It’s a full time job listening to the show.

I mean it’s 2 A.M. and I’m sitting in front of Felice’s house unable to turn the radio off. Howard’s interviewing the nerds, Robert Carradine and Curtis Armstrong, and it’s so damn real, so much the essence of life, that I figure if it doesn’t end soon, I’m gonna wear down my brand new battery.

What did Gary say one day? About people giving him shit for digging so deep into Springsteen? That he was worth it? Yup, Howard’s worth it.

And it’s important you pay attention, because he’s breaking all the rules.

In music, being young and beautiful is a badge of honor and oldsters get no traction and give up or write horribly boring music that even their fans can’t stand. But Howard’s pushing sixty and he’s better than ever.

Let me put it this way…

Either you’re a Stern fan or you’re gonna be one, you just don’t know it yet.

Howard’s an Internet act even though he’s doing his show on the radio. You know why? He keeps on doing it. Day after day. He doesn’t harass you to listen to his great interviews of yore, he just keeps making more. And when you first become a fan you can’t believe all the callers who know all the characters, all the history, and suddenly you do too.

This is how you do it. You’re determined and you don’t give up.

Sure, Howard’s a tireless self-promoter. And I’m not even sure it’s working for him anymore. So, he’s a judge on AGT, even his fans know that show sucks and is not a good vehicle for his talent, no matter how much he talks about it. But this is a guy who worked on his craft, perfected it in Hartford when the other deejays were partying. Who got fired again and again but believed in his act and didn’t kiss the butts of the programmers who were telling him he was doing it all wrong.

The programmers don’t know. The label doesn’t know. Only the artist knows.

Are you an artist?

Probably not.

You’re not honing your chops and testing limits. You’re just eager to get on the gravy train and become rich and famous, you don’t care if it’s for music, a fashion line or just showing up at the club. That’s not an artist.

Then again, everybody’s got art in their life. And it’s this that Howard tries to extract. How did the porn star get here? What was it like to be the son of John Carradine and discover in your teens that your mom is not your real mom?

Or who is the hottest actress Kevin Bacon ever performed with?

Oh, of course that’s base.

But that’s what we all think about.

The late night TV talk shows are fading because instead of testing limits, they’re circling the wagons, being nice promotional vehicles for movies most of us don’t care about. Except for Jimmy Fallon, give him credit for trying something new.

Whereas with Stern, the promotion is less than ten percent.

The rest is story.

That’s what Stern knows best. Story. Arc. The essence of all great art, whether it be a book, record or movie. How did the celebrity get from there to here? And the cast of characters… I know them all, and their peccadilloes, because I’ve been listening so long.

Howard Stern built Sirius.

It will survive without him.

But I might not.

If Howard Stern retires, there’ll be a great big hole in my life. It’ll be like my best friend moving away before the cell phone era, when long distance calls were still expensive and my parents wouldn’t let me make any.

Ignore the haters. Get Sirius. Join the club.

IT’S WORTH IT!

Reggae music was supposed to take over the world.

At least that’s what “Time” magazine said. The hype was everywhere. And we didn’t even know how to pronounce it! Most people thought it was said the same as the name of that rich kid in the Archie comics, REGGIE music! Like Reggie Jackson.

But Reggie Jackson didn’t peak until the late seventies, didn’t enter the national consciousness until he played for the Yankees. Around the same time that Bob Marley put out his initial live album and people were mesmerized…

ONE GOOD THING ABOUT MUSIC, WHEN IT HITS YOU FEEL NO PAIN!

Hell, I’m gonna put the famous London ’75 live version of “Trenchtown Rock” at the head of this playlist… It wasn’t released on wax in the U.S. until the fall of ’76, but when you dropped the needle on this initial cut, you immediately got the power of reggae, you were closed.

Actually, that happened almost half a decade earlier, with Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now,” the “Graceland” of reggae cuts. Yes, Johnny Nash was an American with previous hits who synthesized the Jamaican sound and had a monster smash in ’72. One of the greatest reggae songs of all time, it’s pooh-poohed by the cognoscenti, but “I Can See Clearly Now” is pure perfection, put it on and you will truly believe it’s gonna be a bright, bright, sunshiney day.

And months later, “The Harder They Come” was released in theatres in the U.S. and promptly did…nothing.

Then it was shifted to midnight shows and it slowly gained traction, in Boston it played for years! And if you haven’t seen it, you must. To hear Ivan/Jimmy Cliff say DON’T **** WITH ME! as he brandishes a knife.

And sure, in retrospect it’s a genre picture. But it captured Jamaica before it became America’s spliff haven, when it was still raw and new to most people.

And it had the most fabulous soundtrack.

Yup, “Catch A Fire” came out in ’73 too, but the first Island Bob Marley album got a lot of press and had very few sales. We were all listening to Jimmy Cliff. We’re still listening to Jimmy Cliff. Because of those exquisite numbers on “The Harder They Come” soundtrack.

Oh, it wasn’t only Jimmy…

Toots and the Maytals are still touring on “Pressure Drop.” Be sure to listen to Robert Palmer’s cover, as well as the Selecter’s, but this is the definitive take.

And the Melodians never broke in the U.S., but you’d be hard-pressed to find a baby boomer who does not know “Rivers Of Babylon”…

By the rivers of Babylon
Where he sat down
And there he wept
When he remembered Zion…

There was even a Desmond Dekker track, “007 Shantytown,” which was excellent, but no match for his 1968 hit “Israelites,” which burned up the airwaves in the U.S.

But the most memorable cuts on the soundtrack were by Jimmy Cliff. Starting with the opener, “You Can Get It If You Really Want.”

Better than any self-help book, play this cut and you truly believe you can not only conquer demons, but climb unscalable walls and triumph. You hear that opening brass note and you’re immediately ADRENALIZED!

Then, of course, there’s the title track.

So as sure as the sun will shine
I’m gonna get my share now, what’s mine
And then the harder they come
The harder they fall
One and all

It’s the gansta rap ethos decades before, sung by someone who played a true gangster in the movie.

But as great as those two Jimmy Cliff songs are, they’re still not in the league of “Many Rivers To Cross.” A veritable spiritual, the track makes you think about everything that’s gone down and that which is still yet to come. The lyrics are great, but the feel is what makes the track. When they cut this they must have known they had a smash. Certain tracks just have that something extra.

But it’s not my favorite cut on the album.

That’s “Sitting In Limbo.”

There’s that groove, you can’t help but close your eyes and twist your head up and down and back and forth in time.

That’s what life is about, sitting in limbo.

Being alone.

It occupies all that time in between interactions. When you’re in your own mind, wondering what’s going to transpire.

If you haven’t sat on the curb and had this song go through your brain, you’ve never heard it.

I can’t say what life will show me
But I know what I’ve seen
I can’t say where life will lead me
But I know where I’ve been
Tried my hand at love and friendship
But all that is past and gone
This little boy is moving on

Ain’t that the truth. The past is known and the future’s yet to be discovered. It’s both scary and the nature of life, you’ve got to put one foot in front of the other.

Which Jimmy Cliff did. To Africa. To Islam. To near-irrelevance.

While Jimmy Cliff confounded and disappointed audiences, Bob Marley snuck in and stole everybody’s heart.

Yet, Marley’s no longer with us.

And Jimmy Cliff still is.

He played the main stage at Coachella last year to almost nobody, but if you saw him you were mesmerized, he’s as great as he’s ever been.

Either you know what I’m talking about or you don’t.

If you don’t, play these songs, see this movie, catch a glimpse of reggae in its formative phase, when it was all about the music and we were discovering it for the very first time.

 Rhinofy-The Harder They Come

  Previous Rhinofy playlists

I don’t go anywhere anymore. You can’t. Traffic is just that bad. I’m not sure what endgame is, whether everybody wakes up and moves from L.A. or just those most frustrated are replaced by lemmings eager to partake in the phenomenal weather and the entertainment business.

Yes, we had record cold the past few days. I even saw ice by Felice’s house, and that’s a first.

But today is something different. It’s 73 in Beverly Hills! Actually, I’m in Century City, at the Apple Store, but that’s what the app says. You see I’m killing time on my way back from Hollywood.

I haven’t been to Hollywood during the day–in a decade? And driving to Center Studios I was reminded why. Sure, there were drivers on their cell phones slowing my progress, but there were just too many cars for La Brea. Too many people wasting time they’ll never get back trying to get to their destination.

And when you go that slow it’s fascinating. You see what once was. That restaurant with the outdoor patio you frequented in the eighties, which now has a fresh coat of paint and a different name, but looks just the same.

And I was a bit frustrated. You see there was a delay. This taping was supposed to happen an hour earlier. I’d lost my edge.

Then I entered the lot.

I forgot. The power, the vibe of movie-making.

Oh, I know, you can do it at home now, on your laptop, but suddenly I was reminded that Hollywood is still the center of the film universe and some people are doing it the same way they always have.

Looking for my building I was confronted by tin-men. And damsels from the Middle Ages. I would have asked them what picture they were in, but I’ve learned that’s uncool. Nothing’s more important that being a member of the club, refraining from asking inappropriate questions.

And everybody was so busy, the twenty and thirty somethings focused on getting somewhere. You see it’s a young person’s game. Get old enough and you’re either famous or you give up. Because it’s too hard to make it.

And when I finally found the location they were interviewing a young bearded chap in a cap. Unrecognizable to me.

Until he emerged and I realized it was Jack Osbourne. The e-mail had said Jack OSBORNE’S office. Rang a distant bell, but I didn’t think it was Ozzy’s progeny.

And Jack’s oh-so-nice. We discuss his health and the old family homestead in Malibu that’s now inhabited by Dr. Luke.

And when I’m done with my business I emerge and continue to be mesmerized by the sights. Women not dressed for the office, but for work where they might get grubby. The latte stand. The food truck. A whole world behind the walls.

And it’s definitely winter light, but it’s got the feel of being the same as it ever was. Like “Day Of The Locust.” The dream factory in action.

And rather than battling freeway traffic I decide to take Santa Monica Boulevard back to the westside, it’s a straight shot.

And I pass that grey French/New Orleans restaurant that I used to drive by constantly, but never went in.

There’s the Gardens Of Taxco!

Whole Foods took over the coffee shop, but they kept the sixties facade at Fairfax.

And Los Tacos–Where I used to eat burritos with Freddy and Demi Moore!

And pulled up alongside is three teenagers in a red Mustang convertible, with the top pulled down, basking in the sun.

And with a shiteating grin on my face I realize this is where I’m supposed to be, and I’ll never leave.

From: Martin Elbourne
Subject: HMV
Date: January 14, 2013 1:29:47 PM PST

UK last chain.
In administration in morning.
Just come up on BBC.

Virgin France went under last week.

Apparently Fnac about to as well.
Big hit for the labels.

Martin

 

From: Martin Elbourne
Sent: Wednesday, 16 January 2013 12:19 AM

For those of you who didn’t get my email last night, HMV, the last music store chain in UK and Ireland has gone into administration.
It does not affect the Great Escape as there was a management buyout a month ago.
It does affect 230 shops and 4,000 staff.

And 40 per cent of the physical music market in the UK.
And much higher proportion of the many acts who never get near a supermarket shelf.

For what it’s worth, this is my prediction of likely outcome – a new HMV with more like 50 shops.
Most if not all of independent distributors to go bankrupt.
Virgin France (no 2 in France went under recently..Fnac the biggest in France, Spain, etc. about to as well.)

If you are owed money by an independent distributor in Europe budget not to get it.
Of course will be knock on effect on indy labels…many will go under.
Pias..who distribute Adele, not been paid since September (they are strongest.)

Be prepared to write off money…renegotiate deals.

Any artist who relies on sales in Europe preparing to record 70 minute CDs is a moron now.
Those days are gone…big time.

Which I think is no bad thing.

In fact, apart from obvious bad news for employees, small companies, long term..
Much more level playing field.

In short, will be shite year followed by good healthy things.

Later Martin

 

From: Martin Elbourne
Sent: Wednesday, 16 January 2013 6:32 AM

My final thought is that effectively for vast majority of acts we work  with physical cd thing now dead.
Or it’s like vinyl now.

But I do remember two years ago at Musexpo in L.A. a very good indie label panel.

After moaning for half an hour they suddenly all agreed that would
actually be great news for their business when physical died.
The drop in sales offset, but no stock worries, accounting hassle, etc etc.
No sales force.
Level playing field with majors (apart from supermarket acts).

And for artists don’t need to make 70 minute crap ‘albums’ anymore.

I’m beginning to sound like Lefsetz..this is dangerous

And another plus point…means zero reason to go to Midem anymore.

Why on earth would you sub-license anything?

PS: Sandy, enjoy Midem.

Martin Elbourne