With A Little Help From My Friends Woodstock – Spotify

Woodstock Joe Cocker sings With A Little Help From My Friends 1969 – YouTube

He was in the Grease Band.

What would you do if I sang out of tune?

You’d know one of the most famous songs of all time, the second cut on “Sgt. Pepper.” An iconic number sung by Ringo, one would think it was uncoverable. But this proved to be untrue.

Underground FM radio was slowly becoming the norm. It was a dividing line more accurate than whether or not your hair was long, did you listen? Late at night? When Alison Steele, the Nightbird, took you on tours of aural fantasy? When Rosko and Zacherle escorted you on adventures? When you tuned in to hear not what was already a hit, but that which was brand new, that titillated you, that made you rush out and buy the LP?

Joe Cocker’s take on “With A Little Help From My Friends” was a revelation, a reworking of a classic number into something wholly different. But it never crossed over to the AM dial, most people never heard it, until the “Woodstock” movie blew a hole in the national consciousness, made rock both the soundtrack and the religion of a generation. This was not 2016, when cultural events come and go, that flick played all summer, and one of the highlights was the aforementioned Mr. Cocker, performing “With A Little Help From My Friends.”

It was the same arrangement, but in its live iteration more haunting and powerful, the Chris Stainton organ solo set the tone, but it was Henry McCullough’s soaring, searing guitar which put it over the top.

There’s not a baby boomer alive who doesn’t know that riff.

And now Henry McCullough is dead.

Music is not like movies. Where the public walks out during the credits. Rather, listeners comb the details, read about the studios, the managers and the personnel. I’ve never met Henry McCullough, but I certainly know who he is. Back when musicians were our heroes, before it became about tech and money and steel as opposed to soul. Cash will buy you a comfy bed, but it definitely won’t keep you warm at night, whereas a great tune will not only toast your tootsies, it will set your soul free and give you a reason to live.

McCullough did not play on the studio original, although he was a member of the cast.

And speaking of casts, he was the guitarist on “Jesus Christ Superstar,” back when it was only a recording, when we did not know that Andrew Lloyd Webber was more Broadway than Brill Building, when limits were being tested every damn day and it was a full time job keeping up.

But Henry did play on the second LP, the eponymous “Joe Cocker!,” which is even better than the debut.

And he also graced McCartney’s “Live And Let Die” and “Hi, Hi, Hi,” as well as playing the solo in “My Love.”

He was a soldier in the rock and roll wars. Although we didn’t know that it was a fight, that it was a competition, until decades in we found out some people lived and some people didn’t, some people had careers and some didn’t. Some were famous and some were just working musicians.

Like Henry McCullough.

They just wanted to play. Stardom was a byproduct. Until the Beatles no one expected it to rain down coin, no one expected it to last forever, no one believed half a century later those who were exposed to these tunes would remember every detail, not only the tracks, but who played on them.

We bought our tickets and went to the show, the only place you could experience the magic. There were no cell phones, no selfies, no Snapchat Stories, only memories.

And by time I got to see Joe he was playing with Leon Russell and his band of merrymen known as Mad Dogs & Englishmen.

But just a month before, on the very first night I got stoned, on my 17th birthday, I went with my dearly-departed friend Ronnie to see “Woodstock” in the heart of Boston. This was back when films were platformed, when they didn’t come to your own hometown for months, when you made a pilgrimage, when you recited how many times you saw the flick in the theatre, three in this instance, before everything was available at your fingertips.

And there was no advance word, no news, everything was a discovery. And when Joe Cocker took the stage the excitement was palpable, no one knew about his spastic movements, no one knew what the backup musicians looked like.

And then we did.

I’ll never forget it.

Or Henry McCullough.

The Water Let’s You In (Bloodline Main Title Theme) – Spotify

Book Of Fears – The Water Let’s You In (Bloodline Theme) – YouTube

Do you have family secrets? Stuff everybody knows but no one talks about, that you’re fearful would doom you if it saw the light of day? Blood is thicker than water and it’s amazing how far you can fall by protecting your relations.

TV now requires an investment, it is no longer hit and run, watch what’s on, now you ferret out series and devour them, and you don’t want to waste ten plus hours on that which is not worthy. But you love reveling in that which titillates, knowing satiation is only a click away.

After finishing “Narcos” last summer and looking for the next project to consume my sister Jill recommended “Bloodline.” She’s a therapist, she thrives on interpersonal relations. But I thought it was a bit hokey, we gave up for a while, ditching it to the dumper like “Orange Is The New Black.” But it got better as it progressed, and we finished it just before the new season began at the end of May.

And seasons on Netflix are radically different from regular TV. They throw the whole thing on your plate like meat in front of a mad dog and you get to decide how you want to consume it, fast or slow. It’s a personal adventure, there’s no water cooler talk, no media hosannas, but if the series clicks it becomes part of the national fabric, which is so strange in today’s here today gone tomorrow society. A Netflix series is akin to a book, it percolates, it gains momentum over time.

And people are just starting to talk about season two of “Bloodline”… Whew!

And you’ll drown before the water lets you in
Yeah, you drown before the water lets you in

Danny is dead. Will the culpable players be held accountable?

But it’s more complicated than that. Turns out the deceased had a son, and an untrustworthy baby mama, in cahoots with John Leguizamo who is so creepy you get hives.

It’s all set in the Keys. I only went once, to hook up with Jimmy Buffett. But it’s definitely different. Kind of like Vegas with a twist. Hot and far from the metropolis and there are different rules, the ones enforced by the power players, the landed gentry with money, as opposed to the police.

But John is a policeman.

Married to Jacinda Barrett, of “Real World” fame. Who’s now in her forties, where did the time go? I remember when she was an ingenue and we hung backstage at a Live show at the Greek when she was dating Chris Hardwick. Chris became king of the nerds, Jacinda became an actress, and Live faded into the darkness. All over MTV and then into the dustbin, their music is a distant memory, it’s astounding what is remembered and what is not.

And Sissy Spacek is the matriarch, in a performance worthy of an Emmy. Sans facelift she looks her age and acts it, has wisdom and heart and refuses to be pushed around, like any grandmother, she roots the family.

Which was run by the tyrant Sam Shepard. So many dads are bad-asses. And I don’t mean bad as in good. I mean as in upstanding public citizens who are hell to live with, you’re constantly under their thumb, they give you some rope and then you hang yourself.

And Linda Cardellini, Meg Rayburn, got out of town but it didn’t last, because her family pulled her back into its trap. I’ve experienced this with girlfriends, their fathers won’t let them loose, only in this case it’s the whole damn family.

And there’s another brother, Kevin, a hothead with bad judgment… Life is all about good judgment, not playing by the rules but to your advantage. Talk to a lawyer before you talk to law enforcement. If you think coming clean and telling the truth works you’re an amateur the pros laugh at.

And there are a zillion plot twists. Some expected, some not. But every character rings true. They’re all striving to get ahead. Not everybody can be a rapper or a YouTube star, most are just trying to make it work in their own hometown, where everybody knows their name and they’ve been pigeonholed.

And certain episodes of season two are almost too anxiety-provoking to watch. That’s what sun and rain and blackness will do for you.

And music.

That’s right, there’s a theme song, which plays only briefly, at the advent of each episode. I never fast-forward through it, it sets the tone.

The young man goes out looking for the diamond in the sea
The old man rows his boat to shore and falls with twisted knees

You’re either going up or down. And oftentimes you don’t even know in which direction you’re heading.

Once upon a time theme songs became number ones. Not only “Friends,” but Mike Post instrumentals. But today, without cultural coherence and with radio risk a thing of the past, only anointed cuts in pop formats have a chance. But in an alternative universe “The Water Lets You In” would run up the chart, because it’s haunting, it’s a rhythmic loop that entrances you immediately, and isn’t that the definition of a hit?

Sure, it’s reminiscent of Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead Or Alive,” but different enough that a lawsuit is out of the question. And “Wanted Dead Or Alive” has persisted, decades later it still gets airplay, it’s the anthem of the “Deadliest Catch.”

But “The Water Lets You In” is brand new.

“Bloodline” is a twenty plus hour commitment. Most won’t take the plunge, most won’t follow through. But those who do…

When you see me mention it and my eyes will brighten, they’re fictional characters but I’ll want to go deep with you. The show is about life…

And it’s life only.

P.S. The subtle, minimalist, good guy who’s really bad performance of Beau Bridges is the best on screen, if he doesn’t get an Emmy there’s no justice. And Chloe Sevigny finally rings true, you believe she is Chelsea O’Bannon, and if you ran into Jamie McShane in real life you’d be stunned if he wasn’t the scumbag he portrays.

P.P.S. “I think the thing I wanted most was just never meant to be.” Ain’t that the truth, growing up is making peace with the fact you’re never going to grab the brass ring. It’s only the weak who check out early, not only do the strong survive, they see that ultimately no one wins, victories are hollow, and it’s all about the highs along the way.

They promised us one more thing, and all we got were emojis.

It was like listening to a new album from a faded rock star, all style and no substance.

This is about leadership.

And tech.

And the need for us to have something or someone to believe in.

Despite the glorification of the self, the promotion of one’s personality and penumbra for effect, the truth is we need those above us, they inspire us with their excellence, they give us something to live for.

And that is not Tim Cook and his band of nerds.

A plethora of people it was. Of both sexes and more than one color. It was a veritable rainbow coalition, akin to some Up With People, appeal to everybody, make me puke presentation.

We’re looking for bleeding edge, presented with charisma, and there was none of that here.

It’s now Tim Cook’s company. He takes the stage and you wince. Not this boring old fart again. The supply chain supplicant who inherited the operation…I’d rather hear from Janice in accounting. And if you don’t catch that John Oliver reference you’re missing out on something funny and dangerous, that makes you think, as opposed to what we got here today.

I returned my Watch, I couldn’t see it. And now they promote it as a health service. That’s the breakthrough app? Laudable, but most people are just not interested. It’s like promoting a band with fans that most of us just don’t care about. Can you write a hit single already?

As for Eddy Cue, he’s a salesman. A great antidote to Tim Cook, but you scratch the surface and find no genius. It’s like listening to a a Senior Vice President at some sales conference in Vegas, NEXT!

That’s where Craig Federighi started, he’s the last of the Jobs survivors. And he got the most airtime today, and he made the most of it. He cracked jokes, he evidenced a personality, but what he was selling were tweaks, nudges, there were no breakthroughs in evidence.

Tech has hit a wall. MySpace replaced Friendster but Facebook stole the eyeballs and it appears we’re at the end of the road. Nothing’s gonna break the monopoly. We’ve become accustomed in the past two decades to a wiping clean of the slate every couple of years, we believed revolution was just around the corner, it was thrilling to watch and be a part of, but now… It’s a few companies honing their offerings and consolidating power.

I could bore you with the offerings, but…

Let’s see, Siri has come to the Mac!

A service I never use because she constantly gets it wrong.

I can draw responses on my iPhone. No, get this, I can draw responses on my WATCH! And if you think that’s gonna work well you’ve got Lilliputian fingers and are a graduate of Art Center.

I was hoping for a new MacBook Pro, mine’s aged, I want to replace it, but there were no hardware offerings in sight. Then again, so many of the new features will only work with the latest iteration of devices. Pushing on your phone to bring up options. You do have a 6s, right?

Wrong.

And now that people actually have to pay for the devices, now that contracts are about service as opposed to hardware, most people believe their mobile is good enough, the upgrade cycle has stalled.

But you’re missing out on features!

But most of the features they demonstrated today I wasn’t interested in and will never use.

I can create invisible ink! I can have my emojis automatically suggested! Who gives a crap. No, let me take that back, the mobile and texting rule communication, these features will be utilized, but they will not push the envelope.

As for music, the vaunted relaunch… One of the worst demos of all time, coherence was left back in Cupertino. And you know the company’s screwed when they still insist on combining files and streams. When they say downloads, do they mean tracks I’ve purchased or what I’ve synched via the $10 a month service? Damned if I know. But at least it wasn’t Jimmy Iovine giving the demo, but a hip young lady who evidenced that music was cool, something different, and had no place at this geekfest.

The geeks don’t want no freaks.

And the freaks have been too busy trying to suck up and sell out to the geeks.

Time to go your separate way. Time to focus on creativity, making it about testing limits as opposed to money. One hit single can rain down more cash than most tech startups. But you’ve got to have the inspiration and the chops and…

The pendulum is swinging back. The artists are going to regain control. What are you gonna say?

P.S. The highlight was the Swift demo, proffered by a woman who lived for physics who had a bit of subtle attitude, a flash of the old Jobs crass. It was too long and covered too much but you got a window into what could be done, it made you want to enter the coding world.

P.P.S. Enough with the self-congratulatory videos. We get it, you’re Apple, why not give us one more thing that will not only thrill us, but raise your stock price?

P.P.P.S. I watched, but I didn’t feel involved, a member of the tribe. The attendees looked like zombies who’d drunk the kool-aid. And I love to drink the sugary soft stuff too, but you’ve got to get me with your head and heart, from the very start, and keep titillating me along the way, and today I felt no connection.

We’re leaving eight billion dollars on the table!

You’ve got to listen to Michael Rapino on Peter Kafka’s podcast. Or maybe not, you haven’t got that much time and don’t care but then you can’t get a ticket to the show and need a scapegoat and denigrate Ticketmaster and illustrate your lack of knowledge and contribute to the problem and there you have America in a nutshell…a land overloaded with information where everyone complains and points to inaccurate facts.

Within said podcast Rapino delineates Live Nation’s complete business model, tells more about the company’s vision than you can get by reading a lifetime of Ben Sisario articles or “Rolling Stone” pieces. This is the music business education you’re yearning for. And it’s definitely business, if you want creativity look to the labels, then again, the labels aren’t sure what they’re looking for, bunkered down in search of cash they’re pursuing commercialism, and that’s why the listener is unsatisfied. As for those doing it for themselves, testing limits… It’s hard to get attention, hell, I’ve never even seen anybody write about the above podcast or email or tweet about it, and Rapino is one of the two most powerful people in the music business!

The $8 billion figure is the amount by which we underprice tickets.

But let’s go back a step. If Drake or Beyonce play Madison Square Garden, what are the odds you can get tickets anyway? Superstar acts might tour every three or four years, millions want tickets, not everybody can go. Just because you can tweet and pontificate on Facebook that does not mean you can get inside the building. Which flummoxes you, that you have access on Ticketmaster but you can’t conclude the transaction.

Because of the bots.

But this is not a technological problem, no, this is all about economics!

Which abhor a vacuum. It’s no different from drugs. The government reduces Oxy availability and the heroin dealers see an opportunity and move in. That’s what happened, that’s why everybody’s o.d.’ing, heroin is not only cheaper, it’s a more available fix.

So get off your highfalutin’ college education pedestal and see when an entire industry underprices its inventory there will be those willing to move in and skim the profits. You can’t put billions up for grabs and expect those who are not already rich, or those who already are, the hackers and the ticket scalpers respectively, to not move in and take it.

Of course there’s subterfuge in the offering. When tickets finally go on sale they may be less than a tenth of total inventory. Pre-sales and holdbacks making up the majority. Get your Amex or Citi card, or both, join the fan club, do your best to be an insider, there are rewards for being a regular customer as opposed to buying once a year… But the real problem is we’re underpricing our tickets.

What’s the value of a front row Beyonce ticket? Four hundred? A grand or fifteen hundred in NYC? That’s what they end up going for, either through scalpers or platinum procedures. Yes, platinum, it’s a way for the industry to capture that income without looking bad. You give a good seat and a laminate and maybe a poster or a meet and greet and somehow that rationalizes a ducat price far in excess of face value. But the truth is people just want the seats, close, and that’s what they’re worth.

And then you have Lin-Manuel Miranda bloviating about bots in the “New York Times.” We haven’t even been able to eradicate e-mail spam, what are the odds we can mess with the bots? Low.

But give “Hamilton” credit, they just jacked up the price for good seats to $849. Don’t get your knickers in a twist, that’s what they go for anyway, but not via the primary sale, but scalpers.

Or, you can enter a lottery for a cheap seat, wherein victors get in for just ten bucks. But the odds of winning are about as good as those in the California Lottery.

But “Hamilton” has it half right. The rich have unlimited bucks, they’re gonna pay anyway, why not capture that income?

And the poor are priced out, so give them hope, give them a small chance.

But the truth is in order to make this work, to get rid of the bots, acts have to charge what the tickets are worth. That’s what the Stones do, that’s why you can always get a ticket.

But the wimps paying fealty to their fans while they make backroom deals to scalp their own tickets are worried about the backlash. Screw that, the public already knows what tickets are worth, that’s why StubHub and the scalpers are so profitable! And how great is it we work in an industry where even the poor will overpay for what they truly desire, yes, people will scrimp and save and blow the piggy bank for the show they want to see. And  you can always get a ticket at an exalted price, just Google, the offers come right up.

So…

Let’s come out from under the covers, let’s stop blaming the bots.

Either…

Price the tickets at what they’re worth.

Or…

Employ a paperless or lottery system to ensure that the great unwashed can get in.

Expect outsiders to bitch, they always bitch, you’ve got to ignore them.

But if you don’t go paperless, if you don’t tie the ticket to the initial buyer, you’re gonna discover…

The rich people are gonna get most of the good seats.

And there you have America. You might be priced out of “Hamilton” at $849 a ticket, but to a corporate denizen, someone who landed in Teterboro, that’s just the cost of doing business, their only decision is whether they want to go or not.

So you can’t get a ticket because there aren’t enough, they aren’t priced properly and the rich scoop up the good ones.

We can start by pricing our shows properly. As Rapino says, we’ve got to raise the price to sit up close and personal and lower it to sit in the upper bowl.

But that’s never been the case. A bad seat costs almost as much as a good one.

But now, more than ever, people want to sit up close.

I don’t expect rapid change. Acts only have one career, and frequently it’s very brief. But it’s the acts’ responsibility to fix this problem. And railing at scalpers picking up margins like candy ain’t gonna do it. Who’ll follow the Stones into flex pricing? Who’ll follow Metallica into paperless? What will it take to make this behemoth industry move forward?

I’d say there’s no chance, then again, this political season has illustrated the public knows the truth and is ready for change.

We’re ready for change in the ticketing business.

Michael Rapino podcast РFrom Beyonc̩ to Springsteen, almost every big concert goes through Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino

Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Stop the Bots From Killing Broadway”

“Hamilton Raises Ticket Prices: The Best Seats Will Now Cost $849”