1

He’s always been nice to me.

There’s an assumption that our musical heroes are just like you and me.

They’re not.

And they’re not like movie stars, not like politicians, not like any other performers, because they are their music, and their music speaks to us in a way no other medium does.

Especially when the act writes its own material. This is something the Beatles ushered in which has been lost in the dash for cash, pop star twenty first century. If it’s a hit, it can’t be criticized, but as popular as today’s music might be, it doesn’t quite resonate the same way those tracks of yore did, that went directly from the musician’s heart into yours.

The Beach Boys… Only they and the Four Seasons survived the British Invasion. The rest of the acts, old crooners like Perry Como, pop constructs like Bobby Rydell, they were wiped from the hit parade.

Think about that, the Beatle revolution was so strong, such a great leap forward, that it left everything in its wake. Other than in tech, we haven’t experienced a similar phenomenon since. That’s the essence of tech, something is the new thing and then something else comes along and wipes it from the map. The iPod supplants overcomplicated lame MP3 players and then it is supplanted by the iPhone. Streaming not only supersedes the iTunes Store, when is the last time you heard anybody quote “Rip. Mix. Burn.,” the Apple phrase that got the record industry’s knickers in a twist. Hell, computers don’t even come with a disc drive anymore, never mind one that burns.

As for the Beach Boys…

Today, unless you live here, California is a pariah, a veritable joke, a hellhole with a government that doesn’t work, stratospheric taxes and unaffordable real estate. You’d think people would be leaving in droves. Well, some did, but so many of them came back. And there are new immigrants too. It’s the California lifestyle, and although Hollywood had existed for decades, the best advertisement the state ever got was the music of the Beach Boys.

You were living in a landlocked state. Or one where the weather was hit or miss. And there was a place where the sun always shined, where it never got cold and you could parade with little clothing as you lived an outdoor lifestyle. Turns out life didn’t have to be oppressive, but fun, who didn’t want that?

Seemingly everybody wanted to buy in. California burgeoned after the war, when many soldiers remained here. When aerospace grew. It was the antithesis, the counterweight to the east coast, and it was extremely appealing to the youth.

This was in an era when old people were old. They weren’t best friends with their children. The mind-set was different, one of calcification as opposed to movement. But the Boomer generation, large in numbers and wealth, cottoned to acts that spoke to them, and when it came to America, none so much as the Beach Boys.

Was Brian Wilson a musical genius? That word is thrown around too easily today, furthermore, I’m not exactly sure what it means. But did Brian go on his own hejira, inspired by the harmony groups of his youth, and push the envelope of popular music?

Absolutely.

But he rarely wrote the lyrics. Most were written by Mike Love. He wanted credit for that. And suing for his rights was one of the many perceived missteps that have contributed to the negative perception of him in popular culture.

But the music remains.

And other than Al Jardine, he’s the last man standing.

The Wilsons are all gone. Mike is still here.

But the band hasn’t had a hit in eons.

2

Most acts have an era, and then it’s over. The Beach Boys peaked a number of times. And just when it looked like their old act had run out of time and juice, Brian delivered “Pet Sounds” and then “Good Vibrations.” There were a few hits thereafter, “Darlin'” and “Do It Again,” but the world had changed, now it was about FM rock, extended numbers as opposed to ditties. No coordinated stage outfits.

But unlike the Four Seasons, the Beach Boys were not out of time. They came from a world which constantly progressed, and they did too. The only problem with their first album for Warner Bros. was it didn’t have an AM hit. But it was their spin on the modern world, both musically and thematically, it was a triumph.

And there were a few more early seventies albums before…

The renaissance of “Endless Summer.”

Hard to think of sixties nostalgia in 1974, but the public ate it right up. The Beach Boys had built their live business back to arenas, but now… Everyone agreed that their music was special and deserved to live forever.

And it has.

We can talk about the ensuing half a century. Brian being back and then not being so. And then ultimately coming back with a frazzled voice and not quite all of his identity, but still he was revered for what he had done.

Mike?

He was just the singer.

But he had written a lot of those words, encompassing the California Dream, but Mike was not warm and fuzzy, and had a way of sticking his foot in his mouth, so the music maintained and…

Mike was its number one purveyor. After all, it was he who was the vocalist on most of the major hits.

But somewhere along the line, respect evaporated. Mike was competing with Brian, he was singing the hits, but there was no gravitas, it wasn’t quite akin to a jukebox, but it was good-timey as opposed to soul-fulfilling. Seemed like the Beach Boys would show up anywhere, it was no longer special, but they were never relegated to clubs, they always drew a reasonable number of patrons, and one thing is for sure, everyone who was there loved it, none so much as Mike.

3

You’re probably looking forward to retirement. When you can lay back and do just what you want to. You’ve worked your whole life for this. Endured bad bosses, been knocked around, all to build a nest egg such that you can sail into the sunset satisfied.

But this is not the life of a successful musician.

First and foremost, you can’t be this successful if you’re well-adjusted, absolutely impossible. Sure, you could have a personality disorder, but it could be as simple as a bad upbringing, physical or emotional abuse. Music was your refuge. Another space where you felt soothed and understood. Once again, this paradigm is different from today’s hit parade. Today the audience is as important as the act. People go to shoot selfies, to have a party, to create FOMO, whereas in the sixties and seventies the venues still had seats, and you sat in rapt attention, these were gods on stage.

And they knew it.

But the funny thing is, as much success as you have, it does not fill the hole inside that motivated you to do it.

Therefore we have ultra-successful and even wealthy acts who O.D., way past the peak of their fame. The money, the sex…it wasn’t enough.

What they were looking for was love. And no amount of love satiates them. But where they get their love most is on stage.

4

The hits are in the rearview mirror. You might get royalty checks, but you can truly only feel your fame when you’re on stage. It’s a hit mere mortals are never exposed to. All that love coming back from the fans. It’s validation of you and your life’s work. People love you.

Of course at the end of the night they go home and you’re left alone in your hotel room or bus, crashing, but they were there and…

Your only option is to do it again.

Of course there are aged acts who go on the road for the money. Actually, the dirty little secret is everybody can always use more money. But some are up against the wall and some are not. Some have alimony and child support and rehab fees, others are comfortable financially, but what are they going to do, sit around the house and stare at the walls? Or go out into public and be treated like a has-been?

No, the only solution is to be active, to go on the road.

And this is what Mike Love has done.

Can he do it anymore?

5

This is a question I ask all aged rockers, are they going to die on stage? Rarely does this actually happen, then again comedian Dick Shawn died on stage and the audience thought it was part of the act!

No one seems to be able to retire. The Scorpions have been on their final tour for nearly a decade. Sinatra couldn’t stay away. McCartney’s voice has taken a hit, but he is not preserving his legacy, he’s out there doing it. In order to really retire, you must not be able to do it anymore. Literally.

And we just saw that with the member of Judas Priest. You don’t think about arthritis when you’re twenty one.

And it’s hardest for vocalists. That’s the instrument that usually goes first.

But even Frankie Valli says he’s not retired. Even though he’s been lip-synching for years and there are videos of him bewildered at shows.

So…

You saw the video of Mike Love on stage. Was it sad? Absolutely! Should you criticize him?

This is one thing that angers critics, who wish their words had more power. People still pay to see these acts, they still want to. We can analyze why, whether it’s the actual performance or the opportunity to relive your life or…

We were not prepared for this. Rock and roll was never going to die, nor were the artists. I mean it’s one thing to be a member of the 27 club, but if you make it through your twenties…

But they’ve been dropping like flies for over a decade. First David Bowie, then Glenn Frey, and now not a week goes by that the news doesn’t tell us someone from the past has gone. Might have only been a member of a regional band, but…

They’re gone.

But before they go, so many are locked into the past. Still sporting their long hair, the old threads, getting plastic surgery to look young. Sure, they’re worried about public perception, but they also do it for themselves, they can’t accept that they’re old, they don’t want to be over the hill, they believe they’re still vital.

That they’re contenders.

And that’s what brought Mike Love to the stage in Cincinnati Saturday night.

Oh, he’d taken time off. But he couldn’t let go. He’ll say there were commitments, and there were, and money involved too, but every deal is breakable, think of all the acts who die mid-tour, never mind those who become ill.

But if Mike doesn’t go out, who is he? An 85 year old guy…

Think about that, if someone is not a performer, in what other walk of life are people still working at that age, oftentimes at a level similar to what they did in their heyday. Many 85 year old civilians are too old to travel, but these musicians are on the road constantly.

Old people worry about their balance, their faculties…

Then again, Glen Campbell went on the road with Alzheimer’s. And Tony Bennett was lauded for performing with Alzheimer’s too.

Mike Love seems to have all his faculties, it’s just his body that has betrayed him. It gives out, we’re all just mortal. And even if you do your best to stay healthy, it’s hard to beat genetics, and ultimately the Grim Reaper comes to get you, no one here gets out alive.

6

So, was this the last Mike Love show?

Possibly, but not if he has anything to say about it.

Then again, will the Beach Boys die, or will they be like Foreigner or Lynyrd Skynyrd, touring without one original member, the songs keeping the band name alive.

But if you’re beating up on Mike, you’re missing the point. You’re evidencing your smallness. You’re sitting at home, in judgment. You don’t know what it’s like on the other side of the footlights, how hard it is to give it up.

To these performers it’s everything, they need the love of the audience, it makes them whole, if just for ninety minutes, would you pass on this opportunity?

I don’t think so.

Tune in Saturday October 10th 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

Before stereos, before computers. before the internet…

There were cars. And they changed every year and we knew not only the bodies, but what was under the hood. You were your car, assuming you were old enough to drive. And cars didn’t last, if you got three or four years and 70,000 miles you had to pat yourself on the back, you’d done well.

Now Oldsmobile was famous for a few things. Like the Rocket 88 engine. Which led to what many believe is the first rock and roll song ever. And then there was the 4-4-2. But it was eclipsed in the mind of the public by the Pontiac GTO, there was even a song about it by Ronny & the Daytonas (and a good one to boot!) Oldsmobile started to fade into the background, and then in 1966 came the Toronado.

The Toronado was front-wheel drive! In an era when everything else was rear-wheel drive. As for four-wheel drive, there was the Jeep Wagoneer, and a few trucks, like the Dodge Power Wagon, but if you were driving in snow, you grinned and bared it. And ultimately white-knuckled it. Then again, back then everybody switched to snow tires in the winter. More than a few decades back they came up with the “all-season” tire and many now forgo snow tires, which is a big mistake, but you can’t convince them otherwise. I could point you to articles about stopping distances, but the truth is so many are cheap, good is good enough, if their lives are in danger…nah, they never consider that.

Now Buick had the Riviera.

These were the old days, when GM was comprised of Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac, in that order. You were supposed to work your way up the line. Then the crash of 2008 eliminated Pontiac and Oldsmobile, and the late to the game Saturn. As a matter of fact, sales at GM are down, Mary Barra, the CEO, is fine with that, she’s focused on profitability.

Now you may be following the European car market, which is in turmoil. Volkswagen is trying to save itself. Porsche? Killed by the Chinese, they just laid off a ton of people and are now going to raise prices to make their margins. So that 911? Buy it now. As for the Macan, that ruined the image of the brand…it sold, but Porsches used to be exotic performance automobiles (except for the 914-but if you had a six instead of the four, it was a monster; the 944 was a bit better, but never truly gained traction with the public), now it’s seen as an SUV brand, and ultimately a fashion statement, the Macan is a girl’s car, a girl who can’t afford a Mercedes Geländewagen, which is uber-expensive and makes no sense whatsoever unless you’re going through a treacherous landscape, it’s got a ladder frame and the ride is stiff, but the Kardashians drive them, and now a lot of other women do too. I don’t remember any women clamoring to drive 911s. Although they did cotton to the Boxster, which was not a bad car, but mostly seen as a cute little convertible, no man would be caught dead driving one, they don’t even make them anymore.

So… The Toronado was marketed to men. Who wanted a two door as opposed to a family sedan. Something sexy. If you were a doctor…

And if you were ever in one, the amazing thing is there were two door handles on the inside, one in the usual place and one in the way back, so those in the rear seat could open the doors themselves, the doors were extremely long, but they did look very cool, the entire Toronado looked cool.

And did I say they had hidden headlights? That was true exotica, expected on a Corvette, America’s sports car, before it was neutered by emissions regulations, before it was reborn.

So I’m on the 405 barely moving. And when I finally merge from the on-ramp onto the freeway, the mental debate begins, which lane should I drive in?

I try to avoid lanes with trucks. If for no other reason as they go uphill… It takes a lot of torque for them to get moving again after stopping, they accelerate slowly.

And then there’s the diamond lane, but it’s only me in the car.

The slow lane… I always think people are getting on and off, not worried about making time, whereas I want to break on through to the other side.

However, go too far to the left towards the center median then it’s an obstacle course getting back to the right for your exit.

So I’m working my way across the lanes, I’m one from the diamond, which is kind of risky, but that’s the mood I’m in, I’ll deal with merging right to get off when I get there.

And you’ve got a lot of time to think and observe when you’re barely moving. And the car in front of me…

Had a unique back, a rear end unlike any of today’s cars. Closer to Italian exotica then what is manufactured for the masses.

And it sported a finish of gold flake metallic… People today buy white, that’s number one, maybe black, the days of colors that stand out…they affect resale value, nobody wants to buy them (remember the orange Judge?, worth a fortune today).

And I’m flummoxed trying to figure out what kind of car this is when it finally registers, this is a TORONADO! This is the epitome of GM engineering in the mid-sixties, sixty years ago.

They were still figuring out automobiles back then, they were really only about sixty years old, at least the ones for the masses, the Ford Model A was released in 1903.

And I’m thinking about Dr. Meltzer. He was a SURGEON! Surgeons got a pass when I was growing up, whatever their personality, they were doing God’s work, they had a higher calling, they were married to their job.

He drove a ’63 Riviera.

Which he then traded in for a Toronado.

And I’m thinking about him and his family as the Toronado moves one lane over and I pull up alongside.

Of course a white-haired dude is driving it. Many of today’s young ‘uns don’t even have licenses, never mind care about cars (I have been seeing those new boxy Waymo Ojais out there by the way, cornflower blue, like minibuses). No, he probably bought it to luxuriate in it.

And you see this in L.A. Not only because of the wealth, but with the weather the cars don’t rust, don’t fade away and not radiate.

And the tires were wide, not the skinny white walls of the era, this was a driving machine.

And then I pulled forward…

And that’s when I saw the hood, seemingly longer than some cars out there! A vast landscape of metal. The engine didn’t need all this space, sans emissions gadgets there used to be so much room under the hood, no, this was about STYLE!

That’s what sold cars back then. I mean how do you drive the damn thing? How can you judge lengths in front of you, how can you maneuver around curves!

But that didn’t matter.

Now somewhere along the line, all cars started to look alike. And when people still bought them anyway, Detroit stopped updating them every year. Oh, there might be changes, but very minor, you have to be an aficionado to tell one year apart from the other.

And they’re all relatively good. Longevity might be better with a Toyota or Lexus, but now even Detroit iron can be driven a hundred thousand miles. Cars are utilitarian, transportation, whereas they used to not only be evidence of your identity, in the best cases, they were FUN TO DRIVE!

And drive we did. Oftentimes to nowhere, we just got behind the wheel, cranked up the tunes and went.

Now people stay home, glued to their screens. And gasoline is no longer dirt cheap.

So the cars on the highway all look the same. There’s a plethora of Teslas, all with a similar body shape (except for the Cybertruck!). And how much innovation can you embody in an SUV? I see those Rolls-Royce SUVs, the Bentleys too, people drive those in L.A., and I wonder why. They don’t look cool, they don’t look radically different from the econoboxes. Whereas it used to be these brands were a statement, very different from what the hoi polloi were driving.

But not anymore.

So seeing that gold Toronado made my day. Made me feel like I’d lived through something, that will never return, but had value in its day. History.

Put a smile on my face.

And now I’m at home, still smiling.

People didn’t love Donald Trump in 2024.

But they did hate Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Meanwhile, we constantly have to hear about Harris possibly running again, makes me tear out what little hair I have left, she is an inauthentic loser who couldn’t even get one delegate back in the 2020 primary season!

There, I said it, positively heresy. She’s Black, she’s a woman, how could I say anything negative?

Now let me see… Joe Biden was too old and they said he was not and then he evidenced this on television and told us not to believe our eyes while he dilly-dallied for weeks deciding to retire, like a baseball player who has lost a step. And we Democrats are pissed. Because the team has been managed so poorly. It’s hard to be a fan when the General Manager denies the truth and when changes are made, they are worse.

I didn’t vote for Kamala to be the candidate, and neither did you. She was foisted upon us. But she almost won anyway, because most of the country has Democratic values, and so many people hate Donald Trump.

So Trump didn’t win, the Democrats forfeited. And Trump has been showered with hosannas ever since.

Until now, when the media is reporting that those who voted for him are disillusioned and are now leaning towards Democrats. OF COURSE, BECAUSE HE DIDN’T HAVE WIDESPREAD SUPPORT TO BEGIN WITH!

Meanwhile, all the reporting is about the mechanics, who will win in what state and although important, this is not the main issue in America today. No, people have lost faith in the Democrats and the system.

The wishy-washy Dems? Who never raise their voices, who say their hands are tied, who won’t stand up to Trump but also won’t stand up to special interest groups?

How many trans women are there in college sports anyway? But rather than say this, most Democratic candidates are afraid of pissing off…exactly who? The trans community, which is how big? This is a no-brainer, the Republicans are anti-trans, you can defend trans people without losing your mind. When even Martina Navratilova comes down against trans women in sports, you know you’re on the wrong side.

Once again, no problem with trans people, just everybody is not entitled to do everything!

Kind of like when they refuse to say only biological women can conceive babies. This is a huge gift to the right, can’t anybody on the left speak English?

And speaking of English, only bleeding heart liberals could come up with the moniker “Latinx” for a group of people who hate the appellation. Ditto on defund the police, people in Black neighborhoods want MORE police!

There’s this endless rabbit hole of b.s. No one has a backbone.

And then we get to Democratic Socialism… Traditional Democrats are missing the point, it’s not about socialism whatsoever, but hatred of the usual suspects, the establishment.

But the Democratic party can’t reform itself, can’t arrive in the twenty first century, never mind look forward.

And the doofus Republicans in Congress, afraid of Trump and their own shadow. He’s a paper tiger. It’s like an invisible dog fence. They’re all afraid of breaking ranks, crossing the line, when in truth liberation exists right outside the barrier. The public is not with Trump, he just won an election because the Democratic candidate was so bad. Sure, there’s a hard core of Trumpers, but it’s smaller than you think and in truth it’s not about love of the Donald but hatred of the so-called coastal elite. Who even I hate. The self-anointed educated and rich who think they know better.

But the irony is this is not a one party problem, there are self-righteous, pompous elite members of the Republican party, it’s just that the Democrats never seem to make this point and hammer it down.

We are looking for truth, for fighters, and all we get is wusses.

People are more alike than different, and in truth James Carville had it right back in 1992 and for all time…IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID!

Most people don’t care about the day to day activities in D.C., they just want to be free to live their lives. And when you impinge upon those lives, like with the banning of abortion… The Democrats keep talking about packing the Supreme Court, doing something to undercut our rigged system, but then they never pull the trigger, they’re waiting for the people to rise up and lead. Which could happen, because Trump is running the country off a cliff while the Democrats twiddle their thumbs.

Find me a person who defends a Russian oligarch paying for Don, Jr.’s wedding celebration.

Find me a person who is down with the closing of the Kennedy Center.

Find me a person who is in support of the arch.

No, Trump is acting with impunity, and no one will stop him, believing he has widespread support. HE DOESN’T!

Now is the time for the true believer, not someone who equivocates, who consults polls before doing anything, who is afraid to offend anyone. We are looking for people who connect with us emotionally. Meaning both J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio have absolutely no chance of winning in 2028 assuming the Democrats run a reasonable candidate chosen by the people. We need someone to believe in.

Trump got elected in 2016 because people were freaked out about the future, technology, opportunity, they wanted to put the brakes on society. Which, of course, is impossible. We needed a leader to navigate the new world, not someone who promised us a return to what once was, which wasn’t so good and is never coming back again.

The old farts in Congress… All they can do is hate on technology, after the fact, when it is already pervasive and dominant.

And most people now hate Elon Musk, a blowhard too myopic to be aware of the public’s perception of his personality and identity.

But the news talks about him coming back to Washington like it’s a fait accompli.

There is a way out of this, and it’s not so much moving to the left as in moving into the future. If one more Democrat asks me for money for TV ads… What next, radio soap operas? They hire consultants baked into the past who are only concerned with getting paid.

So I’m disillusioned with both parties, as almost everybody is, especially on the left. It’s only old people who are true Democratic believers, young people have never felt the power of a JFK, a politician who spoke to them.

On the right… It’s fear and disarray, and a refusal to acknowledge how weak Donald Trump really is, how he’s out of touch with the populace.

So what happens now?

Maybe the Democrats take Congress.

Maybe Trump interferes with the election.

But gridlock will remain, a constant scrum wherein the two lines butt heads and the ball never moves either way. Meanwhile, while we’re killing our young people as they get CTE from playing football. What next, executions on TV? YES!

People don’t want barbarism. They do want expertise. They want humanity. They want to be acknowledged and understood. People are reasonable, they don’t require everything if they believe they are heard. Right now they do not feel they’re being heard.

So either the Democrats wake up and break the system, or Trump will bring us ever closer to true autocracy or…

The public will revolt. People can only take it for so long.

Gas is stratospheric in price because an uninformed idiot started a war he couldn’t win, undermining the status of the U.S. in the process. The same man who takes the side of Russia against Ukraine. Do you really think the public is behind him? OF COURSE NOT!

Can we at least speak English and admit this?

And know that the fear for the Democratic party is not socialism, but extinction, because it has lost touch with its constituents.

The right rules on fear. But when people see the light, they become less scared. But it’s hard to shed light in our obtuse world where everybody gets their news from a different outlet, oftentimes biased.

The Ten Commandments in school? We’re sitting on the sidelines wondering what is going on. Isn’t this exactly what the Constitution forbade?

We live in bizarroland. Oldsters are tuning out, living on their savings. Young people have no savings and are constantly scolded by oldsters for utilizing technology, for not showing up and being abused at work. And you think this draws youngsters to them?

But all we hear about is numbers. Establishment talking heads giving us analysis baked in the past. Everybody so locked into the game that they can’t see what is truly going on.

Meanwhile, we’re on the outside, alternately detached and enraged. How come we can see the obvious and they can’t? How come we can see it’s not about the details, but the overall picture? How come there’s no longer any agreed upon truth? How come even if I vote I still feel powerless?

Change is coming. What it will look like, I don’t know. A tightening of the noose or a breaking of the system.

One thing is for sure, things can’t go on as usual. The public knows this, the Democrats certainly do not. Rally the troops, don’t divide them. Bring everybody in, don’t give them a reason to stay out. Make people feel heard and included.

That’s the way they used to do it.

But not anymore.