How did the Grammys become the Oscars?

You know, an organization that is so inside it honors “art” that most people have never consumed.

Yes, the Oscars are famous for this. The big movies never get nominated, or they are as part of an expanded list to pay homage to the hoi polloi but never win. The insider favorites win. And even worse, those films that do win don’t get the big commercial bump they once did. The average person just ignores the entire enterprise. Ratings keep going down to a small fraction of the public and everybody knows the real action is on streaming television.

The music business has stopped minting broad-based stars, ones that appeal to everybody, or at least everybody has heard, never mind heard-of. Look at the list. If you recognize the names, you still may not have heard the music, nor do you care to. You’ve sampled the offerings again and again and found yourself unsatisfied, you’ve detached.

Not from music so much as new music proffered by the usual suspects. Yes, for all the hoopla about TikTok and the internet minting new stars, it’s the major labels that dominate the major categories. As for the minor categories? It’s like giving a participation trophy in youth soccer. It might matter to the recipient, but they’re the only one.

The platforms have become bigger than the music.

Yes, people are fans of Spotify more than they are of these supposed musical juggernauts who are not. You fire up the service and listen, but do you listen to what has been nominated by the Grammys?

The music business used to mint international stars, acts who not only everybody knew, but acts whose tracks were part of the firmament, cultural touchstones. Now these supposedly big records are the size of Stonehenge in “Spinal Tap.” Minute.

Part of this is the change in the landscape post internet. Everything is niche.

But there are streaming TV shows that reach more people than records. And streaming TV shows have all the buzz, and they transcend age ghettoization. Everybody was interested in “Squid Game,” it was a national phenomenon. Ditto “Ted Lasso.” You heard so much about them that you had to check them out. Needing to check out a new track? Why? You don’t feel the buzz, it never reaches you, and if you dig in you are disappointed.

Let’s look at the nominations for Record of the Year.

The new Abba album was big in the U.K., but it was meaningless in the U.S. How meaningless? The nominated “Don’t Shut Me Down” has 58,238,622 streams on Spotify. That’s bupkes, there are many acts you’ve never heard of that have that number.

Adele’s “Easy on Me” has in excess of a billion streams, but let’s be honest, Adele hasn’t done anything truly noteworthy since 2015’s “25.” She’s been running on fumes, past accomplishments, her new tracks have not been memorable. But she’s a bona fide star because…we don’t have any more bona fide stars to hype.

“Break My Soul,” from Beyonce’s vaunted comeback album? 234,921,732 streams. Beyonce’s album was a stiff. I’ll say it, even if the press won’t. Check the streaming numbers. There are three cuts in triple digit millions on Spotify, the rest are all in double digits. One only has 26,774,717.

Mary J. Blige’s “Good Morning Gorgeous”? 13,242,565. That’s piss-poor. It’s almost like it never came out.

“You and Me on the Rock,” by Brandi Carlile featuring Lucius? It doesn’t even break a MILLION! 949,271. How many people have even heard it? And don’t tell me about quality, the Grammy organization is covering all bases here, nominating the pre-approved Carlile shows that it cares. About what?

“Woman” by Doja Cat is a bona fide hit. It has 1,086,180,293 streams on Spotify. But it’s a genre piece, it went unheard by most of the population, a tempest in a teapot I tell you, that’s what the modern record business has devolved to.

As much impact as Steve Lacy has had recently, you can feel the buzz, “Bad Habit” only has 394,065,181 streams.

Kendrick Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5”? 49,660,586 streams. This is not a hit, Lamar is being nominated for past work, like others in this category.

Lizzo is a star, she cuts across categories and demos. The only problem is she’s never released a track as great as her image. “About Damn Time” only has 481,330,487 streams.

But the true star in this category, which is utterly ridiculous, with ten nominations so as to theoretically appeal to everybody, with cuts that have no chance to win, is Harry Styles, with “As It Was,” which has 1,543,881,676 streams. I’m not saying everybody has heard this track, but everybody has heard of Harry Styles, and he makes more universal, more mass-appeal, better cuts than Lizzo. Styles is the closest we’ve got to an old school pre-internet star on this list. His music stands alone, it doesn’t follow trends, he has an identity, the record business used to be able to do this on a regular basis, but now it seems to have lost the formula.

I’m not going to go through every track in every category, but there’s a very good chance you haven’t heard them. The belief is that the young ‘uns know them all, but that’s untrue too! Young ‘uns live in the same world we do, overwhelmed with input, TikTok is a bigger star than any of these nominated records, just like Spotify.

And the backward Grammy organization can never be hip. If anything, it’s like your grandpa, donning the cloak of the hip years too late. Yes, you might see a reference to TikTok on the show, but those in the know know that the nominations should have been on TikTok, think of the buzz! Not only amongst the TikTok users, but amongst the somnambulant press which also lives in the past. But no! Just like most of the music nominated, the Grammys can’t push the envelope, they’re rooted in the past, tradition, and that’s what makes them ever more irrelevant. As for the show, it’s been redone by a new producer to feature good musical performances, but one can always catch those on demand online after the fact, assuming you’re interested at all.

This is a crisis. There’s no excitement around music. And the biggest excitement on TikTok is about old tracks, whether decades old or just a few years.

You want to talk about a hit, one that has impact? Then look at Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves.” It was released over two years ago, it took 59 weeks to make it to number one, it spent 91 weeks in the Hot 100, longer than “Blinding Lights.” And it’s got 2,107,516,435 streams on Spotify. Now that’s a hit. And what drove it? Social media, it took that long for the audience to embrace it, it was a phenomenon on TikTok. It has never received a Grammy nomination, but if the act was featured on the telecast kids would care, more than about almost anything above other than Harry Styles. That’s the modern world, these Grammy nominations are the past.

And yes, I’m touting TikTok again and again, because that’s where people live today, and it cuts across all demos, just like gaming. And who knows if TikTok is forever, but it’s the big kahuna right now. Why can’t the Grammys acknowledge it? Why can’t the Grammys acknowledge the user-generated content that built up these numbers?

That’s the world we live in.

Not in the calcified circle jerk of self-satisfied old men believing they lord it over the music world when in truth they lord it over themselves and not many more. Most people just don’t care. And the Grammys, no, the record industry, have not given them a reason to.

The major labels don’t innovate, test the limits musically, they just sign and promote in distinct, already proven genres. It wasn’t like this when music previously triumphed, whether it be in the classic rock or the MTV eras. Being different was a badge of honor, that’s why we were interested. Me-too is not worth a second look, or a second listen.

I could give the Grammy organization some marketing tips, but why bother, they never embrace them, they know better, and to be honest I think it would be good if the Grammys put themselves out of business. Give Mark Zuckerberg credit, at least he knows his old domain is dying, i.e. Facebook and Instagram, and therefore he is trying to innovate. Zuckerberg has a shallow history of innovation, he usually purchases his way to success, and it looks like his virtual reality metaverse was either too soon or ill-conceived or both. Zuck is frightened, his company has taken a huge hit to its stock, even though Meta’s social networks are cash cows. Is anybody at the Grammys frightened? The major labels keep congratulating themselves but if they were in tech young entrepreneurs would be busy disrupting them. As it is, all the innovation in music comes from outside.

In truth, I found the Grammy nominations funny, I don’t really care. But most people are not only not watching the show, they don’t even encounter the meaningless nominations. Come on, how do you reach the young, active music listener? They don’t read traditional media, they may not even have a cable subscription. It takes thought, innovation to reach them, but the brain dead Grammy organization thinks it knows better. But it does not. It’s laughable.

Now who do we trust?

The story of the election is the failure of the Red Wave to materialize. And based on my political leanings, this was a good thing. But the overwhelming Republican victories were not only predicted on Fox News, but in the “New York Times,” the “Washington Post”…supposed bastions of liberalism. So if the news outlets got it wrong on this, WHAT ELSE ARE THEY GETTING WRONG?

You might have seen the article in today’s “New York Times” on the advertising boom on TikTok: 

“TikTok Builds Itself Into an Ads Juggernaut – The Chinese-owned video app’s ad business is thriving, even as a digital advertising slump hurts Meta, Snap and other rivals.”: https://nyti.ms/3AfEzCV

 

Now don’t tell me about the failing “New York Times,” how you would never read it, because the joke is on YOU! That’s the very first thing the Fox News hosts read each and every day, they know the “Times” is the foremost authority, and they want to see what to react to, how to steer the perception.

Here’s the money quote:

“TikTok’s users spend an average of 96 minutes a day on the app —nearly five times what they spend on Snapchat, triple their time on Twitter and almost twice as much as their time on Facebook and Instagram, according to the data analytics company Sensor Tower.”

And let’s be clear, if they’re on TikTok, they might hear some music, but the social network requires complete attention, it was not made for multitasking.

For nearly a year now, we’ve been subjected to in-depth analysis on the metrics and future of Netflix, the big kahuna in streaming. As a result of negative analysis, Netflix crated an advertising tier, even though previously they said they would never ever do so. And you know the adoption numbers are terrible, BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT CROWING ABOUT THEM! This is the entertainment business, if you do anything even mildly positive you tell everybody, and if you’re quiet…that must mean your endeavor did not succeed.

But all I get in my inbox is the pooh-poohing of TikTok. And what I like best about the blowback is it’s almost exclusively from people WHO’VE NEVER EVER USED THE SERVICE! Once again, the joke is on you. Ignorance is not a badge of honor. And if you bloviate, believing that the assembled  multitude will never catch on… This always happens to politicians, they say something and then the media FACT CHECKS IT! You don’t want to lie, you don’t want to weigh in sans knowledge anymore, because the truth is out there. Assuming you can find it.

Now the reason I’m referencing the “New York Times” article above, is that the “Times” finally weighed in on the footprint of TikTok, its impact, its hold on the attention of the youth. And unlike with YouTube, it’s not about pre-roll, it’s about making the ads themselves TikTok clips, about working with creators, so that the ads have more impact.

Now if you’ve been using TikTok for these past months, if not years, YOU KNOW ALL THIS!

In other words, the public is ahead of the media. WHAT ELSE ARE THEY AHEAD ON?

Failing journalism schools teach people to ask questions. This is another thing that bugs me about the “Times,” and once again, the “Times” is the best. THEY PROMOTE WITHIN! That’s utterly ridiculous, especially when there are ready experts in seemingly all fields these days, many of whom can write. In other words, if you’re not living it 24/7, your opinion is not informed, it’s not worth much…AND THAT’S MOST OF THE NEWS WE’RE GETTING!

At least from the authorities.

Now my dearly departed friend Tony Wilson, primarily known for Factory Records, was also a newscaster. And when he was still wet behind the ears, before he was on camera, working late on a Saturday night he delivered the European football scores to the anchor, who promptly read them. AND THEY WERE WRONG! Tony maintained when he got the numbers they were wrong, but irrelevant of who actually made the mistake, Monday the boss came in and told Tony he should fire him. The boss said few people care about the late night European football scores, but viewers think if you can’t get it right regarding such a trivial item, WHAT ELSE ARE YOU NOT GETTING RIGHT?

Yes, on the front page of the aforementioned “Times,” and once again I use the “Times” because it sets the agenda for the nation, if not the world, it’s the best we’ve got, there were polls that delineated the Red Wave to come. There were not concomitant stories about how the polls might be wrong. I mean the polling was wrong in 2016 and 2020, so I didn’t trust the polls, but everybody in the media did, it was doom and gloom on the left and smiles and cheers on the right. Now in 2016 and 2020 the polls undercounted Republicans. The ultimate elections broke red, at least in higher numbers than expected. Would that happen in 2022? Did I see an analysis of that in the “Times”? OF COURSE NOT! The same “Times” that got 2016 wrong too. THE WRITERS WERE OUT OF TOUCH!

There you have it, if you’re not down in the trenches you’ve got no idea what is truly going on. For the last week before the election I told everybody I had no idea what was going to happen, I was waiting for the vote to come in, because you never know. And it turns out other than Michael Moore, nobody did.

But Michael Moore has been neutered by the right. Not that he’s always been correct, and I wouldn’t call it a tsunami for the left, but at least the wave was high.

So the opinion writers, and this is not only at the “Times,” are part of a club. Chummy with those they report on. They’re insiders. They can tell you what is happening in D.C., but not in the rest of the country, because they’re too busy trying to look fabulous to their brethren in the endless circle jerk. And they’re not blowing the whistle on themselves after last Tuesday’s election, they’re just saying they were surprised. SURPRISED? I think it’s time to fall on your sword, tender your resignation, because what you had to say turned out to be WORTHLESS! And now I’m supposed to trust what you say now?

Welcome to 2022. Which not only does not resemble 1992, but not even 2012, that’s how fast the world moves today. And despite the power of the media, today it’s less about one to many, than one to one. There has been no way to track buzz, you have to feel it, and the only way you can feel it is if you’re in it. AND THESE WRITERS ARE NOT!

And using the Tony Wilson model, if the “Times” couldn’t get it right on the election, WHAT ELSE IS IT GETTING WRONG?

Once again, who can you trust?

Seemingly nobody.

Trump won in 2016 because he tapped into truths the media missed. Like the voices of those who lost their jobs because of globalization. And the fact that no one cares about language and coarseness in today’s society. Everybody use the F-word on a regular basis, but NO, you can’t offend some theoretical person out there. And the reason I didn’t spell out the complete word is because if I did, spam filters would reject this e-mail, I know, I’m an expert on sending e-mail, I probably do it more than anybody you know. Getting through to people is nearly IMPOSSIBLE, you don’t want to make it HARDER!

So Trump was real in a way that Clinton was not. Oh please, let’s not talk about politics, can you take off your party hat and just analyze the situation sans bias? Trump was a breath of fresh air, Clinton never came across as genuine, she SHOULD have said she didn’t stay home and bake cookies, that she worked outside the home, BECAUSE MOST WOMEN DO SO TODAY! They’re not balabustas, they take kids for fast food, they’re damn tired at the end of the day. But the media said Clinton couldn’t speak the truth. She backed away from the “deplorables” comment. She should have doubled-down, owned her statement, by backing away she lost all credibility.

Which brings us back to the January 6th hearings. We heard over and over, for months, that they had no impact. I’ve not even seen one article now claiming they did. Yes, mea culpas on abortion, but not 1/6. Don’t you get it? People were sick and tired of Trump’s shenanigans. As for Merrick Garland and the rest of the wimps afraid to prosecute him… Don’t they realize that this is exactly what the Republicans want? They want to sideline him, take him out of commission, as for his cult…that 20-30% will never vote Democratic anyway. I mean TAKE A STAND!

The Democrats don’t have each other’s backs and refuse to play offense. The right kept talking about a Red Wave… Where was the left wing blowback? NONEXISTENT! The elected Democrats as well as the media were afraid to push back, they were even afraid to run on Biden’s record, which is quite appealing to those who ultimately voted blue. I mean if you can’t even champion your accomplishments, how do you expect to win hearts and minds and accomplish anything in the future?

As for the “Times”‘s competition… Just read the “Wall Street Journal” Op-Ed pages… They’re in the bag for the Republicans, right or wrong, which is why other than true believers, no one pays attention to what is said. And the “Washington Post” is seen as an inside the Beltway newspaper, which is why its subscriber numbers have tanked. Furthermore, it doesn’t have enough writers with gravitas. Yes, the WaPo could do a bit of publicity, but NO!

So where does that leave us?

I mean you can read the papers, but with a giant grain of salt. As for TV news…it’s a joke, not worth going into. Then again, I will. The new owners of CNN said the 24/7 news channel had to move to the center, to appeal to independents, excising its perceived left wing bias. End result? CNN got smoked by MSNBC in election day ratings, never mind Fox. You may not be aware of the switch at CNN, but everybody who watched it knows, and they jettisoned the channel. IN OTHER WORDS, the vaunted Zaslav and his team of owners were CLUELESS! The supposed experts on television knew even less than the rank and file. Cable news is about stoking the fire of either the right or the left, no one watching is wishy-washy, there are no wishy-washy people out there, you’re on either one team or another. As for independents? THEY’RE JUST NOT TELLING YOU THEIR TRUE OPINIONS! Prick them, ask them the last time they voted for the other party, most never have! But they want to be above it all. ABOVE IT ALL? GET DOWN IN THE PIT! How many people in western Colorado are going to pinch themselves if Boebert pulls it out. They could have gone to the polls, made a difference, but nah, they’d rather not take the time. Ever hear of the 2000 election? Every vote counts, but you’ve got to vote!

I’m trying to take the temperature of this nation 24/7. But I can’t cover every vertical, I rely on others for that. But it turns out I really can’t rely on the big media outlets, they’ve lost touch with America, if not the world. Turns out women were pissed about the Supreme Court’s decision on abortion, it’s just that the media pundits didn’t know them. I mean I didn’t notice a drop-off in people talking about abortion…but the media knows better. No, IT DOES NOT! It’s the Emperor’s New Clothes, we’ve all bought the construct.

Well maybe we can trust them on straight news, facts. But in truth there’s so much that big media never reports on, or does way after the fact, after everybody knows.

But it’s back to business as usual in all the media. There’s no self-examination. HEADS SHOULD ROLL! Just like the government did a disservice by not indicting the Wall Streeters who caused the 2008 crash. Believe me, if they had done so the financial world would be a lot more honest these days. I mean if no one is punished, what are the odds you will be? Fire some writers and the remaining will do a better job.

Or maybe the model is screwed. Maybe it’s not even about reporters at all, never mind big media. Maybe it’s about the endless flow, following social media, talking to your friends, getting a handle on the situation. One opinion is not enough!

Ever read the ratings on Amazon? No matter what the product, it has one star reviews. You’ve got to average the reviews for them to have any value.

But I don’t want to go into an analysis of online ratings. I’ve never ever posted. That’s not how I want to spend my time. But I do want to spend my time newsgathering. And a few puffed-up, self-glorifying reporters have ruined it for their brethren, for all big media news delivery. Sure, there might be good writers at the “Times,” just like there are good cops, but how do you tell who is who?

I think the message of the 2022 election is don’t be afraid to take a stand. Avoid groupthink. Be an individual, run with your heart. Sound like the sixties? EXACTLY! Because the institutions back then were no longer serving the young, so they had to create a new world.

And in truth, the young are creating a new world, on TikTok. And all the oldsters can say is…IT’S CHINESE! I was listening to a podcast where the household name person wondered how bad it would be if the Chinese really had all this data, what could they use it for? I’m not saying this is the correct position, but I am saying you can’t have a knee-jerk reaction to anything these days, because chances are your knee-jerk reaction is uninformed.

Just like the media heavyweights!

Be passionate. Try to suss out the truth. And know you can be wrong, and admit it. It will add to your credibility.

And in an incredible world, credibility is everything.

The media keeps telling us people no longer care, that selling out is de rigueur. But since they were so wrong on the election, are they right on that? I don’t think so. And one thing I know is I’m hearing from many more people than those writing these articles anyway.

It’s a sad, strange situation.

But one thing is quite obvious, at the end of the day the people are in charge. That was one of the elements of the Trump backlash, they didn’t want authoritarianism. But as far as those who know the temperature of the public… WHO EXACTLY IS THAT? I certainly don’t know. But one thing is for sure, I’ve lost faith in big media. Just because you’ve got a byline at the institution that does not mean you know what you’re talking about. God, maybe we’ve got to give tests to these people. One thing is for sure, they’re going to get a lot wrong.

It’s depressing.

But I want to be optimistic. Just give me some hope.

The mainstream media told me there was none, and then it turned out there was plenty.

But don’t fall asleep at the wheel. You lefties who are convinced democracy has been saved… Remember, rust never sleeps. Beware.

https://spoti.fi/3Uzjbkq

1. “Hey, Western Union Man” – Bruce Springsteen

2. “Hey, Western Union Man” – Jerry Butler

3. “Hey, Western Union Man” – Al Kooper

4. “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” – Bruce Springsteen

5. “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine (Anymore)” – Frankie Valli

6. “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” – Walker Brothers

7. “I Wish It Would Rain” – Bruce Springsteen

8. “I Wish It Would Rain” – The Temptations

9. “I Wish It Would Rain” –  Faces

10. “Nightshift” – Bruce Springsteen

11. “Nightshift” – Commodores

12. “What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted” – Bruce Springsteen

13. “What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted” – Jimmy Ruffin

14. “What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted” – Paul Young

15. “Someday We’ll Be Together” – Bruce Springsteen

16. “Someday We’ll Be Together” – Johnny & Jackey

17. “Someday We’ll Be Together” – Diana Ross & The Supremes

18. “Turn Back The Hands Of Time” – Bruce Springsteen

19. “Turn Back The Hands Of Time” – Tyrone Davis

20. “Vigilante Man” – Bruce Springsteen

21. “Vigilante Man” – Woody Guthrie

22. “Vigilante Man” – Ry Cooder

23. “Highway 61 Revisited” – Bruce Springsteen/Jackson Browne/Bonnie Raitt

24. “Highway 61 Revisited” – Bob Dylan

25. “Viva Las Vegas” – Bruce Springsteen

26. “Viva Las Vegas” – Elvis Presley

27. “Highway To Hell” – Bruce Springsteen

28. “Highway To Hell” – AC/DC

29. “I Fought The Law” – Bruce Springsteen

30. “I Fought The Law” – The Bobby Fuller Four

31. “I Fought The Law” –  The Clash

32. “Purple Rain” – Bruce Springsteen

33. “Purple Rain” – Prince

34. “Take It Easy” – Bruce Springsteen

35. “Take It Easy” – Eagles

36. “Trapped” – Bruce Springsteen

37. “Trapped” – Jimmy Cliff

38. “Rhinestone Cowboy” – Bruce Springsteen

39. “Rhinestone Cowboy” – Glen Campbell

40. “War” – Bruce Springsteen

41. “War” – Edwin Starr

42. “Goin’ Back” – Bruce Springsteen

43. “Goin’ Back” – Dusty Springfield

44. “Goin’ Back” – The Byrds

45. “Goin’ Back” – Carole King

46. “Goin’ Back” – Nils Lofgren

47. “Detroit Medley: Devil With The Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly/C.C. Rider/Jenny Take A Ride” – Bruce Springsteen

48. “Devil With The Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly” – Mitch Ryder And The Detroit Wheels

49. “C.C. Rider” – Jerry Lee Lewis

50. “Jenny Take A Ride” – Mitch Ryder And The Detroit Wheels

Tune in today, Saturday November 12th, to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.

Phone #: 844-686-5863

Twitter: @lefsetz

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz