We discuss the fake Guess Who, Burton’s history and what he’s up to now.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/burton-cummings/id1316200737?i=1000641290640

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4jBn0LzkXsTfSmxDWeyoXc?si=W6MGPrmTTIiaFdzwl37dvw

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/751e5dcb-95e8-41fa-8120-08fef332965e/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-burton-cummings

Trailer: “Born on Third Base”: http://tinyurl.com/5n7m9p6e

On Max. Does that mean you’re unaware of it?

The battle is over and Netflix won, which is why other streaming outlets are licensing content to the behemoth once again. We live in an attention economy, and that’s the most difficult thing to do, get someone’s attention. And distribution is king, content is secondary. In other words, if you can’t see it it doesn’t matter how good it is. And the only buzz on Max is negative, it’s losing subscribers and its app is crap.

But I watched this Gary Gulman special anyway, because I read fantastic reviews. Will you agree? I’m not sure. This is not Chris Rock, a laugh a minute, a riot. Nor is it Dave Chappelle, luxuriating in his fame with his slow, drawn-out delivery and laughing at himself. Actually, Gulman resembles some kid you went to high school with. He wasn’t popular, but he did have some friends. Although that’s a great joke in this piece, about having no friends, I don’t want to tell you any more and ruin it.

I’d never heard of the cat until that documentary a few years back wherein he detailed his depression. Pretty interesting, but once again, I’d never heard of him. And then I got a phone call on my radio show on SXM. We were discussing ticket prices and this guy in  Florida was bitching how much Gary Gulman tickets were for this tour. And I looked up the venue. This was no club. Gulman was a headliner. He’d been building his career off the radar screen. but building it he was.

So I subscribed to his feed on TikTok. And it wasn’t long before I was hooked. So we watched the special last night and…

He was billed as erudite, the thinking person’s comic. Well, I won’t exactly say he was highbrow, but he assumed the audience had some smarts, some education, one of the good jokes involves “A Tale of Two Cities.”

But he’s got this funny delivery. Kind of a hesitation. It appears genetic. And this messes with the build. You know how it’s all about the last fifteen minutes or so for these superstar comics. They build and build and then you realize they’re on a roll. Kind of like fireworks. You’re enjoying the presentation but you’re waiting for them to light multiple rockets at once, for the finale. Whereas Gulman is just telling stories.

So he goes on about growing up on welfare. And about people saying those who do will lose incentive. And then he talks about the children of the rich, who have trust funds, where’s their incentive?

Well, I kinda ruined that one, but it plays out over a long period of time, it’ll still work when you watch it.

And he goes on about income inequality. Comparing his assets to the billionaire known as…

And he owns his Jewish identity.

Jewish comics have been smoothing off their ethnic edges for decades. George Costanza was supposed to be Jewish but it was thought a show with all Jews would be too much for the audience. But Gulman doesn’t hold back.

Now most comics are going for the cheap laugh. They figure if you’re haw-hawing they’re winning. And others are all about the amped-up delivery, carrying you over the transom. Gary Gulman is neither. He’s telling jokes, but he’s also telling stories, that you can relate to. He’s not trying to make you feel bad, he’s trying to let you know that someone else is on your side, understands you. He’s not a schmo, but he’s not setting the world on fire either. It’s refreshing.

But really, when he nails it, you’ll laugh out loud. You won’t be busting a gut throughout, but you’ll see where he’s going and it’ll resonate deep inside and you’ll laugh with him

For a long time there the only truth could be told in cartoons. That was the magic of “The Simpsons.” Now we get truth from comedians.

And that’s another routine that Gulman does so well, talking about the self-marginalized hating on you on social media for not taking them into account. If you play, you know this. You’ve got to mention every possible person who could be involved or offended. I love it when I write about an act and people go wild on me because I didn’t write about the producer, or the session musician.

But maybe you’re passive and afraid to play. And therefore you need the comedians to speak your truth.

You certainly won’t get it from the musicians. Too many are cartoons themselves. Or speaking platitudes worried about offending someone. But these people who take the stage naked, on the road with little more than a mic, they’re thrilling us. We watch them dancing without a net, we’re on their side, however many fall off the wire, or don’t really get on the wire to begin with.

It’s incredibly lucrative if you’re successful, far better than being a musician. But if you can not only make people laugh, but think, then you’re worthy of our attention.

I’m not going to say this Gary Gulman special is a grand slam, I’m not even going to say it’s a home run. But there are some unexpected long hits. If you’ve got Max, you should check it out.

Tune in Saturday January 6th to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.

Phone #: 844-686-5863

Twitter: @lefsetz

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

Spoiler alert: Plot points of the series revealed.

“Love is all that matters

Faithful and forever

Keepin’ us together

Love is all we need

Prisoner of illusion

Sentence is suspended

Loneliness is ended

Love has set me free”

“Love Is All That Matters”

Eric Carmen

That’s from Eric Carmen’s expensive stiff album “Boats Against the Current,” the 1977 follow-up to his solo debut with multiple hits. Oh, “She Did It” made some headway on the charts, but in truth this uber-expensive record was unjustly ignored in the marketplace. Yet it’s one of my absolute favorites, songs from it run through my head on a regular basis, and doesn’t that mean it’s installed in your personal pantheon? The piece-de-resistance is the finale, the eight minute “Run Away,” and you can check these cuts out on your streaming service of choice, or not, it won’t affect my love for these songs.

And “Love Is All That Matters” started playing in my head after the finale of “Berlin.”

Yes, some stupid things happened, like the snakebite. And the escape from the hotel was almost too perfunctory, too easy, but to escape on bikes at the end, on their own personal Tour de France, that was unexpected genius.

Not that “Berlin” wasn’t formulaic. The “Money Heist” blueprint redux. But still…

You could tell how much fun the writers/producers had thinking this stuff up. There were unexpected twists, but ultimately it was all about love.

You had Damián with that woman at the campsite. “Are you hitting on me?” Guys are dumb, you can be incredibly obvious, but it takes a long time for the light bulb to go off in their heads. But it played so real. Damián distraught from the breakup of his marriage, his pleading on the phone was so real, if you’ve been on the losing end of a breakup, you know. But then he crawled out of the wreckage into a brand new car. When you least expect it, good stuff happens, you’ve just got to stay in the game.

As for the relationship between Keila and Bruce… People can appear so together on the surface, but be a complete mess underneath. The only sex she’d ever had was virtual. Keila is fighting her emotions, Bruce is beneath her, but his smell… Love is absolutely primal, after all we’re just animals. Instincts kick in and…

You had Roi and Cameron testifying. You’ve been there, at least I hope you’ve been there, when you get close enough to another to reveal your honest truth. This is something most people don’t reveal in public, they don’t wear it on their sleeve, they’re embarrassed, they feel inadequate compared to what’s exhibited by celebrities and on social media. We’re all flawed, we’re all looking for someone to listen, understand and love us, accept us. And when you find them you create a bond that lasts forever, even if the relationship does not.

Which brings us back to Berlin himself, and Camille. At first I thought Camille would turn, and then just when I was convinced she wouldn’t, she’s infatuated with Berlin once again.

We are wandering through life, and when we find someone real, when we experience the real thing, we can’t escape it, we’re drawn to it, we’ll sacrifice everything for it. Camille thinks she’s got her life together, and then it turns out it’s all an illusion. You’d forgotten all about the safe, and then when the contents were revealed…you didn’t expect François to be a duplicitous heel. Wasn’t he innocent, a hero?

No. And Camille is at loose ends. But before that, when she feels shame over the affair with Berlin… You expected it earlier in the series, so when it comes up you’re surprised, and heartened. Guilt is a powerful emotion.

Which brings us back to Berlin himself. Debonair, yet oftentimes caught up in his own mystique. But ultimately he sacrifices it all for love.

That’s the funny thing about life. The men? They like their success, they like their money, but ultimately love triumphs. Look at Bill Gates, hitting on everything that moved, sacrificing his marriage. Or Gary Hart. Or even Bill Clinton. They’re willing to put it all on the line, for love.

Which you don’t have to be rich to have. It’s about two people, chemistry and magic. All the clichés are true, triumphs don’t mean much without someone to share them with.

Watching “Berlin” in 4k on a big screen…

I haven’t been to the movies in eons. I’ve been reading all the Oscar hype, about there being too many good movies. But that’s a different paradigm, that’s a short story, a series is a complete novel. You get to know the characters.

And it isn’t easy to pull off. And the funny thing is how “Berlin” alternates between comedy/shtick and real tension, obvious and then surprising.

Not that it’s the best series I’ve ever watched, but ultimately the characters become three-dimensional, in a way they cannot in a film. You know who they are, their foibles. Everybody’s got a story, and in “Berlin” we hear it.

I don’t think “Berlin” could be made in America, it’d be hard to get the tone right. Sure, production values were high, but ultimately story was king. Today’s film directors, sans Greta Gerwig and a few others, are so interested in image that they sacrifice the plot.

So if you watched “Money Heist” and want more, I give “Berlin” two big thumbs up. Takes a while to find its footing, but it ultimately delivers, truly.

And just when you think they’re going to draw it out, make you wait for another season for a conclusion, they wrap it up.

Then again, the returning Spanish police people are on the hunt. And the Spanish put-downs of the French are hysterical.

Maybe you’ve got no idea what I’m talking about. Maybe you only watch HBO, or even Apple, week to week. You’re inured to the old formula. Maybe you think the strike killed all your favorite shows, or at least delayed them. But the cameras still rolled overseas.

The news is overwhelming. For those who need escape, who think “Ted Lasso” is the best show ever, watch “Berlin,” you’ll be taken even further from everyday life. You see life has comic elements, but ultimately it’s not light, but serious, it’s deadly real. And “Berlin” hits this note.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.