This is Wayne Forte’s fiftieth year in the business. As an agent he’s represented acts as varied as David Bowie and Tedeschi Trucks Band. We discuss his career as well as NITO (National Independent Talent Organization) and the lobbying for and distribution of monies during Covid.

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wayne-forte/id1316200737?i=1000721027462

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/ff38a328-4dfe-44d5-b9ff-fd6490c7f01d/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-wayne-forte

This is really going to be about the book “Culpability.” Really. But I’m going to start by telling you how I got there, how I ended up reading this book.

You see I read “The Compound,” which has gotten great reviews but was basically a joke, a fictional version of “Love Island,” a waste of my time.

And then I got involved in a couple of girl books.

Hmm… “Girl books,” what do I mean by that?

Well, when you look at the reviews on Amazon none are from respected publications, they’re at best from fashion rags, and a lot of the author’s friends are testifying. They might by endorsed by Jenna, or be a GMA book, but rarely is that first class fiction. And then there are books that seemingly all the women have read and they testify about them, say how great they are, but once again none of the traditional reviewers have weighed in, never mind uttered a good word. They may be bestsellers, but…

I don’t know why I reserved “Culpability” on Libby. Once again, I get my reviews from the Sunday “Times” Book Review, Ron Charles’s WaPo newsletter and “The Week.” Some other outlets too, but those are my mainstays. But by time the book finally arrives, I don’t recall why it interested me. And in this case, not wanting to start a loser, one of the aforementioned “girl books,” whose titles I choose not to reveal for fear of angering readers, I decided to research “Culpability” before I started it.

Turns out it’s an Oprah book. And despite the James Frey and “American Dirt” controversies, she usually endorses worthwhile books (and “American Dirt” was pretty good!).

And it had 4.5 stars on Amazon, which is rare.

But doing more research I learned that it was about AI…which sounds about as interesting a book on JavaScript.

But Oprah said: “I was riveted until the very last shocking sentence.”

Don’t wait for it. The last sentence is not shocking, as a matter of fact, the book kind of peters out about 95% through, but before that…

“Culpability” is about the ethics of the algorithm. We make them, but AI is a black box, nobody knows exactly how it works, truly.

But the context is a family story. There’s a plot and AI is laid down on top of that.

You see it all comes down to whether the algorithm is responsible, does it take all the blame, or are we, the constructors of said algorithm, responsible.

And a lot of the issues arise around products that are here now. Like self-driving cars and drones. Forget legislation, forget hysteria, these products driven by algorithm will come into play more and more…who is responsible for their actions?

But the story could survive completely sans the AI overlay.

Of course you’ve got the family dynamics…three kids who alternately love and hate each other, a genius mother and a genial father. Then throw some tragedy into the mix…

And a billionaire techie… Who thinks the rules don’t apply to him and throws money at every problem all the while denying any culpability.

And the law…

“Culpability” is highly readable. This is not dense literary fiction that has you looking up multiple words on every page. This is the kind of book you can discuss with your friends.

But you have to read it first.

I recommend you do.

I really wanted to write about this story “Trojan Whores Hate You Back” from Eric Puchner’s collection “Last Days on Earth.”

You see that’s the name of the band, punks who are reconnecting to go on the road decades later. The lead singer Alistair says he’s doing it for his buddy Glenn who just got out of rehab and is destitute. They’re driving to the final show of their tour at the Wiltern. Yes, they have an audience, but they’ve never heard a song of theirs on the radio until the drive down.

The day before the show Alistair decides to drive with Glenn back to Claremont, where they grew up, shared the same sensibility, became infatuated with the music and started to make it. But as they’re driving around, as Alistair is pointing out how the old landmarks have been replaced with new ones, Glenn doesn’t react. And then Alistair realizes although they were buddies once, their lives have deviated, they’re no longer on the same page.

As for the gig at the Wiltern… The venue is not sold out, but it’s full enough, it’s a triumph, which Glenn celebrates by hitting the bottle. And as they’re standing there outside, they see a kid with a blue mohawk standing up through the sunroof of a Prius while the radio blasts a song with the lyric “F*ck you and your Hampton house/I’ll f*ck your Hampton spouse/Come on her Hampton blouse/And in her Hampton mouth.” To quote the book, “It made Trojan Whores look like the Wiggles.”

If you’re fiftysomething are you truly a dangerous punk? Hasn’t that ship sailed? Sure, people might want to come and see you, to relive the era, but what about you and your life?

Alistair cannot only not relate to Glenn, but the other two members of the band. They’re all on different pages. This is not living your life for rock and roll, this is being lost.

They go on TV for the exposure and the young host makes fun of them.

WHAT ARE THEY DOING HERE?

Then Alistair calls his wife up in San Francisco, who’s about to break up with him after nearly two decades together. She just can’t handle the adolescent behavior anymore. She wants to be an adult, she IS an adult!

And all this made me think of real life. When I go to the show and I see the old guys with their long hair and their black leather motorcycle jackets. I mean really? Who are you kidding? I laugh inside while my brain says GROW UP!

And then there are those who live to see the dinosaurs, again and again and again. Guys on stage…and it’s almost always guys, oftentimes with plastic surgery and wigs, to give you the illusion that they’re the same as they were in their twenties, but they’re not. They’re playing your favorites of yore, they’re veritable jukeboxes, there’s money in it, but it’s positively soul-crushing. And being on the road at twenty five is one thing, after fifty? To say it’s a slog is charitable.

So what’s a poor boy to do?

Most don’t want to look at themselves. They just go on living blindly. Like in that trade publication that’s the same today as it was back in the eighties, the only thing that’s changed is the names of the bands. How can you live in such denial?

As for the new acts… They’re mostly for young people. But it’s not like you can trade your allegiance. Because there’s rarely anything there. They’re famous, but so were those acts before the Beatles.

It’s a conundrum. And it all became clear reading “Trojan Whores Hate You Back.” That’s why you read fiction, to illuminate life.

Now “Last Days on Earth” is comprised of previously printed stories, so I thought I could find it online and you could see for yourself, but it’s not available anywhere.

But I haven’t been able to get the story out of my head.

Next time “Culpability.”

HBO Max trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwBW3do9yqc

He’s not afraid of pissing off the Trumpers.

I gave up listening to Marc Maron’s podcast years ago. He’s talks too much and he’s too uninformed. But having listened before that, I know that he’s pissed off a lot of people. You see Marc had an edge, as if angry that everybody he knew was more successful than he was.

He tried to rectify this with the twentieth century paradigm of a sitcom. But that ship had sailed, there were too many options and no one needed another self-centered show seen as a vehicle to boost the rep and the status of its star.

But then Maron was a secondary character in “Glow” and the show was a surprise hit and he got good reviews. And in “Stick” he’s positively revelatory, all his prior anxiety is gone, he’s the curmudgeon with a heart of gold, smarter than everybody else but not constantly rubbing it in your face.

As for his standup special?

I was shocked that he dove straight into politics. Almost nobody else has the balls, because of the insane blowback. It makes an entertainer question themselves, is it worth risking their audience, to take a stand on this subject that may be near and dear to their heart but is not the essence of their work?

And then comes the kicker:

“Progressives have really got to figure out how to deal with this buzzkill problem. You do realize we annoyed the average American into fascism.”

BINGO!

I’d say that Maron is an equal opportunist offender, but that is untrue. He represents those of us who are solidly on the blue side of the line and are overwhelmed with Trump and his antics yet feel powerless. And we can see that the Democrats were, and to a great degree still are, their own worst enemy. Pronouns? Trans women in sports? Sure, we want to respect every individual, but can we use a little common sense?

You watch this special and you feel that Maron is coming from where you are. He resembles nothing so much as the guy who lives down the hall in your dorm. Who is not scraping off his rough edges to get along, but is speaking his truth, unafraid of those who disagree, yet possessing underneath a warmth and an understanding of the human condition.

Maron is not Chappelle. Sure, they both tell stories, but Chappelle is sly and builds up to an hysterical punchline. Maron is more of a storyteller, he’s got more in common with Spalding Gray than he does with most of the comics plying the boards. You only laugh out loud a few times, but you still enjoy the show.

And the exhibition of his neuroses… We all have them, but today you either hide them or build your whole carer on revealing them.

But mostly Maron is finally comfortable in his own skin. He feels like he’s made it. He knows he’s not an arena act, but he’s got his fans.

And isn’t that what it’s all about?

Entertainment is not a team sport. It is not us vs. them. But that does not mean you can’t have an identity, can’t take a position. But it’s so hard for most to make themselves vulnerable to the blowback.

But the truth is it’s all about your fans, nobody else matters. Everybody is not going to like you, but if you’re good enough, you’ll have enough followers to sustain a career.

Jokes are interesting, but real life is special, it’s what truly resonates.

Maron is on the right path here. And the funny thing is so many of his contemporaries are pulling their punches.

Then again, Bill Burr has been opining about politics recently, speaking his truth unafraid of anybody.

But Burr is in-your-face, he’s got a bigger presence, his act is more everyman, whereas Maron is an intellectual.

Maron has finally arrived. Kudos!