In a couple of years Howard Stern is gonna retire from the radio and I don’t know what I’m gonna do with myself.

Hi.

I was just driving down Sunset Boulevard in the Palisades and the road was closed. An SUV had jumped the guardrail and ended up on its side. Kind of like NASCAR, but imagine it playing out in your own backyard as opposed to the brickyard. After waiting for a few minutes everybody started pulling a u-turn.

So I did too.

And knowing I was in for the duration, I got rid of the music and tuned in Howard Stern. His guest was Jay-Z.

Jay-Z has never been properly explained by the mainstream media. They’ve been respectful, they’ve been sycophantic, but they’ve never been honest and understanding. You never get the idea the reporter was hanging with the rapper, maybe smoking a blunt, and having the conversation you do with your buddies.

But Howard was.

He got Jay to talk about his dad. And dealing crack. And being black. Jay quoted Biggie Smalls, I think, saying if you’re black you’re born guilty.

Imagine carrying that around on your back.

And when Howard asked Jay if he ever felt inadequate hanging with Oprah or Warren Buffett, Jay said the only thing that separated himself from Buffett and his bridge-playing compatriot Bill Gates was opportunity.

He didn’t get any.

This was riveting radio. Especially when Jay told the story of "99 Problems". Being stopped for driving while black, but unbeknownst to the copper, the car was full of crack. That’ll give you some perspective. Whatever’s going on in your domestic life suddenly doesn’t matter.

Turns out the drug-sniffing dogs were unavailable and Jay skated.

Whew!

We live in a sell nation. Everybody’s become a brand and is forcing themselves down our throats. Just give me some time, listen to my music, help a brother out.

But this just doesn’t work. In an era where choices are seemingly infinite we only care for that very narrow spectrum of greatness which we truly deem to be indispensable.

I’m in my car getting sad. I doubt Howard will re-up with Sirius XM. Maybe he’ll turn "America’s Got Talent" into an interview show. And I started contemplating a world without Stern.

And it was very empty.

And my goal is not to convince you to feel the same way. Only to point out that you have your own indispensable artists.

They call these people stars.

How do you become one?

There are tons of people who will take your money trying to explain how. But to really be indispensable, you have to have vision, and venture out into a wilderness only you inhabit, hoping someone back in the city will get the message and spread the word.

And it’s lonely out there. What’s worse, it takes you time to find your voice.

But when you do…

We’ve got all the time in the world for you. We’ll buy all your records, see all your shows.

We can’t live without you.