“Taking me higher than I’ve ever been before”

I do what Gary Slaight says.

In case you’re not aware of him, he’s a radio legend up north who sold his chain for a cool billion yet still retains his rock and roll identity, irreverent and fun. So that’s why I was there at the Radio Awards and I was utterly surprised when the show was opened by Kiesza.

She might be a one hit wonder, but the modern paradigm is you create a single, and if you do your job right, it becomes ubiquitous, part of the culture, we all know it and then…WE SEE YOU LIVE AND OUR EYES BUG OUT!

That’s the power of music, that’s what every other artistic medium cannot provide. That jolt of humanity and charisma that becomes part of our DNA such that when we see the being responsible for the record performing it our bodies tingle and there’s nowhere we’d rather be.

Not that there aren’t other ways to skin a cat. The night before Cowboy Junkies were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Irrelevant has-beens with one famous song, right?

I became a believer. Because there were minutes of guitar wailing, odd, intriguing sounds coming out of the amps, and then…THEY WENT INTO SWEET JANE!

Acts refuse to look backward for fear of being seen as has-beens. But Margo Timmins and the boys jetted us back to what once was and made today that much more comprehensible, convinced us it is all about sound and hits be damned. At least that’s how it used to be.

Furthermore, Cowboy Junkies performed “A Common Disaster,” their other killer. And that’s what everybody agreed they did, KILLED! Proving once again that with no smoke and mirrors, no special effects, a band can evidence humanity that seeps into our pores and makes our lives worth living.

Greetings from Toronto where it’s the same yet different. Where the government helps out with the arts but you’re looking through a big picture window at the United States and unless you cross the border you ain’t gonna get rich, it’s going to be solely about the music.

And there are a plethora of panels and activities, bands and conversations, hanging in the lobby is a full-time job. And you learn just by listening.

Whether it be about what’s selling tickets in Singapore or that a 21 year old woman’s favorite act is Motley Crue.

The truth is there’s too much to know today. You can stay online 24/7 and still be out of the loop. Everybody knows some statistic you don’t, we’re all in it together and up in Canada they don’t complain but put their heads down to work.

And eat.

I just got back from the wildest restaurant in creation. Called Lahore, it’s Pakistani food, kinda like Indian but different. And unlike in L.A. the countrymen were consuming, half the clientele was from Asia, dressed accordingly, and we ate in a tent and it was jumping near midnight and it made me feel fully alive with a desire to travel 200 days a year. Get your passport. Book a trip. The Canadians take after the British, they go. And only with boots on the ground can you understand what’s going on on this mortal coil.

I listened to Michael Gudinski tell me about competing with Live Nation Down Under and I was schooled at Bruce Allen’s feet, hearing a combination of gossip and insight that still has my head twirling.

And Jake met me with a Tim Hortons Nutella donut. And then we went to the Old Crow, a barbecue place in Toronto? But the food was delish!

And I learned about the nuts and bolts of this business while seeing performances by Magic! and other acts that have crossed-over and I’ve been so overwhelmed I haven’t known what to say.

But what I am saying is music is alive and well. Because there’s a group of young ‘uns who care just as much as their forebears, at least up here, where the tunes come first and being rich comes later, if at all.

And that’s the way it should be.

Which is why I love Canada so much.

Canadian Music Week

Lahore Tikka House

rose and sons big crow restaurant

THE FLUTE

It’s right there on the opening cut of their debut album, “My Sunday Feeling.” Forget me-too culture, Jethro Tull was original! Name one other band not only dominated by flute, but one where it was played by its frontman! Sure, you occasionally heard the flute on glorious tracks like the Blues Project’s “Flute Thing,” but no one built a whole band around it!

And where is the flute today…

Don’t we glorify the originals? THEN WHY NOT TULL!

THIS WAS

Purists are right, the debut is the best. Blues-rock with a twist. Completely lost to the sands of time, “This Was” heralded greatness the same way Led Zeppelin’s first did. Check it out and complain. But you can’t! Because “This Was” still sounds fresh and original today, unlike what was playing on AM radio.

STAND UP

Because IT DID!

Everyone keeps regretting the passage of album art. But Tull were KINGS! “Thick As A Brick” featured a complete newspaper, but there wasn’t a teenager alive who wasn’t wowed by the band popping up in the middle of the “Stand Up” gatefold. And this was long before pop-up books were de rigueur.

NO HITS

At first. There was nothing resembling a hit single on the initial LPs. Hell, until “Living In The Past,” long into their career, there really wasn’t a radio hit at all. Isn’t this what we want to celebrate, those who go their own way, who follow their muse in pursuit of musical greatness?

CHRYSALIS

One of the great record companies of all time was built on Tull’s back. No Tull, no Chrysalis. No Blondie, no so much more.

LOOK INTO THE SUN

Because we remember that which touches us, even more than that which moves our bodies. Because we’re only human, we’re confused, we’ve got more questions than answers, and when music is done right it soothes our pain, it rides shotgun as we try to find our way out of quandary and despair.

RIFF ROCK

We celebrate “Smoke On The Water” but not “To Cry You A Song”?

Then again, Deep Purple isn’t in the Hall Of Fame either…

Sure, critics were disappointed in the turn towards the mainstream on “Benefit,” but music is irrelevant unless people listen to it and the truth is “Benefit” was close enough to popular tastes to be widely embraced, it satiated people, and still contained the dark “Sossity You’re A Woman” and the classic “Teacher,” music for headbanging in slow motion.

DEVELOPMENT

We don’t want our artists to just repeat themselves, we want them to take us on a journey, to explore, life is all about the new and “Aqualung” was a jump from what came before.

LENGTH, SCHMENGTH

The two key cuts on “Aqualung,” the title track and “My God,” were 6:35 and 7:11 respectively, and despite the dominance of FM this was not a radio-friendly thing to do. Tull was beholden to the music, not the middleman.

SINGLE SONG ALBUM

How come “Thick As A Brick” has been forgotten? There’s not a baby boomer alive who doesn’t know it, the acoustic intro, the movements…

Sure, Mike Oldfield did it too, with “Tubular Bells,” but that was AFTER!

Furthermore, you had to flip the side in the middle!

CDs play ad infinitum, but no latter day act has duplicated Tull’s feat.

COMEBACK

Years after their initial impact, nearly two decades after their debut, Tull had a huge success with “Crest Of A Knave” and its hit track “Farm On The Freeway,” which was just as enrapturing as the earlier work. Imagine Bruce Springsteen writing something as good as “Thunder Road” today…IMPOSSIBLE!

But despite all the foregoing, Jethro Tull has been EXCORIATED! For stealing Metallica’s Grammy, for making music that fit in no obvious genre.

There’s not a chance in hell the Committee will embrace Tull. Because Ian Anderson is not a warm dude, because the band had huge success across all demos and the Committee can only embrace personal favorites that no one else liked, that “influenced” others. Some bands are so sui generis that they can’t be replicated. Come on, front your band with a flute back then and you’d be dismissed as a Tull imitator!

And Anderson shuffled the lineup. Which makes it harder to believe. The leader is supposed to hide behind handlers who take all responsibility, the band must not be at fault for musical changes. But a band is a living, breathing thing. To expect harmony is to expect Zayn Malik to have a string of number ones.

There’s a chance that decades from now, when rock is truly dead and nostalgia creeps in, when those who denigrate Tull have died, that young kids will discover Jethro Tull and embrace the band the same way the Doors were resuscitated. Because like the Doors, Tull tested limits and was very listenable.

Is that such a crime, to make ear-pleasing music?

Don’t hate the success, love the music.

Tull is deserving.

But if you’re waiting to be anointed you’re playing the wrong game.

Jethro Tull won everything. They don’t need no Cleveland coronation to prove that. But they should get one.

Rhinofy-Why Jethro Tull Belongs In The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame

Take away their Super Bowl victory.

That’s right, strip them of their success, show that rules matter.

But they don’t anymore in America.

That’s what the underclass doesn’t understand…the level of cheating that goes on by their overlords, the rich and famous, the corporate titans, the sports stars. They keep telling us we’ve got to work harder, to be like them, to make it when the truth is they’ve had advantages and have greased the totem pole so we can’t climb it and all the while keep uttering duplicitous statements that keep us off our guard.

Kind of like Lance Armstrong.

You know who’s a national hero? Greg LeMond. Who won the Tour de France when Americans weren’t paying attention. He went on record that Lance doped and he lost his bike deal, he was demonized, his life ruined. Because if you stand up against the winners in today’s society you’re a loser. Kind of like Edward Snowden. Do you think the appeals court would be saying the N.S.A. went too far if it weren’t for Snowden? Of course not, justices are human, not infallible, the law is malleable, they sway with the wind.

Actions matter. Identities matter. But somehow in the dash for cash and fame these concepts have been plowed under.

Like high speed trading. Michael Lewis writes a book about what most people can’t understand and the only ones who do excoriate him, believing if they say enough negative stuff the story will go away.

And that’s the truth.

Kind of like Tom Brady.

You need an edge, everybody in America needs an edge. A thumb on the scale. A way to make sure they can win. If you don’t think the game is rigged against you you’re not playing.

It starts with schools. The best and the brightest don’t even go to public school, they have you agitating for voucher systems while their kids go to Andover and Exeter, places you’ve never even heard of. And their progeny get into the Ivys because they did too. And if they didn’t, they donate a building. Of course you can’t get into Brown if you’ve got 1000 on your SATs, but if your numbers are in the ballpark and your daddy writes an eight figure check, VOILA, success!

Welcome to America, where there’s a way around everything. It’s who you know and what they can do for you, but it’s the denial that bugs me.

When I grew up the worst thing that could happen was to bring a note home from school, my parents would hit me, literally. Today if a kid brings home a note a parent goes to the administrator and says it can’t be true and threatens to sue. Don’t ask me how things changed, but they did, and this culture is permeating our entire society.

No one can take any responsibility. And when caught, they get on their high horse and deny it. Sometimes the truth comes out, but usually years later, after the perpetrators have garnered the victory and the spoils.

Not to mention America loves a redemption story. We’ll give you a second chance if you say you’re sorry. But that rarely happens anymore, unless you’re a celebrity who makes a non-PC statement and goes to rehab… What, is this the USSR, with re-education camps?

I’d like a re-education camp.

One in which schools teach people how to think as opposed to getting the right answer on a test.

One in which you learn how to read and write, because in the digital age those are even MORE important!

One in which public universities are funded to the degree private ones are. So a degree from UCLA or Berkeley is equivalent to one from Stanford, how it used to be.

One in which you can pay your bills by doing an honest day’s work. I’m not saying people shouldn’t try to improve themselves, but without people to do all the service jobs we’ve got no economy, never mind a society.

Now it’s great Ellen Pao sued Kleiner Perkins. The VC firm won, but it lost. Because the truth is they did keep women down. And now every VC firm will be hesitant to do this in the future.

And if Brady and the Patriots skate on this no one will be dissuaded from cheating in the coming years.

At least they nailed A-Rod. He equaled Willie Mays’s home run record and no one cared.

Because the truth is we don’t care about liars and cheaters.

But if we pay Asian contractors a living wage, our TVs and computers will cost a fortune.

If we penalize the Patriots our lives will be empty with nothing to believe in.

Baloney.

People rally around the truth. That’s what art used to provide. Before we lionized second-tier charlatans like Jeff Koons and celebrated Taylor Swift for her marketing efforts, trumpeting her success on the anemic sales charts when everybody is streaming. That’s right, Swift is the queen of YouTube. Leaving Spotify was irrelevant, because it’s got few subscribers. Want to make a difference Taylor, LEAVE YOUTUBE!

Taylor took a stand, one that benefited herself.

Ain’t that the twenty first century.

And the only reason I mention her is at least you know her. Becoming world famous is nearly impossible these days. The opportunity is there, but the success rate is incredibly low.

Read this article about how hard it is to become a YouTube star:

“Can You Still Become ‘YouTube Famous’?”

But you won’t. Because you just wanna believe if you work hard enough and believe in yourself you’ll make it.

Hogwash!

The winners have an edge, AND THEY’RE KEEPING IT!

Do you expect punters to refrain from using Periscope when celebrities are paying 10k a ticket for the fight?

Welcome to the teens, where those with money and power are completely ignorant as to how the rank and file think.

We had to endure a month plus of hype for a brutal sporting event that ultimately disappointed. We heard how much money was being made. Looky-loos decided not to pay but to view the fight for free on the aforementioned Periscope and Meerkat and the threats to sue Twitter are hysterical. Everybody believes they’re entitled.

Just like the music business.

That was yesterday’s story, Apple’s effort to shut down free. Not only on Spotify, but YouTube too. Heralded by players everywhere, most don’t want to achieve their desire. They’re going to find out payments for streaming will still be low, because few want to listen to their music. All the spoils will go to the already rich and promoted, and the avenues of exposure everyone counts on, like YouTube, will be gone.

Assuming the government doesn’t step in and stop it.

But this is what happens when cronies work together. Old friends like Jimmy Iovine and Lucian Grainge. Grainge has been telegraphing this move for months, testifying everywhere his desire to get rid of free. And this might be good for the bottom line of his recording company Universal, but is it good for artists?

Knee-jerkers will say that people pay for visual content, for Netflix and Hulu and…

But the truth is visual media is facing a piracy onslaught heretofore unknown. With broadband prevalent and numerous sites for pirated downloads and streaming abundant, piracy is a cancer on the television and movie business, and they don’t know what to do but sue. They tried that in music, even suing the customers, how well did that work out?

Turns out the public is enticed by legal alternatives, that give them what they want conveniently for a low price. We’re way ahead of the game in music, but in a war of attrition, we’re about to screw it up once again. Exclusives are the culprit. You won’t be able to hear everything in one place for one low price. And the end result will be piracy, or even worse, a shrug of the shoulders and a lack of desire to check out wares completely.

That’s what we’re fighting in the twenty first century, obscurity, not piracy. That’s why YouTube and free streaming tiers are so good.

Not that people shouldn’t pay for music.

But it’s going to be a long evolutionary process, which no one time-stamped at a label has time for.

Ever try to use free Spotify on your handset? It’ll make you subscribe or give up. You can’t pick and choose songs and play what you want at will, not that this is discussed anywhere. We live in a mobile world, the desktop is dying, presently YouTube sucks on mobile, as does Google in general, which is why the company is challenged. But you’ve got the music industry finally waking up to the desktop, huh?

That’s right, as we enter a fully mobile society people will end up paying for music subscriptions because of the convenience. But you’ve got to price it right and give it time. Everybody’s not going to subscribe at these prices and not everybody even has an LTE-enabled phone.

But it’s coming.

But you always need a free way to check out music.

Back in the day, not everybody paid. Many listened to radio, which is presently execrable, furthermore, who has time for commercials?

And internet radio sucks too, especially Pandora, because it’s not on demand.

We need all access, instantly. That’s where you start online.

And if there’s a piracy path, you’re challenged.

It’s the people who are thieves, not the techies who build the pathways.

Then again, there’s a coterie of coders who put up these sites and do it for free.

What kind of world do we live in, where they don’t respect our hard work, where they don’t believe in capitalism?

One in which you just can’t get ahead and those on the bottom have contempt for those on top.

The games are just beginning in TV and movies.

But in music, we want to close the loop prematurely, coronate the present winners and forget the wannabes, just like we used to in the MTV era. Who cares if no one can hear your music if they can hear the Top Forty!

That’s right, if you’re struggling, you want a free tier.

And the business wants a free tier as an alternative to piracy.

But greed is having those in power move the ball too fast. It wasn’t until Taylor Swift pulled her music that most people even found out what Spotify was. Most people haven’t even signed up for the free service. But suddenly, if you pull all free streaming everybody’s gonna pay Apple ten bucks a month?

You’re just a pawn in their game, don’t you realize it?

Those watching the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight on Periscope did.

 

Howdy Mr. Lefsetz,

Huge fan, first time caller.

I’m a 47 year old roadie…been on lots of Rock and Roll busses, planes, trains…traveled with lots and lots of musicians.

It’s funny for me to hear a musician in the bus lounge rant on and on about how he/she is getting ripped off by Spotify…while he/she is busy downloading the current cinematic Box Office Blockbusters onto his laptop from www.neverpayforanothermovieagain.com.

There’s at least one of those guys on every musician’s bus in America…they have every movie in existence on their hard drive…and every other musician on the bus seems extremely appreciative and completely accepting of the fact that we are watching “stolen art” when we face those long overnight rides.

Never have I heard a musician stand up and say, “Guys, this isn’t fair. The people who created and starred in these movies deserve to be compensated for their hard work. Let’s take up a collection and send it into Sony Pictures.”

I’ve also seen books and magazines passed around the tour like a bad case of crabs. Do you think that I have ever a musician say, “Is that book good?… Great, I’ll go buy one too. It’s not fair to the author if we both read the book… Buying a copy is the right thing to do.”

The Rockstars want it both ways… they want their youtube… their sports sites…movies, tv shows, etc. for free but they want every person who ever listens to their song to cough up a quarter.

Spotify is going to be the great equalizer. You’re a prophet and you’re going to be proven correct.

Michael “Ace” Baker