https://t.ly/lBaRk

1

This is a really good TV show.

But it’s on BritBox.

I know, I know, you’re sick of having to subscribe to another streaming platform, and I am too, but I was running out of blue chip shows.

As you know, I won’t watch week to week. Therefore I won’t pay for Apple TV+. And the interesting thing is when the series ends, I usually don’t go back and sign up to watch it straight through. I noticed this happening with movies a few years back. I’d make a notation to stream it when it came to television, but when it was finally available, I just couldn’t create the inner oomph to partake. And my point here is never, NEVER hold back anything from the audience today. You might think you’re winning, you might think you’re building water cooler buzz, but the joke is on you. If you don’t make something readily available, the masses will just move right past it, you’ll miss the target and not even know it.

Kinda like the Hawk Tuah girl. Are we going to be talking about her a year from now? Three months from now? Strike when the iron is hot. You think everybody is paying attention, everybody is hungry for your product, when in truth most people are just shrugging if they are even aware of it.

But there are a limited number of good series out there.

This is what purveyors will never acknowledge. That most of what they’re selling is mediocre, in a world of plenty. And if someone finds something good, they’ll tell everybody they know about it. And oftentimes it’s the left field that even the purveyor did not see as a hit that succeeds. Like “Squid Game.” And “Tiger King.” (Forget the backlash against the latter, the bottom line is these people were so whacked, you couldn’t stop watching them.)

As for “Blue Lights”…

It’s a BBC production, so if you live in the U.K. you’re probably aware of it.

And if you’re in some country other than the U.S. it might be available on a service you’re already paying for, channels are different in Canada, and Australia, and…

But in the U.S. you have to pay extra for it. Which even though it’s de minimis, $8.99 for two seasons, twelve one hour episodes, a deal when you compare it to going to a two hour movie, it’s hard to get people over the transom, so I don’t expect “Blue Lights” to be the talk of America.

Then again, how much do people know about Belfast? The Troubles?

I’ve been there. Pretty amazing.

But “Blue Lights” is set in the present. And it’s all about emergency services patrolling the landscape, trying to put out fires, both metaphorical and physical. Where half the people hate the peelers. (They’re called that after Sir Robert Peel, who formed the first modern police force in London in 1829, and that’s also why cops in Britain are called “Bobbies,” get it?)

There are certain areas where the peelers are afraid to go. The residents don’t need no stinkin’ police people, they’re the enemy, and not only will they not cooperate, they’ll fight back, with sticks and stones and bones might be broken.

2

I know, I know, you’ve seen enough cop shows. And I must say, “Blue Lights” is not a revelation. And it is not as good as “Spiral,” the pinnacle of the genre, but compared to what’s on American television, what the algorithm serves up, it’s far superior.

You see you’ve got peelers on probation. Are they going to make it? Are they going to stay on the street or move higher up?

And all policing is about compromise, bending the rules. To what degree do you go along to get along and to what degree do you stand your ground?

And this isn’t the weathered male police force of 1970s New York. Half of the peelers are women. Can women and men work alongside each other with no sexual tension? That’s a question that’s asked here.

And so many underlying issues. What’s it like to be biracial where everybody is not? Can you lift up a community or is it basically Chinatown? Should you take the law into your own hands? Does it always come down to intimidation and raw force?

All these questions and more are asked.

You can watch the typical TV fare, but if you want something deeper, I recommend “Blue Lights.”

And now that I’m paying for BritBox for a month, I’m looking for another show on the channel.

He’s got a new autobiography, “What a Fool Believes.”

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/michael-mcdonald/id1316200737?i=1000661890048

 

 

 

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/597742ac-cba4-41cf-b4e2-103e6b60227c/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-michael-mcdonald

 

thesessionmanfilm.com

———

Does anybody under forty even know who Nicky Hopkins is/was?

But for those who do…

When was the last time you saw Shel Talmy on film?

And the man with the most gravitas is…Bill Wyman?

Oh, Mick and Keith are here too, and they wax rhapsodic, but they were all there…

Actually, it was at the Marquee Club where the Stones first encountered Nicky. Who dedicated followers of liner notes will be very familiar with (and Dave Davies is in this flick too!)

Nicky Hopkins was the ultimate session man. Billy Preston gets all the credit for being the fifth Beatle, and I don’t want to take anything away from the man whose career went ’round in circles, but the A#1 session man of the classic rock era was Nicky Hopkins.

Who is not in this film much, but when he is… He’s completely different from your image of the man. He’s soft-spoken, anything but dark and far from intimidating. He comes across as nothing so much as…A MUSICIAN!

And they recite the history, some known, some unknown, but the essence of the film is the legendary heads talking about the work Nicky did. And when the piano player reproduces Nicky’s licks…a smile comes to your face. And when there is talk of and ultimately the playing of the intro to “Monkey Man”…I got shivers, and a grin formed on my face. That iconic riff. That had nothing to do with the Glimmer Twins, that was pure Nicky.

And I bought “The Tin Man Was a Dreamer,” Nicky’s one and only solo album, which had a great version of “Edward,” which was listed as “Edward (The Mad Shirt Grinder)” in its original incarnation at the end of the Quicksilver album “Shady Grove.”

And I didn’t know that Nicky was so close to John Cippolina. And there’s a great delineation of the cross-pollinated San Francisco scene of the day, with Cippolina’s sister and Jorma and Jack, but I could never quite fathom how Nicky went from sideman to band member.

The money. The work. You don’t get royalties as a sideman.

Or as Steve Lukather has told me a number of times… An older studio cat told him that although he was the top gunslinger today, fashion always changes, he needed to find his own thing, and then Luke and his Valley buddies formed Toto.

Nicky moves back to England and is happy, but has to relocate back to L.A. to work. And I always wondered how he ended up in Nashville, but it turns out the ’94 Northridge earthquake was the last straw.

This is not a Hollywood biopic, like they made for Queen and Elton John. This is a documentary…documenting the story, an important story, so it won’t be forgotten.

I mean the licks live on…

But in these days of synthesizers and hard drives, never mind AI, people seem to forget that there are real people behind the music, and all this stuff cut back then was the beneficiary of some studio breakthroughs, but was ultimately handmade.

And I’d recommend you watch “The Session Man,” but so far there’s no distribution.

This ain’t music. Which can cost almost nothing to make and nothing to distribute. Sure, you can make a movie on your iPhone, but if you want talking heads, never mind music rights, you’re going to spend a few bucks. And it’s always hard to find those bucks.

And some of these films are so low budget as to be questionable uses of your time, but the Hopkins film is something better. Sure, it’s hagiography, but you know each and every one of the talking heads, from Chris Kimsey to Greg Phillinganes, another session man, and it’s a treat to see and hear the musings of P.P. Arnold, who had little presence in the U.S. market and who many people might think has passed.

“The Session Man” is a link in your education. It fills holes in your mental history of rock and roll. Which revolutionized society, impacted a an entire generation, music was the coolest medium, it drove the culture and Nicky was there, not on the periphery, but audible on some of your favorite records.

But Amazon and Netflix, et al, have cut back on buying this stuff. Amazon won’t even let you distribute it pay-per-view. Yes, Amazon used to take everything, not anymore. So you can make it, but…

As I always say, distribution is king. If you can’t see it, it doesn’t matter how good it is.

If your eyes light up when you hear the name “Nicky Hopkins” you’ll want to see this movie. It is not a revelation, but you’re taken inside the gold mine, you get a fuller understanding of who the man was.

But for now, “The Session Man” plays festivals… Used to be music docs were rare, you even paid to see them in a theatre, now there’s a plethora, seemingly every act of yore has one.

Many of those acts are forgettable.

But not Nicky Hopkins.

It makes me want to resign from the Democratic party.

Maybe I’m my father’s son, maybe I’m a child of the sixties, but I was taught that you stood up for what was right, consequences be damned.

Liz Cheney is a national hero despite having heinous political positions. History will be very kind to her, it will not be to the sheep who’ve fallen in line behind Donald Trump, who deny what we saw with our very own eyes on January 6th.

Call me a chump, but I believed in the political system. And thought that the Democrats were better than the Republicans. Now I know that is untrue. They’re all pussies afraid of speaking the truth, for fear they’ll lose their jobs. Isn’t job number one to represent their constituencies? This proves that it is not. The Democratic public, the hoi polloi, are overwhelming in favor of Biden stepping down and being replaced. But the elected officials are not doing their job and putting forth this take. They’re afraid.

Fear…

Don’t confuse today’s protests with those of the sixties. The culture was way ahead of D.C. The youth were pulling Washington into the present, since it had its head so far up its ass.

But today? In the era of internet and ubiquitous TV? No one is that far out of the loop. They know what is going on. But Democrats in D.C. want to be ostriches.

Let’s be clear. Biden is toast. It’s over. He’s done. But in the process of his expulsion, the denouement, he’s taking the entire Democratic party down with him, they’re doing irreparable harm to the country. If we don’t believe in the system, we’re done.

That’s what the Democrats were always told. To have faith, to believe, that the goal was to take care of everybody, build a more equitable society while we plowed into the future and got things done.

But not Saint Obama. He was so fearful of appearing the angry Black man that he never stood up to the Republicans. He kept waiting for them to come to the table, and they never did. John McCain had a bout of conscience and saved the Affordable Care Act from the cynical Republicans, but as far as leading, Obama didn’t do that good a job.

Old Joe? He did great. From the start he knew the Republicans were never going to get on board, so he just marched forward. Oh, he waited too long on this and that, but he led.

Until he didn’t. Until he became more concerned about keeping his job.

We keep hearing what a narcissist Donald Trump is, now we know Joe Biden is one too.

So, all those elected Democrats, the ones in the Senate and the House of Representatives, they could take a stand, say Joe has to go, but they won’t, because they’re wrapped up in the team.

The team will lead you right off the cliff. America is about the individual, breaking rules, dragging the rest of the nation into the future.

That’s right, our heroes used to be musicians, who spoke truth as opposed to being silent for fear of denting their brand extensions. Now it’s techies we worship. Move fast and break things? In D.C. it’s don’t move at all and don’t break a single thing, don’t upset the Apple cart. That’s right, Apple, as in Steve Jobs, who did more for the country, more for the world than anybody in Washington. Never mind the rest of the techies.

The people in D.C. are the ones you hated in high school. You know the people who wouldn’t say a single negative thing about anybody. Who boasted they got along with all groups. Meanwhile, the jocks and the cheerleaders either faded away or became drones at the corporation, that’s what sports teaches you, to be part of the team. But each and every one of you remembers the weird kid in your class, who may have gone unnoticed, who may have been an object of derision, who went on to set the world on fire. They could see the landscape, they were on a mission, they wanted to make a difference, they wanted to leave their mark and no amount of negativity and blowback was going to get in their way.

Let’s see… You’re in Congress, fearful of coming out publicly against Biden… What’s the price? You’re elected by people in your state, the majority of whom want Biden gone.

As for upsetting the President, the CEO…

If you follow business history, business litigation, it used to be that being on the board was a cushy job of me-tooism that paid handsomely. But then the courts started holding these board members responsible for not reining in the CEO went they went off the reservation. Today board members are much more active, and if they see something they don’t like, they resign. And if there’s a crisis, they take action promptly. Sure, they’re afraid of the CEO, but they’re also afraid of being held legally liable, so they come up with an equitable solution.

And if you break the code of the corporation, you’re instantly out, no matter how good a job you did. It could be as simple as dating someone who reports to you. As for a code of operation, isn’t age and competence the number one criterion? I.e. can you do the job? If not, they oust you. After all, the board is responsible to the shareholders.

We’re the shareholders in America, you and me, but our board, our elected officials, don’t care what we think, they’re only out for themselves.

So how am I supposed to say Democrats are better than Republicans anymore? Never mind that some of what the Republicans have said has turned out to be true. About intersectionality on campus, everything boiling down to oppressed and oppressor. Did you see those Deans texting antisemitic remarks at Columbia? They lost their jobs. But no one can lose their job in D.C. And when they’re on the spot, they fight tooth and nail, for every Santos there’s a Menendez and a Gaetz, never mind Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert.

Remember when it was said of JFK’s cabinet that they were the “Best and the Brightest”? That type is not in politics anymore. You’ve had to be squeaky clean to even run, never mind win. Trump broke that paradigm, we’ve all smoked dope, crossed the line sometimes, we should not insist our elected officials be priests and nuns, the former who’ve turned out to not be so princely, the light was ultimately shone upon them.

We have hard evidence. The debate, the Stephanopoulos interview. Just yesterday, George was caught on camera saying Biden can’t serve another four years.

But George had to apologize. Why? He’s not elected. As for speaking his personal truth, isn’t that what the Fox anchors do 24/7? Why are those perceived to be on the left held to a different standard?

So it’s left to the media. Anybody who has doubted the power of the “New York Times” is going to have to eat their hat when Biden steps down, because the outlet has almost single-handedly beaten and continued to beat the drum of the need for Biden to step down. The “Times” is doing the work of Congress. And if you don’t think everybody in Congress reads the “Times,” you’re delusional. Even the right. How do you think they set their agenda?

And then today we’ve got George Clooney. What kind of bizarre world do we live in where an actor has more credibility than an elected official? Someone who plays roles more than a supposedly honest politician. And you wonder why the public has more faith in entertainers than elected officials. We keep being told entertainers need to shut up, they’re not entitled to an opinion, but they’re leaders, they seem to be the only ones the public is listening to. George has kept true to form. He does not have a reputation for putting himself first, to the detriment of everyone else. Furthermore, he reported how Biden was substandard at the fundraiser in L.A. a few weeks back. Did you see any of the footage? I’d be charitable if I said Biden walked as well as Lurch.

This is why music is a second class art form these days. Clooney will go on record, but no musician. They’re afraid they’re going to alienate some potential fan. Where is David Crosby when you need him? Oh, that’s right, six feet under. Even Graham Nash turned on Crosby, but Crosby maintained his image by speaking his truth. Why can’t anybody in D.C. speak their truth? It reminds me of high school where everybody’s whispering and passing notes.

The job of the president is to lead. And the other two branches of government are supposed to keep him in line. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court just upset this balance. But that doesn’t mean Congress can’t act, can’t rein in Biden, can’t tell him to go.

Who is a thinking person supposed to believe in?

We’ve got cartoons, superheroes, but when it comes to flesh and blood, it’s a vast wasteland.

Which is why streaming TV surges. Because a lot of these shows illustrate the human condition, try to get it right. Whereas everybody in real life is afraid of going against some team, even though we’re all hungering for some truth.

Makes me crazy when people say they’re independents. Pierce the veil and you find out almost everyone who hides behind this moniker always votes one way or the other, for Republicans or Democrats. They’re just afraid of being labeled. They want to stay above the fray, immune, appear better than the rest of us. Utter hogwash.

And I don’t want to join this group, but at this point I hate both political parties, I don’t want to be associated with EITHER!

You Congresspeople want the press and celebrities to do your job. That’s right, YOUR job! Why don’t you take a stand, publicly. Say what you believe in your heart. If you don’t do so soon, you’re going to bring down the entire political system. Because people like me, who’ve sided with you and endorsed you for decades…

Are going to abandon you.