https://t.ly/sBx9m

This is a stupendous book.

We’re watching this Apple TV series “Women in Blue,” not that anybody’s e-mailed me about it, not that there’s a buzz, but it has great RottenTomatoes ratings, 100/86. It’s a Mexican series inspired by real events about a killer and the government’s decision to hire women on the police force to improve the administration’s image. And in one scene, one candidate, one cadet, accuses another, her sister, of always coloring inside the lines, always doing what she’s told to do. Would you?

That’s the essence of education. Regimentation. By following the rules you get to ascend to the top of the ladder, get into a good college and then a good graduate school, even though those who change the world oftentimes drop out.

So…

So, Germany took over France in 1940, and Jews had to report their identity, wear clothing that reflected this, and then had to report to the government of their town to be sent away. Myriam’s parents did what they were told, to earn brownie points, favor with the administration, believing dividends would be paid when the war was over. And…they were sent straight to the ovens. And this was after two of their children were taken previously.

But through a quirk of registration, Myriam escaped. Truly. Her father told her to run away.

And this is the story of her survival.

But even more it’s the story of how her past haunts her daughter Lélia, and Lélia’s daughter Anne, the author of this book, and Anne’s daughter Clara, they can’t escape their Jewish heritage, even though they don’t practice the religion, Anne has no idea what goes on at a seder.

Sounds like a book only for Jews.

But that is not the case whatsoever. I recommend “The Postcard” to everybody who is able to read. For the first sixty percent it is unputdownable. It’s a bit confusing for the subsequent twenty or thirty percent, when Myriam is in hiding, on the run during World War II, and then there’s a strong finish, just when you don’t expect it.

The reason I’m not just raving about the book from start to finish is to preserve my credibility. Too many people tell you stuff is great that is not. I want you to trust me. It’s not that the second half of the book is bad, indecipherable, not whatsoever. And it’s a necessary part of the story. And I couldn’t put the book down during this section either, it’s just that what comes before…

You’re drawn into someone’s world, a whole family’s world, you’re taken away to another place and another time…

That has too many parallels to today.

So, we’ve got the family. They have to leave Latvia. Are you willing to leave everything behind, sacrifice all you’ve built, to survive? This is a question that is asked in this book again and again. Myriam’s grandparents decamp to Palestine and despite their hosannas when Myriam’s family gets there they find out it’s hot and desolate and you need to work hard and you can’t really make any money so after a few years they decamp to Paris.

And then comes the war.

But in the twenty first century a postcard arrives listing the names of the deceased, those sent to the camps. This is a mystery. WHO SENT IT!

That’s the underlying story. And you’d be surprised how many people don’t want to talk about the past. You’ll also be surprised how artifacts of the past, looted from the houses of those deported to their death, are now residing in the houses of their neighbors, who pilfered said items.

It’s living history. And it never ends.

I mean I’m reading the book and I’m not thinking it can’t happen here. On some level, it already is. Did you read the “Wall Street Journal” article?

“Jewish Students at UCLA Were Harassed, Threatened and Assaulted on Campus, Report Finds – UCLA antisemitism task force says the university prioritized free speech over stopping protests, which were among the most violent of the pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations”

Free link: https://t.ly/M5_EE

That’s only a couple of miles from where I live. I go to the hospital on campus and my doctor tells me the latest. He feels the oppression.

And this is where Elon Musk’s absolute free speech leads you. Not that I want to get deep into a discussion of that, but I will say that if students can’t attend classes because they’re Jewish… Isn’t that a problem?

Appears not.

If you’re Black or Palestinian or of some foreign ethnicity the institutions will protect you, but if you’re a Jew…

My point here is how I feel. And if you’re not Jewish, you may not feel it. But if you read “The Postcard” you will.

You’ll also read about those who joined the Resistance, fighting for what was right as opposed to being sheep herded by the Germans and their French proxies. And you’ll also learn about the clergyman who was a double agent who told on them and then these people who were working against the Germans were killed. This was not America, there was no trial. Cross the Germans, hide those against the regime, and you’re gonna die if you’re found out, and it ain’t gonna be pretty.

So reading “The Postcard” you’re taken completely away from everyday life. Talk about a respite from the election and obligations. Then again, in some ways it’s just like life today.

Clara asks her grandmother if she’s a Jew. Not in the forties, but in this century. And when Clara finds out she is she responds:

“They don’t like Jews very much at at school.”

She won’t get picked for a team because she’s Jewish.

Now “The Postcard” is translated from the French. And occasionally you can tell, the words, the passages…they don’t flow, but this is very occasionally.

I guess what I’m saying is “The Postcard” is very readable. You’ll start and you’ll keep reading, you won’t want to put it down.

You’ll be pinching yourself, is this really a true story?

It is.

Get back to me when you’ve finished it.

Spotify: https://lnkfwd.com/u/LAZeDiUL

YouTube: https://lnkfwd.com/u/LAZt4nmT

1

Well, not exactly new, as a matter of fact Billy released the same song last year to crickets. But now it’s been remixed to sound like Billy in his heyday, the “Don’t Say No” era.

And what an era it was.

How do I know Billy was in Piper?

That’s how hungry we were for information back then. We read incessantly, the key was to be comprehensive, to know everything. Furthermore, the acts inspired this curiosity. I mean how did Billy Squier come out of nowhere to top the chart? And it wasn’t only “The Stroke.” No, it was one hit after another, “In the Dark” was fantastic, “My Kind of Lover” as good as what it preceded it and “Lonely Is the Night” phenomenal too. But having said that, my favorite song ended up being “Too Daze Gone.”

I didn’t buy the LP upon release. I didn’t love the ubiquitous “The Stroke,” but then came “In the Dark” and then one day I just had to pop for the album and I played it just like everybody else on my powerful stereo that could blow the roof off not only my house, but my next door neighbor’s.

This was just before MTV. When rock ruled. AOR ruled. Disco had been killed two years before by Steve Dahl at Comiskey Park, even though in truth it just went underground, and Prince released the heavy beat “Dirty Mind” in the interim. But only aficionados were aware of that well-reviewed album, it was the next album, “Controversy,” that got the public to pay attention to the man from Minneapolis, if for no other reason than he opened for the Stones and…

Well, you know the story.

Just like you know the story of Billy jumping on the bed in that video and…

1981. Even though the mainstream didn’t truly embrace Bryan Adams until 1984’s “Reckless,” with “Run to You,” in July of that year, just before the launch of MTV on August 1st, Adams put out the best album of his career, “You Want It You Got It,” with “Lonely Nights” all over FM radio, if not “Fits Ya Good.” Play “Lonely Nights,” it will bring you right back, to when most of America was on the same page. It was white and it was rock, but country was still considered twangy and like I said above, disco had been squeezed off the main highway and…

In 1981 AC/DC followed up their breakthrough “Back in Black” with “For Those About to Rock…” Which was nowhere near as good, but we played it.

And ZZ Top had switched to Warner Bros. and followed up “Deguello” with “El Loco.”

And Rush put out “Moving Pictures” and Genesis put out “Abacab” and Van Halen released “Fair Warning” and Foreigner put out “4” and Hall & Oates released “Private Eyes” and Ozzy put out “Diary of a Madman,” with the FM staple, my favorite Ozzy track, “Flying High Again,” as well as “Over the Mountain”…

Everything was groovy.

And along comes this interloper.

Billy Squier had no history. Was unknown, whereas most of the acts burning up the airwaves had history. But there was this sound on the record, which was produced by Mack, who’d streamlined the Queen sound on “The Game,” an album which ranged from the undeniable acoustic rockabilly hit of “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” to “Another One Bites the Dust” and you could hear the through line, the punch in Billy’s album.

Haven’t heard much from Mack recently.

Nor Billy Squier.

I heard Billy was back on the road, but it all seemed a bit off the radar.

And then…

I got an e-mail about Billy’s new track.

2

This guy knew Billy, despite living in Oz. I told him I wanted to do a podcast with Squier. Could he hook me up.

Took a while, but ultimately I got into conversation with Squier himself and he said no. Even though this was contradictory to the title of his breakthrough LP.

Let’s be clear. I would have to ask him about that video, Billy in the pink top jumping on the aforementioned bed, that tanked his career overnight, took Billy from big time star to has-been nearly instantly. He just didn’t display the proper macho.

Didn’t matter what Squier said, how it wasn’t his decision. It rarely was in the video days, at least at this point, but it was too bad. The public decided that Billy was…

Not for them. A wuss.

And it was not long before you never heard from Billy again. He got a bit of airplay thereafter, but it didn’t sustain, and at that point you were either on MTV or off. And Billy was off. And ultimately he became a footnote.

But why was this new track so GOOD?

3

Rock has come a long way since Billy Squier’s heyday. Well, let’s just say there’s a huge distance between where Billy was forty years ago and where we are today. Today, if it hints of mainstream, of sellout, Active Rock doesn’t want to play it. Active Rock is all about edge, the other. If you play mainstream, straight ahead rock, there’s no place for you. Metallica is the model. Loud, thrashy, angry. That foursome used to be considered fringe, and then ultimately mainstream with “Enter Sandman,” but then hip-hop truly triumphed and the acts that followed Metallica were angrier and noisier and faster and…the mainstream checked out, and now rock is niche.

But sometimes to come back you’ve got to go back to the garden.

4

So I figured that’s the last I’d hear from Billy, I told him a podcast would not be gotcha, but he was not going to say yes, yet he kept e-mailing me about this new release.

He’d given it away on his website. I told him that was an antique strategy, files were for the Active Rock crowd, no, you had to be on streaming services.

Then Billy told me he’d made a deal with UMe and…that’s why I’m writing about it now, it’s just a click away, everywhere.

And if you were ever a fan, you should listen.

5

It’s the guitar. You can see the player in front of the amp, getting that big sound from the Marshall. And then Billy comes in sounding…

Exactly like he used to. How can this BE?

And if you ever liked this sound you’re immediately in the groove. You’re nodding your head involuntarily. The sounds are layered, there are changes, you can picture yourself driving your Camaro on the highway with the windows down blasting this number.

Which seems to have no place in today’s music world.

But the funny thing is, unlike all the modern people, Billy is taking a stand.

“Molly’s got a problem – what she gonna do

Took away her freedom – she can’t believe it’s true”

What’s going on here?

Billy Squier has written a PROTEST SONG! Yes, in the wake of the Dobbs decision.

“Freedom takes a holiday – it comes as no surprise

Justice in America is dust before your eyes

And no man is your brother – it’s all a bed of lies

Gotta fight for your rights”

When seemingly the harder you rock, the more you lean right, Billy Squier is standing up for women, against the elimination of their rights.

But the amazing thing is the track works irrelevant of the lyrics. We could argue for a stronger chorus, but there are so many changes, it’s infectious, the song starts off a full throttle and then it goes into hyperdrive, and then all you can do is PLAY IT OVER AGAIN!

“Harder on a Woman” is completely out of time. I don’t know if Generation Alpha could even understand it. Gen-Z would be flummoxed. This sound hasn’t been on the airwaves, hasn’t been fashionable for decades, to the point where it sounds fresh. If rock ever comes back it’ll germinate from this sound, not what passes for rock today, whether it be that outside stuff on Active Rock or all the people who can’t sing and can’t write songs who believe they deserve attention.

6

And the funny thing is it was released a year ago.

But the remix is everything. Listen to the two side by side. Here’s the old version:

Spotify: https://shorturl.at/q6ZjG

YouTube: https://tiny.cc/5twrzz

It’s the same song, but it’s different, it doesn’t have the same PUNCH!

Here, I’ll let Billy explain it:

The initial recording of “Harder on A Woman” was released on March 8, 2023. It was written in the summer of 22, as a response to the Dobbs Decision and the implicit threat it poses to our individual freedoms. Music is my mouthpiece – if I have something to say, I choose to speak through that medium. The song wasn’t conceived as a “Billy Squier Comeback Record”, but rather a musical call-to-arms that I felt compelled to put out on the street. It was recorded in a very straight-forward manner, with some of my great musician friends: Simon Kirke on drums, Mark Clarke on bass, and GE Smith as second guitar. I gave no real time or thought to “producing” the track – I simply wanted people to hear the song and focus on the message.

 

In the Fall of 2023, I got this idea to revisit the song as a proper “Billy Squier Record”, that is, make it sound like a track I would have cut back in the 80’s, with the production values and recording techniques I would have used in making “Don’t Say No” and my other albums. You might say I put the original track into a WayBack Machine and set the destination for Power Station 1981. I added a few bits, but the original performances are pretty much intact.

 

If you listen to the two versions back-to-back, the sonic differences are readily apparent, with the emphasis  more on ‘Billy’ in the later version. The limited feedback I’ve gotten on “Harder 24 – Don’t Say No Mix” has validated my process. People identify with this as a Billy Squier Record, which is what they’ve been waiting for…

 

And now they’ll  have it.

 

Billy

Of X.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/john-doe-exene-cervenka/id1316200737?i=1000674276572

 

 

 

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/c9e759db-7a7d-492b-abc2-27c902af4e9d/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-john-doe-exene-cervenka

 

The Insane Clown Posse came out for Harris:

Free link: https://t.ly/g0TqA

And this is important, because the perception is the Juggalos are part of Trump’s base. Uneducated, lower middle class white men.

Then again, you don’t have to be poor to like Faygo!

And I won’t say the ICP’s endorsement is more important than Taylor Swift’s, even though the mania over that, just like the mania over Harris herself, hasn’t lasted, but it is more important than Springsteen’s, even Eminem’s. You see the Boss’s audience is educated white people, who tend to vote Democratic, he may sing about the working class, but at this late date, the blue collar are more apt to follow Jason Aldean than the Boss. As for Marshall… In the ensuing decades, Mathers has been embraced by the educated elite, they now accept that his original work is satire, and Em has consistently weighed in on the left side of the political fence.

But the “Wall Street Journal” just said that Trump has taken a narrow lead:

“Trump Takes Narrow Lead Over Harris in Closing Weeks of Race – Voters remember Trump’s presidency more fondly as negative views of Harris grow”

Free link: https://t.ly/b3a4F

Meanwhile, James Carville believes Harris is going to win it all, although he’s ultimately relying on his gut:

“James Carville: Three Reasons I’m Certain Kamala Harris Will Win”

Free link: https://t.ly/7lfGR

But Nate Silver says not to trust your gut, but then he says:

“My gut says Donald Trump.”

Free link: https://t.ly/v3gFl

Meanwhile, 17 million people have already voted.

And I still believe that the race will ultimately come down to get out the vote efforts.

But why is Kamala Harris not running away with this?

It’s very simple. She’s been tarred by Biden’s record, and irrelevant of reality, many see it as negative.

And she’s still not defined.

Let’s be clear, I’m not talking about the issues here, I’m talking about her IDENTITY!

Bill Clinton played the sax on “Arsenio.”

Donald Trump manned the window at McDonald’s.

Oh, don’t get your knickers in a twist. The left and right have spun the Mickey D’s performance to their own benefit, but all I can say is Trump’s stint at the drive-thru window is completely on brand. One thing we know about Trump is he eats McDonald’s. Whereas the educated elites… They’ll go on about how horrible the outlet is, talk about nutrition, taste and…

This is the same left that refuses to adhere to medical science.

Have you been following the Ananda Lewis story?

“Former MTV VJ Ananda Lewis Says Her Cancer Has Spread After She Decided to ‘Keep My Tumor’ – The former talk show host reflected on her decision to go against her doctor’s recommendation for a mastectomy after her 2020 breast cancer diagnosis: ‘I thought I had this'”

https://t.ly/hyW1I

You don’t see uneducated poor people rejecting western medicine.

In addition, Lewis graduated from Howard, Harris’s alma mater.

Now don’t e-mail me about vaccine conspiracies…that’s all political. Cancer is not. You never know, ultimately it could be, but it’s not yet. So you go to the doctor and they tell you what to do and you don’t do it? These are the same people who’ll quiz you on your diet when you’re ill. Tell you to take zinc and other over the counter medications, anything but go to the dreaded western medical doctor. And I’m not making this up, my inbox is loaded with people excoriating me and my choices for every damn illness I’ve had.

So one thing we know for sure is Harris peaked too early.

Not that this was foreseen. But the air is out of the balloon. If anything, people are defeated. And one thing is totally for sure, everybody is burned out on election news other than those involved in the business of reporting it.

So Harris was bobbing and weaving, avoiding deep questioning. I thought she could have run this to the wire, not a bad strategy in my estimation. But ultimately acceding to the wishes of the political pundit class, she’s gone on to answer the tough questions, even on Fox.

And it hasn’t moved the needle.

She just called Trump a fascist on CNN, and if you think that’s gonna earn her any votes, you already think Trump is a fascist.

Attacking Trump just ain’t gonna work. Didn’t work for Biden, who employed it as his only strategy…remember, YOU’VE GOT TO SAVE DEMOCRACY! And it’s not working for Harris.

No, the only thing that can move the needle is for people to truly get to know Harris, to understand her. Then again, the Democratic handlers are the same ones who hid Biden’s mental deterioration, one thing is for sure, they’re out of touch with the public, if not reality.

It’s no longer about issues, once again it’s about IDENTITY!

And Trump’s is crystal clear. To the point where the constant parade of horribles makes no difference.

But Harris?

Now if Harris could get out the youth vote she would probably win.

All those ads on television… Only old people watch ads on TV, and they already know who they’re going to vote for and they vote consistently.

So how do you humanize Harris for young people?

You send them in.

Harris has to invite, maybe even have a contest to find, a social media influencer to hang with her 24/7, maybe a man and a woman, but if only one, a woman.

As for contests… Isn’t this what Elon the Moron is doing seemingly every damn day?

We’ve got to get to the heart of Kamala Harris.

She’s got to spend the not quite two weeks left sleeping in regular people’s homes. Yup, in every swing state. Someone at random, she stays overnight. The cameras are there, the family gets to testify… This is reality television on steroids.

There has to be a short form documentary of Harris going to a Taylor Swift concert. Revealing backstage info that is presently unknown. STAYING FOR THE ENTIRE SHOW! EXCHANGING BRACELETS!

Don’t tell me about safety…

As for Walz, he blew it during the debate. If anything, he’s now a negative factor. Sure, he can campaign, go for it, but there’s a reason why he’s been pushed out of the spotlight… You’re a heartbeat away and you’re nervous and confused and…look like a high school student doing an oral report?

Don’t defend him. We’re way past this point.

How can we convince people that Harris is not a two-dimensional robot.

And how can we convince people she’s up to the task of running the nation, never mind an international conflict.

This is when the Ross Perot strategy comes to mind.

People love a deep dive when they’re interested.

Harris has to upload clips to YouTube with her going deep into the issues, showing her command of them.

One on the economy.

One on energy.

One on Israel.

Five minutes each. Maybe longer. Uninterrupted. Just her laying it all down.

That’s one of the things that helped Clinton, he could talk about any issue in depth, extemporaneously.

We don’t want a stiff, wooden Kamala, we want more of a Gumby Kamala.

And maybe even go on QVC. Go where the regular people are. Enough of appealing to those who have already decided to vote for her.

Today’s world is run by the internet. And it’s all about revealing your entire self, warts and all. That’s what sells, that’s what people want to see, even though the mainstream press and those who know better tell everyone to put down the smartphone and say all the influencers are a joke. BUT THEY REACH MORE PEOPLE THAN ANY NETWORK TV SHOW, NEVER MIND CNN!

You’ve got old farts running her campaign completely out of touch with the new world.

What do we know about social media influencers?

You’ve got to create content each and every day. You never know what will go viral.

Enough with the rallies. Like the attendees have not already decided to vote for her, they’re just checking her out? HOGWASH!

As for the reporting on said rallies/appearances…I’m a news junkie and I’m burned out on it.

Can Harris DJ a party in Vegas, all by her lonesome?

Can she go to a World Series game and sit through the entire thing and then opine about it after, not in a mealy-mouthed way? Say she’s a Dodger fan, or a Yankee, talk some smack. People live for this. That’s the essence of sports talk radio! We all love to argue over our favorite teams, doesn’t mean we hate those on the other side!

But it’s got to appear authentic.

That’s what Harris is missing, AUTHENTICITY!

Carville said it was about the economy, stupid! I’m telling you it’s about authenticity, stupid! You’ve got to convince people Kamala Harris is authentic, that they know who she is as a person, irrelevant of her views. And sure, you’ve got to layer in competence, but I’m going to vote for Kamala and I still don’t know who she is… If I ran into her what would I start off with? She says she’s a hip-hop fan, is she a foodie? Does she exercise? Does she lift? Does she like to gossip? Can she publish some of her iMessage threads?

ANYTHING TO HUMANIZE HER!

It’s never too late. Isn’t that how we got here, Biden dropping out at almost the last minute?

Harris has to seize the momentum.

And you do this by breaking constructs, the rules. This carried Trump all the way to the White House once.

And if you don’t want to see him there again…