https://tinyurl.com/3arxyraj

This is why we can’t have octogenarians, never mind nonagenarians, running the country.

But oh yeah, you can’t say that. It’s elder abuse. Why is it everybody in America feels entitled to play at a professional level in every endeavor they choose for their entire life? If you’re five foot two, you can’t play in the NBA. And if you’re fifty you can’t win the sprint. But you should be able to govern for the rest of your life?

Come on, been driving with any of these people? That’s the hardest thing to do with the aged, take away their license. And you’d be surprised how many baby boomers don’t like to drive at night, because of the decline of their vision. But no, we need to let the nearly dead run the country!

I want you to name the eighty year old tech experts. I’m waiting. Even the seventy year olds. You know, pushing the envelope, pegging the needle. I’m sure we can shake the bushes and come up with a few, but most aged people are not that tech-savvy, never mind being in the business and changing the world. But I can’t say that either, people hate to be labeled! Just because you have an iPhone that does not make you a power user. Quick, do you know when you turn on Do Not Disturb on your Mac it silences your iPhone too? You’d be stunned how much power these devices have, and the younger generations that grew up with them are more familiar, it’s more instinctive. Furthermore, they didn’t grow up in the era where the first iteration always sucked. Now you expect your brand new product to work right out of the box, whereas you used to turn it on and pray.

Meaning I hate when the government gets into tech. Because the elected officials don’t understand it. But if they were younger… Tech drives the world, and all we’re told by our oldsters is to get off our devices. But now even cars are computers.

Athletes retire, but not elected officials. Like they have a special sauce running through their veins. If you know any ninety year olds, you don’t want them running the country. Sure, there are exceptions, but they’re rare, assuming people even live that long. That’s another thing, everybody expects to live to a hundred. Hate to burst your bubble, the odds are low, better start living like every day is your last, or at least every year.

This is kind of like 1/6, we see it with our very eyes and we’re told it’s not true. Yes, 1/6 was a beautiful picnic according to Donald Trump and his acolytes, you’d think they were eating pizza and playing cornhole. If someone froze like McConnell, you’d immediately take them off the field. You don’t want them working, you don’t want them screwing up. But McConnell freezes and we’re told that he’s fine. But even worse, now he’s frozen twice!

There’s nothing to see here. Right…

And let’s not make it a right or left thing, Republican or Democrat, Dianne Feinstein has to go too. When she praised Lindsey Graham for his handling of the Barrett hearings, it showed me she’d already lost her marbles, and that was years ago at this point. But no, she stays.

They’re making a mockery of the institution. The Supreme Court is a joke. And now Congress too. And it’s not only McConnell, but the Freedom Caucus, which they should call the Fredo Caucus. I don’t care who elected these people, most Americans can see they’re nincompoops. If this is who they’re electing, leave me out.

Which brings us to the big kahuna, the big show, the presidential election…

Both Biden and Trump shouldn’t run. Period. They’re not familiar with modern society. Sure, Biden may know how the wheels turn, and Trump was president for four years, but if I want to know which way the wind blows I wouldn’t call either of them.

We’re continually writing off our youth. There’s no climate change, but it’s the youngsters who are going to pay the price. Ditto on the debt. We keep pushing everything down the line to people who get no representation. I mean why vote, you’re ignored anyway. That’s what many youngsters think, they’ve tuned out.

They have referees in sport. And they even have a concussion protocol in the NFL. But nothing like this exists in government. Where is the ombudsman who takes you out of the game and retires your jersey?

Oh, don’t tell me that Biden beat Trump once. Don’t even tell me he’s done a good job. Someone younger and in touch needs to be in charge. And I don’t want to contemplate Biden dying and Kamala replacing him. She turned me off during the 2020 debates and nothing she’s done since has demonstrated that she’s credibly in touch with and on the side of me and the rest of the people. Oh, don’t get your knickers in a twist. But the reality is if you’re voting for Biden you’re considering the VP more than ever in history.

As for Trump… One thing is for sure, he’s not getting smarter. Not reading books, informing himself. He’s not auditing classes at the university, not attending symposia on crime, he’s just blowing smoke. I want someone young, with experience with today’s issues.

But I am not heard. That’s what it’s like being a citizen of the U.S. these days. You’re not heard. You make no difference. They implore you to vote every few years, otherwise they ignore you. It’s a big club and you’re not in it and they don’t have your best interests at heart. It’s all bloviation, triangulation. The climate deniers on the Republican debate stage… Hell, if Trump was in office and a hurricane did damage in California you know he’d be tight with the purse strings. And we can have open carry and deny Black history and we should be surprised when someone who drinks the kool-aid kills three people in Jacksonville?

Where’s the common sense. And some of the left wing stuff is crap. Trigger warning? Your whole life needs a warning, get with the program, buck up and survive.

I mean this stuff is obvious to the vast majority, but not in government, not at all. What a crazy country. We saw 1/6 on television, on television!, but we’re told not to believe our eyes. I mean come on.

And let’s be clear. Nothing I write here will make any difference. Won’t change any minds. I just want you to know that you are not alone, that there are people who feel like you. As for hope? You’re on your own with that.

All you have to know is “Rich Men North of Richmond” went to number one on the streaming chart. Which is a bit complicated, because there’s on demand streaming and radio-style streaming, and YouTube and… But if you make it to number one, one thing is for sure, people are listening!

It’s all about consumption.

Can we forget about the good old days? You know, with fat label contracts and prodigious CD sales? They’re never coming back, ever.

And we can forget about sales all together. The iTunes Store is de minimis, a fraction of what it once was. Twenty years have passed since its inception. To talk about iTunes consumption today is like talking about 78 consumption after the introduction of the 45. It’s over. As for physical sales… That’s souvenirs, that’s not about listening. Travis Scott? He’s number one this week because of a cheap vinyl offer. In other words, his residence atop the chart is manipulated. Unlike Morgan Wallen, who is #2, based on consumption, not sales. Ignore sales. They’re a metric the labels use to manipulate the chart. But streaming?

You only get paid when people listen. The pre-internet generation hates this. They’d rather sell you the album, get their bucks and forget you. But this is incredibly shortsighted. What you want to do is create something so infectious that it will continue to be consumed, and you will get paid handsomely.

Now in the pre-internet era, the way you sold was via radio, and then music videos on MTV. People saw the product and then went out and bought it. In other words, radio and MTV were promotional tools. Radio’s business is advertising. Stations don’t care about the music, they’d air anything if enough people listened that they could sell advertising. It was a marriage of convenience. But that marriage is on the rocks.

Yesterday you used radio exposure to sell product. Today, when it works, you are selling streams. Sure, there’s publishing money on airplay in the U.S., but the record company doesn’t get paid a penny. And the majors no longer own all the publishing, or have admin deals on the hits at a very low rate. So the labels need to focus on streaming to make money, to pay their bills.

Now online radio pays both the record company and the publisher. As does satellite radio, which is selling subscriptions, not ads. But the real money for the labels is in direct consumption. People choosing to listen to a certain track, streaming it. That’s it. To think otherwise is to deny the present.

However, the major labels are lost in this new era, and keep on pouring money into radio. Just like advertisers overpay for spots on network TV. Listenership and viewership are way down, but radio and TV are the best way to reach mass, however tiny.

But we’ve noticed for over a decade that terrestrial radio is moribund, it goes on records after they’ve become established hits online. But never have we had a track like “Rich Men North of Richmond,” which went to number one and stayed there based solely on streams, with radio not even playing the track. “Rich Men North of Richmond” is nowhere to be found on the Mediabase Country chart. And it’s not on the Top Forty chart either.

Sure, maybe both of these formats will ultimately go on the Oliver Anthony track. But I must ask, who are these passive terrestrial radio listeners who need to hear it on the radio to then consume? And as I stated above, it is all about consumption. Terrestrial radio pays no recording royalties. None. So why is radio still the labels’ number one focus?

And so far, Oliver Anthony has refused to make a deal.

Chance the Rapper made it without a deal, but that’s hip-hop, with a long history of free mixtapes. But country? A supposedly controlled market, all beholden to radio?

Maybe we’re entering the second revolutionary age. The first started with the internet and Napster. The second starts with the death of traditional exposure outlets. It’s not only radio, but television. A late night appearance? Means nothing. SNL and CBS “Sunday Morning” can move the needle, but no other show has this power.

So, the labels find the talent online, after it established success with a fanbase. And then the major label exploits said music…exactly how?

I’m not saying the major labels are going out of business, no way, they control almost all of recorded music history, it’s in their vaults. But new music?

Which is why we have so many successful genres of music today. Used to be if it wasn’t on radio it was marginal. Then on MTV. Now you don’t even need a label to sell tickets. And there’s more money in tickets than recordings anyway. Tickets are expensive and shows bond your audience to you. Live is efficient in a way that radio never was.

But how do you get found online?

Well, if you’re trying to work it, your only hope is to have a profile in the genre in which you participate. The other players and the audience must be aware of you. Starting from absolute scratch is nearly impossible. As is worldwide domination. The majors still control Top Forty, but it means less than it ever has in its history. The majors fight for slots in the Spotify Top 50, but some of those acts are one hit wonders. Furthermore, as detailed by “Billboard,” the majors can’t even break a new act anymore. Acts come from the bottom up, not the top down. The bottom up is the internet, top down is manipulation, the aforesaid radio and TV and…if this were working, we’d have new breakout stars, but we don’t.

As for dead tree publicity…it works for acts for the aged, it’s irrelevant when it comes to youngsters, who are active consumers. Everything that moves the needle is online. Which is a great miasma of information.

Then again, “Rich Men of North Richmond” breaks the paradigm, it is unique. Because it was grown by the public and agitated politicians, who pushed the number. Yes, politicians and their news outlet penumbra have more power than terrestrial radio, traditional TV, anything.

Turns out organic is desirable. And if you’re organic, you have a chance of being embraced by people who will promote you.

“Rich Men North of Richmond” is not “Try That in a Small Town.” Jason Aldean came from Macon, and he didn’t even write the song. And the controversy superseded the track. Which shot up and then fell online, which is the only place where you can make any money. Aldean is #10 on this week’s Mediabase Country chart, but “Try That in a Small Town” is #32 on the “Billboard” streaming chart. All that terrestrial radio airplay? The label ain’t making a dime. The publisher is. And maybe Aldean’s image is being burnished. But when it comes down to money, Oliver Anthony trumps Aldean, period. Because Anthony’s consumption figures are much higher.

Mania might get you noticed, but it’s the music that sustains you. Which is why Morgan Wallen continues to dominate the charts, with no stunts employed. Wallen can be loved by everybody, it’s conventional song structure, with verses and choruses, the basic building blocks. Which are rarely the key elements in the Spotify Top 50, and if they’re present the tracks are rarely believable, barely credible.

Something is happening here.

Don’t forget, although distributed by a major, Big Loud, Wallen’s label, is an independent. Next time will the independent do it themselves?

Do you sell your soul to the company man?

That’s what we’ve been told to do for decades. To take the money. Forget the audience perception. Sell your songs, better to have the cash than the control.

Maybe that’s all wrong.

Maybe radio is no longer all powerful.

Maybe Oliver Anthony is a harbinger of what’s to come.

But maybe not.

But one thing is for sure, terrestrial radio is circling the drain when it comes to breaking acts. It’s never meant less. Maybe you want it to be part of your marketing campaign, but if you’re making it number one, you’re missing the target.

Trailer: https://tinyurl.com/mvs7bvua

I recommend this movie. You can watch it sans ads on Amazon Prime, or for free, with ads, on Tubi and the Roku Channel, or completely free with no ads on the library outlet, Kanopy. And, if you ever want to know if and where you can stream something, please go to justwatch.com – it’s a great resource, especially when my friends in Australia and the U.K. recommend shows and it turns out they’re unavailable for streaming in the U.S.

I can’t tell you how I found out about “Golden Voices,” but you do know that my standard is 80%+ on the critics’ meter on Rotten Tomatoes. I will watch something in the high seventies, but below that… The “New York Times” recommended a fascinating film last week, “Paradise.” Bottom line, you cash in future years of your life for a benefit today, a great concept. But it’s only got a 55% critics’ rating and I’m afraid to dive in, the last time the “Times” recommended a sub-80% movie and I took the time to watch it I ultimately wanted my two hours back. In other words, the “Times” recommendations have a credibility issue with me. But “Golden Voices” has a 100% RT critics’ score, and an 80% audience score. Beware of the audience score, it oftentimes is completely whacked. Like on that series “The Offer,” you know, the one about the making of “The Godfather.” It’s got a 95% audience score, but only a 57% critics’ score. People have been imploring me to watch this series to this day. But the truth is it’s wildly inaccurate, it got some of the worst reviews of all time, and that’s not how I want to use my time. Call me a highbrow, I’ll own it. Movies are not entertainment for me, they’re a true life experience, one that takes me away from everyday life and touches my heart. I want to bond with the flick, I want to feel like I’m the only one watching. I want to think about it when it’s over. And that’s why I won’t go to see the superhero movies… Meanwhile, am I the only one who didn’t read comic books growing up? I just didn’t get it. There was too much left out, and all that writing over pictures? I’d rather read a book.

So…

The key to great entertainment is emotion. I’m not talking about singing with melisma, showing off, I’m talking about connecting with me emotionally. That was a feature of the dark music of the past, but it’s hard to find in hit music today. Most stuff is obvious, it’s about partying, being a member of the club…and I don’t ever want to be a member of that club. I go to the show to see the act, not to hang with my friends.

Anyway, the main character in “Golden Voices” is a highbrow, he reveres Fellini.

Well, let me go back a chapter. What you’ve got here is two Russian immigrants to Israel just after the fall of Communism. They were famous film dubbers in Russia, but what are they going to do for work in Israel?

Displacement. I’ve been there. You’re in a new town, a new situation, it can be lonely, depressing, you dig down deep and carry on into the wilderness, try to sustain your optimism, but it is very hard.

And then you’ve got love.

Your hopes and dreams… You know, your inner life. Don’t tell me yours and I won’t tell you mine. It’s too hard to talk about. But when we see it on the screen it feels so good. Love, hope, connection… Relationships are the basic building block of humanity. It’s in our DNA. We fantasize, we’re desirous, and are our hopes dashed or fulfilled? We may be a desirable star in our own minds, but in the eyes of our crush?

So “Golden Voices” probably won’t grip you from the very beginning, it’s not that it’s slow, it’s just that it’s not whiz-bang, which so many people expect from a film these days. And then the story evolves, the plot interweaves and you’re right there with the characters, contemplating your choices, your life.

Yes, this is an Israeli film. With subtitles. I hope that doesn’t turn you off. But it’s not a heavy drama, it’s not a slog, at times it’s funny…it’s akin to regular life. It demands very little of you, don’t see viewing it as an assignment or a sentence…

I’ve already told you too much.

But if you’re a foreign film fan, from back before the days of streaming, when you used to go to the art house, this is the kind of film you saw, that generated word of mouth. Now, with so much in the marketplace it’s nearly impossible to gain notice.

So, if you’re posting on TikTok, if you have no time to slow down, don’t even bother. But if you can stop for an hour and a half… It’s this downtime that inspires you. That’s why vacations are critical. Your mind is cleared, it’s open to new things…

I don’t tell you about every series and film I watch. This is not a list service. I don’t need you to judge me based on my level of consumption, never mind the quality of what I watch, but… It’s hard for most people to find good stuff to watch. And everything I’ve watched in the last couple of weeks is not as good as “Golden Voices,” so I figured I’d hip you to it. I watched three other movies in the past couple of days, I’d prefer to watch series, but we’ve already viewed so many of the greats, and this is the only one I can whole-heartedly recommend, even though the others were all over 80% on Rotten Tomatoes.

This is the type of movie that you’ll want to talk about with others. Then again, part of the stimulation is personal. I really questioned one of the basic tenets of my life after viewing “Golden Voices.” I don’t want to overhype it, it’s a small movie, but I do recommend it.

Spotify playlist: https://tinyurl.com/hzdja2h6

 

“Casino Boogie”

EXILE ON MAIN STREET

The Rolling Stones

 

“Superwoman”

MUSIC OF MY MIND

Stevie Wonder

 

“Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters”

HONKY CHATEAU

Elton John

 

“School’s Out”

SCHOOL’S OUT

Alice Cooper

 

“Take It Easy”

EAGLES

Eagles

 

“Thick as a Brick”

THICK AS A BRICK

Jethro Tull

 

“The Night the Carousel Burned Down”

SOMETHING/ANYTHING

Todd Rundgren

 

“Hold Your Head Up”

ALL TOGETHER NOW

Argent

 

“Shaft”

SHAFT

Isaac Hayes

 

“From the Beginning”

TRILOGY

Emerson, Lake & Palmer

 

“Moonage Daydream”

THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS

David Bowie

 

“Telegram Sam”

THE SLIDER

T. Rex

 

“If There Is Something”

ROXY MUSIC

Roxy Music

 

“Gudbuy T’Jane”

SLAYED?

Slade

 

“True Blue”

NEVER A DULL MOMENT

Rod Stewart

 

“Johnny’s Garden”

MANASSAS

Stephen Stills