Sticks and stones may break your bones
But words can break your heart

So I’m driving to Capitol thinking about who’s in my rearview mirror. Not literally, although traffic was squirrely, with the Vine exit closed, but figuratively, as in Hale Milgrim, Gary Gersh, Andy Slater, Roy Lott… Decades have gone by and what once was isn’t. The music train keeps rolling along, but the most interesting thing I read this week was Tad Friend’s article about Marc Andreesen in the “New Yorker.” Silicon Valley wants to change the world, Hollywood just wants to get rich.

And after parking my car in the back lot, it’s all about parking in Los Angeles, I take the elevator up to the top where Toni escorts me into Steve Barnett’s office where he and Ambrosia are listening to a record, not a word being said, Steve staring rapturously at the wall.

This obviously wasn’t done for me, I caught them in a moment. And what was playing over the speakers was…SPECTACULAR!

So I go from caring not a whit about the music business to being totally riveted, feeling that I’m back to where I once belonged.

And when the track finishes Steve tells me it’s the album of the year, which sounds reasonable to me, since this is the guy who built Sam Smith in the U.S., and he’s going to do his best to deliver this 67 year old another hit.

Huh?

Now I’m completely confused. So I ask “Who is this?”

DON HENLEY!

I was completely flummoxed. I’m a fan, you’d figure I’d know his voice anywhere. But the room was vast, with the B&W speakers against the far wall and very little sound-absorbing material, and I figured it had to be someone new.

But it wasn’t.

Henley told me years ago that he was working on a new album. At this point I figured it’d never come out. After all, even Paul McCartney can’t have a hit. Tom Petty ramps up publicity but after a week, no one cares. But one listen through this track and I was hooked. It was the lyrics above, sung in a plaintive voice Henley owns the patent on, I couldn’t get them out of my head.

Ain’t that the truth, especially as you get older. When you leave the schoolyard behind. It’s what people say that you can’t get over.

Not that this was the agenda for our lunch. But as we walked to Katsuya, as Steve told me about the new Capitol Records, I couldn’t get the Henley track out of my mind.

First of all, how did Steve get it?

From Irving.

But how does Steve know Irving?

Steve called him when AC/DC were doing their Wal-Mart deal. Irving was supportive of him getting the Capitol gig.

And that’s when Steve launched into his rap about it all being about people. That he learned that from his dad, that that’s what separated the great teams from the also-rans. It was key that he assemble the best team at Capitol, and he believes he has.

And it’s also about the plan. You’ve got to have all the pieces put together and execute flawlessly. It starts with great music, of course, but being tied up with Pittman and iHeart, SNL, the promoter, you’ve got to have it all lined up to succeed today. Because there’s so much noise, it’s hard to break through the clutter.

Not that Steve has all the answers. He told me he changes his mind all the time, when his people confront him and give him new insight, show him another way of doing things.

And A&R is a thing of the past. Sure, you need scouts. Yes, it’s great if they can help make the records. But today it’s about the audience and your gut. If the audience embraces something, go for it. Even if others say no. Hell, 11 out of 12 people at Columbia said no to One Direction. Steve went with the act anyway, based on his long relationship with Richard Griffiths, and as they say…the rest is history.

Furthermore, having had success, most prominently with the aforementioned Sam Smith, talent now calls him. Because people want to be with a winner. And a team succeeds on momentum. One success begets another, players believe they can win, no matter what anybody else says.

And we talked about the streaming wars and the concert wars. Steve said physical and downloads have another 2-3 years, that they’re not dead yet. And that even though Neil Diamond’s new album may not have set sales records, the ensuing promotion ended up moving over a million units of catalog.

And Steve is thinking of new ways to skin the cat. I can’t reveal them all, but I will tell you that an audience of a few hundred thousand, paying five bucks a month, gives you MILLIONS at the end of the year. How do you find acts with loyal fanbases, how do you tap into those fanbases… It doesn’t matter what everybody else thinks, only what you do!

And Katy Perry is gonna go back into the studio soon. She’s eager to hold on to her cap as the teen queen dream.

But I couldn’t stop thinking of that Henley song.

How could it be a baby boomer could write a song encapsulating truth in a way no one younger seems to be able to, all the while singing mellifluously with changes that resonate?

We went back to the building and I sampled the rest of the record.

This is the Eagles album you’ve been waiting for.

But is anybody waiting for an Eagles LP?

The truth is we’re waiting for music that speaks to our hearts, about the human condition, that makes us feel connected as opposed to alone, that we hum in our head as we’re elated and depressed, that rides shotgun in this crazy adventure we call life. That’s how the Eagles got so damn big to begin with.

And the album’s not coming out for months. And I can’t predict radio success.

But I do know someone who cares, who knows it’s all about what’s in the grooves as opposed to the sponsorship deal, dug down deep in an effort to get it right and he did!

And with Steve Barnett’s help you’ll become aware of it.

And you’ll be glad you did.

P.S. All you Eagles and Henley haters can hold your breath, put your fingertips away, because the truth is in the modern world hate is irrelevant, it’s all about love. No one cares that you pooh-pooh this or that, all we care is that someone loves something. And if enough people do, you have success.

“Tomorrow’s Advance Man, Marc Andreesen’s plan to win the future”

Broke the mold.

It posited that there was unheralded talent that the usual suspects, the major labels and their A&R teams, were unjustly ignoring, and that by scooping up singers the public could decide who was best and a star could be born.

It worked.

And everybody making music the old way HATED IT!

That’s the story of “Idol,” how someone, in this case Simon Fuller, decided to turn the model on its head. It’s the story of the twenty first century, with Napster and now Spotify, those willing to think different to the point where those continuing to think the same are scratching their heads, not only wondering where their cheese went, but worrying if they’ll ever eat again.

Innovation, it’s where it’s at.

Smart people embrace streaming and figure out how to utilize it to get ahead.

Dumb people rail against payouts, as if constantly complaining that landlines deliver better fidelity will wipe out mobile.

So we must look to the future, not the past.

What else did “Idol” teach us?

That stars matter. And you can mint them overnight. And the main criterion of success is honesty.

That’s your explanation for Simon Cowell, an unknown Brit who became a household name and incredibly wealthy just by speaking the truth. Because, everybody knows it, and they want to hear it.

But no one involved in “Idol” could see that it was time-stamped, that it wasn’t forever, that it broke the mold but something else would break the mold after it.

Cowell thought it was about singing shows, that if you just messed with the formula just a bit you could make even more money. But “X Factor” failed in America, because everyone had already seen the trick. It was like Mariah Carey singing the same old songs but in a different key. Been there, done that, the public is not interested, the public wants NEW!

And despite being a ratings juggernaut, the “Voice” has not minted any stars. Because it’s about resuscitating the careers of old ones. Bitchiness ruled, competition was heavy while on “Idol” niceness prevailed, the judges were famous, but they were nonentities.

And now we’ve got Harry Connick, Jr. on “Idol,” even Scott Borchetta, believing if people see you you’re successful. But in the modern world everybody has a home, everybody has a presence, everybody’s available, and we’re only interested if you’re new and exciting, if you’re doing something different. And these guys are following the formula, through and through.

So what happens now?

The next revolution in music is coming, online.

It’s already happened in visual entertainment, YouTube stars are huge, bankable and rich.

And Justin Bieber was discovered online. Credit Scooter Braun with figuring out the new paradigm. He moved in when “Idol” was dying. The story isn’t so much about Bieber but Braun, as it always is. The star is just the face.

But Braun didn’t realize we’re living in an age where you’ve got to erase your past as you move ever forward. Not only the cassette and the CD, but the old game of finding nascent talent and faking hysteria to riches. All Braun did was raise money on his past efforts, now those people want their money back.

So it’s about revolution and stars and money.

Let’s start with the last. The culture has changed. People choose professions for cash. If your charge isn’t willing to do anything to make it, to become rich, find someone else.

As for stars… There’s a fascinating story circulating online about the decline of one hit wonders. Turns out there’s no room for them, everybody wants history, an imprimatur of success.

“The Death of the One-Hit Wonder”

As for revolution…

Same as it ever was.

The Beatles, Bob Dylan, they turned the past on its head.

Even Boy George and Culture Club, almost openly gay and dressing in caftans all while singing modern English music filtered through the blues.

And then there’s prog rock… If we know how to play, what can we do with our chops?

And then rap. If we speak the truth the public will resonate, and everybody loves a beat.

And now we’re in the twenty first century, in a lost era for music. Because everyone’s complaining and no one’s innovating.

The public mints winners, especially in the modern era, middlemen are toast.

And the public only lays down a lot of cash when something is new and different.

What is new and different?

Well, someone who yields comprehension from chaos. We’re ready for an online tastemaker, who will have so much power he can monetize it, but we’re living in the old paradigm where everything is great and everything deserves a listen, while the public is overwhelmed.

The labels act like venture capital firms to a degree. They want to see evidence of success and a plan. Their only problem is they refuse to fund revolution, for fear of losing what they’ve got. Incubator, schmincubator, Universal is clueless.

Today it’s not about promotion but virality, assuming something is truly revolutionary. If it’s that good, people will spread the word.

The last thing that good was the aforementioned Napster. It might have been free, but at least people WANTED the music!

Music, when done right, scales.

Stop listening to the old fogeys. Stop learning how it used to be done. Know that in order to succeed you’ve got to turn the world on its head.

Let’s make it simple… How about finding ugly people who write their own songs? That’s changing everything everyone in power believes in.

How about putting music in BuzzFeed movies?

How about a music site that is all about the customer as opposed to shoveling the same information on the dungheap. That’s right, a place where the biggest fans are categorized, a giant competition to anoint the greatest music fan in America! You send in a video why you should be chosen. You score points by going to shows and not only streaming music, but gaining followers. Why in music don’t we make the fan the star, as they do on Facebook, Instagram and…

Because we’re clueless and wedded to the past.

Put your thinking cap on.

The song remains the same. Clueless old farts make deals for legacy companies that are vastly overpriced, believing brands have meaning in the fast-moving internet world.

That’s right, while Microsoft buys Nokia, Facebook purchases Instagram and WhatsApp. Because Mark Zuckerberg actually uses the internet and whoever really made the decision at Microsoft does not. And how come we never hear about Redmond’s purchase of Skype? It’s kind of like Garth Brooks’s download site and album sales, if anything good happened he would have told us, but he didn’t.

The old CEO of Verizon knew what he was doing. That it was all about NETWORK! That’s why I overpay for the red company, because not only did I used to want to know that they heard me now, today I want LTE coverage in the hinterlands, which I get. But while this new bozo was shifting towards content he let speeds decline, AT&T is actually faster in some areas (don’t switch, you still can’t get a connection, LTE is nonexistent in too many places and you can get text messages days late) and T-Mobile is eating his lunch by providing power-users data access overseas. Want to increase your market share? Start with the influencers, those who get others to follow. Once they go somewhere else, you’re toast.

So what Verizon is buying here is an ad network.

But it could have bought the same service from a third party for much less. To overpay for AOL and its content is nuts.

As for entering a new sphere, I’m reminded of HP and Palm.

Palm is an also-ran with new technology that fails in the marketplace and is then laid off on HP which buries it. AOL is an also-ran whose prominence is in the distant past, like Palm’s was, and it cannot be resuscitated. As for Tim Armstrong, he’s a SALESMAN! Better to invest in a techie who can actually build something worthwhile than a guy who specializes in smoke and mirrors. Buying AOL is like buying BlackBerry. Something that once was that is dying a slow death, something with legacy adherents who are nearly meaningless. Acquiring dialup customers is like rolling up stick shift users, and even FERRARI has gone automatic!

As for the content play…

Speculators say that the Huffington Post may be spun off. As for TechCrunch, it was decimated when its star employees left eons ago. Because they couldn’t work for Mr. Armstrong. Who strong-armed them. As for Ms. Huffington, she’s got a nearly worthless site that has been trumped by BuzzFeed. That’s right, the HuffPo is all about link-bait, the lefties who supported Arianna left the building long ago. Once again, you’ve got an oldster who doesn’t understand the landscape who keeps saying she’s wining when she isn’t. Furthermore, BuzzFeed proves it’s all about original content, and Vice knows that he who has boots on the ground wins in the coming news wars. The HuffPo has nearly neither.

But the truth is Verizon’s Lowell McAdam and Tim Armstrong bonded in Sun Valley, that’s where it happened, at the Allen & Company confab. Proving once again it’s who you hang out with, who you know, that access trumps content.

So the game is over. AOL is finally dead. Subsumed into a larger company such that we can not assess its decline.

As for Verizon, which famously rebuffed Steve Jobs and the iPhone just like XM rebuffed Howard Stern, forays into content are a huge, money-wasting effort. Did you know that Verizon had a deal with the NFL? Nobody does. Verizon could have put a stake in the heart of AT&T the same way XM could have put a stake in the heart of Sirius, but instead, while it’s trying to figure out the future T-Mobile is putting a stake in its heart, because Americans are cheap and Verizon has got no cheap offering. T-Mobile is killing Sprint and Verizon is leaking too. But McAdam spends money on AOL? Isn’t it about the NETWORK?

Furthermore, the television/movie wars tell us if you want to expand into new territories it’s all about the content. That’s what Netflix, Hulu and Amazon are in a war over. Want to go into the content business Verizon, then feature exclusive content we want to watch!

What if you bought an ad platform and you had nothing anybody wanted to see.

Then you’d be Verizon.

Ass-backwards, if the strategy has any merit at all.

Call a spade a spade, this deal is nearly ridiculous.

But you don’t have to hear it from me, just read Twitter:

You’ve got jokes: Twitter reacts to Verizon’s AOL acquisition

These are the people you have to convince before the Street.

But Lowell McAdam doesn’t know that…

It used to be a religion.

That’s right, late night started with Steve Allen, matured with Johnny Carson and ended with David Letterman. There are people on at 11:35 now, even 11 and 12:35, but they’re poseurs, inheritors of a throne no one pays fealty to anymore, despite a fawning press gushing in adulation, trying to divert attention from its own death.

Johnny was damn good. But what’s stunning is how he’s been forgotten.

It’s like Jay Leno never existed. He’s still around, but the show was wiped from our memory banks instantly. It’s almost as if Jay was a warm-up act for sleep, and once your eyes shut you couldn’t remember a damn thing.

But there was this period in the eighties, when Dave ruled.

It was a club. There was an occasional story in “alternative” magazines like “Rolling Stone,” but mostly Letterman was ignored.

Except by his audience.

First and foremost he was on at 12:35. In an era where there were VCRs but almost no one knew how to program them. You had to stay up to watch him. And what you got was the Little Rascals on steroids, a clubhouse full of hijinks that no one had performed before. Dave wasn’t stupid enough to take chances with his mortality, but the situations Merrill Markoe put him in were not only memorable, you couldn’t stop telling people about them.

Merrill Markoe. She doesn’t get enough credit. Dave’s the star, but Merrill created the show.

And that’s how I found out about it, from friends. That’s how you find out about all the best stuff in this universe, via the passion expressed. You just have to check out what people are on about, to give them crap if nothing else.

And what intrigued me about Dave was his irreverence.

That’s what the Jimmys are lacking. That’s why Jon Stewart is a star.

You see the baby boomers were brought up to question authority, to never feel comfortable in a ruling position, and that’s another thing that endeared us to Dave, his uncomfortableness.

And of course we had the SNL refugee Paul Shaffer on keys. But even more we had all the acts we could never see on television anywhere else. I’ll never forget Sinead O’Connor doing “You Made Me The Thief Of Your Heart.” I played it over and over again. As I did Melissa Etheridge’s “I’m The Only One”…

That’s right, I recorded Dave’s show, but watched it even later each night. I have no time for commercials. And I had a thousand dollar VCR that was easy to program.

And I know all about the famous moments, Sonny & Cher, ultimately Drew Barrymore and Madonna, but that’s not what the appeal was. The appeal was you felt like a club member, and we all want to belong.

And we’re all not cool, we don’t have famous friends. And Dave famously never dated nor hung with the stars. You seemingly couldn’t take him out of Indiana.

And then there was his mother. Most celebs leave their parents behind, unless they’re dieted down to nothing and have limitless panache.

But Dave’s mom was just like ours. And we loved her for it.

And I know all about the “Tonight Show” nonsense, the late night wars, but the truth is Dave got his 11:35 slot and changed his show and it was never the same. He wore fancy suits, the band was no longer “Dangerous,” but an “Orchestra.” The first couple of years were a victory lap and then Dave bombed on the Oscars and the stink was upon him, the audience fled, he fired Morty and Jay took over.

Dave recovered, but it was never the same.

Because it wasn’t new, and it was for everybody, not just us.

If you want to know why Dave is retiring listen to his podcast with Alec Baldwin. He just didn’t want to put in the extra effort anymore. Because he didn’t care.

But I’ll argue Dave left the building long before.

As we all did… When the internet was upon us and we had options, not only at 11:35 but alternatives to broadcast television itself, and then cable too! The format was old and stale, Conan lacked charisma and Fallon is so sugarcoated as to be icky. It’d be like having the media obsessed with British Invasion clone bands. The world moved on, late night TV did not.

But it was good to know Dave was still there. Even if I didn’t watch him. It was a link to the past. One where someone completely ordinary-looking could rally his brethren for success.

But now he’s gonna be gone.

Everybody’s doing his show, but he won’t be. That’s right, during Johnny’s days every guest didn’t do a bit, they actually had real conversations, it’s Dave who turned late night into pure comedy.

But the format’s stale, as I said above.

We’re always looking for someone to push the limits. Someone not like them but us, who we can trumpet and make successful and then bask in the stardom of.

It ain’t late night stars anymore.

Maybe YouTubers, or Viners.

But no, they’re stars without talent. Dave had something. He was sharp. You could see his brain working. He was there to entertain us. But he maintained his dignity, except when he intentionally sacrificed it.

So, so long Dave.

Maybe you can come back once a week wearing your boxing shoes and sport jackets and make fun of what once was and continues to be.

But I’m thinking you’re gonna fade into the woodwork. And after the hoopla of the expiration of your show the media will move on.

But there are some of us who will never forget you.

The same way you never forget that guy in class who didn’t date either but had no problem pulling pranks and risking retribution.

Dave criticized his bosses.

He was TV’s Bob Dylan.

But unless you were there when it happened, primarily back in the eighties, you’ll never understand.

And for those of us who were, THAT’S POSITIVELY FINE!

Sinead O’Connor “You Made Me The Thief Of Your Heart”

Melissa Etheridge “I’m The Only One”

“Here’s The Thing With Alec Baldwin”