Tune in tomorrow, Tuesday December 17th, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.

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You’re always worried about going too far.

Athlete, musician, writer, performer…you strive to be in the zone. When you’re not even thinking about the work, you’re just riding the wave of inspiration and then…

It’s over.

It’s not like working for the man. It’s not like business. The first rule of business is “get along.” Come on, you’ve seen that person who does a worse job get the promotion when you don’t. They knew how to schmooze, take the boss out to lunch, butter them up. This is not what an artist does. An artist prepares their whole life for that one moment, when they have to shine.

But they don’t always. You’re always trying to climb that mountain. You get kicked in the teeth, you fail, the audience doesn’t get you, you keep striving and striving to be in the zone. But when you’re in the zone, when you’re channeling God, when you’re speaking your truth, some people are always offended, because they cannot handle the truth, they don’t want you to speak the truth, they don’t want their inner life revealed.

But an artist…always has to surf the zeitgeist, always has to take their work seriously, is inherently tortured, is constantly trying to push that rock up the hill.

And no one needs you, no one depends on you, the audience can always find somebody new, your manager, your agent, they can get another client, but if you blow up your career, just by doing your act, doing it well…well, good luck!

I could complain about “Mrs. Maisel” all day long. It’s not realistic, as good as Rachel Brosnahan is, I don’t see her as a comedian, but somehow the series touches your guts. Just when you think it’s flying off the rails, it zings into your heart.

Kinda like Abe, Midge’s father. He followed his heart, got caught up in the moment, and not only did his job go away, but his apartment too.

The business titans don’t experience this. What they do best is plan ahead, keep order, let everybody know who is boss. They may run on instinct, but they don’t run willy-nilly, they’re calm and collected, it’s all about keeping the prize.

But the rest of us, sometimes we don’t even know what the prize is.

So what was it like in 1960?

Hell if I know, I was seven.

But I do remember the Patterson/Johansson fight. I do remember the cars. The few television stations. The war being still visible in the rearview mirror, the threat of Communism on everybody’s mind. But I did not have access, no one had access. And this was in the pre-cellphone days, when there were no cameras, when what happened behind closed doors stayed behind closed doors. And if you were privileged to be an insider, you felt like a million bucks.

The depiction of Vegas makes you want to jet back there. A private party place. Where the acts interacted with the Mob and everybody had a good time. Before bottle service, before the rich made it rain, when the clubs were small and the audience was up close and personal.

Like at the Fontainebleau.

Jackie Gleason moved to Miami. It was incomprehensible, all the action was in New York, maybe L.A. But if you watch “Mrs. Maisel,” you get it. Sure, the production design may be a little over the top, but it’s the colors and sets that set your mind free, allow you to suspend disbelief.

And Sophie Lennon….

Midge said that bullies only respect bullies. Ain’t that the truth. If someone is picking on you, don’t cower, don’t try to make peace, don’t try to make them love you, stand up and fight, dish it back, it’s the only thing they respect.

And talent is mercurial. They’ll ping-pong you all over the map. Take all the credit for success and none of the blame for failure. It’s never their fault. Management is a service business, never forget it.

And fear… We all think we want to be the star, but when we get our chance…

We choke.

That’s the dirty little secret, just about everybody chokes. Especially in athletics. You need experience under the lights to get it right. The pros are even better when the lights come on. They can be half-dead in the dressing room, but when they hit that stage…YOWZA!

And sure, the hats and dresses are over the top, but not the matchmaking and marriage and vacations and schools.

If you don’t get into a good school, your entire life is ruined. Not only do parents in New York believe this, it’s true. It’s not so much what you learn in class, but who you surround yourself with. The goal is to get to the center, and you’ve got to peel back a ton of onion skins to get there. It’s such a learning process.

That’s what they don’t teach you in school, how to be a star. You learn through experience, and most people can’t handle the failure, never mind the lack of cash.

And are you entitled to get what you want?

That’s what the baby boomers believed. Their parents worked hard so they could experience their dreams, although the parents’ dreams were different from their children’s. The parents wanted their progeny to be a doctor, marry a doctor, if you’re bad at science be a lawyer, or an accountant, you’ve got to be a professional, to ensure that you won’t be short of cash, that you will have status in society.

Then Watergate ruined the reputation of attorneys, bankers made more than doctors, techies made more than bankers, old money was nowhere near as much as new, and we still haven’t figure it out, as many people were left behind and unaware of the race.

Now the thing about “Mrs. Maisel” is you forget about your regular life. That’s what movies are supposed to do, but how many flicks keep you from checking your watch, never mind your smartphone?

And we’re all looking, 24/7, for entertainment that does this. We’re addicted to story, we want to believe, we want you to shoot for the moon, on the rare chance that you might actually get there.

This is the ethos of streaming, this is not the ethos of network.

In other words, the creators get the money and they get no notes.

Can they handle the freedom, can they deliver on the promise?

And any artist will tell you when they know it’s going wrong. You’re in the groove, and then suddenly you’re not, and there’s no way you can get back there. You can finish the book, finish the song, finish the movie, make it as professional as you can, but you know it’s a stinker, because you were shooting for a ten, and it’s a few numbers below that. And today, with a plethora of entertainment, the audience only has time for tens, maybe nines.

And the amateurs, the journeymen, don’t understand this. They think if you pay your dues, you should get the reward. They feel if they put in the hours, they should get paid. They don’t know you might have to watch TV all day to catch lightning. You might have to take a shower, you might even have to masturbate to get into the zone, to clear your mind of the crap so you can deliver greatness.

But sometimes the audience isn’t prepared for greatness. It’s too far out there, the performer is too far ahead of them.

And then there are those who play it safe, for laughs. Just like Sophie Lennon they’re coasting on what once was, they know what titillates the audience, what makes people roar.

But that’s not art, that’s manipulation.

That’s why artists shouldn’t read business books. Business books tell you to give the audience what it wants, artists give the audience what it needs, even if it might take a while for those on the other side of the stage to catch up with the message.

The greats just know. Steve Jobs did no market research. He knew where he was going. And what happened? He got fired!

Luckily, Jobs wormed himself back into Apple, to become the legend we now know, who changed society, at least for now.

You can’t get away with rough edges at the corporation, Jobs is the exception. But in art…if you don’t have rough edges, if you don’t offend, if you don’t need it to be your way, if you’re willing to compromise…

You’re never going to make it.

Or if you do, you’ll never be remembered. You’ll be an entertainer.

And we’ve got enough entertainers, we’re looking for artists.

Artists riff on life, react to situations, try to parse truth, try to surf the zeitgeist.

But not everybody can handle that.

So too many people are afraid to take the risk.

But that’s what being an artist is.

If you can fall asleep right after doing your act, you’re not an artist.

If you think everything you do is great, you’re not an artist.

If you think if the audience likes it it’s great, you’re not an artist.

Being an artist is hard.

It’s easier to be a doctor, lawyer or banker.

Abe and Rose don’t want Midge to be a comedian. She almost gives up and marries a doctor when things go wrong. Her husband steps out on her because she’s better at it than he is.

No one wants their kid to be an artist. The odds are too long.

And no one has to be an artist, it’s your choice. And if you’re complaining about your path, no one cares.

And even if you make it, are lauded and rich, you still won’t be satisfied, because you’re still looking to push the envelope, whether anybody’s watching or not.

But you’re hoping they do.

Like I watched “Mrs. Maisel.”

People have no idea how big Linda Ronstadt was in the seventies.

Unless they were alive in that era.

Unlike Carrie Underwood, who stunk up the joint on this show. She’s a star with no soul. This is what TV competition shows wrought, back when they still counted. This is why so many Berklee graduates don’t top the charts. They can play, but that inner mounting flame…it’s not there.

Stars are born, not made. Oh, of course you need someone championing your cause, but to leave home at eighteen to make it in L.A…takes chutzpah and drive and a sense of destiny, that success is in your future.

And Linda Ronstadt had success very soon, with the Stone Poneys. Back in the era when FM was just starting to burgeon, when those on AM were seen as one hit wonders. As for Linda’s “Long, Long Time”…it charted in 1970, when the screw had already turned, when those in the know were all listening to albums on FM, and AM was an afterthought. Linda Ronstadt was on Capitol, the worst major, she was seen as just another singer, kicking around the scene.

And then came Peter Asher and Andrew Gold.

We’ve got to start with Kenny Edwards. You see Linda Ronstadt needed songs and players to make it. She had the voice, but that was not enough.

But despite languishing in the wilderness, David Geffen believed. He extracted Linda from Capitol and released an Asylum album where she and her boyfriend J.D. Souther could do what they wanted and…she was lambasted by the cognoscenti for singing Randy Newman’s “Sail Away” straight.

But then came “Heart Like A Wheel.”

“You’re No Good” wove a web on the radio, captured you and then exploded with Andrew Gold’s solo and…

You couldn’t wait to hear it on the radio.

So the album became a hit. And everybody who had a song on it suddenly gained attention.

I don’t think most people had heard Lowell George’s “Willin'” until “Heart Like A Wheel.”

And speaking of the title track, I didn’t even know who the McGarrigle sisters were, but I immediately had to go buy their album.

Some say a heart is just like a wheel
When you bend it, you can’t mend it
And my love for you is like a sinking ship
And my heart is like that ship out in mid-ocean

You can’t get back together. Usually they don’t want to get back together, but you still pine for them. The greatest truth is embedded in songs, and Linda Ronstadt popularized the work of so many. J.D. Souther may have failed behind the board, but his “Faithless Love” became a standard after inclusion on “Heart Like A Wheel.”

Which was on Capitol. The label had an option for an album of their choice as part of the Asylum deal.

But then Ronstadt reverted to Asylum and…

Became only bigger.

I’m not a fan of that documentary released in theatres recently. Because it was a survey, it didn’t contain the essence. Yes, it got Linda’s formative years right, that was insightful work, but it equated her later work with that of the seventies, and that’s just plain wrong.

So she was in “Pirates of Penzance.” So she sang Mexican songs. Even did albums of standards. They were all successful, based on her talent and brand, but the peak was…

The seventies.

She was the one everybody wanted. She was the girl who could hang with the boys. She was the one who dated Jerry Brown. She may not have written the songs, but she certainly lived them. She was the biggest female star on the planet.

They don’t make ’em like that anymore. Because there’s no secrecy, no privacy, no magic.

And it’s not coming back.

We could not reach out and touch these stars, they were far removed, and when we went to the show…if you weren’t there, you missed it, but if you were there…you never forgot.

So now Linda Ronstadt is on a victory lap. Too late. The Rock Hall snubbed her for years, because if a girl rejects you, boys disdain you, if you’re the biggest, you cannot be the best, but that is untrue.

And now we’ve gotten a peek into her personality. Have learned that Linda is both very intelligent and ornery. That’s right, the biggest stars have to have it their way, they can see the essence, they can’t be compromised, just like Don Henley, who introduced Linda’s segment tonight.

And another change is that we have contempt for today’s overexposed stars. There’s nothing wrong with Dave Grohl, but we see him everywhere we go. Same deal with Tom Hanks. As for his wife, tell me what she’s done again?

Are you getting the attitude?

This is what those who made it in the past can’t understand about the present. The public has torn down all the pedestals, the hoi polloi believes it is in charge. And if you’re fake, or look like you’re working it too hard, you’re gonna be excoriated. Being a star in today’s world…no one’s really figured it out yet. How much should you interact with your fans, how much should you reveal, should you air your dirty laundry?

And then Aaron Neville comes on stage and knocks it out of the park.

No, this is not an Aretha moment. “Don’t Know Much” is subtle. And it was released in 1990, as part of Linda’s album “Cry Like A Rainstorm,” a return to her prior paradigm after her hejiras elsewhere.

And the album was not a gigantic hit. Sure, it went triple platinum, but in that era albums could go diamond.

Still… You knew “Don’t Know Much.” Maybe because of airplay on VH1.

So that brings us to Aaron Neville.

Fats Domino lived in obscurity in New Orleans for nearly half a century. Allen Toussaint, a certified genius, was touring when most people didn’t know they knew his work, and ignored him. Yup, Toussaint did the horns on the Band’s classic live album, “Rock of Ages,” and wrote classics like “Mother-in-Law” and “What Do You Want the Girl to Do,” never mind “On Your Way Down,” which Lowell George and Little Feat hit way over the fence on “Dixie Chicken.” People remember the title track, but the dark Toussaint cover is the essence of the album.

Which brings us to tonight.

What does LL Cool J have over CBS? Or maybe it’s vice versa, CBS wants to play it safe. That’s what’s wrong with this show, the youngsters, trying to drive ratings, everything’s about popularity these days, but it’s usually that which is not initially popular that lasts.

I mean can’t you give somebody else a chance?

That’s the nature of the pop chart, as Paul Simon sings, and is now so often quoted: “Every generation throws a hero up the pop charts”.

So, seventy eight year old Aaron Neville comes out on stage, to duet with Trisha Yearwood, who unlike Carrie Underwood knows that you can exhibit power with nuance, that you just can’t blast, that you’ve got to feel the song and then sell it.

And Aaron Neville has been around forever.

But tonight you found out why.

He’s still got that sweet voice! His body has aged, he moves slower, but when he opens his mouth…

Your soul is touched, you’re stunned there’s such beauty on this earth.

But Aaron Neville has never been honored by the Kennedy Center, never mind the Neville Brothers.

And there you have the modern paradigm. If you’re not selling yourself, most people don’t know, you’re not top of mind, but when you appear…WHEW!

Believe me, if the Neville Brothers had a better manager, they’d be honored, and in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That’s how it works, you need a champion, to work the room.

But what if you’re just a singer?

Despite what you see today, most artists are not good at selling themselves, maybe that’s why most of today’s “stars” do not qualify as artists.

But you know it when you see it.

And tonight we saw genius honoring genius.

I don’t know much, but I know that Aaron Neville killed on the Kennedy Center Honors tonight.

He doesn’t have enough name recognition.

Welcome to the twenty first century, where you think your niche is national, but it’s not.

My favorite example is SNL… Funny or not, who exactly watches that show anymore? Same deal with prime time network television. Advertisers go for the largest share of a shrinking market, but this decline in numbers evidences the spread of attention over many more genres/influences/ideas.

Kind of like record companies and radio. Terrestrial radio has the largest share of ears, but that no longer means it dominates, and by focusing on these outlets, record companies are dooming their futures.

That’s the story of the twenty first century, the inability of the usual suspects to pivot. They always wait too long, they are supplanted by more nimble newcomers.

The monied-class and New Yorkers think everybody is familiar with Mike Bloomberg, after all, doesn’t he run Wall Street’s information pipeline, wasn’t he mayor of New York?

All true, but most people are not paying attention, they’re not actively investing in stocks and they don’t care about New York, they may even resent New York, which is why Bloomberg is polling at 5%.

Klobuchar, Yang…they had the privilege of being in the debates, which garnered ratings superior to network prime time. So, now more people know about them.

So, if you’re running a national campaign…

But should you be running a national campaign?

Musicians keep lamenting they can’t break through. Maybe they don’t have to break through, maybe they should be satisfied they’ve got an audience at all, and try to grow and superserve this audience.

That’s right, there is no Music League. Despite the Grammys, there is no kumbaya, no coming together, no overall scene, you’re on your own, and it’s not so much that you’re competing with everyone, but yourself…which path do you want to choose?

Kinda like Mike Bloomberg himself. He was laid off by Salomon Brothers. Rather than look for another gig at a bank, he started a whole new business, he thought he knew better.

That’s the twenty first century in a nutshell…do you think you know better? If you do, you can have an impact. If your goal is to compete with others on their terms…good luck

And the funny thing is as tech closes ranks, art has become ever broader.

You can’t compete with Facebook or Google or Amazon…they’ll just buy you or put you out of business. But in art… With the distribution pipelines free, you’ve got a chance.

And this is the time for art. When the world is focused on money, when leaders spin untruths, now is the time to speak truth to power, assuming you know you aren’t about money but message, that if your fans won’t keep you alive you don’t deserve a career to begin with.

Bloomberg could run in New York, but he can’t run nationally, not because of his positions, but because people DON’T KNOW HIM! And unless he’s up front on the debates, on TV, good luck!

That’s the story of Trump, the public thought it knew him, from his residence on television and in the news. He was his own publicity machine, over decades. Hillary could not compete, she was victimized by others’ perception of her. Today you blaze your own trail, if you’re worried about what others say about you you’re missing the point, most people are not paying attention to the haters until you call attention to them, boosting their image and cause.

So, you just ignore everybody not on your team. If you’re having trouble getting traction for your works/image, what are the odds those criticizing you are gaining any traction for their opinions…NIL!

This is the essence of Twitter… All the haters? Check their number of followers. Almost all are de minimis, they’re living for you to call attention to them.

So what we have is a media and government believing the old paradigm still holds, when it doesn’t. They print lists, charts, when no one sees the world that way. Chances are you don’t care about the rest of the Top Ten, if you care about the Top Ten AT ALL!

And publicity?

Good luck! Go on that TV show, do that interview… Your fans convert new fans. You’re best off giving your fans more, they won’t stop talking about you….what are the odds someone’s gonna read some puff piece in the paper and check you out? ALMOST ZERO!

And if you rise above the fray, you turn into a cartoon character. There is no time for nuance, everything’s a drive-by while people dig down deeper into their own lives. People don’t have time to dig down deep into yours.

So everything worth anything in this world grows slowly. And that which grows quickly is usually a fad, despite all the hoopla.

If you’re in it for the long haul, you’ve got to build on your base. Who is Mike Bloomberg’s base? Rich people? People of color will never get over stop and frisk.

That’s another thing the media doesn’t understand. When it comes to elections, it’s one person, one vote. The rich don’t get to vote more than once, despite believing they’re masters of the universe.

The election of Trump is just evidence of this disarray. And the media who missed this believe he’s just an anomaly, they don’t understand the underlying problem, which is constituents don’t believe anybody’s in it for them!

Who is on your team? Who are you aligned with?

That’s another problem with the Democrats…the circular firing squad. What is the message, can they stick to it?

No! The DNC says the center must hold when the center doesn’t exist and criticizes the left and is out of touch with the public entirely.

It’s kind of like that old John Lennon song.

You can’t believe in government.

You can’t believe in Grammys.

You can’t believe in movies.

You can only believe in yourself…that’s the lesson of influencer culture, you’ve got to use the modern tools to make your own little dent in the universe. Talk to Generation Z, it understands this. But all boomers and Gen-X’ers can do is criticize these young ‘uns, along with their elders the millennials.

But the millennials know no job is forever, that you’ve got to look out for yourself, because no one else is.

So Trump is evidence of dissatisfaction. The question is what comes next? The lesson of the twenty first century is we are never going backward, only forward, and those who understand this triumph.

And the public adapts. The same way it purchased computers to play on AOL and then bought iPods and smartphones and subscribed to Spotify. The public is willing to move forward, but early adopters have to pave the way and spread the word and the hoi polloi must feel safe and excited.

The average citizen is so afraid of losing what they’ve got that they’re risk averse. But they will change, seemingly overnight, from Kodak to digital, from BlackBerry to iPhone.

But few playing the game seem to understand the populace.

To win the Presidency you must be famous. You must have fans. They must believe in you, they must be willing to go wherever you take them.

Same deal with artists.

You’re nothing without your fan base today. And the truth is many supposedly huge fan bases are just an illusion, not that many people believe.

Which is why we are in the era of authenticity and credibility.

But the public is gun-shy, because it’s been lied to too many times.

What else did John Lennon say?

Gimme some truth?

Don’t lie, don’t triangulate, be yourself…

Everybody’s got rough edges, everybody knows this. Smooth yourself down at your peril. Be unique, be a leader, be someone people want to cling to.

Or get out of the way and go back to the bench, fame is not for everybody, and fame is just another career choice…and if it’s your game, learn how to play it well.

P.S. I e-mailed Mark Cuban to run. He’s on TV every day, he’s seen as the sane panelist on “Shark Tank,” he’s perceived as understanding economics, and he’s a billionaire! Mark responded he’s not a Democrat, and that he promised his family he would not run.