$346.78 for two serpentine belts, installed. And with oil service and checkup, a grand total of $439.03.

I haven’t had my car serviced in one day…IN MEMORY! Guess it was worth it waking up at ten to seven. They got right on it.

But I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t anxious right now. This is the bad side effect of the growing old experience, you’ve experienced too many f*ck-ups. I can’t tell you how many times I had to bring my car back to the BMW dealer for service, they could never get it right.

AND THEY KNEW HOW TO CHARGE! The above total wouldn’t even cover a minor checkup on a BMW, never mind parts and further labor.

That’s an advantage of having a cheaper car. They know they can only charge you so much. Feels good.

So I’m kinda numb. I really wasn’t expecting it to be ready today, I heard nothing until after four p.m., I figured it would take a day to get the parts.

And Betsy was going in that direction, so she gave me a ride.

And I got behind the wheel and I was exactly where I was yesterday, at 8:20 PM, before this adventure began. It’s almost like it never happened, but not really.

MY CAR

I could not afford another BMW, but after driving the so-called “Ultimate Driving Machine,” I couldn’t just buy a Camry or another car that was good transportation, but was more of a boulevard cruiser. You can’t go backward in handling/performance. Just like with car stereo.

So I kept reading about this rally car the Subaru WRX. It was featured in videogames and it was turbocharged and I figured that would satisfy my performance requirements, so I went to the Subaru dealer in Santa Monica for a test drive.

Now for those in the know, you know that the parent company of Subaru was Fuji Heavy Industries, at least until 2017, when they changed the moniker to Subaru Corporation. And as the salesman is walking me by a sign in the showroom designating this, he pointed it out, and he said it stood for “F*cking Unbelievable Japanese Import.” Kinda weirded me out, I felt like we were not on the same page, the only thing that would convince me was driving the damn thing.

Which I did. Even took it on the freeway. And the performance was fantastic, but the ride was so STIFF! I realized I couldn’t buy this car.

So what were my options… Well, there was this Acura, but it was front wheel drive and for performance you want rear wheel drive, or four wheel drive, as the WRX is.

And Subaru’s four wheel drive is not like all of its competitors. It doesn’t only kick in when you need it, it’s full-time. And the end result of this is fuel economy SUCKS!

Now they finally had to address this, they were one of the first companies to employ a CVT transmission. Which have been refined at this point, but for a number of years they were known for failures and odd driving characteristics, although they do render better gas mileage.

But I was going to get a stick anyway. I mean how can you buy a performance car with an automatic transmission?

Now at this point, automatic transmissions are even quicker than sticks. You only buy a stick if you want to row through the gears old-style. It might be considered fun, but there is no performance advantage. And my next car, whatever it is, I’m going to get an automatic. For no other reason than the stop and go traffic in L.A. Hell, when I valet my car (something that is required in L.A., don’t think that this is exotic if you live elsewhere), I have to consider whether any of these drivers even know how to drive a manual!

Now it turned out that Saab offered the same car, in a gussied-up fashion, and I could get $9500 off, even cheaper than the WRX, because there was an industry wide recession and Saab couldn’t sell them.

The Saab version of the WRX is called the 9-2x. And it came in two iterations, the Linear and Aero, the Aero being the turbocharged version.

And the interior was a bit more luxurious and the suspension was softer than the WRX (akin to a BMW), and it had the steering of the STI, you know, the Subaru with the wing.

So I bought it. What were my options?

And I was unhappy. I mean after driving a BMW…

You get what you pay for. And this Saabaru is noisy and has almost no electronics.

Yup, that’s what they call it, a Saabaru. You see GM owned Saab as well as a portion of Fuji/Subaru, and in all its wisdom GM thought since Saab didn’t have a four wheel drive automobile, this would solve the problem.

Only it didn’t, because it was way overpriced.

But with my discount…

And they only made it for two years, GM was in financial trouble and it sold its Fuji/Subaru interest. And then they closed Saab down, along with Oldsmobile and Pontiac and those with Saabs were now SOL, but not me, because my car is really a Subaru! After the warranty ran out, I started going to the Subaru dealership for service, almost all of the parts are identical (however the hood is unique and there are no more left so if the hood needs to be replaced, they total the car).

And I tried living with the factory stereo for a few weeks, but that wouldn’t do after my ADS system in my old car. So I ended up with top of the line Focals in every speaker hole and an AVI subwoofer and a JL five-way amplifier and an Alpine head unit. I’d be stunned if your stereo sounds better (and it would cost so much to replace in today’s dollars).

Now with four wheel drive, I found the 9-2x twitchy. Just move the steering wheel a tiny bit and…it required full time attention. And there was so much power, the car jumped. Today you can get this performance more broadly, but back in 2005, this was a cut above.

And people knew it. Those who knew the WRX. Which was nobody I knew, but twentysomethings. They call them “Rice Rockets,” kids customize them and race them and there used to be a competing car, the Mitsubishi Evo, which some people said was even a bit better, but I’m not buying a Mitsubishi, I mean look at the repair records, never mind the lack of dealerships.

So over time, I got into my car. Because the performance was so good. Especially in the hills, the curves of Los Angeles. And just the other day I was getting on the freeway and a Tesla jetted ahead of me, thinking I was a slowpoke, and I floored it and got ahead of him, not that I usually do this, but this guy had been tailgating me for a while.

So do I love my car?

Not really. But I rationalize it because the performance is so good. And it’s a baby station wagon, which makes hauling stuff easy. AND IT’S PAID FOR! With a lower registration fee and a lower insurance rate (but not that low, because insurers know what this car really is, and they know the kind of person who owns one is going to be pushing it, testing the limits).

And now it’s twenty one years later.

CONCLUSION

I still can’t spend any money, even though I have some right now. I waited until seventy to take social security…but my main goal is not maximizing my assets, just making sure I don’t run out. Because then what am I gonna do, who is gonna take care of me, I guess I’d kill myself.

Assuming I live that long.

And how long am I gonna live? My father died at seventy, and I’m already past that. My mother lived just shy of ninety four, but she was losing it the last few years. So should I go for the gusto now?

It’s so hard for me to do. I’m always saving. I bought this gazpacho at Gelson’s, it’s really good, chunky. And I saved it to savor it, and it turned and became sour and inedible!

Such that when I was eating some sashimi the other day, I told myself not to save any, to eat it all now, because it would definitely be worse tomorrow, and after that?

I’m getting to the point where I can throw food out, but it’s still hard.

But there are things I spend on. Like ski equipment, whatever it costs, I am not looking for a deal, I’m looking for the ultimate performance, and I can tell the difference.

And health care, I mean if you’re not alive, what difference does it make how much money you’ve got.

And my car. It may not look so great from the outside, I will never buy a black car again, although Saab/Subaru never provided a good paint job to begin with. But the performance, I don’t let anything slide, I like it to be in tip-top shape.

Now when I was debating all that money to upgrade the stereo in that last BMW, I felt the shrink I was seeing would judge me for the expenditure, I mean who else would spend thousands on a state of the art car stereo? Nobody I knew, I figured he’d come down on me harshly. But what he said was “Driving around in your car listening to music is what you love to do most!” And I popped for the equipment, and I was thrilled thereafter.

You’ve got to spend where it’s important to you. There’s satisfaction in that, if you’re always worrying, cutting back, that’s not really living.

Assuming you’ve got the money, which I did not for longer than I wish to admit.

And you don’t want to be cheap. Split the bill equally, even if they got drinks and you did not, unless they offer to pay the difference.

Tip 20%, or more.

Nickel and diming does not pay in the end, the joke is on you, all that effort for what is ultimately meaningless.

So I paid the freight on my car. I probably could have gotten it done cheaper at an independent, but they see this car every day at the dealership, at least the Subaru WRX version.

And the funny thing is I’ll get all kinds of hate mail disagreeing with me, contradicting some of the stuff above. But I’ve lived long enough to know you really only have to answer to yourself. If they’re happy, fine, but I’m not gonna change my life and style to comport with their wishes, only my own.

Onward and upward!

1

I’m not usually up at this hour.

So I’m cruising down Sunset after a hike in the mountains last night, I’m going about forty, listening to the radio, feeling good because the shop got new liners for my ski boots, and the battery light comes on.

Even weirder, the car seems to die.

Or is it really dead? At this point I’m not sure, but one thing is for sure, the steering is very heavy, VERY heavy.

So I pull off onto Gretna Green and turn the car off. And then on again. Hoping it’s like a computer, that if I reboot the problem will go away, but the battery light is still shining bright.

I don’t think I’ve ever had this happen before. Does this mean the battery is dead? It’s not that old. But the light has never come on like this when my battery has died before, and this car has had many batteries. AAA comes and installs one and it fails under warranty… Seems like every few years I get a brand new one.

So I go to Dr. Google. Which says it could be the battery, but it’s probably the alternator.

2

Okay, alternators go… But this is a twenty one year old car, what else is going to go?

But Google tells me I can drive the car for ten minutes or so. This won’t get me home, but it will get me closer to home (thank you Mark Farner!), which will get me closer to Subaru of Sherman Oaks…

So I start the car up, it does start, but the steering is uber-heavy. I mean UBER-HEAVY! I’ve had cars sans power steering, but it wasn’t as bad as this.

So I go back to Google. Which tells me that it’s probably the serpentine belt. Which means I’m f*cked, which means I’m gonna have to call the tow truck.

But first I raise the hood and take a peek. And today’s cars are so jam-packed, it’s hard to see.

So I go back into the car to do some more Googling, and everybody says the same thing, so I go back under the hood and I see some frayed ends, of what looks like electrical wire, with metal in the middle. This isn’t good. But then I realize this is probably part of the belt, and the rest shredded and fell apart on Sunset.

So I call AAA.

But believe me, I’m having a hard time reading the card, because I don’t have my glasses with me. They allow you to do it all via text, but I can’t really see the text.

So I wait for the operator and she tells me that a truck will be there at 9:40. Well, that’s nearly an hour from now.

And then I remember, didn’t I leave some reading glasses in my glove box? I’m praying, because if I can’t read my phone, what else am I going to do while I’m waiting, and voila!, I open the glove box and they are there. It’s kind of like that “Twilight Zone” episode, at the end of time, where the guy loves to read and just before he enters the library his glasses fall off and break.

Thank god for the phone, in the old days you’d have to just stare into the distance.

And I’m kind of pissed off, and the news is bugging me, so I decide to talk to AI. Which is what I end up doing all the time that I’m waiting. It’s research. Everywhere I go everybody is relying on AI, I might as well get on the bandwagon.

And I’m sitting there thinking how cars don’t break anymore.

Back in the old days, it was a regular feature. In the sixties, if you could get a car to go sixty or seventy thousand miles, you were lucky. But one thing is for sure, the car would break along the way.

I remember a hose breaking in my 2002 back in the early eighties. And then getting a leak in another place. Actually, after having the car towed twice in a matter of months, this time I was so frustrated that I put in the leak stop fluid, which you’re never supposed to do, and it worked and the car drove for another forty or fifty thousand miles without a problem.

And then there was that time we were driving up north to San Francisco, and all of a sudden said 2002…the temperature gauge went straight to the sky, with the lights on to boot. I was smart enough to pull over, knowing that otherwise I’d cook the engine, but now what was I going to do?

Stunningly, a tow truck came by, carried me to a 76 station, where they had the belt, and this same guy came back and installed it.

I knew it was the belt because the remnants were hanging down from the engine.

And this only cost fifteen bucks! And I bought an extra belt from the dealership and put it in the wheel well, just in case, not that I ever needed it, but it’s best to be prepared.

3

So I’m sitting in the car, thinking about all this as I’m conversing with AI, and I tell myself I’m 73, I’ve had problems before, this is much less than it could be, my brother-in-law just slipped and broke his hip, but that’s how it happens, you’re cruising along, not a problem in the world and then BANG!

And like I said, this car is twenty one years old. Do I cashier it? And if so, then what do I do?

Well, my first instinct is to buy one off lease, that is certified. But in the middle of the night, when I couldn’t sleep, I realized it made no sense to exchange one used car for another. But if I get a new car… If I did lease, that would be dumb, because the car sits outside for months when I’m in Vail. And I don’t want to buy too good a car since this is where it lives, on the street. Then again, I’m so old, I should get what I want, how many more new cars will I buy?

But now it’s sinking in. I’ve got criteria. It has to have a great stereo. All of my cars have had aftermarket units, which if you’re willing to pay, and I was, are far superior to what comes from the manufacturer. But the cost is now astronomical. Even worse, with all the sophisticated electronics you can’t just plop in a new head unit and sail forward from there.

And how much does the bill have to be before I call it a day? And do I need to get it fixed so I can sell it/get a better trade-in? My car’s value has bumped up in price. Used to be they were worth less than a WRX, now they are more. Assuming they’re in good condition, my paint job sucks. But with a good paint job, you can get ten or twelve k.

And I’m thinking about the money, thinking how now I actually do have the money, I can cope with whatever happens, which was not the case for decades.

I’m surprisingly relaxed. Then again, I’m in a zone. My original plan was to go home, watch two episodes of this TV series and then read my book. That’s off the table. I’m just sitting here waiting. And waiting…

Ultimately it took two hours for the truck to show up. It came all the way from Santa Clarita, which if you know L.A., is far. What was going on here? But the driver ultimately told me that’s how big his territory is.

So he arrives with a flatbed. This used to be exotic, now it’s de rigueur. Used to be they lifted up your wheels and pulled your car along and you had to worry about all kinds of damage, from the transmission to the body, but not anymore.

But how are we going to get it up there?

The guy asks me if it drives. I say sorta, but the steering is really heavy. But he asks me if I want to drive it onto the truck. Okay…

And he’s lowering the bed and I’m starting to freak, it looks like it will hit the front of my automobile, but then it stops, I get behind the wheel, and LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

My car has a standard transmission. And the engine is turbocharged, which was rare back in the day. And it doesn’t have enough low-end torque. The following year, and they only made this car for two years, they improved that. Bottom line, if you’re going up a hill and you need to feather the clutch… In my old machines, the hill on La Cienega, up to Sunset, NO PROBLEM, but in this one it’s a white knuckle ride.

But I get up on the flatbed, but this guy keeps urging me to get it closer and closer to the end. No problem with an automatic, but with this car, one false move and I’m going to hit the cab.

But ultimately he is satisfied where it is, he ties it down, and we go off for our ride.

4

I’m thinking about is what happens after he drops my car at the dealership, will he give me a ride home.

The first thing the AAA operator asked me was, ARE YOU SAFE?

In Brentwood, no issue. But on Van Nuys Boulevard late at night, I’m not so sure.

And he tells me if it’s just a couple of miles, he’ll take me home, but I check on the map app and it’s eight, so that’s not going to happen.

So I text Felice, who has been in the loop, that she’s gonna have to meet me.

And now we’re rockin’ down the highway…

I talk to these people. And I do my best to appear equal. I’m not going to sit there quiet and act superior.

So we’re joking, and then I get his story.

He works from five p.m. to six a.m. Really? Yup, after eight hours he gets more pay. And he works six days a week.

And does he like this?

He loves helping people.

So what was up with the previous guy’s car, up in Santa Clarita?

His radiator blew.

So the driver tells me he’s been working since age thirteen, in his uncle’s tire shop. And that he had to look after his two sisters, because his mother was a single parent. And I asked him what the dream was, but there was no dream, he just wanted to keep on working.

So then, as we got off the freeway, as we were sitting at a light, as we were approaching our destination, I popped the question I always do, WHAT ABOUT ROMANCE?

I never ask about a girlfriend, because it could be a boyfriend and…

He ultimately tells a sad story about how he fitted out this apartment, bought his girlfriend a laptop, even bought a VW in her name, and just days before he was supposed to move in, she disappeared.

WHEW!

And then he told me this happened only a month ago. So I commiserated, and then we were there, at Subaru of Sherman Oaks.

5

I had this all plotted out in my mind. We’d leave it on the lot and I’d get there when they opened the next morning, however…

You can’t get on the lot. They leave two cars blocking the way.

So now what.

Well, the side street won’t let you park overnight.

As for Van Nuys Boulevard, same thing.

And I’m thinking… I don’t want to have my car towed twice. I’m worried I won’t be able to get it to the dealership if I park too far away.

And we’re debating this.

How about we leave my car right up close to the parked cars, the ones blocking the entrance.

But that would leave me on the sidewalk, and would my car get towed by the police?

And I’m looking to this guy for advice, after all, he’s the expert, but he’s completely flummoxed.

After nearly twenty minutes of driving around and debating this, I ultimately say we should find the closest place we can where I can park overnight and leave it there.

Which we do, a couple of streets away. On a very sleepy street. And the truck’s headlights are going straight into this family’s living room, they probably thought they were being busted.

But we leave the car, the driver takes me back to the dealership where Felice is waiting, and he tells me he’s only going to charge me two miles of distance instead of three. There’s a range, and I exceeded it, it’s thirteen dollars a mile after that.

But at this point I’m not thinking about money. You just have to leave your wallet open these days.

6

So I tell Felice I want to get up at seven, so I can be at the dealership at 7:30, when they open.

She’s stunned, I’m a late night person, REALLY?

Yup!

Now I won’t say I slept well. And I’m thinking this is why you buy an electric car, nothing breaks! Nichol’s driven her Tesla 3 for 120,000 miles and all she’s needed is tires. There ain’t no stinkin’ belts. I mean this is obvious, right?

And I’m debating the logistics of the morning, but I tell myself…It always works out, I’ll get past this, that’s the benefit of being old, experience.

And I wake up before the alarm and it’s not quite light out. I go out and get the papers, sit and eat my yogurt so I can take my pills, as I study the map app.

Twelve minutes. Then thirteen.

Okay, I get it together and the amazing thing is the route is all blue. First I think it’s because it’s so damn early, but when I hit the 405 going north, it’s a parking lot in the other direction. I realize I’m going AGAINST traffic.

And usually you can pull a U right in front of Subaru of Sherman Oaks, but at this hour Van Nuys Boulevard is akin to the cruising days of old.

But ultimately I make it, park and…there are only a couple of cars waiting for service.

Now if you go on a Monday morning, it’s a madhouse.

And I’m thinking my main issue is how I’m going to get the car to the dealership. Which is why I immediately ask for Daryl, the majordomo, the master mechanic who now runs the whole show. We’ve become buds, once again, conversation pays dividends. And I like hearing about cars.

So turns out Darryl is sitting right inside, and he asks me to tell him my story, and he’s contemplating it, and I tell him I think it’s the serpentine belt. He thinks so too.

So after Erica writes me up, Darryl and I walk through the neighborhood to where my car is. He’s a muscular guy, I figure he can overpower the steering.

And we’re talking about his trip to see relatives on a lake in North Carolina, he’s pointing out a tree that drops pine cones that dent cars, and then he gets behind the wheel and muscles my car back to the dealership. I’m stunned how it seemed effortless to him, but he’s got arms like Popeye.

7

So as we’re driving back, Darryl says he’s going to recommend an aftermarket belt. I can’t quite understand whether it’s hard to get one from Subaru or he’s saving me money and I’m not really interesting in saving money, I want it to be right, and then he tells me it’s the same manufacturer with the same warranty, okay.

And then we pull right into the service area, like I’m royalty, and they lift the hood and Darryl looks and says he’s going to order the part right away, and he’s going to recommend an A/C belt too.

I saw all this as a good sign, he didn’t even talk about trashing the car, which he would have if the repair bill was gonna be too big.

And we b.s. for a minute or two and then I leave.

I’m stunned that it was taken care of so fast. Hopefully the repair will be that speedy too, Subaru is on a tear, they’re backed up and overworked there.

8

So what did we learn?

That even though I did have some anxiety, it doesn’t pay to worry, everything does work out.

And when I got back home, now getting caught up in the traffic going back into the city, I’m telling Felice all this and she asks me…”How much would the bill have to be before you buy a new car?”

I say three thousand dollars. I mean you don’t want to be stupid.

And you don’t want to throw good money after bad. I mean there comes a time when a car gets so old that everything starts to break, one by one.

But people in L.A. drive their cars for two or three hundred thousand miles. There’s no rust. My physical therapist’s husband’s Honda is well over three hundred thousand.

But you need dependability. You can’t worry that your car won’t start or the windshield wipers won’t work.

That’s what happened with my last car. There was an intermittent electrical problem that they couldn’t diagnose, and one of the symptoms was that if it occurred, the windshield wipers wouldn’t work. So if it started to mist, never mind rain…would I be able to make it to the Universal Amphitheatre and back?

But the Universal Amphitheatre no longer exists, and I don’t have that car anymore, but I should have called it a day six months and a couple of thousand dollars sooner.

CODA:

On the drive back home I heard the Kinks’ “Sunny Afternoon” on the sixties channel. It’s one of my favorites. I quote it all the time, the line “give me two good reasons why I ought to stay”…I always ask people to give me two instead of one.

And I’m thinking how Ray Davies is just singing about his life and I realize I can too.

I just did.

https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0TNSFR0EEK92QB9GUIJXFHVLOZ

I can’t even find a YouTube trailer, not one in English anyway.

There is no heavy lifting here, this series is on Prime Video, and everybody has Amazon Prime (don’t e-mail me if you don’t, keep making those calls on your flip phone/dumbphone).

Owen Sloane e-mailed me about it. And I rarely hear from him, and I don’t remember him ever recommending a series, and that’s whose advice I respect most, not those who inundate me with the clickbait, low-hanging fruit shows. I like to go deeper, I look for full satisfaction.

But I’d never heard of “The German.”

And it wasn’t that easy to find on Amazon Prime Video either. A lot of other stuff comes up with a similar title.

Now this is an Israeli series. Kind of funny to be recommending it in the era of Free Palestine, but as I repeat ad infinitum, the Israelis and the Danes make the best television. Furthermore, “The German” is set in 1970, before today’s Gaza crisis.

So what we’ve got here is international business, espionage, kibbutz life… For a few episodes you won’t really know what is going on. Or you’ll think you know what is going on and…

I haven’t been to a kibbutz since 1972, but I was stunned to find the one in this series aligned with my memories completely.

You see a kibbutz in that era, before most of them went extinct, was very informal. Actually, in that era, Israel itself was informal. One, because it was so damn hot. Two, because the focus was not on image, but basic life. Trappings were irrelevant. Especially interesting in today’s world where it’s all about the trappings, boasting, especially online, how you’re better than everybody else.

On the kibbutz everybody is equal. Sort of. And no one has any real money, everything is communal. You even have to borrow a car.

But the life?

At one point a young woman talks about all the sex everybody is having. Interesting, when you have a limited number of people in a society they’re more honest, they get even closer.

But back to sartorial issues… Everybody in the kibbutz is wearing shorts. This is what I remember. Practicality was key, what was in your head was paramount.

And there’s a giant swimming pool… And not only did I consider the depiction of the kibbutz accurate, the reviews I read after we completed the series went on about this.

Not that everything is hunky-dory.

And if the kibbutz is paying for your college education, can you leave it?

And irrelevant of your intellect and qualifications, there’s a lot of manual labor involved.

So…

This is a concentration camp show.

This is a Nazi show.

But not in the conventional manner. You see many people in the kibbutz are survivors of the Holocaust, they’ve got numbers tattooed on their forearms and…

They’ve soldiered on when so many of their families and relatives did not make it. How do you do this?

You never forget, your sleep may be tainted decades later, but you don’t tell your kids, you don’t want to tarnish their lives, bring them down.

So we’ve got stories of survivors.

And the documentation of the dead at Yad Vashem.

And this may sound pedantic and dry, yet it’s anything but. What makes “The German” so great is the humanity, the three-dimensional figures and how they act and cope. The plot is just laid on top of them. AND OH WHAT A PLOT IT IS!

Nothing I’ve said above gives anything away, but I’m going to stop there, because…

Let’s just say you’ll be riveted, you’ll be emotionally involved, at times you’ll be on the edge of your seat.

How the Israelis do it, I do not know. How they get story so believable and the images right… In the U.S., we focus on image first, believability second, if at all, after all fantasy/science fiction/superheroes triumph over here.

We finished “The German” in two days. I defy you to sit through all eight episodes (none an hour long, this is not a slog) and say this wasn’t a great show.

This is real television, this is what we are looking for. You can get this plot in a movie, but not this depth.

WATCH IT!

P.S. You have to pay $4.99 a month for Prime Video Ultra to get rid of commercials. I always watch a while, see if I’m going to complete the series, before signing up for this. And after I do, I immediately cancel it, so I get my thirty days and am not charged again. And when I went to do this yesterday… Forget how hard it was to find the right page, but when I clicked to cancel Prime Video Ultra, the option that came up was to cancel Prime entirely. Believe me, I tried it multiple times, there’s a glitch in the system. And after wasting all that time, I decided to contact Amazon… But good luck with that. I’m looking for the chat option AND I JUST CANNOT FIND IT! Eventually I do, and I get Mohammed who takes care of my problem. But I’m pissed off. I wasted all this time for $4.99? Was it worth it? This is exactly what they want to have happen, to get you to sign up and never sign off. There was a Click-To-Cancel rule established by the Lina Khan led FTC during the prior administration, but Trump killed it…got to let the lobbyists win!

Trump’s FTC Let Lobbyists Kill Popular Click-To-Cancel Rule, Advocates Say

“What was the song of the summer? Here are nine candidates”

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2026-09-21/song-of-the-summer-olivia-rodrigo-karol-g

Doesn’t that prove the point, that there is no song of the summer if there are nine possibilities?

Furthermore, as you read this list, if you don’t find names you’ve never heard of, you’ll definitely find songs you’ve never listened to.

So what is going on here?

Old media hanging on to an old construct, believing we live in a world we no longer do.

Then there’s today’s news that Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” has been number one for 23 weeks, establishing a new record.

The last time I wrote about “Choosin’ Texas” I got e-mail from a person in the business who’d never heard the song.

I know most people at this point were not around in the days of the Beatles, but if you want to talk about true number ones, ubiquity…

Or even the era of MTV. Was there anybody who didn’t know the Police song “Every Breath You Take”?

Furthermore, the charts are for the recording industry, showing how out of touch the three majors are. They operate in very few genres, their dominance over listening and live are less than ever before.

What is going on here?

The nichification of the world.

Even more dramatically, in the streaming era worldwide hits have decreased, as streaming has become ubiquitous, it’s local repertoire that dominates.

So where does this leave us?

Sans metrics that matter. Other than the Spotify (and maybe YouTube) streams and tour grosses (and not every show is reported).

You can’t reach everybody and not everyone cares. What’s a poor boy to do, play in a rock and roll band?

Actually, that’d be a good idea, that’s relatively rare, but the economics are horrific.

More people are listening to more music, more genres of music, than ever before. There is no universality. We even see this in television, look at the number of views.

That’s what bothers me about “The Pitt”…believe me, it’s not that great, it’s not that innovative, it’s just another medical show. But it’s on HBO! And oldsters have not broken the habit of being attached to that outlet/model, so the media gloms on and… I mean I’ve got to ask you, how many people really watched all fifteen episodes of “The Pitt”?

Concomitantly, we can’t even agree on facts in the real news world. They rarely surface. Everyone is invested in their viewpoint and many are not curious outside this sphere.

This could change, but we’d need a complete rethink in music. Niches are okay, but universality is still achievable if…

There were other songs as catchy and basic as “Choosin’ Texas.” I mean if you like “Choosin’ Texas,” where do you go next? There’s nothing close to that caliber in mainstream country today.

That’s what Top 40 used to provide, what MTV used to provide, the best of the best, there was a competition, you could hear it all in one place. Today? Even the hits take a long time to climb the chart and triumph. That’s how much sludge there is in the system.

If we had more active people in the A&R world this would be better. Today, and for a long time, labels just see what comes over the transom. They don’t have a vision that they try to feed, a la Lou Pearlman and NSYNC and Backstreet Boys.

But the labels are myopic.

Meanwhile, everybody’s freaking out AI.

Just don’t tell me there’s a song of the summer. There is no such thing, and there hasn’t been for quite a while.