Tune in today, September 1st, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.
Hear the episode live on SiriusXM VOLUME: HearLefsetzLive
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No, not the Olivia Newton-John track, although Freddy Moore played that every time we had lunch at Los Tacos, with or without Demi.
It’s rare that the remix is better than the original, but that’s the case here, the star is Mark Ronson. Ronson turns “Physical” from an upbeat, mindless track into a dreamy dance floor trance that sets your mind free, has it drifting, in your own bubble, thinking of your own life even if you’re dancing elbow to elbow with others. The original pops along, it’s mindless, it’s pure energy, you’re bouncing like you’re on uppers, Ronson’s take is more of a downer, and that’s what makes it great, it adds meaning, density, possibilities that are absent from the original. It’s one thing to just pop the question, do you want to get physical, do you want to have some exercise, bump bodies and forget about each other tomorrow or…the physical attraction is there, maybe this could evolve into something deeper, it’s the darkness, when it’s just the two of us we’re gonna dig down deep and connect. Not that we’re not gonna achieve the Big 0, Ronson’s chorus contains enough energy, enough stimulation, and then about a minute and a half into it, you’re in the throes, you’re building, the track is imploring you to peak and then the energy starts to dissipate, it’s positively post-coital.
You can’t get this mood, this energy, anywhere but music. Not in any video game, not in any streaming TV show, not in any TikTok video, you see this track is sans images, it’s something you hear, like the best music, you can make your own visuals, live your own life, this isn’t paint by numbers, this is a blank canvas, with inspiration built in. As for Gwen Stefani’s contribution, it’s not a feature, not a star turn made to gain attention, her voice is just another layer of the track, making it denser, entrancing you into its movie.
Now there is precedence for this. Albeit thirty years ago, before most fans of Dua Lipa were born. I’m talking of the remix of “Express Yourself” on the “Immaculate Collection.” The original, the hit version, is bouncy, Madonna is a cheerleader, you can sing along mindlessly, participating without paying attention to the lyrics, you don’t have to be old enough to understand the message, but the remix…
Baby,
B,b,b,b-baby…
The track no longer lopes. It’s more direct, the synth faux-strings add seriousness, but I must admit the “Immaculate Collection” was released when people still owned stereos, before the earbud craze, and it was released in the ultimately failed QSound, and we can debate the merits of that technology, but the truth is it made the percussion dance around the room, and the bottom in the remix is more emphasized. The track is more mature.
Now the funny thing is in the case of “Express Yourself” it’s the remix that survives, since it’s part of a greatest hits collection. It has eclipsed the original. In addition because it’s more womanly as opposed to girly.
There’s just a power in the remix of “Express Yourself,” as there is in this remix of “Physical.”
Now the great thing about Mark Ronson’s remix of “Physical” is you don’t have to know the original to get it, even if it’s brand new to you you’ll get it.
Now the truth is many men are too inhibited to dance. They’ll pogo in the dark club. They’ll explain they don’t dance because they don’t like disco, but the truth is they’re just too uptight to let loose. As for myself, if you ask me to dance, I’ll probably say no, I get no joy from the raw physical activity, but if a track comes on that I like, that hits me…I’LL RUN TO THE DANCE FLOOR! The music penetrates my epidermis, goes straight to my heart, the blood starts pumping through my body, I’m alive!
Want to thrill your girlfriend/wife/partner? Push play on this remix of “Physical,” you’ll be unable to stand still, you can leave the room, make excuses, but if you just let the music pour over you you’ll find it irresistible. Don’t analyze, don’t overthink it. Don’t say you don’t get it, that this is not your kind of music, just let go. That’s what women do better than men, let go. And when you let go and they let go then…
You get physical.
And I thought the battle wasn’t supposed to start until AFTER the election!
The best political piece I read this weekend was by Margaret Sullivan, in the “Washington Post”:
“Fact-checking Trump’s lies is essential. It’s also increasingly fruitless”
You’re waiting for truth to save you. The system. But that would assume we were living in the twentieth century, and that’s no longer true.
I’m a late night guy, and when I saw the news about Portland last night I wanted to run to my computer. But I was afraid of burning you out. I’M BURNED OUT!
Earlier in the evening, on my hike in the mountains, I listened to Bill Maher’s “Real Time.” I’m about done with that show, because it lacks a visceral edge, it’s toned-down in an era where we’re all angry. And there are too many talking heads with an investment in the system. Bill asked Trey Gowdy, the Republicans’ prosecutor in the House, if any of Trump’s behavior was worthy of investigation. Gowdy’s answer? Essentially there are good people on both sides. That whoever is in power attacks the other party. Is that what is really going on here?
And yesterday I finished Brian Stelter’s book “Hoax,” which I assume will debut at number one on the best seller list next week. Don’t bother. It’s so inside baseball that if you don’t work in the news industry, or don’t aspire to, you’re wasting your time, especially if you keep up on the news to begin with. I mean if you’re a Martian, and have been out of the loop, maybe. But I’ll save you the time. NEWS IS A CLUB! On both the left and right. It’s just like any other industry, people fight to get ahead, they switch teams, they’re beholden to their bosses, they don’t want to forgo their monstrous salaries. You sit at home and think this is about newsgathering, telling the truth. But it hasn’t been that way since the Fairness Doctrine. Come on, Rupert and his minions make BILLIONS off of Fox News. To the point where they now second-guess their audience. Yes, they don’t want to say anything that might offend their viewers. Who bite back whenever they do. As for the revolving door with Trump, as for Hannity’s influence over the Donald, as for the isolation and ultimate departure of Shepard Smith…you know all that. But, I reinforce that news is a business, and the goal of everybody in it is to survive, and therefore they all know each other, it’s like high school with money. And yes, if you read “Hoax,” you’ll learn that Fox viewers have completely different opinions than those who get their news elsewhere. But did you really not know that?
So, my SiriusXM subscription expired. I found out at 9 PM, too late to e-mail, to call. So I had to rely on Bluetooth, and when I pushed the button in the dash I got the latest edition of Sarah Kendzior and Andrea Chalupa’s “Gaslit Nation.” I had not been planning to listen to it, enough with the news, but I could not turn it off, because Sarah was repeating the message she’s purveyed for over half a decade…Trump is employing the authoritarian handbook. He’s telling you what he’s going to do and then he does it. Today he said he’d bring out the military…BINGO!
Yes, to solve problems in Portland. In his speech last week he said he would deliver troops all across in America, primarily in “Democrat” cities which were overrun with violence, all the governors had to do was call. But nobody in power in Oregon called for federal troops in Portland.
So, I get it, you’re at home, you’re burned out. It’s Sunday. You want a day off. As did I, I was busy reading this book “The Last Romantics,” by Tara Conklin. I read a tip somewhere and downloaded it via the Libby app, i.e. the library. I must say I winced when I saw it was one of Reese Witherspoon’s picks, but halfway through the book became riveting, I didn’t want to get up and eat, I didn’t want to break the mood, but ultimately, at five o’clock, still not having had lunch, I got up off the couch.
And I fired up the “New York Times” app because I wanted to see what Ben Smith, the paper’s new media columnist, had to say, he’s a must-read.
Smith’s article wasn’t up yet. Or maybe he’s taking a vacation. So I decided to go around the horn, catch up on what is happening.
It was on the WaPo that I read about Trump’s tweetstorm. And my blood began to boil.
Some people are news junkies. I did not used to be one of them. Sure, I wanted to know what was going on, but I did not want it to take over my life, because there were always new stories, life went on. But will it now?
So, I ask, who is gonna save you?
Well, maybe if there’s a free and fair election and Biden emerges victorious things can start changing on January 20th. But that’s a long way away. And Biden’s victory is suddenly becoming a big if. Did you read Michael Moore’s pronouncement?
There’s that dreaded enthusiasm gap again. The Democrats played it safe, will it come back to bite them in the ass? Come on, who is fired up about Biden? It’s just about casting a vote against Trump. BUT IT MAY NOT MATTER!
But it can’t happen here. But think of all that has happened here already. Like the failure to have a comprehensive Covid-19 plan that ensures people’s safety. And then there’s this:
Our country is operating on a need to know basis, and the only people who need to know are Trump and his associates.
And then you’ve got Trump saying Ivanka is more fit to be president than Kamala Harris. Yes, and there was a fair and free election in Belarus!
So what are you supposed to do about all this?
Be informed, get prepared. Otherwise when the penny drops you’ll lose not only your power but your freedoms and will wonder what hit you.
But we keep hearing THIS IS AMERICA!
And according to Trump and his cronies, it’s just not good enough, we’ve got to cut off trading with China, stop paying to protect the rest of the world and look inward, take care of ourselves. The rest of the world is laughing at us!
And social media won’t save us, that’s a given. But what people still fail to understand is we are no longer living in the teens, never mind the aughts. The internet is not the new new thing, it’s been front and center in the public consciousness for twenty five years. The game of musical chairs has ended, there are only a few companies left, so big and powerful that no one else can get a foothold. As for hardware…you may not replace your computer or phone for five, six or seven years. I’ve got an iPhone 11 Pro Max, do you need one? ABSOLUTELY NOT! If you want one, be my guest (although you should really wait until October for the next iteration, with 5G capability), but there’s nothing you can’t do on most older models. This is not the late nineties when your computer was obsolete by the time you got it home. And we venerated the techies to the point where we thought they could do no wrong, and since they’re rich they’re revered and think they can do no wrong.
Why bother to watch the VMAs? What difference are these people making? They say they’re independent, but they’re just slaves to the system. Isn’t that what Black Lives Matter is all about, leveling the playing field, offering opportunity? The Dems in control have been promising it forever, has it arrived? No, the people put the power in their own hands, THEY TOOK THE POWER, and there’s been a ton of resultant change.
But now people on the other side are taking the power (many working class who were abandoned by the elite Democrats in control of their party). Egged on by Donald Trump so he can stay in power. Twelve more years! Do you think it is all a joke?
I planned to sign off on political pieces, like Margaret Sullivan said, it just did not make a difference. I was gonna wait until the election itself. I’ve had enough of the talking heads, the opinionators, it just does not make a difference.
And neither does the news. They print these stories, and nothing happens. They move on to something new the very next day. Read about Roger Stone being pardoned recently?
So this is a warning. If you think it’s business as usual in these United States you’re sorely wrong. If you think it’s solely about rallying around Biden and Harris and keeping your fingers crossed, you’re sorely wrong. If you think winning the popular vote is the only thing that matters, you’re sorely wrong. If you think it’s going to be a fair election, you’re sorely wrong. Not to mention that there are so many ways to wiggle…the special powers of the President, the lack of clear information in the Constitution re disputes.
And Trump and his minions are fighting to the death. Isn’t that what yesterday proved?
So stream your shows, listen to your music, tune it all out at your peril. We’re heading for a great conflagration. History tells us a small spark can cause a big fire, whether it was World War I or the Arab Spring or George Floyd. Everyone’s been told for so long how great America is, how it’s the best and most free country, the greatest in the world, that they’ve been resting on their laurels, they believe it and go on their merry way. The system depends on the faith of the people, and that’s already lacking. If you still believe…I feel sorry for you.
It doesn’t matter whether I like it, it’s whether the public will accept it, whether it will connect with the general marketplace, or those it is targeted for.
Music is a professional business. Since it requires no CV, no education to get involved in, everybody thinks they’re an expert. Never mind the false information that flows freely.
Today I got e-mail from a reader up in arms because he heard a writer on a podcast complaining about royalties on a successful streaming song. What he didn’t take into account was THE WRITER HAD SOLD HIS PUBLISHING, ALL OF IT! The remuneration the writer was quoting was probably public performance fees, never mind they were split with multiple writers and there was no discussion as to whether this was streaming radio or on demand.
But never let the facts get in the way of a good story.
But, if you think you’re a better programmer, a better promotion person than the one at the label, HOW COME YOU DON’T HAVE THAT JOB! And these are jobs that are held by both men and women. Some women run promotion departments. If you’re so good, why don’t you have the gig?
Well, first and foremost you didn’t try. And it’s very hard to get your foot in the door, never mind move up the food chain. Maybe you can be a security guard or an usher at the amphitheatre…then again, you’d be surprised how many people with music business gigs started out at the absolute bottom, like this, BECAUSE IT’S ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS!
So, a label has to pick a track it believes it can get on the radio. Not the best track, not the track the station should play, BUT THE ONE IT WILL PLAY!
So, you’ve got to know the format, and you’ve got to know the personnel. Oftentimes the relationship is more important than the record, so just knowing a record a station should play is not good enough.
And stations are influenced by outside forces, what other stations are playing the track, what its streaming numbers are.
As for streaming…do you have the relationships to get the track on a playlist? What about TikTok, can you help it there? Does the act have a social media presence? Not only do these factors increase the odds of success, they are markers that help gatekeepers, from radio to print to even streaming services themselves, decide whether to push the button or not.
Oh, you love a track that requires five to ten listens to get. Fine, I’ve got no problem with that, but a track like that is hard to promote. Maybe there will be a groundswell for it after it is accepted by the public, sometimes after decades, but in a world of skippers, gatekeepers are looking for something more immediate. And yes, the more immediate the better these days, since there are so many options for a listener/viewer’s time.
But there are still the delusional. Who believe a country rock song performed by fiftysomethings with a bad singer deserves attention. In a world where good singers are a dime a dozen, why? As for the lyrics…you can have an imperfect voice if you write as well as Bob Dylan, but so far we haven’t found someone that good.
Doesn’t matter if your parents like it, your girlfriend or boyfriend, do those with no investment cotton to it and want to spread the word? If no one wants to spread the word, you’re dead in the water, it’s a definitive marker. So when someone sends me a link to a YouTube video with under a hundred plays, under a thousand plays, I wince, especially if it’s been in the marketplace for a while. They just think they need someone to recognize their greatness and push the button. But no amount of button-pushing will push a song like that over the top. I have never ever found a hit in these circumstances, NEVER! If something is great, people want to tell others about it, it’s human nature.
And maybe you’re pissed someone else is making it and you’re not. But maybe you’re a jerk and no one wants to work with you, did you ever think of that? Or maybe they work in a completely different genre with different precepts. Even if you make great klezmer music, traditional avenues of exposure like commercial radio are closed to you. Accept your fate. Be happy anybody is interested at all. But oh, I get it, YOU’RE AN ARTIST! WHO SAYS? Just like I get e-mail from people who say they’ve put in their 10,000 hours. That’s 10,000 hours of HARD PRACTICE! Read the book “The Talent Code” for instruction. Furthermore, and I hate to inform you of this, it’s harder for older people to learn new skills and become experts in them, it’s not opinion, it’s science. Look at it this way, if you want to be a great skier, 10,000 hours on the bunny slope, 10,000 hours on the groomers alone won’t do it. No, you’ve got to be willing to charge down the 35 degree slope in crud strewn with trees. And believe me, NO ONE is great at that the first time down. It’s about challenging yourself.
But people hate economics. They believe if they build it, people and money should come. Why? Because you say so? The landscape is filled with failed products, failed singles, but since you call yourself an artist it’s different for you. NO!
And sometimes you’ve got to put down a hit, just to demonstrate your superiority, your judgment. And I’m not saying that all hits are great, but usually there’s a reason why a track is successful, better to investigate why, to become a student of the game, as opposed to denigrating it.
This is what I mean when I say my e-mail bugs me. People telling me I’m wrong because they don’t like it, they know better, even though they oftentimes have the raw facts wrong. And now with everybody available 24/7 everybody is bombarded with those down the food chain punching up. I’ll tell you a little secret, if you want to move up the food chain BE NICE! And/or HELP those on the next rung of the ladder. Send them a track you know will be a hit, not one you think will be a hit, or believe should be a hit, but one the recipient will immediately be able to tell his circle about, burnishing THEIR image. As for promoting the work of your children…there’s not a single person in the business who doesn’t wince when they hear this. Because even if the act is good, and that’s almost never the case, the parents want to be involved and tell the experts what to do all under the rubric of “protecting their progeny.” Well, if you really wanted to protect them you’d tell them to stay in school, graduate from college, form opinions, be able to analyze and then try to make it. But no, you want them to make it because they deserve it and it will burnish your image.
Oh, and then there are those who will feed on your hopes and dreams. Producers who can no longer work in the big leagues but will take your cash to make professional work with your kid, which almost never goes anywhere. Or the website that will charge you for a hope of success, which never arrives. Yes, there are scoundrels in the music business, more than most other businesses, and the internet has only made it worse.
As for you hating a success, fine. But if you tell other people you look bad, it’s sour grapes. Also, in today’s world, where there’s a constant slew of product and a five year old track or video can be new to many, no one cares about your opinion, that’s so last century. Quick, name an influential music critic from today…NAME ONE! There isn’t one, that job has been eliminated by the internet. Used to be the writers had access, to the music and those who made and marketed it. But now everybody has access to everything, they don’t care what others have to say, and “music critic” was always a self-anointed moniker anyway, it’s not like you needed a degree.
But stuff does become successful. VERY VERY LITTLE OF IT!
Look at it this way… Imagine if I sent you all the links, all the music that is sent to me every day and forced you to listen to it from beginning to end, all of it, YOU’D SCREAM! And my point is this is how the consumer behaves…if they don’t like something, they click off it. Have sympathy for consumers. Furthermore, all that b.s. about short attention spans is just that. Did you ever watch these kids play Fortnite, FOR HOURS! Or stream “Friends” from beginning to end? Or listen to a podcast series of something they’re interested in?
The truth is great art breaks the mold. That’s what makes music different from regular commerce. People need milk. They’ll buy it. But they don’t need new songs. They may want new songs, but if there’s nothing that appeals to them, they won’t partake. So, either you can give them what they want, and there’s a business in that, or you can dig down deep and deliver something people truly need, but that’s a long, hard slog. First and foremost you’ve got to deliver it, which is uber-hard. And then you’ve got to find people who believe in it and then wait for the word to spread. Look at music history, those outside the mainstream artistically never broke immediately, never ever. They might have had four albums under their belt before it all clicked. And now it’s harder than ever, because everybody can play but it’s harder to reach members of the audience.
So, think of the above when you evaluate a track, when you give your opinion, assuming you consider yourself a professional, wanting to make it in this business. Despite no formal course of study, there’s a lot to learn to be successful in the music business and stay that way. And just like with artists, if business people don’t evolve they’re left behind.
My goal is not to make you feel bad, but to have you question yourself. You can hate something, no problem. But if you’re doing it to make yourself feel good, to shore up your identity, you need therapy.
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