Friday Night Playlist – Spotify

Friday night, nothing much to do but hang around

“Long Flowing Robe”
Todd Rundgren

From Todd’s second solo LP, “The Ballad Of Todd Rundgren,” the best work he ever did, and as a result of streaming services it’s right at your fingertips to check out. This album, and especially its predecessor, were almost impossible to find, coming out on the Ampex label, that’s right, like the tape. I bought both as cut-outs. I was astounded how good “Ballad” was and still is, in an alternative universe this is well-known, there’s not a clunker on it, listen and be AMAZED!

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The sky is burnin’
I believe my soul’s on fire

“Burnin’ Sky”
Bad Company

From the fourth LP, the nadir of the group’s work, before the renaissance with “Desolation Angels.”

This track went through my head all last night, Friday night, because Santa Clarita is burning up, you could see the flames, a halo of destruction mere miles away, a plume of smoke blowing towards Glendale, today covering the entire Valley.

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I was dirty and you took me home and washed my face

“Leaving You”
Bad Company

This is the other great track on the “Burnin’ Sky” album, actually the best, even better than the title track. I remember Robert Hilburn excoriating the lyrics, but I could never get over the sound, that vocal. Whoever thought of marrying Mick Ralphs and Paul Rodgers was a genius. And speaking of genius, we always thought in Mott The Hoople it was Ian Hunter, but that’s not true, the act was never as good with Ariel Bender, then again, that first Ian Hunter solo LP on Chrysalis is better than any of Mott’s work other than the first Columbia album, you know, the one with “All The Young Dudes.”

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Freedom is the only thing means a damn to me

“Simple Man”
Bad Company

Since I’m on a Bad Company kick, this is from the previous album, “Run With The Pack,” the third. This is the second cut, maybe my favorite Bad Company cut ever, even more than “Seagull.” These lyrics go through my brain whenever I’m on top of a mountain, skis on my feet, outside the law with my own destiny in my hands. Don’t need no gun for that, just some powder and sunshine, even a storm.

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“Lonely For Your Love”
Bad Company

Not the best cut on “Desolation Angels,” but the intensity of the vocal puts it way over the top, this is what it’s like when people sing and mean it, not the histrionics of the melisma masters, those people on TV competitions who don’t know singing comes from the soul, not the vocal cords.

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Hey last night when the moon was new

“How About That”
Bad Company

Actually, it was full a couple of nights back, but last night you couldn’t see a damn thing. This is from the 1992 album “Here Comes Trouble,” the one with the other lead singer, Brian Howe, I know, heretical, but I always loved this. I was thinking of Bud Prager, the manager during this period last night. Long story, I watched this film on Netflix, the “Invitation,” can’t recommend it but I will, kind of a horror thingy, with an amazing twist. Starts slow, the ending could be more dramatic, but the climax, when the truth comes out, WHEW! And at the end they look out over the hills, and… I won’t ruin the movie but the last time I saw Bud Prager it was in the Hollywood Hills in a house just like that back in the early part of the century, he told me all the rock and roll stories, mostly about his best friend Felix Pappalardi and Cream and now…they’re both gone.

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“It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”
R.E.M.

Actually, I don’t.

But this song has been going through my brain all day, it’s dark, like end times in L.A. today, that’s what the smoke and ash from the fire has done.

It’s weird, it’s not fine.

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“Ignoreland”
R.E.M.

My favorite R.E.M. cut, because of the majesty, and the intensity of the vocal. Seems like we need R.E.M. right about now, can they reunite, even with Bill Berry, in support of Hillary, they’re big lefties. I know, I know, we need acts that appeal to the younger generation, but they grew up in an era where you don’t do anything that might tarnish your brand, alienate some potential customers. But now that she’s pop and not country can’t Taylor Swift come out for Hillary, I mean she’s all about girl power, how about demonstrating some real belief?

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Oh mama, I’m in fear for my life from the long arm of the law

“Renegade”
Styx

I know, I know, you hate Styx. I’m not a big fan myself, however I do love me some Tommy Shaw and this is one of his cuts. I know it by heart, it got a ton of airplay way back when, as well as “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)” from the same LP, “Pieces Of Eight,” but…

It’s just for fans going to the shed for triple-headers every summer, right?

NO!

Watch this!:

Narcos – Main Trailer – Season 2

That’s the trailer for season two of “Narcos,” and twenty odd seconds in, when the voice over ends and the Netflix logo comes on…you’ll hear “Renegade.” Could this be Styx’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” moment? That’s right, the Journey track was hiding in plain sight and then the “Sopranos” made it a cultural institution. “Narcos” could do the same for Styx.

Well, a man can dream, can’t he?

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I went back to the doctor
To get another shrink

“The Real Me”
Alfie Boe, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Robert Ziegler
“Pete Towshend’s Classic Quadrophenia”

Actually, my shrink is on vacation for a month, I could use him right about now, it’s been quite a week, with too many issues still unresolved.

This is what I love about Spotfy, that everything’s available, stuff that I didn’t even know existed or forgot about, like this album, check it out, it’s pretty powerful.

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How many friends have I really got
You can count ’em on one hand
How many friends have I really got
How many friends have I really got
That love me, that want me, that’ll take me as I am

“How Many Friends”
The Who

From the disappointing LP “By Numbers,” but this is my favorite track on the record.

I was searching on Pete Townshend and found what I thought was a demo album but it turned out to be an entire record of interviews, I’m including the ones on “How Many Friends” here.

I’m also including the original studio track.

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We know all success
When we all find our own dreams
And our love is enough
To knock down any walls

“Pure And Easy”
Pete Townshend

From the first solo album, “Who Came First,” which was unavailable for years until Rykodisc released a deluxe version in the eighties. Pete’s solo work is better than his late work with the Who, this is my favorite track of his.

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They say that love often passes in a second
And you can never catch it up
So I’m hanging on to you as though eternity beckons
But it’s clear that the match is rough

“A Little Is Enough”
Pete Townshend

His best solo cut ever, from the hit album “Empty Glass” which is akin to “The Ballad Of Todd Rundgren,” however not as consistent but with peaks even higher.

One of my favorite love songs ever.

And those SOUNDS!

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“We’re Not Gonna Take It”
The Who
“Live In Canada/1969”

So it’s two a.m. and I’m sitting outside and I’m deep into a Pete Townshend trance and I find this, an expanded version of “Tommy” with a live performance of the rock opera, from back when bands were testing limits, even though it took a couple of years for the mainstream to catch on, specifically after the Woodstock movie.

I saw this tour, one of the three best shows ever.

And listening to all these cuts you’ll be stunned how great Roger Daltrey’s voice is. Made me wince at Desert Trip, none of these people can still hit the notes.

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Ever since I was young boy I played the silver ball

“Pinball Wizard”
Pete Townshend
Demo

Yes, this same expanded version of “Tommy” contains demos, and Pete’s voice is underwhelming but when you hear that explosive guitar in your left ear you’re reminded of lying on your bedroom floor listening to the studio take on headphones, waiting for that stereo effect.

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Every year is the same
I feel it again
I’m a loser, no chance to win

“I’m One”
Pete Townshend

Do you have this take, from “Deep End Live!”? It’s even better than the original on “Quadrophenia.”

One thing I’ve come to realize as I’ve gotten older…

Everybody’s lost, everybody’s insecure, many just put up a good front. Of course this is common wisdom, but now I FEEL IT!

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“Diamond In The Rough”
Shawn Colvin

In my iTunes library I’ve got an MP3 of Pete Townshend singing this, from Shawn Colvin’s initial LP, she might have won a Grammy for “Sunny Came Home” but she was never as good as this again, this is the first cut that enraptured me, the advance cassette got me through the breakup with my wife, we all need something riding shotgun as we go down the avalanche.

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“Baby Seat”
Barenaked Ladies

I think I saw Barenaked Ladies were performing in the area, Songkick is integrated into Spotify. This is my favorite Barenaked Ladies cut, I discovered it when the 2002 Olympics when the band performed and I got hooked and downloaded so much of their work. And I saw the group last year in Vail, during the World Championships, but they didn’t do this and won’t because it’s a Steven Page song and he’s no longer in the group. And they were astoundingly good despite not having a hit in eons, they had a sense of humor about themselves and that’s always appreciated. But I wish the act could reunite. Not sure what’s going on, but I do know once you’re past your hits and you’re living off your touring revenue…no one wants to split the money further.

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There was a time, not too far gone
When I was changed by just a song

“Hot Summer Nights”
Walter Egan

I wondered if this was on Spotify, a couple of weeks back I checked and found out Walter Egan had a recent album, just a couple of years back, and I pulled it up, ready to wince, but it was really good, anybody who was a fan would like it, it’s called “Myth America,” I almost wrote about it but I know no one cares, especially when there’s not a hit, but back in the seventies we purchased albums of acts we were fans of and dropped the needle and they satisfied us, whether they were on the radio or not.

But “Hot Summer Nights” was on the radio, just not in the Walter Egan iteration, it was covered by this act Night, the lead singer was Stevie Vann, I did some research, but what I never knew was she was the wife of MUTT LANGE!

Night’s version is on Spotify but I’m not gonna put it on this playlist, because it’s the same song but not the same record. Egan’s take is intimate, it’s all about the picking…

Those songs we sung are in us still
Ringing out with all their might
In the heart of a hot summer night

I played new stuff first, I was coursing through the playlists, the pop hits, the country hits, the up and coming country tracks but…the more I listened the more disoriented I became, I needed to be rooted and when I went on my journey back I was stunned to find these acts were even more talented than acknowledged, they deserved recognition, but they’re fading in the rearview mirror…

The Girl On The Train

What’s it like to be jilted? Thrown over for a new love when you’ve placed your full trust in your betrothed?

Trust. It’s the first thing that goes. That’s the dirty little secret of divorce. Conventional wisdom is you split the assets and go on with your life, especially if there are no assets, and no children. But you stood up in front of friends and family and now it’s over? Marriage is about commitment. It trumps money and sex and all those things people look for. Enduring relationships are about character first and foremost, how people were raised, what they believe in. Want to know how it’ll turn out with you two? Look into their past. And no matter what they tell you, that doesn’t mean this time it will be different.

As for what people tell you…

Not everyone is a manipulator, not everyone is a sociopath. And to prevent a life alone, one of constant suspicion, we believe, we give people the benefit of the doubt. But some don’t deserve it.

And then there are those caught in the web who deny it and turn it upon you. When confronted with truth they explain it just a little bit differently. Blame you for the result. And you want to believe them, you don’t want to think anybody’s that evil. But some are.

“The Girl On The Train” is not the new “Gone Girl.” Read it if you haven’t, “Gone Girl” that is. The movie doesn’t capture it. It’s too Fincher slick, too perfect. Whereas the book starts off totally two-dimensional and then you’re caught in an unforeseen maelstrom. The device is mindblowing. I don’t know how Gillian Flynn follows it up. Kind of like Radiohead’s “In Rainbows,” you do the trick once and you can never do it again.

But “Gone Girl” is about the trick.

There’s no trick in “The Girl On The Train.” On one hand it’s a relatively pedestrian mystery/thriller. You’re reading along wondering whodunit. And you’re not glued to the page, but it is hard to put down, you do want to know who was responsible, how it happened. But it’s not a revelation that knocks you back, it’s foreshadowed a bit, not a complete left turn, as it is in so many genre books. So ultimately what makes the book a good read is the underlying issues, the ones delineated above.

Life is hard. Even if you have a roof over your head. We’re all struggling and we all feel alone. In this can-do society you don’t want to be seen as a can-not, but life is a maze with too many walls and too much wasted time. And no one likes to backtrack.

Substance abuse. Ever look at the underling pain? Not only physical, but emotional? Especially in men, who won’t admit their problems or seek help. They just try to power through, as they fall deeper down a well they may never climb out of.

Love. One of the characters in the book says there’s no such thing as a soulmate, and I believe that, despite the acclamations of adoration and satisfaction by so many, some of whom are lying outright, others who are purely delusional. You’ve got to stand your ground to have a good relationship, not all of the time, but some of the time.

Money. Everybody wants more. For the freedom it allows, the room to move, even if you never do, it’s all about the possibilities, without them you’re mentally doomed.

“The Girl On The Train” has been out for eighteen months. It’s still in the top ten. I wish it were better, but in a world of so much mediocrity and self-promotion we’re in search of a bit of truth and community. And there’s truth in this book and community in having read it.

I tried three times before I dove in again yesterday. I wanted to finish it before the movie.

And now I know the movie will miss the essence. Because what is said cannot be conveyed on screen, it’s something in your mind, that only the written word can provide a reasonable facsimile of.

We live in an era of blockbusters. And those of us who were around before the internet overwhelmed us with possibilities shy away from the toppermost. We figure there must be something wrong with something that everybody else pays attention to.

But after reading too many books that missed the mark, like the sadly overrated “Girls,” I decided to go where everybody else did.

And I don’t care who did it.

But the makeup of the person who did. How that person ruined the lives of more than his victim.

That’s sticking with me.

I don’t recognize my country.

For this I blame the Republicans.

Not the rank and file voters, but the establishment, the elite, which has preached hatred for so long that now we end up with a country divided between the knowledgeable and the ignorant, the tax-free and the worker bee, those who think the government is anathema and those who know that freedom means nothing without protection.

Ohio is an open carry state.

How can this be?

Ever held a gun? One of the scariest experiences possible. You immediately feel the power. To maim, to kill. Sure, you can shoot targets but so many want their firearms for protection, even though it’s their kin they end up shooting.

You can’t make a western movie or television show because ratings are so low, but it’s “Maverick” and “Bonanza” 24/7 in these bizarre places where people can shoulder rifles publicly. If this is freedom, I want no part of it.

And I abhor the fact that the media hasn’t pissed on this convention which is a Trump party speaking to so few. That’s right, they moved the stage up to the middle, because there aren’t enough people to fill the place. But, rather than point out that this is the fringe, with cuckoo ideas, the talking heads heap gravitas upon these hatemongers twisting the truth.

If you listen to Ted Cruz you believe that Obama is dead set on the destruction of America.

But Cruz didn’t win the nomination. No one could beat Trump because there wasn’t a reasonable Republican candidate extant. One embodying their agenda of kissing the ass of the poor while paying fealty to the rich. If you think cutting the budget of the IRS is a boon to our country you don’t know that most people file a short form, they don’t even itemize their deductions, it’s the fat cats that do that, these same ultra-rich who now go unsupervised and don’t pay. Like Trump himself, who won’t even release his returns, because he’s afraid we’ll find out he’s gaming the system and not that rich to begin with. What kind of screwed up party is this anyway? That reveres the rich but is made up of the ignorant and poor, who believe their chance is coming the same way nitwits who play the lottery and drop out of school believe if they can only get on reality TV, their lives will be made.

This ain’t America.

With a Congress dead set on thwarting every effort by the other party and the President. The call it “governance,” not “do-nothingism.” These same people who won’t even approve a centrist Supreme Court Justice. Hillary, do me a favor, when you win, and you will, nominate a true lefty, cast Merrick Garland aside, you can’t work with these people, you’ve got to go for the jugular and show them who’s boss, that the game can’t be rigged. If you lose, you accept it. As opposed to stopping all action like a five year old crying because his mom took away his toys.

The Republicans have defined the debate.

Government is bad and inept and the rich know better and if you stopped taxing them money would rain down all over this great nation of ours. They keep saying the big issue is the national debt when the truth is interest rates have stayed at marginal levels for years and running a country is not like balancing your home budget.

Disputing this would require you to have some knowledge, some insight.

But that’s the Republican game, fanning the flames of ignorance while working behind the scenes to foster an agenda for the very few, the one percent.

Meanwhile, the Democrats have blinked, let the Republicans set the agenda, lefties are afraid to take a hard stand because of the reaction, as if they never watched the NBA and don’t realize the Republicans are working the refs. That’s right, say anything contrary to their agenda and you’re inundated with blowback. But that does not mean you should refrain from speaking the truth.

And there’s little veracity at this convention.

The elite have lost control of their own narrative.

It’s as if tribute bands took over for the real thing. Tribute bands who kept saying tickets for superstars are too high and if we let any new music gain traction our society will die.

Someone’s got to speak the truth. Someone’s got to stand up to this inanity.

I’m not saying the Democrats are perfect, that Hillary isn’t a flawed candidate.

But I am saying that Trump and his ilk are INSANE!

And no one will say so, not his party or the talking head media.

Sometimes there aren’t two sides to every story. Sometimes people are just plain wrong, no matter how many believe the untruths.

We thought Nixon was divisive?

He was a veritable prince compared to Trump. He was a Democrat by today’s standards. Oh, how far we’ve come.

But there is a solution. All you’ve got to do is get out and vote. There are more of us than them, like I said, they couldn’t even fill the damn arena.

It’s truly time for us to take our imperfect, already great country back.

ARE YOU WITH ME??

I’m finished.

I’d like to tell you it’s an easy satisfying read but the truth is despite the book being billed as a Facebook expose, the first half, when Antonio Garcia Martinez is delineating his travails in a startup, is much more interesting than the details of his tenure at the social network thereafter.

And the dirty little secret is most acquisitions are acqui-hires, for talent as opposed to product, and the bandied about number is oftentimes much higher than reality, never mind needing to work at the new establishment for years to get your payout, but there are a ton of lessons in this book that should be heeded.

“People go into startups thinking that the technical problems are the challenge… No, every real problem in startups is a people problem, and as such they’re the hardest to solve, as they often don’t have a real solution, much less a ready software fix.”

Ideas are a dime a dozen, execution is everything. And to succeed you need a team, and that group only succeeds if you can get along. People look at Hollywood and think they could move out west and triumph, do a better job, and why is it all these people without an education, certainly not from a top-notch institution, are succeeding? Because they know people. Sure, you might see the misdeeds in the media, but the truth is winners in the entertainment business are cunning individuals who’ve entranced an entire posse who will lay down for them. It’s about loyalty. And you incur this via favors, by connecting, by getting along. Not by being a doormat, but by being fun and getting things done.

“If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.”

That’s Mario Andretti speaking.

I wrestle with this, I don’t want to make mistakes. I’m trying to learn to lose control. I always think of the Beatles, who got everything right, then again, they were making it up as they went along, they were clueless at the time. The problem might be that I know too much, or that I operate in fields already well-defined. The greats venture into the unknown and create something out of thin air, and when you don’t know where you’re going you’re definitely going to go the wrong way some of the time.

“As Geoff Ralston, a YC partner told us: people don’t really change, they just become better actors.”

It’s the adjustment that adds friction, that prevents an enterprise from moving forward. Once the game is defined, everybody knows their role, but when there’s chaos, greatness can emerge. Meanwhile, I’ve said for years that people in relationships don’t change. I don’t want to believe this is true. I want to believe people can gain awareness and adjust. Then again, everything someone tells you on a first date is true, believe them, it’s these unguarded revelations that will come to haunt you in the future. What you didn’t believe, what you thought was cute, you’ll find totally true and abhorrent as time goes by, even if it does explain so much.

“PG was our genius guru, but like many brilliant minds, he occasionally got things flamingly and egregiously wrong, and this was one such instance.”

Or as James Taylor put it in “Lighthouse”:

But just because I might be standing here
That don’t mean I won’t be wrong this time
You could follow me and lose your mind

We’re all looking for beacons, we’re all looking for guidance. But it’s best to accumulate data and trust your own instincts, then you only have yourself to blame.

Or, as Bob Dylan sang:

Don’t follow leaders
Watch the parking meters

“in Silicon Valley, the Land of No Sarcasm”

That’s what easterners don’t understand about California, the optimism, the can-do spirit, the ability to make friends with enemies and move on like the past didn’t happen.

On the east coast it’s dreary, everybody’s bringing each other down. It’s a cutting atmosphere whereas California is an uplifting atmosphere, and if you were brought up in the east it seems so phony. AND IT IS! But then you realize you like it this way, that everybody’s into their own trip and ignoring you, you’re free of the barbs, if not the sharp elbows. Yes, everybody in California wants to get ahead, and if you’re in their way, watch out, they’re not about to lend a helping hand.

“In VC (venture capital), as often in life, it’s the incompetent and insecure who are generally the assholes; the masterful and successful – not to mention those universally perceived as the best in their field – are playing the long game.”

Like Tom Freston. Who never luxuriates in his status, is always endearing and delegates as opposed to consolidating power. What a difference from Philippe Daumann, who will lose his job at Viacom and never work again, as opposed to Freston, who is one of the engines behind Vice’s success. Vice is MTV on steroids, it’s much more than music. News is today’s music, if only the musicians understood this.

“I gave him an extended version of our pitch, which he consumed with that look of rapt attention, accompanied by staccato bursts of questions, which was the unmistakable sign of sincere investor interest.”

1. Listen, nothing endears you to people more.

2. Ask questions, it demonstrates interest.

3. If people aren’t laser-focused on you and your pitch and want to know more, you know you’ve failed.

4. The greats will give you all their attention until they won’t. Don’t waste their time and don’t be offended when they’ve moved on. They remember what’s important to them, and if you made an impression, you’re seared into their brain.

“America still loves an underdog, and you’ll be surprised at how many allies come out of the woodwork when some obnoxious incumbent is challenged by a scrappy startup with a convincing story.”

You have friends you are unaware of until you find out you share a common enemy. Then they’ll go to war with you and support you in your effort to rectify an injustice. You are not the first victim of this bullying jerk who believes the world bends to their will. You know, the asshole who tells you you’ll never work again after you stand up for yourself. That person has always been imperious. The world is a web of relationships, and someone can always get to the perpetrator, you’ve just got to work your network to achieve the desired result.

“So long as you maintain unit cohesion and a shared sense of purpose, and have the basic rudiments of living, you will outlast, outfight, and out-rage any company that sets out to destroy you. Men with nothing to lose will stop at nothing to win.”

This is why upstarts succeed. They’re willing to work harder, stay up all night, live in substandard conditions and sacrifice all for the goal. Every winner has a tale of utmost sacrifice. If they don’t, they’re lying. Or their success is paper-thin and about to be revealed.

“To quote Balzac, ‘The secret of great fortunes without apparent cause is a forgotten crime, as the crime was properly done.'”

People forget. They just see where you are, not how you got there. Joe Kennedy was a bootlegger. Sean Parker started at Napster… Once you’ve got the cash, status and gravitas come naturally.

“In a world where superficial relationships and glib bullshit are the rule, there’s nothing more fearsome than to see true loyalty at work.”

People will go out of their way for you, they like to help, it makes them feel good, and if they can settle a score in the process, even better.

“The harsh reality is this: to have influence in the world, you need to be willing and able to reward your friends and punish your enemies.”

Those who are nice and offend no one don’t succeed. They become vice-presidents and stall out. The true movers and shakers spread the wealth and gain allies, and they’re willing to go after their enemies’ jugular.

“First, the ability to monomaniacally and obsessively focus on one thing and one thing only, at the expense of everything else in life.”

Are you willing to sacrifice everything to make it? Not only a steady income, but a roof over your head, good food on the table and a relationship and children? If so, you have a chance of making it. If not, you’re already in the rearview mirror.

“Second, the ability to take and endure endless amounts of shit.”

It hurts, but it’s the only way to the top. If you’re unwilling to be on the receiving end of tons of doo-doo, justified or unjustified, you don’t have the cojones to make it. You’re gonna make mistakes, and there are others who just want to keep you down and dissuade you, deal with it.

“Love is grand, but hate and fear last longer.”

This is the cynicism losers abhor.

“I observe that some men, like bad runners in the stadium, abandon their purposes when close to the goal; while it is at that particular point, more than at any other, that others secure the victory over their rivals. —Polybius, Histories”

Can you close? Or do you dream of success and when you get to contract you start thinking about the millions of ways it can go wrong and are afraid to sign. I know, I’ve got this fear, I’m trying to overcome it, trying to realize that all deals are imperfect and you never know what will happen after you leave the starting line. Could be bad, but could be incredibly great too. As I always say, you never know what will happen once you walk out your front door.

“Do they have that ‘lean and hungry look’ of Cassius in Julius Caesar, and eat at dingy taquerias, or perhaps live off cheap staples like ramen or food substitutes? Those are the truly dangerous ones, the ones who live like organized crime trigger men, guerrilla fighters, or sailors at sea – eating shitty food and living in cheap, dumpy crash pads – and who couldn’t give a damn about quality of life. Those are the people to fear, because they don’t need anything an antagonist can deprive them of.”

Whew! When you got nothin’, you got nothin’ to lose. You win on your brains and hard effort, not your sports car or fancy office.

“Here’s another lesson for the aspiring startupista: don’t skimp on lawyers.”

They’re cheap in the end. And the best ones not only know the game, but the players. You’re looking for advice and protection, and those never come cheap.

“Lawyers didn’t get into law because they’re good at business; bamboozle them however so long as they get cracking.”

You can’t sell your law practice in California. There is no asset value to your firm. Lawyers don’t have all the money, their clients do.

“Such scheming happens either by phone or in person, with no emails or messaging involved. That’s when you can tell you’re really in some juicy shit; conversely, if you’re still emailing about it, there’s actually nothing real going on.”

Because there’s no paper trail, no record, nothing to subpoena.

“Often, given the reigning shabby-chic aesthetic, you couldn’t immediately distinguish between the technohipsters and the drugged-out homeless. (As the hardened SoMa veteran joke goes: the homeless have Android phones, while the techies have iPhones.)”

It’s true. If you’re using Android, you’re behind the curve, you’re a joke, primarily because you’re not on iMessage. Technohipsters love to group message on iMessage, comments can fly fast and furiously. And if you’re on Android, you’re left out. Don’t argue, it’s such a small, inexpensive part of the game, just get an iPhone.

“Team-work? Who ever made a fortune by team-work? There’s only one way to make a fortune and that’s to down the fellow who’s up against you. – W. Somerset Maugham, ‘Straight Flush'”

You’re in it together until you find out you’re not. The truth is people are out for themselves. The sooner you learn this, the better off you’ll be. Your business partners will stab you in the back, leave you out, do what’s expedient. If your husband or wife does this, you’ve chosen really badly, re-evaluate your criteria.

“I asked Sacca, who ignored my inquiries; as we were to learn, this was a man who only ever talked his book.”

Chris Sacca’s another one whose past has been forgotten now that he’s become a billionaire. Look into his efforts with Philip Falcone, would you have done that? I know Sacca, he came to Aspen and spoke twice. He blew the attendees’ minds, demonstrating what Google, his then employer, could do for you, which the music biz people in attendance were clueless as to. Then I wrote about it and Sacca said his speech was off the record, which he’d never said, and then he REWROTE my missive and told me to post that. I just took the post down. But that’s Sacca, a man who needs no introduction who thinks he owns the world and is now on “Shark Tank.” By “his book,” Martinez means Sacca, an investor in the startup, gives advice and pulls strings that are beneficial to him. In this case Sacca had and still has a big stake in Twitter, so he wanted the acquisition to happen there.

“If you can only be good at one thing, be good at lying…because if you’re good at lying, you’re good at everything. – @gselevator”

Think about this. Once you’ve left the field of honesty, everything is up for grabs.

“As every new arrival in California comes to learn, that superficially sunny ‘Hi!’ they get from everybody is really, ‘Fuck you, I don’t care.'”

Natives don’t want to be your friend. Best to align yourself with transplants.

“Have a mad vision, and you’re a kook. Get a crowd to believe in it as well, and you’re a leader.”

Or as Joe Walsh put it:

Everybody’s so different
I haven’t changed

“That was the uniquely piratical attitude: if you could get shit done and quickly, nobody cared much about credentials or traditional legalistic morality. The hacker ethos prevailed above all.”

That’s the California tech ethos, it’s all about results. No one cares where you went to school or who your parents are, it all comes down to “What have you done for me lately?”

“Facebook is full of true believers who really, really, really are not doing it for the money, and really, really will not stop until every man, woman, and child on earth is staring into a blue-framed window with a Facebook logo.”

Determination is everything, never underestimate the power of the true believer. Remember when Google+ was gonna kill Facebook? That didn’t happen.

“In general, be it at startups or aggressive companies like Facebook, there should be a cultural bias for launching.”

Get your record out as opposed to making sure it’s perfect. This is something the old cats can’t fathom but the young acts understand.

“As in life, so in business: maintain a bias for action over inaction.”

When you’re unsure, go for it!

“This too shall pass. What befell Sun could befall us too, so MOVE FAST AND BREAK THINGS!”

One day Facebook will die. The major labels are surviving on their catalogs, which they wield as power in negotiations, without the old tracks upstarts would rule. But in tech, the assets fade very quickly, he not busy being born is busy dying.

“If we don’t create the thing that kills Facebook, someone else will. ‘Embracing change’ isn’t enough. It has to be so hardwired into who we are that even talking about it seems redundant. The Internet is not a friendly place. Things that don’t stay relevant don’t even get the luxury of leaving ruins. They disappear.”

This is how tech beat the music business. You don’t accept the blows, you give them.

“A man with a conviction is a hard man to change. Tell him you disagree and he turns away. Show him facts or figures and he questions your sources. Appeal to logic and he fails to see your point. – Leon Festinger et al., When Prophecy Fails“

This is why despite the “New York Times” attacking Trump every damn day, he still stands. Where were the Democrats when the underclass was suffering as a result of trade deals? As for the Republicans, they defined the debate, Hillary is a liar, Obama is ruining the country…to the point where Democrats are on defense. But despite playing the long game, the Republicans lost touch with their base completely and now their party is in disarray and no one is reunifying it.

“All ambitious men want either to please their fathers or to punch them in the goddamned face.”

Well-adjusted people don’t win. Winners have deep-seated anger, frustrations and inadequacies that make them play so hard and succeed, to demonstrate their worth.

“How did we finally get on the right track? The way Facebook sussed out anything: it mooched information from potential acquirees and business partners via meetings of dubious good faith, and then figured out how to hack the outside world to its advantage. It’s what every large company with incumbent leverage does, incidentally.”

Don’t trust the man. He’ll entice you with candy, take everything you’ve got and leave your carcass by the roadway. You might have a legal case, but good luck finding enough dough to sue the deep pocket.

“When confronted with an unwelcome social situation (which is most of them), I default to a Terry Gross pose of interviewing journalist.”

Me too! This is why we read, to see ourselves in print, to feel so not alone. When I’m anxious, when it’s quiet, I start asking questions. People will tell you anything and everything. But I judge those who never reciprocate, who never ask me about me, and they’re few and far between, the people who care about anybody but themselves.

“Facebook had no interest in real innovation. It liked its faxes. Like any large company, Facebook would always aim to create monopoly pricing power and maintain information asymmetry, rather than drive true innovation. If Facebook played with the outside world, it always played with loaded dice.”

The “Innovator’s Dilemma” is your friend. Every established enterprise leans on its past, it’s your opening to disrupt them.

“There’s a negative selection in which the cream (or whatever it is that initially rises) gets constantly skimmed off, and you are what’s left after years of continual skimming.”

It’s a rat race out there, become complacent and not only are you left behind, YOU’RE OUT!

“To quote Theodor Herzl, ‘If you will it, it is no dream; and if you do not will it, a dream it will remain.'”

It’s all about the effort, success comes through hard work.

“Chaos Monkeys” is a hard read. And, when you get to the Facebook half your eyes start to glaze over a bit. But it’s more than worth plowing through, for the insights, for the lessons… Martinez Googled everybody he was gonna meet with. Life is about preparation, but don’t be so busy preparing that you don’t play, because once the game begins…ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!

“Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley”