Well, it doesn’t sound like anything else.

As a matter of fact, it resembles nothing so much as an early seventies experimentation, when the audience’s ears were open to the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Captain Beefheart and Terry Riley.

The audience outgrew AM radio. And before FM went top forty in most markets, via the Superstars format, there was a wealth of experimentation on the airwaves.

But really, you found out about records via print. There would be an ecstatic review by a writer you trusted and you’d buy the album. Then you’d go home and spin it and try to get it.

I can name so many albums like this. Whether it be Little Feat’s “Dixie Chicken” or John Cale’s “The Academy In Peril.”

Experimentation was baked in. That’s what the sixties taught us. And all the innovation was on records, so to be in the know, you had to buy them and listen.

Now eventually, via the Superstars format, FM became dumb, what was played became gigantic and that begat corporate rock. Why not game the system and deliver exactly what the audience wants?

The audience does not want “Fetch the Bolt Cutters.”

But the audience did not want Patti Smith. The audience didn’t want a lot of what was purveyed in the seventies, but they dipped their toe because it was part of their religion, to only get your music news from the radio labeled you a dilettante, the hard core studied print and made purchases accordingly.

Then you’d come home, break the shrinkwrap, drop the needle, and listen.

There were no distractions, you were focused. You’d laid down your money. You wanted to see what all the fuss was about. And since you’d paid for the album, you were prone to like it, there was no way anybody could own everything, you were limited in your purchases.

It is not that way today.

Today there’s a tsunami of hype. To the point where you ignore most of it. Which has me flummoxed as to why acts are holding back their releases during lockdown. This is when people have time, this is when everybody else is backing out, I figure artists would be clamoring to release their records, never mind books.

So, some people today find music via playlists. But really, that’s akin to yesteryear’s radio. Chosen tracks for the casual listener. But what’s worse, with endless time there are so many losers it’s hard to listen at all.

Therefore, all the focus is on the Spotify Top 50. And most of what’s in the Spotify Top 50 is manipulated by the usual suspects. This is where Max Martin still makes hits, can you say WEEKND? This is where the songs written by committee reside. As for Billie Eilish…Interscope worked her for years, planting seeds on Soundcloud, this was not an overnight success, it was a manipulated success, and even back in the seventies no one had years to do this, you put it out and see if stuck, and if it didn’t, you made another record. If you were any good at all, they let you make three to five, they were investing in you, they wanted a return.

But they, the labels, are first and foremost businesses. They want money. And in today’s chaotic landscape you only make money if there’s a plethora of streams, so the labels only invest in what can possibly achieve that. And they put out fewer tracks than ever, because of the opportunity cost, it takes just that long to push and make a track a hit. So, you want insurance, you don’t want to take a big risk. It’s corporate rock on steroids. And corporate rock was so obvious, so lowest common denominator, so lacking in innovation that disco slipped in, there was a war between the two genres and then the whole industry cratered, not to be rescued until the advent of MTV.

Now Fiona Apple made it in the MTV era. Via the Work label.

Work was a division of CBS Records, run by Jeff Ayeroff and Jordan Harris.

Jeff Ayeroff was a creative services genius, he tested the limits with videos and other promotional campaigns. And Work made Apple a star with the ultra-sexy, akin to kiddie porn video “Criminal.” Yup, people couldn’t stop watching this sultry young sexpot writing on their screen.

And when you had a hit in the nineties, the labels ramped up the press and convinced everybody the act was a star, as the label hoovered up money via those overpriced CDs.

And from there, Apple took a left turn. Her reputation plowed the way, she was seen as an artist and people paid attention, but she was no longer mainstream.

Now comes “Fetch the Bolt Cutters.”

Now the team knows who the target audience is. The release of the album was presaged by a very in-depth story in the “New Yorker”:

“Fiona Apple’s Art Of Radical Sensitivity – For years the elusive singer-songwriter has been working, at home on an album with a strikingly raw and percussive sound. But is she prepared to release it into the world?”

Normally the press gets it wrong. They send a writer with a chip on their shoulder who has to say something negative for their cred and… That’s not the case here, Apple emerges unscathed. She seems surprisingly normal, without airs. Sure, she’s revealing her neuroses, but that’s what an artist does, stand in for us all, we’re usually too uptight to speak our truth.

And Friday the album was released.

You need to listen to it. Because there’s nothing quite like it. And what really makes it appealing is the lyrics.

But I’m not sure you’ll listen to it more than once, if you can get through it to begin with.

“Fetch the Bolt Cutters” works on two levels, it embellishes the image of Apple, and it sets her up for a tour. But there is no tour.

So here is the difference between then and now.

Then, print would get you to buy the LP, and how much you played it was irrelevant.

Now, how much you play something is all that matters. And no track off of “Fetch the Bolt Cutters” will ever hit triple digit millions on Spotify.

But the truth is we live in a beat-oriented world, melody is secondary. So, is the audience ready for this?

Well, a certain cadre of females are. But this is not a record you play in the background, it demands attention, to say it’s got edges…it’s only edges! It’s something you can admire more than embrace.

But it’s Apple’s truth. The album hearkens back to what once was, when it was about making an artistic statement more than sales.

But all these positive reviews… If you’re expecting “Criminal,” if you’re expecting something instantly palatable, if you expect to be eating ice cream as opposed to glass, be forewarned.

So, the lyrics of every track are not so insightful they must be pondered ad infinitum. But a picture of Apple shines through. She’s her own woman. She is affected by her relationships. She’s thinking about her relationships. Men are an important focus of her life, seemingly the main focus in her life.

This is just the opposite of the feminism being sold in the media.

In the media women want equal pay, they don’t want to be harassed at work. They don’t want men to control them, men are an impediment.

But Apple is blowing off the facade to show what women really think. And it’s messy and complicated and like I said, men are a prominent feature, and they may act badly, but you cannot ignore their blowback.

Not that Apple is not powerful.

The key track on the album is “Under the Table.”

I told you I didn’t wanna go to this dinner
You know I don’t go for those ones that you bother about
So when they say something that makes me start to simmer
That fancy wine won’t put this fire out, oh

Men are social climbers. They’re networking all the time. They make lunch and dinner dates, they drag their significant others along, even though they ignore them and talk business all the time, always cheery, always boasting. Frequently, they view their significant others as eye candy. If you’re good-looking or famous or rich or all three, they believe it burnishes their image. But Fiona Apple is all three, and she won’t put up with it.

Kick me under the table all you want
I won’t shut up, I won’t shut up

Apple is anything but subservient. She cannot be controlled.

But she can be manipulated, even if she regrets it later.

But the truth is we all do things we regret when we fall in love, we’re going with the flow, finding someone you can connect with is so difficult.

And Apple is insightful and empowering in “Ladies.”

Nobody can replace anybody else
So it would be a shame to make it a competition
And no love is like any other love
So it would be insane to make a comparison with you

Far different from the good-timey, banal lyrics of the hit parade.

As for that dedication to men, in “Rack of His”:

It was because I was loving you so much
It’s the only reason I gave my time to you
And that’s it, that’s the kick in you giving up
‘Cause you know you won’t like it when there’s nothing to do

Now that’s a twist on the traditional kiss-off. She admits she was so into him, she’s pissed he gave up, the loss to him is just a fillip at the end.

On the same note of connection to men, in “Cosmonauts”:

When I met you I was fine with my nothing
I grew with you and now I’ve changed
What I’ve become is something I can’t be without your loving
Be good to me, it isn’t a game

She’s in this and she’s demanding good treatment. Sure, she’s standing up for herself, but she’s also admitting she’s addicted to him. Life is not cut and dry, there’s push and pull. Furthermore, the older you get, the harder it is to be pulled from stasis, your life works, even if there’s no companion, but when you throw in, it’s ever so serious.

I could quote more, but I won’t.

The positive reviews are deafening. And that’s cool, but they don’t reflect what this LP actually sounds like. And sure, you hear the words of an outsider who is sick of getting the wrong end of the stick, however unjustly, but this is music you may have never heard in your life, and there’s a good chance you won’t like it. If the album wasn’t so well-reviewed you’d put your hands to your ears and screech, TAKE IT OFF, TAKE IT OFF!

So, “Fetch the Bolt Cutters’ is a conundrum. It’s pushing the envelope, but it will ultimately leave a small footprint, more in people’s minds than in the listening.

But this is what artists do.

And I applaud Fiona Apple for her effort. She’s unafraid to go down the path less taken. She’s unafraid of judgment. She’s just being herself.

Do you want to be her friend?

I’ll let you decide.

New York Songs Playlist

Once again, SiriusXM streaming is FREE until May 15th.

Listen today, 4 PM Pacific, 7 PM East, on Volume 106 at:

VOLUMESXM

Listen to previous shows on demand:

siriusxm

It was not must see TV.

I thought the Stones were good, Mick Jagger sounded great, and then when the keyboard came in, I realized it was all prerecorded and massaged and I was disappointed.

Yes, “One World” was not live. And it played to the lowest common denominator, the supposed one world we all live in, whereas when music was in its heyday, it was us versus them.

Even during the heyday of MTV. MTV made music into a monoculture, you were either on the station or off. But Live Aid was a seminal event yet to be repeated. Because it was about those in the know versus those out of the loop. Live Aid did not need to be on every television outlet, just MTV, because that’s where the youth lived, where the heartbeat of music lived, it was a club for those who not only had a sense of humor but could be irreverent and make fun of the status quo. It was about testing limits. The VJs were our heroes.

Instead, Saturday night we got late night hosts in suits. Come on, are you wearing a suit and tie at home every day? Isn’t all the scuttlebutt about how people are wearing no pants, yet you dress up like it’s business as usual?

Sure, it was cool to see the first responders, they got their due. And I can’t argue with the $127 million they raised, but this show missed the mark.

First and foremost it was not promoted properly, you did not get the feeling you had to be there, had to watch, or you were gonna miss out.

I chalk that down to promotion. Funny how a business based on promotion doesn’t know how to do it, especially when it’s out of their comfort zone. MTV would give away a house, constantly embellish the brand, but there was no innovation in the promotion of this show. No regular member of the population featured because they raised the most money themselves, no engagement of the audience in an era where it’s all about the audience.

The Stones built their rep on calling themselves the World’s Greatest Rock & Roll Band to the point where it was nearly impossible to get a ticket. Whereas you knew you didn’t have to watch on Saturday night, because if anything good happened, you could replay it on YouTube the next day, just like with SNL, just like with everything in today’s world other than sports. Once again, MTV had this right, with its VMAs. You had to tune in because of the antics, you never knew what you might miss, you wanted to be able to be part of the discussion right away, whether it be about Pee Wee Herman opening the show after being arrested, or the give and take between RuPaul and Milton Berle. We live for these moments.

As for the two hour TV show… This is what network does best, condense the product, remove all the edges for consumption for a mainstream that does not exist. Either it’s an all day event that we have to sit on the couch for, or we’re just not interested. As for tape delay on the west coast…even the Grammys don’t do that anymore.

And hip-hop rules the world, but it was markedly absent here. You can get the Stones, but not Jay-Z, Kanye and Drake to perform? The show was safe, when music has always prospered when it’s dangerous.

We do not live in a one love world. As a matter of fact, we live in an incredibly fractious world. But this was not addressed, for fear of offending someone.

Meanwhile, John Oliver goes on HBO from his house, makes jokes about the lame cellphone signal of AT&T, his boss, and then proceeds to eviscerate Fox News and Donald Trump, there were no false equivalencies, he attacked the preacher who blew away the virus, picturing his private jet in the background…this is what music did in its heyday, shine a light on hypocrisy.

And when the acts don’t do it live, oh some did, but when you don’t, you lose credibility. Give Alicia Keys credit for appearing without makeup, everybody else was so busy massaging their image and their music as to be homogenized. As for the tattoos… It’s just like in the seventies, long hair no longer made you a dangerous outlaw and today neither do tattoos. Years ago, but not now. Now you look like a follower more than a leader. Leaders always do the opposite. Want to test the limits today…get no tattoos!

But they’re part of the image today, and it’s solely image.

And there was no metal… For a show that claimed to want to bring us all together, a lot of musical elements were left out.

It’s easy to pat yourself on the back, say you did a good thing. But people who make a difference do more. They push the envelope, they make people uncomfortable, they make people think. Hell, there wasn’t even a DJ on this show, would that have been too hard to include?

Just because you raised some money, that does not mean you’re immune from criticism. Next time, make it must see. Everybody plays live live, it’s done in real time, the edgy genres are included. It’s the mistakes that draw people to you. Everybody would accept a technical glitch, especially under these circumstances. But instead we got a seamless production that no one is talking about now that it’s over. Hell, I just checked the Spotify streams, and not one has broken six figures! Sure, it’s early, but this show was up Saturday night, and if there was a huge desire to experience it, those streams would be through the roof, they’d dominate the Top 50. But the Top 50 is still dominated by the Weeknd, strangely absent here. Even Dua Lipa, promoting a new album, was left out. Tones and I, still at number six, with one of the absolute biggest tracks of the year?

This could have been done so much better.

It’s hard not to watch this and see the parallels to today’s America.

I didn’t like it as much as the hype, it just wasn’t believable. Oh, the facts were believable, but I never suspended disbelief and got caught up in the action, I was always aware I was watching a re-creation. Maybe if Spielberg, or another Hollywood director, had been involved, it would have been different, but it wasn’t.

I’m old enough to have lived through Chernobyl.

And I must say I have a fascination with it. Down in Laguna Beach, at the art fair, they feature the work of a photographer who went there, before it was de rigueur. Yes, now it seems anybody can get up close and personal, but I don’t need any further exposure to radiation. I had a wart removed on my finger back in the sixties. The dermatologist used a new technique, he radiated my finger for five minutes. Did this cause my leukemia? Or was it the formaldehyde the chiropodist insisted I use to control my stinky feet? My internist says it’s hereditary, my father had blood cancer and therefore so do I, but the literature on CML says otherwise. I guess we’re always looking for answers. And sometimes the answers you expect are not the real ones. And sometimes when you think you’ve found the answers, that turns out to be untrue.

When I think of Chernobyl, I think of the explosion, the radiation, not so much what caused the explosion. But they delve into that and deliver the answer, and that’s what is fascinating.

The Russians cheaped out. They didn’t build a containment dome. That’s why the reactor, with its tower, looked so different from the ones in the rest of the world. And to further save money, they put graphite tips on the control rods, which meant temperature increased before it decreased.

But they did not want you to know this. You see the Russians had to convince the rest of the world that they were equal to the United States, indomitable, always right. And the funny thing is the populace believed this too, and at Chernobyl, they sacrificed their lives for it, whether it be immediately, or dying before their time from radiation poisoning. You see radiation is like Covid-19, you can’t see it, it appears harmless, until it eats you from the inside out.

Now America has changed drastically in my lifetime. In the fifties we believed we were the greatest country on the planet, there was a plethora of good paying jobs, mothers didn’t have to work and…women and minorities took a back seat.

All of the unrest, the discrimination that was not visible, or not emphasized regularly in the fifties, reared its ugly head in the sixties. In the sixties everything was up for grabs. The goal was to be informed and think for yourself. And just because you were young, that did not mean you didn’t count. There was a huge schism between the oldsters, the establishment, and the youngsters, one which we would not see again until the advent of the internet. The only difference was the greatest generation wasn’t buying their children’s antics, whereas the boomers are in bed with their children, believe they’re up to speed, when that is untrue.

And then Nixon bombed and lied.

And then Carter became president.

And then there was the hostage crisis, and suddenly nationalism reared its ugly head in America once again, like it hadn’t for years, like it hadn’t since before the Vietnam War.

Then Reagan enticed many of the left-leaning boomers by lowering taxes and legitimizing greed, and suddenly the boomers were the establishment themselves, with something to protect.

And now?

Well, the economy raged under Clinton.

But then there was the Iraq war and billionaires and…now you’re on one side or the other. Either you believe the United States is the best country in the world or you’re agitating for change. And it’s just like the sixties, if you question authority, if you question the government, you’re shouted down by the establishment, only in this case the establishment is not only the Republicans, but the Democrats, which is why so many, especially youngsters, are disillusioned and feel left out.

So, Chernobyl is burning and people are lining up to sacrifice themselves. Kinda like after 9/11. A war was started and people signed up to serve, and unlike in the sixties, they were lauded for doing so, you could not question anybody’s service, but all these years later…was it worth it? Even Trump said it was not.

And there’s a chain of command in Russia, disobey it at your peril, it doesn’t matter if you’re right. Sounds just like Crozier, who was fired for complaining his ship was inundated with Covid-19. The chain of command was more important than the lives of those on the boat.

And if you stand up and speak the truth, you’re ostracized.

This is very different from political correctness, which has its own pitfalls. But in the last century, facts were facts. Maybe because there was the fairness doctrine on TV.

But if you tell the truth about what happened in Ukraine today, you’re gonna lose your job, just like Trump fired the Intelligence Community Inspector General for allowing the whistleblower’s report to come out. As for the impeachment trial, the Republicans stood their ground, otherwise they’d be ostracized, not only by their fellow congresspeople, but constituents who would primary them out of a job.

And just like it couldn’t be Russia’s fault that the nuclear reactor blew up, it can’t be Trump’s fault that Covid-19 is ravaging the country.

And you do know the rest of the world is laughing at us. And despite all this b.s. about bringing manufacturing back to America, we cannot be self-sufficient, if for no other reason than these companies are all multinationals, they are not beholden to us. The ventilator company’s HQ was in Ireland, the cruise lines are not registered in the U.S. And the U.S. is enamored of cheap products, and they wouldn’t be so cheap if they were manufactured here, even though they can’t be.

But the government keeps spewing falsehoods. And in Russia, they needed something to believe in, if you can’t believe in the state, where does that leave you?

Now if you delve into “Chernobyl,” don’t do so without listening to the podcast with Craig Mazin, the writer/producer of the series. You watch and you keep wondering how accurate the show is. Listening to the podcast you find out it’s hyper-accurate.

But when you watch the final episode, and you see the footage of the real people, it’s eerie, because the actors cast looked very similar, even if they were not believable in their roles.

So…

We are at an inflection point in America. We are fighting for our country’s soul. And it’s not only left/right, it’s also left/left.

All those lefties who made money under Reagan and Clinton? They don’t want to cough it up, they’re accustomed to their lifestyles, they believe they earned that money and you can’t take it away.

So, when Warren starts talking about a wealth tax, rich people start crying in their beer. When Sanders talks about Medicare for All, they’re not for it, after all, they’re wealthy and they can afford the best care. So, the left has left the workers and the young ‘uns to their own devices. Some went to Trump, some went third party, some didn’t bother to vote and…they’re being told to vote for Biden for a return to normalcy. The only problem is normalcy wasn’t that good for them to begin with!

And how is it in America there’s not enough money? It’s not only Cuomo, but the governors of other states begging for money for health care and business. You see states can’t print their own money, the federal government can. But if you don’t toe Trump’s line, your state is going to pay the price.

And when it’s debated whether to speak the truth at the Chernobyl trial, again and again it’s said that it is a SHOW TRIAL, that the verdict has already been decided, it’s just for the party and the public, to keep everybody believing and in line, the truth doesn’t matter, the truth hurts.

But the truth is lies hurt. If for no other reason than they muddy truth.

Now I’m not gonna go micro on you, go deep into the Astroturfing employed for the protests to open states this weekend.

No, the protests were not spontaneous, they were organized, one entity established all the websites

I’m not going to go deep into how the rest of the world sees us, but I must print this joke from the “Sydney Morning Herald.” Actually, I’ll put it at the end of this screed. This is a litmus test, if you can’t swallow another opinion, if you cannot analyze it, if you cannot believe that news sources like the BBC might be more trustworthy than what you’re listening to, you’re part of the problem, and certainly not part of the solution. A wise person weighs both sides and makes a decision. An ignorant person refuses to entertain thoughts contrary to their beliefs.

So, here we are. Turns out the blowback to the reopening of America is pretty big. And all the governors are clamoring for tests even though Trump and Pence say there are more than enough. If you can wrap your head around that, you probably grew up in Soviet Russia.

Which ended by the way. Lies can’t go on forever.

But just like after the Arab Spring, a dictator ended up in control. And the funny thing is a lot of citizens like this, they don’t want to worry, they’ll cough up all their freedoms if they FEEL safe.

So where are we now?

In the thick of it. You can’t say you’re too busy working. You’ve got no excuses. Now is the time to learn, the time to analyze. Knowledge is power, never forget it.

Joke of the Week:

If Trump were captain of Titanic –
There isn’t any iceberg… There is an iceberg but it’s a small iceberg in another ocean… The iceberg is in this ocean but it’s a small iceberg and will melt in about three days… There is an iceberg but we didn’t hit the iceberg… We hit the iceberg but the damage will be repaired very shortly… I didn’t know how big the iceberg was until two weeks ago… The iceberg is a Chinese iceberg… We aren’t taking on water but every passenger who wants a lifeboat can get a lifeboat and they are beautiful lifeboats because we make the best lifeboats in the world… Look, passengers need to ask nicely for lifeboats if they want them… We don’t have any lifeboats, we’re not lifeboat distributors… I really don’t think we need that many lifeboats… The people drowning should have planned for icebergs and brought their own lifeboats… We have lifeboats and they’re supposed to be everyone’s lifeboats, but they’re only for people who kiss my a**… They are not the passengers’ lifeboats… The last captain of this ship didn’t leave enough lifeboats and, besides, nobody could have foreseen the iceberg.

The former PM’s words that left us shocked