Today is my father’s birthday. He would have been 102. I didn’t expect him to live that long. I don’t expect to live that long. But I hope I don’t die at 70, like he did.

But the weird thing is my dad’s birthday no longer feels weird anymore, I don’t get that pang, of remembrance, of loss. Maybe because I’m close to the end myself. That’s the way the world works. And what they tell you is true, it goes by in the blink of an eye, not that that will affect anything you do.

I heard a great one yesterday. There are three stages of life. Childhood, adulthood, and GEE, YOU LOOK TERRIFIC!

You reach a certain age and they throw you on the scrapheap. Some hang on dearly for relevance, afraid to go through the door into the next room, to continue their passage through life. Yes, there are those who get plastic surgery, wear the clothing of kids, but they’re just laughable, no one buys it, no matter what they think. But there are those who don’t realize that at a certain point…it’s time to go. You’ve got to give up the reins to the next generation. It’s hard, but as much as you know, they need to gain experience. Chris Rock said men get married because they don’t want to be the oldest guy in the bar. Once you go to the conference, once you show up at the meeting and you’re the oldest person in the room… Ask yourself what you are contributing. Ask yourself whether your time is done.

It’s a conundrum, because people can be healthy and alert and can contribute into their nineties, Norman Lear into triple digits. But, if you forestall or forgo the last chapter of life, the joke is on you.

The last chapter… Nothing matters. Hopefully you’ve got enough money to get by, but no one is envying your capital, your lifestyle. You see you reach a certain age and you become comfortable with who you are. You lived your life, you made your choices, you are who you are, not anybody else.

And it’s weird entering this third phase of life. Because they prepare you for the first two, but not the third. No one wants to talk about it, we revere the youth, their skin, their opportunity, when in truth we’d never want to go back to those times. We want more time, but not as an uneducated uninformed adolescent. We don’t want the foibles and horrors of dating for the first time. We don’t want to be broke. We worked our entire lives to pull ourselves out of those depths, we don’t want to go back.

So you have wisdom, but the young don’t want to listen. Even worse, they don’t get the references. You’ve got your own music and movies and maybe they’re aware of a little, but not much. And what was important to you is not important to them. Is anybody going to remember the Marx Brothers? W.C. Fields? We didn’t have Esports, our time was occupied otherwise, and they don’t care.

I go to see this heart doctor. She costs a fortune. I’d like not to pay, but my friend Judd died of a heart attack at 67 and…I always wonder if he got better treatment whether he’d still be here.

But treatment costs.

So she runs all these tests. And in the modern, digitized world, you get the results sent to you, you don’t have to wait to see the doctor. And I got this heart angiogram on a Friday afternoon and mere hours later, I got the results. My calcium score was 293. The report said I was going to have a heart attack in 3-5 years. WHAT?????

Believe me, I was bummed for the ten days I had to wait until I saw the doctor.

She said they were looking to see if the number doubled every year, that if I was in the thousands I’d be in trouble, because five years before I’d had 117. But in the nineties I had zero. Rust never sleeps. It’s going to happen to all of us. And my ultrasound showed a 20% blockage in the neck artery on one side and… Once again, the doctor said this was pretty good. And she reiterated that every patient she sees has never had a heart attack, and she told me not to be the first!

And I calmed down, but what about everybody else?

And the truth is you can be on it, seeing every doctor, and still be cut down at a young age. And you can ignore your health and live to a hundred. I look around at all the people, mostly guys, who mistreat themselves and wonder how long they’re going to last. They think they’re going to live forever, but nobody does, even Sumner Redstone.

It won’t be long before Sumner’s empire is broken up completely. Illustrating that if you’re doing it to leave a mark, don’t. No one will be remembered.

And there are all these people preaching answers.

But you get old enough and you realize all the answers are within. That your opinion is just as good as anybody else’s. And that we truly are the same. That person who projects an image, that other person you put on a pedestal… Spend some time with them and you’ll see they are no different from you, truly. And those who think they’re better… Old people start to laugh at them.

And you wake up one day and everybody is sick. Not only are people asking you about your health, it seems every week, maybe every few days, you find out another person has cancer or some other malady. And then there are those that die. They’re thinning the herd, are you next? It’s like a real life “Squid Game.”

And you don’t want to move to Florida, you don’t want to be dead, but so many boomers already are, i.e. they’re not doing much and just waiting to die. Use it or lose it. Be active or the end will come sooner.

And the hoops you jumped through… They take those away. There are no grades at a certain age, no awards. You’re just living. If you’re looking for accolades from others, forget about it. You realize the game is b.s. You laugh at those who continue to buy into it. You’re no longer susceptible to advertising, to hype, if something is truly great you’ll hear about it, and you don’t have to hear about it on day one, you can wait.

You may be working, but the people you know, they’re pulling the ripcord.

And you realize all that you will never do or accomplish. You won’t make it to this country, or that. And you’d better do what you want now because at some point you will become physically unable, oftentimes through no fault of your own. Modern medicine can replace your hip, put in a new knee, but you’d be stunned what it can’t do, even worse they’ll be able to do certain stuff that would have helped you but you’ll already be dead.

My father lived in a different era.

But even now I’ve lived in a different era. Three TV networks! Six major label groups! A veritable monoculture, where everybody was on the same page and knew the same things and if you weren’t you were ostracized.

And marijuana is legal, but democracy is in peril. Both unfathomable if you’re a boomer.

And you start to accept that perfection is elusive, and rarely achieved.

Your new car squeaks or rattles, or something doesn’t work, or is designed poorly. And no one can fix it. The whole world is broken, the fact that it functions at all is amazing.

And tyrants like Putin… You start to wonder who he is, how he grew up, that he would behave this way. Why? You grew up and wanted to run a country and boss people around? Who does that? I didn’t grow up with anybody like that.

I grew up with people who got jobs and are now retired. I didn’t grow up with NBA players or movie stars or musicians with hit records. But today, everybody can get noticed. And the goal of the elite is not to be a doctor or a lawyer, but to work at the bank.

And musical stars are known for their shenanigans as opposed to their music.

And the biggest stars on screen are cartoon characters, even if they’re played by real life people.

I can complain all I want, but no one is listening.

But there are tens of millions who feel the same way I do, who get it. Who know that our ship has sailed, we’re in the rearview mirror.

But there is a silver lining, it’s liberating. You’re comfortable in your own skin. You don’t suffer fools. And your life becomes self-directed. Some people function better than others once they’re set out to pasture. Some need structure to survive. But structure is for the young. The old have graduated.

But it’s a secret. No one admits they’re old. All the ink is negative. You get to the point where you feel you don’t even exist.

And then you realize it was always this way.

And then you start to question your choices.

And then you realize your parents made you who you are, you can’t believe how similar to them you are.

And then you realize this is it, your life. There’s a chapter to be written…

But you’re the only one who is going to read it. 

NO ONE KNOWS WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT

Even your friends, but go to the grocery store, sit on a train, ride the chairlift, bring up a band, a TV show, any kind of recreational activity, even the NBA and NFL…and the other person will give you a blank stare, they can listen to your story, but they don’t know the reference points, the stars, the plot, nothing. And you’ll find out what is most important to you is not important to them. You may live for streaming television, they might have seen one show on HBO. They might be amped up for March Madness and not only do you not know who is involved, you don’t know who won last year, you don’t know who the coaches or players are and no matter what anybody says, you’ll ignore the hoopla and not watch the final.

As for finals, there’s one every week. A sports contest, an awards show… They all run together, you don’t even pay attention, never mind care who won. The only people who care are the victors and the small number in their coterie. The Oscars… Did you even see the movies? A bunch are on streaming services. “All Quiet on the Western Front,” the front runner, is on Netflix, “Everything Everywhere All At Once” is on Showtime and Apple TV+, they’re readily available, but you don’t bother to stream them. You no longer have the passion. Used to be you followed film like sports, you knew the studios, the actors, now you don’t. Movies are special events, they’re not a consistent world that draws you in and keeps your attention.

As for music… All together it’s burgeoning. Independently? Never have hit acts been smaller. Meanwhile, more are playing stadiums. Your fan base is narrow and deep. No one is exposed to your music who doesn’t want to hear it. The Top Ten is known by almost nobody. Enjoy your status because you are never achieving worldwide domination. Meanwhile, the entire world is encroaching, we’ve got Latin, Korean, the more acts from around the world that penetrate the sphere, the less space there is for your music. You can play, but that does not mean you’ll win. Winning is harder than ever before. Complain all you want, the system is rigged against you, you’re not getting paid, even get some reporter to write an article about you, doesn’t matter, no one is listening, everybody is burrowed deep in their own world, trying to make it work for themselves, they don’t have time for you, they don’t have time for complainers, they only want winners. Even worse, they don’t build winners, you prove you’re a winner and they amplify you.

IGNORE TECH BACKLASH

The boomers control the media and they’ve been in future shock for decades. Ask a boomer to do a PowerPoint. They can’t, but any kid in grade school can. The youth have grown up on technology, it’s second nature. We are never ever going back to a disconnected world. You can disconnect yourself, but the joke is on you, because even your medical appointments are arranged online these days. As for phoning someone… Please stop. The phone allows for errors, text does not. Technology does not spell your name wrong, it does not hear you wrong. Don’t leave a voice mail, use text. It’s clearer, shorter and easier. Kids don’t even set up their voice mailbox!

As for social media… Get over it. People love to connect. Try turning off your phone for a week. You won’t hear from your friends, you’ll be totally isolated. The world runs on relationships and gossip, anything that enhances them will be embraced. Like online dating. The best thing that ever happened for relationships. You can get a date if you want one. Maybe not with the person of your dreams, but did you ever really have a chance of that? Tinder may be looks-based, and looks do count, in the virtual and physical worlds, but a good profile, an honest profile, evidencing your personality, can win you connection. The joke is on those who are afraid to play. The generations that grew up with tech are not afraid.

We’re only going to be more networked. You’re never going to fall out of touch with people, wonder what they’re up to, it’s all online. As for bad actors on Facebook and Twitter and… The dirty little secret is most people don’t pay attention to these words. Sure, they should be excised, but that’s not why most people go on social media sites, they want to connect, information comes second.

And the truth is there’s not enough money in the world to clean up all the social networks. You’d be stunned how few people they have monitoring bad behavior around the globe. This is a problem. But let’s pull back the lens, the truth is people are susceptible to misinformation, and they don’t only get it online.

YOU MAKE YOUR OWN TRUTH

Media has experienced what attorneys did after Watergate, outlets have lost respect. Sometimes through bad behavior, but other times via denigration by bad actors. To the point where we’ve got no authoritative source anymore. Furthermore, half the country believes if you’re an expert you know less, that you’re a victim of the educational system, of corporate America. And it’s not only the right, the left has wackos too. Anti-vaxxers… All those wealthy liberals who won’t inoculate their kids, long before Covid. And a great slew of the educated distrust authority. Want a bizarre medical theory? Talk to those on the educated left. They’ll tell you to see a shaman, employ alternative remedies, the thought of going to a doctor? NEVER COMES UP!

On the right… Fox admits that it didn’t believe the election was stolen, and the message doesn’t reach almost half the country. They don’t want to believe it, even if they’re exposed to it. They’ve got an explanation for everything.

It’s a free-for-all. Everybody does their own research and picks and cobbles together their own beliefs. There’s a thin layer of educated elite who scratch their heads at all this, but they’ve given up trying to change it, it’s a Sisyphean task. And then there are those who work for the man, or who are the man. They won’t go against the company line, they say what is expedient. The corporate spokesperson should be ignored, they’re just the frontline defense, before the high-priced attorneys come on board.

And online there’s information to support any belief.

And when you have Congresspeople who are nincompoops speaking blather that is untrue on its surface, who should you respect? Who’d want to be President anyway?

YOU ARE NOT GOING TO WIN THE LOTTERY

Do not play the market. That’s a professional world, and the pros are experienced and won’t let you win. I don’t care how smart you think you are, the game is rigged for the usual suspects.

As for the lottery itself, it’s a tax on the poor. And money isn’t everything, it won’t make you happy. Having no money will leave you very unhappy, but you only need a small amount. Well, maybe 100k a year. And the truth is 100k a year is middle class today. If you’re making less, downgrade your desires or work yourself into a higher job. If your job requires no thinking, you’ll never make the big bucks. And now that schools teach to the test, kids don’t learn how to think. This is what they teach in elite institutions. And sure, some “government schools” (that’s what the right wing labels public education), are piss-poor, but the truth is a lot of private ones are too. And despite the constant criticism of liberal campuses, you go to college to learn how to think. And sure, not everybody needs to go to college, but even worse, it’s only the elite institutions that focus on learning how to think and analyze, assigning papers, giving essay tests. If college is easy for you, transfer or drop out. And know that college is really about what happens outside the classroom, who you meet and… I hate to say it, in the business world it is all about who you know and if you know nobody you’re not going to move up the economic ladder. Of course there are exceptions, but their number is very few.

NOT EVERYBODY CAN BE AN ENTREPRENEUR

Oh, you can try to create a new business, but that does not mean it will succeed. Most fail. And execution is more important than the idea.

NOT EVERYBODY CAN BE A STAR

Whether it be musical, sports…the odds are long, your dream is dim. Some will make it. And talent comes after work ethic.

THE UPSIDE

The tools are in your hands! You can write a screed and reach people for free! Ditto with music. Like I said above, not everybody will win, but it used to be most people couldn’t even play!

And you no longer have to be lonely. Everyone can find their tribe online. There are a zillion niches, just look at Reddit. Nerd out all you want, there are like-minded people online. And for everyone trying to project a two-dimensional image there’s another one who wants to go deep emotionally. Want to spread your truth, want to organize a group, a protest, any organization, you can do so for free online.

Yes, a lot of these platforms want to charge you, Facebook ads, etc. But the dirty little secret is if you can’t get traction for free, give up, either your idea is bogus or your execution sucks. Everybody gets a ticket, not everybody gets to go on the ride. But the opportunity! It’s for everyone!

And you can access the famous and infamous.

CONCLUSION

You need an attitude adjustment. It’s all right to be overwhelmed, today’s world is overwhelming, but stop thinking it’s someone else’s fault you’re unsuccessful, that the game is rigged against you. Income inequality is rampant, the national government is gridlocked. But that does not mean you can’t go on your own hejira online. YouTube is a hotbed of information. Want to solve a problem at home, just YouTube it. Ditto with Google. If you ask someone what something is, you appear a doofus. I mean can’t you Google that?

Your everyday life is small. Don’t think top down, but bottom up.

But know everybody can be on TV, everybody can be famous for a day, it’s about lasting.

The internet has shrunk the world, we’re all in it together, but we also have so much information at our fingertips. Sure, bad actors are trying to scam us and… It’s your responsibility to educate yourself on money, on web-surfing. You’ve got to be a self-starter. If you’re whining, you missed the point.

And know there’s a story within a story, always. What looks simple usually is not. You can spout nonsense, but the powers-that-be in that field will just ignore you. People didn’t care that you didn’t vax, they were just anxious that you would spread Covid to them! Do whatever you want, just as long as it doesn’t hurt people. Then again, the FREEDOM PARTY speaks out of both sides of its mouth. How is it freedom if you can’t get an abortion, if they’re involved in your personal business?

But the only way to counter this is to use online tools.

Whenever you have a problem, think of the internet first, and the information and people on it. Knowledge is power, never forget that. And most of the information you need to play is available for free, online, you’ve just got to spend the time.

Try to be an influencer, try the shortcuts, but you’re better off finding out what you are interested in and pursuing it via the information and people online. Forget about press, forget about what outsiders say, just do the work, stay the course.

But when you do succeed, don’t expect anybody else to care.

Which is why you must put yourself first, decide what you want to do and execute, don’t be beholden to those who tell you what to do.

The internet is your starting point. Anybody who rails against smartphones and social media and talks about disconnecting should be ignored, ABSOLUTELY! Don’t be discouraged by the weekly iPhone report showing how much time you’ve been online, you’re doing it right, online is where all the action is today. DELVE IN!

Singer-songwriter Willie Nile has never given up. He debuted on Arista with hoopla back in 1980, however legal problems ultimately sidetracked him. But Willie has re-emerged with a vengeance, releasing ten albums between 2006 and 2021. A notoriously energetic and winning live performer, Nile is a natural raconteur who draws you in and makes you a friend. Listen!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/willie-nile/id1316200737?i=1000602459679

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/46b4490b-5a42-4e0d-b339-dc435bcaaa34/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-willie-nile

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/episode/willie-nile-300106599

“Musk Claims Media Bias in Debate Over ‘Dilbert’ Creator’s Racist Rant – The Twitter chief waded into a scandal involving the cartoonist Scott Adams, as Twitter undergoes layoffs and struggles to lure back advertisers.”: https://nyti.ms/3ICvfwn

It’s never been about money, it’s always been about power.

But money can buy you power.

You didn’t used to be able to become rich as a musician. As for the Beatles and the British Invasion, all those acts did it on a lark, they did not expect lifetime employment, never mind lifetime riches.

But then John Lennon said the Beatles were bigger than Jesus and…

All hell broke loose.

Lennon wasn’t being anti-religion, he was making an offhand remark, which was defensible, especially amongst the youth in an era where “Time” magazine asked on its cover whether God was dead.

But the establishment couldn’t handle it.

The names of the members of that establishment, the pastors and politicians imploring the burning of Beatle records, have long been forgotten, but not John Lennon, even though he’s been dead for more than forty years.

That’s the Lennon/McCartney conundrum. It’s hard to survive the iconized dead, but the reason Sir Paul is always climbing the mountain when it comes to his old bandmate John is not because of melody or changes but viewpoint, John constantly poked the eye of the establishment, he never wavered. He was the punk who always made trouble, who didn’t get along, no one was going to tell him what to do, and this was reflected in his music.

And the Beatles not only changed music, they changed hearts and minds. Drugs were anathema in suburbia before the Beatles. As for war, John Lennon kept advocating for peace.

That’s the power of music, the power of art. Something that has been sacrificed in today’s dash for cash world.

But it’s even worse, whatever message artists have cannot be spread to the masses, not in any cohesive manner. Every act is a silo, from the biggest to the smallest. What is happening in one camp is unknown by another.

And the business is not doing a good job of counteracting this. We used to have the media, most especially “Rolling Stone.” But that magazine now behind a paywall has completely changed its construct, now it’s about politics, about everyday culture, making high level clickbait. Never has the magazine been less influential. As for “Billboard,” who knows what that is anymore, a consumer-facing tabloid with one foot in the industry satisfying no one, with some facts, but no truth in analysis. The “Bible” still doesn’t challenge the established players, the hand that feeds them.

Look at it this way, instead of talking about national issues, moving the needle on where people and this country are and should be going, all the press is about ticketing, AND THE MEDIA CAN’T EVEN GET THAT RIGHT! And if the media can’t get ticketing right, and Congress can’t either, what are the odds that one act can penetrate the national consciousness and move the needle. Low, without industry and media support. Radio used to be music’s medium, but that’s long gone, ever since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and station consolidation and the loss of localized programming. It’s a veritable Tower of Babel out there. And it’s not like the streaming companies are taking any responsibility, they just see themselves as faceless distributors.

Like Spotify and Joe Rogan’s antisemitic comment.

If you don’t take action, you’re endorsing. That’s a basic principle.

But it’s worse than that. Because it’s not only in music that we don’t have a unifying force, but in the world at large. The most powerful are the billionaires, with ink, and they’re inherently biased.

Fox News built its right wing ignorant audience and Trump glommed on to it and now they’re in a tug of war for power.

And don’t tell me Fox News doesn’t purvey falsehoods and spread ignorance. That’s the essence of the channel! Look at all the right wing stalwarts, true red constituents, who’ve abandoned Fox and Trump, from George Will to Bill Kristol to Rick Wilson to Steve Schmidt…the list is endless, they believe the lunatics have taken over the asylum, and they’re pushing back.

But they don’t have the platform of Fox.

And the platform is everything.

And Rupert Murdoch controls the platform. And Murdoch is more powerful than almost any politician, because he (or she) who controls the news controls the public consciousness.

Murdoch owns Fox, never mind the “New York Post” and other media outlets, and Rupert has an agenda. And included in that agenda is not truth, but ratings, income, and a personal agenda that befits…people like himself, billionaires, who want no regulation, who want to be able to act willy-nilly, with no consequences.

Yeah, all the “little folk” railing against regulations. Wait until their building collapses in an earthquake, or a train derails…then they’re clamoring for regulation, but it’s too late.

And now Elon Musk owns Twitter. And he’s a free speech absolutist.

If you’re a free speech absolutist does that mean you can cry FIRE! in a crowded theatre? That’s something that the government won’t even protect. Yes, the government is not a free speech absolutist, that is not the law. As for businesses… There’s no obligation of “freedom of speech.” No shoes, no service. Ditto no shirt. Or dirty, stinking clothing. But you should be able to say whatever you want on a corporation’s platform?

No.

But Elon Musk owns Twitter and he’s beholden to no one.

And everybody’s afraid of him. He’s challenging the government, breaking its laws time and again. But there’s no unity of response, because now Musk is a national hero amongst the right. Kanye is a national hero amongst the antisemites, does that mean he should pay no penalty?

Kanye’s paying quite a penalty. And Adidas is sitting on $500 million of Ye merchandise that it can’t sell.

But not only does Elon Musk pay no price, he’s weighing in on issues concerning others.

Scott Adams makes racist comments and the media outlets WHICH PAY Adams, HAVE CONTRACTS with Adams, have booted him and his cartoon “Dilbert.” Sign a record deal, be on television, your contract will have a morals clause, violate it and you pay a penalty, the contract is terminated. But somehow this should not happen with Scott Adams because…you should be able to say whatever you want with impunity? Where does that work, NOWHERE!

Unless you’re Rupert Murdoch or Elon Musk.

Murdoch might be nailed by Dominion. As for Musk… Why isn’t this guy a national pariah? Instead, he’s a hero to the right. Mostly impressionable young men, the same ones who don’t have good jobs and can’t get laid. They’re angry at the establishment, in some cases justifiably, but they’re being steered astray by those who have an agenda detrimental to society.

What’s next? You can insult your boss and you’re a hero?

If you want to be unrestrained, you need to be an artist. And don’t equate financial success with artistry, sometimes they’re the same, oftentimes they are not.

An artist speaks for themselves, they gather information and filter it through their heart and mind and speak their truth, unfettered. They don’t care about the consequences. A great artist is the antidote to society, the guardrails and the leader. And oftentimes artists challenge the status quo, they’re ahead of the public.

And sometimes it’s in their lyrics and sometimes in their identity and public behavior and sometimes it’s both.

“Money doesn’t talk, it swears”

Bob Dylan wrote that before “Like a Rolling Stone” broke on AM radio. Sure, he liked the money he made from covers, but even more he wanted to speak the truth, following in the footsteps of his hero Woody Guthrie.

Who are the heroes speaking truth today? Who are the mentors?

TV contestants want to be Mariah Carey, who is in many ways a national joke.

Ice-T and N.W.A. told us tales form the ‘hood. When the L.A. riots broke out, we could see everything they were saying about the police and conditions in Compton was true. It changed public perception.

But that was pre-internet.

Now, nobody has that reach or that power.

But they could.

First and foremost we need the artists. We’ve got a few, but we need to laud artistic success before monetary success. If you’re not willing to leave money on the table, you’re probably not an artist.

The only way to stand up to the billionaires is via art and identity. But instead of challenging the billionaires, today’s performers want to be billionaires! That’s like winning the lottery, almost impossible.

All it takes is one great artist to lead the way.

But that artist has to be found and amplified.

That’s not the game music is playing today. It’s all about the money.

Music has power that can stand up to money, that can change hearts and minds. But it has to be embraced and spread. And right now the performers and the infrastructure are doing a piss-poor job of it, TO EVERYBODY’S DETRIMENT!