From: Scott McKain
Subject: Re: WWDC

Bob —

You’re the only one I’ve been reading who "got" what made the Apple session yesterday so important.

May I add one more item to your list?  Apple delivers on the front line to the customer.

I’m on the road on speaking gigs, and after the WWDC program, called the Apple Store at the Forum Shops to see if they already had the new MacBook Pro with the Retina display in stock. Nice guy on the phone said no, but he would know more tomorrow, so I should call back and ask for Josh. I gave him my name and asked for him to expect my call.

Today, I was by the store anyway…so, I walked in. The employee at the front welcomed me, then got something over her earpiece. She asked, "Are you Mr. McKain?" A little surprised, I responded I was…but how did she know? She smiled and said, "Josh told me over the radio."

A young guy — college age — walks up and introduces himself. "After we hung up," Josh told me, "I Googled your name, saw your website and YouTube videos.  I want to know my potential customers!"

They had ONE of the new retina display MBP’s in stock — and after that, I had to make it mine.  But, here’s another unreal thing — as I was leaving, someone announced, "We have just sold the very first of the new MacBook Pros! A round of applause to the customer giving it a new home!" The store employees…some lined by the door…started clapping as I walked out!  (Some other customers did, too, wondering what the hell was happening.)

Sure, I know it doesn’t work perfectly all the time.  But, Apple is making the technology seamless while simultaneously making the customer feel appreciated.  Think Best Buy or Fry’s has a chance when it comes time to buy my next computer? Sure, there’s a premium you pay for Apple…or any other product or service of distinction…but it’s worth it for the magical mix of technology and experience.

If I go see "The Avengers" and the theatre is dirty, and the projector’s bulb is dim and old, the experience is soiled no matter what’s on the screen. Why would a promoter or venue think it’s any different when security is rude, getting to concessions and restrooms require the patience of the Dalai Lama, and everything from parking to drinks cost a fortune, regardless of the act onstage?

In music, the artist gets the applause…not the fans. What if the experience — from clubs to coliseums — was set up to make the audience feel connected and appreciated, instead of gouged?  Maybe…just like we do with Apple…the audience would spend more — more frequently.

Thanks, Bob.

Scott

It’s an ecosystem.

Contrary to popular wisdom, the iMac didn’t save Apple, the iPod did. The iMac spoke to the faithful, however disenchanted they may have become. The iPod spoke to newbies, who didn’t think they cared. Then they joined the reinvigorated faithful and became an army.

You might have read about the introduction of the new MacBook Pro with the Retina display. But yesterday wasn’t about hardware, but software. The integration of all of Apple’s products, from the iPhone to the iPad to the Mac. Suddenly, you need all three, because they speak to each other. And so far no one is even competing, certainly not Google, and although the moribund Microsoft has introduced a decent Windows phone, there’s no uptake, there are no apps, there’s no reason to buy it.

Yesterday was all about sync. They didn’t call it that, but that’s what it is. Syncing your phone with your tablet with your computer, so they’re all up to date, automatically, from the documents you’re working on to the photos you’re shooting to the music you’re listening to. No one else has a complete solution, and as a result they’re going to be lost in the dust.

iMessage and FaceTime work on all three products. And if you’re not a Mac user, you’re out of the loop. And if you think this is insignificant, you’re unaware of the power of BBM (BlackBerry Messenger), which kept the BlackBerry alive longer than it should have been.

You want to play with your friends. And now, you can do this wirelessly, with said friends, who might be on an iPhone while you’re on your computer, watching the action unfold on your TV, wirelessly. But even more you don’t want to be disorganized yourself, you don’t want to waste time syncing all your machines. But now that’s done seamlessly.

What Apple has done is bring its operating systems together. Lion and Mountain Lion are all about making the Mac more like the iPhone and iPad. Now you can control your Mac with gestures.

And the notifications and sharing built into Mountain Lion are staggering. You think of your computer as being discrete programs, now they’re all operating together, like life.

And what’s great about Apple, unlike the music industry, is they’re ahead of the customer. Most people not only didn’t watch this presentation and have no idea of the capabilities, they don’t believe they even need the capabilities! Just like they thought they didn’t need e-mail on their phone, just like they thought they didn’t need apps.

Call me a fanboy, but that’s missing the point. Apple is making an end run around the entire technology business. And neither Wall Street nor the mainstream media are catching it. They keep looking at today’s numbers, at Android penetration, hell, they couldn’t even foresee the death of the BlackBerry when it was self-evident.

Android is hampered by multiple handsets running multiple generations of the operating system, with most people not upgrading to the latest, if that’s even possible. Whereas Apple is unified. You can check the slide. Almost everybody upgraded to iOS 5. Which then ensures adoption of the latest gee-whiz functionalities. And there is no full-fledged Google computer, hell, there’s not even a hit Google tablet.

Apple’s stock is going to go through the roof. Adoption of the iPhone is in its infancy. The integration of all three devices will make Windows domination laughable. Because Apple is not only going for the desktop, it’s going for hearts and minds. It’s invading your home, your car, it’s with you everywhere. And what’s going to sell Apple is not the company’s advertising, but the fanbase, the same way it spread the word on the iPod and then the Mac.

Please, please, please don’t have a knee-jerk reaction. Don’t think I’ve sold out to Tim Cook, et al. Please be dispassionate about this. Imagine if your CD spoke to your CD player and your car radio too. That’s what this is about. And imagine if this aforementioned integration could even speak to your buddies. Yup, you can now share your photos with friends, seamlessly.

This is so big, and seemingly everyone missed it.

Sure, the hardware is up to date, shiny and flashy, but it’s what you can do with it that counts.

Your life is about to change. You just don’t know it yet.

The keynote

P.S. Tim Cook was more relaxed, but he had the great sense to let others do the talking. The keynote was not disconnected from Steve Jobs, but part of the continuum. As for the vaunted Apple television, watch closely and you’ll see they’re already introducing so much of the functionality, without any hardware involved. The key to Apple’s resurgence has been software, oftentimes hidden under the packaging of shiny hardware. Unfortunately, its competitors in the consumer electronics business can make their products shiny and new on the outside, but inside, functionality is still positively twentieth century.

I don’t know what happens when people die
Can’t seem to grasp it as hard as I try

"For A Dancer"
Jackson Browne

I’d just been thinking that I hadn’t heard from Bob in a while…

We’re fans. And when we hear from celebrities, the objects of our affection, we get a little thrill inside, especially when they’re artists, who unlike so many today aren’t famous for nothing, but are known because of talent, because of works they seemed to have concocted out of thin air. So when I got e-mail from Bob Welch, my heart was set a-flutter. It’s a long way from Fairfield, Connecticut to the Rolling Stones Mobile they used to cut some of the Fleetwood Mac records he was involved in.

I know, I know, Bob went on to have solo success thereafter. But Bob was the glue that keep Fleetwood Mac together. The bridge between their old manager putting a fake band on the road and the ultimate merger with Buckingham Nicks that resulted in superstardom. The fact that they wouldn’t let him be a part of their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction is heinous, just petty. But if you think rock stars are gracious, you just haven’t hung with enough of them. It’s so hard to make it, they’re always fearful of being misperceived, being brought down a notch, being replaced by someone younger and of the moment. But what does the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame mean anyway… We’ve all got our personal Halls of Fame. From playing those records. And listening back then was a solitary experience. It wasn’t about bumping asses and going to the club, but having your soul saved in your bedroom, as the glorious sound emanated from your speakers…

My favorite from the Welch era Fleetwood Mac is "Heroes Are Hard To Find"… An exuberant romp that never ceased to put a smile on my face and make me feel like my life was worth living. And, of course, there was "Hypnotized"… Which hearkened back to the band’s blues roots, its heyday with Peter Green. Bob wrote that. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention "Sentimental Lady", which went almost unnoticed on "Bare Trees" and became a hit when covered faithfully by Bob himself, after he’d left the band, after his compatriots had their success. A great song can languish without the right presentation, especially back then, when radio airplay was everything.

And Bob had his solo success and…

That’s the nature of music. Except for a very few, your time comes, and then it goes. And even those few, even McCartney and Elton…are imprisoned by their past, most people don’t want to hear their new music. But oh what a glorious past it is, it’s our history, the fabric of our identity, evoking more emotion and truth than any photograph or videotape.

A woman I knew just drowned herself
The well was deep and muddy
She was just shaking off futility
Or punishing somebody
My friends were calling up all day yesterday
All emotions and abstractions
It seems we all live so close to that line
and so far from satisfaction

"Song For Sharon"
Joni Mitchell

When "Song For Sharon" came out, I was closer to that line than satisfaction. Joni’s music helped me hang in there, until the worm turned and I ended up in my first serious relationship. But that’s the nature of the human condition. We bounce from exhilaration to despair and it’s a wild ride and some of us can’t hang on, we’re thrown from the roller coaster.

I don’t know what caused Bob Welch to take his life. There was a note, it might explain it. And despite knowing nothing I’m pissed that we live in a country where everybody must be macho and buck up and internalize and cope with their own problems. You’ve got to be able to ask for help and receive it. Without being described as weak. We’ve all been down that low. We’ve all needed a hand to lift us up. And too often, we need a professional hand. I have no idea if Bob had that available to him. But we all should. In a country that’s done a one eighty and is all about self-reliance, but even if you’re a famous rock star that’s sometimes hard to do. Jason Mraz had a number one yet still was on the verge of suicide.

But that won’t change history. Bob’s gone.

And I’m creeped out. Because it’s sad enough when someone goes. When they take their own life you wonder… Could you have helped? Am I capable of doing the same thing?

We go to school and everybody cares about us, what we do. We graduate and instantly you’re on your own, nobody’s paying attention. What a crazy country we live in where people want to regulate bedroom activities but don’t want to spend a dime to help those in trouble.

Not that I want to use this as a soapbox for my political beliefs, but the problem with suicide is it leaves so many questions. Which usually don’t ever get answered, they just slowly fade. Bob must have been in a lot of pain. But now we are too.

From: Mike Lawson
Subject: Bob Welch

Bob Welch was my best friend the past 22 years. He and Wendy threw the baby shower for my middle child Kelly 18 years ago. I can’t express how much I love this man and his wife Wendy. Why am I writing? Bob loved the Lefsetz Letter. He turned me on to you. We had countless calls on the heels of a newsletter from you, and he always was delighted when he saw you publish one of his replies.

It’s all over the news before we even got the blood cleaned up. I am devastated he was my best friend.

"Angel Come Home"
"L.A. (Light Album)"

If you start with "Pacific Ocean Blue", you won’t get it. But this delivers the pure Dennis Wilson essence, even though he didn’t write it. Doesn’t it sound just like a surfer past his prime who’s been abandoned by his honey who got tired of his slacking ways?

Meanwhile, it was written by Carl (and Jeffrey Cushing-Murray), and his background vocals add sweetness to his brother’s rough…whew!

I’ve played this record after every breakup, whether initiated by myself or my ex-significant other. Now you will too.

"I Was Made To Love Her"
"Wild Honey"

Speaking of Carl Wilson…

Yes, this is the Stevie Wonder song, but with Carl out front it’s more than a cover.

"Girl Don’t Tell Me"
"Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)

You know how we’ve all got a favorite track, even though it wasn’t a hit? Like "Every Little Thing", my favorite Beatles cut. This is my favorite Beach Boys cut. It reminds me of summer, of regret, it’s wistful, it brings me right back to what once was and will never be again.

When I was twelve, I went to Camp Laurel-wood, the t-shirt spelled it with a hyphen, but we always wrote it as one word, "Laurelwood". It was run by the New Haven Jewish Community Center, and being from Fairfield, half an hour away, I was new blood. And I’m good in those situations. It’s when my 360 degree personality comes out most. Not often enough today.

Actually, this was my third and final year at Laurelwood. I was well-established. And in that music-mania era, I brought along my Beatle and Beach Boy records, and at the very first social, I dropped the needle on "Do You Wanna Dance?", the opening cut on "Beach Boys Today!" and I stole Jimmy’s girlfriend Jill just like that. Really.

And it lasted all month. But when I called her that December, the rumor was true, she’d gone back to him. Which on one hand was o.k., on the other when I hear "Girl Don’t Tell Me" I remember one of the best summers of my life.

"Come Go With Me"
"M.I.U. Album"

Yes, the Del-Vikings song. But I hardly knew it, it was a hit in the fifties.

Get past the nonsense intro, stay until you hit the vocals… You just want to join in. Al Jardine makes this track, the same way he did with "Help Me Rhonda".

"Farmer’s Daughter"
"Surfin’ USA"

My first Beach Boys album was "Today!" And then "Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) I became so enamored of the band, became such a fan, that I then went back and bought what came before, which is quite a chore when you’re twelve and cash-challenged.

My first catalog album was "Surfin’ USA". I’ll spare you the tale of trying to comb my hair like Dennis Wilson’s on the back cover, but will tell you my father used to make fun of me, singing ""Tell the teacher we’re surfin’…" at opportune moments, having heard me play it ad infinitum. Then again, when we did get to Los Angeles the following summer he did drive me to Malibu on a cloudy day and rented me a board.

But that summer, of ’65, we went on vacation with the Sheketoffs to Atlantic City. And one night, on Steel Pier, we did go to see "Girls On The Beach", where Brian Wilson sat by a campfire and…

Didn’t sing "Farmer’s Daughter". But every time I think of this song, which I can sing note for note in my head, I remember that evening, all of the above.

Yes, there were tons of farmer’s daughter’s jokes. But I was too young to either hear them or understand them.

People think Barry Gibb has the most famous falsetto in rock. But really, it’s Brian Wilson. It’s just that Brian’s is so natural, they don’t realize it.

"It’s About Time"
"Sunflower"

I used to be a famous artist
Proud as I could be
Struggling to express myself
For the whole world to see
I used to blow my mind sky high
Searching for the lost elation
Little did I know the joy I was to find
In knowing I am only me

"Sunflower" is the album where the rest of the boys stepped up. Especially Dennis, it includes his composition "Forever" and the opening cut "Slip On Through" and "Got To Know The Woman" and he even had a hand in writing this.

But so did Carl. And Al. And Bob Burchman, whoever that is.

And Carl sang it.

You’re famous, successful, THEN WHAT?

But as insightful as the lyrics are, when "It’s About Time" breaks down at 1:18, you’ll experience the sheer joy of music. That airy feeling with the music swirling inside your head when you believe you’ve just experienced the most beautiful thing in the world.

"Funky Pretty"
"Holland"

Not as good as an album, "Holland" gained notoriety and success as a result of the afterthought hit, "Sail On Sailor". Still, "Holland" was very satisfying.

And by this time, Carl Wilson had become the glue that kept the band together. He built his reputation on these later albums, where his voice soared. Listen at 2:42, you’ll get it.

"It’s O.K."
"15 Big Ones"

From the comeback that was not.

It was painful listening to this album, except for this. Which is the legendary Beach Boys sound, Mike Love shines.

"Marcella"
"Carl and the Passions – "So Tough""

After "Sunflower" and "Surf’s Up", this album could not have been more of a disappointment. "Pet Sounds" was packaged with it to try to give value, divert attention. But then, just when you were wincing, at the end of side one, came this.

You’ve got to listen on the big rig, experience the stacked choir. It’s truly the voice of the angels. You listen in awe.

"Feel Flows"
"Surf’s Up"

Brian Wilson has brought "Marcella" back from obscurity by featuring it regularly in his concerts. His fans resurrected "’Til I Die". First Don Was, and then everybody else. But if you bought this album back then, it was clear "’Til I Die" was the masterpiece. But you had no one to discuss it with. It was not a hit single and despite the hype, I never found another person who owned the album. It was my own secret treasure. But now it’s everybody’s, and that’s fine with me.

Yes, "Surf’s Up" was seen as a comeback. There was an article in "Time". I loved it, but it was not as good as "Sunflower" and most people still thought the Beach Boys uncool, sixties relics, this was just before their live show gained traction and became a major attraction.

But many have never heard this gem. Once again propelled by a Carl Wilson vocal.

In the album era, it wasn’t a hit and then filler… Hell, despite the label trying, there was no hit at all from "Surf’s Up", but here I am talking about it forty years later.

I drove to E.J. Korvette in blistering heat. I stopped at the Merritt Canteen for a hot dog thereafter, stashing the album in its bag under the seat so it wouldn’t warp.

And then got home, broke the shrinkwrap and dropped the needle.

Today’s music is hard and edgy. Maybe it’s apropos for the times. Where everybody’s fighting for a piece of the pie. Where you have to mortgage your future to go to college. But even though the sixties had ended by time "Surf’s Up" was released, we were still in an era of personal development, of exploration. You’d put on this record and drift…

I’m drifting right now.

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