Spotify playist: https://tinyurl.com/2kcytafs

“Friends”
Elton John

“You’re My Best Friend”
Queen

“With a Little Help From My Friend”
Beatles

“Can We Still Be Friends”
Todd Rundgren

“You’ve Got a Friend”
Carole King

“Thank You For Being a Friend”
Andrew Gold

“Friends In Low Places”
Garth Brooks

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvCgSqPZ4EM

“Why Can’t We Be Friends”
War

“Be My Friend”
Free

“Friend of the Devi”
Grateful Dead

“Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend”
T-Bone Burnett

“Goodbye My Friend”
Karla Bonoff

“Funeral For a Friend-”
Elton John

“My Best Friend’s Girl”
The Cars

“Old Friends”
Simon & Garfunkel

“Red Neck Friend”
Jackson Browne

“Outside of a Small Circle of Friends”
Phil Ochs

“You Never Know Who Your Friends Are”
Al Kooper

“How Many Friends”
The Who

“Hello Old Friend”
James Taylor

“My Best Friend”
Jefferson Airplane

“Friends”
Led Zeppelin

“Friends”
Buzzy Linhart

“See My Friends”
The Kinks

“Friends”
Beach Boys

“All My Friends Say”
Luke Bryan

“Waiting On A Friend”
Rolling Stones

“The Turn of A Friendly Card”
Alan Parsons Project

“Always a Friend”
Alejandro Escovedo

“A Friend Is a Friend”
Pete Townshend

“Thank You Friends”
Big Star

This video perplexed me:

“The EXACT MOMENT where the lead singer of a band saw my sign and bought me on stage: https://tinyurl.com/ypd2jjr7

I’ve been watching TikTok videos for the past hour and a half. I wanted to see if my feed was dominated by Trump indictment clips, like it was on Friday.

This was after seeing the headline in today’s “New York Times”:

“Trump Supporters’ Violent Rhetoric in His Defense Disturbs Experts – The former president’s allies have portrayed the indictment as an act of war and called for retribution, which political violence experts say increases the risk of action.”: https://tinyurl.com/4xr97fnr

This piece made me think how the media was complicit. That it pushed the Trump agenda for so long that it came back to bite them in the ass.

But then there were the elected officials, afraid of losing their jobs, who got on the Trump train too.

And I wanted to write something, but I didn’t. Because to a degree it feels like pissing in the wind, while pissing people off at the same point.

But then I reflected on how on Friday afternoon I was listening to Mark Levin rant and rave on Fox and then, when he took a breath for air, the Fox host contradicted him, told him he was wrong. Levin went apoplectic. Then again, that’s his act to begin with. And it had me wondering, had Fox changed in the wake of the Dominion settlement?

And that’s when I went to TikTok. And was served up this video:

“Former Trump AG Bill Barr on Trump’s federal indictment”: https://tinyurl.com/we6pmv65

I’ve got no time for Bill Barr, especially in the wake of his preemption of the Mueller report, delivering a conclusion that was not aligned with the ultimately released document. But even worse is his hairpiece, doesn’t he know we can tell? I noticed it the first time he surfaced with Trump. He had a head full of hair, yet his face was lined. He’s 73. I mean come on. This is just a warning to those of you losing your hair, own it, it works out far better.

So it appears that Bill Barr is the new Liz Cheney. Able to stand up for truth, justice and the American Way…after they didn’t. But better late than never.

So maybe the tide is turning. Then again, this is my TikTok feed, what’s in everybody else’s?

And then I stumbled on these clips of Steve Harvey giving advice. And it was really good:

“He’s a little scared to get back in”: https://tinyurl.com/4apzjyvk

They went on a date and then she never heard from him. And when they ultimately made contact he said he wasn’t ready. And she said should she strike him from her contacts and he said not to do that, and that maybe they could go to church together.

And then Steve went on to diagnose the guy, you need to watch this, both boys and girls, to see how men really think.

And Steve was so good, that I decided to click to watch more of his feed. Turns out this is a feature, of what I’m not exactly sure. I know that Steve had a sitcom, I know he hosts a game show, but until I looked him up on Wikipedia I had no idea he had an empire.

And there was the woman who had a tatted-up biker boyfriend who wouldn’t… I don’t want to ruin it, you should watch it:

https://tinyurl.com/3ervx5np

But even better was this segment that Bill Barr should watch:

“Going bald is not something you should try to fight”: https://tinyurl.com/ypf942ka

Then Felice interrupted me and asked me what I was reading. And I told her that I was watching TikTok clips. I started telling her about Steve Harvey, she didn’t know he had a talk show, all she knew was the aged sitcom. And then I started telling her about the Backseat Lovers.

In the clip there was a band on stage. Wearing street clothes. With no production. And it was a really big stage. And when the camera turned it was a pretty big venue, full of people. It looked like nothing so much as the seventies. But this was positively now.

Oh, I know. This must be Christian rock. How could something be this big and I’ve never heard of it?

So I Googled, and found out that although the band was from Utah, they were not a Christian act.

And then I had to hear them. So I looked the Backseat Lovers up on Spotify and found out they had a song with 237,849,712 streams. And another with 67,636,049. And another with 62,777,795. And another with 24,605,553.

Now let’s be clear, the aged acts of yore, the classic rock icons, when they release new work it doesn’t come anywhere near these numbers. Very few people do. Most scrape along, if they’re lucky breaking a million and complaining to the government that they’re not getting paid, something must be wrong. FIX THIS FOR ME!

Well, maybe it’s not broken.

So I decide to play the first track on Spotify, the one with 237+ million streams.

Let’s be clear, I’m doing something else at the same time. I mean I’m not going to dedicate all my focus to this. And then…

“I overheard that she was nineteen
She’s got a fake I.D. and a nose ring”

I’m a fool for this stuff. I hate platitudes. And I hate boasting. But if you set the scene, if you’re personal, I’m all in.

And it occurs to me, this song, “Kilby Girl,” is really good.

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/yc2muzef

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/2e3as7fd

This is not Top Forty stuff, it’s not overproduced. Yet it’s hooky. And intimate, you don’t find intimate on Top Forty anymore. But people are craving intimate.

Well, this is in the alternative lane. And it made it all the way to number 39 on the US R&A chart. What exactly is that? “Rock & Alternative”? Try Googling it, good luck finding an answer. I mean there’s Active Rock and Triple-A and…number 39 means it got some regional airplay at best, most people didn’t hear it on the radio, if they listen to the radio at all anyway.

And there’s another track, “Growing Dying,” that made it to number 18 on the AAA chart. And the funny thing is that cut only has 9,557,940 streams, whereas there are six tracks with double-digit million streams that got no radio airplay, at least not enough to make a chart.

Now I’ve got to go deeper.

The band is signed with Capitol. Okay, there’s a major label involved. But to what effect? The band certainly wasn’t helped by radio play, which the major can deliver. And as a matter of fact, “Kilby Girl” was from the first album, which was independent.

And now I have to look up the lyrics.

And then I’ve got to look up the meaning of the song, you can do that you know.

Songtell says:

“The song ‘Kilby Girl’ by The Backseat Lovers is a song that tells the story of a young couple meeting on a rainy night. The girl, who is nineteen and has a fake ID and nose ring, has a ‘secret’ which the protagonist is determined to figure out. As they spend the afternoon together they seem to both be ‘throwing smoke into the night’, revealing their secrets and deepening their connection. The song is about the thrill of young love, the mystery of the unknown other and the vulnerability and bravery required to share your secrets and yourself with someone new.”

https://tinyurl.com/2z8n6tad

Well, I can relate to that, but the description almost reads like it was written by ChatGPT, it’s generic, I need more, I need to go deeper. And I come across this article in the “Utah Statesman” that says:

“The lyrics to local hit song “Kilby Girl” by The Backseat Lovers paint a narrative for the lesser-known music-based subculture born within the conservative landscape of Utah.

“What does it mean to be a Kilby Girl? Mainly an Instagramable title, Utah Kilby Girls and Kilby Boys, or any genderless title to the Utah version of a hipster, refers to a sublet of indie, punk and alternative fans that have dived deeper into local music. They are not simply satisfied with the world-wide hits of The 1975 and Phoebe Bridgers. Kilby Girls also spend the majority of their energy actively supporting a surprisingly large number of local bands like Ritt Momney, Adult Prom and Cinders, all of whom are based out of Salt Lake City, Ogden, Logan and yes, even Provo.

“‘Kilby’ refers to Kilby Court, the iconic Utah venue located in outer Salt Lake City. The venue is owned by the local music entrepreneurs of S&S Presents and has quite the personality of its own.”

https://tinyurl.com/zu55nwd6

And this truly resonates. Daniel Glass said he’d like to hire Phoebe Bridgers as his head of marketing, that’s what she does best. And I agree. And did you even see the 1975 in the “New Yorker”? Make me puke. You’re supposed to say no to stuff like this. Then again, how do you get traction these days?

Well, I stumbled on a Backseat Lovers performance on “Kimmel”…but is the target audience watching this?

I mean how did everybody find out about the Backseat Lovers?

TikTok, just like me.

And then I’m thinking, scrolling TikTok…it’s not only more entertaining, but more real than what I see on streaming TV.

And on TikTok, women comedians are king, er, queen. I love the delivery of Esther Povitsky. You should check out her feed to get her sensibility, to get an idea: https://tinyurl.com/4kx7vyhr

But start with these:

“how to marry a billionaire”: https://tinyurl.com/4cj7xf5k

And the politically incorrect one about her fiancé:

https://tinyurl.com/wh92dave

And she’s not the only one.

And I’m listening to the Backseat Lovers, trying to evaluate them, seeing if the rest of their material is as good as “Kilby Girl” and…you can’t even get me to click on the songs that people e-mail me, there’s not enough incentive, if you’re pushing it it doesn’t work, people have to find it. I didn’t find the Backseat Lovers on their TikTok page, but one of a fan.

And on one hand you can throw your hands in the air and say it’s all overwhelming.

And on another you can put down the Backseat Lovers, but…if you listen to the soloing in “Kilby Girl” you’ll find that it doesn’t remind you so much of the modern alternative sound, but New York in the seventies, I thought of Television and…

So they say that TikTok is the most powerful streaming service. And I’m including Netflix here too. And damn it’s entertaining.

But it’s also where things are breaking.

Songs with “Friend” in the title.

Tune in Saturday June 10th, 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 

TikTok doesn’t allow it.

Meanwhile, its social media competitors like Twitter and Facebook have liberalized the restrictive policies they instituted in the wake of falsehoods in the 2020 election cycle and January 6th.

“Twitter’s U.S. Ad Sales Plunge 59% as Woes Continue – In internal forecasts, the company projected that ad sales would keep declining, handing a tough challenge to its new chief executive”: https://tinyurl.com/ycy5x994

Now wait just a second, didn’t Elon Musk tell us Twitter had turned the corner, that advertisers were coming back? Yes, he did, but that turned out to be patently untrue. In other words, if you’re listening to Musk on Twitter you’re bombarded with misinformation, Elon even blocks information contrary to his mission. Ironically, you’ve got to go to mainstream media to get the straight story, but these same people addicted to Twitter and Musk see the mainstream media as the enemy. Credit Donald Trump, he’s vilified most mainstream news outlets, and we know he’s got a large constituency. Furthermore, non-right wing news outlets have been said to be unfairly biased, even though in many cases this is untrue. Bottom line, a lot of people are missing the news. And I mean facts. Like the decline in advertising above.

It’s fascinating to watch Twitter, not for the content but the business. What is end game here? Elon keeps destroying value, he’s made the service itself toxic with the lack of policing of false and outrageous content and mainstream advertisers are not coming back, why should they take a risk of their content being nestled next to heinous posts? Especially in light of the Bud Light blowback. Corporations are inherently risk averse. And now they’re all re-evaluating their marketing campaigns that feature marginalized groups attacked by the right wing. The key is to double-down. That’s how Patagonia became one of the most loved and respected brands in America.

Now the reason that Twitter and Facebook are allowing political ads is the money. Plain and simple. They’re not interested in discourse, enough about “free speech,” these social media sites depend on advertising to survive, Musk tried to institute a subscription model at Twitter, but it failed.

And one thing we know is political candidates have money. And despite all the hype about cable news and cable television, younger voters, the ones who will ultimately decide the 2024 election, don’t watch, they don’t even have cable subscriptions. But they are on social media. That’s the only way to reach them. And now with Apple blocking identifying factors, the bottom line is you’ve got to spend more to reach people, since you can’t target many individuals based on characteristics found in cookies. It’s a gold mine I tell you. Political candidacies are not businesses, they are one time events, you raise the money and spend it. You spend in pursuit of the win, but most people lose. And if you can get yourself in line for that spend…

Does anybody like Twitter? Does anybody like Facebook and its wholly-owned Instagram?

People tolerate Twitter, I haven’t heard someone testify about the service in years. And Twitter is a cult, albeit a somewhat large one. And what I mean here is either you’re in or you’re out, Twitter is not for casual users. Most people don’t even bother. They just hear about how bad it is.

As for Facebook, if you’re on it you’re pissed. Because of the algorithm. You don’t see what you want in your newsfeed. You keep being presented junk that you have to scroll through to get to the nougat. As for advertisers…talk about resentment of the algorithm… Facebook can put companies out of business, by not featuring, by burying them.

No one likes Facebook, even the people who are addicted to it. Who in this case are aged, youngsters have moved on.

As for Mark Zuckerberg, he appears more evil every day.

And Instagram? It’s the scourge of society. That’s where you go to feel inadequate. The Kardashians complained when Instagram decided to focus on video to compete with TikTok. Because the Kardashian empire is built on falsehood, subterfuge. They don’t look the same as their original pictures, they’ve had so much work done. It’s all an image, it’s got little to do with reality. Whereas on TikTok…

Think about it. Isn’t America the home of the best and the brightest? Isn’t Elon Musk once again the world’s richest man? How come Americans can’t compete with TikTok?

Because they put money first. And that’s their only goal, to make bread. The reason Steve Jobs catapulted Apple to being the number one company in the world is because he focused on the user experience. The user experience was key. Even to this day, it’s easier to cancel services on Apple than anywhere else. Just go into the settings and click. Whereas the cable company, the rest of the companies hide their cancellation buttons, they figure if they put up enough hurdles you won’t even bother. I once had to call Amazon to figure out how to cancel a streaming service I purchased through Prime. They’ve made it a bit easier now, but still…who can find what they want on Amazon with the morass of ads? No one there is worried about the customer experience. Amazon is solely about money. The ads. Working its employees to death. It’s still the everything store with fast delivery, but if there was an alternative we’d jump instantly. We’re proud to be Apple acolytes, but we’re embarrassed to admit we use Amazon.

This is what is wrong not only with American business, but American artists. Musicians are the worst. It’s all about the Benjamins. At least some of the rappers admit it. They want to become mini-corporations, it’s hard to align your interests with theirs. We’ve heard for decades now that the younger generation does not care. Hogwash, everybody cares. They might tolerate this behavior by their favorite, but it decreases belief and stickiness. Just because everybody else is jumping off a bridge, should you?

But the Chinese company has it right.

We love the algorithm! It serves us what we want!

And it’s like heavy metal or some new, marginalized music. The older generations hate TikTok in principle. They’ve never even gone on. They don’t understand it, they just decry it. Sign me up for that service!

TikTok is full of information. And personality comes first. Never do you think that the service is placing itself in front, above you, the customer comes first!

I know, I know, there’s all that China b.s. But even if TikTok has all that information and decides to use it… How valuable is it? We’ve turned China into the new Russia, the enemy, a country to be hated in principle. How did we end the Cold War? We talked to the Russians. Meanwhile, Biden is pulling back from China, never mind Trump before him.

No, TikTok is not refusing to take political advertising because it’s afraid of pissing of American politicos, but because it’s afraid of pissing off its users! TikTok wants to keep the experience sacrosanct. For longevity.

In America you want to build and sell. But nowhere have we heard that ByteDance is pumping TikTok to sell it.

In other words, TikTok is beating us at our own game. America has lost its values. America is now about class warfare, income inequality, aspiring to be a fat cat living a lifestyle others can’t afford. And you feel powerless in America, whereas using TikTok…it’s all personalized, you’re the most important element. You’re not served crap you don’t want to see.

And some of the stuff on TikTok is available elsewhere, in other words it’s not brand new. But via its algorithm, TikTok has found a way to serve up this information such that you’re titillated, you can’t wait to log on and see what’s going to come up next!

And what you like best is either raw information or people testifying as to their identity. Falsehood is anathema. Authenticity is everything.

But these lessons are lost on American competitors, America in general.

The stories about the falsehoods, the toxic political drivel on Twitter and Facebook, is just beginning. Meanwhile, every day there are stories about abuses on these platforms. Child porn on Instagram. Hell, they fired the content censors at Twitter, or they quit. There’s literally nobody home. They’ve opened the gates and let the lunatics take over the asylum. And we don’t like it!

I’m on Twitter a lot less. I was never on Facebook. I only use Instagram to watch Reels, because unlike with TikTok you can mute the audio and I can listen to music simultaneously while I do my back exercises.

When I go on TikTok I smile. Sure, occasionally I blow more time than I was planning to, but it’s so damn interesting. To peek into others’ lives. To learn more about subjects you’re interested in. You have to like something for it to become addictive. You start out loving dope. And you love TikTok.

TikTok is leaving money on the table by refusing political advertising. But it’s winning in the end. And critics can only evaluate platforms via financials so they miss it.

But the users don’t.