From: Kirk Turner
Re: Want To Want Me

Hey Bob! Just thought it was interesting that you wrote posts about Luke Bryan and Jason Derulo separately this weekend and now they are singing a duet together using a karaoke app.

IT’S LIKE YOU PREDICTED THE FUTURE.

Here’s the duet on Smule’s website: http://bit.ly/1htFc0O

Here it is on Luke’s Facebook page with 7 million views already: http://on.fb.me/1MYMO8E

Press:
http://usat.ly/1L20ejL
http://bit.ly/1Nmnt5q
http://bit.ly/1TlsflI

(Note: Turner works at Smule, but he is not the only one I heard from regarding this.)

I’m gonna get to Jason Isbell. The track is “Speed Trap Town.” What I hate about the media is they focus on the work track, the one the label promotes that it believes will appeal to the most, mostly those who do not care, whereas “Speed Trap Town” is a quiet, intimate song you’ll never hear on the radio that will draw you into your alienation and loneliness and make you believe in music as the most powerful artistic medium and make you wonder where Nashville went. But having said all that…

Luke Bryan’s new album is loaded with hits, it’s not a disappointment, but it’s this one song that closed me immediately, that I liked from first listen, that too will probably not ever be played on the radio.

Not that “Speed Trap Town” and “Huntin’, Fishin’ And Lovin’ Every Day” are the same song or mood, the latter is slower too, but what “Huntin’, Fishin’ And Lovin’ Every Day” is about is the dream, what if we could do only what we wanted to do, 24/7…

I tried that. In Utah. Oh, I had to work a day job, but the truth is it’s the people who got to me, they had no ambition, and only wanted to talk skiing all day, and after a month you’ve covered it all, but that does not mean I don’t love the mountains, sliding down the hill. And now with the high speed lifts and modern communication techniques such that you can live and work anywhere/everywhere that is my dream, to get a few hours in every day, not to be a weekend warrior, but to be wedded to my desire, just like Luke Bryan wants to hunt, fish and love.

And the truth is if the lyrics were about something completely different, “Huntin’, Fishin’ And Lovin’ Every Day” would still be a killer. It’s kind of like those long tracks of yore, the slow burners you played in your dorm room, taped for play in your car, that set your mind free as you contemplated this great nation of ours. And the truth is the music rooted you, made it all make sense.

There’s a lot of magic before Luke even starts to sing. The axes start to twang, set the mood, and then Luke starts singin’ “Whoa-oh-oh” and you’re suddenly in the church of rock and roll, and if you don’t think today’s country is the rock they said would never die, you haven’t listened.

If I could make a livin’ from walkin’ in the woods
You can bet I’d be sittin’ pretty good
High on a hill, looking at a field downwind

There’s the conundrum. Do we follow our heart’s desire or do what society tells us. Do we even get a choice? Used to be we did, back when there was a middle class and you could survive on minimum wage, I certainly did, in both Los Angeles and Sandy, Utah. But today you’re either on the road to success or you’re left behind. And no one wants to marry a loser. And soon you do what’s practical and leave your heart’s desire behind, just ask all those freshly minted MBAs working on Wall Street with no free time.

I love it when my baby wants to roll with me
Throws her boots on, climbs in a tree
Tuckin’ her hair in my hat and she’s ready to go

Want to endear yourself to your man? Be game, do what he does, nothing will put a smile on his face more. He’ll suddenly deliver whatever you want, your heart’s desire, all he’s looking for is a friend, a companion, one who gets him instead of ribbing him, like his buddies.

But like I said, the magic in “Huntin’, Fishin’ And Lovin’ Every Day” is not the lyrics, but the music. The advantage of being Nashville’s biggest star is you get to play with the biggest and best players. It’s Nashville keeping Guitar Center alive. When you hear these guys wail… And they don’t get these sounds at home, they work in the big studio with pros and the sound is so rich you want nothing so much as to part the curtain and get inside, immerse yourself in the sound.

So while y’all are up there
Breathin’ in that old dirty air
I’ll be down here, knee deep, in the Muckalee

That’s the truth, life is for the living, those on the accumulation path, of money and fame, are rarely as happy as those who know it’s all about experience and feeling. You don’t have to be Donald Trump, drive a Ferrari and date a model to be happy. Hell, chances are you won’t be happy at all. Because those are markers established by society, whereas inside we all have feelings, a dream of who we want to be, and if you pursue that…you’re on the road to happiness.

Assuming you can pay the bills.

Ah, there’s that conundrum.

Huntin’ and fishin’ and lovin’ every day
I wanna see them tall pines sway
Y’all close them eyes
Let’s go there in our minds

The guitars are wailing, the banjo is twanging, and for just one moment you’re free, you’re where you want to be.

And that’s the power of music. It can take the worst mood and put you in first. It can turn a frown into a smile. It can give you ambition and hope. It can help you take a step. It can make life worth living.

So, if you’re looking for me, I’m on the gondola staring at the Gore Range, with my brain on an endless loop…

Huntin’ and fishin’, lovin’ every day
That’s the prayer this country boy prays
Thank God he made me this way

Huntin’, Fishin’ And Lovin’ Every Day – Spotify

Huntin’, Fishin’ And Lovin’ Every Day – YouTube

How come no one is calling Apple Music a disaster?

Forget the usability issues, all the industry hype about Beats 1. The truth is the public just doesn’t care.

In case you missed the memo, Eddy Cue told “USA Today” that 11 million people signed up for an Apple Music subscription. Talk to Twitter, registered users is nearly irrelevant. Most people get caught up in the frenzy and abandon. How many will ultimately pay for Apple Music? A whole hell of a lot less than 11 million. And then where will that leave us?

In a broken recorded music world whose retardation rests squarely on the shoulders of Taylor Swift, David Byrne and the rest of the music-making agitators who believe they’re just not getting a fair deal. These vocal players, many of them with anemic fanbases to begin with, have done an incredible job of turning off customers. If it were 1981, they’d be responsible for an I DON’T WANT MY MTV! campaign.

But in ’81, artists could see that MTV was a boon. To get everyone paying attention would help them, as a class. Duran Duran was built by MTV, never mind Culture Club and the channel was responsible for the ascension of Michael Jackson’s career into the stratosphere. Who’s been built on Spotify and Apple Music?

Nobody.

At best we can argue stars are built on YouTube. Like PSY. Where Taylor Swift has her music and everybody gets paid less. Good work music industry. Whilst advocating against the future the public took the ball and ran it into a backwater from which you may never emerge, at least not while your career is in its ascendancy/salad days. We’ve got Neil Young promoting a poorly-designed player no one wants and removing his music from streaming services… What’s endgame here? Everybody broke?

Turns out Apple couldn’t turn the tide. It was not a leader, only a me-too product. And it turns out they’re selling something most people don’t want. Come on, 11 million people on this planet of billions??? Apple Music is FREE and most people don’t want it. We’ve got a messaging issue so big, one almost prays for a Donald Trump to speak the truth. But in music we’ve had mistakes since Napster, with Metallica taking the wrong position which was right. What Metallica proved is that old adage, that the customer is always right, and when insiders argue they all lose. Napster goes out of business and Metallica’s royalties go down.

How in hell are we gonna turn this around?

Certainly not by agitating for the end of the freemium model. Most people don’t want to pay, most people don’t even want to sign up for FREE! So, we’ve got to entice them at least to experiment. Build a wall where $120 a year is required and you’re suddenly selling Apple Watches, something no one wants.

How did this story get so out out of control? How did the mercenary artists do their best to eviscerate the pool of money? If you think vinyl is gonna make up for the shortfall, you probably believe the cassette comeback is real, as opposed to a trumped-up press story with no real traction.

As for CDs… There’s nowhere to buy them. Go into Wal-Mart and Best Buy and count the SKUs.

This streaming debacle is like artists complaining ticket prices are too high and promoters are shady and therefore concertgoers shouldn’t come, proffering no alternative all the while. Furthermore, there is an alternative in recorded music, the dreaded YouTube, whereas you can’t steal a concert, you can either go or stay home. And isn’t it funny that the artists don’t complain when their tickets are blown out on Groupon… Yet they’re complaining about royalties when the truth is so many are in a negative position that they’re never gonna make bank.

I’m not saying royalties should not be transparent. I’m not saying that artists should be screwed. But I am saying that by not being on the same page with streaming services and record companies the artists are screwing themselves. Fans love artists, not labels. Turns out they don’t even love Apple that much. It’s the artists who get people to change their minds. But too many artists are singing the wrong song on streaming.

As for the media…

This is the same media that keeps telling us Trump’s campaign is history when the polls ultimately tell us otherwise. Turns out the media is out of touch, a fourth estate in love with its own power. Ain’t it funny to watch the newspapers implode and Viacom’s stock go down the drain with its viewers.

The truth is the public is in control. Your only hope of success is to get the public on your side, it’s the essence of marketing.

Apple failed with its Music app.

And the artists are failing with their endless campaign against streaming.

Jay Z and his cabal had it half right, it’s just that they didn’t understand that their fans are overpaying for concert tickets and are nearly broke and don’t want to listen to fat cat superstars complain.

Don’t worry, music will never die. People will make it and the public will consume it. But the way things are going it’s gonna be a long time before the recorded music revenue pool skyrockets. And you can blame Spotify, but you’re better off blaming yourself.

What if they gave a party and no one came? What if the world’s most valuable corporation gave away music and no one cared?

Then you’d have the Apple Music story.

Watch for the crater on 10/1, or at least 11/1, after everybody signs off after finding out they were charged without their knowledge.

Then what?

Your move Taylor Swift and David Byrne.

Never mind all you wannabes and formerly middle class artists who believe that what once was is forever. People like to listen to music, but they may not want to listen to yours, never mind pay for it.

“Apple Music signs on 11 million users, for free”

“Apple Music hooks 11 million trial members…”

I can’t get this song out of my head. I know, I know, it was a hit a couple of months ago, but this aged boy only discovered it this week on Spotify’s Top Hits in the USA playlist, or something like that. That’s right, I’ve given up on Apple Music. No matter what Jimmy Iovine says its curation is not defining, there are new tracks every week and the app’s a battery hog and it imported all the playlists from my iTunes library that I don’t use rendering my MP3s I do sync to my phone unusable so I’m back to Spotify. And Deezer Elite.

And the other night I heard Selena Gomez’s track “Good For You” on Sirius XM and was stunned how good it sounded, so that was my incentive to pull up the pop hits and… I discovered this.

It’s kind of a cross between Billy Ocean’s “Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car” and the breathy voice Prince employed in the beginning and it’s so damn infectious it puts a smile on my face and has me dancing in the room, and I’m a stationary guy unless the music moves me.

I knew his name. But the acts come and go, they’re too often fronts for old men. But I researched him and found out Jason Derulo had a slew of hits. And started off at Cash Money and was now releasing records via the Warner empire.

So the problem we’ve got is the scene is too vast for anybody to understand. And too often people dismiss genres, they’re believers in what they already know. But you already do know this sound, and love it, you just haven’t heard it done so well in such a long time. You think too much of the Top Forty is a laugh, base stuff you can’t sing along to…

The intro is reminiscent of Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me,” however brief. And then…

It’s too hard to sleep

You’re hooked immediately. It’s the underlying rhythm. The melodic vocal line, delivered so intimately. But what puts it over the top is the anthemic chorus…

Girl, you’re the one I want to want me
And if you want me, girl, you got me

That’s the era we live in, one in which one listen is sufficient, where you get it immediately, where you know the song right away and are elated.

There are Michael Jackson whoops. And I’d be lying if I said that “Want To Want Me” is original, it’s derivative, but in this era where we’re waiting for a revolution, something to break down the barriers, this’ll do.

And it’s not only “Want To Want Me,” it’s the follow-up track, “Cheyenne,” too. Which is quieter, more dreamy, with the feel of a George Michael solo cut, but with even more intensity.

You hear this stuff and wonder where you’ve been, how you could have missed out on something so great, something that’s been hiding in plain sight. Taylor Swift called Jason Derulo up on stage, but unless you’re a denizen of the Top Forty, you’re probably clueless, to your detriment. Why can’t Apple Music have ONE playlist, with FIVE tracks MAX! Genre is irrelevant, quality is the only criterion. You believe you hate rap and then you go to “Hamilton” and are blown away. Even the most dyed-in-the-wool rockers are gonna love these Jason Derulo tracks. Well, maybe not. But remember when Stevie Wonder was a favorite of both the blacks and whites, when we thought he was so good colors and styles disappeared..? Well, Jason Derulo ain’t THAT good, but in the sea of mediocrity he climbs to the top of the heap.

CHECK THIS OUT!

Spotify playlist

“Want To Want Me” – YouTube

“Cheyenne” – YouTube

“Good For You” – YouTube