"Leather and Lace" is my favorite track on Stevie Nicks’ solo debut.

But it’s not the best.

"Leather and Lace" has that vibe that’s fallen by the wayside, you know, the one where a woman in a long dress takes you into the dell and reveals her inner truth as you stare into her eyes and fall in love.  Today’s female artists are in your face, competing with the men, kicking you to the curb, or so wimpy as to be disposable, completely irrelevant.

But as much as I love "Leather and Lace"’s intimate feel, its circular nature, what puts it over the top comes halfway through, when Don Henley starts to sing:

You in the moonlight
With your sleepy eyes
Could you ever love a man like me

This is who we wanted to be.  A sweet man, with substance inside, a certain solid quality.  And you could infer a sexual meaning to what I just said, and maybe that’s just the point.  Sex today is portrayed as rough, you take your woman, or vice versa, but reality is more about those who are self-conscious, yet are finally honest with another human being and end up connecting, coming inside.

Take that either way you want to.  Metaphorically or sexually.  That’s just the point.  When done right, sex is an opening up, a connection.  But our society is too fearful to portray it that way.  Movies are laden with special effects, but sometimes songs get it right.  And "Leather and Lace" does.

The reason "Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around" triumphs is not because of Tom Petty’s vocal, however great it might be, but the riffs, the underlying song.  It’s Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers backing Stevie Nicks, as she reveals her frustration with a certain intimacy, that doesn’t want for power.

Baby you’ll come knocking on my front door
Same old line you used to use before

Truth.  She’s busting him.

But that’s not the complete story…

I had to go to the bathroom.  Which is why I entered City Market solo.  Felice, her brother and my two college buddies were ensconced in the store, deep into the belly of the beast, long after dark, when the food emporium was almost empty, except for the catatonic cashiers up front.

And I hear something in the background, over the sound system, a record playing.

It’s like the song scooped me up and took me for a ride.

Suddenly, there was a bounce in my step.  I’d missed the explosive opening riff.  But that groove was so wide, it swallowed me whole, carried me away.

"Leather and Lace" is a great song.

"Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around" is a classic.

Not something they sing on "American Idol", not something that can be sanitized and sung at pep or political rallies.  It sits at the nexus of rock and roll and its audience.  When the most important item you owned wasn’t your cell phone, but your stereo.  You came home and CRANKED IT!

Yes, I turned up "Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around" so loud the neighbors freaked.  But who could resist?  You just wanted to get closer, you just wanted to be enveloped.

As necessary as Ms. Nicks is to this rendition, it’s Tom Petty and his Heartbreakers who shine.  What mutation happened on stage, in rehearsal, that made them come up with this sound?  Yes, it’s uniquely theirs…  They listened to the same British Invasion tracks we did, but with these influences they created something unique.  That nestled perfectly alongside the rest of the FM hit parade.  Bands didn’t go to Timbaland to get the same sound as every other outfit, they crafted their own!

It’s hard to think about what you’ve wanted
It’s hard to think about what you’ve lost

You bet.  That’s what I told Ron the night before.  Life was about closing doors.  Yup, as you’re watching TV, as you’re wasting time, doors are shutting behind you like crazy.  There goes your chance to be a movie director, there goes your chance to be a famous author, there goes your chance to have kids.  They tell you life goes by fast, but they don’t tell you how hard it is to accomplish a single thing.  They don’t tell you how hard it is to be a rock and roll star, one with a career, who lasts.

I don’t want to think about what I wanted.  It freaks me out to think about what I’ve lost.  But when I heard "Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around" in the supermarket Friday night my life worked.  By spending those endless hours listening to the radio, the stereo, digging ever deeper, I’d come across this great record, which I’d played so many times it was in my DNA, to the point when it came over the sound system the other night it was better than being greeted by an old friend, it was like being welcomed by God.

Yup, that’s what’s in those rock and roll records.

Don’t listen to the charlatans telling you to go to a house of worship, where you’ll be instructed what you can and cannot do.

Rock and roll is a big tent.  It allows all comers.  Any height, any skin color.  Just put on the record and turn it up.  You’ll see something that eludes every edition of the Bible.  You’ll see life itself, in all its glory, the warts and the inspiration.

Fuck instant stardom.  Tom Petty played more gigs in bars than most people in today’s hit parade have played in their entire lives.  Malcolm Gladwell said the Beatles were so good because of all that woodshedding in Hamburg?  Tom Petty and his band are so fucking great because of all those hours in Gainesville.  Listening to the radio.  Practicing. Gigging.

We baby boomers know the difference.  Because when the Fab Four hit, we all picked up instruments, formed bands. But we gave up when it got tough, we went to college, but Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers PERSISTED!

What if conventional wisdom isn’t conventional?

Used to be you turned on the TV and took the temperature of the nation.  If you were truly sophisticated, you read the newspaper.  And learned what was really going on.  Or did you?

Turns out the truth is a bit different from what the conventional media tells us it is.  Turns out the only stories aren’t the ones in the newspaper (and, for the record, TV does no reporting, unless someone got raped, killed or kidnapped.)  Turns out the usual suspects have lost control of the thermometer, if you want to know what the temperature is in this country, you surf the Web and come to your own conclusions.

This is big.

Would George Bush be able to con America into believing there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in 2010?  Doubtful.  Because we’re no longer dependent on Judith Miller, our country is no longer controlled by one reporter with a mouthpiece, rather there’s a plethora of voices, and frequently the ones online are more informed.  Because they’re reporting within their area of expertise and not beholden to fat cats, and not on a career path determined by anyone other than themselves.

Speak with a newspaper reporter.  They’re asking questions.  They’re investigating.  But what if the person who knew was writing what was going on?  What then?

That’s what’s happening today.

Conventional wisdom said health care was dead.  But then the President and the Democratic Congress were enlightened by vocal supporters, disillusioned Democrats, primarily online, asking WHAT THE FUCK?

We elected you.  We wanted change.  And you’re worried about these nitwit Republicans beholden to the religious right who can only say no, who are refusing to play because they don’t have the ball.

Balls?  Suddenly, the Democrats grew them.

And I don’t care what side of the debate you’re on, I don’t care whether you support health care or not, you’ve got to admit it’s fascinating how the media said one thing and the truth turned out to be the other way.

They tell us people like the beat-infused Top Forty.  They tell us the best way to make a star is on TV, preferably "American Idol".  They tell us the major labels’ model has to be protected.  But IS THIS TRUE?

Everything’s up for grabs.  It no longer matters what Rush Limbaugh says, nor the RIAA.  Everyone’s questioning what’s fed to them, they’re doing independent research and coming to their own conclusions.

Like:

1. Physical formats are dead.

2. Music is overpriced.

3. The concert ticket game is rigged.

4. Today’s acts suck.

But, but, BUT you say, CDs still sell and…

You’re making the same mistake the mainstream press did.  You’re paying attention to the fading minority. Or as Henry Ford once said, "If I’d listened to customers, I’d have given them a faster horse."

Market research doesn’t tell you where the future lies.  Steve Jobs didn’t ask people whether they wanted an iPad, HE MADE IT!

Market research said no one would rent videos, and then everybody did.  Market research says people don’t want to rent music, but if you don’t think the Spotify/streaming model will triumph, your head is truly up your ass.

It’s just a matter of when.

Now is the time to take the ball and run it up the middle.

Now is the time to create truly great music, not worrying about what gatekeepers say, taking it straight to the public.

There’s no center.

Doug Morris just isn’t that powerful.

Nor is Lucian Grainge.

And whatever power Irving Azoff has is limited.  He doesn’t control music distribution.  He may have a bit of a corner on live exhibition, but that’s just a piece of the puzzle.

It’s a whole new world!  Doesn’t matter what the fat cats, the usual suspects, those who once had power, have to say.  Not a whit.

It matters what the Web constituency has to say.

Yes, people still listen to radio, but there are people who still buy CDs, DON’T PAY ATTENTION TO THE FADING MINORITY!  That’s like trumpeting Sarah Palin for President.  She can’t win.  Numbers will tell you this.  But the mainstream media likes the story.  But she’s just about irrelevant.

And I’m not saying the Democrats are princes, but when Obama and Pelosi finally grabbed the ball, stopped pussyfooting, challenged their critics and ignored naysayers, they got something done!

Stop listening to those who say you can’t.  Their opinion is worthless.  Doesn’t matter if the A&R guy doesn’t like your music.  Doesn’t matter if radio ignores you either.

It comes down to this, DO THE PEOPLE LIKE YOU?

Do they?

Numbers don’t lie.  How many fans have truly downloaded your music?  How big is your mailing list?  How many Twitter followers do you have?  If none of these numbers are large, either you’re the worst marketer in creation or you suck.  Or both.

But if you’re good, now more than ever, it’s your time.  People don’t care about the chart.  They don’t care about what the mainstream says.  They care about what their friends and trusted filters say.  They’re making their own decisions.  Play to them, they’re the only ones who count.

But I thought EMI was history, on the brink of extinction, how could Terra Firma’s company almost equal the Warner Music Group in new release market share, only half a percentage point separating the two?

HitsDailyDouble has an exhaustive market share report:

Q1 MARKETSHARE REPORT:
SME, EMI PLAY CATCH UP

You may have to register first, but it’s free, and you should check the site on a regular basis, there’s a plethora of information.  But be sure to check for biases, both positive and negative.  Their vendetta against Lyor and Warner seems to be done now that they’re getting paid, but I haven’t quite figured out their problem with Randy Phillips.  I thought the "Hits" guys were radio mavens, who moved into management as the business caved.  Guess they want some of that tour money too…

Anyway, the reason EMI is doing so well is because of one album, Lady Antebellum’s "Need You Now", which has sold one and a half million copies so far this year.

complete chart here: 2010 Three-Month Market Share

And why did Sony essentially equal perennial market share winner Universal?  Can you say Sade and Susan Boyle?  Which sold 990,000 albums and 553,000 respectively?

And why is Jimmy Iovine’s IGA second in label new release market share?  Can you say Lady GaGa? Placing at number 3, with 553,000 and number 10, with 334,000?

Ain’t that an interesting spread.  Number one, Lady Antebelleum’s album, sold 1.2 million more than GaGa’s "Fame Monster", number ten.

In other words, now, more than ever, the major label game is about hits.

They don’t want your single.  And by this I don’t mean track, rather I’m employing a baseball metaphor. You can argue they want home runs, but I’d say the major label game is really about grand slams.

I can’t fault them for this, they’re businesses.  But what if you’re an act, do you belong in this game?

If you think you can sell tonnage, if you make radio and TV-friendly music, take your chances.  If you’re looking to build to a solid touring base, despite lip-service, the major can’t be bothered.  EMI is fighting for its life, actually, it’s already dead, they’re just arguing in court over potential fraud in the inducement by Citibank.  Do you really want to put your developing act on EMI?

Or even Sony.  Sure, Susan Boyle and Sade rain down cash, but the company just wants new winners of the same stature.  So maybe they’ll start you, but they might finish you too.  As in jumping ship to something that shows major traction, leaving you to languish in signed to the label hell.

And usually, you’re signed to a 360 deal, so even if you’re working on the road, you’re working for the label.  Which is doing exactly what for you?

It’s interesting to question whether these sales numbers evidence Long Tail backlash.  Whether it’s about winners more than small sales for the truly obscure.  But looking at the spread between the number one and ten albums on the chart shows that it’s about very few winners!

The majors created their game.  Blame MTV, the concomitant resurgence of Top Forty radio, media manipulation by Clive Davis and Tommy Mottola.  They’ve been so busy swinging for the fences, that’s all they know how to do.

Hell, they’ve fired all the little people who help you build slowly.

Sure, Kings Of Leon broke through, but how many other acts have been nurtured from obscurity to mainstream success?  You need immediate action, and at least gold at the end of the sales curve in order to continue to get attention.  So if you’re performing anything but mainstream music, if your act and music need time to develop, run from the major label system.

You’ve got to be willing to slog it out until you get lucky.  The major labels try to force luckiness.  But the hype and the fakery end up turning people off.  GaGa is so big, she’s got nowhere to go but down.  And there’s not another GaGa stealing attention.  It’s kind of like the Tiger Woods crisis, it festers forever in the public consciousness, because no one that big is willing to do something that stupid.  GaGa should be toning it down, reducing expectations in order to achieve longevity, instead we’ve got press stories about a billion video views…  Shit, anything that ubiquitous is headed for overload and ultimate obscurity.  Hell, ask my buddy Peter Frampton, he went for the gold after his big hit album, played to the masses with "I’m In You" and the "Sgt. Pepper" film, and still has regained neither his credibility nor sales.  Who to blame? Management!  Which steered him wrong.

How’s the major gonna steer you?

Are they even interested in you?

Are they going to be around long enough to see you through five albums?  Or, if the name remains, will the employees sustain?

Interesting times.

You can’t buy it.

But the buzz is unbelievable.  Readers feel triumphant, special, like they’re members of a cult.  Does this remind you of the way it used to be in the music business?

Start reading "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo".  Just buy it.  Don’t check with your friends, the price is not outrageous, give it fifty or a hundred pages.

Actually, it doesn’t take that long.  Far before that, you’ll be hooked.

There’s no video, no outrageous outfits like Lady GaGa, none of the penumbra that saddles music today. Remember when music was enough?  That’s how it is with Stieg Larsson’s "Millennium Trilogy", the story is enough.

As soon as you finish "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo", you’ll buy "The Girl Who Played With Fire". Nobody stops at book one, hell, they’re thrilled there’s a sequel.  Kind of like buying the first album by a new act, spinning it to death, and finding out there’s already a second, just as good!

But imagine that second album ending in the middle of a song.  That’s what reading "The Girl Who Played With Fire" is like.  You’ve got to read the third book, "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest" to find out what happened to Lisbeth Salander.  Is she alive, is she dead?

I’m not telling.

But I will say that for a book that’s unavailable in the U.S., that needs to be ordered via subterfuge, from the U.K., it’s astounding how many copies I see in my everyday life.  People carry them around  like trophies.  And when you interrupt them, to ask them about it, they greet you with open arms, they want to talk about the trilogy.

This is so different from the way the music business has played out, which is now like the cocaine 80’s. Who’s holding, can I get in the bathroom with the cool people to partake?  The stars are behind a wall, playing a game known as fame, which is separate from their music, just read the gossip blogs to find out. And if you want to get closer, you can’t, you just can’t get a good seat.  Because you don’t have an Amex card or you’re not rich enough or even after joining the so-called "fan club", you’re still offered overpriced, shitty tickets.

People love the work, even people who haven’t read a book in years.  There’s just something about the story, which isn’t lowest-common denominator, which is not solely plot, which requires some intelligence to juggle all the characters and scenes in your mind.

Imagine a band that’s truly great, that is sans hype, that makes it solely because of the music.  Which then releases its next album on the Internet, but doesn’t allow you to buy it.  Can you imagine how fast the music would spread?

But, but, but, I need to get PAID!

The musicians are as bad as Wall Street robber barons.  Starting out with how much money they want to make in a year, they rape and pillage to get it, not caring that they add not a whit to the social fabric.  Hey, it’s my new album, you’ve got to buy it!  And come see me in concert, where I prance to pyrotechnics at far too high a price!

Books aren’t featured in the gossip columns.  Stieg Larsson can’t do interviews, he’s dead.  But the work he left behind is creating a frenzy.  Which is not being fed by the mainstream media, but the reading public.  If anything, it’s seeping into the press as a result of reader fanaticism.  The way the newspaper used to be last on a new act, as opposed to first, today being whipped into shape by the label, hyped to death.

We’ve all been hyped to death.

But the "Millennium Trilogy" is something different.

Join the cult.  You’ll be fulfilled, you’ll be proud, you’ll be titillated, you’ll be thrilled, the same way you were when you attached yourself to the great bands of yore.