Steve Jobs’ legacy & The iPhone X

Read this. If you want the most insightful writing on yesterday’s Apple presentation.

And maybe you don’t want to, don’t care, and that’s fine, although kind of funny since everybody owns a smartphone, but the truth is I used to read “Rolling Stone” cover to cover when musicians had something to say, but now that mag is better on politics.

Roger McNamee made this point in Santa Barbara. The hoi polloi are too caught up in the exterior, whereas all the action is inside. The speed increase of these phones is positively staggering.

And that’s why you need a new one. And you should buy one, especially if you’re part of the iPhone faithful. The offers are piling up. You can get $300 for your old phone, or get one free if you buy one at AT&T (and subscribe to DirectTV). You see unlike its competitors iPhones retain their value, for a while anyway, and I’m not saying a thousand bucks is a fair price point, but once again we’re focusing on marketing, everything but the product.

Om tells us it’s about custom chips. Vertical integration. And I don’t want to get into an Apple/Android war here, it’s fruitless, but if you want to survive in tech you’ve got to be one step ahead, and it’s best to vertically integrate, like Apple.

Now there are good writers in the mainstream media. I’ll point out David Pogue, who’s been marginalized since he went to Yahoo, and Christopher Mims at the “Wall Street Journal,” but too many just report, unlike Om they don’t analyze.

I want to know what it all means, where it’s going. I want to be stimulated. I’m looking for trusted filters, writers as opposed to stenographers.

I depend upon Om.

You should too.

David Pogue – “What really happened with Apple’s Face ID ‘fail’ onstage”

Irving told me the monitor mix was off. As a result, the vocal wasn’t perfect.

I thought the act was nitpicking, I didn’t think the audience could tell, although I’d noticed it.

And Irving said it was the little things that made all the difference. The 1%.

This resonated with me, because my shrink says the same thing. That you change 1% and sometimes the whole picture changes.

I’ve found this to be true.

Yesterday, the facial recognition at the Apple presentation failed. It was quite noticeable. Craig Federighi picked up an iPhone X, tried twice, and then had to shift to backup.

This happened occasionally with Steve Jobs. VERY occasionally. And when it did, all hell broke loose. He excoriated the team, the show had to be PERFECT!

Just like that act that was complaining to Irving.

We live in a country where good is good enough. Where everybody gets a pass. And if you’re striving for excellence, you’re a pariah.

Hell, I’ve invested six figures in psychotherapy trying to overcome this. I don’t know whether it’s OCD or my personality, but I want to get it right, and when it’s wrong I don’t get over it, but I end up having to work for myself, because no one else cares that much, at least not about my stuff.

So the vibe after yesterday’s presentation is facial recognition does not work.

I know someone spending double digit millions based on it functioning seamlessly, his whole business is built upon it.

And one thing about Touch ID, it doesn’t work well when the temperature drops. I have five prints stored, three with the same finger, but when I was in Alaska, damned if I could get the phone to open. Same deal on the ski slope. And Samsung’s fingerprint recognition is even worse. So I figured facial recognition was doomed.

Like MySpace, which allowed you to customize your page to the point it crashed others’ computers.

Now yesterday’s presentation had no zing because it held no surprise. Every major element was leaked to the press beforehand. That never would have happened under Jobs, remember the iPhone 4 fiasco? It’s only a reveal if no one’s seen it before. And Jobs proved you can withhold information, have secrecy.

Now getting it perfect does not mean it must be belabored. Sometimes perfection emanates from your fingertips and if you mess with it you screw it up. That’s why so many sixties hits were so magical, they’re riddled with errors, but they’re just so right.

And one of the problems with today’s music is it’s often too perfect, it doesn’t breathe, it’s got no humanity.

But if you’ve got a goal in mind, if you want to dominate, if you want to make an impression, you’d better get it right, the little things count.

How much traction will David Pogue’s story get vis a vis the original Apple broadcast?

Not much.

In a world where there’s endless information you’re lucky if you can get the public’s attention at all, and if you do…

You’d better get it right.

I tuned in to find out Apple had donated $5 million.

Then I tuned out. Not literally, but who’s watching this show anyway?

I applaud the effort. Give Scooter Braun credit.

But this is no 9/11 benefit, it’s not even Manchester United (I know, I know, it’s “One Love Manchester.”)

What it is is a collection of some of the greatest celebrities today asking us to open our wallets, in an era where celebrities mean less and our country has been torn apart not only by storms, but racial and economic hatred.

Come on, Apple pays almost no tax, at least not relative to their profits, which are kept overseas, Michael Dell was the beneficiary of huge tax breaks, but we should dig down deep into our thin portfolios to help our downtrodden brethren?

I don’t think so.

They’ve already got us paying a grand for a phone, over a hundred bucks for a concert ticket. Why are we denigrated yet giving all the time, while the corporations lobby in D.C. to have their taxes LOWERED and hedge fund titans are taxed at capital gains rates.

We need a rethink here folks.

Disasters happen. And we need a fund to make people whole.

But the government has been demonized. The Red Cross is the enemy. Everybody wastes bucks, but now they’re asking us to pay up?

We live in a society, we’re all in it together, if we don’t look out for each other we’re screwed. You can’t insulate yourself from the downtrodden, no one can live behind a gate and fly private 24/7. And what kind of life would that be anyway?

And did anybody notice that so many of the impacted are African-American? The President allows white supremacists to run free but now we’re supposed to care about those of a different color? WHAT MESSAGE ARE WE SENDING!

Hell, I’ll push the buttons of the right.

Should we be building in Miami?

What impact did climate change/global warming have on these disasters. Can we even ask those questions, can we do a study? Better safe than sorry, like those evacuees who found out Irma missed them. What’s the downside of decreasing emissions? Of solar power? China says they’re going to electric cars and our President is trying to build up coal mining, which is fading all by its lonesome.

But the truth doesn’t go far in America, because the truth hurts.

All those rich people who say they’d have no problem paying taxes if the money was used more efficiently, while the peons pay gas taxes and food taxes and so many other levies without choice and don’t complain how they’re spent. Like the rich earned it. Believe me, Apple is nothing without its customers, ditto on Dell.

But we’re supposed to applaud these enterprises for laying down some of OUR hard-earned money to help the unfortunate.

Hogwash.

Tax these enterprises. Raise taxes on the wealthy. Bring our nation together as opposed to apart.

You want to feel like you make a difference, have an impact, but how can that be when you donate ten or twenty bucks and Tim Cook lays down millions? You wonder why people do dope, they’re disincentivized!

Furthermore, this proves that the only power of the underclass does not come from cash. It comes from ideas. Stands. Statements.

Want to piss off Apple, bring the company to its knees, start a boycott. Believe me, all hell would break loose. They neutered Uber, do you think they cannot do it to other companies?

And sure, Uber was an out of control boys club.

But these other corporations are not a whole hell of a lot better. It’s just that you don’t find out about it, it goes on behind closed doors.

But to tell you the truth, most people have tuned out. Cut the cord. Are deep into their niche. Decades ago everybody watched the networks. This telethon needed to be live on Netflix. So many other places where eyeballs reside, but the truth is we’ve all scattered.

But we’re feeding the monolith. Forget losing your privacy to the government, Facebook is more powerful than the KGB, you cough up all the details!

So we’re on the wrong path. We never ask the big questions. We just gather together now and again and give some coin away to feel good.

I’m not buying it.

I’m way too good at goodbyes

They knew every word.

And so did I.

Music has become balkanized. There are rappers on Spotify and classic rockers at the shed and there’s no coherence.

But maybe it’s coming.

It started with Adele. Who sang singable songs about life and became the biggest act in the world. She didn’t participate on social media, she didn’t do sponsorship, she let the music do the talking, and it was enough.

Sam Smith is cut from the same cloth.

Why are all the best acts English?

So this appearance was part of his album launch.

Upstairs you had the connected. On the wall you had celebrities, like James Corden.

And in the pit you had fans.

I had a great conversation with Corden. He was animated and alive and not reticent whatsoever. He told me how he listens to Van Morrison and…

Then the lights went down.

I was seated in the bleachers, dead center, with the privileged.

But the truly privileged were on the floor. Who’d won the lottery and were inside. Like the three gents with handmade t-shirts right down front, who Sam leaned down and kissed at the end of the show.

And the paradigm has completely changed. This ain’t your father’s classic rock. Where you sat stoned, or stood and swayed to overpowering music. Today’s fans know the words and they sing every one of them.

Because the music is accessible.

Never underestimate this. Used to be you’d go to the show and people would only know the hits, but with Spotify and YouTube acolytes are familiar with all the material. If you like the hit, you go deep.

And what you noticed first, which was ASTOUNDING, was that Sam Smith could SING! Effortlessly! He hit every note!

Now you’ve got to know, baby boomers are familiar with acts that were brilliant on record but rough in concert.

And the youngsters are used to hard drives, they expect perfection.

And the machines get it right, but they don’t live and breathe, they’re soulless.

But Sam was accompanied by a piano player. And a bassist and guitarist and string player and three backup singers. There was no fakery whatsoever. And when he opened his pipes…

WOW!

Maybe we’re used to this from singing TV shows.

But those people can’t write. And subtlety is out the window. Whereas at the Troubadour tonight an angel graced the stage, it was remarkable, this guy could nonchalantly throw off perfection, you were watching and couldn’t believe it.

And he started with a few old numbers and that’s when I noticed…

Everybody downstairs knew every word.

And these people looked like today. These were not hipsters, some were nerds, you see the cool people you see in tabloids and on Instagram aren’t real, everybody else is normal. They’ve got their heroes and are warm and connecting, no one was jockeying for position, everybody, almost equally men and women, just had their head in the air singing to the heavens.

And Sam Smith couldn’t stop smiling.

Sure, this was an album promotion. Last time around this guy played arenas. But the energy was palpable, the audience was the battery for Sam Smith’s performance. They jolted him to deliver.

And boy, did he.

The new songs were even more rewarding than the old.

And you realized you were attending something special, the way it used to be, when music was not about bucks, but sound. Today everybody’s so busy counting the cash that they forget it’s all about electricity, and Sam Smith was turned on tonight.

And so were we.

I couldn’t help but marvel at the assembled multitude. They were having a religious experience, as was I. There was no projection, no dancing, no fakery, just honest to goodness music, the way it used to be.

And can be again.

And after playing his old hit, “Stay With Me,” it was time…

You must think that I’m stupid

Now “Too Good At Goodbyes” only went live Thursday night. In the old days you’d have to sit by the radio just to hear it. But these days…

I played it for an hour straight that night. And even more over the weekend. I like to luxuriate in one great song, when I find one.

And usually when acts play new music people go to the bathroom.

But with these tunes, you could get them the first time through, they evidence humanity.

And since you could listen as much as you wanted online…

You must think that I’m a fool

The song’s only been in the marketplace for days, but everybody knew every word. You could see Sam cracking up, he didn’t believe it, it lifted his performance to another level, that’s the power of the crowd, when amped they levitate not only themselves, but the performer.

You must think that I’m new to this

Not that new. Not like last time through. Sam was comfortable in his own skin. He wasn’t nervous, he could relax and let it all out, and when the mellifluous sound emanated from the stage…

I’m never gonna let you close to me

That’s wrong, we were right there tonight.

And when Sam left the stage we felt the glow.

Because we’d experienced genius. We’d seen the power of art. We’d seen a pathway into the future. One in which talent matters and melody returns, with words that speak to our inner tuning forks, which too often feel lonely in this abrasive world.

Sam Smith was way too good.

He was undeniable.

It was hard to say goodbye.