Re: Midnight Rider

This clip sums up why talent cannot remain hidden forever. It’s simple, profound, touching, and deeply human…

Olivier Chastan

1

You could never know this guy. He was too laid back, too cool, and back then there was no access.

Even more you wanted to BE this guy. Cool with charisma. You were a mirror star, but in truth you were nothing special, nobody noticed you, you lived in your own world where the music completed you, it was the only thing that understood you.

They don’t make ’em like this anymore. Musicians.

That’s what they say they are, but most are not.

Today not only do you believe in brand extensions, oftentimes you can neither play nor write. You’re a construct for cash, a monetary effort.

But once upon a time, it was different.

We tingled. Because there was no personal access, just to be in the room with these cats was a peak experience.

Used to be there came a point where you decided whether you were going to go pro or stay in school, get a day job. And if you took the road less traveled, it was not easy. Sure, you’d eventually cut and shop a demo, but that was after years of paying dues.

So if you were a musician… You’d already spent years learning your instrument, not that you did not continue to practice. If you were lucky you had enough of a rep that you could go on the road. In a van, or like the Allmans, a Winnebago. You got high and played your heart out on stage. Trying to win over mostly people who did not know you, never mind the material.

And if you did it enough, maybe you broke through.

You’ve got to know the musicians of yore were different from those of today. Because they were making it up as they went along. That picture in “Rolling Stone” of Duane Allman’s guitars belted into the seat next to him on the plane… It wasn’t like you could buy a manual, even go to Guitar Center, you worked things out through trial and error. And when you broke through the devotion of the fans…

Was not like being a Swiftie. Or a K-Pop fan.

It was the way the music made you feel. And when you went to see the band live it was just the band, no tapes, the sound they made on stage was all you got. And the Allmans were legendary because of the sound they made, but unlike today’s acts they neither demanded to make it immediately nor did they achieve this status. It took a while for the audience to catch up with them, for word of mouth to spread.

2

The come and go blues… I’ve experienced them.

You’ve gotten beyond crush status. You actually know them. You’ve gone places together, but they’re still going places with other people. They’re fully present when they’re here, but they’re not always here, what do you do?

LISTEN TO A RECORD!

“People say that you’re no good

But I wouldn’t cut you loose, baby, if I could”

There might have been a few women at my high school who were no good, but in the suburbs everything was truly average, safe. But these musicians…they were involved with a whole ‘nother level of person, one unavailable to us, one we could only dream of.

And the musicians were in a completely different category from the actors. Because the musicians WERE their songs. They wrote ’em and played ’em from their heart.

“Well I seem to stay down on the ground

Baby I’m too far gone to turn around”

But when you’re infatuated, they’re all you can think about. Everybody tells you to move on, you might even acknowledge their truth, but you just can’t.

“Oh, if only you would make up your mind

Take me where you go, you’re leaving me behind”

You want to have an honest discussion. But you’re afraid of falling flat, professing your love and finding out they don’t see you that way, that you’re just a “friend”… And then you run away and avoid them in the future.

“Lord, you got those come and go blues”

I’ve had ’em in high school, I’ve had ’em as an adult, and I wish I could give you some advice, but I can’t, it’s a private hell.

3

Now “Eat a Peach” was a huge seller, but it didn’t have the feel of a breakthrough, it was more of a holding pattern. One studio disc, one live disc. Another double album. It seemed like a continuation of “Fillmore East,” then again the band had been through a tragedy. Duane couldn’t be replaced, and they didn’t. “Eat a Peach” was everywhere, the studio cuts had impact, but mostly it was people who were already fans.

And then came “Brothers and Sisters.”

It was all new studio work. The fans ate it up immediately.

But “Ramblin’ Man” crossed over to AM, when that was still a thing, and the Allmans had never done this before. Which mean that a whole lot of people bought an Allman Brothers album who never had before. The Allman Brothers, as big as they had been, were no longer just owned by those who’d been with them through thick and thin, but EVERYBODY!

And when you dropped the needle on “Brothers and Sisters” you heard a statement, “Wasted Words” was in your face, the band was a freight train, firing on all cylinders. This was not “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More,” the opener on “Eat a Peach.”

“Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More” started with a piano, it was slow, in a groove, there was gravitas, there was meaning. This was the “Idlewild South” sound, the trademark Gregg Allman number. 

But on “Wasted Words” Gregg was no longer reflective. He was up front, he was all in, he was back.

But he only had two originals on “Brothers and Sisters.”

And what happened to that magical, introspective sound that hooked us just as much as the twin guitar tears?

Well, once you finished with “Ramblin’ Man,” the second cut on the LP, you got a Gregg Allman classic, “Come and Go Blues.”

The piano was akin to a slide, taking you immediately into the water.

The guy singing this cut… He was experienced, unlike us, he was full of wisdom, and we couldn’t stop listening to him.

And the way he became more intense in the chorus, and the piano in that section, it was so infectious.

But “Come and Go Blues” was just an album track, I never heard anybody talk about it. And did I mention the dynamite piano playing in the breaks? Straight out of a roadhouse, where most of us had never been. We were waiting to live, and that’s all they’d been doing down south from the date of birth. They weren’t thinking long term, just about today. It wasn’t forever, just for now. And therefore the music had a completely different feel, we were outsiders, these were not New York bands, we just wanted to get closer, we wanted to live in this sound, this environment that was foreign but as American as apple pie.

4

People send me YouTube videos all the time. Spotify tracks too. If I just pay attention, I’ll get it, immediately. They love it, I should too.

But that’s not how it works. Most people have lousy taste, which they’re entitled to, but then there are those you can trust.

And you learn who they are.

Olivier Chastan has a history of sending me winners, and when he wrote the above e-mail, I checked out the clip.

It was so quiet. Gregg stopped to pull something from his teeth. He was completely comfortable with his instrument, it was a part of him, and then he sang as if he had no problem, as if this was really him, in an era where many stars can’t, sing. And those who can rarely write great songs.

But it’s when the camera focuses on Gregg’s face that it strikes you… Who is exactly is this guy? He definitely doesn’t seem safe. He’s the kind of guy you’d avoid in a bar, but the girls would flock to.

But he’s effortlessly playing this classic number. Not worried about matching the record, because the song is in him, he’s just letting it loose.

This is not the bedraggled Gregg Allman. This guy has some miles on him, but he’s fully alive, then again is he stoned?

And this organ player can pick those notes, play that guitar.

And the way he stops for just a second to tune his guitar…

This is the magic that infected us, that kept us going for decades, which is gone now.

First and foremost, there’s no mystery. Not only are you omnipresent, we know everything about you. Charisma is nearly impossible to maintain.

And musicians are not the peak of society. They may be stars, they may be rich, but they’re not as rich as the techies and the bankers, they don’t influence the culture as much, they’re chasing as much as leading.

And Gregg Allman is leading in this clip almost effortlessly.

Where’d he go after this?

How long was he even there?

You don’t see hair and makeup, all the handlers. It’s just him.

And he’s playing a song better than almost everything in today’s hit parade. Acoustically, he don’t need no stinkin’ help.

It’s all in this clip.

And it’s all gone, that rock and Gregg himself.

But he’s so alive here.

It’s just like Gregg and his band feeding on the music of the Delta bluesmen.

These are our classics.

“This can be one cause of every poker player’s worst fear: ’tilt,’ the phenomenon where your perception of what’s happening at the table has gone completely askew and you’re making blunder after blunder. Poker players tend to think of tilt as an emotional state—anger after a bad beat, boredom after a slow run of cards, or overconfidence after a winning streak. But it can also have biological causes. In big moments when you’re confronted with a high-stakes decision, you’re essentially working with a different operating system than the one you’re used to. If a player reacts by going into an anxiety spiral, ‘it’s like a blue screen on your computer where your mind is just either frozen or so emotionally hijacked that you’re no longer thinking straight,’ said Tendler.”

“On the Edge”

Nate Silver

Trump is on tilt.

But let’s be clear, Biden was on tilt after the June debate, or close to it. Joe was desperate, on the run, he gave public performances that just reinforced the step he’d lost. He refused to leave the race, and was oblivious to the truth, that he had lost the faith of his party and would probably not win the election.

But we learned two things here. One about politics and the Democratic party, that they’re not transparent and no one is trustworthy. Second, that despite looking like an everyman, Joe from Scranton, Biden was a power-hungry official just like the rest of them. He thought only he could fix it. He was delusional.

But now Biden is gone.

And that puts the focus on Trump.

And now we can see Trump through the lens of Biden. We knew Trump was a megalomaniac, needing to be at the top, in power, but not to the degree we do now.

No one can rein in Trump. That’s the story in every news outlet. That his handlers, the party, tell him to stick to the script. But now that Kamala has stolen his thunder, now that he’s losing in the polls, Trump has lost his mind.

You’ve got to read some of his posts.

Never mind that he’s posting 24/7 online anyway.

This is one of the reasons Musk has lost stature in the eye of the public. We thought you had a job, we thought you had TWO jobs, each one at the cutting edge of technology, requiring constant oversight. Where in the hell do you find the time to be posting constantly on X/Twitter, never mind the content?

I mean it was a breakthrough for Trump to employ social media back in 2016. He looked more with it than Hillary. But now everybody’s online. Today there was scuttlebutt that if you refuse to make expensive purchases on your phone, if you need to go to your desktop, you’re derided by Gen-Z as out of touch.

The football moved.

Furthermore, people do make their living by being online 24/7. We have a whole category for them, they’re known as “influencers.” At best they’re money machines, train-wrecks, credibility is not their calling, nor their reputation, they’ll do whatever it takes to make a buck.

Which is the hole Trump has now fallen into. Trading cards? Hyping a book? I don’t care if his audience buys these products or not, but Trump is undercutting his image, or pulling back the curtain to reveal his true identity, that he’s just a huckster, only looking to make money, the country be damned.

So he just said he won the championship at his Palm Beach club. Does ANYBODY believe that? Come on, you can see him play golf online. He’s got terrible technique, and he’s old. There’s not a single other club member who can beat him?

Trump is amping up not only the lies, but the vitriol.

He’s excoriated every facet of ABC re the coming debate, the outlet, the moderators… I mean why even show up? If you really believed it was this bad, this against you, you wouldn’t participate. But Trump can’t forgo the spotlight. He’s trying to set the stage in case of failure, just like he did with the 2020 election, but his scorched earth statements make everybody but the dyed in the wool MAGA camp wince.

Bill Clinton listened to feedback. He moved to the center running for his second term and many Democrats will never forgive him, but he got elected. And Hillary was so famous for triangulating, looking at the research, that she ended up being totally unbelievable. Hell, when she said her favorite book was the Bible, even I winced, and I voted for her.

But Biden wouldn’t listen. And Trump won’t listen at all.

They both think they have their finger on the pulse on the American public. And there’s no evidence that can prove them wrong. It’s akin to the musicians who send me their mediocre music and say they’re never gong to give up, they’re lifers, putting in their 10,000 hours. They’re DELUSIONAL!

The public was not down with Biden. As proven by the great surge for Kamala once she became the candidate. Both Joe and Donald whip out outlier polls when confronted with the fact and stats that they’re losing. Donald can’t stop quoting his Rasmussen numbers, which are legendarily skewed towards Republicans. Furthermore, irrelevant of whether you like Nate Silver or not, his concept of creating a model that averages the polls has permeated the public, these models represent the zeitgeist. To the point when this outlet or that says Trump is winning or losing in their poll I don’t really pay attention, they’re living in a bubble, they’re not taking into account the work of every other researcher.

Even rock stars are not this bad. They don’t rant and rave in public when their new record stiffs, they just go on the road and count their dollars and try to figure out a way to have another hit. Or maybe they never record again, not wanting to tarnish their reputations. But they are certainly aware of  the public’s perception of them.  Biden and Trump? NO WAY!

You’re supposed to be running the country, but you’re not fully aware of the people in it?

I just read that Kamala Harris went to a Bad Religion show in the early aughts. I know at least we can have a discussion, sharing some of the same reference points. But Trump? I’m sure he’d find a way to call me a loser. Unless I suck up to him. But then he’d cut me out at some point in the future. This is what RFK, Jr. doesn’t understand. Trump now has what he wants, RFK, Jr.’s endorsement, he no longer cares about RFK, Jr. WHATSOEVER!

So Trump’s got the MAGA people. There’s nothing he can say or do to alienate them. But they’re not enough to win. In order to be victorious Trump has to find a way to convince non-fans to vote for him.

But who wants to vote for a sore loser detached from reality, someone who’s perennially angry, just looking for an enemy to lambaste?

Yes, ever since the convention Trump has been completely out of control.

What did Kenny Rogers sing, you have to know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em?

You stay silent during the other party’s convention. Otherwise you look like a loser, no one likes a party crasher.

And ever since then there’s been one insane statement after another.

To the point where it’s actually FUNNY!

What will this guy come up with next? Can we trust anybody in the world other than him? He’s got a problem with not only the networks, but the cable outlets, not only MSNBC and CNN, but Fox too.

We can’t live on quicksand. There must be some basic truths, that Trump can point to as opposed to just making them up.

Trump is now the underdog. You can fight and win from that position. Furthermore, people tend to like the underdog. Instead Trump keeps talking about Biden, both Joe and Hunter!

That’s one thing we’ve learned with Biden’s ouster. Once you’re gone we no longer think of you. The news moves just that fast.

Trump’s the kind of guy who would get dropped by his label. No one wants to work with someone who’s insane. Trump is verging on Kanye territory, he’s just one step away from becoming a pariah. He’s bad, just one racist or antisemitic comment away from totaling his candidacy.

And let’s be clear, his acolytes won’t care. They’ll go down with him, just like fans bought all those discontinued Kanye shoes Adidas blew out.

Hell, one of the tropes after the end of World War II was there were Japanese soldiers living in the hinterlands who still didn’t know the war was over.

Not only is Trump fighting the last battle, he doesn’t seem grounded in reality. And sure, he won the nomination, but he and his Republican party have been on an election losing streak.

I no longer have emotion, I’m no longer intellectually involved. I’m not worried about Trump’s statements hurting Kamala and Walz, I’m just watching the conflagration. I’ve never seen anything like this. The guy is completely out of control, way over the line, and not only can no one stop him, there are people who will vote for him!

But not enough. Certainly if he doesn’t mellow out and change his ways.

But when you’re on tilt you’re desperate, you can’t sleep at night, you believe you must fight back instead of pulling back and taking stock, figuring out a new strategy.

Trump is all in. All the time. And this is not a winning strategy in poker.

Nor in elections.

You’ve got to appear human.

Or you’ve got to rig the election, like Maduro, or Putin.

That could happen. And people hate elites, they hate Democrats. They’ll vote for Trump no matter what. But the rest of us? WHO IS THIS GUY? Someone who will do anything for attention, who has no friends, who only trusts himself. Those people don’t win in regular society, and they certainly don’t win in elections. Hell, Trump lost in 2020 and he looked reasonable back then compared to how he is now.

This is the best entertainment on the planet.

The self-immolation.

Like those people who set themselves on fire to protest. We don’t embrace the cause, we just ask what got into these people that they could be so delusional and take such an action? Couldn’t anybody talk to them and get them to stop?

Apparently not.

And it’s the same deal with Trump.

We can all see it, but somehow he’s blind. Such an egomaniac, so deep in his own sh*t, that he’s lost touch with reality. Lying with impunity about stuff that doesn’t even matter.

Forget the issues. It’s about personalities.

And unless you’re a fan of Kim Jong Un… How in the hell are you going to get behind a delusional autocrat?

You’re not.

Is it forever?

You’ve got to know the first Allman Brothers album was a stiff. Most people were completely unaware of it, but some purchased it after the band blew up as one half of “Beginnings,” which packaged the first two records together. But that first album is a monster, it’s got the original version of “Whipping Post,” albeit “only” five minutes and seventeen seconds long. And it also has the original “Dreams,” ultimately made famous by Molly Hatchet, and a blistering version of “Trouble No More.”

But most people only became aware of the Allman Brothers via “Fillmore East.”

But the band started to break through with its second LP, “Idlewild South.”

Now the sound was different, the first record was produced by Adrian Barber, who also produced the first Aerosmith album, with “Dream On,” but it was only when the Boston band started working with Jack Douglas that they truly broke through. “Idlewild South” was produced by Tom Dowd. And the sound was different, it was as if a scrim had been pulled off of the music, also the record was not as hard-edged.

Maybe it was the inviting opening cut on the second LP that warmed up non-fans to the act, “Revival,” was a Dickey Betts number, his first with the band. Isn’t it funny that the big breakthroughs of the Allmans were written by Betts, it was his “Ramblin’ Man” that finally conquered AM radio in the fall of ’73, it was ubiquitous.

But “Revival” was not.

“Revival” featured the essence of the Allmans, the twin guitars, and of course, Gregg Allman’s voice.

Now the first side of “Idlewild South” also includes the sweet “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” before the internet, when her identity was a rumor, passed fan to fan.

But the first side also included the original studio take of “Midnight Rider,” long before Gregg Allman slowed it down and featured it on his first solo album, before Waylon and so many covered it.

But still, you only had to hear it once. And the funny thing about “Midnight Rider” is you can never burn out on it. It’s one of the few numbers you don’t push the button on when you hear it on the radio.

Which was what I was doing just now, listening to the radio, Outlaw Country on SiriusXM.

Once upon a time, the Allman Brothers were rock. Country was something twangy, however also from the south. But now rock is something different, something headbangers make, or Disney stars trying to look hip do. And if you want the straight ahead flavor, you’re better off looking at hit country. Which is what I was listening to first, on the Highway. But after hearing a number by Carly Pearce on that channel, the next song was too formulaic, so I switched the station to Outlaw Country, and was surprised to hear the Allman Brothers.

Now what you’ve got to know is summer is just beginning in Southern California. It may have snowed at Shasta and Mammoth, even Palisades a few days back, but that’s a totally different weather pattern. On the east coast, summer is winding down. Those late August nights can have a nip in the air, if you’re at camp in New Hampshire, or even Connecticut. The days are getting shorter, the weather is turning, it’s clear, summer is gone.

After Labor Day you’ll get a few hot days, but it’s still cold at night. And then the leaves turn and you might get a bit of Indian Summer, the end of October, certainly November, may be bright and sunny, but it ain’t warm, and you often get the dreaded rain. Summer rain is a relief. Cold, wintry rain is depressing, you don’t want to go out in it, chills you to the bone.

Eventually it snows. And then it’s winter and you’re waiting for things to heat up again.

That’s not how it works in SoCal. It never gets cold, never ever. And the hottest days of the year come at the end of August and into September, even October. I remember the A/C pooped out in my car back in September one year, I debated whether to fix it or wait until the spring, thank god I did, I needed it in the coming days.

It was 96 the other day. Right now 85. And those numbers are not as hot as they are on the east coast, or even the Midwest, because there’s no humidity. That’s the thing about California, complain all you want, real estate values are high, as well as taxes, but the truth is only immigrants leave, natives stay, because you can’t find anywhere else in America where the living is so easy and the weather so good.

Of course there are exceptions to that, but all I’m saying here is you never get depressed over the weather in Los Angeles. Oh, sometimes it rains cats and dogs, but that’s an interesting respite from the days Barbra Streisand lamented in “The Way We Were.” And Streisand lives in SoCal, she did not return to New York.

So the summer is a different vibe. It’s about the aforementioned freedom, as well as joy, exuberance. Which has been absent from most mainstream music these days. Or is evidenced in mindless drivel.

But that’s not the way it used to be. So many of the album rock hits of the seventies were upbeat. Hell, “Hold Your Head Up”?

Not that “Midnight Rider” is exactly upbeat, but it evidences the outlaw mentality. For a generation that was brought up on westerns. Which had to drive if it wanted to explore the new frontier, flying was prohibitively expensive, a rare treat at most.

There was magic in them thar hills. Everybody wanted to go to California first. But there was also Colorado. It was a mentality. And so many records were made in the mountains, even English cats like Elton recorded at Caribou Ranch.

So when you hear those opening notes of “Midnight Rider”…

Actually, it’s an acoustic guitar. Sure, there were folkies, now called singer/songwriters, but even the Stones employed acoustics.

And then the song fell into a groove, an hypnotic groove. I’m not a songwriter, I don’t know if these grooves are a strike of lightning or whether you can create them anytime, on a dime. Then again, so many of the great tracks are covers of Delta blues numbers, or slight reworkings of them. My point being, how do you come up with that “Midnight Rider” groove? Did the band know it when it heard it, was it a eureka moment, or were they oblivious, believing it was just another in a long line of hooks.

Then there are those congas, that you might not even be aware of the first hundred times through. They’re syncopated like the lope of a horse. Once you realize this, you can never forget it.

That’s Duane picking the acoustic. But “Midnight Rider” has balls, evidenced by Dickey’s slashing electric in the chorus.

And sitting atop it all is Gregg Allman. Not a winner on a TV singing show, but someone whose voice evidenced experience, you could see him singing in a dark studio or out there on the range, alone on his horse.

And then Dickey plays during the break, and then Duane comes along on his slide and dances over the whole thing like a fairy laying down dust, an ethereal character delivering that which humans cannot comprehend, a God sprinkling his essence on the track in an unforgettable way.

And then it’s back to the groove.

And eventually to the slow close and fade-out, with Gregg Allman singing over and over again:

“I’m not gonna let ’em catch the midnight rider

Not gonna let ’em catch the midnight rider”

And you believe they never will.

And the number fades on an electric guitar stab off on the horizon, somewhere you want to go, you have no choice but to play the song again, back when you had to go over to the turntable and lift the needle and put it back to where the track began.

Now the truth is Gregg Allman was cool. Yes, he did have that moment after the act’s big success where he sold out a member of the band’s entourage to stay out of jail himself, but ultimately he was forgiven by his bandmates, when they realized this was the best way to make bank, together.

And then he married Cher.

But he did pass out in a plate of spaghetti at an awards show.

Not even Cher could catch the midnight rider.

And there are very few rock stars who live up to the image. One is Steven Tyler, another is Gregg Allman. They don’t have to turn it on, that’s who they are. One lippy and loquacious, the other a southern gentleman, speaking slowly and softly, but making you lean in to catch the wisdom.

Now in truth you learn that most of these rockers are not heroes on a personal level, then again, there’s that music, that magic.

From back when you had to go to the show to experience it. When there wasn’t much more than the music, maybe a t-shirt or a tour program. Could you win people over on your playing alone?

Duane died. We still don’t know who he was. You see he didn’t talk that much, was not interviewed ad infinitum. And then Berry Oakley bit the dust just one year later. Couldn’t anybody convince them to give up their bikes?

No, you can’t stop an outlaw. They can’t be controlled. At best they can be corralled to lay it down on wax.

The road goes on forever.

And then it ends, it stops because you do, you die.

Musicians don’t retire. Didn’t I just read that Ian Gillan tell Eddie Trunk that Deep Purple has no intention of retiring, even though their 2017 tour was called “The Long Goodbye,” the band has dates booked through 2026.

They don’t want to get off the road. Even at home Willie Nelson has been known to sleep on his bus.

The truth is this is all they know how to do. And they can’t get those accolades, that love, anywhere else but on stage. And most of ’em need the money. Whether it was stolen originally, or they blew it themselves.

They’re not looking to retire. They’re the antithesis of the hoi polloi. They don’t want to relax, this is their identity.

Usually it ends when you’re least aware. Either you saw Jeff Beck or you did not, he didn’t do a farewell tour.

And Duane Allman certainly did not. And it’s interesting that he’s remembered more than so many who are still out there. Duane spoke through his guitar, and that was enough.

So what you’ve got is a bunch of deities laying down magic that you couldn’t get anywhere else. Sure, there was Skynyrd, but they were different. The aforementioned Hatchet, even other bands on Capricorn, but none of them had the quality of the Allman Brothers, who were always one step removed, who you didn’t think would do just anything for a buck. They spoke through their music, and that was enough.

And when you hear it you’re reminded.

Not if you’ve never heard it before, then it’s just a glimpse into a past that is certainly in the rearview mirror, that you can’t get anywhere but in recordings.

I remember getting stoned listening to “Idlewild South” in Dave McCormick’s room in Hepburn Hall during a cold January back in ’71.

I remember hearing “Ramblin’ Man” all over campus before it got cold in the fall of ’73.

I remember being infatuated with “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More,” the opening cut on “Eat a Peach” that no one ever talks about, they were into “Melissa,” they named their kids that.

And then there’s “Come and Go Blues” from  “Brothers and Sisters,” an Allman song when everybody was focused on Betts’s “Ramblin’ Man” and “Jessica.”

And in truth, there’s even a classic on the band’s last studio LP, “Desdemona” off of 2003’s “Hittin’ the Note.”

And now all you’ve got is dust. Jaimoe is the only original band member left.

It’s like they all got on their horses and rode into the sunset, sequentially, we’ll catch up with these midnight riders in the afterlife.

But it really all started with “Midnight Rider.” And it’s not in your face, it’s not begging, it’s essentially laid back, sans effects, it evidences a humanity only music can.

That’s why it’s so powerful.

That’s why it’s forever. 

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I just saw this video today.

But it was launched twelve days ago on Kamala Harris’s YouTube channel.

But it’s also on Facebook and Stereogum and “Billboard”…

But it was only when Jake texted this to me that I found out about it.

Today your work is a time bomb. Do not expect instant knowledge and acceptance. People have too much else going on, too much input. And in order to really spread, you need a friend to tell you about it, otherwise it seems like hype.

But nobody likes this so nobody admits this.

The labels and the media like us to believe the entire world is waiting for the new work of Sabrina Carpenter or Post Malone or Taylor Swift when the truth is very few are. I’m not saying their audiences are insignificant, just that they do not cover everybody. We no longer live in a monoculture and the purveyors refuse to acknowledge this, because it’s too confusing, and illustrates their lack of power.

So you’ve got to make something so good that people want to tell others about it.

Sure, you can try and short cut the process, by stunting. But the problem with a stunt, when you try and gain instant virality, is when it fails, it fails completely. Secondly, most people can tell when you’re trying artificially for virality, and it leaves a bad taste in their mouth, meaning further down the line, even if you release something good, they won’t spread the word about it, they’re no longer on your team, they’re out.

So there are two streams, the obvious and the good. Sometimes they intersect, but most times they do not.

Kill someone and it will be in the news for half a day.

Create a great track and it could literally take years to break, but it’s waiting there, to be spread, each and every day of the year.

This is the opposite of the terrestrial radio paradigm. Where either it’s a hit or a stiff. On or gone. Then again, tracks take ever longer to get on the radio chart, illustrating this long process of knowledge and acceptance.

But the bottom line is to grow beyond a hit into a career, people have to like you, you have to have credibility.

When Tim Walz talks about 8-tracks in his vehicles… You know that guy. He may not live for music, but he’s been to shows, he’s got the same bedrock references. Believe me, Springsteen and Seger were bigger in their era than anybody on the hit parade today. We were all working on our night moves, trying to lose those awkward teenage blues, with autumn now closing in.

When Kamala acknowledges Walz, says “okay,” it doesn’t ring wholly true. But when she starts to testify…it’s from the heart, with knowledge. She’s not pandering, SHE KNOWS!

And that makes all the difference. It’s one thing to know a hit, it’s quite another to know the oeuvre, to have context. This is what delivers relatability.

This is why Trump is f*cked, he lacks relatability. And his lies detract from any credibility he may have once had, if ever.

That does not mean no one will vote for him, that just means the landscape has changed in eight years.

Eight years ago there was not as much in the landscape. Stars meant more than they do today. I saw online that Jimmy Fallon, Jon Hamm and Bradley Cooper were partying in the Hamptons. WHO CARES?

Gossip has been devalued. It’s everywhere and means less. So you were here or there, what does that have to do with ME? Today it’s all about the individual, who is a star of his own movie, who is leaving bread crumbs online. As for movie stars… We know they’re many times married, far from intellectual, they can’t even open a film anymore. Exactly why do we adore them? Should we adore them? Less than ever before.

And the musicians… Your songs were not written by you, you’re hawking perfume, what does that have to do with me and my identity, you’re just a poor imitation of a Kardashian, and no one in that family has ANY credibility. Sure, money, but money is not everything. Especially in this world of income inequality. You may not be rich, but you can troll anybody online, you can have impact on social media platforms.

But this almost never has anything to do with art.

Now if you try and fake the game people can tell. Harris knows Too Short from a few bars in this video: https://rb.gy/e8z61s You either know it or you don’t.

So these clips are akin to Bill Clinton playing the sax on Arsenio. But back in 1992 Arsenio reached millions, and there were so few outlets available. The big was bigger.

Today you have to start small. Be everywhere and hope to grow.

But you only grow with authenticity.

There is train-wreck value, but it’s got a very short shelf life. And in today’s world you can be known by many today and still be broke tomorrow.

So Trump keeps playing the anti role, but Hillary Clinton is not running, the game has changed, there’s a new duo in town. The only way to compete is to grow from the bottom up yourself. But Trump doesn’t know how to do this, being born on third base. He thinks you can start at the top and stay there, fearful of losing his perch all the while, which is why he keeps talking about crowd size and ratings.

He cares, most people do not. Either they were there or not. All this hype about “biggest” is for the media, not the people.

And to succeed today, you’ve got to be for the people.