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This is a fantastic book. (And easy to read too!)

For those of you not on the Strout train… You’re the lucky ones, because you can go back and read all the books that preceded this one. If, like me, you’re totally up to date, you’ll be fascinated by the fact that seemingly every previous character plays a part in “Tell Me Everything.”

In reality, it’s all about style. And I can’t say I can define it, but I’ll try to relate the experience of reading the book.

It’s set in the modern world, the world we live in, but really it’s more like the world we used to live in prior to the internet. We’re all overwhelmed with the election, social media, there’s a tsunami of information, and although there are some proud Boomers who will tell you they’ve got flip phones and have never been on Instagram, never mind TikTok, most of us want to know what is going on, and we’re drawn into the maelstrom.

Not that “Tell Me Everything” is set in a fantasy land.

Then again, it is set in Maine. And if you’ve been there, if you know people from there, you know Maine is in many ways behind, off the grid, don’t compare it with its neighbor New Hampshire, never mind Vermont, it’s a completely different culture.

And the map doesn’t do the state justice. Maine is big! And although there is the city of Portland down south, and coastal towns, and summer people, the basic Mainer is iconoclastic, and oftentimes rugged, and definitely self-sufficient. They don’t need you. Many are internalized, or part of a small community, and they’re proud of this.

And some of the people in Crosby and Shirley Falls, where most of the action in the book takes place, are transplants, retirees, but most of them are locals. They know each other, they know everybody’s story, they went to school together. I found this stifling when I lived in a small town, the pre-judging, the lack of anonymity, but you know many more people when you live in a hamlet, a small burg, than when you live in the city.

So, although there are references to the pandemic and the internet, “Tell Me Everything” is disconnected, and that’s one of its appeals. It’s a whole community, identity and history are important, wealth not so much.  You’re treated like a regular person, not that it’s the land of kumbaya, everybody does not always agree, nor is everybody given the benefit of the doubt. But ultimately everybody intersects. If you think you’re special, better than the rest, you won’t make it in this book, or in Maine itself.

Unlike in many books, a lot happens in “Tell Me Everything.” There is not endless description and setup. Not that it’s bare bones. There’s just enough description and…

What you’ve got here mostly is those who can see the end of life. Those fiftysomething and older. They interact with their children, or not, and at this late date they know who they are. They’ve made their choices, are they good ones?

And there’s a murder mystery. And death from illness.

And a ton of family interactions.

But the overarching theme is a crush. Bob on Lucy. Is it reciprocated? Should Bob bring it up, should he take action?

Now in popular culture, everybody follows their heart, acts on a whim. But really… Especially after one divorce, you tend to learn what you’re getting in your primary relationship, which may not be what your crush delivers, but to take action and “ruin” everybody’s life and maybe find out you made a mistake… The grass does look greener on the other side. And, you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. But we’re always running scenarios in our brain. And they’re in this book.

And the question of obligation. Especially when you get older. Do you help those in need? The less mobile? In the city, those on the fast track will tell you they don’t have time, that somebody should be hired, but in smaller communities…

Now despite being such an easy read, there’s a ton of wisdom in the book.

“She’s a bully, and bullies are always frightened.”

I’d never thought of that, never mind known it. But contemplating it, it’s true!

“That Bob had spoken these words to her remained a thumbprint pressed deeply into his soul of real sorrow and regret.”

In this case it’s something Bob said to his mother, who is deceased, and he can’t let it go. There’s so much I can’t let go of. The scenarios run in my brain, what I said and what I did. And I’m old enough to know that the object of my pain may not even be aware of it. But one thing great about getting old is people eventually die, and you may never encounter them again, you don’t feel that urge to contact them, you realize you’re flawed and march to the end.

“People always tell you who they are if you just listen—they will always eventually tell you who they are.”

Which is why you’re better off asking questions and listening than talking, because people will tell you everything. And when it comes to romance, people tell you who they are very quickly, and don’t expect them to change.

“There is nothing sexier than talking.”

I had a shrink who got frustrated with me and said I’d rather talk to women than screw them. (That’s almost a direct quote!) I guess… I never feel confident enough. They’d want to roll in the hay with ME?

I was at a friend’s house a while back, and I had a long conversation with a woman who is a household name, but is not an entertainer. She was famous for a while, and if you were alive when that happened… And I felt a connection, but it couldn’t have been reciprocated, right?

Almost ten years later I went to someone’s house, and she was one of about thirty people there. And I avoided her. That’s what I do when I have feelings, I’m just too anxious. You’ll know I’m interested by the fact that I’m not connecting with you when we’re in the same space. And then, after dinner, after dessert, when the evening was winding down, this woman came up and said…AREN’T YOU GOING TO TALK TO ME?

I was completely blown away. I was busy apologizing. After all this time, I figured she’d never remember. But she looked me in the eye and started talking about everything we’d said years before. She felt it too, who knew?

Yes, you can call “Tell Me Everything” literary fiction. But it’s not from the Iowa Workshop, Elizabeth Strout was not trained by everybody else, and that’s one reason her work is so good. It’s not overwritten. All her books flow, quickly. She seems to be writing for herself, with a need to tell these stories as opposed to needing to impress some fictional high priests. Strout was a lawyer and then…

You don’t have to have read any Strout books to enjoy “Tell Me Everything.” And it’s not a huge commitment, it’s not long, never mind dreary, but there will come a point where you’ll start regretting it’s going to end, you want to live with this book forever.

And if you tell me you saw the dramatization of “Olive Kitteridge” on HBO…

Well, as great as Frances McDormand is, I don’t see her as Olive at all. And a film or a series can’t convey what is so great about books…feelings, interior dialogue.

Now it’s not like I’m the only person raving about “Tell Me Everything.”

And if you’re male and a fan of nonfiction only, I’m not going to tell you to run out and buy it…

But the truth is if you’re human, with some level of self-knowledge, you’re going to get caught up in, become enraptured by “Tell Me Everything,” really all of Strout’s books.

“Tell Me Everything” is for everybody. It’s not a fantastical adventure, but real life.

And that’s what we’re all doing, living life, just like the characters in this book.

Alynda Segarra is the front person and major creative force of Hurray for the Riff-Raff. Listen as they tell the tale of dropping out of high school, riding the rails, moving to New Orleans, starting as a pure indie, and then moving to ATO and ultimately Nonesuch, changing musical direction along the way. You may not know their music, but you’ll want to after listening to this podcast!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/alynda-segarra/id1316200737?i=1000672490558

 

 

 

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/f959382e-fc88-4416-9ee6-2946b0beb1e2/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-alynda-segarra

The modern music business was built on album tracks.

The single is just the introduction. The key is to set the listener on an adventure, deep into the wilderness. It’s a solo journey. If you need friends, a crowd, dancers to enjoy a track, that’s something different. It may be joyful, but that’s not what built this business into the juggernaut it became.

Sure, rock and roll started in the fifties. But not long thereafter it devolved…into what it’s become today. Empty stars, most of whom have been forgotten, are completely unknown to today’s youngsters. Fabian? Bobby Rydell? They were ultimately eclipsed by the Beatles. Sure, we had the Beach Boys and the Four Seasons, but when the Beatles hit the airwaves at the advent of 1964, everything changed. It was no longer music, it was MANIA! Music suddenly became everything. And sure, the four from Liverpool were cute, had good voices, and were cheeky, but really it was all about the music. Which they wrote. That was the turning point. Suddenly, the music was direct from them to you, the artist to the listener, ideas, truth, beauty were being channeled directly into your heart.

And then came FM radio. Everybody who’d been inspired by the Beatles, everybody too left field for the mainstream, everybody who thought music was more than a cut on a 45 RPM single, suddenly had an outlet for their work. Listeners were exposed to “Purple Haze” and “Sunshine of Your Love,” the latter of which ultimately crossed over to AM with its iconic riff, but my favorite track on “Disraeli Gears” has always been “Tales of Brave Ulysses.” And if I want to listen to Hendrix, I’ll put on “Burning of the Midnight Lamp.”

I’m not saying cuts didn’t cross over to AM, you could hear “Piece of My Heart” there, but so much of the great stuff, that could sell tickets, never produced a single. This is the stuff you remember. Funny how all these years later everybody agrees that the first Blood, Sweat & Tears album is far superior to the follow-up with David Clayton Thomas that produced all those hits. Furthermore, the band could never follow up that monster, whereas Al Kooper continued to have a career, I bought the albums he made/was involved with, whereas the rap on “Blood, Sweat & Tears 3” was so bad I left it in the bins. Can you say “Hi-De-Ho”? No!

And as the seventies wore on, every hamlet and burg got an FM station, if you were listening to AM you were a loser. An act could be huge on FM and be completely unknown on AM.

If you look at the “Billboard” chart, and I advise against it, you’ll see that “Free Bird” made it all the way to #19 on the singles chart, but really it was an FM staple, always #2 on the annual Memorial Day 500, the best songs of rock history. And the perennial #1, “Stairway to Heaven,” was never a single, never ever. Nor was there a truncated version. You accepted the track as is, or…

Meanwhile, I’ve skipped over “Stairway to Heaven” many times while listening to the fourth Zeppelin LP. If I listen to that album I want to hear “Battle of Evermore” or “Going to California” or…”When the Levee Breaks.” And “D’yer Mak’er” was one of the worst songs on “Houses of the Holy.” If I’m looking for obvious, I’ll go with “Dancing Days,” and “The  Rain Song” and “Over the Hills and Far Away” eclipse both. Where is the spot on AM radio for the mysterious, atmospheric “The Rain Song”? Talk about not being a single.

But these were the songs you wanted to hear live.

And for a long time I swore that the first Zeppelin album was the best.

I can’t say I wasn’t enamored of the opening banger “Good Times Bad Times,” and “Communication Breakdown” was a tear, but my favorite song on the debut is “Dazed and Confused.” And then “Your Time Is Gonna Come” and “How Many More Times.”

And to tell you the truth, by time “Physical Graffiti” was released in the spring of 1975, I was off Zeppelin, the fifth album wasn’t as good as the fourth and it was more obvious and embraced by the hoi polloi and then…

I heard “Kashmir.’

Not on the radio, but as part of the album. A friend had made an 8-track tape that he played in the condo every day when we got home from skiing that month of May at Mammoth Mountain.

Now “Kashmir” was usually #3 in those Memorial Day countdowns, which evaporated with the demise of AOR radio, but it was never a single. As a matter of fact, nothing on “Physical Graffiti” was ever heard on AM radio! This was an hour and twenty minute listening experience. And certain tracks didn’t really work out of context. “Down by the Seaside” was so great because it sat on the third side between “Bron-Yr-Aur” and “Ten Years Gone.”

And “Ten Years Gone” is the piece-de-resistance!

I was stunned when I heard the band play it live. But really, it’s always been a private listening experience. In the dark. On headphones. “Ten Years Gone” is not background music, it demands attention, not by banging you over the head, but via subtlety, via magic.

And majesty.

“Ten Years Gone” is a symphonic work. It’s not something that you talk about, but it is something you think about, sing in your head, play on a regular basis.

And in the eighties the mainstream and the outside merged on MTV. The lame AM hits were replaced by FM-style hits, but it was all about single cuts on the music video service. And to hear them at home you had to buy the album, and radio played what MTV did, there were new Top Fortys replicating the MTV playlist which eclipsed FM, and the overpriced CD came along and suddenly record companies, and their executives, were richer than ever before.

And it hasn’t been the same since.

Even worse, those with knowledge of the switch from AM to FM, from singles to album rock, are in the rearview mirror. Most people in the business, never mind listeners, only know single driven music.

To our collective detriment.

But in the past decade something has changed. As the major labels keep consolidating, trying to launch hit singles, those who desire a deeper meaning, a deeper feeling, have moved on to acts that are not giant, but deliver the feeling of yore, the heart of both music and the business. We want more than the track, and in order for the business to be healthy this is the way it has to be.

People have not lost the need to hear “Ten Years Gone,” it just hasn’t been served to them. And I’d love to tell you they’re making new “Ten Years Gone,” but that’s why they call it classic rock.

Our only hope is that some of these outside acts, doing it on their own, without Jack Antonoff and cowriters, will hone their chops to the point where they create undeniable music, which can then spread.

The seeds have been planted. The only way out of this mess is to go back to the garden. That’s where the optimism lies. Because the experience never changes, it’s what people desire, and if it’s not delivered music will continue to be a second-class citizen. But for a while there, especially from “Rubber Soul” to “The Wall,” it was…

EVERYTHING!