Gillian Welch played "White Rabbit".

It was that kind of night.  One of memories.  Most aged bands try to pretend only the audience got old.  They get plastic surgery, dye their hair, try to look like it’s still the sixties or seventies when the audience has gray hair, pot bellies and bad backs.  Aging is not pretty, but it’s better than the alternative.  A fate that has met two of the original members of Buffalo Springfield.  They’re dead.

But we’re not.

So we journeyed up into the hills of Santa Barbara to a venue built as a WPA project that eclipses all those modern buildings sponsored by raping and pillaging corporations that pull their names when they get busted or go out of business.  The Bowl has legroom.  It’s not that people were fatter in the thirties, quite the opposite, but back then it wasn’t solely about the money.  You didn’t want to be squished in together with your brethren at an artistic event, you wanted to be able to spread out and enjoy it.

And one can enjoy even silence at the Santa Barbara County Bowl.  The venue is just that spectacular.  With surrounding greenery and a view of the Pacific…  If all venues were this special the concert business would be flourishing.

Not that tickets were cheap.  There’s been some audience resistance.  Do you really want to spend two hundred bucks to see an act whose material you don’t really know?  Oh, they knew the hit, they knew everything from "Retrospective", the greatest hits compilation we all went out and bought after devouring "Crosby, Stills & Nash" and needed more, and they played "Rock and Roll Woman" and "Mr. Soul" and "Broken Arrow" and "Bluebird" but the highlight was still…

"For What It’s Worth".

Stills can barely sing.

But he sure can play.

But when he laid into the groove and Neil added the flourish it was like a six lane highway opened from 1968 to today.  You could see who you once were without forgetting who you are today.

I saw the Buffalo Springfield.  In ’68.  At Fordham University.  With Arlo Guthrie and the Union Gap.  Back when they were running on the fumes of their one hit, not long before they broke up.

History has been rewritten.  At the time, Buffalo Springfield was a one hit wonder.  It was only after the fact that we went back and realized how great, how meaningful their songs were.

And they’re frozen in time.  All there is is the sixties material.  Still extant bands play the new stuff and pay lip service to the old, maybe do a medley, but these ancient songs are all Buffalo Springfield’s got.  So it’s either embrace ’em or don’t play ’em.

These cats played ’em.

But they did not play ’em like they did back when. They did not play them like they had something to prove.  You know, you know, when the band gets on stage and assaults you, tries to evidence their importance, tries to convince you they matter, usually by turning it up to the point where you can’t even hear yourself think, never mind speak to your neighbor.

No, this was like some old friends got back together in the basement and you were lucky enough to be there.  They were smiling and remembering not only when, but who they used to be.

Come on, you played in the basement.  You saw the Beatles on TV and bought a guitar and an amp, maybe a drum kit, and put away the board games and after just a smidgen of practice called your buddies over to play, to form a band.

You played the Stones’ "Last Time", because it was easy.

And you played that stinging note from "For What It’s Worth".  Because it was easy too.

But writing it was really hard.

Most people gave up playing.  But some soldiered on.  They came to Hollywood and formed bands.  The concept that these cats could all be in the same act is mindboggling, the egos!   But for a time they were.

And they tried to break through, but they just couldn’t manage it, they broke up, after the hit, after the arguments, they just gave up trying.

It killed us when our favorite acts disintegrated, but musicians are always looking for the next situation, they want to grow, they don’t want to entombed in the past.

But it can be a fun place to visit.

And at first they were a little bit rough.

But it was when Neil Young did a blistering "Mr. Soul" that everything locked into place.

And "I Am A Child" made us swoon.  To be singing the words of who you once were not with shame, but irony.

And Neil was irreverent.  Like we showed up at his house and it wasn’t really a show.

But what truly brought the memories back was "Bluebird".

I prefer the version off the first James Gang album.  But in any iteration, it’s a killer.

Stills wailed.  Neil joined in.  They were making a racket.  That’s what bands used to do.  If no one was telling you to turn it down, you weren’t doing it right.

Still, "For What It’s Worth" was the highlight.  Because of the sound, because of the memories, because of the words.

There’s something happening here
What it is ain’t exactly clear

This couplet runs through my head more than any other.  Seemingly every single day.  There’s more happening than ever, what does it mean?

Lady GaGa is the toast of the town one week and then puts up a disastrous second week number and most of the press has moved on.  Could it be that the press just doesn’t count?  Or record sales don’t count?  Or..?

We’ve got a political party that is all about the rich but gets the poor to align with it by pushing social issues.  Huh?
We’ve got more innovation in tech than music.  Steve Jobs is a bigger rock star than any musician.  Musicians are just pawns in the game.  Of Jimmy Iovine, Simon Cowell, Mark Burnett…  Used to be musicians were only beholden to a higher power.

Not anymore.

Even the oldsters.  They just want to know where to sell out.

But not Neil Young.  We love him because he never did it our way, never did it any way but his own.  Sure, it’s great he won’t tie up with corporations, won’t do ads, but you can’t name a single act in the history of the business who broke through on soft music and then booked an arena tour and plugged in and played all new material shattering the audience’s expectations, demolishing his mainstream career overnight.

And Richie Furay gave up.  When do you do this?  Buffalo Springfield, Poco, Souther/Hillman/Furay"…he was always close but never broke through, he became a minister and waited for the music to come back to him.

And Stephen Stills.  Who practiced so hard and got so good that he almost didn’t need anybody else, and told us, which made him look arrogant and negatively impacted his career, but he was really that good.  The first solo was a disappointment after CSNY, but listen to it today and you’ll be blown away. And that first Manassas album is an unheralded masterpiece.

And now it’s all these years later.

Nobody over fifty can have a hit.

It’s questionable if anybody over thirty can have a hit.

And what is a hit anyway?

You can chase the dream, sign a deal, make an album no one will buy, or you can retreat into the music.

Last night was about the music.

But really, it was about life.

We survived.  We won.  We’re a bit worse for wear.  But we still smile.  We still laugh.  And we still pony up to go to the show.

Because we remember when it was a tribal rite.  When you had to listen to the radio to know which way the wind blew.  When the only way you could communicate with your brethren was to buy a ticket and go to the show.

If you’re old enough, you remember.

It was almost half a century ago.  Way over forty years.  In a world where you don’t even want last year’s cell phone.  But back in those days music ruled the world.

Buffalo Springfield was just a little bit ahead of their time.

But now that time has come around again.

That’s what happens if you don’t shave edges, if you don’t play by the man’s rules, but your own.  Neil Young still has his credibility.  And on that basis we give Stephen Stills a pass, we invite him back into the club and are joyful at giving Richie Furay his due.

All these years later this music still matters.

We know this, but last night Buffalo Springfield reminded us.

That’s right, he’s gone now too, just got an e-mail.

I know he had heart trouble, but…

Worked great in the CBS organization, and then fought the man better than anybody.

Meatloaf would be unknown without Popovich.

He called on a regular basis.  He did favors.  He was one of the good guys.

They don’t need him up there…

The American radio landscape was changed forever by two tracks.  Soft Cell’s "Tainted Love" and Human League’s "Don’t You Want Me".  KROQ played both, KMET refused to do so, KROQ is arguably the most valuable music station in America today and KMET is defunct, for a long time now, replaced by a soft jazz station whose impact has faded into the dressing rooms of clothing emporia.

"Tainted Love", which was paired with the Supremes’ "Where Did Our Love Go" in its treasured extended version, was a cover, albeit of a song few had ever heard.  "Don’t You Want Me" was an original.

And what an original it was.

Not only the synths, but that one couplet…

I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar
That much is true

No one admits anything anymore.  Not unless cornered.  But this woman, barely out of adolescence, with anything but a stage-ready voice, was copping to the accusation.  And then went on further…

But even then I knew I’d find a much better place
Either with or without you
The five years we have had have been such good times
I still love you
But now I think it’s time I lived my life on my own
I guess it’s just what I must do

"American Idol" says it’s about the voice.

It’s not about the voice, it’s about humanity, creativity, touching our souls.  And Human League’s "Don’t You Want Me" touched mine.  To the point where I had to buy the album, to hear it at will, and discovered the rest of those synth-pop tracks, like "Love Action".  And "The Things That Dreams Are Made Of".  And "Seconds".  This was not guitar-based rock, this was something different, but equally infectious, because of its originality, its cheekiness.

"Don’t You Want Me" and the rest of the album "Dare" were produced by Martin Rushent.

I know, because I looked at that album cover incessantly.  Who were these people?  How did they come up with this stuff?

I don’t want to be an obituary writer, but I almost put fingers to keyboard when I heard of Rushent’s passing.  It’s the unsung, those who are not household names, that I’m interested in.  They had a huge impact upon my life, I want to give them a good send-off, especially when almost no one else does.

But I held back.  I didn’t want to overload your inbox.

But today I got an e-mail from Martin’s son.  Reproduced below.

And I don’t provide this service.  I don’t do publicity and I don’t do dissemination of your personal information.

But this is less about the son’s loss than how this work affected me.

There are certain tracks that you can NEVER burn out on.

There are certain tracks that change the course of music history.

Like "I Want To Hold Your Hand".

Like "Rapper’s Delight".

Like "Don’t You Want Me".

The Human League – Don’t You Want Me

From: Tim Rushent
Subject: Martin Rushent R.I.P.

Hi Bob

My father Martin Rushent died the Saturday just gone (June 4th 2011) aged 63.

He was most famous for his work with The Human League … having the album Dare! and the single "Don’t You Want Me." go number one on both sides of the Atlantic … and pretty much everywhere on Planet Earth.

My brother James, sisters Joanne and Amy and my fathers sister and brother have always been very, very proud of him. But in the past three days since he left us, we have had to "down tools" in our normal life to field calls, emails and comments coming to the Martin Rushent Memories FaceBook group. The appreciation, admiration and overwhelming love has made us even more proud and I fear we have a long way to go yet!

I know for a fact that The Human League is probably not your "cup of tea" as us Brits say …. but I’d ask you to look at my father’s career that led to the work he did with them. T-Rex, Shirley Bassey, Fleetwood Mac, The Stranglers, Buzzcocks. You talk about putting in the hours before you know your craft … my father will have doubled those hours (on his own time!) just to make sure he did it better and more perfect than the next guy!

He made electronic dance records in 1980 when to do so didn’t involve a Mac and a cracked copy of Cubase with a bunch of hooky sample cds. It involved working on hugely expensive equipment, that took an age to programme (the brass swells in the League track "Hard Times" had to be programmed step by velocity step by velocity step …. it took him DAYS to do the whole riff!) and normally it would drift out of time whilst the synths drifted out of tune as it was being printed to tape!

But the guy sat there and did it so he could bring something new to the the table, something exciting and fresh … whilst making sure that the tracks could be strummed on an acoustic guitar and still be remembered chord for chord, note for note, word for word as decent songs that you could remember. He made sure that the songs were instant and drilled into your brain. Don’t believe me? Hum the intro riffs of Don’t You Want Me. See?

He also implemented many technological advances into his machines and mixes that are still used today … dance music separation and effect usage basically owes him it’s blueprint … sampling owes an equally huge debt.

His success with the League was Massive. and he followed it up with Altered Images who were big here in the UK, Pete Shelley’s solo stuff, The Go Go’s … just do the research and you’ll see. Wow …. sometimes even I can’t quite believe it.

Oh …. and he won Producer of the Year in 1982 for and countless other awards around the world … including, I believe, one of the first … if not THE first … platinum disc here in the UK for a million sales of "Don’t You Want Me."

I could go on for another 1000 paragraphs but I’d still only cover a fraction of a fraction of his work and enthusiasm for what he loved to do … pay or no pay … hit or no hit! He has been a a runner, assistant, engineer, producer, publisher, record label owner, teacher, raconteur and worked with artists such as Sting right the way down to the local Salvation Army Band and school band rockers.

I would love for you to send the message out to the industry that my Dad Martin has left us. He loved to be talked about and I promise you you will get some amazing emails back from people … because whilst he was a great Record Producer, he was equally one of the most greatest, memorable characters you could ever hope to meet … in a REALLY funny way. he was also a bit of an obnoxious twat … but trust me … he would have loved to be remembered that way too!

Thanks Bob …. I follow your posts religiously … yet my Dad would say "WFT does he know … he sounds a right wally … you listen to me … this is how you do things …  etc etc etc ….!". I fear that if you two ever met, the the Music Industry would self implode! In some ways it’s a shame you never did!

Anyone can add any comment for him to read in the great studio in the sky on the Martin Rushent Memories group here … I know we would all (including his wife Ceri) like to hear from everyone and hear everything they have to say. It’s helping us cope right now.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_216490505038835

Kindest regards and thanks Bob.

Tim – A Proud and devastated Rushent.

PS – please feel free to clean up any typos etc … it’s been a long few days!

A great day for Apple.

Not such a good day for Amazon, Google and the recording industry.

Apple has a problem.  Android penetration.  I could mention RIM/BlackBerry, but if you think that company and its devices still count, you’re Canadian.  Android sales have superseded those of iPhones.  How to beat back the tide?

Software.

Software is harder to sell than hardware.  You can’t see it.  It’s the difference between admiring someone from afar and getting to really know them.  They may look beautiful from a distance, but up close and personal you might find nothing to converse about. Software is the conversation.  And no one’s software works as well as Apple’s, because of device integration.

Sure, the iPod looked cool.  But Apple won because of iTunes and synching and…  Software.  People eventually get the message.

And they’re gonna get the message about iCloud and when they go to their mobile carrier they’re gonna pay extra for an iPhone, just like they pay extra for Apple laptops and desktops.  They’ll buy iPads, not Android devices.

This is a huge win for Apple.

Google finds itself lost in the wilderness once again.  Trying to do everything, Google does nothing well other than search and e-mail.  Google is the new Sony.  If someone ever comes up with a better search engine, which is not impossible, Google is toast.

As for Amazon?  Music and consumer cloud storage is an afterthought.  Amazon would like to win here, but if it doesn’t, it can shrug its shoulders.  Amazon still owns retail in so many categories, and is the king of server space rental.

As for the music industry…

Unlike Apple, the music industry is very shortsighted.  There is no tomorrow, only today.  Steve Jobs is seriously ill and he’s looking to tomorrow, the labels still haven’t pulled their heads out of yesteryear.

How do you make music pay in the future?  How do you get a ton of revenue for recordings?

By getting everyone to pay.

Think about that, it’s not a hard concept.  The outline has already been drawn by the mobile companies.  You drop the price until everyone buys in, then you slowly raise the price under the rubric of adding new features, i.e. texting.  Twenty five years ago a cell phone was a grand and calls were a buck a minute.  Now plans are dirt cheap and cell phones are free, even ten year olds possess them.  I can legitimately posit that not a single person reading this is without a handset.

That’s penetration.

How do we get everybody to pay for music?  By dropping the price and making it easy.

You call that subscription.

Cable TV is a subscription.  As is Netflix.  As is your cell phone plan.  Don’t say people hate subscriptions, that they don’t want them, it’s about offering a great service at a fair price.

The record industry refuses to do this.

Don’t point to Rhapsody and Napster, that’s like trying to sell a 2001 computer, or a Vanilla Ice record.

How can you get everybody to buy a mobile subscription?

We can debate that all day long, but it’s become almost irrelevant.  Because today, Apple killed subscription.

Yes, iCloud scan and match is subscription.  But the concept of renting your music, like you rent cable TV, that’s kaput.

And what did it cost?

$150 million.  For approximately $40 million to the bottom line of each recording company, you know they’re not going to share the revenue with artists, the labels sold out their future.

It’s like Nintendo being paid a bunch of money to never develop the Wii.

It’s like Electronic Arts being paid to never develop mobile games.

It’s a denial of the future.

Who in the hell is going to buy a music subscription for even $3 a month when for $25 a year you can have everything you own, even stole, at your fingertips via iCloud.  That’s if you scan and match, if you bought the stuff on iTunes, it’s FREE!

Spotify, MOG, Rdio, they were just trumped by Apple.  By an industry looking for short term profits unaware of the future.

This is not hard.  Like I said, subscriptions are everywhere.  But like Wimpy, labels would rather have a hamburger today instead of owning a McDonald’s tomorrow.

How cheaply they were bought off!  $150 million is nothing to Apple, look at its cash hoard!  Apple gets an opportunity to dominate with its iPads and iPhones for this paltry payment.

It boggles the mind.

Yes, few people are paying for subscriptions today.

But right now Spotify and MOG, even the aforementioned Rhapsody, synch your playlists to the handset wirelessly, almost instantly, 2000+ tracks in the case of Spotify, but almost no one knows about this, because almost no one has used these services.

It’s like Amazon trying to compete with Apple selling music.  People would rather pay twelve times the price to Apple for the GaGa album.  Apple has retail stores throughout the world.  Apple’s infrastructure is so great, no one can compete.

Steve Jobs stands on stage and says it’s all about mobile and the music industry is too stupid to get this.  Afraid to make a free desktop offer to ensure a healthy subscription model in mobile, the record industry just shot itself in the foot.

You’re selling dope here.  Spotify is free on the desktop.  But you’ve got to pay on the mobile handset, handsomely, don’t you get it, that’s where the growth is!

Where’s the growth now?  Certainly not in digital track sales.  And for a measly sum you can put everything you’ve STOLEN in the cloud.  The labels made this deal for a percentage of $25 a year, for a service most people won’t even use?

This is so dumb it’s almost incomprehensible.

The labels have been snookered by Steve Jobs, who could sense their ignorance and preyed upon them.

Let me ask you, how come Steve Jobs believes in renting movies and not music?  Isn’t it funny that the scan and match service is a subscription?  Apple could have an all you can eat music subscription in the future, but why?

If people have the history of recorded music at their fingertips for one low price it doesn’t only benefit the labels, but the artists, the promoters, everyone in the music ecosystem.  Because the barrier to checking out new music is so low that people will do so and spend money in music.  Now we’ve ensured the future of a last century model, where you’ve got to buy it to hear it.  Huh?

Unbelievable.