This is what made me write the “Fandom” post.

Newsom’s been all over my social media feeds giving it back to Trump and the Republicans, but in the mainstream media…crickets.

Until today.

Today the “Times,” Politico, Yahoo and more got on board.

But the account he’s posting from still only has 430,000 X(Twitter) followers. But I don’t blame Newsom, I BLAME THE DEMOCRATS! Who’ve demonized social media to the point where it’s a crime to be on it. Whereas voters eat this stuff up. Young voters. But the Democratic party is controlled by oldsters who can’t be attacked, for if you do so it’s AGEISM! Forget that Biden was losing his marbles, HE WAS TOO DAMN OLD! Nobody wants a president who’s 86…it’s unfathomable.

But whenever I wrote that my inbox went wild with self-righteous lefties who thought they knew better. It’s like a Bob Dylan song come to life…except this time the times have already changed, will you please get out of the way?

If the Democrats even play online it’s sanitized, for fear of pissing someone off. That’s the Democratic party, you’ve got to shut up because someone somewhere might take offense. Boy have the Republicans won on this issue… I mean let people speak! And tell me once again why trans females should be playing in women’s sports? Forget that there aren’t that many, does every minority group have the right to do everything?

No, and this never will be. We are all prisoners of our limitations. Face them and do your best.

But the funny thing is the people defending these supposedly marginal groups almost always aren’t members of them! Whenever I’m accused of sexism it comes from men. Same deal if you mention something about Latinos or native Americans or Blacks. These minorities are sick and tired of middle class whitey hijacking their cause while saying they know better. THIS is one of the main reasons why minority groups shifted to Trump in greater numbers, never mind the fact that the Democrats say a lot and do little for these factions.

I can see my inbox right now, HERESY! Why are you attacking the Democrats, you must be loyal to the TEAM! A team almost everyone has abandoned? That is out of touch with the populace? Can’t anybody look at themselves and change?

Rogan and Von win because they are regular guys. Where are the regular guys on the left who young men can relate to? On the left everybody is highbrow, and the Democrats who dip their toes into podcasts are so damn media-trained that no one thinks they’re honest. Today you must speak your mind and let the cards fall where they may. Stop APOLOGIZING! How did that start in America. Everybody’s always apologizing, as if this lets them off the hook, and oftentimes they should have stood their ground, but once again, they’re fearful of offending someone.

I’d be stunned if Gavin Newsom can win the presidency. Because the right has spent years labeling California a hellhole. Not a week goes by without a major story about companies or people moving to Texas or Oklahoma… California is a passé state with too many regulations, even Ezra Klein came down on it.

I don’t agree, but I don’t want to argue with perception, perception is EVERYTHING!

So Newsom is giving the Republicans a taste of their own medicine. For a few weeks Newsom’s tweets have been so outrageous you almost believed someone was posting from a parody account. Normally Democrats post sans humor, which is why they have no virality. They don’t mash up images, use AI…it’s so dry you’re about to die.

Want to do something? Turn off MSNBC, stop listening to left wing talk radio and start following @GovPressOffice immediately. Download X(Twitter) if you don’t already have the app. Yes, break your cardinal rule against social media, USE IT! Then you’ll have a clue what the young ‘uns now in control of our country truly think.

And while you’re at it download TikTok and follow @cagovernor

Or go directly to Newsom’s posts here: https://www.tiktok.com/@cagovernor?lang=en

Why am I telling you to do this? BECAUSE IT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD! You will smile. Trump and the Republicans are vulnerable, but all the elected Democratic officials do is sit on their rear ends and say their hands are tied. BUT NOT NEWSOM!

And you know why? Gavin Newsom is a product of California, he was born in San Francisco.

In California it doesn’t matter what college you went to, who your parents are, all that east coast crap you’re inundated with at the Ivys and in Manhattan and D.C. No, everybody starts from the same line and you make it up as you go. And the whole state is based on the long shot. Taking big risks. It’s an ethos that has not flourished anywhere else in the nation. In California the sky’s the limit, in the rest of the country you’re taught to know your place. Don’t agree? THEN YOU DON’T LIVE HERE!

Everybody is so pissed off. Everybody thinks things must go their way. The new is abhorred. Nobody is taking a risk, they don’t want to put a single dollar in jeopardy. But since they went to a good school they’re self-satisfied and believe they’re better than the rest. And, unfortunately, THESE SAME DAMN PEOPLE ARE IN CONTROL OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY!

It’s time to do your part, can the pessimism and embrace a bit of optimism.

If I hear one more Democrat talk about 2028… Do you truly think there’s going to be a free and fair election then? It will be too late! We already saw Texas gerrymandering today. And Trump’s minions want all the voting rolls. And no mail-in voting… You know, the Democrats too busy to wait in line at the polls because they’re above it…

HAVE I PISSED YOU OFF YET?

If so, either change or get out of the way. How come you can’t question your precepts, how come you need to believe you’re better than everybody else?

Every party needs a leader. And right now the Democrats have a vacuum. It’s like a hot potato, no one wants to stick their neck out.

Don’t you get it, THE REPUBLICANS ARE VULNERABLE!

Ultimately it’s about hearts and minds, didn’t we learn that in Vietnam?

But all we’ve got is defeated poobahs with horrific loss records saying to follow them. NO!

Let’s jump into the fray and get our hands dirty.

But no, the Democrats are like France…they believe their language and culture are superior but then they capitulate whenever challenged, they don’t even put up a good fight.

Where is the ATTITUDE on the left?

With Gavin Newsom and nobody else.

Newsom runs the largest state in the nation, one that keeps the red states alive with its taxes. Yet the perception is the state is a pariah.

Innovation? It was supposed to come from Florida…what a joke. Ditto Texas. As for New York? You’ve got to be rich to live there and the tech scene has always been anemic.

California is the fourth largest economy in the world. Why is everybody apologizing for it? Not Newsom, he’s embracing the power and flaunting it. Let him be a beacon to those on the left.

Newsom represents hope. And isn’t that what Obama won on, even if he didn’t do so much in office?

Newsom has real power, and he’s wielding it. KUDOS!

Re: Spotify Global Weekly Top Songs Chart

Bob,

This letter made me chuckle, because you ain’t wrong. And what Spotify shows for last week unwittingly aligns with what we sell as PHYSICAL copies in an indie record store in St. Louis (Euclid Records).

When it comes to sales of FMac Rumours, they should just issue that album to every child at birth!

And that Goo Goo Dolls ranking is not surprising to us.

Here’s a snapshot of our top sellers for 2024. The totals are a combination of new and used vinyl & CDs:

DESCRIPTION NAME SALESLAST365

1. Aerovons “Resurrection” 330

2. Chappell Roan “The Rise and Fall 184

of a Midwest Princess”

3. Taylor Swift “The Tortured Poets 172

Department”

4. Fleetwood Mac “Rumours” 95

5. Goo Goo Dolls “Greatest Hits Vol. 1” 75

6. Charli XCX “Brat” 65

7. Vince Guaraldi “Charlie Brown 60

Xmas”

8. Taylor Swift “Midnights” 58

9. Taylor Swift “1989 T.’s Version” 57

10. Miles Davis “Kind of Blue” 52

11. Billie Eilish “Hit Me Hard and 52

Soft”

12. MF DOOM “Mm…Food” 52

13. Vampire Weekend “Only God Was 52

Above Us”

14. Led Zeppelin “IV (ZOSO)” 51

15. Pink Floud “Dark Side of the 47

Moon”

16. Beatles “White Album” 46

17. Jack White No Name 46

18. The Cure “Songs of a Lost 44

World”

19. Kendrick Lamar “Good Kid 43

M.A.A.D. City”

20. Sturgill Simpson/ “Passage Du Desir” 43

Johnny Blue Skies

21. Weezer Blue Album 43

22. Beatles “Revolver” 42

23. Noah Kahan “Stick Season” 42

24. Hozier Hozier 39

25. Beyoncé “Cowboy Carter” 38

26. Olivia Rodrigo “Guts” 38

27. Smile “Wall of Eyes” 37

We sold 30 copies of Arctic Monkeys AM in 2024. And this year, it remains a title we can’t get enough of to keep in regular stock.

And we are continually astounded at how much Journey (and Kansas!) gets scooped up. It’s used vinyl, because the labels haven’t re-issued them yet. Meaning, we can only sell what used copies come in the door, so their sales are limited by inventory.

It’s intriguing to see Spotify numbers translating to when people of all ages decide it’s time to have a physical copy of it.

And side bar to a previous letter topic:

We need a music streaming service on our iPad to play sealed new releases in the store to generate in-store interest and sales (labels just don’t send promo copies like they used to).

We recently canceled our Spotify subscription and hooked up with Tidal.

The sound quality is noticeably better.

And many of our popular sellers (like King Gizz) are no longer on Spotify. We need a streamer that HAS the artists whose new titles we’re trying to sell.

Thanks for another intriguing letter,

Toby Weiss

At what point did you give up your fandom for a band…if ever?

And what made you become a fan of the band to begin with?

Now a band needs a lead singer, a front person, usually a man but it can also be a woman. Look, Linkin Park is now fronted by a woman. And that front person must have a personality. Alice Cooper was the name of the band, not Vince Furnier, but because of his antics up front, Vince became known as Alice and continued to have a career when the rest of the band did not.

Now it’s best if that front person is edgy. After all, a band is the antithesis to society. We don’t need you to agree, but to point out all the inequities, all the injustices. The more you stick it to the man, the more we like you. Furthermore, we want you to live a lifestyle we cannot, because we neither have the cash nor the opportunities, never mind the road manager with a roll of hundred dollar bills to make any problem go away. We like that you elude the law. We even like it when you’re drunk and out of control, proving that society’s norms have no purchase on your soul.

As for big pronouncements… The Beatles bigger than Jesus? How come I’m still referencing this offhand remark by John Lennon over half a century later. He’s rich, he’s got fans, he can say whatever he wants, whereas those working for the man cannot…their entire lives are compromised, they’ve got to give to get, it’s a network of obligations, most of which you don’t want to fulfill, but you need to.

As for solo acts…

There’s a reason acts are wary of going out sans the band’s name. Kevin Cronin just experienced this. He’s the front person for REO Speedwagon, but without that moniker…the populace is confused, they think they’re not getting what they used to, if they’re even aware of the fact that it’s the same guy who sings the songs.

Starting as a solo act… You’re best if there’s a penumbra, more than your music. Elton John had the outfits, the outrageousness. That’s fallen away today, but if you were around back then it was a key part of a fan’s attachment to him.

In other words, the music is not enough. You need a personality. Hopefully with some rough edges that can hook the audience.

Which is why you can have hits but no career. What is your IMAGE? And an image is more than beauty.

Speaking of beauty… We loved that our acts went out with models and actresses. They WON! Peter Wolf with Faye Dunaway? Everybody in America was salivating over her and this scruffy guy from a band got her. Rod Stewart and his babes?

Rod Stewart’s a good example… What did it take for me to turn on him?

Those execrable “American Songbook” albums he did with Clive Davis. If you’re only doing it for the money… Then again, like Frank Zappa, you can poke fun at the whole thing, saying WE’RE ONLY IN IT FOR THE MONEY!

Was this the same Rod the Mod who grew up in Gasoline Alley? Who was up on deck when she bit his neck? This guy didn’t know who his audience was, and he alienated me. But I’ve still got a soft spot in my heart for Rod…I remember those early records.

Trump is an incredible front man. He acts like the rules don’t apply to him. Does whatever he wants, damn the consequences, someone else will clean up the detritus.

He’s traded one babe for another, he’s married to a model now.

He’s beaten the system time and again. Stiffing banks and contractors.

He’s a rebel I tell you, a veritable RENEGADE!

But those battling against him point to the facts. It’s like a classical music aficionado trying to convince you why Ozzy Osbourne sucks. Who cares, they don’t get it!

Trump jets around and acts like a bozo with world leaders… Isn’t this like Keith Moon? If you’re a fan of the man you’re loving it, you’re not wincing, you’re WINNING!

So what is it going to take for you to abandon Trump? I mean you’ve drunk the kool-aid, you’re a fan.

Well, you could become a fan of a new band.

But the Democrats don’t have any acts they’re purveying other than Gavin Newsom, who they’re sidelining.

Schumer? He’s not even as credible and desirable as the Carpenters.

Who amongst the Democrats inspires the base, makes them fans?

I can’t think of a single person. I can think of a few people who are good on paper, like Shapiro, Pritzker and Whitmer… But I wouldn’t go to the show. Get in my car, travel and pay to see any of them. As for their greatest hits…what exactly are they? There’s no there there.

So the Democrats keep trying to convince Trump voters that they shouldn’t, be fans of Trump.

They point to cuts that will hurt the Trumpers… But the Trumpers are not listening, it’s like parents trying to tell their kids about the evils of Elvis Presley, they’re doubling-down.

Now in music there’s been a tradition of outlaws, which has now been squandered. Do you remember the turn of the decade, from the eighties to the nineties, when Snoop started singing about gin and juice and there were these rap wars and all we heard was f*ck the police? Not only were these rappers dangerous, they were spewing truth! And isn’t it funny how even today when a rapper goes to jail it doesn’t hurt their career.

But that dangerous front person paradigm is hard to find in today’s music. Because you just can’t repeat what’s been done before, you must plow new ground. So if you sing music that hearkens back to the days of yore and you’re dating models…we’ve seen that before, how about something new?

And you’re ripping us off all the while.

We don’t need your stinking merch, even though you keep telling us so. Trump executed on this model before it became completely burned out, before the Kardashians perfected it, proving that you don’t even have to have any talent to sell merch, that it’s all a big grift. At the core of it you’ve got to have something…

So if your songs are written by committee…

It’s harder for the audience to embrace you. We want to believe they’re YOUR words, YOUR story. Which is one of the reasons music blew up back in the sixties and seventies. Now the focus is on hits. Whatever it takes to make a hit. Give the audience something palatable. Whereas it used to be about the audience coming to the act, not compromising whatsoever. Have you listened to “Are You Experienced”? There’s not a hit on it. But when you first heard “Purple Haze” you wanted more of that.

Norms… Stars challenge the norms.

As for today’s record labels, they’re just like the consultants who convinced Biden he could win. They wanted to keep their jobs, they wanted their bonuses. But the joke was on them, because the audience knew…

Hell, look at the recent concert grosses. They’re not so big if you’re not a big star. As for some long in the tooth stars… How many times are you going to go back to the well and rip me off? I’ve seen the show, and you want how much money?

It’s tough for a fan.

And we all want to be fans. That’s part of our identity, part of our well-being. And music has punted here, believing commerce triumphs artistry.

What did Trump say during his first run? I’M RICH AND I DON’T NEED YOUR MONEY! Imagine a musical act saying that today.

You can challenge the veracity of that, but musical acts have been lying from day one. The show is sold out? Yeah, right. You’ve sold a million copies of your independent album? I’d be stunned if you sold a hundred thousand. Or, as Jerry Heller once told me regarding N.W.A…my company, my number!

So you Democrats keep trying to poke holes in the Trump edifice. You might as well try and convince young girls not to believe in K-pop.

But it’s even worse. The Democrats are abdicating all their power. They’re all about old media when it’s been trumped by new media…everybody gets their information online and what do the Democrats say? SOCIAL MEDIA IS THE DEVIL! And when you ask them if they’re on TikTok, they say they wouldn’t deign to be so…but the joke is on them.

Don’t think of it as binary, us vs. them… There are more than two acts in music, and there is more than one politician. You can be successful without basing your entire ethos/marketing campaign on putting another act down. You’re just rounding up all the people who don’t believe in the other act, giving them something to invest their time, money and belief in. And if your act is powerful enough, some of the fans of another act will come to you.

And one thing is for sure, acts are not forever. Some have long careers on the road, but their hitmaking days are far behind them. You need new blood. Where is the new blood in the Democratic party? NONEXISTENT!

Beto O’Rourke said some good things, but he looked like a prep school kid out on a lark, not dangerous. Which was a criticism of Fetterman, that he hadn’t done an honest day’s work in his life, but at least he had tattoos and was wearing those damn SHORTS! And when he showed up in Congress in them and his hoodies… The old farts were offended, youngsters said they could see one of theirs in office. (However Fetterman had his stroke and his power has been to a great degree neutered.)

We’re looking for leaders. And leaders also have a sense of humor about themselves.

What we’re looking for is stars.

There are plenty of people with talent, but how many are stars?

Very few.

And gaining an audience is about more than talent, it’s an ability to be warm, to communicate. There are variations on the theme, but talk to anybody in the music business, they know what a star is and who is one. Hell, there are stars with imperfect voices. That’s why “The Voice” and other competition shows never mint stars, because it’s not solely about the voice, that’s just the starting point.

We want unconstrained people who can give the middle finger to the status quo. Trump fires on all cylinders. The Democrats? They can’t even start their electric car.

So the next time you criticize people for being Trumpers… Ask yourself what you’re offering in return. Also, know that generally speaking very little is being offered anyway, which is another reason why politics is king. Actors have been revealed to truly be two-dimensional as a result of social media and the “musicians” are all whored-out, who you gonna believe in in this topsy-turvy, difficult world?

And you’ve got to believe in someone.

And it’s never just yourself. Unless you’re John Lennon. Isn’t it funny that despite his cutting personality, his poor treatment of women, that he’s still revered, more than Paul McCartney? Paul NEEDS it, John didn’t seem to. He wasn’t begging for your attention, you were drawn to him.

Who is drawing us to them in the Democratic party?

No one.

But the Republicans, they’ve got TRUMP! 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/5pGdWJIkt47ovJcBOKHl2S?si=37b1eea995ea47c9

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlR8JwdB8Qk

You’ve got to listen to the whole thing. While you’re doing something else, distracted. So you can suddenly turn your head and say to yourself WHAT IS THIS?

I don’t want to oversell “Sushi and Coca-Cola,” that would do the track a disservice. Keep your expectations low and let your mind drift. When done right music penetrates you in a way nothing else does. Sure, there are some great in your face numbers that demand your attention, but what you really want is something to ride shotgun, something personal that can lift your mood and make you think you can conquer the world…or at least survive!

I know St. Paul & The Broken Bones had their moment a few years back, when that video from Letterman was ping-ponging around the internet. I didn’t get it, I liked the emotion, but I didn’t find the song to be that good. But this, THIS I LIKE!

I spent hours today trying to penetrate new music. Got to say the new Justin Bieber album is listenable, but do I want to listen to it? Unnecessary. It scares me that Olivia Rodrigo is a respected act. Have we sunk so low that we’re kissing up to this two-dimensional stuff? This is paint by numbers, commerce. As for Chappell Roan…good for her that she’s got success but do I think her music is for the ages, do I think it truly adds something to the canon? No.

Needless to say I burned out on the Spotify Top 50.

So then I started checking out Americana playlists. The best one was the best from 2024, but this is 2025, and I wanted something more current. And I heard a bunch of tracks that I understood, but didn’t move me. And now I’m thinking of why “Sushi and Coca-Cola” moves me.

It’s certainly not the lyrics. This is not Bob Dylan, this is simple, serviceable.

But there’s no 808, THANK GOD! It’s kind of like tattoos…if you want one, cool, but don’t think you’re rebelling.

And then there’s the piano bed. Underpinning the entire thing.

And let’s be clear, the vocal is EXQUISITE! Hearkens back to the days of yore, fifty plus years ago, before everybody thought they could sing and deserved Spotify royalties and you’d go to the local bar and there’d be a soul singer…

But then soul was eclipsed by hip-hop.

But really, what puts “Sushi and Coca-Cola” over the top is the HORNS! Do you know why we don’t have more horns in today’s music? IT’S TOO EXPENSIVE! That’s one of the reasons we’ve got solo acts, not bands…no one wants to split the money that many ways. A drummer is necessary. A bassist. But can’t you just hire horns when you need them? But the budgets of yore are out the window. Who is sitting in their home studio saying they’re going to call in the horns?

Now this sounds nothing like Chicago. But once upon a time, there were horn bands…really started with Al Kooper and the initial iteration of Blood, Sweat & Tears. But that sound went out of favor…

Now if you were in the venue and St. Paul & The Broken Bones started to play “Sushi and Coca-Cola,” you’d find it impossible to stay in your chair, you’d stand up and start to groove, and you wouldn’t even need a partner, even though one would be fine. When the music penetrates you this way you put your phone down, you stop shooting selfies, you don’t want to impinge upon the experience, you just want to revel in the mood.

Not that a major label is interested in a band like this. They don’t want music, they want hits, they want instant commerciality. Something that just feels right, that might infect the populace and grow upon people…there’s no room for that. And this isn’t smooth, like the Average White Band, but that was fifty years ago itself. This is not a soul revue, this is too many musicians on a small stage playing for the love of it, because believe me, they can’t be making much money.

Maybe you don’t like this. You’ve got to know there are so many people immersed in the punk sound that if there’s more than a couple of guitars and if the singer is not shouting they’re out. Good for them, but most people have broader tastes.

Then again, the world is so broad that most music doesn’t reach most people.

This is the kind of music you want at your Bar Mitzvah party, at your corporate retreat, the kind that makes people move and just feel good.

Once again, “Sushi and Coca-Cola” is not classic, but we haven’t really had this sound since the Commitments thirty plus years ago, and St. Paul & The Broken Bones are more authentic.

So what we’ve got here is a journeyman band. Spreading their sound around the globe. You don’t go to the show to hear the hits, you go to enter a trance, to levitate from this everyday world in a way that music used to specialize in but is hard to find today.

This is basic, this is human. It evidences talent. It’s not about the looks, but the music. Do I expect everybody to glom on on instantly? Hell, this song has been out for a month and doesn’t have significant traction, that’s how hard it is to break through. You’re on your own.

The record business is run by lemmings, but not all the acts are such.

We’re looking for something authentic, that doesn’t say BRAND in bright lights. Something that is basic, that is just music.

Like “Sushi and Coca-Cola.”