Oh my God, this is my song
I’ve been listening to the radio all night long

I couldn’t believe it was really him.

I know I rail against albums, I know I decry the state of modern music, but the truth is I know every lick on Luke Bryan’s “Crash My Party” and I’ve been looking forward to his appearance at the Hollywood Bowl since May, playing the tracks over and over again on my phone. I felt like an adolescent, paying my dues in regular life living for the event that’s going to change my life. Maybe that’s what the gig really is, a cementing of our bond with the artist, proving that we truly are attached.

Now as a result of the infamous L.A. traffic I missed most of Cole Swindell’s opening set, which irked me, but when Lee Brice took the stage I told myself…I could do that.

Not really. But in an era where we’re overloaded with slick productions no one can humanly re-create Brice and his band were on stage with no hard drive help singing songs whose meaning I could understand and relate to, it might not have been edgy but the experience was one I was familiar with, you see it began with the Beatles. Sure, we loved their music, we adored them, but they also inspired us to pick up instruments and play, practice and form bands, we needed to not only get closer to the magic but create some ourselves.

And that’s what they’re doing in Nashville, capturing magic and distributing it to those who care, and if that population is not enough you’re Taylor Swift, desirous of being the biggest and reaching everybody when the truth is we’re all human, and now that Taylor has achieved her goal she can no longer live her life, date in private, make mistakes, and that’s what we all want to do.

For a fabulous town I did not see a single celebrity at last night’s gig. But I did see 18,000 people who knew every word, who had their hands in the air singing along at the top of their lungs. They were communing with the music, they were making it their own, and there’s few such enjoyable moments in life.

THAT’S MY KIND OF NIGHT

Might sit down on my diamond plate tailgate
Put in my country ride hip-hop mixtape
Little Conway, a little T-Pain, might just make it rain

And there you have it right there, the conundrum of today mixed in with some derision. Yes, that’s the complaint about Luke, the lyrics, that it’s all about trucks and scantily-clad babes, and some of it is, but the production is so damn good, the changes so infectious that you can’t help but get caught up in the groove and sing along.

Not to yesterday’s country music, there’s no western in these songs. They’re a curious hybrid of rock and country and rap. Hell, we heard “Timber” and other hits of the day between acts. That’s right, all the genres are intertwining, and if you’re a purist who hates rap and country you’re gonna be left out, sorry.

KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE

It’s the sound of the guitar, something Tom Petty specialized in, back when he knew great tracks were not only about sound and attitude, but changes too. And “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” has them.

I discovered this high in the mountains, hiking listening to every Luke Bryan track extant, it immediately jumped out, which is what we’re all looking for, something that embraces us with eight arms that won’t let go that we think is only our own when the truth is it’s everybody’s.

ROLLER COASTER

She’s like a song playin’ over and over
In my mind, where I still hold her
I had the chance and I should’ve told her

Should you? Let them know how you feel?

It’s easy when you’re married, when you’re committed, but before that, when you can’t get them out of your mind, when you can’t sleep because you’re fantasizing and wondering whether they feel the same way you do… Can you reach out and be honest? Or are you too inhibited?

We don’t live in an honest society.

But that’s what we want so much.

And until we figure it out we want a track to ride shotgun and empower us to be our best selves.

“Roller Coaster” went to number one. Maybe because Luke Bryan is the biggest act in country music. But the truth is we’ve all got our summer memories, romances that were unanticipated, that we thought were flings but ultimately realized were not.

THIS IS HOW WE ROLL

The mixtape’s got a little Hank, little Drake
A little something bumping, thump, thumping on the wheel ride

And you wonder why Florida Georgia Line’s album entered last week’s chart at number one… That’s right, those guys you despise captured the cultural zeitgeist better than any other act this year.

The truth is everybody’s multicultural, Drake’s a half black Jewish rapper who rules his domain and you don’t have to be an inner city denizen to adore his music.

Yeah, we’re proud to be young
We stick to our guns
We love who we love and we wanna have fun
Yeah, we cuss on them Mondays
And pray on them Sundays
Pass it around and we dream of that one day

That’s Luke’s part on the original, he sang it along with cowriter Cole Swindell last night. And you might abhor the gun and religion references, but the truth is on some level life never changes, we reach adolescence, we imbibe, we test limits and then we go back to doing what’s expected of us.

Same as it ever was.

DRINK A BEER

When I got the news today
I didn’t know what to say
So I just hung up the phone

We’ve all gotten that call. Sometimes just a voice mail pregnant with bad news. Our hearts are at loose ends, we don’t know where to turn.

I took a walk to clear my head
This is where the walking led
Can’t believe you’re really gone
Don’t feel like going home

This is the song that made me a Luke Bryan fan. Because I’m a sentimental wuss, I remember all that once happened and never will again, and the people who are no longer here to experience it.

The ones cut down too young by cancer.

The ones flummoxed who took their own lives.

The ones who lost their lives through no fault of their own, unlucky in life.

There’s a resignation in the vocal, an ability to keep putting one foot in front of the other, but in a haze.

COUNTRY GIRL (SHAKE IT FOR ME)

So what we’ve got here is a bunch of not so young men singing songs whose words we understand and relate to atop tracks with hooks so sharp you cannot emerge unscathed.

And not everybody is aware. But those who are need to go to the show the way you need to buy a new iPhone. They need to put on their jeans and boots, maybe sneakers, trucker caps and cowboy hats, and drink and dance and have fun.

And if you follow the news you know that’s tough, life is depressing. But you scratch up some dough and even if you’re way in the back you feel included, it’s a big tent. Some may be Republicans, some may be Democrats, but at the country show it doesn’t matter.

And since the politically correct police are absent the big screen features booty-shaking and flirting and all the stuff those with legislative power are trying to exorcise from everyday life. Sure, bad things happen, but life is for the living, for the playing, and you never feel as alive as you do at a country show, where the humanity is in evidence, people performing who grew up in Fresno and other godforsaken backwaters and practiced so hard that they got roles in the country music circus, where how you look is secondary to how you can play.

PLAY IT AGAIN AGAIN

Sittin’ ’round waitin’ for it to come on and here it is

That’s right, I waited the entire summer and now it’s gone.

I’m not exactly sure what I experienced. Luke jumped up and down, pranced on stage, but to him it was just another night, he didn’t strut, didn’t demand adulation, he was just doing his job, singing songs we all knew by heart. Usually they beat their chest and keep telling us how much better they are than us, can you hear me Kanye?

And the truth is some of us are smarter than others, but genius is an overrated construct. We’re all brilliant, all geniuses in our own way and the road to excellence is paved with desire and hard work and when you break through we all want some of what you’ve got.

Especially when you can repeat the trick, too often today you’re a one hit wonder, you own the scene for a summer, then you disappear, can you hear me Robin Thicke?

And then there’s Luke Bryan. Who has a smidge of charisma but is not trading solely on it, who looks like someone who was your frat brother in Georgia, the one who played all the parties and drove to Nashville to make it. And we all know people like this, most come back with their tail between their legs, but a few break through. And most use their newfound fame to join the parade of the fabulous, to live behind gates and go to parties the rest of us are never invited to. But these country guys, they don’t seem to change, they seem to still be the same people, thrilled that they’re traveling this great country of ours in a plethora of buses picking Les Pauls to the adulation of a throng of thrilled fans.

It’s a communal rite.

And it may not be forever, little is.

But it feels so damn good today.

And she said, play it again, play it again
And I said, play it again, play it again, play it again

Luke Bryan – Spotify playlist

And we always thought Ginger Baker would die first.

Clapton might be God, but there was no Cream without Jack Bruce. He was the one who sang most of the songs. If he’d found his Delaney Bramlett maybe he too would be a household name instead of a footnote.

That’s right, Eric had his instincts, but it was Delaney who got him to stand out front and sing. Jack was born with this power.

And although he cut “Songs For A Tailor” and did the indelible “Theme For An Imaginary Western” times were changing so fast, Jack moved so slowly, that all the hopes and dreams we had in him were transferred to others.

But we remember the records.

Hipsters had “Fresh Cream.” They knew John Mayall and his Bluesbreakers. The cognoscenti picked up on “Disraeli Gears.” And then everybody went along for the victory lap on “Goodbye.” And during the “Wheels Of Fire” era, Cream was the biggest band in the land.

That’s right, not Taylor Swift, needing an executive producer to impart direction and cowrite the songs. We were casting aside the Svengalis, songwriters like Max Martin were struggling. As for Katy Perry and her comic book outfits, at this point musicians wore their street clothes on stage and barely moved, if they looked at the audience at all. Image was nearly irrelevant, it was all about the music.

As for “Sunshine Of Your Love,” the riff was written by Jack.

That’s right, one of the famous in rock and roll history, up there with “Smoke On The Water.” And sure, Eric executed the solo, but Jack sang the words. It bubbled up from nowhere, actually, the first side of “Disraeli Gears,” and then it got played on nascent FM underground radio and then it unexpectedly exploded on to AM radio in the summer of ’68 and the whole world was revolutionized. Yes, the world changed when “Sunshine Of Your Love” and “Purple Haze” became ubiquitous. “Sunshine Of Your Love” was the “Royals” of its day, but with more impact and made by people who’d been there and done that, who had a wealth of experience in their souls.

And anybody who bought “Disraeli Gears” went back and bought “Fresh Cream” after that…

Bmm bmm bmm bmm bmm bmm

Come on, it’s in your DNA! Your head is nodding like a beatnik, you can’t wait for the whole band to come in, you too want to feel FREE!

And that’s what our music did back then. It did not make us part of one big happy family tied in with corporations and featured on the “Today,” show, no it was just for us, individuals and the few like-minded people you could find, which was a group that keep growing and growing until the whole world realized its size at “Woodstock.”

Cream had a wealth of hits, you didn’t buy the albums for the singles, or if you did you were enraptured by what you discovered.

And so many were originals, but there were reworkings of blues numbers like “I’m So Glad,” another Jack Bruce vocal.

That’s right, Jack wasn’t a sideman, he was the FRONTMAN!

And now he’s gone.

The great migration has begun. From terra firma to the sky. Our heroes are starting to go. They’re fading away. For every eternally youthful legend like Paul McCartney, there’s a plethora of doddering oldsters who once tore it up around the world and are now rickety and ready to go.

And we’re next.

And the truth is, most of this material is not going to be remembered by later generations. But we’re never going to forget it. We grew up to it. It’s the elixir in our lives. That’s right, classic rock built the modern music business, everything from radio to arena shows and we still go, because we still need the hit.

So, so long Jack Bruce, on one hand you were born too young, before the Internet era, before everybody could know every detail of your life and hold you close to their bosom. That’s right, we know very little about Jack Bruce, just a few details, his music speaks for him, and ultimately that’s grand.

And so long album radio, where the deejay didn’t want to be your friend so much as he wanted to demonstrate how hip he was by playing tracks that stretched boundaries and elated you.

And so long albums themselves, when you didn’t need a hit to succeed, but they were so expensive that if you bought one you played it incessantly and knew it by heart.

And so long the dream that every band will reunite and come to your city and you can relive your youth.

That’s right, Cream unexpectedly reunited. Played London and New York. But that was it. If you want to see someone, see them now. Chances are so many you’ll never get to see. Not only because of discord, but because members are dead.

Who would have thought that could happen?

1. He tells a story.

America is built on narrative. Although BuzzFeed has made inroads, it’s got no soul and no true fans, because the way you make people bond to you is by going deep, by hooking them and drawing them in like an angler lands a fish. You can’t be too aggressive, you can’t be one note, you’ve got to gain people’s confidence and tell them a yarn. Which is why some of our favorite songs are story songs, which is why we hunger to learn about our celebrities. We want to know what makes them tick, we want to hear it from their mouths.

2. He’s not afraid to go long.

If I hear one more pundit say we live in a short attention span economy! The truth is even though we’re beaten over the head with facts and people wanting our attention we truly want to go deep. The same way a one night stand is not as satisfying as a relationship, we want more. When someone tells you to make it shorter think if you can make it better. If you can’t, then length is not an issue.

3. He’s not worried about looks.

Turns out he’s got a huge nose. Not only bad teeth. Our imperfections humanize us and make us lovable. It’s your personality that shines. Yes, we live in a looks-based society, but looks will just get you in the door, they won’t seal the deal. The truth is you’ve got to let your freak flag fly, you’ve got to be yourself, which is hard in a society that is constantly reinforcing you’re inadequate.

4. He has an edge.

As does most of the programming on HBO. Where the public pays the bills, not intermediaries. Turns out people know the score, they’re not so easily offended, it’s the media that trumps up these conflagrations to garner eyeballs. We want people who have opinions. Not everybody is gonna like them but not everybody is gonna like anybody. Your goal is to entice and then bond with those who care. Money has corrupted politics, but so has the likability factor. Everybody’s so busy pussy-footing and apologizing for faux errors that they’re afraid to be real. And what we’re in search of is real.

5. He’s not afraid to be outraged.

That’s a condition in modern society, we all feel it individually yet we often times feel powerless. We’re outraged over incompetence, outraged over stupidity. But whenever we complain we’re labeled just that, complainers. We’re told everybody’s trying their best. Hogwash. When John Oliver gets that zeal in his eye and starts to bitch I start to smile, I say RIGHT ON!

6. He’s paid his dues.

He was nobody before he was somebody. Because young ‘uns are impressionable, because they buy stuff on impulse, advertisers want to reach them so media features them. Turns out you’ve got to live a lot to have something to say, and you’ve got to practice your craft to be any good at it. Sure, you can have Max Martin write your hit, but what is the story then? I’m a two-dimensional good-looking nitwit with a hit on the chart who everybody makes fun of online? Try writing a song. Try singing for a living. Find out if you’re any good, and if you are, know that it’s a long road before you’ll reach mass consciousness.

7. Sacred cows.

No one is left unscathed on Oliver’s program. In politically correct America there are so many you can’t poke fun at, so many who are off limits. When the truth is some of our most famous and powerful people are heinous. Who’s going to stick up for us? Turns out comedians and not many others.

8. Passion.

We’re drawn to it. We know Oliver cares. About both his subject matter and his delivery. We want to watch people go for the brass ring. That’s part of the appeal of professional sports, watching others do better at what we can only play at.

9. Willing to tackle non-sexy subjects.

Does anybody really care about the fate of Afghan translators? Wouldn’t they rather hear about legal dope or how the Senate is up for grabs? But watching Oliver dissect the issue of political asylum in the U.S. for Afghan translators not only is one hooked by the story, one is outraged by our inefficient and duplicitous government. We promise something and then we make it impossible to achieve. Furthermore, the issue of political asylum is bigger than FNU Mohammad, who is featured in this clip. That’s right, the personal is political, what looks small is actually big. That which happens to you happens to us all in some fashion. We are truly in it together and have to help each other out.

 

10. Not afraid to have guests on who aren’t selling something.

We want to hear people who have something to say, not only something to sell. It drives us crazy, the pundits and celebrities always referring to their work or their record as if the only reason they’re appearing is because they’re in launch week. And that’s the only reason they are. Otherwise the programs don’t want them. What about someone who just has something to say? Imagine getting a musician to do an interview off album cycle, wouldn’t that be a laugh.

CONCLUSION

I’ve written about John Oliver before. But every time I watch his program I marvel, I can’t shut it off, when it’s done and I switch to the competition I’m bored and start surfing the web and ultimately turn the set off. What we’re searching for in today’s society is excellence and honesty and John Oliver delivers this. It’s very hard to get someone to pay attention these days, to get someone hooked and coming back. And that’s why the above rules are so important, John Oliver has figured it out, you need to too.

1. Florida Georgia Line “Anything Goes” 197,000 copies

They’re a singles act until proven otherwise. As it should be. Where was it written that fans should fall all over you as soon as you debut? In the old days you sold singles until people believed in you, then they partook of the album, the concept of making them buy the whole LP for one good track might have made financial sense but it never resonated with the consumer and once he got a chance he punted, he went to P2P and then iTunes and then YouTube/Spotify.

You’ve got to earn your fans. Florida Georgia Line may be all over the airwaves but they’re still on their way up. That’s the way it used to be, no one was anointed a superstar on their initial work.

2. Jason Alden “Old Boots, New Dirt” 91,000

Pretty good for a second week number.

The first week was 278,000, the third biggest debut of the year, behind Coldplay and Eric Church at 383,000 and 288,000 respectively.

Aldean’s been in the marketplace longer, he’s got more hard core fans, that’s why he sold more the first week than Florida Georgia Line.

3. Bob Seger “Ride Out” 59,000

Has anybody listened to this album, does anybody care?

Where does it live?

Either you’re part of the public consciousness or you’re irrelevant.

In other words, why spam us with your publicity if we don’t care.

We all like Bob, but we’re looking for “Night Moves,” not a bunch of new tracks that play like “Against The Wind” only poorer. Tarnishes the image, don’t you think?

The old classic acts should form their own label and have it run by an arbiter like Scott Borchetta, who’s a metal head, by the way. Someone who can tell them what works and what doesn’t and then promote what does accordingly. Because unless these tracks make a dent in the world at large, they’re destined to sit on the shelves of hard core fans at home, ultimately ignored, and if you think that satisfies the maker, you’re not one.

That’s right, if you’re an alta kacher act you should cut SINGLES!

And please, no more covers and duets albums, you’re just embarrassing yourselves.

4. “You+Me” 50,000

Includes Pink. Who sings folk along with relatively unknown Dallas Green.

Credit Alecia for taking a risk, for expanding her boundaries. It appears that some fans are following her, but it turns out others are waiting for the hit, or are unaware its her.

As for a radio format that would embrace the artistic endeavors of our household names, we’re still waiting for it. For all the pushback by radio, claiming it’s still relevant, it takes almost no risks, it’s part of the problem, not the solution.

5. Barbra Streisand “Partners” 40,000

Wanna sell albums? Exist outside the game, appeal to oldsters.

But still, there’s no tonnage.

6. Sam Smith “In The Lonely Hour” 37,000

Helped this week appearances on “Fallon” and “Today” this is the album of the year. The hype has been heavy, but that can work when an act is brand new and lives up to it.

As for the arena tour victory lap… Adele wouldn’t do that. It’s so twenty first century. Get all your money right away before everybody forgets about you and you fade away. Isn’t it best to underplay until demand is cemented? Are you really making fans when most people are sitting a thousand feet away, in a drive-by position?

7. The Game “Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf” 33,000

People still care about him, but not as much as Kendrick Lamar. Time passes even the rappers by, people don’t care about 50 Cent and they care a bit less about the Game.

A hit single will boost sales of this album, if it happens.

8. Hoodie Allen “People Keep Talking” 30,000

A tireless self-promoter who’s figured out the game. Proving if you’ve got a modicum of talent, you can make it on business sense.

It’s on his own label. Still, 30k in a country of 300 million is a drop in the bucket.

9. U2 “Songs Of Innocence” 28,000

It’s already over. A classic 2014 album. You ramp up the promotion, everybody talks about you for a week, and then your new album is completely forgotten. You subject your fans to one or two new tracks live, but it’s like the record didn’t even come out.

Sure, you could get the album for free with iTunes. But Radiohead sold a ton of “In Rainbows” even though it was at name your own price long before.

But this story is nowhere. Because in an overload economy, we only have time for positive news, no one wants to focus on failure, not unless it’s gargantuan, not unless it’s got train-wreck value, whereas this is just a whimper.

So U2 exposed everybody to their music and found out most people just shrugged. They broke the number one rule of the twenty first century, just give us a hit, we want a single. And for all you people purveying albums out there pay attention, if they don’t care about U2, they certainly don’t care about you.

So Guy Oseary has done worse than Paul McGuinness. Because Oseary thought it was about deals, McGuinness knew it was always about passion.

And Bono proved that he’s lost touch.

And we’ve learned that the album paradigm has expired.

And that once the publicity engine dies down, you’re dead in the water.

CONCLUSIONS

Want to make an impact? Don’t worry about publicity, but a hit single.

Streaming is everything, these sales numbers are anemic.

Despite all the hoopla, Gaga and Bennett is already over.

There’s a disconnect between consumers and the media machine.

We want good new music. We’re not exactly sure where to find it. But when we do, we partake, like with Sam Smith.

But usually partaking consists of a stream.

Don’t blame the audience, don’t blame the game, blame yourself.

The rules have changed. Abide them.