Selling files in a streaming world is like asking me to give up my Tesla for a bicycle. A bigger bicycle that doesn’t exist that you want me to pay for on spec.

Can everybody stop begging? Crowdfunding is so two years ago. Know anybody with a Pebble watch? What a disappointment. Oh, they keep on improving the product, but the early adopters, the ones who pledged on Kickstarter, they got screwed, and Samsung’s product is superior, and also recently upgraded, so if you want me to lay my money down so you can get the support no VC will give you, I’ll pass.

There are no unsigned bands who got screwed by the major label system. That was the fallacy that was supposed to be eradicated by the Internet. You know, a plethora of badasses who the major labels just couldn’t understand were gonna rise like a phoenix and revolutionize not only the business, but our ears. But it turns out Lorde was signed before adolescence and Jason Flom flew to New Zealand for American rights and if you don’t think the majors are scouring the world for anything good, and signing it up if it has commercial potential, you don’t have an Internet connection and believe everybody deserves a chance.

So here we’ve got alta-kacher Neil Young wanting us to believe he’s a tech king. I’m not sure WME and CAA can figure out tech investment, but artist Young has got it mainlined. Why does everybody think they can do everything? What next, is Neil Young gonna join the NBA? Are sixty year olds gonna dominate at Wimbledon? Face it, you’re lucky if you can be world-class at one thing.

And now I’ve got a single device that lets me play music, surf the web, talk, text, stream music and files…and Neil says I’ve got it all wrong, I’ve got to go back ten years and get a single player, that looks chunky in the pics, so I can get higher quality audio. Why don’t you just lobby for a faster Internet connection, so I can get hi-res streams? Isn’t Google Fiber gonna wipe you out? Do you really want me to go back in time fifteen years when MP3s were cool? What next, a return to BlackBerry, because it had a keyboard and it was such a good e-mail device?

But you can’t even show me a finished product. And even though you’re a rich rock star (aren’t they all?) you can’t pay for it, I have to. And that means very few people will, and I’ll end up with a paperweight.

No thanks.

But every media outlet in the world is covering this story, as if it has meaning. But it doesn’t.

Oh, they’ll review Neil Young’s new record too, but no one will buy that either. Oh, a few might stream it, but then move on, because he hasn’t made memorable music since “Greendale,” and that’s cutting him a break.

Do I want high quality music on the run?

Of course!

But portable turntables never broke through.

And neither will Pono.

We haven’t had an act worth talking about since Gaga.

And she took herself out of contention by disconnecting from reality, the bane of too many stars. Once you stop walking the street, once you think you truly are a celebrity, we’re no longer interested.

That’s why we loved John Lennon. He’d fuck up now and again. Do or say something strange. Whether it was saying the Beatles were more popular than Jesus or photographing himself nude with his new bride. Lennon had an edge. Then again, this was a guy who wanted to live in New York City without protection. Unfortunately, it cost him.

Remember when everybody was talking about music?

Then you’re a baby boomer. Or a Gen-X’er who came of age with MTV. Or a hip-hop acolyte. At all three times, music drove the culture, it gave us a reason to pay attention. Now..?

Who do we blame?

The people who make and sell it.

Primarily the people who sell it, who’ve never had skin in the game and think the business goes on forever, which it does, not realizing most people are only interested in the spike.

Maybe we need a commissioner. It’s helped out professional sports.

But the truth is, music is adrift. With Bono the face of Elevation Partners and Guy Oseary trumpeting his investments with Ashton Kutcher it’s no wonder that U2’s track had no traction and the band postponed their album and tour.

You see they just don’t get it.

They’re an oldies act.

Go out and play the hits. You’re done. Toast. We don’t want any more.

The only person who seems to know this is Billy Joel. Who’s refused to make new music for decades, because no one wants it.

We don’t want that which will top the chart, we want that which has to be released or its maker will self-destruct.

We live in an era that’s all about TV and tech. Dramas and apps. And the only way to compete with them is to be just as innovative and good.

So…

1. Every major label should invest in one work project. An act that does not fit the Top Forty paradigm that the purveyors believe deserves to be heard, that they’re willing to stand by album after album as the artist develops. This is the essence of Richard Russell’s greatness. He signs the act first, then figures out how to sell it. Have a competition, put it on television, we want the best new acts and we don’t want them to be like anything before, unless they can sing well and write even better, which no one seems to be able to do today, ergo the usual suspect songwriters dominating the chart.

2. Indie labels can play, but the truth is indies are usually ignorant and indiscriminating, just like the acts they sell. Recording is cheap, distribution is even cheaper. Today, it’s all about the marketing, that’s the advantage the major labels have. But the only person who ever started a record company at Sony is Doug Morris, who swears by radio and retail, and that was a good formula…in the last century.

3. New executive blood. In the sixties, labels had the house hippies. The truth is there’s no upward mobility at record labels today. Until we let teenagers work there, they’ll continue to write apps. Until we let people make decisions on taste, we’ll get me-too product. Until you can make millions in your twenties, no one of any worth will want to work at a label.

4. The curious case of Scooter Braun. Bieber was worthless, but he garnered a lot of attention. Credit Braun, who decided to do it his way. Imagine if Bieber truly had something to say, if he was not just a pin-up for those who had never had sex. Imagine if all the attention paid to this nitwit was focused on someone of merit. Braun did it his way, but most people of his ilk, from good families with money, don’t want to go into the music business. Why? So you can make little money as old farts control your game? Scooter started in the uncontrollable world known as YouTube, before the labels even knew its power. If you can’t see the game differently, we don’t care what you’ve got to say or sell.

5. Universality. That was the key to Adele’s success. What we need is something that plays to almost everybody, but what we’ve got in music are endless niches, from hip-hop to metal to EDM. But the truth is members of all cadres glom on to something great, something transcendent, like Adele. Dream big.

6. Pull, not push. We’re immune to marketing messages, especially when they’re all about crap. If what you’ve got doesn’t ignite passion and followers all by its lonesome, forget about it. This is the story of Lorde, “Royals” sold itself, all the label did was pour gasoline on the fire. More like this please.

7. The curse of plenty. The public is overloaded. At least TV is expensive. But there’s an endless tsunami of records and most people just throw up their hands and say NO MAS! We’ve got to spoon-feed people, just a couple of acts at a time.

8. Classic rock is fading in the rearview mirror. Hip-hop is deep into its maturity. We’re ready for something new. But all the brains are not focusing on music. Music is a special medium, none other competes, but people are only interested when it’s great.

9. Innovation sells. Avicii mashes up acoustic and soul with EDM and he ends up with the most played track in the history of Spotify. Avicii thought outside the box. When he previewed this music, the horde at Ultra pooh-poohed it. Because people always first reject what they ultimately embrace. If you’re not getting a huge reaction, you’re not different enough. If you’re so outside that people hate you, that’s not so bad, people hate everything different, and it takes years for people to embrace things. The masses came late to both the “Sopranos” and “Breaking Bad.”

But no one wants to change the paradigm, no one wants to lead, except for the powerless. And the powerless don’t seem to be able to stem the tide of income inequality, why should they be able to bring back the heyday of music?

We’ve got to jawbone the powerful to the point where they take risks, to the point where they just don’t do it the way they always have.

The public is ready for new and different, the public is ready to embrace great. But instead, they’re fed an endless buffet of who gives a shit.

Like Coachella… Let’s see, I go see some ancient acts and those who will never go mainstream. Good for those who want to parade in bikinis and ogle other bodies, bad for music. And the complacent press writes about this festival as if it matters. And Coachella is the granddaddy! Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo mean even less. The former is a party and the latter is a rite of passage, neither breaks any music.

Same with television competitions. They don’t want new and different, it doesn’t get instant ratings. No one is interested in last week’s episode of the “Voice,” but a great record can sell decades later.

And all the fighting amongst ourselves! The acts decrying streaming services, everybody complaining they can’t get paid. Most people ignore these battles. Just deliver a hit, then they’re interested.

There’s more good music than ever before.

But that’s not good enough.

We watch the Oscar people trumpet that which no one cares about. Which is why the movie business is being driven towards a cliff. It’s worldwide blockbusters or art films that play better as extended series on television. Remind me why I should overpay to go to the theatre again?

We need a rethink. And a doubling-down. And a stop to complaints. And a removal of focus on tech. Everything ever recorded is already available… What are we gonna listen to? How are we gonna get others to listen? When are we going to go out to dinner and find people talking about music instead of television??

THIS DIAMOND RING

You know the Gary Lewis & the Playboys version, but Al envisioned it as a horn-fueled soul number and recorded it on his album “Act Like Nothing’s Wrong,” check it out.

LIKE A ROLLING STONE

Yes, that’s Al’s organ on the supposed #1 rock single of all time. He’s told the story many times of how he planned to play guitar but was intimidated by Michael Bloomfield and sidled up to the organ when Tom Wilson wasn’t looking and Dylan liked what resulted. The saying is “You’ve got to have friends,” even more you’ve got to have BALLS!

I CAN’T KEEP FROM CRYING SOMETIMES

Back when music was not free, there were certain albums you’d see in bedrooms that you didn’t own but realized were important, like the Blues Project’s “Projections.” Their take on Blind Willie Johnson’s composition…was a sixties classic.

FLUTE THING

But this was the most famous Blues Project song, written by Kooper and featuring Andy Kulberg’s flute. This track could be just as successful today. Be sure to check out Seatrain’s cover…

I CAN’T QUIT HER

Cowritten with his “This Diamond Ring” compatriot, Irwin Levine, “I Can’t Quit Her” explodes out of the speakers and knocks you dead in a way that Bruno Mars can only dream of.

It begins with a piano figure, but the horns come in and seal the deal.

This is musical, melodic in a way today’s hits are not.

Then again, this initial Blood, Sweat & Tears album fronted by Kooper was not a hit, but it’s the only one that counts. The second, fronted by David Clayton Thomas, featured all the hits, but it’s been completely forgotten and only “Child Is Father To The Man” remains in the cognoscenti’s mind. It’s pure magic. If you don’t know it, you’ll be stunned music was so good back in 1968.

MY DAYS ARE NUMBERED

A Kooper original no one ever talks about, this is the kind of track that drove the “album cut” mantra. Just imagine lying on your bedroom floor listening to this on headphones…I did!

I LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU’LL EVER KNOW

Donny Hathaway had the cover of this Kooper original, but despite having a superior voice, BS&T’s take is better, because no one can compete with the original version sung by the original writer…they feel it!

SO MUCH LOVE

But this is a cover, of a Goffin/King composition.

There are multiple versions, most notably Dusty Springfield’s from her “Dusty In Memphis” album, but none of them hits. But this is not only my favorite take, but my favorite track on the album, because it’s a perfect closer, they throw in everything but the kitchen sink, Kooper, the backup girls, the horns, and build it up and then break it down. Exquisite!

SEASON OF THE WITCH

It was just a Donovan cut, but Al Kooper and Stephen Stills made it legendary. It’s eleven minutes long. It came out the same time as the Band’s “Big Pink,” but for some reason it hasn’t been remembered.

The “Super Session” formula would still work today, in our live-centric world. Put Eddie Van Halen or Derek Trucks in a room with Joey DeFrancesco and Lady Gaga and have them perform covers…and watch it become classic, because music can still triumph, if it’s about music. Put it on YouTube and watch the counter roll.

IT TAKES A LOT TO LAUGH, IT TAKES A TRAIN TO CRY

Completely different from Dylan’s original.

Yes, I love the Stills side of “Super Session” better. Call me a heretic!

STOP

From the Bloomfield side.

It’s classic, but equally is good is the James Gang’s rendition on their debut, “Yer’ Album.”

Yes, Bloomfield could wail. Listen.

YOU DON’T LOVE ME

For the phaser if nothing else!

This was metal before Metallica, when it was not about speed, but heaviness.

Yes, this has a killer riff, once again from the Stephen Stills side.

DEAR MR. FANTASY

Hard to believe, but for years this was the definitive version, Traffic’s initial LP had almost no traction, the original has only grown with time. Great organ effects, and listen to when the vocal mic cuts out and the room mic picks Al up.

I STAND ALONE

It swings!

For those of us who were waiting, and I certainly was, Al was finally up front and center and this title track delivered.

HEY WESTERN UNION MAN

You can hear the telegraph!

I was unaware of the Jerry Butler original, Al turned me on to this classic, he always had great taste.

This cut is an absolute killer. It locks into the groove and doesn’t let go, the horns have you throwing your arms in the air, it’s a masterpiece of arranging. Listen.

TOE HOLD

And check out this Isaac Hayes/David Porter composition too. Al may be white, but he’s got soul!

COLOURED RAIN

Overproduced but not to the point of tragedy, this is a Traffic cover for those of us who hadn’t bought Winwood’s group’s original LP. But after this, the Kooper/Bloomfield cover of “Dear Mr. Fantasy” and Three Dog Night’s version of “Heaven Is In Your Mind,” I had to own it.

MAGIC IN MY SOCKS

The opening cut off of Al’s second solo LP was unavailable in the U.S. until the advent of streaming services…

YOU NEVER KNOW WHO YOUR FRIENDS ARE

Ain’t that the truth, the title cut from the second solo.

TOO BUSY THINKING ABOUT MY BABY

Another soul cover, more obvious than what had come previously, but Al still knocks it out.

YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT

Yes, that’s Al playing the French horn on the Stones classic, making him a classic too. Come on, you know the interlude…

BRAND NEW DAY

From 1970’s double album, “Easy Does It,” this cut was featured in the Hal Ashby film “The Landlord,” which sank like a stone, so did this cut.

COUNTRY ROAD

That’s how big James Taylor was, Al covered him.

SWEET HOME ALABAMA

Yes, Al produced “Free Bird,” but before the initial LP came out, Al got a call from Lynyrd Skynyrd saying they wanted to come into the studio to cut another track. That turned out to be “Sweet Home Alabama,” which wasn’t released until long after, but not because it was not a hit, Al knew it was a smash from the moment he heard it. That’s the power of a hit single.

WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM LIFE?

Ah, to jet back to 1975, when the Tubes were one of the biggest bands in Los Angeles. Sure, “White Punks On Dope” had an impact, but it was this number that cemented the band’s credibility and career. If you’ve never heard it, you’ll be stunned that something so smart and so good could get airplay on America’s radio stations. Well, not all of them, but those in L.A., and the Tubes ended up being big in the U.K., but they didn’t break through over here until Kooper was long gone and David Foster was king, but if you want the original sauce, dial this in, the Tubes sacrificed their shot at legendary stardom when they parted with Al Kooper.

Rhinofy-Al Kooper Primer

Nobody realizes they’re traceable online. That they’re leaving a constant trail of digital cookies delineating their thoughts, beliefs and behaviors.

If I told you hate mail did not bother me I’d be lying.

But keeping all my e-mail, I look back and it turns out this person has been calling me a doodyhead, but with much worse language, from back when the century was still in single digits. If every e-mail you’ve ever sent tells me what a loser I am, I know I can dismiss everything you have to say.

But even worse are the right wing nutjobs.

Yes, that’s what they are. You write anything that squares with the Democratic agenda, or a left wing position, and you hear from these people, again and again and again. It’s astounding, you go back through years of e-mail and you realize whenever you hit the topic, they hit you back.

They’re working the refs. Trying to silence those with contrary opinions.

That’s their job.

I’m unaware of this behavior on the left. Then again, I’m now going to hear from these same crazies telling me I’m wrong.

But what is truly astounding is you can look up the rantings and ravings of these same people online. That’s the power of Google.

Yes, when someone sends me something particularly heinous, I look them up.

And it turns out I’m not their only victim, they’ve written letters to the editor on the exact same subject, saying how the right wing does not get a break, that we’re moving towards socialism and the country is going to hell in a hand basket.

Call me crazy, but I think everyone is entitled to food on their plate, a roof over their head, an education and a good start. And if you believe everybody in America has got that today, you’re delusional.

Then again, that’s how the music has changed. The Youngbloods used to sing about getting together, John Lennon was all about love, and today it’s all about mine for me, and I could trace it back to Ronald Reagan, but then I’d get that e-mail once more…there you go again, Bob.

But this is not about my inability to take criticism, this is not about politics, this is about the ignorance of people who don’t realize no one’s anonymous any longer.

Now the truth is if you randomize your e-mail address, use an assumed name, you’re immediately discounted and forgotten. Because that’s so AOL circa 1998. With Facebook playing with real names, with no one paying attention to the Twitter feeds of those utilizing their real monikers, we don’t have time for fakes.

Furthermore, unless you’re immediately taking yourself out of the game by using a different anonymous e-mail address every time you send a missive, you’re findable.

Yup, if you use the same anonymous e-mail every time…

It shows up on Google. We can triangulate, we can discover who you are.

I’ve looked up every girl I ever kissed, every girl I ever had sex with, do you think I can’t find you?

It’s not only the government. I don’t need texts, I don’t need subpoenas or have to break the law. Your complete history is sitting there in plain sight, for anybody to discover.

But the truth is most people don’t care.

That’s the scourge of today’s society. For all the talk of social networks, most people are still alone with no economic mobility and they hate those who’ve risen above, whether their status is earned or not.

That’s the e-mail that cracks me up the most. People telling me how to do my job, the frequency with which I should hit send, that I should stop completely. THIS IS AN OPT-IN MAILING LIST! I never signed you up, you receive it at no cost and you can sign off any time with a click. But somehow you think I should be listening to you tell me how to do it?

Hysterical.

But it’s not only me.

Musical artists listen to their most vocal critics and change direction even though their silent fans are happy with where they’re going.

And left wingers are afraid to speak up because the same right wing nuts are going to shout them down.

The truth is, if you can’t handle abuse, you’re going to have a hard time in modern society.

Because so many feel held down with no opportunity, they’re angry, they want to feel powerful, by putting others down or shutting them up.

In other words, it’s about you, not them.

So rant away. Splurge online. Lay down your thoughts.

But don’t think you deserve any attention.

And know that you’re building a permanent record that could haunt you for the rest of your life.

Now that’s scary.