TICKETING

“Ticketmaster fees: ‘There’s a real lack of understanding,’ analyst says”

Quote from analyst Brandon Ross:

“The problem that you have is, I think there’s a real lack of understanding, sometimes from the artist’s perspective, and definitely from the fan perspective, as to where those fees are actually coming from. In the case of The Cure, you had half of the fees going directly to the venues to cover things such as parking and other services that are given at the venue.

“And then, half of the ticket portion of the fee went to Ticketmaster, and half of that actually goes back to venues. So the venues are taking 75%-plus of that fee, and Ticketmaster only 25%. And I don’t think most fans actually understand that.”

Entire interview: https://yhoo.it/3lv2daG

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The complexity, that has in essence created itself, is unnecessary.

If legislation was in operation both in the UK and USA that ruled that tickets cannot be sold for more than 10% of the face value, the whole business would normalise.

Official re-sale sites could also re-sale for 10% of the value.

That is the fairest way to sell and distribute tickets.

The ticketing companies and the Artists would make a bit less.

The system would however become clear and transparent.

All the layers that are currently in place would once and for all disappear.

Then we can all get on with developing new artists and protect the business going forwards.

Harvey Goldsmith

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DAVEY JOHNSTONE PODCAST

I have been following your podcasts and the Lefsetz Letter for many years now and I just wanted to compliment you on the podcast with Davey Johnstone….. That episode was probably the best one yet although there are so many great ones, it’s hard to choose, but that particular episode was just great from start to end and so informative. In fact, Elton’s tour manager, DC Parmet is a good friend of mine.

Steve Wood

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This is one of your finest interviews – Davey Johnstone’s remarkable story flows intelligently and with great humility and grace; I was deeply moved by his personal story. And what a career – His name won’t be familiar to most people even though he’s spent decades playing the biggest stages as a key player with one of music most popular artists. I was very familiar with his work prior his to joining Elton and always appreciated his playing. I first saw Elton with Dee Murray and Nigel Olson at Stockport college in the early 70s followed by several with Davey in the 70’s and 80’s – I haven’t dug out Elton’s albums for many years, but after listening to Davey’s insights into those early recordings, the first thing I did this morning was grab honky chateau, don’t shoot me and goodbye yellow brick road and get the turntable rolling. Davey Johnstone is truly one of the greats – Thanks for the interview Bob and pushing Davey into the spotlight where he deserves to be.

Pete Carroll

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Thank you so much for the Davey Johnstone podcast. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed it. It was a long one, but could have gone on so much longer. You asked great questions and he really opened up. The man’s memory is amazing – the fact that you could mention a random song from 50 years ago, and he could tell you what instruments he played on it and share a studio story…wonderful! I knew about the loss of his son, too, but to hear him tell the story was heartbreaking. So sad.

Some years back, I had the chance to have lunch with him and his then-fellow Elton guitarist John Jorgenson and Davey’s stories were fantastic. As wild as the Elton stories could be, the Alice Cooper ones were as good or better.  I’m looking forward to a part two someday!

All the best,
-John Michaels

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FANTASTIC INTERVIEW…how come no one has talked to him before? He was one of my original inspirations in music, particularly to branch out to mandolin, which became my primary instrument.

Whenever I see an Elton biography I have one criterion: I look at the index in back…if there are more entries for Rod Stewart than for Davey Johnstone I don’t even bother to look at the pictures, I put it down (I’m more into the music than the fame). This far no Elton bio has made it.

🙂

Thanks for a great interview, hope you’re well!

Matthew R. Wehling

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That was great! Great guest and you let him run. I didn’t think I’d last the 2+ hours, but so entertaining. Thank you.

Edwin Rojas

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Great Davey Johnstone interview.  You must do a part 2 interview with Davey Johnstone to cover more of the 70s albums, especially Captain Fantastic.  By the time EJ and the band recorded Captain Fantastic, they were at their best in terms of vocals, songwriting, musical arrangement and production.  It’s one of those albums that must be heard in its entirety – the songs flow so well.

 

-Steve Coscia, CSP

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Man, THAT was a good podcast!

Johnstone is one of rock’s iconic sidemen..Alongside Clarence Clemons, Neil Geraldo, Randy Rhodes ,and the guy who drummed for Melissa Manchester..

The most underrated band of the rock era? The Elton John Band..I was floored when I first saw them.. They nailed the vocals! While playing!..You often don’t get that..

Their vocal arrangements became increasingly intricate..Not just harmony on the chorus, but the oohs and aahs served more as orchestration..Almost like the Jordanaires (Elvis), but on a whole other level..

The Classic Album episode of the making of GYBR details the process..Better than the biopic/musical thing, whatever TF THAT was..

You missed out by not seeing the Vegas shows..The Red Piano was seminal in rise of the rock residency..The production value really set the standard for subsequent shows..

I found the footage with Justin Timberlake as 70s Elton…The whole show was shot for a DVD release from Best Buy, and lives on YouTube..As does the final Dodger stadium show..

 

Timberlake as rocket man

James Spencer

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Fantastic pod with Davey Johnstone!

Robert Bond

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What an absolutely fascinating interview with Davey. Never a doubt he had a lot of stories to tell and you had him deliver. Great job.

Mitchell Sussman

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Your recent podcast with Davey Johnstone was two hours, forty-eight minutes and thirty-two seconds in length.

Accordingly, it was too short.

Gil Alloul

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Davey is one the greats and also a friend and hero.

I learned so much about playing guitar for records dissecting his parts on all the incredible Elton records that sound as good today as they did the day they came out!

I stole a lot from him in doing my own music. Still do. ‘What would Davey play on this?’ He is a musical reference I still use to this day.

He always came up/comes up with the perfect parts with the perfect sounds with such diversity style and flare.  Acoustic 12 string parts to Mandolin to the amazing layered electric guitars and tasty solos…. I could go on and on.

I have had the honor of doing records with him back in the days when humans played together on tracking sessions.

First one was a Kiki Dee record Bill Schnee Produced in 1978. I was so thrilled to be in the same room with him and man .. one of THE nicest guys you will ever meet.

Luke

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Thanks Bob,
What a pleasure talking with you.
I leave Monday for the final 4 months of our touring career!
Talk to you when it’s over!!
Best,

DJ

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MORGAN WALLEN

He’s the sound — and life — of a lot of kids coming of age between the Coasts.

They don’t care about what the “tastemakers” do, they care about people who sing about THEIR moments, loves, wants, hurts.

Find me a NYC critic who’s gone muddin’, and they are welcome to comment.

I got my country bona fides when I was growing up + the best original band who played cool covers was Deadly Earnest + the Honky Tonk Heroes.

Stones, Ry Cooder, Waylon Jennings. NO difference, so no shame.

But my uncle also owned a (dynamite) fuse factory, and had to have land all around it for safety… so he had a bunch of black Angus cattle, then 5 buffalo to get into the Beefalo Race (he came in 2nd, I believe, or 3rd). But it’s people from West Virginia who worked those jobs… So, 70s country was what I heard when I went out to ride one of the horses or see my Dad when my parents would be split up.

I can’t say it’s my birth right, but I know that it’s in the veins of those folks. They’re not like fancy people in NY, LA or Miami.

He’s for them, plain and simple. They don’t read you, or me in HITS or even POLLSTAR. But they get out there and live, and these are the songs that celebrate those things.

It’s why he’s in stadiums, and so is Luke Combs. It’s why Kenny Chesney is the ONLY country act on BILLBOARD’s Top 10 Touring Acts of the Last 25 Years for the last 14 — and he didn’t tour during the pandemic. 

Nobody wants to see or honor these people, and that’s fine. The fans don’t mind… at all.

Holly Gleason
Nashville, TN

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In the streaming era where no-one listens to albums unless they’re by Beyonce, Adele, Ed Sheeran, Drake or Jay Z, Morgan Wallen has had over one billion streams on this album, which is phenomenal in itself. This is an album that was released on MARCH 3 – less than three weeks ago.

And this isn’t one of those Track One Side One events. His fans are digging deep.

Track 17 is approaching a quarter billion; track 18 is on 132m as I write.

There isn’t a single track on this 36 track album that newcomers wouldn’t give their right arm to achieve.

Nothing under 6m and 22 tracks over 10m.

I don’t like the music, but the man is giving his audience what they want.

I love the streaming era, and I love the fact that artists most people have never heard of are doing gangbusters.

Best wishes
Paul Phillips

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Best country record since “Traveler” by Chris Stapleton.

I had 3 different decades of people tell me to check out his record the day it dropped, but I already had been listening.

This is the album that country fans will love that live outside the echo chambers of NYC and LA.   People in these places still have little clue what the middle of the country likes….

Josh Petersen
Music City Management

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Mine, my daughter’s opinion is that Morgan’s songs are great. His songs are crafty, original so why not release more that are ready to go. I know I’m preaching to the choir here but music promotion and the times have changed, people’s attention, interest limited so why not?

The guy is going to be around for a long time…

Steve Anderko

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I love it

The guy is a genius with a catchy hooky hook

Check these out:

“Thinkin’ Bout Me”: https://spoti.fi/42x0phS

Sunrise: https://spoti.fi/3FEMEDR

Jil Goldhand

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Subject: Jamie Lee want’s to have rock n’ roll matinee shows

Hey Bob,

Peter Shapiro’s points out the economic and venue side of this scenario, but can I point out the logistics side of loading in an arena show….

7am Rigging Call

8am Trucks start to unload (most arena tours are 8 – 16 trucks)

9am Lighting starts going up

Followed by sound, video, stage being built, etc.

Then you have lunch breaks for your crew / stagehands

Then risers, set and band gear

2pm: Chairs start being setup as floor clears

Usually by 4pm, the stage is ready for a soundcheck

5pm: Chairs are done, house gets dressed

6pm: Venue call for all security / ushers / concessions workers

And if everything goes well that day, with no hiccups…..Doors at 7!

So tell me, what bands (or promoters) are going to want to do a full loadin day, so the people over 60 (and I’m one now), can watch a show at 1pm the next day and be home by 5pm??

Kent Black

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SUMNER REDSTONE

Back in the 90’s, Nickelodeon hired us to interview Sumner Redstone for a corporate video. His nervous assistant led him into the room. He was on time and crotchety. I asked him a bunch of tedious questions about globalization and marketing strategies, which he answered intelligently enough.

Then I decided to ask him some questions the Nick audience might actually be interested in.

“How many potato dishes can you name?”

He stared at me in astonishment. “How many potato dishes can I name? What kind of a question is that?”

He glared at me, barely containing his fury. The room was silent. I had just asked the world’s most powerful media mogul the stupidest question he’d ever heard.

Then he fired off his answer like a machine gun. “Well, there’s baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, french fries, potato salad, roast potatoes, home fries…” his voice trailed off, as he considered the question further. “And… potatoes au gratin!” he declared triumphantly. 

I immediately launched a follow-up. “What’s funnier, cheese or bananas?”

Another withering stare. The man who had cut the most ferocious business deals weighed his options carefully. “You can slip on a banana,” he declared. “But” he said after a long pause, “you can cut the cheese.” 

“So cheese then?” I asked him.

“Yes, cheese is funnier than bananas” said Sumner Redstone.

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BILL MAHER/COVID

From: Andrew Oldham

Bob;

Obviously Maher did not do enough drugs …

We got Covid for Christmas. And the Ides of March are looming and it’s still here. Round 1 was like being spiked by David Crosby pre Monterey back in ’67. 4 days in a tunnel of vomit before the light came in.

Round 2 not unlike the Scientology Purification Rundown when all the drugs seep out. Obviously some decided to stay.

… and Covid decided that was where it would attack , as opposed to all the other candidates  i.e. anyone who smoked anything for more than 30 years.

The Covid war is not over, you never know where or if the beast is going to hit.

Used to love Bill M . Guess he got scared. Now it’s all about him, maybe it’s time for him to adopt a kid ?

Best, o

This is the new U2 album:

“Cuts and Bruises”: https://spoti.fi/3JBWN5E

Ralph sent me this article from the “Times,” that’s the “Times of London.”:

“INHALER ARE BREATHING EASIER – Eli Hewson (aka Bono’s son) and his bandmates are shaking off the #NepoBaby tagline with their fantastic second album”

Inhaler? Didn’t ring a bell. Bono’s son has a band? I probably saw that somewhere, but unlike with actors, rock progeny never seem to exceed their progenitors. But I’m reading the article and the writer Dan Cairns is referencing everybody who tried and didn’t quite get there, from Julian Lennon to Sting’s kids to Pixie Geldof, and then I was further intrigued, this guy had perspective, this wasn’t just pure hype.

So I decided to play it.

It was rock.

Rock is in the doldrums for many reasons. First and foremost because it’s not a new sound, and when you pull up this Inhaler album that’s one thing you’ll notice, it’s not breaking new ground, and then however much you might hate hip-hop or electronic music, you’ll give these newer styles of music credit for moving forward, pushing the envelope. Second because rock is based on energy, a feeling, best experienced at a sweaty gig. However, that paradigm has taken a hit in the modern era, where everybody and everything is available online. Sure, concerts are burgeoning, but to a great degree they’re just replicas of the record, they are not separate, breathing things, at least not at the top level. So the magic is gone. I mean how much magic is there in wearing a leather motorcycle jacket?

Not that there are not acts making rock music. But the starting point is not the Beatles, but Metallica. Something edgier, more intense, often fast, frequently with screaming vocals and…there is a market for this, but it’s far from everybody. In other words, Active Rock is a backwater.

So I’m listening to the opening cut on the album, “Just to Keep You Satisfied,” and the weird thing is…I immediately get it, I don’t want to turn it off. Which is strange in today’s day and age. But as it plays out, I realize it’s somewhat familiar. First and foremost because Eli Hewson’s vocals sound very close to those of his famous father, Bono. It’s not exactly like U2, if for no other reason than the groove, but it’s got the same intensity…

Eureka! That’s it! These guys are playing like they mean it, like they have something to prove, like they and their music can make a difference, change the world. Which is positively retro in an era where acts are a brand and the music is just a stepping stone to an empire of endorsements and clothing and perfume… The music wasn’t about a look, it stood alone.

And I’m listening and it starts to become hypnotic, the guitars don’t sound exactly like the Edge and I continue to marvel that I’m not stopping it, which is the case with most new music, there’s more of it, but finding the good stuff is nearly impossible.

So I start to research. Yes, Inhaler’s first and second albums did debut at #1 in Ireland. But that’s Ireland, a small country where Bono is God. But it was true that the first album debuted at #1 on the U.K. chart and the second at #2. Well, novelty works the first time around, but the second?

And the numbers reveal what I believed, Inhaler means nothing in America, it’s like they don’t even exist. I didn’t miss something, there was nothing to see. There were a few cuts on AAA, with chart positions of 14, 15 and 28, but that’s like having a middle of the night show on Newsmax, the host is thrilled, but there’s no real impact.

Now just to make sure I wasn’t missing something, I pulled up the Mediabase charts, and “Love Will Get You There,” from Inhaler’s new album, is now at #15 on the AAA chart. Sounds impressive until you look what’s above it. Do you know Lone Bellow, Joe P, Three Sacred Souls, White Reaper, Beach Weather, the Heavy Heavy? Maybe if you’re in the AAA world.

So I went to Spotify. Lone Bellow’s song “Honey,” #4 on the AAA chart, has 2,432,866 streams. There are 36 cuts on Morgan Wallen’s new album “One Thing at a Time,” and the track with the fewest number of streams, “Outlook,” is #35 in the running order, and it’s got 7,653,113 streams.

I’m not passing artistic judgment. I’m just saying that the impact of terrestrial radio, in this case AAA radio, on music consumption, is miniscule.

I don’t want to beat up on AAA radio, it’s doing a great job of exposing new music, it’s just that other than diehard listeners…it’s not minting stars. It’s getting acts started, but where do they go from there, how do they get noticed?

As for the Active Rock and Alternative charts… To a great degree you see the usual suspects, acts who’ve been on the scene for years, in some cases decades, and others most people have never ever heard of. AAA is doing a better job of featuring new music than they are.

But they’re all backwaters.

Can we all agree that terrestrial radio is a dying enterprise that does deliver some exposure, but only a faction of what it once did? It’s like being on the Yahoo homepage, not even that good. MySpace instead of TikTok. It’s not serving the music world.

Which brings us back to this Inhaler album.

It’s not breaking new ground, but as it slips from track to track…I want to let it play, which is extremely rare. And I realize if I continue to play it the songs will grow on me, they’ll penetrate, and I’ll want to see the band and will go to the show and thrust my arm in the air.

Hmm…

So what I’m yearning for is a new sound. But how come this old sound works overseas and not here? Is it the smaller countries, the prevalent press?

Now if you’re over forty, “Cuts and Bruises” will be the best thing you’ve heard all year. Not only will you play it, you’ll play it again, and tell your friends about it, the same way I’m doing here. That’s the essence, do you want to tell people about it? That’s what happened to me. I was reading news for two hours, many things stimulated me, but when I opened this package from Ralph and read this article and played Inhaler’s music the first thing I thought was…I’ve got to tell people about this! I was excited. Yes, the record was flawed in that it didn’t break any ground and the sound was familiar, but it was a pleasurable listening experience, more than that, a vital listening experience, it wasn’t the background music that dominates today, or the soulless, trying to be meaningful dreck that slips right off of us who’ve been there and done that, were alive when music was king, not streaming television.

Maybe if Inhaler doesn’t extend the brand. Doesn’t do social media. Survives on the music alone… Maybe that’s the essence of keeping the magic intact, allowing rock to survive. Because really, the genre feels out of step and out of time. But if you were there then, you still have a hankering for it.

And Inhaler delivers. 

And the right defines the debate once again.

I’ve got to ask you, when was the last time the Democrats put the fear of God into the heart of the Republicans? Not in DECADES!

So let me get this straight. A student breaks a window in high school, they’re called to the principal’s office and the kid tells the official he’d better not be punished, because if they are, all the bullies and ne’er-do-wells are going to break every window in the building. AND MORE!

Or the teenager gets in trouble, and when his parents say they’re going to ground them, or take away their phone, the child says to think about it, because… I’m not exactly sure what. Run away from home? Kids are running BACK home these days. The idea of hitting the road with your thumb out and your wallet empty? NO WAY!

The only place this paradigm works is in the Mafia. You’d better stay silent because otherwise…we’re going to kill not only you, but your entire family. Are the Republicans the Mafia?

Well, one thing about the Mafia, they don’t believe in the rules unless they can twist them to their advantage. Interesting parallel.

But the Mafia, despite “The Sopranos” and other productions, is a mere shadow of what it once was, as a result of law enforcement. Because if you break the law you should be penalized, right?

WRONG according to Trump and the bozos supporting him. They’re not focusing on the merits of the case, they’re just saying that Trump should be inviolate and if he’s brought up for prosecution, BEWARE!

Well, four Oath Keepers were just convicted the other day. They face years in prison. And when it gets serious, that’s when the middle class gets out. As for the lower classes… Many don’t even vote. The participants in the 1/6 fracas had money, some flew in on private jets. It’s one thing when it’s fun and games, it’s quite another when you risk jail, which goes on your permanent record.

At the end of the day people only care about themselves. Just like Donald Trump!

Now the scary thing is DeSantis is fading in the polls. And it looks like Trump might very well be the candidate.

But I’ve got to ask you, has the majority of American voters not gotten the message? That he’s a crook, a grifter? The wheels of justice turn very slowly, but at least they’re turning. This is a great American moment. Elizabeth Holmes didn’t get away with her crimes and hopefully Donald Trump won’t either. Oh, he’s entitled to a trial, but he should be brought to trial. Martha Stewart went to prison for tax evasion and David Crosby for dope, who says if you’re famous you’re immune? Donald Trump and the Republicans, but not most Americans.

So in 2016 Hillary Clinton was portrayed as a bad candidate and although people knew Donald Trump from “The Apprentice” and endless self-hype, they really didn’t know him. They wanted to throw a spanner in the works. They wanted change, because the old system wasn’t working for them. I’ll admit it, even I thought Trump was intelligent. But I was disabused of that notion almost instantly. He’s a rich boy who skated on the money and power of his father, Trump is a terrible businessman, who doesn’t read, barely works, can’t grasp the issues and is ultimately a buffoon.

Oh, I know the right has its knickers in a twist right now, but we’ve seen the movie, and most people agree with me. Even worse, after 1/6, they’re fearful if he does get elected, he’ll never leave. And when it comes to the climate and foreign relations… This guy is just looney tunes, to our collective detriment.

But everybody pontificating on radio and television, in the newspaper, has a flaw… THEY DON’T INTERACT WITH THE RANK AND FILE! I’m astounded how out of the loop these people are. Their idea of talking to the right is talking to elected officials and rich Republicans. As for the hoi polloi, they’re clueless. They might read some poll, but actually interacting with them?

I INTERACT WITH THEM EACH AND EVERY DAY!

That’s right, my inbox is filled with right wing tripe literally every day. And I once made the mistake of responding, gently, pointing to an article and Wikipedia debunking the position proffered, and now that person sends me the same tripe EVERY DAY!

What you’ve got to know about the right is they’re active. They’re playing gotcha 24/7. If they encounter something they don’t agree with, they push back. A Democrat will sit in the recliner, turn on streaming television and forget about it, feeling powerless all the while. But the right? It’s been trained not to give an inch, and to do its best to gain ground while it’s at it.

As for the Fox/Dominion suit… It hasn’t penetrated the right wing base at all. They’re unaware of it. Or have some cockamamie excuse, like Dominion was woke.

Now the Democrats could all line up and hammer this story, and then the media would report it and… Believe me, if Biden and the Democratic senators hammered Fox’s faux pas each and every day, the right wing media would be forced to report it, and the audience would ultimately get the message,  But the Republicans employ this strategy, not the Democrats.

As for the vocal right… I hear from them far in excess of the left. It’s not easy to wake up the left. I have to print something truly heinous by a right winger before the left weighs in. But then the left far outweighs the word of the right.

Are you getting this? IT’S A VOCAL MINORITY!

And I hate to employ Spiro Agnew’s term, but I will, the silent majority is anti-Trump.

But the right keeps making news and the left stays silent so it looks like the right is making progress.

Yeah, Trump lost, by a lot, in 2020. And his party took a beating in 2018 and underperformed by a ton in 2022. Have you read the analysis? About the Red Tsunami? It was completely bogus, to the degree there were “facts,” they were based on bogus right wing polls. Which got Dilbert into trouble. The right is so full of b.s. it’s laughable, but they believe it.

But what about Florida? And Texas? And Wyoming?

First and foremost, all this anti-California crap… Yes, housing is expensive in metropolitan California. As are taxes. But you get something for your money. Did you see the letters to the L.A. “Times” from the people who moved to Florida and then moved back to California? I mean if they can ban books, they can start banning people.

As for banning people… Donald Trump single-handedly fanned the flames of antisemitism. Used to be you couldn’t say this stuff. Now people say it with impunity. Did you read about the lawsuit from the Fox producer, the one who said Fox’s lawyers wanted her and Maria Bartiromo to take the fall, so the boys wouldn’t get hurt? Ultimately she switched to Tucker’s show, and what did she find?

“Mr. Carlson’s staff joked about Jews and freely deployed a vulgar term for women, according to the complaint.”: https://nyti.ms/3lANjzx

If this were the fifties, any time before the internet era, the Dominion lawsuit would have killed Tucker Carlson, just like Joe McCarthy took his fall.

So let me get this straight. The majority of voters are anti-Trump, Trump’s posse has shrunk instead of grown, but we need to be afraid of them, quake in our boots, that they’re going to take action and…

Exactly what?

And if Trump isn’t taken to trial, in more than one case, his acolytes are going to think they’re immune too. They must learn they are not.

God, the U.S. has a crisis of trust and credibility. And what do Trump and his wankers say? YOU’D BETTER NOT TRY AND SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT! Didn’t Superman fight for truth, justice and the American Way? The nation is hooked on comic book movies, but even the essence of Superman does not penetrate the public. Everybody’s working the edges, seeing what they can get away with. They quote the Constitution until it applies to them, then they’ve got some lame excuse. They’re fighting for freedom, but I can only see an impingement on people’s rights, oftentimes by white males with no stake in the game.

The Democrats?

Can you hear the collective sigh?

What’s it going to take to motivate the Democrats, to make them rise up and make Republicans fearful. I thought it was Roe v. Wade, but that didn’t. Maybe because some people thought it didn’t apply to them, even though it did. You guys? That baby is your responsibility too. You grandparents? Get ready for your daughter and the kid to move in, you’re going to be full-time babysitters, you may end up being the actual parents!

The draft applied to every young male.

But we don’t need no stinking draft anymore. After all, where are we gonna fight? Trump and DeSantis want to put a wall around America and this makes them believe the rest of the world will ignore them, that everything will work out fine. How’s this been working for England? Brexit is ruining the economy. The only people still behind it, who put it over the transom, are the yahoos, with little money, who can only feel good by holding on to an ancient dream of England that disappeared years ago.

Let’s see, Brexit was supposed to improve the health system, now it’s crumbling.

But in the U.S. we’ve already seen this movie. Trump had his four years. And most Americans declared no mas. So let me see… If Trump gets nominated they’re not going to be motivated to vote against him, they’re just going to throw their hands in the air and accept him. OF COURSE NOT! 

I’m not saying the left should take no action, quite the contrary, rust never sleeps and you must beware, but if an alien came down to Earth and read and watched the news, they’d think the Republicans own this country, and are winning, when just the opposite is true. But the news business loves it. Isn’t that the essence of what has come out from Fox in the Dominion suit? Keep the idiots happy, tell them what they want to hear, make ’em angry, to the point they want to fight. Truth? Is that really part of news?

Yes, the news business is guilty.

But we’ve also lost track of truth. Online you can find material to support any viewpoint. But that does not make it right. Everything is not up for grabs. 1+1=2. Gravity is real. There are facts. But the right says facts are fungible. The most powerful person in America is George Soros and you’d better not pay any taxes because the government wastes the money, especially on the takers and…

Of course we know that it’s California and other blue states supporting the red states, but you don’t hear Chuck Schumer repeating this ad infinitum. No, he’s constantly telling us what he can’t do. HUH?

You are not alone. You are on the winning team.

And if we can’t believe in the law…

WE’RE SCREWED!

We’re watching “Farzi (“Fakes” in English), on Amazon Prime. It’s really good. A reader hipped me to it, otherwise I doubt I’d ever find it. Distribution is king. As a matter of fact, they point that out in “Farzi”! There’s a plethora of business wisdom in “Farzi.” It might have gotten more traction on Netflix, but it’s lost on Amazon Prime. Just like regular Amazon, the homepage is cluttered and hard to decipher. And don’t get me started on the HBO Max app…talk about slow. What’s going on over there? Sure, aged people watch HBO, not on Max, but younger people? They’re not addicted. What’s the plan? Write it all down, sell it? Did you see that string of “Forbes” covers with the head of Silicon Valley Bank and Elizabeth Holmes and Sam Bankman-Fried? You’re a hero until you’re a zero. Is this the same story with David Zaslav? Portrayed as a genius because he did well with the the peripheral Discovery channels, with their ultra-low budget shows, like the Food Network and TLC, we see that he cannot play in the big leagues. And he’s turned CNN into a disaster. Bring back Jeff Zucker. At least he understood television.

But Amazon is even worse. Scott Galloway expects Bezos to come back. Andy Jassy is floundering. He canceled the Smile program saying every charity wasn’t getting enough money. Isn’t any money enough? And it’s not like he said he was going to redirect the monies to another charitable effort, no, that money was just going to fall straight to the company’s bottom line. You’ve got to know when not to nickel and dime. You may nickel and dime on the inside, but never on the outside, it’s a bad look. As for the inside, Jassy’s not doing that well there either. Not a surprise, given that he made his bones in AWS (Amazon Web Services). What has that got to do with broad vision, retailing and managing a large corporation, never mind its employees? Very little. So, Jassy earned the position, by building the super-profitable AWS, but to promote him to the top Amazon gig is the Peter Principle in action. As for Amazon Prime… Couldn’t he hire an interface expert, maybe even bring back Marissa Mayer, who oversaw that at Google, that was the only thing she was good at, and she was very good at it.

I mean didn’t Steve Jobs focus on two things…the look and ease of use? Those should be baked into each and every streaming app. And just because it works, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stop innovating. You’ve got to give Spotify credit here, they keep pushing the envelope while their competitors rest on their laurels. Innovate or die. And that comes to programming too. What we’ve learned over a hundred plus years is that you can never be sure what will resonate with the public. Therefore you have to make a lot of product, of different stripes, or you will never catch fire. Quick, name a hit show on HBO Max, that is not on the cable channel. I bet you can’t. One show can go a long way, but it isn’t easy finding that show. The streaming landscape is littered with product that looked dead on arrival but got blockbuster viewing time. Like “The Tiger King.” Or “Squid Game.” And the latter is important, because the key to art is conception. What the studios are providing to the theatres is me-too product, just endless sequels, mostly of comic book productions. There’s nothing new to drag outsiders in, that’s why the buzz is gone. Same deal in music. All the innovation, all the interesting stuff is happening on the fringe. But the titans of the industry will only invest in and promote what sells, or has raised its head on social media. There’s no vision, only commerce. This is why streaming television is king, because it’s the number one outlet for artistic creativity. At least for the professional class. Go on TikTok and view the amateur productions, you’ll be stunned how good some of them are.

Did you read in yesterday’s NYT Style section about Sabrina Brier?

“Your Annoying Roommate Is Slaying on TikTok – Sabrina Brier is finding success online in the role of a 20-something in New York who’s trying to she her basic suburban past.”: https://nyti.ms/40lPWnv

Check her out on TikTok: @sabrina.cinoman.brier

You can start here:

“Girl who does NOT want to hang out”: https://bit.ly/3lrE3O2

Once again, it doesn’t matter if you get it, if you love it, although I think most of you will. Think about the target demo, the twentysomethings in the city, trying to figure it all out. Lena Dunham built a whole career on this. And every Sunday in the Style section there’s a hype article, and the product usually immediately sinks. But Sabrina is different. Then again, read to the end and you see she’s signed to CAA. Most musicians can’t make that deal, you need to be innovative. Creativity is hard. However, now Sabrina is tied into corporations. Hyping Bumble in her clips. Sure, there’s money there, but this kind of commerciality is old school, as in last decade. This decade is all about trust and credibility. Wasn’t that the point of the SVB crash, that you can’t trust anybody? That’s the power of an artist, to be trusted. The art comes first, the money second, if you go for the money first your audience feels ripped-off, people don’t think they are first, but that you’re beholden to the corporations.

As for you boomers pooh-poohing TikTok and social media… The joke is on you, time is passing you by. They should give digital literacy lessons to oldsters. I heard Bill Maher brag on his podcast that he doesn’t spend that much time on his phone. Then you’re out of it. This is why Bill is so often wrong when it comes to the younger generation and the digital world. Remove yourself at your peril. And believe me, there’s great stuff on social media. But there is no manual, you have to dive in and figure it out for yourself. There’s no live help, that’s the world we live in. If you don’t risk frustration, you don’t progress.

ANYWAY, “Farzi” is an Indian (South Asian?) series. You can listen in English if you want, that’s actually the default. And some of the dialogue is actually in English. But you have to get people over the hurdle, you’ve got to get them interested. More on “Farzi” when we finish, which we haven’t yet, but so far it’s a pretty big thumbs-up. At times things work out too easily for the characters, but don’t look at the show through an American lens.

So I never would have watched “Lucky Hank” if Felice didn’t want to. Because I hate the week by week drip. And I told her I was not going to watch it in real time, I abhor commercials, so I DVR’ed it…and it was pretty good!

Turns out Bob Odenkirk is now an A-level actor in his own realm. I can’t think of anybody else who inhabits the space. Most actors are two-dimensional, they read lines, whereas Bob was a writer, a comedian first. And therefore he’s comfortable uttering the lines, they seem to come right from him.

And Odenkirk in “Lucky Hank” is irreverent in a way we were in the sixties, but is lost to the sands of time. Come on, most of life is b.s., why pretend to take it so seriously? And Hank calls b.s. at the beginning of the show, and it wakes you right up. Can you handle the truth? Turns out students at Railton College cannot.

And it is a college town, a backwater. That Hank protests against, but his wife knows he can’t leave. Mireille Enos as Hank’s wife radiates intelligence and can give as good as she gets.

I must admit, most of the English teachers are two-dimensional, played too broadly, but the students are good. As for Diedrich Bader…he was a doofus on “The Drew Carey Show” so I’m reserving judgment, but he was good in the first episode. You know, the competitor who always has an excuse. Also, when he and Hank converse at the end of their game of racquetball…that’s how men talk. Not most guys you see in the movies, not the famous people, but the regular people. They’re not bullies and they’re not macho and they certainly aren’t bros. And therefore the conversation is deeper, about life, pondering its meaning and your choices and…that rang true.

I actually read “Straight Man,” the Richard Russo book “Lucky Hank” is based upon, but years ago, it came out in 1997. I only remember it vaguely. But the series is adding more and…

Bob Odenkirk can carry a show. It’s fun just to watch him. Some of the broad comedy in “Lucky Hank” does not work, but the more serious jokes, the questions of life underneath the surface, do hit, and demonstrate more depth than the average sitcom.

So check it out.

But really, I’d watch “Farzi” first.