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

I know I’m supposed to prefer Jason Isbell. I know hipsters love rap and Beats 1. I know the way music used to be, with a mainstream and then an alternative that laughed at those not in the know. I know I live in the internet era where everybody with a bone to pick will try to make me feel inferior…

But I love Luke Bryan and my body tingled when he lit into “Play It Again”
Songs we know by heart. Isn’t that what Jimmy Buffett plays? We’ve all got ’em. On vinyl, cassette, CD and MP3. Tracks burned into our brains, because they just make us feel good. And Luke Bryan’s songs make me feel good. Not jumping up and down crying hallelujah, but rooted in this incomprehensible nation of ours where I so often feel like I don’t fit and don’t have a chance. That’s why I went to the show, that’s why I still go to the show.

And isn’t it interesting that it’s the country stars who can fill stadiums. That’s right, Luke Bryan and Kenny Chesney and Taylor Swift, who made her bones on music with fiddles and banjos. I know it’s not the country music of old, I know it can be pedestrian, but they’re singing about real things I can relate to with good voices and melodies. You want to do nothing so much as sing along.

That’s the essence of the country concert, the singing along. Everybody belting out the words at the top of their lungs. Out of sheer joy. At being in the room with their hero.

That’s right, musicians are the biggest heroes in our nation. Forget politicians, the techies and the public servants. We look up to the singers and players, because they’re the ones who can make our lives all right. Get us happy in the moment. Have us forget our troubles with money and love and life. When that song is playing you don’t have a care in the world. And when you’re at the show it’s a transcendent moment.

You’d think this stream should have taken place in Nashville. But Luke Bryan was in New York doing press for his new album, playing GMA, making the rounds. The last I checked, hip-hop was supposed to be the sound of the city, but one look at this audience would tell you otherwise.

I was alone, at home.

But when Luke Bryan lit into “Play It Again” I was together, with them, with him, basking in the pure sound of a song I’ve played more than any other in the last eighteen months.

Oh my God, this is my song
I’ve been listenin’ to the radio all night long
Sittin’ ’round waitin’ for it to come on and here it is

The opening number was “Kick The Dust Up,” which is sitting at the top of the chart right now. A routine stomper, it was better live than on record, and then…

She was sittin’ all alone over on the tailgate
Tan legs swingin’ by a Georgia plate
I was lookin’ for her boyfriend
Thinkin’, no way she ain’t got one

It starts with an acoustic guitar. And soon enters a groove. And then Luke Bryan sings the above lyrics.

I don’t know about you but my life hasn’t always worked out. I stopped asking girls to dance after too much rejection. My friends listening to records were dateless. Our only hope was the music, it kept us going until we finally ran into someone like-minded who understood us and said yes…to conversation, to truth, touching came long thereafter. And honestly, it’s the music that gave me the confidence, playing in my head.

AM, FM, XM too

That was our only savior, the radio. The deejay was our conduit. Back before there were twenty four minutes of commercials per hour, when we still thought the station was on our side. Back before the history of recorded music was at our fingertips. Those days will never return, we live in an on demand culture. And the question is what will we pull up on demand.

A friend from the Deep South e-mailed me “Drink A Beer” and I needed more, that’s how I got hooked on Luke Bryan.

And Luke played that tonight. Along with “Roller Coaster.”

I should’ve known that kind of feelin’
Would last longer than that week did

That’s right, the tunes are my family, have lasted longer than any love. They don’t change and they keep me warm at night.

“Crash My Party” is on my iPhone.

I’ve listened to it walking to Warm Springs in Sun Valley.

I’ve listened to it lying on the floor doing my back exercises in Vail.

I’ve listened to it hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains.

When everything’s not quite right, or just the opposite, when things are exactly right, I pull up Luke Bryan to ride shotgun. And I wasn’t even planning to watch this Yahoo live stream, if I’d missed it that would have been cool. But when I saw all the people in the audience, in wild anticipation, and when the band hit the stage and started playing the songs I knew by heart…

I knew I was exactly where I wanted to be.

I was back to where I once belonged.

And still do.

P.S. Live shows are parties. Luke played Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” and Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite.” It was about the show, not the ego.

P.P.S. When they turned out all the lights, and all you saw were the glow sticks and phone screens, I could only think…I’ve been there, and I want to be there again.

P.P.P.S. Too much music appeals to only guys or girls. This audience was mixed. Illustrating we’re all in it together. And it wasn’t a sea of color, but at times Luke is closer to rapping than singing and once again, music and its makers are much more integrated than the institutions doing their best to antagonize and keep people apart.

P.P.P.P.S. Used to be we went to the club to hear a band, back before the bands came to us online and we had a plethora of choices at home. We’re interested in hearing the hits. You’ve got ’em and we’re coming, without them it’s a struggle to garner a live audience.

P.P.P.P.P.S. Imperfection, it reigned. Not that there were mistakes, but the music wasn’t seamless, it breathed, it had humanity. The concept is as antique as MTV, that people expect it to be as good live as it is in the video, on the record. No, they just want to feel you’re like them, but different. And through a quirk of fate, they could be you, and if they could get a chance to meet you they’d be thrilled, but the longer you watched Luke Bryan the more normal he appeared. Proving, once again, we’ve all got our own special gifts. And you can win if you stop trying to be like everybody else and just act naturally.

AIN’T TOO PROUD TO BEG

This was during the denouement, when the Rolling Stones were the World’s Greatest Rock And Roll Band, but their recorded efforts were spotty, their rep was based on their live show, and the hits of yore. I’ll posit that “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll” is better than its predecessor, “Goats Head Soup,” but at this late date you only need to hear “Time Waits For No One,” with Mick Taylor’s exquisite guitar work and this, a cover of the Norman Whitfield/Eddie Holland song made famous by the Temptations.

I know you wanna leave me
I refuse to let you go

It’s the guitar and the piano accents that push this over the top. It comes on like a freight train and settles right into the groove, I won’t say it tops the Temptations’ take but it’s just not a raw copy, it stands on its own, the Stones’ version has its own magic.

CAROL

The version from “Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!”

It’s the guitar tone!

Of course, the band covered the Chuck Berry number on its debut, and that version is good, but it’s a tear, this live take is…LIVE! Slower, yet a romp. The band seems to be having fun.

Once upon a time “Ya-Ya’s” was seen as a definitive live album, one of the greatest, only eclipsed by the Who’s “Live At Leeds,” back before everybody redid their parts in the studio and perfection reigned. But what makes “Ya-Ya’s” so great is the feel. Listen.

GOING TO A GO-GO

From the forgettable 1982 live album “Still Life.” This is the best thing on the LP. You’d think a Miracles cover would be superfluous, and on some level it is, but you get that live feel, which is remarkable today, when everything is either faked or studio perfect. That’s right, the roughness, the imperfections, result in the magic of this track.

JUST MY IMAGINATION (RUNNING AWAY WITH ME)

I liked “Some Girls,” but didn’t consider it the triumph the press did. Of course “Miss You” is great, albeit a period piece at this point, but my favorite cuts on the album were “When The Whip Comes Down” and “Beast Of Burden,” which no one ever talked about, and this. Listen to Mick sing NEW YORK! You feel you’re in that city. It’s slow and groovy and if you don’t like this you’ve got no soul. Yes the Stones take is slow, although not as slow as the Temptations’ original, they make it rock, it’s played by people who know their roots.

STOP BREAKING DOWN

All these years later, “Exile On Main Street” is unlistened to, despite its reputation, but it’s my go-to Stones album these days. And I’d like to say that “Stop Breaking Down” is integral, but the truth is it’s superseded by everything else on side four, especially my favorite, the underrated “Soul Survivor.” The best track on side four is “Shine A Light,” “All Down The Line” is the most famous, but the guitar on this Robert Johnson cover does its best to keep up. The Stones never recovered from the loss of Mick Taylor, that’s the truth, just listen!

SHAKE YOUR HIPS

A Slim Harpo cover, that’s nearly identical to the original, except for…the feel, the mood, it sounds like it was cut in a basement on drugs, as if the audience didn’t matter, and they were just doing it for themselves. Who do we credit for this incredible sound, the long departed Jimmy Miller, half-brother to the disgraced “New York Times” reporter Judith Miller? A minor track on “Exile On Main Street” that adds flavor even if it doesn’t dominate. Whew!

HARLEM SHUFFLE

This is how bad “Dirty Work” was, this unheralded 1963 minor hit by Bob & Earl was the single. And the Stones’ iteration was overbaked, but it locked into a groove and satisfied the more you listened. The Stones brought the song back from the dead, I don’t think anybody can do that with the rest of “Dirty Work.”

YOU GOTTA MOVE

The best thing I’ve heard live all year. Wherein the Stones didn’t worry about production, but did their best to nail a cover of this Mississippi Fred McDowell track at the Fonda. Their performance evidenced their roots and their skill and their devotion to the blues all at the same time. Used to be you played because you loved the music, the girls and dope and alcohol were extras, as for money and fame…are you kidding me?!

PRODIGAL SON

You didn’t know it was a cover, did you? Of a Robert Wilkins track. Between Keith and Mick, it’s all you need, back when the music was enough. Of course “Beggars Banquet” gets respect, which it deserves, but the focus is rarely on this but “Sympathy For The Devil” and “Street Fighting Man.” But every single cut on the LP is magic, including this, which fits right in.

ROUTE 66

My favorite cover is Depeche Mode’s, I don’t think anybody can top that. But way before that band even formed, the Stones were recording the Bobby Troup classic both in the studio and live. My favorite is the studio take on the band’s debut. It’s simple and almost archaic, but truthfully, listening now is like going into a time tunnel and seeing what it was like in Merrie Olde England back in the day…and let me tell you, I WANNA GO!

AROUND AND AROUND

So I’m in London and “Ziggy Stardust” is all the rage. So I buy the album and go to see David Bowie at the Music Hall in Boston. And the concert ended with all the lights on and Bowie doing this song. That’s my favorite cover, but the recording that was ultimately released years later didn’t measure up. But my favorite STUDIO version of “Around And Around” is the one that opens up “12 X 5.” I bought the album just to hear it, back before the days of YouTube and Spotify, when if you had a hankering to hear something you had to buy it, oftentimes the whole LP.

The joint used to be rocking. When we as a nation exited our domiciles on a regular basis, to hear live music, to be amidst the crowd, before we became addicted to Netflix and our mobile phones. That’s right, once upon a time you heard a record like this and you had to buy a ticket to hear it up close, you were thrilled when your local band covered it, but…the highest experience in the church of rock and roll occurred at the gig where your favorite recording artist played the songs you knew by heart.

We knew the songs by heart.

And so did the Rolling Stones.

Rhinofy-Some Stones Covers