coronary calcium score of 362 that you got?  I got tested for the first time this year, and it was 751!!

And I’m one of those annoying health freaks who has been doing everything right since the Reagan administration.  My weight is perfect, I have a flat stomach, can still play full-court basketball, I look 10 years younger than my age, my jeans are the same size since college, I can play two hours of singles tennis, have a full head of hair, eat very little sugar, eat a big ass salad just about every night, I go to the gym 5x a week, walk about 7,000 steps a day …

… and yet the historical cholesterol damage I’ve accumulated over the decades is apparently through the roof!!!  My doctor says not to blame myself but that’s hard not to do.

Really threw me for a loop.  I’ve heard the Cleerly is a good thing to get.  I’m almost afraid to get it, though.  

I just wanted to write this in case anyone gives you sh*t about writing about your personal life and stuff like this.  I LOVE IT, always have.  You are the best antidote to AI Slop I can think of.