Peter Gabriel has a new album, are you gonna listen?

Probably not. There was a time when a new Peter Gabriel album was an event, a great leap forward, remember when he opened the Grammys with “Steam”? I think it was the opening, maybe just during the show, I don’t remember, but I do remember the performance.

But now I don’t even bother to watch the Grammys. There’s no longer a Grammy bounce. But acts still lobby to get on the telethon. Then again, there are acts that refuse to do so, because they know it doesn’t move the needle, because they’re bigger than the show. And that’s your goal, to be bigger than the platform promoting you.

So Gabriel is doing it positively old school. Oh, he released some singles in advance. And he committed the cardinal sin of going on tour before the album was released, playing new material live, which absolutely no audience member likes. But Gabriel is stuck in the last century.

As are the Stones.

Yes, we know there’s a new Stones album, they did a good job of making us aware, but that’s not enough anymore, today you promote on your identity, constantly.

Mick Jagger could have taken a stand on political issues. Keith Richards could have talked about drugs. Mick could have revealed details about his fantabulous life, with pictures and gossip. But instead we got all the old school hype and that doesn’t work anymore.

Contrast this with Bono. Bono has an identity. He’s talking to leaders, saving the world. Do you agree with him, do you like him? Not important. Bono is three-dimensional, just like Edge is quiet. However, their last manager convinced them to go on the road and do “The Joshua Tree” from start to finish and that was a big mistake for a band that needs to be relevant, overnight it became an oldies act.

But Bono needs to be on the bleeding edge, so he insisted on opening the Sphere. Sure, by playing “Achtung Baby” from start to finish. But that’s different from doing “The Joshua Tree” all over the world, this is an event, and the rules do not apply to an event.

You need to be in the news constantly. And news does not mean the newspaper. Yes, they reviewed Gabriel’s new album in today’s “New York Times,” but that’s not going to generate any new fans, any new listeners. Hard core Gabriel fans will check out the album, but there will be no ripples from this thrown stone, the rest of the public shrugs and moves on.

Just like with “Hackney Diamonds.”

Mick Jagger could show up announced in clubs all over the world, singing “Brown Sugar” (which he won’t perform anymore, being politically correct, not realizing it was 50 years ago and times were different and those complaining are not coming to the show anyway, and to sing it is a poke in the eye, rock star behavior, not a capitulation, which is just the opposite) with a bar band. Maybe show up at a Zach Bryan show and sing a tune. Who knows where he’d show up next. Now that would be a story. And going to the home of one of the attendees to drink beer. Discussing economics with a town leader. We would all be intrigued. But instead we get a one time shot with the no edge Jimmy Fallon and the crusted over SNL. Yeah, you’ve got a new album, enough already.

Not that I want to laud today’s new artists. Their goal is brand extension. What has that got to do with identity, other than I’m trying to get rich? You’re selling yourself, your thoughts, beliefs and behavior. Just getting the word out is not enough, you must be three-dimensional, people need to be able to argue with you.

The techies do this best.

I’ve got no time for Elon Musk, not only is he destroying Twitter/X, he’s putting an irreparable dent in Tesla. But man, this guy know how to maintain the focus. We only care because of Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink and Twitter/X, but that’s like your classic albums. But what blows my mind about Musk is he just doesn’t give a f*ck, he believes the laws don’t apply to him, that he’s invulnerable, and he’s got enough money not to care. This is classic rock star behavior. I find it offensive that Musk told advertisers FY over and over again the other day, but man, you had to wonder about the motivation. Sure, he seemed unduly oppressed, didn’t know the definition of “blackmail,” but he also demonstrated an immaturity that used to be de rigueur for rock stars. Destroying hotel rooms… Believe me, every hotel room you destroyed burnished your image, furthered your career. Because no one else would behave this way, you were not part of the system. Today’s musicians? THEY ARE THE SYSTEM! When they’re not complaining about Spotify payouts, which is ugly when it comes from stars who are making more money than ever before as a result of touring, and online advantages. Rock stars don’t complain, unless it’s about the catering, or the bus, or some other nonsense.

This is all very important. Because a rock star depends on notice, attention. Some acts are so big, so legendary, that their name is enough, they can sell out buildings just like that. Kudos. But most won’t put out new music because they’re afraid of being Peter Gabriel or the Stones, spending all that time to ultimately get crickets. If it’s about the music, you want it to be heard, and if it’s not going to be…

You’ve got to exist outside the system. And today, you have all the tools to do this. Social media is free. You can promote yourself, where the potential audience is. And you forge bonds online, with direct communication, when you go through an intermediary, get a puff piece in a newspaper, it does nothing, makes you look like you’re working the system, an antiquated one.

If you want to get your new music heard, you must have an identity, 24/7 communication with your fans, who will spread that which you do that deserves attention. Where is your 24/7 camera crew? You’ve got that damn iPhone in your pocket, why aren’t you using it, the camera, for stills and video. Why are you afraid of offending someone? That gets traction like nothing else. We want to know who you are.

Look at David Crosby. The list of his penned hits is very thin. Why was he so famous? Because he took a stand, had an identity, didn’t care what others thought. We were always interested in what he had to say. Not only about music, but the war, politics, even Trump. He told the Trumpers that if they were offended not to come to his shows. How do I know this? I read it online. This guy couldn’t help but make news. The uber-talented Stephen Stills? More than crickets, he’s performed “For What It’s Worth” a few times live recently, but not much more. Man, with that anthem you could be a hero to the youth, but Stills is not making the effort, to make a connection.

I’m not saying you have to have an identity evidenced constantly online, but if you’re an oldster and you want people to listen to your new music you do.

This is part of being a musician, a celebrity today, you live your life in public, it goes with the territory.

Peter Gabriel has a lot of opinions. How come we don’t see them evidenced online? He’s a thinker on technology, he must have takes on all the issues, from TikTok to Meta and children and…there are tons of them, but he’s playing it positively old school, and it’s not working.

Furthermore, great music is all about an identity. Give Taylor Swift credit on this, we all know who she is, about her outlook and behavior, and this was true even before the Eras tour and its attendant publicity.

And Swift grew up in public, and adjusted. How come everybody else is calcified, set in stone, afraid to make a mistake? We all make mistakes, apologize and then move on.

It’s nearly impossible to get attention these days. Don’t fear offending someone, fear no one even knowing what you’re doing!

Peter Gabriel has to make us listen to the music, not the media. I hear this again and again from oldsters releasing albums on indie labels, when you ask them about promotion and publicity they say it’s the label’s job. No, IT’S YOUR JOB! The days of the label doing the heavy lifting are done, there are not enough people there, and usually they have less power and insight into what is happening online than the act. And sure, they can get you on terrestrial radio and television, but that is not where active listeners are. That’s old school. You’ve got to go where the people are, and that is online. If you’re decrying TikTok, et al, the joke is on you.

And if you don’t listen to the new Peter Gabriel album, you will miss nothing. You won’t wake up months down the line and find out it was a hit. Instead, now is when all the hype is happening, hard core fans will pay attention, and then that will be it. Look at “Hackney Diamonds,” only one song has double digit million streams on Spotify, and that’s “Angry,” the initial single. And as a matter of fact, only two other songs have in excess of five million streams. This is absolutely piss-poor. And this has got little to do with the music, it’s got to do with the Stones themselves. They promoted the music for a couple of weeks and then they were done. There’s no reason, no incentive to listen to the music. That’s the act’s responsibility, to get people to listen, to create a buzz. And today, when hit records can take years to surface, you continue to work the music yourself, blowing on the kindling, waiting for a possible conflagration. But the flame on “Hackney Diamonds” is already out. As it soon will be on “i/o,” Peter Gabriel’s album. Once upon a time these people were leaders, now they’re Luddites. And they’re the ones who are losing out, they’re the ones responsible, they can’t place the blame on anyone but themselves.

Let this be a warning.

Singer/songwriter extraordinaire.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lucinda-williams/id1316200737?i=1000637032294

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/ac1e830e-e7f7-4928-a9bc-aef254031aed/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-lucinda-williams

From: Brittany Rice

Re: A Murder At The End Of The World

My name is Brittany and I’m the Director of Social Media and Content at FX leading the marketing for A Murder at the End of the World. It’s quite refreshing to see the title pop up in my personal email inbox.

I may be a little biased but I’ll say a few things about this series –

1. Stick it out through the entire series. You’ve started at a great time – the 4th episode came out this week (of 7) and I personally think this is when things really pick up.

2. The creators, Brit and Zal have a cult following from their past projects, specifically Netflix’s The OA (another great watch, but the 2nd season may lean a bit too sci-fi for you). This niche but dedicated community is what has driven our marketing since day 1. They are Brit and Zal evangelists and watching them get giddy over our marketing and dive deep into the details and theories for the series is just as much fun as watching the series itself. I highly suggest perusing their Reddit page or Discord channel.

3. Speaking of the details, what really makes this, and all of Brit and Zal’s work so special is the passion and details they put into everything. Here are a few of my favorite facts from this series –

All hacks in the series are real. They had Moxie Marlinspike (creator of Signal) brought on as a tech consultant.

It was important to the creators to not glorify or eroticize the body of dead women. No bodies of dead women are ever shown – only skeletons. This approach was inspired by a film called “Memories of a Murder” because it gave a sense of haunt and loss for the young women while maintaining a sensitivity that never made it feel like they were being objectified.

Andy Ronson’s character wasn’t actually based on any current tech lord billionaires, but instead, is inspired by Willy Wonka. Wonka was a visionary and creative who built a fiefdom, obsessing over every detail, just like Andy and his fortress. The golden tickets come into play as invitations to the retreat and both Andy and Wonka have their own agendas once the guests arrive.

The paintings in the dining area are recreations of Louise Bourgeois’ ‘The Red Sky’ series. For Bourgeois, colors were symbolic of distinct emotional states. Red represents ‘the intensity of the emotions involved,’ and was often synonymous with pain. She equated it with blood, violence, danger, shame, jealousy, and depression. These emotions and visuals parallel the themes of the series. “Red Sky” can also reference the sailor’s quote “Red sky at night, sailors delight” foreshadowing Rohan’s storyline.

I care about this show a lot and it’s very cool to see you write about a project I’m working on after following you since college (over a decade). 

Hope you enjoy the rest of the series!

Best,

Brittany

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From: Bill Gerber

Re: A Murder At The End Of The World

I had the pleasure of producing The In Laws starring Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks and I totally agree with Albert. He actually came up with the title The Wedding Party and it was a really good movie directed by Andy Fleming and I thought should have been a big hit. The studio decided to change the title so late in the game that I had already sent out the crew gifts with the old title. The original was a classic for a lot of reasons and our film was it’s own thing. I have nothing against remakes. They are practically as old as the business itself but you should have a good reason for doing it and having Albert and Michael was a great way to reimagine the story and coming up with an original title for the movie would definitely have been the right move.

Yours,

Billy

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Re: A Murder At The End Of The World

Cool side note, the hotel in the series is based on a real place, Deplar Farm in Iceland

They have a one of a kind recording studio. I’m part of the team that runs it. Makes watching the series even more enticing.

-rock steady

Jay Sweet

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Re: A Murder At The End Of The World

Bob, glad you found Murder at the End of the World. The fever excitement for this show is because of THE OA, Brit and Zal’s previous masterpiece. THE OA was notoriously cancelled by Netflix after a mind-bending 2-season run that ended with a jaw-dropping cliffhanger. Fans of THE OA (myself included) have been holding onto hope that the show would somehow come back. You must watch it to understand how it’s possible for it to come back “reincarnated” as another show…and there is growing speculation that “Murder at the End Of The World” may tie-in to the OA universe. Those who know, knew. Excited to see how this plays out and I cannot recommend THE OA high enough.

– Wordburglar

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Re: A Murder At The End Of The World

As far as “Murder At The End Of The World,” there’s a small group of people like myself who were completely mesmerized by an insane two-season series on Netflix called “The OA” that was co-produced and co-written by Brit Marling and her creative partner Zal Batmanglij that I urge you to track down when you can. It’s weirder and more difficult and far trippier than this show but these two are operating on their own wavelength and that’s what you’ve picked up on.

Best regards,

Bruce Stockler

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Re: A Murder At The End Of The World

Speaking of Brit Marling. Try watching The AO. Brit as some kind of alien/angel character.

Story is enjoyable enough, but final episiode closing minutes the most satisfying since Breaking Bad….

Alan Santos
East West Touring, Inc.

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Re: A Murder At The End Of The World

Our new Friday night show.

The Doors was welcomed – a new generation will be on their path these past days due to that moment – it must sound other worldly to new ears.

As it came on my wife impersonates me sadly as “The Doors, whoa they must have a budget to get that…”

Alan Cassidy

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Re: A Murder At The End Of The World

I am watching.  Two episodes in, and I am already enjoying watching it tangle and untangle.

Allen Scott
Another Planet Entertainment

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From: Noah Cole

Subject: Spotify Wrapped

Every year Spotify improves its wrapped feature/marketing campaign, and Apple Music subscribers can only look at our “Replays” and wish we had what Spotify subscribers are getting — loads more data, thank you from their top artists and a user-friendly format. Not only that, the information in my Apple Music Replay is *wrong* (and I’m not alone: https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/186402u/apple_musics_replay_is_out/) so I don’t even trust what Apple Music is telling me about my listening habit.  Apple is clearly capable of making great things (the new OS X Sonoma and IOS 17 look and function really well for example) but they’re continuing to let Apple Music languish.  No wonder Spotify has such a commanding lead in their race for subscribers.

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Re: Chinatown Punk Wars

I’m finally realizing why music today isn’t as good. It’s not authentic. Kurt Kobain really did hate his life and want to die. That’s why he made it happen. Johnny Rotten truly hated authority and embodied the punk movement. The hippies of the 60’s were all about peace love and happiness and it showed in their music. Tupac and Biggie represented their coasts until their deaths. When Olivia Rodrigo sings a pop punk song, it’s just imitating what was before it. When Dua Lipa sings a dance song, it’s her trying to be disco funk. Greta Van Fleet is just imitating 70’s classic rock. There’s no rock stars anymore.

All I see and hear are regurgitations of earlier iterations. And when there’s some success now, it turns into a massive sellathon. Rihanna makes it in music then goes off to hock perfume and join the billionaire class. Being an artist was rebelling. Now it’s all about conforming. Building your brand. And the music is suffering.

Danny Jay

Skip Class and The Dropouts

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Subject: Re: Simon Kirke-This Week’s Podcast

I love your politics and I’ve been avid reader for years, but I just recently started occasionally listening to some of your podcast and I have to say that the one with Simon Kirke was absolutely amazing. You ask such insightful, knowledgeable questions and Simon is such an intelligent and natural raconteur that he should probably write a book.

I think Free was one of the most incredible and influential rock bands of all time, and Bad Company was pretty great as well. Being a lifelong working guitarist myself, part of me wishes that you had talked a little bit about the amazing song on Fire and Water, “Oh I Wept” , which was a rare Paul Kossoff cowrite and maybe one of the most powerful and beautiful songs I’ve ever heard in my life, but as I said, I’m a guitar nerd so maybe it’s just me. I also would have liked to have heard Simon talk a little bit about the last Free album, “Heartbreaker”, which had some of Kossoff’s most stunning work on it even though he was severely impaired by then, and they had to bring in the great Snuffy Walden (Stray Dog -another amazing but little-known band/ successful film and television soundtrack composer) to finish it up, but like I said, I’m a bit of a guitar nerd.

Anyways, absolutely one of the best interviews with a musician I have ever heard in my life, and please keep up the amazing work you’re doing, both with your writing about music, society, the economy, and politics. Thank you….

David Resch

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From: Steve Postell

Subject: Immediate Family

Bob,

Thank you for your kind words about Denny Tedesco’s wonderful documentary. “THE IMMEDIATE FAMILY”. There were 4 guys who made me want to be in a band and write songs … The Beatles. Some years later, I watched 4 different guys on stage with James Taylor, and I knew that I also wanted to make and produce records, tour, and strive to be a musician who could contribute to a song. I would NEVER have guessed that 40 years later I would be in a band with Danny Kortchmar, Waddy Wachtel, Russ Kunkel and Leland Sklar. Denny has accomplished quite a feat, not just the documenting of a time in rock ‘n roll history, but intimately capturing what it feels like to be part of this crazy life. I know it’s a great film, because everytime we went to a screening or festival, I figured that since I’d seen it multiple times I would take a walk and return in time for the Q&A … but I never did. I got sucked into the story every time.

Steve Postell

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From: Jesse Lundy

Subject: Re: The Immediate Family Movie

We got to do a show with this band at Ardmore Music Hall in the fall of 2021.

Let me tell you that walking into the green room and seeing THOSE faces…wow. What am I going to say to THOSE guys?

I asked Waddy how he got away with playing through a full-on Marshall stack on the Main Offender tour…

“Did you ever play with Keith Richards?”

“Um, nope, haven’t done that”

“Well, he plays LOUD”

I felt like a putz, but hey.

The show was so good, and they were really great to meet. A massive honor.

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From: Charles Kennedy

Subject: Re: The WaPo OnlyFans Article

My pal who does not brilliantly edited airline reviews on YouTube makes $20,000/mo while my muso buddies think the world’s waiting for their next album and when they get $27 in royalties they think it’s Spotify’s fault

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From: Greg Thompson

Subject: Grammys/Morgan Wallen

Date: November 10, 2023

Bob thanks for writing this.
It’s truly a shame, I know Morgan and he is a good man.
He has apologized but for some reason or another it will never be good enough.
He has released two albums back to back that have been some of the most culturally significant music of the last five years.
He fills stadiums from coast to coast, and brings happiness to so many of his fans every night.
Morgan woke up a winner this morning and he’ll go to sleep a winner tonight.

Best
Greg.

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From: Aaron Lloyd Barr

Subject: Grammys/Morgan Wallen

100% thank you for writing this.

Bottom line, the double record is incredible. Makes me want to listen to country music again. Coming from a guy who spent 15 years in the nyc indie scene and now lives in LA.

Aaron

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From: Patrick Charles

Subject: Re: Grammys/Morgan Wallen

I think the problem is people trying to avoid something they aren’t sure exists.

I’m Black and honestly couldn’t care less about what he said. Make no mistake: I hate it. But what are you gonna do? Yes, white kids hear it on records and adopt the vernacular.

The real problem is the people at the Grammys who think they’re looking out for my interests. Stand by your guy. I’ll vote with my dollars. I don’t need anyone to hide him from me

Patrick,

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From: Dana John

Subject: Re: Declan McKenna At The Novo

I saw him at ACL this year and was blown away. The music has depth but the band doesn’t seem to take themselves too seriously. It was playful with substance. In a world filled with BS this guy exudes singularity and sincerity. The optimist in me thinks that you don’t have to be too cool anymore, you just have to be you. That draws attention when you are special, which he seems to be

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Subject: Re: Declan McKenna At The Novo

Glad you got turned onto him!

We have been having good success with him at college radio with the singles. They love him! Looking forward to working the LP.

Adam Lewis

Planetary Group

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From: Gunnar Larsén

Subject: Re: Declan McKenna At The Novo

Your story reminded me of a Declan McKenna anecdote: I am writing to

you from London, and as you may recall the country was in lockdown for

weeks during Covid. Everything was cancelled, including Declan

McKenna’s Brixton Academy 2020 gig in support of his then new (and

excellent) album Zeros.

Fast forward to September 2021, when doors started to open again. I

have a music-loving teenage daughter who like many struggled with

being isolated and not able to share experiences in real life with her

friends. So, when the Declan-gig finally was put on at Brixton, it was

an absolute joy to watch the fully locked-in audience sing along,

dance and enjoy a positively charming and festive night. Declan’s

somewhat extravagant persona, backed up by tight band, a decent

catalogue, confetti and mirror balls, really lit up the room and once

again demonstrated how live music, and probably only live music, can

bring a certain kind of joy to people. For that, I am grateful.

Regards,

Gunnar

London

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From: Denise Kaufman

Subject: Declan McKenna

My grandson Eli Smart went on tour this summer opening for Declan McKenna. I came along playing bass and harmonica in Eli’s band. Every venue on the tour was sold out and Declan and his band put on a high energy show every night. Isabel Torres, the guitar player you mentioned, is a wonderful musician from Portugal. The rest of the guys are British and they’re all excellent players with joyful energy. Declan and his team are also some of the kindest, good-spirited folks around. This includes his tour manager, road crew, guitar tech – everyone! We had so many good times together and you know that’s just not a given on the road. 

As you said, Declan’s fans sing along with all his songs and know every word. They were also really welcoming to Eli from the moment we got on stage even though most of them were meeting him for the first time. They were just open-hearted and trusted that anyone Declan brought with him would be someone they’d love. And they did. Some fans had family members with them (as you said – parents brought the young girls) and they loved that we had a rocking grandson/grandma as part of our band.

Declan McKenna is the real thing and the tour fortified my faith in and love for the young ones across this country. 

Denise Kaufman

www.aceofcups.com

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From: Doug Gillis

Subject: Re: Declan McKenna At The Novo

Listening to Brazil right now on YouTube, he’s very good live, has that charisma. Downloading his 2017 album now.

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From: Jon Stein

Subject: Where Are you Dave Matthews?

Date: November 22, 2023 at 7:21:24 PM PST

“It’s not the notes you play; it’s the notes you don’t play.” – Miles Davis

Dear Bob,

I am reaching out on behalf of myself, fellow Jewish professionals in the music industry (who wish to remain anonymous), and fellow Jewish Dave Matthews fans.

This past weekend at Madison Square Garden, Dave Matthews, holding back tears, spoke of video he saw of a little girl in Gaza holding out her hands and catching the rain.  He then proceeded to play his song Cry Freedom with red and green lights (likely representing the Palestinian flag) shining on the crowd.  This preceded his comments 2 weeks prior during his speech inducting Willie Nelson into the Hall Of Fame where Dave mentioned ‘countries dropping bombs on children and calling it collateral damage”.  Meanwhile, at Madison Square Garden, several Jewish fans walked out.  It matters what you say, and what you don’t say – especially when you use your platform to speak politically about the ongoing war.   Dave Matthews has a significant Jewish fanbase who currently feel alienated by him.   Social Media influencer and huge Dave-fan Lindsay Pinchuk reached out to saxophonist Jeff Coffin on Instagram asking about the green and red lights and Dave’s sympathy for Gaza.  Coffin wrote “take ur disappointment somewhere else” and then blocked her.  The next day, founding bassist Stefan Lessard posted a poignant message about sympathizing with all children.  “I ache concern for those in captivity and those stuck under falling bombs… my wish is the liberation of the hostages and the assurance of safety and brighter tomorrows for all the children in Israel and Gaza”.  Lessard’s balanced comment spread through the Jewish community; however, what is alarming is his comment clearly showed that the band has their ear to the ground and Dave knows his Jewish fans took his comment the wrong way (hopefully not the right way), but he has remained silent.  Not even a simple clarification that he cares about all children.  Therein lies the complexity of one using their platform.  Dave Matthews has alienating an enormous section of his fans. While I am sure of course Dave cares about all children, a one-sided comment perpetuates one-sided blame, which further perpetuates antisemitism.   No, Dave Matthews does not need to stand on stage and mention the details of Hamas’ October 7 attack where they beheaded and burned babies in ovens, murdered parents in front of their families, raped girls dead and alive, decapitated body parts of living civilians, paraded dead bodies through the street, and kidnapped 250 civilian hostages including women, children, and the elderly.   Could Dave have just made a general wish for peace? Could Dave have prayed for the safety of all children? If he is going to specify a child from Gaza, on stage at Madison Square Garden, should he also mention the children who were barbarically murdered or being held hostage?  Especially with so many Jewish fans in attendance. This is New York City after all!  I was moved by this comment on a Dave Matthews Instagram picture: “I was speechless when I was asked by my 11 year old at MSG 1 “who did Dave not mention Jewish kids?””.   I have been a fan for 30 years. I sadly walked out of the show, and cannot listen to Dave again until he clarifies his comment (and the green/red lights)..  Sadly, there are threads and texts of Jewish fans feeling the same way.

Where are you Dave?

Jon Stein

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Subject: Re: The Sam Harris Podcast

Date: November 14, 2023

Hey Bob, as you know, I live in Indonesia, the largest collection of Muslims on the planet. It’s not just Israel that is being “blamed” but all western corporations are being blacklisted and social media is full of nasty rhetoric the likes I have not seen in 9 years of living here . 

This is a Great Podcast and if you think Sam Harris is a little sleepy you can always run it at 1.25 speed !! 

Steve Lillywhite

https://tinyurl.com/4pfs8r4k

Are you watching this?

I’d never heard of it. But “The Week” recommended it and…

Every year on my birthday I do three things, eat a pastrami sandwich, watch a movie and have an ice cream sundae. And during lockdown I watched a movie highly recommended by “The Week” and it was a dud. So now, when the magazine tells me about something, I do research. And “A Murder at the End of the World” had an 88% rating on RottenTomatoes, so we dove in.

And immediately heard the Doors’ “The End.”

Last night I listened to Albert Brooks on Marc Maron’s podcast. Albert had a lot of interesting things to say, but what resonated most was believing no one would remember anything and you had to do what was interesting to yourself. He just couldn’t understand how people repeated themselves, how they did one successful thing and then did it over and over again until they died. That resonated. Albert also talked about this movie he was in called “The Wedding Party,” and the studio renamed it “The In-Laws” just before release and it failed. Albert told them it would be compared unfavorably to the original, and it was, it was a dud. You always need to trust the artist, the artist knows best. Oh, they’ll lead you off the cliff now and again, but they’ll be right more often than wrong. And the most iconic use of “The End,” one of the most iconic uses of a song ever, was in the opening of “Apocalypse Now.” I saw it during a one week preview at the Cinerama Dome, with surround sound, the curtain parted, the helicopter was hovering, it was amazing.

So I wouldn’t have begun my series with “The End,” because people like me would judge you negatively for it. But “Apocalypse Now” came out in 1979, nearly fifty years ago, and when I was growing up we watched old films religiously, but fifty years before was the silent era, and I saw a few of those, but mostly we concentrated on films of the thirties and forties. So have today’s generations even seen “Apocalypse Now”? The streaming generation, bingeing “Friends” and only going to the theatre to see superhero movies, if that?

And how many people were watching this show anyway, I mean you’ve got to have a subscription to Hulu. But the card before the title said “FX,” which meant it premiered on FX first? Ultimately it turned out “The Week” was right, “A Murder at the End of the World” was only on Hulu, being dripped out week by week, but I didn’t know that when I started.

So you’ve got amazing cinematography. And the scenes between Darby and Bill when they’re hunting down the serial killer…

Yes, this is a show that jumps from the past to the present, and back again. Actually, a step beyond today, it’s nearly sci-fi, and I’ve got little time for sci-fi. And in today’s episode there was some clichéd dialogue but…

Then they flashed back to yesteryear and the show was so damn good again.

It stars Emma Corrin. I’d neither heard of nor seen her. She looks like that comedian Mae Martin, and interestingly Corrin is nonbinary too. I found that out when I did research, I always do research on the shows I watch. And I found out Corrin played Diana in “The Crown,” but I don’t watch that, I found the first season so slow it was like watching paint dry. And I hear people rave about it, but there are so many shows and so little time.

And a lot of the time Emma as Darby just stares into the camera. But it works, you can feel the tension. And when she’s younger, and she’s feeling things out, her impulses, sexuality… That rang true. She had desire, yet she was self-conscious, but she took the risk and…felt she experienced rejection.

And I saw that the show was co-created by Brit Marling, who also acts in the series, and I knew her name, but I had no idea what she looked like. I know she’s a star, but this isn’t the seventies anymore, never mind the eighties, when we had a mental scorecard of every actor, knew their films, and there was a clear dividing line between highbrow film and lowbrow television. You used to follow actors from movie to movie, you looked forward to seeing them, but now… Other than the superstars, someone can be labeled a star and you’ve never heard of them. Or they can have a number one record, like that woman who performed on SNL. But don’t beat yourself up, don’t feel old, the truth is the younger people are in the same boat, there’s just so much out there that no one can know everything, no one can have a grip. So you forage, alone. Or, you can consume what’s fed to you, like the boomers who still will watch only what’s on cable, whose idea of a risk is to stream what Netflix recommends. But that’s no fun. If you’re not on a personal hejira, a personal search, you’re missing out. Even worse, you can ignore almost all of that which is hyped, like the new Dolly Parton album, a marketing exercise, dreck, listening to Dolly sing rock is like listening to Tom Waits sing country.

So I looked up Ms. Marling and the PR headshot didn’t look quite like the woman in the series, but by process of elimination, it was clear she was playing Lee.

And her husband… Creepy. It was none other than Clive Owen. Who broke through in 1998’s “Croupier,” a well-reviewed English film I saw in the theatre, back when I still paid attention to such. Here Owen plays a tech titan. And I won’t say he’s modeled on Elon Musk, but there are similarities, the calmness, the slow talk, the confidence, the belief they know everything.

And then someone dies, ergo the title, and you’re starting to think it’s “Ten Little Indians,” but there are not enough episodes to kill one character per.

So I’m driving to Santa Monica yesterday and I see a poster for “A Murder at the End of the World” on the side of a bus shelter. And Felice went for a meeting, mentioned the series, and the two people in attendance were watching it too.

How did everybody know? How did they get the memo?

And there was a story on Emma Corrin on the front page of today’s “New York Times” Arts section, but it started to talk about the plot and I thought they were spoiling it, but in truth these hype articles are all the same, i.e. hype.

So when it’s in the past, a la 2010, “A Murder at the End of the World” is like “Mindhunter.” You saw that, right, Fincher’s show on Netflix? There were only two seasons, unfortunately. But when “A Murder at the End of the World” is in Iceland, at times it resembles a seventies disaster movie.

And I’m wondering if there’s a buzz. Once again, you’ve got to have Hulu, but they’re advertising, and now I’m telling you about it.

It rides the razor’s edge, sometimes incredible, sometimes almost hokey.

But I’m watching.