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

“Apparently Bob Lefsetz doesn’t have a TikTok or he’d see we *did* livestream Grammy Noms on the platform this morning. His other screed today was about ‘krinkly fries’ so dude clearly has a lock on the priorities of youth culture.”

John Loken @kidmedium

Followers: 859

Job according to LinkedIn: Marketer at the Recording Academy

Now if I was smart, I would not respond to this tweet, because it has absolutely no impact, just like the Grammy stream on TikTok…

Now what I said was:

“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!”

So, technically I was wrong. Because if you Google, and it is not easy to find, you will learn:

“The live stream of the 65th annual ceremony can be viewed on the Grammys’ official website and the Academy’s Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok social media channels. The full list of nominees will be posted after the event.”: https://bit.ly/3ExdGgu

Once again, I was wrong. John Loken wins. And by responding at all, I lose. But there’s something to learn here…YOU MUST CREATE UNIQUE CONTENT FOR TIKTOK!

Just broadcasting no longer works. This is the shotgun approach the entertainment industry has been employing for decades, despite the internet era completely changing the landscape.

One thing is for sure, the news that the Grammys would stream the nomination process on TikTok never reached me, and I’m devouring news 24/7. That’s testimony to how hard it is to reach ANYBODY these days. Furthermore, Mr. Loken is the only person who has alerted me to my mistake, and normally when I get it wrong, I hear from many people, they love to pile on. So if a tree drops in a forest…

If you’re trying to reach everybody, you’re reaching nobody. First and foremost attack the target demo, those who care.

And believe me, they’re not on Facebook, that’s all alta kachers.

As for Twitter… Even before Musk took over the numbers were staggering, as in the miniscule number of young people active on the service. Instagram has a stink upon it, just like Facebook, that’s where people who never got the memo still are.

Then there’s TikTok.

If you listen to the service itself, it tells advertisers not to employ their usual spots, to make content unique to TikTok, to have it fit in seamlessly with the other content on the channel. Which is usually user-generated.

Yes, anybody with a brain would know the way to reach TikTokkers is to employ TikTokkers, unleash their creativity, not just do a standard broadcast that is a waste of time knowing you can get the complete list of nominees shortly thereafter. Talk about being creative… So the nominations were on TikTok, BFD!

Yes, you might say I’m down in the weeds. But everything is in the weeds today, that’s where truth lies. That’s how the mainstream media missed the election, it was not in the weeds, it was the usual suspect echo chamber.

And we’ve got the knee-jerk reaction of an employee, my having questioned his efforts.

First and foremost I’ve got no idea who John Loken is, but I’m criticized every damn day online and I know not to respond. It goes with the territory. And by weighing in, Mr. Loken got me to amplify my point, add data, delineating how piss-poor the Grammys’ thinking was here.

Isn’t this the difference between the U.S. and China? In China (and Japan), they teach to the test, it’s rote, no creativity is involved. But it’s American creativity, its ingenuity, that keeps the country a fount of innovation, ahead of other nations. And it’s almost never the people who got straight A’s who change the world, but those who rebelled against the institutions, did it their way, looking at the problem through a different lens, not having even gone to college in many cases, never mind graduate.

And our entire nation is being hobbled by the lack of arts and music education in schools. The biggest person in popular music, the most successful, is Max Martin. He was educated in a Swedish music school. We don’t have anything resembling that in America. But we’re number one!

Yeah, the Grammys are number one in music awards. But what does that mean? To quote Edwin Starr, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Well, a bit more than that, but not much. Music evolves, but not the organization. I mean who would want to work at such a brain-dead enterprise, where change has to happen slowly, where you’re beholden to musicians who’ve got enough time to participate, whereas those who are changing the world are far too busy to sit on the fakokta boards and argue about minutiae.

Yes, I’m calling a spade a spade.

Yes, just by weighing in I take a hit to my image. Better to let it slide.

But just because something is technically right, that does not mean it’s emotionally right, that does not mean it’s right at all. That’s like the Chinese student who aced the math test. What does that mean in the real world? Not much. Maybe that you can rise up the ladder of the like-minded thinkers and be a cog in the machine. The arts are all about rejecting the machine, moving past the machine, questioning everything, everything is up for grabs.

But not the Grammy organization. They hire a woman and they fire her, she wanted change too fast. And to get paid off, Deborah Dugan had to stay silent. This is akin to the corporations who pay off the Me Too offenders in their ranks. Keep it quiet. Move on. But eventually the truth outs.

Take the temperature of the nation re the Grammys. The truth is almost no one cares. How do you make someone care?

Not by showing the same dead video on multiple social outlets, that’s for sure.

And in truth, I am on TikTok, every single day, sometimes for more than an hour, sometimes for less. You see it’s that addictive. But I don’t post, I have my own avenues to reach people. So Mr. Loken got it completely wrong. I don’t care, but in truth MOST people are lurkers.

So here’s the bottom line: TikTok is where it’s happening, it’s the only social medium that truly moves the needle. And it’s about user-generated content. Let me quote an email and leave it at that:

From: Nima Nasseri  (at Universal Music)

Subject: Re: The Grammy Nominations

Date: November 15, 2022 at 11:40:48 AM PST

To: Bob Lefsetz 

Not to mention how the glass animals ‘slowed’ UGC version on TikTok that we eventually took to DSP (and is the 2nd most popular song on their Spotify page) really helped drive it to #1 finally after all those weeks on the charts 

The power of TikTok is real 

P.S. I got a ton more responses about krinkly fries than I did about the Grammy nominations, that’s just how much people care about food, food is hipper than music.