Go to college. Do not listen to the blowback saying a degree is unnecessary, that is complete B.S. Sure, if you’re entering a trade, if you want to become a plumber or an electrician, college is superfluous. But for the rest of the public? Tradespeople make a fortune these days. Maybe because nobody seems to know how to fix anything themselves these days, whereas in the past many people had workshops in their garages. The reason you go to college is not to learn anything in the classroom, if you do, that’s a bonus. It’s about living on your own, meeting different people, growing up and developing, being exposed to different viewpoints from your family and your hometown/usual suspect circle. If you do not have a college degree, chances are you will be relegated to a service job, most of which pay poorly. A college degree is an entrance ticket. The world is divided into winners and losers, I wish it wasn’t this way, I wish income inequality were not rampant, but you must prepare yourself to be a winner, and that’s what going to college does. As for all the people you know who thrived without college…many were born in a different era, with a more fluid society, and there are always people who win the lottery, but the odds are extremely long.

Finish college. Life is about finishing things. If you can’t, you’re going to get into trouble. If you’ve got a job and your boss asks you to do something and you do…VOILA! You’d be surprised how many people can’t complete the task. Show up and perform, just do the basics, and you will have a good chance of rising. Also many worthwhile endeavors are extremely hard, difficult to accomplish, too many get frustrated and stop or drop out. But if you continue, not only do you gain a sense of mastery, you can see the dividend of perseverance. Showing up, jumping through the hoops/completing things and persevering in times of trouble are the keys to a successful life, and you’d be stunned how few possess them.

Who you marry is the most important decision of your life. Don’t screw it up. Once again, you can’t change somebody. If it doesn’t feel right, it’s not right. As for divorce… If there is physical violence or drug abuse get a divorce. Otherwise…you’re better off sticking with your partner. This is the perseverance referenced above. Unless you truly got hitched on a whim, there is a base between you… Divorce is more traumatic than anyone admits, it’s a regular breakup on steroids. And when you recover, and some never do, you’re at ground zero and have to start all over again. Better to work on what you’ve got.

Get married. Forget the statistics that say you’ll be happier and live longer, the truth is if you’re alone…you sink to depths you do not if you have someone you can count on, who will also be there when you get sick. You need people. Friends are great, but it’s not like a spouse.

Run on instinct. Period. Trust your gut. People will try and push you into doing things you don’t want to. If your instincts say no, back off.

Being a member of the group pays dividends, but groupthink can prevent you from living a full life. Don’t be afraid to step out and do your own thing. Will you get negative feedback? Yes. Might people ignore you? Yes.

You only have one life, so do what you want to. This is akin to instinct. No one gets to do what they want 24/7. And sometimes to do what you want is extremely difficult and painful. If you want to be a musician, if you need to be a musician, do so. But don’t expect to get rich and famous, don’t even expect to give up your day job. Ditto on acting. These are facts, the odds are long and the skills are soft and you’re dependent upon the whims of the public and gatekeepers and if you can’t tolerate this, make music your hobby. But it’s not only music, there are people who make a living skiing. But very few do. So you can move to a ski town and do manual labor and never get ahead or make money so you can ski in your free time. Life is about compromise.

Oh, an analogue to the above. If you go your own way, people won’t like it, and they truly won’t like it if you’re successful.

Being popular in high school is ultimately irrelevant. There’s a reset in life mere years later, you don’t want to peak too early.

Life is as short as they say it is. You can neither speed it up or slow it down. But keep your eyes open, be aware of the consequences of your choices, because time may pass you by, you might miss opportunities.

Take the opportunity, pay the freight. For some reason people like to say they’re poor, that they can’t afford things. Some are, most are not this destitute. They’ll judge others for having whatever, as if there is something wrong with spending and enjoying the fruits of your labor. But what I’m really saying here is if you’re on vacation, and the admission fee is…whatever, ALWAYS SAY YES! You may never ever be there again, and in the future you’ll kick yourself for missing the experience for such a small sum. People will be impressed if you deny yourself. Ignore them, otherwise the joke is on you (as well as them!)

Possessions, physical items, used to be important, now it’s the aforementioned experience. We’ve all got the same phone… And if you’re rich you don’t even have to own the jet, you can get a NetJet account. And you don’t need a fancy car in the city, you can just Uber. If you think you’re impressing the Joneses…you’ll learn when you’re older that the Joneses are so self-centered that they don’t really care about you.

Never cheap out with health care. Get the best insurance and see the best doctors. Poor people live shorter lives than rich people because they don’t get as good health care. Go for a physical every year. Ignore the extended terms for colonoscopies and mammograms. Some GP working for the man might agree with these doctrines, but you’ll never find a concierge doctor who does. Also, if you are ill or need an operation GET A SECOND OPINION! Always! Even if it costs you. And if you’ve got a rare disease…there’s an expert on every disease in America, but they may not be close to you. Sometimes it’s worth taking a trip to see them. You’re healthy until you’re not. You’re a kid and you’re carefree, and then suddenly everybody you know has something wrong with them. Even worse, they don’t admit this, so you think you’re the only one.

Information is your friend. And it’s at your fingertips online. If you want to buy a product, go to the Wirecutter or Consumer Reports or… Do not trust the word of friends. There are some experts, but usually your friends love an item because they paid for it and they want you to buy the same one. Sometimes what they purchased is the best, but I’ve found this happens rarely.

Don’t be a tyrant. You read about all these entrepreneurs and CEOs who are out of control… Usually, there’s a day of reckoning. You have to learn how to be nice and get along. But that does not mean you should let yourself be abused. One unfortunate feature of successful men is they step on/put down/abuse those below them. And since this successful man is paying attention to them at all, many are sheepish and cower when the line is crossed. If you can’t push back when a foul is committed, if you’re not willing to say you’re not going to do something, you’re never going to be successful.

Ignore those who say they’re going to block your success. Some actually do their best to do this, but there’s always another way around.

Don’t listen to conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom is about keeping you in line.

Your friends do not give the best advice, they just want to see you happy. If you’re truly in a bind/confronting a problem, go to a professional for therapy.

“Each of us has his own special gift, and you know this was meant to be true, and if you don’t underestimate me, I won’t underestimate you.” That’s Bob Dylan, from “Dear Landlord.” But the reason I quote it is… The person who appears dumb ends up having a facility with cars or computers you do not. And don’t lament you’re not pretty enough, or smart enough, we all get assets in equal doses. Just shine up and emphasize those you do have. The deck is not stacked against you. Yes, if you grow up in Manhattan with rich parents you’re a step ahead, but as a human being, we are all truly equal.

Travel. Because it broadens your horizons. In many countries there are advancements beyond America. You have to see that the way you think and live your life is not the only way.

Don’t be too afraid to take a risk… If I hear one more single baby boomer tell me they’re afraid to try online dating… Sure, it might be a bad experience, but you could meet the love of your life! One thing is for sure, if you don’t try, you’ll get nothing.

Your parents are not always right. It’s good to have family, but in many respects the death of a parent is liberating, you can throw off the chains of judgment and live your own life.

People will give you advice, most of it is worthless.

Every hundred years, all new people. That’s what Warren Miller said, so… Find the movers and shakers from your era and grow with them, don’t worry so much about who runs the corporation right now, but who will be running it when you’re in the middle of your career.

Life is not fair. In any way. I’d say there is karma. Not that this a guarantee, but I find most bad actors ultimately get their comeuppance. Kids get cancer and die, people get killed in car accidents. Someone gets the promotion you wanted. It hurts, and you should lick your wounds for a while, but at some point you’ve got to put one foot in front of another again.

Don’t be afraid to express your emotions. This is what people can relate to most, your feelings, your experiences. When you express doubt or loss you become human.

You find out who you can count on when you get cancer or some other major illness, and it’s never who you think it is.

Learn  how to listen. People love to talk and they will tell you ANYTHING!

Be aware that you might be dominating a conversation and make room for others to participate.

You’re not always right, no one ever is. And when you’re wrong, be a big enough person to apologize. But don’t apologize just to get off the hook.

No one has the answers.

No one will be remembered.

Life is a quandary.

GOOD LUCK!

More of the San Francisco sound.

Tune in tomorrow April 12th to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz

Boy, I screwed that one up.

I’m not taking back anything I wrote, it’s just that I really wanted to talk about politics and I was afraid I’d overload you and…

Today Stories’ song “What Comes After” started playing in my head…

I’ll get to the song, but the set-up is…

I’m numb, I don’t know what is going on. Are the tariffs on or off, what’s going to happen with the measles, the law firms, when are people going to realize that the cuts in the government are truly affecting them…

I’d say it’s whiplash, but really it feels like we’ve been inside a 737 Max in turbulence and we’re wondering if all those changes Boeing made are going to hold.

In this case Boeing is the Constitution. And so far it’s being shot full of holes. If you think the courts will stop Trump…you probably believe that guy should stay in the Salvadoran jail.

And then there are the protests…

Bret Stephens nailed it in the “New York Times”…

“I have no problem with opposing Trump — as we both do (he’s speaking with Gail Collins). My misgivings are about an opposition that takes the form of futile gestures and virtue signaling.”

The protests are in the rearview mirror. Then again, the big story has become how come the mainstream press didn’t cover them with greater depth and prominence.

But we learned this week what we already knew… The only thing that can change Trump’s mind is money. Once the bond market started to crater, once the rest of the world stopped believing in the economic power of the U.S…

Trump put on the brakes.

This is the only thing that stops him. Not protests in the street, not the legal system, just money. If you want change, you’ve got to fight with money, destabilize Trump’s personal assets or those of his cronies or those of the country itself.

Meanwhile, the Democrats are silent. Because they don’t understand modern communications methods/getting your message out.

Their strategy is to let Trump burn himself out, but what they don’t realize is Trump has completely changed the landscape and is continuing to do so while they sit on the sidelines.

There is no truth anymore. Hell, rescinding the tariffs was the PLAN! Trump’s acolytes don’t even believe this as they utter it.

So… The mainstream media has been taken off the table. Completely neutered. Even worse, denigrated.

Now true students of the game know that information is king. If someone is pontificating and they don’t read the “Times,” WaPo and “Journal,” ignore them. Because these are the only three outlets reporting the news, investigating and detailing. And if you can’t start with the facts, you can’t make headway.

And it’s not only those on the right who don’t know the facts, but those on the left too.

As for information…it’s the key to success in any endeavor, not only politics. He or she who knows the most can see the complete landscape and triumph.

So what the Democratic party needs to do is spread its information 24/7 into every nook and cranny. From the mainstream to social media. They think that Trump flooding the zone means he’ll drown, nothing could be further from the truth. Mixing metaphors, the Democrats are being trampled by elephants, which just happen to be the Republican party symbol.

You’ve got to stand up and fight or you lose. Period.

And you win with information.

But those in power think information only resides in newspapers and TV news, when in truth so many reach so many more… Not only Joe Rogan, but Mr. Beast. The Democrats should start flooding the zone. Stop complaining and fight back with information. You win a war by inches. But you cannot win unless you start.

Which brings me back to “What Comes After.”

All I need to tell you is that Michael Brown was a member of Stories.

Who is Michael Brown?

He’s the genius behind the Left Banke, and “Walk Away Renée” and “Pretty Ballerina.”

Those records have a sound and a feel…that you cannot get anywhere else, which is why they’re forever. That’s the essence of the sixties, experimentation. And darkness to go along with the light. Today everybody is a winner, yesterday everybody knew that you can’t always win, and it was all right to reveal your emotions.

Anyway, I’m listening to the lyrics and wondering if they fit.

And they didn’t seem to.

“What Comes After” is a perfect coda to Stories’ second album, “What About Us.” There’s optimism earlier, especially “Love Is in Motion,” the other truly great song on the album.

Oh, after their version of “Brother Louie” became a hit single the record company tacked it on the end of the album, but…

“What comes after

The laughter

I open my eyes

Great disaster came after

I started to cry”

The feeling of a breakup, it’s the opposite of sex. It feels just as bad as sex does good. It’s nearly intolerable, no matter what the age, you never become immune.

“What comes after

What matters

Has gone far away”

When you lose the center, when the plot no longer makes sense…how do you cope?

But listening to the song I realized the final verse applies, is a good metaphor for today:

“What comes after

And after

I open my eyes

Strange disaster

Came laster

I started to cry

And now I find I’m blind”

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/3iNBAjeUW3RbffUh5k3mXn?si=dd32809384bb4773

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEp0q7vzVjg

Is a zero-sum game, if they’re not paying attention to you, they’re paying attention to someone else.

Know who your audience is and how to reach them. It’s old school, but best to have e-mail addresses. Even better, phone numbers so you can text. But you can’t use these channels too often, people view their inboxes as inviolate, don’t abuse the privilege.

Personal is everything, bland is anathema. Any message can be made personal, it just requires a bit of creativity. “I was in the shower when I realized I hadn’t told you that I added gigs to my tour…” That’s much better than a press release.

Press releases are ignored unless there’s real news involved. Tour dates, a new album… Shotgun no longer works, precision is everything, you’re a sniper aiming for your target.

Professional PR. Is worth it if you’re a star, you need someone to be your gatekeeper, you need someone with relationships for big media opportunities. But for the rest of musicians? It’s money down the drain. You cannot outsource your career these days, you are in charge of and must do EVERYTHING! Think of it like playing video games, or using online platforms. There’s zero tech help. You’ve got to figure it out for yourself. And those who can win and those who can’t are forever behind the 8-ball… If you need the Geek Squad to figure out your tech problem you’ve already lost. You must be familiar with the tools, every social media platform, all the ins and outs. Don’t tell me you can’t, because you’re a musician… These skills are now part of Life 101, like learning to cook or drive. You need these skills, they’re bedrock. And they’re best learned by participating, and getting frustrated. Frustration is the key to growth. If you never hit a wall you’re not driving fast enough or far enough from home. And the bottom line is you can find the answer to almost every problem on Google.

So you are in charge. DO NOT outsource your social media. That’s a fool’s errand. Because you can’t pay anyone enough money to care as much as you do, nor can anyone truly be you. View participation/posting as a continuum, some live online, some only post once a day…

Occasionally is ineffective. There must be a steady stream of information. It will be ignored by most, but your hard core fans, who are the bedrock of your career, who will insist their friends listen to your music and will drag them to your show, cannot get enough info from you. That’s right, there’s no such thing as too much. So you should never hesitate to post. You never know what will resonate with someone. Don’t second-guess yourself.

Sure, it’s good to ramp up a campaign if you’ve got something new to promote, but it really doesn’t mean much unless you’re in touch with your audience all the time. The hype for Lady Gaga’s new album was everywhere. Like everybody cared. Then you didn’t hear a word. And some other album was number one. The lasting image is that the album is a disappointment. You don’t want to risk this. Better to be in touch with your fans than everywhere.

You can’t get in major media or on TV without an intermediary/advocate/agent/PR person. But know what you’re getting… If you’re on SNL or CBS “Sunday Morning” it moves the needle. As for getting one of those pieces in the “New York Times”…this only works if you want to influence tastemakers. Last Sunday there was an article on Cameron Winter in the Style section of the “Times”: “On the Verge of Rock Stardom – Is Cameron Winter ready for the spotlight? He better be.”- https://rb.gy/rrsud7 You know, the lead singer of Geese. No, you probably don’t know, but I saw the article and thought…either this is something huge or something completely irrelevant, but one thing is for sure, it didn’t end up in the “Times” by accident. A PR person got it in. Now if you go to the Google News, there’s no equivalent press, nothing close. So, the PR person shot his wad on the “Times.” Are the “Times” readers going to cause a conflagration, blow up Cameron Winter’s career? OF COURSE NOT! But people like me, who can shift the needle, are aware of the fact that someone is putting a big push on an artist and they’re now on our radar. So, if you’re not worthy of attention, if you’re not new, this placement will do NOTHING FOR YOU! Generally speaking, forget mainstream press unless you’re a star or a critics’ darling, like Jason Isbell. Also, if you get one of these pieces, don’t talk much about the new album, but your IDENTITY! Even babies are O.D.’ed on new project hype. And the funny thing is mainstream media plays along, it hasn’t gotten the message. I don’t need to see a story about everybody who stars in “White Lotus,” it’s a turn-off, it’s lazy reporting, it’s frivolous fluff. If there’s not a deep angle or story that resonates, it’s worthless.

Which brings me to backlash. You want to avoid it. AMONGST YOUR FANS! Don’t care what non-fans have to say about you, NOT AT ALL! But you can burn your fan relationship. Don’t keep asking. What makes me crazy is getting hype about an event six months in advance and then ad infinitum until the date plays. I’m either going or not, I don’t need to be reminded every single day! I just unsubscribed from “Ski”‘s e-mails. Now they send them every day with clickbait headlines… I’ll just go to the website, nothing sent is ever truly important or newsworthy, it’s just that “Outside Online” is struggling and they want to dun me into subscribing… Don’t they realize they’ve got a bad business model?

People want to go deep. Surface is for punters. Talk about your interest in electric trains. Talk about your breakup. Your goal is to put out content that people can truly relate to, you want to establish a bond, to the point where people think about you when they don’t hear from you and wonder what you’re up to.

BE SUBTLE ABOUT THE ASK! Don’t beat me over the head to buy your vinyl so your album can go number one, what…do you think I’m brain-dead? This might work with the prepubescent, but what makes you think I care about you that much? Maybe if you’ve established a close relationship online, but… I am not your employee. It is not my job to make you successful and rich. Make me aware of stuff and let me decide whether to buy/partake. Or personally incentivize me. Give me something for helping you. This is a business transaction when you ask me to do something, never forget it, there must be a quid pro quo.

Stay on message and be true to yourself. Do not change yourself for instant gratification. The public is incredibly savvy, when you’re not true to character, they’re out. Don’t play to the big boys, play to your audience. If you can’t say no it doesn’t mean anything when you say yes.

If you can’t come up with novel ways to enchant your audience, make people laugh or cry, then you’re not a good artist to begin with. Your songs have lyrics…you can’t write anything else? It’s all about creativity, doing something different.

Get down into the pit with your audience, you never want to appear better than they are. That paradigm expired with the internet. If you’re hobnobbing with the celebrities, out on their yacht…you must have a sense of humor about it if you do it at all. As for LOOK AT ME posts… Those are for dolts who don’t get enough attention in their regular lives, never do that.

Managing your fan connection and image is a 24/7 job, and only you can do it. That’s one thing the influencers know… Then again, too many of them are one-dimensional and need attention while they try to get you to buy dreck. You’re selling yourself and your music. Sure, it can have rough edges, it can have mistakes, but it must be YOURS! The Spotify Top 50 can employ ten writers and multiple remixers but that’s a different market, flavor of the moment, you’re in it for the long haul. Credibility is everything. Give people a reason to believe in you. They’re dying to believe in you!

None of this means anything without great music, but if you’re selling something other than music… This is what the Democrats don’t understand. They sit on the sidelines hoping Trump will blow himself up, when in truth they should be out flooding the airwaves themselves, they should be everywhere, because no outlet reaches everybody… You never want to be self-satisfied, you never want to blame people for not getting and understanding your message. If that’s the case, IT’S YOUR FAULT!