From: Dan Millen

Subject: Re: Ticketmaster Swift Snafu

Date: November 17, 2022 at 2:37:01 PM PST

Great time to load up on LYV stock!

I call it the TM hate trade.

Every time some kerfuffle happens with LYV and ticketmaster people dump the stock, it drops $5-10 and I grab some more, it always creeps back up, and I sell it when they report blowout quarters.

LYV could not exist without Ticketmaster, at least not with the spending that they are known for as far as talent guarantees.

Ticketmaster IS the profit center.

In their latest quarter some basic math:  5.87% net margins.   Including TM.

Without ticketmaster that margin would be significantly negative, leading to a wholesale reevaluation of their business model.

Great for indies but not so great for touring artists.

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From: Robert Merlis

Subject: Felice’s rule

Date: October 21, 2022 at 12:48:40 PM PDT

Amen to her “no Tesla” edict.  Why reward a self-aggrandizing twerp with you money even if his product has merit?  We don’t, as a rule, knowingly buy anything that has to do with the Koch Brothers (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2014/04/01/1288957/-Sign-the-pledge-Don-t-buy-these-Koch-products).  Same goes for Uline shipping materials (the family behind this company makes the Koch Brothers seem left-leaning: https://refuseuline.com/).  Not saying it has any impact but why spend your own money to stoke the fires that could consume you?

Another point about Tesla and apologies to any and all of my friends who own and drive them: Tesla drivers have supplanted BMW drivers as the douchiest, most entitled on the road.  Not a scientific survey but it’s axiomatic that when you’re in a crosswalk and a car enters ignoring the pedestrian’s right of way, it’ll mostly likely be a Tesla.  Besides, Tesla fit and finish/quality control/panel fit is typically worse than that found on competing vehicles.  https://www.dmarge.com/tesla-build-quality.

I could go on but will stop here.

Bob Merlis

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From: Tim Hanseroth

Subject: Re: The Grammy Nominations

Date: November 15, 2022 at 3:23:29 PM PST

The Grammys can seem ridiculous when you have no skin in the game, but theres no such thing as a small or minor award for an anrtist. All awards are important.  I think one could even argue that the smaller the award, the more important it is. 

It triggered me a few years ago and again today when you said no one cares about the smaller category awards except those nominated and their families. Our peers and community are watching. For a queer female fronted band in a straight sausage fest of an industry the doors opened by the small category nominations and trophies have been unimaginable. Not in the hardware, but in real life compensation like securing good festival slots and better guarantees. Things that propel a career forward outside of awards. They are small steppingstones to much greater heights. 

Small awards matter

Tim H

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From: Daniel Stein

Subject: Re: More Grammys/TikTok

Date: November 15, 2022 at 8:29:01 PM PST

I once heard a music marketing lecturer open his talk with the joke ‘Where’s the best place to hide a body? Second page of google…’

It’s easier to find the nominations list on the NYT and the WAPO than the Grammy website. And I’m taking as a member of the academy who watches out for these things! 

I guess I’m going to go read about the the fries now. Food indeed took over (with the big held of Shep Gordon’s vision and wisdom as we know…).

D.

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From: Craig Anderton

Subject: Re: The John Waite Documentary

Date: October 24, 2022 at 8:29:46 PM PDT

Some people get a glimpse of serious fame, don’t like what they see, and do a u-turn. My turning point was returning to my home in the countryside, and finding several people camped out on my doorstep. They weren’t nut cases, they were friendly. But at that moment I realized fame had unintended consequences against which very few people had immunity. Playing music was why I was doing this. Fame, which led to making money, was a fringe benefit with a significant cost.

In retrospect, do I wish I could have been an international superstar? No. It’s a trap. Somehow, I saw that at the time. The irony is that I’ve made far more money from music after deciding making money wasn’t the priority 🙂

Maybe the dream is over for some…but maybe they just had the wrong dream. I live, eat, and sleep music. Play and record almost every day. Have the kind of “gentle fame” that gets me invited to do seminars and workshops, compose soundtracks for videos, and master/mix music for musicians I respect.

Bought myself a beautiful black Tele for my birthday. I wouldn’t trade this life for anything.

Craig

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From: Dave Conklin

Subject: Re: Revolver Super Deluxe

Date: October 26, 2022 at 8:54:57 PM PDT

They didn’t include a Blu-ray Disc with the hi res mixes. Who’s going to spend the money for a bunch of… CDs? I’m sure the packaging is nice, but the physical release is pointless when it comes down to the sound. Neil Young pulled the same s..t with Archives Vol 2, which was even more surprising (I guess he’s trying to steer people towards NYA subscriptions).

Pink Floyd released Animals as a $25 blu ray audio disc this year.

Why do I mention this?

Atmos on streaming is b.s. unless you’ve got Apple Music with an Apple TV connected to a home theater setup. Why Amazon hasn’t activated the Atmos/360 tracks on their fire tv devices (the same ones that put thru 24/192 on the Amazon Music App!) probably has something to do with what one of your readers mentioned – that their engineers don’t care. (Please grill Steve Boom on this s..t.) Hearing the surround mixes in actual discrete channel surround is incredible. Is it true to the artists original intention? Probably not. But is it an interesting alternative? Absolutely.  Revelatory in some cases. I played the Giles Martin mix of Abbey Road on blu ray, Paul came out of the center channel singing Golden Slumbers so clearly, with such presence, it was like he was in the room directly in front of me. I teared up.

All of The Beatles previous Super Deluxe releases (Abbey Road, Sgt Pepper, White Album, Let It Be) included the blu ray disc.  What they’re charging for CDs in 2022 is, as you said, a cash grab.

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From: Reed Turner

Subject: Re: Zach Bryan At The Wiltern

Date: October 25, 2022 at 1:30:40 PM PDT

Hi Bob,

Reed Turner here, I’m Charles Wesley Godwin’s manager and a follower of your newsletter and podcast.

Glad you were able to catch the show. Zach and his team are wonderful people with a strong vision, and he’s leading a movement in country music reminiscent of Laurel Canyon, Nashville ’72, or Seattle in the 90’s. We were thrilled when he asked Charles to sing on his song “Jamie” from the Summertime Blues EP and being part of the American Heartbreak Tour has been nothing short of fantastic.

Thank you for the kind words about Charles’ music. We’re very proud of the work he’s put in to carve out a space for himself in the evolving landscape of country and he has a big year ahead of him. Sorry that you weren’t able to catch more of his set this time. If you’re interested in attending a show in the future, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’d love to have you.

Reed Turner

True Grit Management

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From: Katy Cooper

Subject: Zach Bryan

Hi Bob,

Loved your write up on the Wiltern show! Huge fan of Zach with zero affiliation.

However I wish you had pointed that it wasn’t “offenders” in the pit it was a woman in distress who had passed out and he was thoughtful enough to pause and call for help. It would have also been worth noting how many times he thanked the audience for being there, he truly shows how humble, genuine and happy he was to be playing for all the fans.

Glad you enjoyed it after all!! It was a stellar evening.

Katy

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From: Fred Goldring

Subject: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Date: November 7, 2022 at 7:44:18 AM PST

Hey Bob –

Back in the Spring of 1983 when I was just starting out as the youngest lawyer at Allen Grubman’s firm, I of course got to do all of the “fun” work.  One day early on, Allen called me into his office and said, “I need you to do something for me and it will probably be the last time I ever ask you to do this as long as you work here – go to the law library”!” After a hearty laugh, Allen explained that he had just had lunch with Ahmet and he wanted me to go meet a young lawyer (she might have actually still been in law school) who was interning for Ahmet named Suzan Evans at a law library where the two of us were tasked with researching non-profit corporations and then filing the papers to form something called The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc. which we did in April 1983.  Suzan was later named the first Executive Director of the Foundation which turned out to be a long and very cool gig for her.

Usually the handful of us young associates at the Grubman firm weren’t invited  by the partners to the cool industry functions, but in this case maybe because I had been involved with the formation (or more likely because Allen had bought two tables and had to fill them:) we were all invited to attend the first Inductions ceremonies at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel with a guest.  I invited a girl I had just started to date to the 2nd Induction Ceremony (literally for our second date) because I wanted to impress her.  I guess I must have because she went out with me again on a third date where I took her to my friend Joel Peresman’s 30th birthday party at his apartment (and ironically Joel later took over for Suzan as RRHoF Exec Director). I’ve been married to that girl Gale for 34 years now.

Those early events were incredible because the artists inducted were the best of the best and there were no tapings or recordings for anyone else to see later, no cell phone cameras, no internet; you were either there or you weren’t. The impromptu jam sessions at the end were legendary. I still remember standing next to George Harrison who was wearing a tux, open collared shirt and black and white checked Vans slip-on sneakers. It was like when I went to the first days of the TED Conference in the mid-90’s where you couldn’t even find the words to describe what you had seen and experienced and the people who didn’t attend had zero access or context even when you did try to explain it. Sadly, there’s something lost when you see so many folks today constantly videotaping or taking photos of an event they are at and not just “being there”, taking it all in and being in the moment. Sounds like you had that kind of experience so I’m happy for you and jealous that I wasn’t (but you did a fantastic job of describing your experience so we all got to live it vicariously so thanks for that:)

Best,

Fred G

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From: John Gorman

Subject: More Than A Feeling

Date: October 27, 2022 at 1:44:23 PM PDT

Bob, 

 

When I was the Operations Manager of WMMS, I talked to Steve Popovich regularly.  Steve was from Cleveland, knew where the bodies were buried, and was somebody I could turn to for a truthful Cleveland history answer.   Pops always sent me cassettes and tapes of artists he wanted sign and artists he had signed and wasn’t sure what to do with.  In turn, I gave him the WMMS listen line (a feed of our broadcast on the phone) and asked for his critique.  My version of “How we doin’.”

 

Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes was one such example on an audition tape he sent me..  It was a copy of Southside Johnny’s version of Bruce Springsteen’s “The Fever,” a unreleased at that time song that Springsteen historian Ed Sciaky from WYSP/Philadelphia sent to us – and were playing in heavy rotation in expectation of the release of Bruce’s “Born to Run” album.   We played it. Our audience took to it immediately.   

 

We set up an on-air battle with our morning talent, Jeff Kinzbach, who preferred the Southside version of “The Fever” and Kid Leo, on afternoon drive, who preferred the Boss’.   It was the kind of good clean cross-promotional fun that got us the big ratings.   When Southside’s album was released – everyone was already aware of the band, and it was in the top ten in regional sales in its first release week.  If it sold as well in the rest of the country as well as it did in Greater Cleveland, Johnny would have awarded a platinum album.   But that is how Steve Popovich worked in Cleveland. It was a breakout market in the fifties and sixties – and Pops felt we could do it again. And we did.

 

In one of Pop’s calls, he said to me, “You’re from Boston, right?  I want to send you a tape of this band from where you come from, I want the label to sign.  They (meaning the label) have some reluctance to it – but I think it’s great, man.”  Pops added that it was a one-man-band – but that the artist (Tom Scholtz) was putting together a band – and the vocalist on the demo (Brad Delp) agreed to be part of it.   Friends in the business I knew from Boston were telling me in advance about Scholtz – as a tall lanky loner kid who they called a rock and roll scientist (because he worked at Polaroid during the day) that was “conjuring up some interesting music.”  The tape Pops sent was the result.

 

Pops sent it overnight and I listened.   It was Tom Scholz’s demo tape for Boston.  It blew me away. I called everyone into my office to hear it.  My staff felt the same way.  I had to think in radio terms.  It was the content we needed on-the-air for our fledging album rock format.  The demo was slightly different from the first album.  “More than A Feeling” was over 7 minutes long – with a flaming guitar solo at the end of the song.  “Hitch A Ride” was “San Francisco Day” with slightly different lyrics.  It also had a track that wasn’t on the first album, but closed their second album, Don’t Look Back, “A Man I’ll Never Be.”

 

I called Pops raving about the tape.  He thanked me for listening and thanked me even more for loving it.  I told him it was what album rock needed to reach a mass audience. I felt “More than A Feeling” was a future rock and roll anthem.  He stopped me there, “I like that one, too, for the single, man.  But I want the kid (Scholtz) to get rid of that guitar solo – end it with the song. Have ‘em wanting more.  He can do that extended stuff when he gets his band together and plays out live.” He also wanted them to change “San Francisco Day.”  He liked the song, hated the title.  “The band is called Boston and they have a song called “San Francisco Day?”  I want him to change it.”  When the album was released, the song remained the same but the lyrics were different and it became the hooky “Hitch A Ride” track.

 

I asked him more about the band and he said, “Did you ever hear of a guy named Paul Ahern, he’s their manager.”   I told him I knew Ahern well when I lived in Boston.  He was a star at Warner-Reprise.  He got Reprise to add the “A Horse with No Name”  track (and put it out as a single) on the debut America album the same way Buffalo Springfield got “For What It’s Worth” on their debut album.  Ahern was already a legend.  He had golden ears, and he knew how to promote and to whom.

 

Months later the Boston album was released –we were ready for it. We already had the slots and rotations ready.  “More than A Feeling” was the lead track – but we also rotated most of the tracks in packet – and for weeks you couldn’t go two hours without hearing “More Than A Feeling” and other tracks from the album.  We played it day ahead of its official radio release so we could call it a “world premiere exclusive.”  It shot to number one immediately.

 

Cleveland was one of the early dates on their first tour and played one of the legendary “WMMS Monday Nights Out” at the Agora.  Tickets sold out immediately.  Paul Ahern allowed us to run the show live – a gamble because it was one of their early live shows and they were still trying to replicate the album sound live – but the show was a winner – and a few months later a half a dozen bootlegs of the show were on the market.  I believe that was the only live show they did on that tour.

 

The first Boston album remains one of my all-time favorites for many reasons including its content.   As far as I’m concerned, that Boston album got our stations ratings.  No one ever punched the button to another station when a Boston track was playing.    And that’s probably true to this day if anyone is still listening to terrestrial radio.

 

Best,

 

G-Man (John Gorman)

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From: Mike Lawson

Subject: Re: Musk

Date: November 5, 2022 at 2:37:28 PM PDT

I was in the market for an Electric Vehicle last spring. I am tired of giving record profits to oil companies gouging consumers with no consequences. I shopped for a Tesla. 

Then came the announcement about Twitter and letting Trump back in. 

It was a hard no after that. That was a bridge too far. January 6th and the s..t that man and his cult have done to democracy is real, and I can’t set that aside with my wallet.

I bought a Chevy Bolt EUV LT. I adore it. It’s stylish, roomy, super fast, has wireless Apple CarPlay, gets a max range of about 335 miles on a charge. GM installed an outlet for free (that would have cost $900). I bought it just before the end of May. The rebate was $500, and a week later they raised it to $6300! GM sent me a check for $5800! 

MPG equivalent is about 122 compared to my 2020 Prius Prime Plugin at 95mpg and I traded in for top dollar.

I “was” Elon’s target audience. I’m just one guy so it won’t hurt him. But previous customers are your best future customer prospects. I was on my third Prius and if Toyota had an EV last spring I would have been tempted. 

I have friends who have Teslas from the long long ago before time when Musk wasn’t showing disdain for the buying public who actually like EVs.

They hate driving them now because of the stink Musk has attached to the brand and everything else he is touching. I have fielded many questions about my Chevy Bolt EUV from Tesla owners, including strangers chatting at charging stations. 

I have never met a hard core right winger in Tennessee who drives an EV let alone a Tesla, who think they are some sign of emasculation or something. They complain about gas prices while driving giant trucks that cost as much as a Tesla and hundreds a month to fuel.

I am very happy with my Chevy Bolt EUV. The price, the product, and I’m ready to look at the new lineup coming next year for my wife. 

I’m also very happy that Musk showed me who he was before I bought one, because I believed him.

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From: harry stinson

Subject: Re: Musk

Date: November 5, 2022 at 3:08:10 PM PDT

Count me in as another Tesla owner who loves the car, but will now look with more interest at the options from other (even traditional) manufacturers, given Musk’s recent ‘performance’.

How ironic that a man whose (on paper) wealth was based on the optics of being a modern thinking genius …. and now has regressed into the role of a narcissistic redneck.

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From: John Allen

Subject: Re: Musk

Date: November 5, 2022 at 7:56:31 PM PDT

Bob!

We just received our Model 3 in May and I too cannot stop talking about how much I love the car but I will never buy another Tesla. It seems to me the “bros” from the right would never purchase a Tesla or an EV ever yet those are the people he is trying to apeal to… like you said BAD Business – and that is all the way around. Bad for his 44 Billion for Twitter and bad for Tesla. We, his customers I think by and large do not want hate speech and anti-semitism to take over Twitter. HUGE mistake… we are now looking at RIVIAN EVs…

Bye Elon. Bye Tesla.

Sincerely,

John

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From: John Brodey

Subject: Re: Musk

Date: November 6, 2022 at 8:48:47 AM PST

Good one!  The truly smart guys know when they don’t know something.  Musk is also nuts.  That’s where ego and power lead to the fall.  We’ve seen it many times before.  These days no one person can dictate the terms of the game despite their air of infallibility.

We are selling the Tesla (which has a lousy ride and chintzy interior) and buying a Lucid.  Screw Elon

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From: Thomas Sladek

Subject: Re: A Side Of Fries

Date: November 17, 2022 at 5:29:03 AM PST

Thanks for reminding me of Kuhn’s in Fairfield.  I worked at the A&P just down the hill from there as a high school / college student, and made the mistake of eating one of their chili dogs during my lunch break.  That chili was so spicy, I don’t think my colon has ever fully recovered.

Tom Sladek

Westport, CT

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From: Rick Ciferno

Subject: Re: A Side Of Fries

Date: November 17, 2022 at 3:52:02 AM PST

I do not know how people end up emailing you on certain topics, but, I’ll try. There is no doubt the best fries at a restaurant, bar none, were those made at the world famous Hot Dog Shoppe in Warren, Ohio. These fries were made from the potatoes grown proprietor’s  farm in Ohio. They were fresh and fried in the basket by teenagers, including me, who worked there. Choosing wether to smother them  in vinegar or homemade chili was EXTREMELY difficult.

Rick Ciferno

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From: Michael Alex

Subject: Re: A Side Of Fries

Date: November 17, 2022 at 12:46:45 AM PST

I can confirm Jimmy Wachtel’s fish market fries under the subway tracks!   We would go there during lunch break in grade school.

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From: Ralph Torres

Subject: Re: A Side Of Fries

Date: November 16, 2022 at 10:27:41 PM PST

Nobody is hip to getting “well done” krinkles at Del Taco? Now you know. Fast, ubiquitous (in So Cal) and cheap.

– Ralph from Riverside

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From: Funkright

Subject: Re: A Side Of Fries

Date: November 16, 2022 at 7:05:45 PM PST

Double fried French fries in Amsterdam. Best. In. The. World.

https://bigseventravel.com/fries-in-amsterdam/

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From: Dan Navarro

Subject: Re: A Side Of Fries

My dad was owner of a Foster’s Freeze when I was growing up, 1957-1975. Think Dairy Queen, in California only. So I learned this s..t first hand. 

Krinkle Kut (or “crinkle cut”) fries provide more surface area, therefore a crispier exterior texture while still allowing a tender interior. Steak fries do the same, but only with a much bigger fry. Regular fries get crispy throughout when they are crisp on the outside. So, for some, the krinkle fry is best of both worlds. The also sag a little less than regular fries.

Until about 1965, we made our own fries by first putting potatoes in a powered drum with an abrasive spinning disc inside, to automatically peel them, then we put them lengthwise into a device that, when a lever was pulled, forced the potatoes out one end and cut the potatoes into French fry strips. That was my job from the age of 10. Really good, really fresh, really time consuming. So we eventually went frozen crinkle, and that was all she wrote.

Fries are a matter of taste, so I favor Fatburger, where you can get both skinny fries and fat fries. And I do. Best, freshest, burger in town too.

cheers,

dn

Linda Ronstadt has a new book, “Feels Like Home,” about the Sonoran Borderlands where she grew up. We talk about her youth, Lucy’s El Adobe, meeting musicians and making records, politics…

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/linda-ronstadt/id1316200737?i=1000586557423

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/877f57ad-3a82-49f3-9fde-9f2edac615a1/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-linda-ronstadt

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast/episode/linda-ronstadt-208623453

Oh, come on. What next, everybody should be entitled to a new iPhone the day it comes out? Every automobile in the lineup at sticker price with no wait?

Oh, it takes time to make physical product. And it takes time to update software too!

Yes, this was a learning experience for Ticketmaster. They will have to upgrade their underlying software in order to make sure this does not happen again. Maybe it’s a matter of employing additional servers too. This is unheard of? Even Spotify has outages once and again. Oops, that’s another monopoly, in this case hurting all the artists, right?

So you couldn’t get front row seats to Taylor Swift at face value. You can’t even buy a Rolex at face value anymore, what’s out there has been peeled off by independent distributors. They call it the market. And demand exceeded supply, that’s it.

And you never see spam in your inbox anymore? Let’s be clear, the spam filters are much better than they used to be, but spam still makes it to your inbox. Even Google can’t tell exactly what is spam and what is not, and Gmail is the personal e-mail standard!

Have we really evolved into a society where nothing can break anymore, where everything works 24/7, where all situations are foreseen and addressed? Do you really think Nostradamus works at Ticketmaster?

But my inbox is filling up with requests to weigh in on radio programs, they’re going to do an hour on it! What’s there to talk about?

This is a story about the status of Taylor Swift, not the status of Ticketmaster.

But we’ve got Amy Klobuchar and other elected officials saying they’re going to crack down. Who else are they going to crack down on, every site that goes down, not even for a full day? Come on, it happens on a regular basis.

But no response will satisfy these ignorant people grandstanding. Yes, they want to be seen as serving their constituents. If they’re so wrong about this, what else are they wrong about? This brings into question how they’re running the country, I mean if you can’t even accept the facts, Republicans AND Democrats!

And where are these same people when ticket sales are soft. I don’t see them testifying, telling the assembled multitude to go to a show to keep Ticketmaster alive.

As for the damn fees… It can be said again and again that they all don’t go to Ticketmaster, but it never gets through. And everybody inside knows the fees were established to get a pot of money outside the commissionable gross, so the promoter could make a profit, so the acts didn’t take it all.

And how about clamping down on the buildings who get part of the fees? And the indie promoters as well as the behemoths. Talk about a low margin business… Apple makes in the neighborhood of 30% margin and concert promoters are way down in the single digits. It’s amazing anyone is even in the concert promotion business.

And you can’t have concerts without tickets. And for all the b.s. about the old days, when you lined up… First and foremost, the first person in line didn’t even get front row seats. And then, to create order, they’d shuffle the order of those in line, via movie theatre ticket numbers. I remember lining up, getting my number, going to breakfast and coming back over two hours later to buy my tickets for Springsteen’s “River” tour forty years ago. And believe me, not only did I not sit in the front row, I wasn’t even on the floor! And I’d gotten to Tower Records just after sunrise!

But now I can buy tickets anywhere, with my smartphone. And physical is history, and I can transfer the ducats via this same smartphone. As for going back to the good old days…THEY WEREN’T THAT GOOD!

God, is this the country we’ve devolved to? Where truth is irrelevant, where you can say whatever you want irrelevant of the facts? Yes, the blowback on Ticketmaster is akin to the claims that elections are rigged, all the other b.s. eating up news space.

I get it, it’s a sexy story because it involves Taylor Swift. Kudos to Tay-Tay, she broke the system. She’s not the first celebrity to do this and she won’t be the last. It’s testimony to how big Swift is, not to an underlying conspiracy. God, what exactly would Ticketmaster’s motivation even be here? The goal is to sell when demand is there, everybody who doesn’t get what they want immediately may ultimately never buy. Which is why companies build extra product, they want to be ready. And then you’ve got the shmatah business, all these companies like Old Navy and so many more who bought too much clothing and had to write it off since it was unsellable. Yes, when it goes the other way, where are these voices rising from the government and the blowhards trying to capture ratings on the backs of the sexy Swift and the hated Ticketmaster?

The acts are responsible for all of it. They set the ticket prices. They created the large fees. Ticketmaster is paid to take the heat. Because the acts don’t want their fans to hate them. Even worse, the fans don’t hate them even when they’re told the acts are at fault, they just don’t believe it!

We live in a computerized world of 1’s and 0’s. There is no little man inside the Ticketmaster software making decisions just like there’s no little man inside your smartphone or computer. And software is imperfect. And people make mistakes. And you can’t run a country based on emotion, you must base it on fact. This is how we got into this whole stolen election b.s. People said it didn’t feel right that Trump lost. Well, it didn’t feel like he won the first time around, but the facts said otherwise.

There’s nothing to debate here, nothing to talk about, everyone inside knows Ticketmaster is the best way to sell tickets, they’re the only company that can come anywhere near being able to handle this demand.

I wish everybody would STFU! There is no villain here. Just an incredibly successful pop star and a company that was caught off guard by demand.

But nobody wants to believe this. There must be a villain behind it all. Someone is out to get them. But, NO!

Really, it’s utterly amazing. We’ve been talking about ticketing for over two decades now and the truth never matters.

But it must be stated again and again, just to be put on the record.

And there you have it.

Yup, Shake Shack fries are damn good. The main reason is that they travel! Very few other fries travel even a short distance, around the corner, to your car.. In N Out for instance. They’re soggy when fresh at the In N Out…they don’t even make it to the car. However, when I was a kid in Jackson Heights (I’m  older than you) the world’s best, the Champagne of french fries, the Oscar of fries was a fish market under the elevated subway tracks that made  fries, I think, only in the winter. Anyway that’s when we would get them in a brown paper bag that was so warm it warmed your hands so you could eat your fries them without gloves on (January, February in NYC). They were doused with a salt that was one step less coarse than the salt you would out to melt  the ice in winter  (Bob, you know). Of course, like a great slice of pizza, you could not wait to get one into your mouth and invariably scorched your upper palate…but they were well worth it…at least as I remember them  today.
Thanks for memories as the other Bob used to say.

Jimmy Wachtel

PS The mini burgers were thanks to the ultimate mini burger, White Castle with grilled onions, a squeeze of ketchup and a slice dill pickle…heaven for 12 cents.

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Here’s the pro move:

1. Go to IN ’N’ OUT and buy a Double Double, Animal Style.

2. Then drive to the nearest Shake Shack and buy a large order of krinkle-cut fries.

3. Die happy.

Trey Callaway

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Re Fries – I think in New York we are more free to fry than in Los Angeles. It’s understood by many – if not most – that the ideal combination is a Shake Shack burger with 5 Guys Fries. This is totally doable in my Brooklyn nook where they are within a couple blocks of each other.

1000% agree: Steak Fry – why??

I too grew up on frozen crinkle cuts and most restaurants – including name brand fine dining – use frozen french fries still (also frozen peas) which is why Balthazar’s frites are exceptional, made from scratch every day (great fries are labor intensive and must be cooked twice – double-blanched – as invented by the Belgians (p171 The Balthazar Cookbook.)

best,

Barbara Barna Abel

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shake shack and their fries rule. best eaten outside in Madison Square Park, but good at all other locations.

but my favorite: add malt to the cookies and cream shake! (I mean, if you like malted stuff, aka Whoppers for the heathens.)

Now  I’m hungry. Wear a Santa Hat and give out their fries: Kris Krinkle.

Thanks, Katherine Turman

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“Oh, with the green light I partook. They were a bit soggy after the almost half hour drive.”

Pro tip: Throw them in your air fryer for 5 minutes next time!  THE BEST.  And I love crisper fries.

PeaceAndLove!

Another Bob (Mori) in Los Angeles.

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I grew up in Massachusetts with clam shacks and roast beef sandwiches and none of their fries compared to McDonalds.

Pamela Harris

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Krinkle Fries Rule!

I’m glad they’ve come back per your history of ’the krinkle’

From Mama’s oven in the 70’s to now Arby’s (we have the meats) & Omaha’s own Runza Hut.

McDonald’s fries are great too! And Steak Fries are awesome with a Steak. That’s why they’re called…

Curly Fries & Waffle Fries – No Thanks.

Funny Topic Bob – but I certainly relate.

Terry Anzaldo

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My fun uncle Ian surprised us five Brit kids with a visit to the new McDonalds restaurant in Lakeland, Florida on a rate visit.

We’d never seen fries like that, used to the vinegar soaked newspaper wrapped soggy thick potato slices that simultaneously managed to be both horribly slimily greasy and yet with zero skin or crisp. Lard slathered on half cooked potatoes. So we did what every kid in the world would have done – we ate until we were truly sick and still didn’t get up from the jolly bright round little plinth seats even then.  And uncle Ian joked that we were only full up to ‘about here’ (indicating our belly buttons) and had more to go surely. We ordered a second round. We knew (correctly) we’d never eat like that again.

For those that experienced the magic back the nostalgia that made you believe it could happen again and the excitement upon glimpsing the Golden Arches from the road was hard to put down.

jemail

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This was quite the trip down memory lane.

I remember my first trip to McDonald’s. We piled into the 1964 Pontiac Catalina Safari wagon. No seat belts. Dad, Mom and five kids. The closest McD’s was on Route 9 in Natick.

I can’t remember if they had a drive thru. We ate in the car. What I remember most was not the fries or burgers, but the spitball fight! Straws!

Cheers,

Thomas Quinn

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All fries are good, Bob! Krinkle fries are really good. Reminds me of being a kid and eating frozen fries.

 

Jim Lewi

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Oh Bob. Crinkle-cut fries are THE BEST kind of fry. 🙂

Sarah Martin

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Tater tots
Waffle fries
Krinkle cut
Steak fries
Regular fries
Shoe string fries
In-N-Out fries

Those are ranked from best to worst. Anyone who disagrees is mistaken.  You are correct that well done is an important aspect.

Jason Bernstein

P.S. bonus fries at the bottom of the bag top all of the above.

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The best Krinkly fries are at Langers.  Always cooked to perfection, though it’s hard to choose those over their home fries.

If you haven’t indulged already, Taco Bell’s nacho fries, which are available now and are not a permanent fixture on their menu, are crazy good.  Yes, Taco Bell.  Good luck only having one portion.

Richard Young

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Steak & Brews – all the salad & bread you could eat and all the wine & beer you could drink. They didn’t last long.

Richard King

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Aloha Bob,

 

Today’s email had me thinking about all the fries I’ve eaten over the decades. When I was a kid, McDonald’s had the best. I’ve told this story to my adult children more times than they want to hear it. Let me tell you about the family:

 

My father’s side – My father refused to eat McDonald’s hamburgers because one time his burger had cheese on it (verboten). He never ate meat and dairy at the same meal. Since the cheese had touched the meat, he had to throw the whole burger away.

My mother’s side – My mother loved McDonald’s French fries not just because they were extra salty. They were thin, but not too thin and had their own unique taste. Delicious.

 

“Have it Your Way” was Burger King’s slogan, so we started going to BK as soon as they opened up in our suburban neighborhood in Cleveland. Not frequently, but often enough that I knew the drill when my mother announced she wanted some fries. In the early 70’s, neither place had a drive thru. You parked and walked inside to order. While our mother waited in the car, my brother and I were assigned the task to go into BK to order the burgers – specifically without cheese. Then we walked over to the Golden Arches to pick up the fries. We hopped in the car and drove home immediately with the food. I can still hear my mother saying,  “Let’s get home before the fries get cold.”

 

Now I live on Oahu. When I walk by Burger King and McDonald’s in Waikiki, I cannot imagine ever going inside to buy food. In fact, I feel kind of nauseous from the smell that lingers around the sidewalk. Yet the memory of the BK – Mickey D run is so powerful. I have to smile.

Deb Seibert

The Contractor

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Born in VT in 1950 we had 19 cent burgers just south of Burlington I think at “the Lure” circa 1968 and an early McDonalds in Mass  at that price was an event!

Point #2 I recall cutting my mouse cap ears from Disney to look more like the show!

Jim Eaton

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NATHAN’S!  Not the frozen supermarket bag, but rather the ones you get at the local Nathan’s concession, or better still at the original Coney Island spot.  Something in the mixture they fry them in.  Nothing else comes close.   Paul Lanning

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Nathan’s fries ! Nothing beats ‘em and they must be ingested AT Nathan’s Coney Island!

Bob Kranes

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I’ve never been a big fry guy, but as a Northeasterner, Nathan’s, the hot dog folks from Brooklyn, have always made crinkle-cut fries that knocked me out.  There used to be a Nathan’s on Pico, and one on Post Road in Norwalk, CT, but those are both long gone.  I’ve only seen Nathan’s in the food court at the MGM Grand in Vegas.  If you get a chance, try their fries.  I think that you’ll be happy you did.

 

Michael Rexford

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One cannot discuss fries without mentioning Nathan’s.  Nathan’s has been in Coney Island since 1916. Their hotdogs, hamburgers and fries have been a Brooklyn staple forever. Cooked in oil, that seemingly is never changed, served hot, well done and in a cone cup.  There is not a French fry better than Nathan’s krinkle cut.

rjlsat

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Best French fries I ever had was at Nathan’s in coney island. We went there all through my youth in Brooklyn. Served in a paper cone. My Dad always said they were the best fries because he figured they hadn’t changed the oil they fried them in since the place opened. Throughout the fifties and early sixties they would have fireworks every Tuesday night on the boardwalk. Another thing you would get at the beach were hot knishes. Doesn’t make that much sense, but I guess the salt and fat tasted good in the hot weather. Hot dogs were everywhere in Brooklyn cause where I group up there was a kosher deli every 5 blocks. And a hot dog and a pizza were always priced the same. Someone even did the math once and found a correlation between the price of pizza and a subway token.

Jeff Rosen

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The hand cut, twice fried fries at HiHo Cheeseburger in Santa Monica are delicious!

Best,
Karyn Ulman

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Im with you on Krinkly fries but…Hattie B’s hot chicken in Nashville (and now others) have krinkly fries that are so good they defy logic. I stopped eating meat 5/6 years ago but ill still go just to get the fries..You have to try them..

Joe Greenwald

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McDonald’s…hamburger, fries and a soda and change back from your one dollar bill.

Matthew Grandi

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Fries are a matter of personal taste, just like music.  I won’t judge you for having a taste in fries which is anathema to mine.  There’s room for all kinds of preferences.  I like great musicians, great songwriters, tight bands and have gravitated to the best for fifty years.

 

I like thick fries (Wendy’s are better than McDonalds), Shake Shack fries are okay by me.  Krinkly fries are a gimmick, although Chik-Fil-A fries are pretty good.  Thin or matchstick fries do not have enough taste.

 

And if you get around to burgers another day, the thicker the better.  The problem with hamburger joints is that we don’t trust them enough to serve our burgers medium rare, which is the way they should be served, the way you can grill them at home.

 

Best regards, Bahnson Stanley

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I never liked Crinkly fries. I don’t even know why. You are 3 years older than me but we still have a fair amount in common.
I bought The Twist by Chubby Checker the first time it came out, and I was a big fan of Etta James at that age for some reason.
We had Dairy Queen, A&W as well. Loved A&W Root Beer.
Corn dogs were a big deal when I was a kid in Grand Forks North Dakota too.
Thanks for sharing.
Bill live from MN.

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I hate to admit it, but I do agree with you about McDonald’s having great fries, even though I haven’t been there in decades. Best fries though? The ones in the south of France that come with moules frites. Still hot and even a bit crispy after soaking in the garlicky mussel sauce – that’s fry ecstasy, especially when eaten on an outdoor communal table smashed in next to some smoking Europeans.

Second place? Could be the skin-on peanut oil fries that are served at the Atlantic beaches. Vinegar on top, not ketchup! The famous brand here in Maryland is Thrasher’s. Best to stay away though!

Rich Madow

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I still think McDonalds has the best fast food fries. I remember my first fries from Macs when I was 8 years old in 1963 in Atlanta. Awesome

Randy Schaaf

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Well.  At our local swimming lake in North Bennington, I always bought a 10¢ fudgsicle.  But we did have burgers, not hot dogs.  There was an old-fashioned A&W with burgers and great root beer.  And Paul’s Fish Fry (I hate fish, so I would get their burger), with GREAT thick shakes.  After moving to NYC, it was all pizzerias by the slice on every other block (pretty  much all gone now) for 20¢, or a Sabrett hot dog from the street vendor’s cart.  No more burgers, really.  Driving back from an anti-war demonstration in DC with my mother, 2 friends, and one’s mother, we spied a McDonalds and since NONE of us had every had one, we stopped.  The burger was so-so, but the fries!  Wow!  A revelation.  Over the years people have said that they put sugar in the mix when deep-frying them, and that’s the difference. I don’t really care. I don’t eat them anymore, but that day was memorable.  And then a coupla years later, the (I think) first-ever McDonald’s opened near me, on 92nd and Broadway, and my cousin Tony Pinck and I walked there, stopping to collect Lenny Kaye, who lived along the way, and we went to the opening day. Because, it was there.  I’d still rather have a NY slice though.  Five Guys is pretty good, and, yes, their fries are excellent. I was disappointed in Shake Shack the two times a tried it. Not sure what’s so special.  And now everyone’s talking about Smashburger, not sure why.  Oh, and, Bob, I’ve never though krinkly fries were special, but I do like big thick steak fries from time to time.  But I’d much rather have a baked potato with BBQ sauce as the only topping.

Toby Mamis

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I agree with you — today’s crinkle fries are too thick.

When I was a kid, there was a restaurant here in my town that had thinner krinkle fries, maybe 1/4″ thick or possibly a bit thicker, but definitely thicker than you can find today.  They were perfect.  You can’t find them anymore, believe me I’ve looked. Even the frozen ones in the supermarket are too thick.  Hard to believe that 1/8″ of potato can make that much difference but it does.

To me the biggest casualty of restaurant food these days is the hamburger.  YOU CAN’T GET A GOOD ONE ANYMORE.

Which sounds like an odd thing to say, considering there are more hamburger options anymore than there have ever been.  But they have all lost sight of what makes a hamburger great.

All you need for a hamburger is a bun and a patty.  But restaurants are so intent on charging $15 or so for a hamburger, that they want to load it up with toppings, fancy buns, sauces and other crap that isn’t necessary.

And the patties are invariably too big.  A half pound is TOO MUCH.  A quarter pound is not enough.  A third pound is perfect, but hardly anyone does that.  And they squeeze the patties so hard to flatten them that they eliminate all the air space, which eliminates all the juices.  And then they freeze them to complete the ruination of them.

And the bun should be toasted.  Too many places brag about all their toppings and handcrafted pretzel/brioche/whatever buns but then they don’t toast the buns!

In general, “comfort food” is becoming a thing of the past, which is sad.  Go try to find a plate of fried chicken or roast beef or just  a plain ol’ steak.  It’s nearly impossible, everything is fancied up and loaded with extras, all in the name of charging more money.

There’s a restaurant in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho called Hudson’s Hamburgers.  It’s been in the same location for about 100 years. There is only one thing on the menu:  Hamburgers.  They make the patty right there in plain sight, out of a pile of ground beef on the counter.  The burgers come hot off the grill, with a patty and a white-bread bun, and optional cheese.  The rest is up to you. AND THEY HAVE A LINE OUT THE DOOR ALL DAY LONG.  Why don’t other restaurants figure out that food doesn’t need to be fancy or “ethnic” to be good?

Mike Blakesley

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Glad you told me Bob till I started remembering those horrible straws with the felt thing about 3/4 of the way up that was soaked in some kind of chocolate or strawberry concoction that made white milk into another flavor, which was truly horrible even before we knew better. But then it made me recall a time at Jones Beach when Victor Daddario and I stuck our skinny arms up the soda machines, the ones that the cup came down with the ice, the seltzer, and the flavored Coke syrup and we would pull some of the cups out and so when someone put a dime in to get their soda everything would come down except the cup and we would fall on our faces laughing at them using their palms as a substitute cup — great shenanigans for a 10-year-old. Hey, did you ever read “formerly cool” my book that I sent you? Try one chapter.

Tmusca3

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The Jennings Beach concession stand in Fairfield sells frozen Charleston Chews. It’s the only time I ever have one. The outside slightly melty in the summer sun yet frozen and snappy on the inside. Can’t beat it! I’ll treat you next summer!

Mat O.

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In-N-Out Please!

Jim Crawford

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You need to try waffle fries at chick Fil A. The best

Tim Madigan

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The ONLY way to eat Shake Shack fries is with the cheese sauce!

Try it next time!

amiedodd

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Always, always, always order your fries well done!  Jeez.  They should be crispy brown!

Greg Prestopino

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I ate this one up, Bob.

Rob Getzschmam