https://bit.ly/3vY0Wc2

1

It’s happening. Classic rock is the new delta blues. Its songs, its performers, never really went away. It’s just a matter of amplifying the music, waiting for youngsters to discover it and twist and turn and create something new with it, as they do on YouTube and TikTok. It’s hard. You’ve not only got to appreciate the music, you’ve got to know how to play it. Some are learning at the School of Rock. Others are practicing in the basement. Not everybody is straining for instant fame online, posting videos in an attempt to be known and get rich.

Capricorn Records was noteworthy from its inception, but it wasn’t noticed by most Americans until 1971, when the Allman Brothers’ “At Fillmore East” was released at the end of the summer. The first Allman Brothers album actually came out in ’69, but at this late date too many people still haven’t heard it, it’s the blueprint, with the original studio take of “Whipping Post,” never mind “Dreams” and “Trouble No More,” employing that overused rock critic word, arguably it’s the band’s best. But “Idlewild South,” the band’s follow-up, released in 1970, started to make inroads. The shift from Adrian Barber made all the difference, Tom Dowd’s production made the music more immediate, yet it still wasn’t in-your-face, those not having seen the band live would have to wait for “Fillmore East” to experience the band’s essence, its greatness. That was the Allmans’ calling card, the music, and just the music. No dancing, no theatrics… And unlike their contemporaries the Grateful Dead, the Allmans improvised, but they were anything but loose, the band was rehearsed to the tightness of a steel drum, which is why when you saw them live you were blown away, you couldn’t believe these ragamuffins from Florida could do this, seemingly effortlessly, yet so intensely and beautifully.

And southern rock was born.

And Capricorn started releasing more records. Mostly in the same southern rock vein. Dixie Dregs. Wet Willie. And there was even the L.A.-based Captain Beyond, whose music was far from Georgia, but by this time if it was on Capricorn you paid attention, not quite like you did with Asylum, but the label made a difference, it just wasn’t a compendium of albums, it stood for something, the personal taste of Phil Walden.

At this late date, when someone thinks of southern rock, the two names that come to mind are the Allmans, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. But Skynyrd’s debut didn’t come out until August of ’73, it took a while for “Free Bird” to fly, while the Allmans were starting to fray.

And eventually other labels got in on the act, like Epic, with Molly Hatchet, but that Florida band’s debut didn’t come out until 1978. Yes, it took that long for the rest of the industry to catch up with Walden. Maybe because they were in the north, on the coast, whereas Capricorn was in Georgia, the south, not far from Muscle Shoals and Nashville and…Walden had his ear to the ground when most executives weren’t even listening.

The Marshall Tucker Band came from just a little bit north, South Carolina, and their Capricorn debut didn’t come out until April 1973, when despite the denigration of historians, rock music was burgeoning, this was the year of “Houses of the Holy,” never mind “Dark Side of the Moon,” rock radio dominated, AM was irrelevant, FM playlists were crowded, so the Marshall Tucker Band was an also-ran instead of dominant.

But the act had this song, “Can’t You See.”

2

If you drop the needle on Marshall Tucker’s debut…

They’d learned the lesson of the Rolling Stones, reach out and grab them by the throat from the opening notes, blow them away right away. We were implored to take the highway. The band was firing on all cylinders, demonstrating its chops. There was even a flute solo, but even faster and more powerful than Ian Anderson’s in Jethro Tull, “Take the Highway” did not hit you in your head, but your gut. It was not intellectual but emotional, and there was Toy Caldwell’s exquisite guitar playing, sans the effects creeping into so much rock, “Take the Highway” rollicked along, it was impressive.

But it wasn’t legendary. That was the second song on the album, “Can’t You See.”

“Gonna take a freight train”

Sing these words, just say these words, and music denizens of the seventies will know exactly what song you’re talking about. “Can’t You See” was released as a single twice, it made almost no impact, it never hit, but if you knew it, you never forgot it.

“Gonna climb a mountain

The highest mountain

Jump off, nobody gonna know”

Pain. Isolation. Nobody is watching, nobody cares, you’re caught in your own private hell from which you feel there is no escape.

“Can’t you see, whoa, can’t you see

What that woman lord, she been doin’ to me”

I don’t think you can sing these words anymore. Oh, you can rap them, #MeToo is nowhere to be found in the hip-hop world, but outside that genre whatever you feel, you’d better think twice before you say it. Women can’t be denigrated, they can’t be the source of your depression, you can’t blame it on them, despite what you might feel inside.

“I’m gonna find me

A hole in the wall

I’m gonna crawl inside and die

‘Cause my lady now

A mean ‘ol woman lord

Never told me goodbye”

The southern tradition. Life is more important than the trappings. In the north you intellectualize, in the south you feel. It is different, even though so many have never been there. Sure, at this point there are political differences, but they’re not the only ones. Life is slower below the Mason-Dixon Line, in speech, but the content, whew! So many of the greatest novels in the country’s history were written where the weather suits your clothes, and is sometimes too hot for them.

And the lyrics of “Can’t You See” come from a long tradition, these were similar to those of the aforementioned delta bluesmen. Who made records that were ignored by most until their earthy directness was embraced by young rockers in the U.K. and a whole sound was developed which then exploded.

“I’m gonna buy a ticket now

As far as I can

Ain’t a-never comin’ back

Ride me a southbound

All the way to Georgia now

Till the train, it run out of track”

He’s got to get away. He’s got to hide his face. He’s hurt, he’s embarrassed, the woman had all the power. Sure, he characterizes her as “crazy,” but in the blues, despite the language, it was the woman who so often dominated, was in charge, the man ultimately just reacted.

And “Can’t You See” was in the southern rock tradition, as in it stretched out, it wasn’t compressed for AM radio, it was an extended statement, with movements more akin to classical music than the pop ditties on Top Forty. You could get into it, it rewarded your attention, you marinated in it, it set your mind a-thinkin’.

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The Marshall Tucker Band was on the road, releasing records, but they were itinerant in the way of the delta bluesmeisters. And then the sound evolved, it became more country than rock, and the band had a hit with “Fire on the Mountain,” on their fourth album, 1975’s “Searchin’ for a Rainbow.” But really, it was two years later, on their sixth album, 1976’s “Carolina Dreams,” that the band truly broke through, that everybody knew their name, with the track “Heard It in a Love Song.”

And the band’s image changed. Cowboy hats were prevalent.

And the truth is George McCorkle wrote “Fire on the Mountain,” but essentially all of the rest of the material was written by Toy Caldwell, although these hits were sung by Doug Gray.

But not “Can’t You See.”

Go on Spotify, the arbiter of popularity. “Fire on the Mountain” has 25,934,560 streams. “Heard It in a Love Song” has 24,221,750. “Take the Highway,” has 5,989,716, but “Can’t You See” has 125,082,944. You see, people know.

Toy Caldwell, was a wunderkind, certainly a genius in a world where that term is too often used indiscriminately. He wrote the songs, he played lead guitar, and occasionally, he sang.

But his bandmate brother died as a result of a car accident. And then Toy did too many drugs…and at this point you can see the Marshall Tucker Band live, but the only original member is Doug Gray. Kind of like Lynyrd Skynyrd, but at least Gray sings, whereas that’s not Gary Rossington’s role, although with Ronnie Van Zant he was the soul of the original band.

4

Yes, you know “Can’t You See” by the lyrics, but really it’s a record more than a song, it starts with some lyrical picking, and then the flute comes in to set the mood, this is not the speed limit tester of the opener, this is more controlled, an afternoon in the park as opposed to a night in the bar, reflective as opposed to active. The intro is a full minute long before Toy Caldwell starts to sing. And you can tell he feels it, he believes it, he’s not singing the phone book, these are his words, he wrote them, they’re channeled from his heart.

And that stinging guitar jumps in and out as well as the piano, which is mixed high, it’s not overwhelmed by the electric instruments. Listen with headphones, there’s plenty of air, there’s a whole environment.

And then Toy starts to solo, he’s speaking through his guitar. He’s bending the notes, he’s feeling it, the message is as clear as it is in the words.

5

Warren Haynes is a giant. Although it does appear from this video that lockdown has slimmed him. No, seriously, one can argue strongly that Haynes embodies southern rock, he’s the man carrying the flag, and everyone respects him. This is the opposite of the starmaker machinery. Haynes is just picking and writing, he’s not making news for the gossip columns. And he’s everywhere, but he’s never had a hit, not by today’s metrics. But we live in a post-Top Forty era. Now it isn’t about competition, but pursuing your art individually, maybe in collaboration with others, but the music is primary as opposed to the image, despite what the media will tell you. And Warren’s played with Dickey Betts, the Allmans themselves, has his own group Gov’t Mule as well as doing solo work. And he’s marching forward as he’s keeping the past alive.

Warren Haynes closed me with his cover of “Wasted Time” on his “Live At Bonnaroo” album from 2004: https://spoti.fi/3imf2Ql “Hotel California” is the most famous song on the album of the same name, but the most meaningful cut is “Wasted Time.”

“So you can get on with your search, baby

And I can get on with mine

And maybe someday we will find

That it wasn’t really wasted time”

Maybe it wasn’t wasted time listening to music, knowing all the songs, all the players, being invested in the scene, what was happening. It all seems quaint today, but there’s more truth in “Wasted Time” than in a host of twenty first century number one songs, never mind movies and novels.

And the truth is Don Henley has gotten his due, he’s had his hits, the Eagles own the best-selling album of all time, but in his canon “Wasted Time” is an album track, many people know it, but not everybody. Kind of like “Can’t You See,” at least when it comes to younger generations.

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So I’m sitting on the pot, yes, why lie, reading the news on my phone, and I see that Warren Haynes covered “Can’t You See” at Love Rocks. It seemed so perfect, so right. And even though I was in the acoustically unfriendly bathroom I couldn’t help but pull it up, I needed to hear it, see what he did with it, because I know Warren respects the music, and he never gets it wrong.

And Warren can pick the intro effortlessly, even though those of us at home could never get it right, no matter how hard we tried. And he’s playing a Les Paul, not a computer, and when he picks the lead figure it sounds so right, he and me are instantly in the groove.

And Warren’s got the slightly husky voice of Toy Caldwell, being from North Carolina. And this is a large band, with two drummers, a flautist to replicate the exact sound, even Robert Randolph picking on the pedal steel, but the glue is this balding long-haired sixty year old, who is anti-image, he’s letting the music speak for him, like the Allman Brothers, the southern rockers of yore.

And I was thrilled that Warren was keeping the tradition, that he knew, that he was elevating this classic, giving it the respect it deserves, but it’s a reproduction of the record, an homage, until just after four minutes in Warren starts to solo, when he takes the song to new heights through the skill, the beauty of his playing, it’s not about effects, studio tricks, you can only sit there going WHOA!

No, in truth you can’t help yourself from moving, like those on the screen, watch them as Warren starts to wail, they all start to sway, they’re dancing, this is the power of the sound, the music, in a world where too much is digitized it’s positively organic, it’s a throwback to what once was.

And is coming back again.

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2S2UcLp

YouTube: https://bit.ly/2T3JTH6

1

This is a hit. Will the label make it one?

You’ve got to be in the mood to listen to new music. And today I was. And I heard a few very good tracks, but this was the best. And I wanted to write about it but I had a virtual doctor’s appointment coming up and I didn’t know if I wanted to waste my heat on it, especially in light of the blowback.

Yes, there are times you are ready, and times you are worn out. And usually, when you’re fresh it’s best. Which is why oftentimes the first take is the best, and the first cut is the deepest, but that was not a hit in its original Cat Stevens incarnation, but I must admit Rod Stewart did a better version, but at this point most people think it’s a Sheryl Crow song, but does the younger generation know ANY of these? I wouldn’t think so.

So let’s first define a hit. Especially in this era. It’s something you get instantaneously, that catches your ear, that changes your mood, that you want to hear again.

It’s just that simple. Yes, you may play the new work of your favorite act over and over until you get it, but don’t delude yourself into thinking non-fans will do this. The skip button is their friend. They don’t want to listen to anything they don’t like. As for the vaunted “playlist”…don’t get too excited. Yes, you’ll rack up some streams, maybe even make some dough, but playlists are for passive listeners, and the music business is built on active listeners, people who live for music, who grab on to something and spread the word to everybody, music is up front and center for these people, whereas the playlist people…it’s often background, in the office, during a cocktail party, while they’re paying bills.

Now not every hit becomes one, now more than ever. You see it needs a push. And a push isn’t as easy as it was before. And depending upon the format of your tune, the attack is different, and for some kinds of music there’s no attack plan at all, you just make it and play live and hope you gain traction, and most don’t.

So hip-hop records start online. Radio is last.

Rock records start on the radio. It’s a very small market relatively speaking, new rock, not classic rock, and most of its acts believe streaming is the devil so they’re leaving all the opportunities on the table. 

Country records start on the radio, but country fans will listen on streaming before rock fans will. 

As for pop…you need a push, which is why purveyors of these tracks employ the carpet bomb technique, all the old school stuff like TV, “Ellen,” “Kelly Clarkson” and late night, and print, and maybe even a version with a rapper to tie into that market.

So what is “Throw it Back”?

Well, it falls between the cracks, and therefore it may not be worth pushing, the label may choose to manage its bullets, because of opportunity cost. Keith Urban is anathema on hip-hop and pop radio, and Breland is Black, and let’s face it, a lot of country radio stations and country fans are racist. Then again, it’s almost an easier sell, because outlets may feel they have to play the track to avoid looking racist.

And “Throw it Back” is not your typical twangy track. That’s how you make something country today, through the “country” vocal, a stringed instrument like a banjo or violin (well, “Throw it Back” does have that banjo solo), it’s all about the toppings, not the essence, it’s as far away from Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson as it could be. In other words, it’s almost pop. Which means “Throw it Back” might fit. But I’m sure PDs can come up with all kinds of reasons not to play it.

Now there’s no doubt in my mind as soon as my audience receives this missive I’ll be inundated with the aforementioned blowback, this song SUCKS and they’ve got a better one!

First and foremost, you have to be dispassionate in picking emphasis tracks, hits. It’s not what YOU like, but what the AUDIENCE LIKES! This is a professional job, not everybody can be a program director, even though they think so. Talk to a musical act, it’s fascinating, they’ll tell you what songs work in concert and which ones don’t. And oftentimes it’s the ones they almost threw away, that they thought were substandard, that the audience embraces and become hits. Then again, artists are the absolute worst at picking singles. However, if you create an 11 you know. But you’re lucky if you create a couple of 11s in your career, if you have one at all, most acts never reach the pinnacle, despite deluding themselves that they have.

And the nature of the internet is either you’re sucking up or putting down. Play and you might consider suicide. It’s high school, even though you’ve graduated. But this time it’s the revenge of the nerds. Usually the most vocal are the ones who are the loners, without followers, they hide behind their handles, they want payback for all the ridicule they’ve endured. Yes, on the internet you can put it out there. But will anybody listen?

Music is a game of mass. It’s just that simple. If it only appeals to a few…don’t quit your day job. If you just want to follow your muse irrelevant of reaction, that’s fine, but please stop complaining that you’re not making money. Think of conventional business, if a company makes a stiff product, one unsuccessful in the marketplace, it doesn’t blame consumers, and it doesn’t double-down and market the product ad infinitum, it gives up, creates a new product or goes out of business and the proprietor(s) start all over. This is the so-called “badge of failure” that Silicon Valley adores, it’s all about EXPERIENCE! You learn by playing the game. Which of course has us asking why the record companies keep flogging the young and inexperienced. Then again, they’re social media giants. And artists and labels have realized social media is the absolute best way to get a record started. But don’t think it’s organic, I mean it occasionally works that way, but really it’s about the relationship between the major label and the social media site itself. Don’t feel squeezed out, this is a business lesson. The reason TikTok, et al, want to be involved with the major labels is they have a steady stream of product, there’s ongoing business, never mind money for support. You could be the best act in the world, but if you only put out a record every other year, you’re worthless to the social media giants, they need a constant flow.

So…

2

“If she get a shot of whiskey she know how to throw it back”

Breland has got a fantastic voice. Earthy and meaningful, with an edge. He doesn’t have the BEST voice, his voice has CHARACTER! The aforementioned Rod Stewart epitomizes this, they have a way of connecting with the audience.

“She’d turn up for Elvis Presley told the DJ ‘throw it back'”

Elvis Presley? Talk about a cheap shot, his audience is dying off, his memorabilia is dropping in value.

“She look better every Thursday she don’t have to throw it back

Shawty got me catching feelings

I just hope she throws it back”

THE LYRICS ARE STUPID!

But this is a world in which Justin Bieber’s lyrically inane “Peaches” was a monster number one. Like I said, this is a business, and you have to study it to be successful. Now you can sit it out completely, but you give up your right to complain, those who are deeply involved snub you when you reveal your ignorance. Go to the label and say that Spotify is screwing you, that it’s stealing money from you, and chances are they’ll close the door on you, knowing you’re insane, Spotify is how they make their money, THEY may screw you, but Spotify only takes around 30%.

So “Throw it Back” is not made for intellectual analysis, actually it’s best when you’re not even paying attention, when you hear it from afar, when you’re driving in your car, top down, sunroof open, arm on the windowsill, believing this is the best night of your life as you’ve got “Throw it Back” at the point of distortion on your car stereo. It’s about making you feel good, and getting your body moving, no more. It’s fine if you don’t buy that paradigm, you can choose not to play, but there’s a very good chance “Throw it Back” will not gain traction and then you have to realize why your track does not, you can learn.

So it’s not only Breland. It’s Keith Urban’s vocal too. He seems to be just shy of his limit, almost screaming, fighting to be heard over the music, like a singer in a bar, with ambient noise, clamor.

And there’s the instrumentation, the burbling bass under the rap. You may not even hear it if you’re not listening for it, but it helps makes the track. And the rap…short and sweet. Might as well give the audience what it is looking for.

And the track is short and sweet itself, barely over three minutes long. And except for the raps it’s essentially just one groove repeated over and over and over again, the traditional song structure is…OUT THE WINDOW!

And the magic is in the hook, which is enhanced by the country instrumentation, real instruments atop what otherwise could be seen as a hip-hop track.

And unlike most collaborations Breland and Urban are equal players, getting equal time, both necessary.

And then there’s that banjo solo…in other words this track has both hip-hop and country elements.

And only a hater could listen to “Throw it Back” without moving their body. This is the kind of track that gets self-doubting men standing at the bar energized, to ask a woman to dance. He’s been observing them all night on the dance floor, feeling separate, but now he finally has the mojo to play and when he’s out there moving his body and she throws it back…

I don’t know whether “Throw it Back” was an accident or planned like a military attack, but the end result is just…INFECTIOUS!

That’s another thing about a hit, change just one little thing and you ruin it and it’s not a hit. Come on, compare the “Help Me Ronda” from “Today!” to “Help Me Rhonda” on “Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!),” same song, the former dead in the water, the latter a chart-topper. Which is why sometimes the demo becomes the ultimate release, something is captured that can’t be replicated. It’s not science, it’s feel. It’s not ones and zeros, that’s the internet, but it’s music that drives the web and the apps, it’s the grease that makes it all work.

“Throw it Back” is not for January, sitting in your dorm room depressed, it’s about letting go. You remember letting go, don’t you? It’s fun, join the club and…

Throw it back!

(Note: There are some spoilers below.)

A typical HBO show. As in the cast supersedes the story. Guy Pearce in such a small role?

If you watch television, you know this is the most talked-about show on the flat screen. The second? “Startup.” I watched a few “Startups,” I plan to binge all thirty, it’s very watchable, not quite A level material, but the roles and the actors who play them are so good, and supposedly it gets better, I’m not checking my watch while I watch.

I really dug watching “Mare of Easttown.” We burned through all seven episodes in a couple of days. I don’t know how the people who watched week by week could handle it. Especially at the end of was it episode five or six, where it freezes on Mare’s face. I’ve got to wait a week to find out what happens? No way. Not that I expect HBO to change, I hope Apple TV+ does, bingeing is the only way to watch television, if you watch linear television, even worse on appointment, you’re a baby boomer, because the younger generation doesn’t do this, no way. And if you want to make bank, appeal to the younger generation, because they’re getting older every day, while the boomers are starting to die off. But to run an outfit like HBO you’ve had to work your way up the ladder, kissing ass all the way, so the concept of revolution is out the window. Oh wait! John Stankey came in and said they needed more product and then Jason Kilar came along and put all the content on the streaming service and Hollywood WENT NUTS!

The HBO staffers left. Or complained. It was a Tiffany operation, only the best and the brightest. But if you’ve got a streaming service, you need a hell of a lot more content. So people will subscribe and won’t log off. Stankey knew this, the established players did not.

As for Kilar… Word is he handled it poorly, he should have contacted all the players, those above the line, especially those who shared in profits. THEY NEVER EVER WOULD HAVE AGREED! Do you know how long it takes to do a deal in Hollywood? Sometimes the film is in the can before there is paper, and just getting to an agreement can take a year, no problem. So, just like in Silicon Valley, you’ve got to take action and then deal with the fallout. If it weren’t for Napster, we’d have no Spotify. Oh, we’d have something, but established operators only move forward when pushed.

So typically the development process at HBO was interminable. The opposite of Netflix. Netflix gives a go and you shoot. Well, historically anyway. But on HBO, they must insure that the end product is up to their standards. So they make you massage the product until it does. Is it the same since the purchase by AT&T, with more product in the pipeline? I don’t know, but the truth is the acting talent is so good in “Mare of Easttown” that it’s overwhelming, everybody has chops, you don’t see this level of participation on any other outlet.

But it’s superior to the story.

Kate Winslet is a local cop, investigating murders. Even worse, the girls are locked up?  This is B horror material. I was really wincing.

But then the show got much much better.

Except for one thing… Can someone please explain the pact between the three teenagers? Was it just a red herring, to make you think they were involved in the murder or did I miss something?

Having said all of the above, the ending was fantastic, the execution was as good as the surprise. So I give “Mare” a very high mark, I recommend it. But as much as the foreign shows? No way.

Watch “The Bureau.” Slow at first, but the tension will have you squirming in your seat. And everything rings true.

Not quite as much in “Borgen,” but close…it feels like you’re in the government.

And if you want genre, “Spiral” delivers completely, the best cop show on television.

And if you want gravitas, go with “A French Village,” amazing.

So what was the bigger point in “Mare of Easttown”? It was ultimately just about the plot. At first I thought they depicted the perils and prevalence of opioid addiction extremely well, shining a well-needed light, but then that faded away.

But there were excellent personal relationships. As far as the vaunted Jean Smart…I thought she was chewing the scenery at first, but then she got very good.

Speaking of good, Sosie Bacon was completely believable as the mother of Drew. I couldn’t stop wondering where I’d seen her, turns out she was in “Narcos: Mexico,” when is that coming back?

Julianne Nicholson rang true throughout, a fantastic job as Mare’s friend.

Even better was David Denman as Frank Sheehan…he nailed it! Just because you’re big and beefy with a beard, that does not mean you’re an intense bully. Frank is controlled, almost always soft-spoken, he’s a good guy, you’d be surprised how many are out there, despite all the clamor about #MeToo.

God, everybody was good, I haven’t seen an American show with this quality of acting…maybe ever. Everybody believable.

But Kate Winslet carried the show.

All the discussion is about the penumbra, ever since her starring role in “Titanic.” Is she beautiful enough, is she too heavy… That’s an American trope, DO THEY DESERVE TO BE A STAR!

But Winslet is so believable as Mare, you forget all her previous roles. Only at one point, when she was spruced up for dinner with Colin, did she even resemble the star Kate Winslet, here she was just a small town cop, who should have left town and had a better life, but just could not.

As for the psychological elements…

You’ve seen some of this before, but not recently, not in this depth. Winslet is haunted by the deaths of her father and son, she nearly sleepwalks through life. She never seems to lighten up and be in a good mood, the weight of her issues is always on her shoulders.

And Siobhan! She’s afraid to leave town for fear her family will fall apart, I’ve seen this in my own world.

And Siobhan dumping her contemporary for someone older and more sophisticated…this is how it works, especially when you’re young. You think you’re in love, bonded at the hip, and then your significant other jilts you unexpectedly.

And for far too many people it’s family first. They’ll say and do anything to protect their family. As for the duplicity…it’s rampant in America today, lying in court is de rigueur, it’s no longer anathema.

So on one hand you’ve got a typical police whodunit, with the false starts and blind alleys.

On another, you’ve got an incredible depiction of a world that gets almost no coverage in America. In America, you’re either a winner or a loser, a billionaire or homeless. But that leaves a lot of people out. Those who are working for a living, getting by, not always thinking about money, who live to eat microwave popcorn and watch TV and go to the local bar and drink.

And everybody knows everybody. This is what I love about the city, it’s anonymous. Living in a small burg is far too inhibiting, everybody knows your business, you’re labeled, it’s oppressive.

And then there’s Mare’s line about great being overrated. You think you want to do something great, but then people expect you to follow it up. And you’ve got internal pressure. But is being great what it’s all about, or just being enmeshed in the fabric, reaping the rewards of your relationships.

And then there’s the fact that Mare is always, well almost always, trying to do the right thing, and as a result it fractures her relationships. Turns out not everyone wants you to be honest and upfront, friends expect special dispensation. Mare is winning at her job, but she keeps losing in life.

Yes, life is depicted extremely well in “Mare of Easttown.” The opioids, the family dynamics. It’s great television. But is it lasting, meaningful television?

I think of “Happy Valley,” the English crime shows… The talent doesn’t supersede the story. David Tennant and Olivia Coleman are brilliant in “Broadchurch,” but they don’t eclipse the story, and the story is more believable than that in “Mare of Easttown.”

And if you want psychological, interpersonal/family drama, the first season of “Herrens Veje” exceeds “Mare of Easttown,” hands down.

I guess I just lament that everybody raving about “Mare of Easttown” has not partaken of these foreign shows, the English ones don’t even require subtitles! (Not that I don’t turn them on anyway.)

I watch to be entertained, but I also watch to be transfixed by art, to see people testing the limits. Try Bo Burnham’s new Netflix special “Inside” if you want to see someone doing so. I just don’t need another TV show, I need THE TV show! Watch “Ramy,” or “Master of None,” they’re dealing with issues of race and there’s plenty of humor. If everyone watched them we’d have less racism in this country.

So that’s my criticism of “Mare of Easttown,” it just didn’t shoot high enough. It will never top my list of recommendations. It’s another TV show, not art.

And I’m looking for art. Something that affects me, that I think about, that I will never forget. It’s hard to achieve, but first you have to shoot for it. “Mare of Easttown” did not, execution was primary, getting the story right. This was not “The Deer Hunter,” also set in Pennsylvania, that prevented sleep, but a really good ride. I like rides. But I’d rather read “Anna Karenina” than go to Disneyland. I’d rather listen to Frank Zappa than Olivia Newton-John. I’d rather watch “The Sopranos” than “Magnum, P.I.” I want to be transported, I want to be transfixed as you walk the line of experimentation with superiority, never falling off. Like sitting in the audience for “Hamilton.” Don’t make product, make art. I’d rather see you fail at art than make product. “Mare of Easttown” is ultimately just a genre show, I wish it were more.

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